PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:

Shot: Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past.

—The London Independent, March 20th, 2000.

Chaser: Storm Arwen traps customers in Britain’s highest pub for third night.

Staff at a pub cut off by snow were preparing a karaoke evening on Sunday as they expect guests to be unable to escape for a third night.

More than 60 people have spent two nights camped out at Britain’s highest pub due to heavy snowfall brought on by Storm Arwen.

Customers first became stranded at the Tan Hill Inn, in the Yorkshire Dales, on Friday night after going to watch an Oasis tribute band called Noasis.

Those staying at the inn, which is 1,732ft above sea level, woke up to around 3ft of snow.

Due to a fallen power line and snow blocking the main routes out, they have been unable to leave since.

Shot: Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past.

—The London Independent, today.

DISPATCHES FROM KILLADELPHIA: Temple University Student Fatally Shot in Broad Daylight as Philadelphia Breaks Homicide Record. “Philadelphia has recorded at least 506 homicides this year, making 2021 the deadliest year on record in the city. ‘We are deeply saddened by the death of Samuel Collington, and strongly condemn this and any acts of violence in our city,’ a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office said. ‘We grieve every life lost to violence, and we’re heartbroken for Samuel’s friends and family as they cope with this unimaginable loss. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, the Temple University community, and his colleagues in the City Commissioners’ Office.’”

(Classical reference in headline.)

DISPATCHES FROM THE INTERSECTION OF WEIMAR AMERICA AND THE K-12 IMPLOSION: Self-Proclaimed First Grade Teacher Boasts: ‘My Favorite Moments Are Always When My Students Ask About My Queerness.’

David French assures me that this one of the many “‘blessings of liberty.’”

“CAN HE RESIGN IN LESS THAN 140 CHARACTERS?” Jack Dorsey to step down as Twitter CEO:

Does this mean a new direction for Twitter, especially in its increasingly onerous interventions into debates? Eh, don’t bet on it. Dorsey has institutionalized that approach so much — helped by political pressure to act as a quasi-censor for unpopular opinions — that it’s tough to see any significant change from an organic succession of leadership. To effect the kind of change that would return Twitter or any other social-media platform to a true “free market of ideas” forum, it would either take an outright acquisition or the emergence of a true “free market” competitor of significance. I’d love to be proven wrong, but don’t count on this being anything more than a reshuffling of the politburo at Twitter.

The bannings will continue until morale improves:

● The Morning Briefing: Area Fascist Jack Dorsey Purges James O’Keefe From Twitter.

—Stephen Kruiser, PJ Media, April 16th, 2021.

● Twitter CEO’s Shocking Excuse for Censoring NY Post on Biden While Allowing NYT’s Trump Tax Returns.

—Tyler O’Neil, PJ Media, November 17th, 2020.

● Twitter Admits ‘Error,’ Reinstates Zerohedge After Banning It in Late January for Calling Out China.

—NewsBusters, June 15th, 2020.

UPDATE: Justin Hart notes that “The new CEO of Twitter might have to roll back some old tweets there.”

CNN HAS A SAD: Matthew McConaughey will not run for Texas governor.

MINNESOTA NASTY: Two Minneapolis Best Buys Robbed On Black Friday As ‘Flash Mob’ Thievery Spreads Beyond California.

Flashback: Minneapolis Mayor Comes to Striking Conclusion That Defunding the Police Increased Crime.

Or to flowchart the progression:

(Classical reference in headline.)

THE COUNTRY’S IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS: Buttigieg responds to criticism over racist roads comment: ‘The point is not to make America feel guilty.’

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday responded to criticism over his recent comments about racist bridges and highways, saying “the point is not to make America feel guilty” but to fix what he believes are injustices in the country’s infrastructure.

During an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show,” Buttigieg was asked to respond to critics who don’t believe his argument that some bridges and highways were built with racist intentions.

“What we’re doing is we are reconnecting people who may have been disconnected or divided by discriminatory decisions in the past,” the secretary responded. “That helps everybody. I don’t know why anybody would be against reconnecting people who have been divided by discriminatory decisions in the past.

“And again, the point is not to make America feel guilty,” he continued. “The point is to make America better and more equitable and more effective in moving people to where they need to go. The point of transportation is to connect, so if a transportation was ever used to divide, we have a responsibility, a moral one but also a very practical one, to fix it.”

Buttigieg might want to tackle getting supply chain issues sorted out in time for Christmas Saturnalia the upcoming Winter Solstitial Holiday before reworking the Interstate Highway System due to perceived 2021 inequity issues.

In the meantime though, take heart! ‘Christmas dinner in a can’ promises answer to supermarket shortages.

TRUNALIMUNUMAPRZURE! President Biden caught on video flagrantly violating mask mandate. Again.

UPDATE: Biden clams up when Nantucket business owner challenges him to name his favorite chowder.

More: Jill Biden doesn’t seem too worried about the Omicron Variant, either:

(Updated and bumped.)

AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD: White Smoke Emanates From Wuhan Lab Chimney Signaling A New Variant Has Been Named.

SOMEBODY SET UP US THE BOMB: Fauci rips Cruz over Jan. 6 when asked about DOJ prosecutions.

Dr. Anthony Fauci shot back at Sen. Ted Cruz, who called for the Justice Department to prosecute Fauci for allegedly lying about funding gain-of-function research.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases quipped about the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 when asked about Cruz, one of several GOP lawmakers who has attacked him.

“Yeah. I have to laugh at that. I should be prosecuted? What happened on Jan. 6, senator?” Fauci quipped during an appearance Sunday on CBS News’s Face the Nation.

Complete non-sequitur. As Dan McLaughlin asks, “Is Dr. Fauci under the impression that nobody is being prosecuted for Jan. 6? Or is he saying Ted Cruz should be prosecuted for speech & debate on the Senate floor?”

More Fauci: Fauci would support a 9/11-style commission to study the US response to COVID.

That might not go the way he thinks it might:

● Biden on February 1st, 2020:

Yesterday, Donald Trump further diminished the United States in the eyes of the world by expanding his travel ban, placing new restrictions on the residents of six more nations that limit who is allowed to come to the United States.

Three years ago, he took aim at Muslim-majority nations. This time, he targeted primarily African…

And there is no evidence that they do anything to make us safer. If anything, they endanger the best tools we have to fight terrorism — our globe-spanning network of alliances and partnerships. They erode our moral standing in the world and make it less likely that other nations will work with us to take on terrorist threats before they can reach our shores.

Immigrants from each of these countries and their broader diaspora communities here in the United States enrich the larger fabric of American life as our friends and neighbors and make vital contributions to our economy. They make our nation stronger. The United States has a meaningful history of offering safety and opportunity to peoples of every nation — no matter where they come from, no matter if they are rich or poor, no matter the faith they follow.

Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to destroy that legacy. It’s a disgrace, and we cannot let him succeed.

—Statement from Vice President Joe Biden on Donald Trump’s Expanded Travel Ban, Medium.com

● Nancy Pelosi Visits San Francisco’s Chinatown Amid Coronavirus Concerns. “‘[W]hat we’re trying to do today is to say everything is fine here,’ Pelosi said. ‘Come because precautions have been taken. The city is on top of the situation.’”

—NBC Bay Area, February 24, 2020.

● Kamala Harris says she will be ‘first in line’ for a coronavirus vaccine if health experts approve it, but ‘if Donald Trump tells us we should take it, then I’m not taking it.’

—Business Insider after the debate between Harris and Mike Pence, October 7th, 2020.

● Here’s a montage of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Andrew Cuomo saying not so long ago that you shouldn’t trust the feds, the FDA, and the vaccine.

—Not the Bee, September 11th, 2021.

● Major Milestones in Governor Cuomo’s Nursing Home Deaths Scandals.

● Where Is Cuomo’s Apology for Killing 10,000 People?

● Whitmer Has a Covid Nursing Home Scandal of Her Own: Michigan nursing home death toll ‘could be double’ official count.

● Whitmer to Michigan: Stay Home and Shut Up.

● Why New Orleans Pushed Ahead With Mardi Gras, Even as It Planned for Coronavirus: A cache of internal emails reveals city officials believed chances were “low” that the festivities would help spread the virus, a prediction that proved tragically off base.

UPDATE:

Video montage of Democrat politicians expressing vaccine hesitancy for partisan reasons last year. Today, many Democrat politicians accuse vaccine skeptics or critics as people who want to kill others. pic.twitter.com/GgVmU4YfRL

— Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 28, 2021

More: Politico: Gov. Cuomo wasn’t a good pandemic leader and his daily ‘Cuomo show’ was management by press conference.

JEFF DUNETZ ON THE FIRST OF EIGHT NIGHTS OF CHANUKAH: The True Story And Meaning Of The Hanukkah Holiday.

FAUXCAHONTAS REDUX: Director of Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research in Canada Forced to Resign for Being a Fake.

UNEXPECTEDLY: ABC/NBC Most Concerned With How Omicron Variant Hurts Biden’s Agenda.

With the emergence of the new Omicron Covid variant out of South Africa that’s reportedly more transmissible than Delta, the liberal media’s initial reaction on Sunday was to fret for the future – not in terms of how it could hurt people, but how it could hurt President Biden’s agenda. ABC’s Good Morning America worried about the midterm elections and NBC’s Sunday Today wanted Biden to “use the bully pulpit” against Republicans.

ABC congressional correspondent Rachel Scott was filling in as co-anchor of GMA when she asked deputy political director Averi Harper about how the new variant could be a wet blanket for Biden. “Nearly 150 days ago the President said we were closer to declaring independence from the virus. Now we see this new Covid variant. How much of a challenge does this pose for the President,” she wondered.

“[W]e saw the markets took a nosedive on Friday all because of the omicron variant. So, I would say this poses a significant challenge to the Biden administration, particularly on the economic front,” warned Harper.

Her biggest concern was reserved for how Omicron could damage Biden’s and Democrats’ chances in the midterms[.]

Flashbacks to early March of 2020:

● Chuck Todd: Coronavirus Can Be to Trump Like Iran Hostages Were to Carter.

● ‘She’s actually smiling:’ MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace and guest discuss coronavirus that could become ‘Trump’s Katrina.’

Which dovetails nicely with this quote from Mickey Kaus in 2005: “In short, Katrina gives them a way to talk about Iraq without talking about Iraq. No wonder Gwen Ifill smiles the ‘inner smile.’”

Just think of the media as Democratic Party operatives with bylines, and it all makes sense.

‘IMMIGRATION IS WAR:’ an interview with Éric Zemmour.

For Zemmour, the most craven expression of this hyper-individualism is militant political correctness — “le wokeisme.” He calls it “hypersensitivity to the rights of the individual, a generalized offensive against French and western culture, against the white heterosexual man. These people want above all to make the French and all westerners feel guilty, ashamed of their history, so that they amputate themselves, destroy themselves, abandon their culture, their civilization, simply so that they no longer feel guilty.”

This wokeness, he argues, is a kind of Trojan horse for the Islamification of formerly Christian nations. “It is by destroying our cultures, our history, that they make a clean sweep of all that and allow a foreign culture, history and civilization to come and replace it.”

Such talk — echoing as it does “the great replacement theory” of Renaud Camus — causes consternation in progressive circles. Somebody, probably David Aaronovitch, will no doubt accuse The Spectator of giving a platform to nativism or white supremacism merely by speaking to him. Yet Zemmour is utterly unabashed about his views and he’s currently second or third in the presidential election polls.

Might his preoccupations with national characteristics, the greatness of French literature and the collapse of western civilization have something to do with the fact that he is himself an immigrant child? His parents were Berber Jews from Algeria. His grandfather spoke better Arabic than French. His father drove an ambulance.

“What my family has done in terms of assimilating French culture should be an example,” he says, proudly. “I am a product of French colonialization. I am not one of these people who condemn the French colonizer. I say thank you.

Earlier:

● Jared Bernstein, member of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisors: “One thing we learned in the 1990s was that a surefire way to reconnect the fortunes of working people at all skill levels, immigrant and native-born alike, to the growing economy is to let the job market tighten up. A tight job market pressures employers to boost wage offers to get and keep the workers they need. One equally surefire way to sort-circuit this useful dynamic is to turn on the immigrant spigot every time some group’s wages go up.”

● Former Trump administration senior adviser Stephen Miller: Biden’s Immigration Plan Would “Erase America’s Nationhood.”

● “Labour wanted mass immigration to make UK more multicultural, says former adviser. Labour threw open Britain’s borders to mass immigration to help socially engineer a ‘truly multicultural’ country, a former Government adviser has revealed.”

● 69 Percent of Hispanics Disapprove of Biden’s Handling of Immigration.

● Tom Cotton’s Response to Kamala Harris’ Border Failures Should Be the Default for All Republicans: “‘You know, Laura, Kamala Harris didn’t have to go all the way to Guatemala and Mexico to find the root causes of this border crisis because they’re not there,’ Cotton told Fox News host Laura Ingraham earlier this week. ‘The root causes are in the White House.’ He further explained that it ‘happened on January 20th when Joe Biden took office, and he essentially opened our borders, reversing very effective policies that had our borders under control.’”

A core theme of the midterm and presidential elections won’t be too hard to figure out:

OH, YOKO! Beatles Fans* Think ‘Get Back’ Dispels The Idea That Yoko Ono Broke The Band Up And Peter Jackson Agrees.

* Not all of us, sunshine. Plus, doesn’t the author get that Peter Jackson had to keep the representative of John Lennon’s estate happy so that she would sign off on the production of the miniseries?

GREAT MOMENTS IN IDENTITY POLITICS: CNN columnist predicts “Harris and Buttigieg could be allies instead of rivals” in 2024:

THE GASLIGHTING WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES: One Target store. One huge spike in shoplifting reports. What does it mean for San Francisco?

A closer look at the data shows that the spike in reported shoplifting came almost entirely from one store: the Target at 789 Mission St. in the Metreon mall. In September alone, 154 shoplifting reports were filed from the South of Market intersection where the Target stands, up from 13 in August. And then, in October, the reports from this intersection went down again to 17.

What happened at this particular Target? Did the store see a huge spike in shoplifting in September? No, said store manager Stacy Abbott. The store was simply using a new reporting system implemented by the police that allows retailers to report crime incidents over the phone.

When asked why the shoplifting reports had decreased again in October, Abbott said she wouldn’t be able to answer any more questions and directed The Chronicle to the Police Department as well as Target’s media team, which did not answer questions either.

Officer Robert Rueca, a police spokesperson, said the new reporting system was accessible to other businesses and individuals on weekdays, not just the Target. He did not respond to questions about how long the system had been in place or whether the department had seen an increase in shoplifting incidents from other stores since the system’s implementation (publicly available data does not show such an increase).

Though the spike seen in the data generates more questions than answers, one thing is clear: A single (albeit large and busy) store’s decision to report a majority of its shoplifting incidents doubled the entire city’s monthly shoplifting rates.

As Ace of Spades co-blogger Arthur Kimes tweets, “In other words, if the rest of the stores in SF reported shoplifting AS IT ACTUALLY OCCURS then the reported amount of shoplifting in SF would be shockingly high.”

Though to be fair, it’s the San Francisco Chronicle, so I can understand why they’d be angered by accurate reporting.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Canadian school district cancels speech by ISIS rape survivor, Nobel winner due to ‘Islamophobia’ fears. The author was sold into sex slavery by ISIS at age 14.

ANOTHER CHARITY GETS WOKE: Goodwill Embraces Critical Race Theory, Hires “Director of Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.”

Related: Salvation Army’s racism guide tells White Americans racism is ‘systemic’ and colorblindness is harmful.

I blame Frau Farbissina for founding the militant wing of the Salvation Army:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEEATse7jL0

THE BEATLES ‘GET BACK’ IN PETER JACKSON’S NEW THREE-PART DOCUMENTARY: And I take a deep, deep dive into the new Disney+ miniseries over at Ed Driscoll.com.

(Bumped.)

THE ORC INVASION: Contra Costa District Attorney Announces Arrest and Charges Against the Defendants in Organized Retail Theft Operation.

The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office announces Felony charges have been filed related to the retail thefts at Nordstrom, Walnut Creek on November 20, 2021, when approximately 90 individuals stormed the Nordstrom Department Store in Walnut Creek simultaneously using three separate entrances.

Three people have been arrested by the Walnut Creek Police Department:

Dana Dawson, 30; Joshua Underwood 32 and Rodney Robinson 19.

“The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office is committed to working with the Walnut Creek Police Department and our retail community to hold those involved in retail theft accountable. We are committed to stopping those who participate in organized retail theft, which has adverse and costly impacts on business owners and consumers as well” stated District Attorney Diana Becton.

The copy of the complaint and charges are attached. The defendants will be arraigned on the Felony charges on November 29, 2021 @ 1:30 p.m. in Department 25 of the Contra Costa Superior Court.

Here’s a link to the complaint docket:

On or about November 20, 2021, in the County of Contra Costa, State of California, the crime of Conspiracy
To Commit A Crime in violation of PC182(a)(1 ), a Felony, was committed in that DANA NIKA DAWSON
AND JOSHUA NOEL WILLIAM UNDERWOOD AND RODNEY BARONE ROBINSON did unlawfully
conspire together and with another person and persons whose identity is unknown to commit the crime of
Robbery, Burglary and Organized Retail Theft, in violation of Section 211, 459/460(b), 490.4 of the Penal
Code, a felony; that pursuant to and for the purpose of carrying out the objectives and purposes of the
aforesaid conspiracy, the said defendants, DANA NIKA DAWSON AND JOSHUA NOEL WILLIAM
UNDERWOOD AND RODNEY BARONE ROBINSONs committed the following overt act and acts at and in
the County of Contra Costa:
1. Approximately 90 individuals stormed the Nordstrom Department Store in Walnut Creek simultaneously
using three separate entrances.
2. Most of individuals arrived at the Nordstrom in cars that were missing license plates, were cold plated or
had temporary registration tags. Approximately 25 cars were strategically parked in front of Nordstrom
preventing emergency crews from accessing the location.
3. Several of the individuals storming Nordstrom were armed with weapons including crowbars and
hammers.
4. Nordstrom employee Flamm was pepper sprayed by a member of the group.
5. Nordstrom employee Acasio was kicked and punched in the face by a member of the group.
6. Nordstrom employee Rydman was assaulted with a knife by a member of the group.
7. Nordstrom employee Juarez-Ruis was struck in the head by a member of the group.
8. The group stole over $100,000.00 worth of merchandise from the store in approximately one minute.

ENHANCEMENT1
PC12022.53(b): Special Allegation-Personal Use Of A Firearm
It is further alleged as to Count 1 that said defendant, DANA NIKA DAWSON personally used a firearm, a
Glock 29 9mm handgun, within the meaning of Penal Code Section 12022.53(b) also causing the above
offense to become a serious felony pursuant to Penal Code section 1192.7(c)(8) and a violent felony within
the meaning of Penal Code section 667.5(c)(8).

ENHANCEMENT 2
PC12022.5(a): Special Allegation-Use Of Firearm
It is further alleged as to Count 1 that in the commission and attempted commission of the above offense,
the said defendant, DANA NIKA DAWSON, personally used a firearm(s), to wit: Glock 26 9mm handgun,
within the meaning of Penal Code sections 1203.06(a)(1) and 12022.S(a) also causing the above offense to
become a serious felony pursuant to Penal Code section 1192. 7( c)(8) and a violent felony within the
meaning of Penal Code section 667.S(c)(B).

Or as America’s Newspaper of Record reports: San Francisco Stores Hold 100% Off Black Friday Sale.

In other news from California’s ORC invasion: Security guard killed while protecting news crew covering a flash mob robbery in Oakland.

(Classical reference in headline.)

XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT! WHO skipped two Greek alphabet letters in naming coronavirus variant.

AL GORE HARDEST HIT: Arctic Sea Freezes Early, Trapping 18 Ships in Ice Near Russia.

TO BE FAIR, FEW ARE FOLLOWING CNN EVEN ON THEIR BEST DAYS: CNN Reports Study Questioning Climate Change Models On Thanksgiving Day When Few Are Following News.

QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED: Whose Land Did Native Americans Steal Before Europeans Stole It From Them?