SPOILER: HE DIDN’T. Tucker Carlson Responds to Claims That He Inspired Buffalo Shooter.

OH: Putin on Sweden and Finland: Never mind.

Most of the Russian saber-rattling over Finland and Sweden applying to join NATO seemed to come to a halt this morning. After threatening “military-technical” action in response to any further expansion of the alliance along Russia’s western border, Vladimir Putin executed what appears to be an about-face on the topic while addressing a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Rather than talking about expanding the war beyond the borders of Ukraine, Putin said Russia has “no problem” with those states being accepted as members. He added some caveats after that which could produce additional tensions in the region, but for the most part, it sounded as if he has made his peace with the new state of affairs. Of course, we should keep in mind that Putin says a lot of things, only to turn around the do the exact opposite later.

He already had more on his plate than he could handle.

THEN THROW AWAY THE FORK: Put a Fork in Portland.

Portland use to be one of my favorite towns to visit. It had fun bars and groovy thrift stores. Now it looks like Detroit on a bender.

The difference between my hometown, the Motor City, and Portland is that Portland’s death was intentional. Whereas Detroit was murdered by a perfect storm of crotch-kicks from the auto industry and a racist, corrupt mayor, Portland was killed by its own citizens and the Democratic Party.

I should have seen what the future of Portland would look like. The last time I was there was in 2010. Everything seemed fine except for the huge homeless population. Note to self: when you have hundreds of drugged-out homeless people living wherever they want in a town, death is nigh.

As I was walking through a park to get to a comedy club I suddenly realized I was hip-deep in homeless people (situational awareness was not a strength of mine). It looked like I was walking through the set of The Walking Dead.

Judging by the “aroma,” I assumed I was treading through their lavatory.

Read the whole thing.

WINSTON SMITH, CALL YOUR OFFICE: The Left Is STILL Trying To Erase The Scalise Shooter.

LAYERS OF EDITORS AND FACTCHECKERS: Reuters Uses Image of Paintball Guns in Ukraine War Story.

LEFTY VIOLENCE IS PROTECTED SPEECH:

MEGAN FOX: 5 Ways Johnny Depp Lawyer Wrecked Amber Heard on Cross-Examination.

EVERYTHING GETS HACKED: Bluetooth hack compromises Teslas, digital locks, and more. “Using what’s known as a ‘link layer relay attack,’ security consulting firm NCC Group was able to unlock, start, and drive vehicles and unlock and open certain residential smart locks without the Bluetooth-based key anywhere in the vicinity.”

This one doesn’t seem to be out in the real world, or at least not yet.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR WEEKLY INSANITY WRAP: Is Elon Musk Trying to Buy Twitter — Or Humiliate It? “Was it ever Musk’s plan to buy Twitter and turn it into a haven for free speech, or did he just want to expose the company as nothing more than a house of virtual cards?”

Plus:

• “I thought you were a dude, my bad”
• Breast milk for sale, cheap
• Biden will stop inflation with fairness because of climate change

So much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

DON’T BOTHER THEM WITH FACTS, THEY’VE MADE UP THEIR MINDS: MSNBC Claims Homeschooling Is Driven By ‘Insidious Racism,’ But the Facts Show Otherwise. “According to the Census Bureau, the number of black homeschoolers increased fivefold between spring and fall of 2020, from 3.3 percent to 16.1 percent. Black children were overrepresented in the homeschooling population compared to the overall K-12 public school population.”

CULTURE OF DEPENDENCY: Wait, What? HALF of Infants in the U.S. Are on WIC?!

COLD WAR MEMORIES: A Funny Thing Happened When the KGB Tapped My Phone. “A vehicle pulled in and several people got out. In the middle of the group was the Chief of Station. He looked over, saw me taking photographs, and rather energetically flipped me off. Several times. He may have said something as well, but I couldn’t make it out. I waved as he went inside, then resumed my walk.”

YOU CAN’T FIRE ME, I QUIT: Fauci Accidentally Gives the Nation the Best Reason to Vote Trump in 2024.

XI’S GOTTA HAVE IT: China’s economy skids as lockdowns hit factories, retailers. “Factory production fell 2.9% from a year earlier, dashing expectations for a rise and the largest decline since February 2020, as anti-virus measures snarled supply chains and paralysed distribution.”

PJ MEDIA VIP ROUNDUP: Don’t forget that VODKAPUNDIT promo code if you’ve been thinking of joining us.

Kevin Downey Jr: This Race War Is Brought to You by CNN, Not Tucker Carlson. “The only time the lefties pray is when there is a mass shooting and they want the shooter to be white. Bonus if the shooter is white and the victims are minorities. That’ll keep the race-ghoulies at CNN and MSNBC buzzing for weeks.”

Matt Margolis: Biden Really Wants Us to Forget He Used to Support Defunding the Police. “Not only did Biden support defunding the police, but he also has embraced soft-on-crime policies, like ending cash bail, which has contributed to sharp increases in crime nationwide.”

Yours Truly: Crash & Burn: Woke Disney in ‘Full-Blown Public Relations Fiasco.’ “Century-old billion-dollar corporation that spends tons on marketing barely more popular than divisive politician is not the win you think it is.”

WHY BOTHER? Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine Protection Against Omicron Fades Just Weeks After Second And Third Doses, Study Finds.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Kamala Harris Exists to Make Joe Biden Seem Coherent. “While I don’t like to attribute any competence to Team Biden, I am beginning to think that his handlers had Kamala Harris in mind for the second spot on the ticket all along.”

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY:

More: ‘Apocalyptic’: Why experts fear a steep surge in food prices.

LEFTISM’S ENDGAME: Could It Happen Here? 200 Dead, as Sri Lanka Literally Runs Out of Gas.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How to build a wormhole in just 3 (nearly impossible) steps.

HEH: JK Rowling blasts Antifa members for ‘dressing up like ninjas’ to fight against women’s rights. “There is no conflict between women’s rights and our ideology. To prove it, we’ve dressed up as ninjas to block public access to a statue of a suffragette.”

THAT MANY? Only 3 of the Top 100 Colleges Are Featuring Conservative Graduation Speakers This Year.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Samsung prepares to raise chip production prices by up to 20%. “Samsung has been relatively stable with its pricing throughout 2021, while other firms pushed ahead to increase prices. However, multiple risks including the Ukraine war and lockdowns in China is making it harder for Samsung to weather the storm.”

RICHARD FERNANDEZ: The War of the Zombie Empires. “Overall it’s a whole new world for all the players on the planet. The old Security Council members aren’t what they used to be. The only question is: who can adapt most effectively to the changed situation when they all have legacy baggage? In a manner of speaking the present is dominated by zombie empires run by ossified elites committed to 20th-century agendas.”

CHANGE? Growing evidence of a military disaster on the Donets pierces a pro-Russian bubble.

“I’ve been keeping quiet for a long time,” Yuri Podolyaka, a war blogger with 2.1 million followers on Telegram, said in a video posted on Friday, saying that he had avoided criticizing the Russian military until now.
“The last straw that overwhelmed my patience was the events around Bilohorivka, where due to stupidity — I emphasize, because of the stupidity of the Russian command — at least one battalion tactical group was burned, possibly two.”

Mr. Podolyaka ridiculed the Kremlin line that the war is going “according to plan.” He told his viewers in a five-minute video that, in fact, the Russian Army was short of functional unmanned drones, night-vision equipment and other kit “that is catastrophically lacking on the front.”

“Yes, I understand that it’s impossible for there to be no problems in war,” he said. “But when the same problems go on for three months, and nothing seems to be changing, then I personally and in fact millions of citizens of the Russian Federation start to have questions for these leaders of the military operation.”
Another popular blogger, who goes by Starshe Eddy on Telegram, wrote that the fact that commanders left so much of their force exposed amounted to “not idiocy, but direct sabotage.”

And a third, Vladlen Tatarski, posted that Russia’s eastern offensive was moving slowly not just because of a lack of surveillance drones but also “these generals” and their tactics.

Not good news for the Kremlin if they’re losing control of the narrative.