Cultural Shift
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X that the bureau has “officially terminated” all ties with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-leaning civil rights organization founded in 1971 that has long been used as a “trusted” source of extremism designations despite its deep ideological bias.
This move follows a letter from conservative leaders, including CEOs from Moms for Liberty and Turning Point Action, urging President Trump to issue an executive order barring federal agencies from using SPLC data, citing its politicization and history of inspiring violence against targeted groups.
It’s the second such severance, following the FBI’s decision to also cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League amid similar criticisms of an agenda-driven intelligence approach.
For years, the SPLC blurred lines between genuine threats and mainstream political or religious groups it happened to dislike—smearing first, investigating later.
Initially focused on representing the poor in the segregated South, the group shifted in the 1980s under co-founder Morris Dees to a lucrative “combating hate” model, using its Intelligence Project to track the declining Ku Klux Klan while raising millions from donors. These efforts led to the resignation of its entire legal team, who accused it of turning noble work into a fundraising scheme.
By the 2000s, its infamous “hate map” began lumping conservative organizations like the Family Research Council (labeled an “anti-LGBT” hate group, inspiring a 2012 armed attack on its headquarters), Alliance Defending Freedom, and Moms for Liberty (likened to 1950s segregationist Klans for opposing particular school curricula) alongside neo-Nazis and actual extremists, often inflating counts by listing local chapters separately or including defunct entities to exaggerate the threat.
Internal scandals compounded the issues: Dees was fired in 2019 amid allegations of sexual harassment and racial discrimination, with former employees calling the hate designations a “con” for bilking donors, and one staffer was later charged with domestic terrorism for rioting against police. Despite a billion-dollar endowment, the SPLC’s left-biased listings have drawn lawsuits for defamation, although most have been dismissed on technical grounds.
By severing that relationship, the Bureau is signaling (at least on paper) a willingness to rely less on partisan activist lists and more on credible intelligence, echoing Patel’s April 2025 pledge during an Anti-Christian Bias Panel to reject “politicized or agenda-driven” sources, especially after revelations of FBI memos using SPLC data to target traditional Catholic groups as potential radicals.
Observers note that this could mark a broader recalibration under the Trump administration, where agencies like the FBI prioritize operational independence over progressive advocacy partnerships that have, at times, blurred the line between law enforcement and cultural warfare.
Bullet Points:
** Testing 1-2-3-4
** (NY Sun) “The Department of Justice has its work cut out for it. But for many of us inside the FBI and within the retired FBI ranks who have long been nauseated by ‘The Comey Show’ and feel his pious sanctimony about playing ‘fast and loose’ with the justice system — as applied to a president he viewed as an ‘existential threat to democracy’ — this is a just and righteous reckoning,” former FBI agent James Gagliano tells the Sun.
** Closing time…
** The U.S. Navy has relieved Commander Adam Ochs of his command of the USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) following what officials described as a “loss of confidence” in his ability to lead the littoral combat ship. The announcement was made from Manama, Bahrain, where the vessel is deployed under Commander, Task Force 55. According to the Navy’s statement, Capt. Kelley Jones, Commander of Task Force 55, relieved Ochs of command, with Cmdr. Jeff Steiner is temporarily assuming command until Cmdr. Linzy Lewis of the ship’s Gold Crew takes over. The USS Santa Barbara remains deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, covering the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. Ochs, who had commanded the ship since November 2023, has been reassigned to Commander, Naval Surface Group Southwest.
(VM Comment – I don’t know CDR Ochs. And I don’t want to sound snarky when somebody’s career was just bilged. Commanding anything can be demanding, but when you can’t confidently and effectively command a blue crew on an LCS and you’ve been the CO for two years and an XO on a CG before that, there is something seriously wrong.)
** This one is for Steve H – nobody else will appreciate it, Steve.
** Ukraine has reportedly struck a Russian Buyan-M missile corvette stationed more than 1,000 km inside Russian territory, marking one of Kyiv’s deepest long-range attacks to date. The strike targeted the vessel in Russia’s Lake Onega, demonstrating the expanding reach and precision of Ukraine’s indigenous long-range weapons. This unprecedented assault underscores a new phase in Ukraine’s strategic warfare, directly challenging Moscow’s inland naval assets and signaling a growing capability to threaten critical military infrastructure far from the front lines.
** What is a woman? Ah, that eternal question. It’s answered here succinctly.
** Healthcare for illegal aliens (NY Post) The Center for Immigration Studies has found that 59% of households headed by an illegal immigrant consume at least one means-tested benefit, with 39% consuming Medicaid specifically.”
The claim that congressional Democrats want to give public health benefits to illegal immigrants is indeed valid. That dispute is minor, however, compared to the broader reality that unlawful immigrants already consume public health benefits through other pathways. Perhaps the most obvious is emergency Medicaid.
Illegal immigrants who show up in emergency rooms, including expectant mothers, will generally have their health care expenses covered by federal taxpayers. Another avenue is state-level programs. California, Illinois, and New York are among the approximately 14 states that fund coverage for illegal immigrant children. Some states even provide health benefits to illegal alien adults.
** The font of all wisdom – speaks.
Professional Decline
Boron (a retired dental surgeon) mentioned the other day in a commentary on the VM Blog that he felt a certain degree of frustration with the issue of professional decline with age. The graphic (right) is from the Atlantic, and I’m not referencing them in this small commentary of my own. I liked the graphic.
Anyone who has lived long enough to “retire” or shift careers after fifty for whatever reason has experienced this. I have no advice for anyone, and I’m not going to hold myself out as the poster child for success after the drop-off. Yes, I write books, but don’t make money doing it. I write out of compulsion more than for any valid reason. Will the upcoming series, Confederate Cypher, etc., be a commercial success? I can almost guarantee you that, based on past experiences, it will not. I write because I enjoy it. I blog because I want to, and sometimes something drops into my lap, whether it’s criminal defense work or foreign intrigue of some sort (based on my past life) that pays. It becomes my day job, and I do those things because I enjoy doing them. In my later years, I have to try more things to find something that I can feel successful at. Fortunately, I’m very curious.
Geology was a blind alley, but I enjoyed learning, so it’s not as much of a blind alley as you’d think. I didn’t inherit anything, so I rely on a blend of double/triple dipping to keep the lights on. I paid into these systems, and today they pay back. And the day jobs supplement the whole of it. As I explained to MRSLL the other day, there are very few places where I can work and earn a significant paycheck due to my age and the accompanying decline in physical capacity. So I have to be more creative. Sometimes it works, more often it does not.
Border Violence & Cuba
(h/t Claudio & Strategypage) The Ukraine war has been underway for three and a half years, creating a violent atmosphere along the border with Ukraine. A growing number of armed Russian soldiers are operating as criminal gangs, stealing what they can and living off plunder. Local Russian police are unable to control this mayhem. In some cases, the police establish an understanding with these groups of armed ex-soldiers to stay out of each other’s way. Civilians who complain to local government officials are advised to move away from the border area until the violence subsides. The central government in Moscow doesn’t want to be bothered with this border violence issue and tells local officials to handle it as best they can. If any of these violent groups attempt to advance further into Russia, soldiers will be sent to prevent the spread of the violence.
Russia believes the situation will worsen as more soldiers desert or are allowed to go home after their tour of duty ends. Most of these marauding soldiers are deserters. Desertion has been increasing, and Russian officers are either unable or unwilling to address it, letting the armed deserters go. Morale among Russian soldiers in Ukraine is about as low as it can get. Officers commanding units at the front do what they can to keep troops in defensive positions. Attacks still occur, but these usually involve units that haven’t been destabilized by poor morale and leadership.
Russia has been hiring more mercenaries and using them for attacks. Initially, it was North Korean soldiers, but now there are mercenary recruits from Central Asian countries bordering Russia, as well as nations like Cuba. The Cubans still depend on Russia for oil and other supplies and have not interfered with Russian efforts to recruit Cuban men to fight in Ukraine. The Russians offer high pay and equally generous death benefits. Cuba’s economy is in decline, with frequent power outages throughout the island nation. In response, Russia has increased its aid to Cuba. This has enabled Cuban hotels and resorts to stay in business, catering to a growing number of Russians flying in for vacations to escape the economic chaos back home.
Russia is seeking economic and military assistance wherever it can find it. Financial aid is scarce, especially since NATO countries are making it more difficult and expensive for Russia to export its oil and natural gas. Despite this, European nations continue to spend over $200 billion annually to purchase Russian oil and natural gas. The Americans are pressuring their European allies to reduce and eventually end their purchases of Russian oil and natural gas. That’s easier said than done.
Boat Camping – With EdB
Virginia Politics
I don’t live in VA and don’t have a personal stake in big doings in the Old Dominion, but sometimes things drop in over the transom and it’s worth commenting on. Sometimes commenting on the comments is better. Abigail Spanberger is a former CIA case officer who is running for Governor of Virginia. She loves to reference her time at CIA and give the impression that she was a “high speed-low drag” operator on the cutting edge of counterterrorism operations and national security.
“I’m a former CIA officer. I used to sit across the table from some people and have some tough conversations where we didn’t agree about anything except avoiding a nuclear war between our two countries…”
That never happened. She’s what is referred to in the trades as a “five-year hire plan.” The reference to the “five-year hire plan” refers to a specific employment pattern at the CIA. Young people join, complete training, stumble through at most one overseas tour (she was in Western Europe), and then depart, padding their resumes with references to time at CIA and claims they were out on the street doing dangerous work in the shadows when, in truth, they spent all their time in the office on their computers.
Both her male and female colleagues referred to her as “the newspaper clipper girl.” It’s a derogatory comment intended to imply that Spanberger acquired essentially no classified intelligence and handled no valuable sources. She attempted to pass off open-source information readily available in the local press as intel to give Headquarters and her superiors the impression that she was doing something of importance.
Many people who have known her and worked with her refer to her as somewhat vacuous/hollow, which one might think would be the perfect resume for a politician.
Identify the Aircraft
1
2
3
Identify the Armor
4
Parting Shot
End
1 – De Havilland DH82 Tiger Moth
2 – Italian Agusta A.106
3 – de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk
4 – SA M33 and 240 mm gun
Very good!
IDA:
1. de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth, a British biplane designed in the 1930s.
2. Agusta A.106, a single-seat light helicopter developed in the 1960s for the Italian Navy.
3. de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk, a tandem two-seat, single-engine primary trainer aircraft.
IDARMOR:
4. The M33 was a temporary solution created by converting M31 tank recovery vehicles, which were based on the M3 Lee/Grant medium tank chassis.
“What is a woman?”
Was Rosanne Barr ever considered funny? Why?
When she was first doing stand-up before her ‘fame’, she was funny. She and Sam Kinnison used to riff off of each other at the Comedy Shop in Los Angeles and they were very funny on stage.
Are you conflating Roseanne Barr with Rosie O’Donnell?
could be confusing them
She was funny. People around her, like Tom Arnold, not so much.
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The reboot of her show was good until they got rid of her. Funny, topical, and good.
1 to be really exact is painted in period RAAF colours and squadron numbers. The current Australian airforce markings with the red kangaroo were adopted later in 1956.
Thx. I didn’t know that.
Interesting that you should mentiion Abigail Spanberger’s career with the CIA in the same posting as my whine about my present uselessness/inability to find employment as anything other than a grocery bagger.
After good, solid vetting, I can think of no better reservoir of CIA (and other intelligence agencies) employees than the elderly who still have their wits about them and are able to read and understand the varieties of English spoken and written in CONUS (plus foreign languages “more, better”).
We can work from home at varying hours (rather than trying to get back to sleep after an oh dark hundred nature call) at minimum (gratefully received) pay depending on the quality and quantity of work accomplished. Veterans placed at the front of the line.
There are already many of us presently with many more to come along shortly (unless the COVID shots accomplish their mission (just kiddin’).
BTW: the term “dental surgeon” (although the degree is Doctor of Dental Surgery) implies that I’m/was a “toot’ yanker”
to the contrary, I was one more interested in (and limited my practice to) retaining teeth per endodontics (root canal).
For the record:
I am not opposed to medical care for those persons who are in this country illegally.
The medical (and dental) schools are forever looking for patients for the students to practice upon (-uh! treat) should the patient be able to pay the (greatly reduced) fees – in out-of-pocket cash (checks tend to either bounce or get lost in the mail) in full at time of treatment. Please note that this may also provide an easy pick-up point for ICE.
From my vantage point (age, work history and location), I look at some of the former CIA/intelligence? agency managerial types that have been exposed in the msm, and wonder just how long I could tolerate working for those jackasses. So those of us “mature” (as in age), self respecting types may not be a good fit.
Agreed, Cletus. Imagine working for a member of The Squad or The View…very much the same experience.
“Young people join, complete training, stumble through at most one overseas tour (she was in Western Europe), and then depart, padding their resumes with references to time at CIA”
Elissa Slotkin, now a senator from Michigan after being a Congressperson. With CIA as her credential to run.
And an idiot.
I’ve seen the same BS amongst ‘crime analysts’ at police departments and other law enforcement agencies. Got a paper saying they’re great, yet they produce nothing but compiled statistics barely showing what happened in the past.
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At the local PD, I did all the predictive work of crime analysts, while watching them flow in and out of jobs, jumping from local to state to federal agencies all while not doing a lick of actual useful work.
Abigale’s time at CIA sounds like what the Japanese used to call “window people”. Those are folks who don’t pack the gear to contribute toward the success of the organization, so they’re assigned desks on the periphery where looking out the window all day gives them something to do whilst keeping them out of the way of the people getting it done.
OFTPOT (One for the price of two) is a common situation at CIA where you have a married team where one produces something somewhat useful and the other is baggage. You can swap male/female in this, I’m not being sexist. I’ve known more than a few OFTPOTs.
I retired at 52 from Ma Bell. My retirement came again from an independent telco at 62. Yesterday, at 80 and one half years, I retired again from 6 different jobs, some civic volunteer positions. I’ve had one day off. Later, I will go on a five mile bicycle (not electric) ride and contemplate————what will be my next gig?
You’ll find one.
I’m thinking of applying for ‘Brutally Honest WalMart Greeter”…could be fun.
“….with former employees calling the hate designations a “con” for bilking donors…”. Goodness me. Can you say “Jesse Jackson” and “shakedown”?
Any of the Black Political Reverends.
** This one is for Steve H – nobody else will appreciate it, Steve.
I can’t: “This content isn’t available right now”
Noted. Steve contacted me back-channel.
Ed, the author has plainly stated only Steve can appreciate it, lol. He and Surly have backdoor keys, I’m assuming. All others can just wonder, what story (ies) could be told ( or not of classified). Documented is the hotline contact of gratitude, 2nd wrong but “my” own warped humorous presumption.
Well, to be fair, Ed IS working from a sketchy sat link while hunkering under his makeshift camper tarp from his sandy low tide location. (Didn’t work for me either, and I have a fully outfitted ‘56 Shasta camper.)
😄
As my [much older by a year] brother reminds “The Boyz” weekly: “Stay Independent & Keep Earning” ™. My next ‘gig’ will be interesting, whatever it ends up being…maybe that basket weaving 101 I heard so much about while attending engineering classes (the Hacky Sack and Frisbee crowd, who for some reason had a lot of time between classes).
***
Abigail Spanberger: Pure poseur working the sales & marketing job on the lemmings. Probably pals with Elizabeth Holmes. Should be drummed out…except she is another Democrat poster child so will skate. Same goes with that —- Jay Jones, who needs to be hauled in and fitted for an orange jumpsuit, but doubtful even that would help adjust the wacko attitude.
***
Blog Bookend Pictures: While the first is brilliantly apropos as a pointed visual in the era we find ourselves (completely intriguing), the last picture showcases the other half who were never told ‘No’ as a child – AND/OR – more likely, morphed into their personal rabid angst (where does that come from). The thing is, when caught by the adults, they demand mercy when consequences are being brought to bear on their addle-brained selves. But they aren’t entirely at fault in this Lunatic Mode, they have examples to follow, like some politicians and operatives who think “because it happened a few moons back”…ahh, never mind, that’s so far in the rearview (Comey is the latest). Funny how they ignore that murder has no statute of limitations but their offense should.
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Was their warped tortured attitudes from getting pilled as the first graphic indicates? Or is this some purposeful intent from the Clot Shot, a weird psychological DNA shift that morphed their brains into living Zombies that act without a single rational thought? Who knows, but they are FAFO’g for a change…finally (hence the high-level screeching of “rights”…all of a sudden now that matters). And No, their crying while getting arrested for bad deeds does not make me lose one minute of adult-earned nap time.
The only “armed” J-6 protesters were the undercover FBI Special Agents.
Tarlov would say everyone was armed…because they have arms, therefore your factual statement above isn’t true. (That’s Lefty-Speak for sidestepping the facts to make EVERYONE culpable for their sole bad behavior. Gutfeld lambasted her for constant use of the “Both Sides” argument to minimize their anarchy and subversiveness).
Tarlov needs to be fitted with a ball gag. What an irrational, shrill, “professional victim,” lefty.
That voice….
The voice does fit the mentality.
#3 The Chipmunk was instantly recognized. I got checked out in one in the late 70’s. It was faster and more responsive than the Cessna 140 I learned how to fly in.
My first paying job was at age five, doing chores for a local widow (pay, $1 a week). Recently, I informed my paper hanging employer I will stop 11/1/2025. Reason? Icy sidewalks and steps at age 81 can be one fall away from assisted living. What next? Shagging vehicles for car dealers, most likely.
As posted elsewhere, my mind says, “Age is just a number”. My body says, “You are an idiot”.
Good riddance to both SPLC and ADL. Both had ‘agenda’ that differed significantly from US policy. Re aging, we do what we can with what we have. And yes, double/triple dipping keeps our heads above water, and writing brings in enough for an occasional cup of coffee/Big Mac… Sigh…
This is a large and engaging post, two things stood out.
The SPLC
The LCS
Both are rubbish and need to be thrown out, but maybe not so fast. Surely the latter could be reconfigured to a Lake Dominance Role (LDR)? I’m thinking Lake Whitney, obviously, but surely there’s a few hulks to go around?
That M33 prime mover is a great example of how durable the M3/M4 chassis was. Some had a functioning 75mm gun while others it was a dummy or removed completely.
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Other examples of repurposing are:
M30 – a cargo carrier for artillery units
M31 – a recovery vehicle equipped with multiple winches and cranes.
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The M30, M31 (all versions) and the M33 served until the end of the war and after in foreign armies.
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Pretty good for the M3 Medium being a ‘worthless stopgap vehicle)(even though it was more powerful in armor and armament than the MkIIIs and MkIVs it went up against in Africa, and definitely overpowered against Japanese armor in the Far East and Pacific theaters.
i appreciate and concur on your analysis of spanberger, she is slime that will do anything to get ahead, yet she is among a host of “ex cia” candidates for office going back to the obammy years. could it be an op? either way, the .gov firings didn’t come soon enough to rid va of our noose in northern va… most of spanxberger’s campaign money came from out of state and even out of country sources, by the millions. jay jones comes from a long line of the perpetually aggrieved. their lt. gov cohort has roots in kazakstan. great bunch of misfits to run the mother of presidents state. i predict they will win, go about their libtard agenda to repay their benefactors and kick off the rebellion of the rurals finally. Lord help us all. of course my predictions seldom come to fruition. but the anger and resentment is palpable out here in the countryside. one, two, more lefty agendas get shoved down our throats…. the rebels out here have nothing left to lose.