Online Gaming Turns Deadly Serious

A New Jersey man faces an attempted murder charge after allegedly flying to Florida and attacking a fellow gamer with a hammer over an online dispute, authorities said.

The two had never met in-person before the suspect showed up at the victim's home in Fernandina Beach over the weekend "apparently to confront the victim," Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said during a press briefing announcing charges in the case.  The incident is believed to have originated from an "online altercation," Leeper said, calling the case "a weird one." 

The suspect, Edward Kang, 20, allegedly gained entry into the victim's home through an unlocked door and -- wearing all-black clothes, gloves and a mask -- attacked him with a hammer when the victim got up from gaming to use the bathroom late Saturday or early Sunday, according to Leeper.

The victim, who is believed to be around the same age as Kang, was able to wrestle his assailant to the ground, Leeper said. He and his stepfather, who was woken up by screams for help, were able to disarm the suspect and restrain him until deputies arrived, Leeper said. 

The victim sustained "severe" head wounds during the assault, the sheriff said. The victim has since been released from a hospital, he said.  Kang was booked into the Nassau County Jail on Sunday and charged with attempted second-degree murder and armed burglary.

 

There's a Stronger Case for Demanding Trump to Step Aside

Yeah, Biden's performance in the debate was terrible-- but he's still making sound decisions and surrounds himself with experienced and practical people  78-year-old Trump has been on the political stage for only eight years-- eight horrible years marked by enough chaos, corruption, and incivility to fill eighty years. Why go back to that?  To build himself up, Trump constantly tears the country down. There is no shining city on the hill. It’s just "mourning" in America.

Trump made more than 30 false claims during the debate (to go with the more than 30,000 liess told during his four years as president).  He dodged the CNN moderators’ questions, took no responsibility for his actions, and blamed others, mainly Biden, for everything that is wrong in the world.

Trump's debate bullshit included numerous claims that CNN and others have already debunked during the current presidential campaign or prior. Trump’s repeat falsehoods included his assertions that some Democratic-led states allow babies to be executed after birth, that every legal scholar and everybody in general wanted Roe v. Wade overturned, that there were no terror attacks during his presidency, that Iran didn’t fund terror groups during his presidency, that the US has provided more aid to Ukraine than Europe has, that Biden for years referred to Black people as “super predators,” that Biden is planning to quadruple people’s taxes, that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 National Guard troops for the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, that Americans don’t pay the cost of his tariffs on China and other countries, that Europe accepts no American cars, that he is the president who got the Veterans Choice program through Congress, and that fraud marred the results of the 2020 election. All complete bullshit.

Trump also added some new false claims, such as his assertions that the US currently has its biggest budget deficit and its biggest trade deficit with China. Both records actually occurred under Trump. 

The debate served as a reminder of what another four years of Trump would look like. More lies, grievance, narcissism, and hate. Supporters say they like Trump because he says whatever he thinks. But he mainly spews raw sewage.  Trump attacks the military. He denigrates the Justice Department and judges. He belittles the FBI and the CIA. He picks fights with allies and cozies up to dictators.

It’s about time that major media organizations published editorials demanding that Trump step aside after his disastrous past eight years on the national scene.

 

Shaboozey - A Bar Song (Tipsy)

Heritage Foundation is Creating a Secret List oif Federal Workers to Target in a Potential Trump Administration

From his home office in small-town Kentucky, a seasoned political operative is quietly investigating scores of federal employees suspected of being hostile to the policies of Donald Trump, a highly unusual and potentially chilling effort that dovetails with broader conservative preparations for a new White House.

Tom Jones and his American Accountability Foundation are digging into the backgrounds, social media posts and commentary of key high-ranking government employees, starting with the Department of Homeland Security. They’re relying in part on tips from his network of conservative contacts, including workers. In a move that alarms some, they’re preparing to publish the findings online.

With a $100,000 grant from the Heritage Foundation, the goal is to post 100 names of government workers to a website this summer to show a potential new administration who might be standing in the way of a second-term Trump agenda — and ripe for scrutiny, reclassifications, reassignments or firings.

The concept of compiling and publicizing a list of government employees shows the lengths Trump’s allies are willing to go to ensure nothing or no one will block his plans in a potential second term. The effort has stunned democracy experts and shocked the civil service community in what they compare with the red scare of McCarthyism. 

Heritage’s Project 2025 proposes reviving the Trump Schedule F policy that would try to reclassify tens of thousands of federal workers as political appointees, which could enable mass dismissals. 

Publicly naming government workers is an “intimidation tactic to try to chill the work of these civil servants,” she said, and part of a broader “retribution agenda” underway this election. “They’re seeking to undermine our democracy,” she said. “They’re seeking to undermine the way that our government works for people.”

 

WaPo Has Fallen to New Lows

Lego Toys Now a Big Black Market Commodity

"Ninjago Ultra Violet", "Percival Graves" and "Velociraptor with Sand Green Back" are just three sought-after Lego mini-figures that were among 600 or more stolen in Los Angeles last month.  In a predawn spree that lasted little more than a minute, the thief stuffed a garbage bag with about $10,000 worth of figurines before sprinting to a waiting car and speeding off.

The heist was one of seven carried out at Bricks & Minifigs outlets in the LA region since April, a $100,000-plus crime spree that, on the heels of other similar incidents, has rattled the growing — but cloistered — world of Lego collectors and merchants. 

The COVID-19 pandemic turbocharged the Lego collecting hobby, with homebound collectors blitzing online resellers in search of coveted items. That drove up prices, experts said, and attracted criminals.  Bricks & Minifigs, a franchised chain with more than 100 locations nationwide, maintains a unique position in the Lego economy. Unlike official Lego stores, Bricks & Minifigs outposts carry valuable sets and figurines no longer in production. Some are sold in their unopened boxes. Others are displayed in glass cases.

These days, Lego encompasses a sprawling, multi-billion dollar ecosystem of toys, video games, retail stores, television shows, films, amusement parks and more.  But in 2003 (unable to adapt to the digital marketplace) the Danish company was close to bankruptcy.  But the company course corrected by getting back to basics — and understanding it needed "to innovate around the brick," he said. That largely came in the form of storytelling.

U.K. to Criminalize Politicians Who Lie?

Trust and confidence in politics has never been lower.  One of the central reasons for this breakdown in trust is the widespread popular belief that some politicians have made a practice of lying to the public. Research published in 2022 showed the British public overwhelmingly wanted lying politicians to face consequences.  A proposal in Wales’ Senedd (Welsh parliament) is seeking to address this issue by introducing new legislation that would criminalize politicians who lie.

If passed, Wales would become the first country in the world to introduce criminal sanctions for lying politicians.  The proposals are being led by the former leader of Plaid Cymru, Adam Price, who has described a “credibility gap” in UK politics as a “gaping chasm.” 

Under the proposals, it would be a criminal offense for a member of the Senedd, or a candidate for election to the Senedd, to wilfully, or with intent to mislead, make or publish a statement that is known to be false or deceptive. Proceedings would have to be brought within six months from the date on which the statement was made.

It would be considered a defense if it could be “reasonably inferred” to be a statement of opinion, or if it were retracted with an apology within 14 days. Being prosecuted for such a law would disqualify a person from being a Senedd member.