Affirmative action ruling ‘a win for students,’ Asian-American student says

The US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, knocked in out of the park past the parking lot in a decision today that bans affirmative action. One student explains what the decision means to him.

'Enraged' Joe Biden loses it on reporter | Rob Schmitt Tonight

Old people who are losing their wits often angrily snap when confronted with situations they don't like. 

Joe Biden did that on Wednesday.

IRS whistleblower: US Attorney Weiss said “he's not the deciding person” on filing Hunter charges

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley spoke with Fox News' Bret Baier about America's two-tiered justice system.

Clearly, if you are president and head of an influence peddling ring, your point man, especially your son, gets special treatment. 

Kudlow: This could be the biggest political scandal in American history

Merrick Garland needs to be impeached.

Joe Biden's brain is going: He says he 'sold a lot of state secrets'

Last Friday, Joe Biden, during a meeting with the prime minister of India on Friday, unsteadily said that he has "sold a lot of state secrets" and "a lot of very important things."

Then he said he was joking. 

Was he?

 

Shopping at Amazon? Do so thru Marathon Pundit

Are you shopping for an item on Amazon? If so, click on the below link and get started. 

It costs you nothing--but if you shop thru Marathon Pundit, I receive a small commission. And doing so costs you nothing extra!

From Doug Ross: Legendary Great Ivan Koloff: The State of Affairs in Washington

Doug Ross presents an exclusive interview with Ivan Koloff. Click on the link for more: Legendary Great Ivan Koloff: The State of Affairs in Washington.

From Da Tech Guy: Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson makes $10 million “growing pains” error with e-signature blunder

As Barack Obama once said, "Elections have consequences." From my post at Da Tech Guy: Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson makes $10 million "growing pains" error with e-signature blunder.

Kendell Marvell cover of Beatles' "I've Got a Feeling"

While no Beatles song is obscure, "I've Got a Feeling," a true songwriting collaboration from Paul McCartney and John Lennon, comes close, as it's a middling effort from their worst album, Let It Be.

While the Beatles version is bluesy, Kendell Marvel, a southern Illionois native, takes "I've Got a Feeling" into the country sphere--and he knocks it out of the park here in a killer live performance.

Biden wraps up speech in Connecticut: "Alright, God save the Queen, man," then gets lost on stage

Yes, Biden, before getting even more confused on stage, ended a speech with "Alright, God save the Queen, man."

25th Amendment time is long past.

Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch found in Illinois

Antioch, Illinois, best known as the onetime home of Kyle Rittenhouse, now has another claim of reknown. Monty Python's Holy Hand Grendade of Antioch. Not really, but yesterday a woman dicovered an anti-tank rocket in her backyard.

From ABC Chicago:

Some residents in unincorporated north suburban Antioch were evacuated after a World War II-era anti-tank rocket was discovered Thursday morning, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said. 

Deputies responded late Thursday morning to the 25000-block of West Third Street for a report of a suspicious item, the sheriff's office said.

A homeowner doing yardwork found something with sharp edges sticking out of the ground Wednesday afternoon, police said. "

Watching my boys play, and I'm just looking at the ground, making sure that there's nothing to, nobody's going to step on anything," Lauren Intzekiotis said.

And for those Monty Python fans, here's the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

New Chicago mayor signs $10 million extension to ShotSpotter program he promised to axe during campaign, aide blames accidental e-signature

Not even Lori Lightfoot exhibited this level of incompetence. 

ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system, at best has mixed results as a crime fighting tool. 

And in Chicago it's not going away just yet.

From CBS Chicago:

During the campaign for Chicago's mayor, newly-elected Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to get rid of it. 

But he just signed on the dotted line to pump even more money into it. CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey has been digging for answers. 

CBS 2 finally heard from Mayor Johnson's office very late Thursday. A spokesperson said the mayor did not physically sign the approval, nor was he notified about the intended use of his e-signature. 

Records show Mayor Johnson's signature on the agreement last week to spend over $10 million on ShotSpotter technology, the same tech he vowed to get rid of when campaigning for Mayor.

Meanwhile, crime is up in Chicago since Johnson, who until recently was a defund the police advocate, was sworn in as mayor.

Biden bribery allegations 'may rise to the level of treason,' GOP rep. says

The Biden family business is influence-peddling. Rep. Keith Self says that Joe Biden's actions "may rise to the level of treason." 

James Comer: Biden mishandled classified docs on a greater scale

US Rep. James Comer (R-KY) says Joe Biden's mishandling of classifed documents tops any misdeeds by Donald Trump.

Bombshell new details revealed in alleged Biden bribery scheme

Just saying, but Richard Nixon was done in by tapes.

We'll walk to Europe before we buy another airline ticket from SAS

Many months ago, last September that is, Mrs. Marathon Pundit bought airline tickets for herself and me from SAS for a flight to Riga, Latvia, with a connecting flight by way of Stockholm, departing Chicago around 4pm on June 18. A month later we were notified that our flight had been moved up in time--up to a redeye 10pm departure.

That was the first warning sign that all would not be well.

Oh, after thousands of blog posts, mostly about politics, I believe I am due one post about myself and how my wife and I have been screwed over. I've helped many others, here's a post for me--and my wife.

Last week, I received an email that our airplane had been switched. Yesterday morning my wife noticed that the seat assignment couldn't be found on the new plane. She retrieved the email from her smartphone, then retrieved her original reservation.

But an hour later, Mrs. Marathon Pundit received an email confirming the cancellation of her flight reservation. 

She didn't cancel it. Or at least knowingly. So Mrs. MP got on the telephone, called the SAS customer care line, 800-221-2350. After 15 minutes of waiting, my wife, a calm woman, of course calmly then suggested that she drive to O'Hare Airport, which is about 15 miles from our home, and find someone at the SAS desk to explain what the hell was going on.

"There is nothing we can do," she was told by the desk agent. A refund--just the taxes--which amounted to about five percent of the total ticket price--was on the way.

Yep, five percent. Ugh.

Meanwhile, I waited at home--still awaiting an agent because reaching a telephone customer care agent would take "more than 10 minutes." About ninety minutes into that call--still waiting to speak to someone--my wife returned home from O'Hare. I had something to do, so she then waited--and waited.

After two hours of waiting for a customer service telephone agent, someone finally picked up. 

And Mrs. Marathon Pundit was told, wait for it that "nothing that could be done." Her reservation was cancelled. She could however, rebook--paying a much higher fare. 

I don't believe any of these SAS agents. If they really wanted to rectify my wife's issue, even on a Sunday, I believe that they could find a supervisor who could quickly correct this error. After all, SAS has a flexible booking policy when you, ahem, purchase tickets. Really? How do I know? It's on the SAS website. "Our 24-hour flexible booking policy," you can read on that website, "allows you to cancel your flight within 24 hours of booking at no charge."

We don't quit easily. So Mrs. Marathon Pundit set her alarm for 3:00am this morning--her plan was to call Stockholm's SAS customer service. 

She was told, again, that "nothing could be done." But that pittance of a refund, five percent of the total ticket price, was coming. Oh joy! An email confirming the miniscule refund information arrived in my wife's email box around 4am this morning. 

Later morning Mrs. Marathon Pundit had to go to work. So then I called. The first agent said, well of course, "nothing could be done." I asked him, "Who cancelled the reservation?" He replied, "It was done from the website."

"How," I replied. He answered back, "It was done from the website."

Take a look at my slightly edited SAS flight reservation.

BOOKING CONFIRMATION

Here's your booking reference and information about your trip. If you want to know more about what is included in your ticket type and its cancellation and rebooking rules, you can do so here.

Booking ref ####### Change booking   Cancel booking

OUTBOUND

Notice "cancel booking" on the far right. Don't forget, my wife insists she didn't cancel her reservation. But is the SAS system so ridiculously sensitive that brushing up against the "cancel booking" link, could, well, cancel it? I don't know. And SAS isn't saying anything definitive regarding issue. Oh, depending on your browser, the "cancel booking" link might be obscured by a graphic. But it's there, I assure you.

If that is the case about cancelling, then not only does SAS suck, so does their internet interface. Is there an "Are you sure you want to cancel" prompt? If Mrs. MP did indeed accidentally "butt dial" that link, then the SAS internet interface is reckless. Again, I said "if."

The first customer service agent I spoke to said I can file a complaint on the SAS website. But I can't. I discovered that only grievances on concluded flights can be filed. So I called customer service again. A woman answered this time, she gave me a step-by-step explanation how I can file a complaint about an upcoming flight. And where on the website I can file a grievance.

It didn't work again.

So I called customer service a third time. If you are keeping track, this is the fifth customer service call my wife and I made to SAS in less than 24 hours.

That agent, in a forty-minute call--I was on hold a lot--was the best of the bunch. She explained to me that the prior agent was wrong, you cannot file a customer service complaint on a future flight from the SAS website.

If an SAS agent was incorrect about the how the website works, then perhaps my wife didn't cancel her SAS flight reservation. 

However, there was some good news that the last agent gave me. Since my wife's original flight was changed, she was entitled to a full refund for her ticket, which, if the last agent is correct, should arrive in a few days. But why did we only learn this after five, yes, five phone calls?

So all is well for us with SAS? 

No. 

For starters, that refund hasn't arrived yet.

As for me, my flight plans are unchanged. But at a considerable extra expense, Mrs. Marathon Pundit had to make--with another airline because we don't trust SAS--new travel arrangements that our quite inconvenient for her. Oh, did I say, "at a considerable extra expense?" I did.

All because, maybe, my wife accidentally "butt dialed," or maybe "thumb dialed" a cancellation of her flight reservation because the SAS website is poorly designed. 

Do such things happen to other people? 

I suspect they do.

Does SAS care? 

I suspect they don't. Because SAS can sell my wife's Flight SK946 seat to someone else for a lot more on a date that is only a few days away from departure.

I have already filed a complaint with the US Department of Transporation. 

We are considering legal action. Not just because of the unexpected cash outlay we have to suffer, but because of the aggravation and stress we have been compelled to endure.

As I told a customer service agent this morning, "Unless SAS fairly compensates us, we'll walk to Europe before we buy another SAS ticket."

Hello SAS? I am at john "dot" ruberry "at" sbclobal.net.

From Da Tech Guy: Disney’s Fahrenheit 2023

Censorship starts small. 

More from my post at Da Tech Guy: Disney’s Fahrenheit 2023.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant - Gallows Pole (Live)

Led Zeppelin on their third album took an ancient folk song, "Gallows Pole," and made it their own. 

Here are Robert Plant and Jimmy Page performing it.

Joe Biden gets VERY confused after ending his speech in North Carolina

This scene is embarrassing for America.

Bud Light is no longer America's best selling beer

Dylan Mulvaney has done to Bud Light what Eric Idle's S. Frog character had done to a fictional Monty Python brand, Conquistador Coffee. 

He has destroyed it.

Boycotts work.

From Newsweek:

Modelo Especial is now "the number one" beer in America, its U.S. distributor has said, after sales data showed it outsold longtime industry leader Bud Light in recent weeks.

Modelo Especial store sales topped $333 million in the four weeks ending May 28, a 15.6 percent rise on the same period last year, compared with Bud Light's $297 million, a 22.8 percent fall, according to Circana/IRI data figures obtained by Newsweek via Constellation Brands, the Mexican beer's U.S. distributor.

Separate NielsenIQ sales data obtained by Newsweek via industry consultancy firm Bumps Williams Consulting showed Modelo Especial's sales were about $341.9 million in the week ending May 27, compared with Bud Light sales of about $298.6 million.

Bill Newlands, the chief executive officer of Constellation, said the four-week jump had happened "quicker than we had anticipated."

Winning!

Mark Dice on the latest Trump indictment: "We're a failing nation"

Yes, sadly, we have a two-tiered justice system.

Verbal stumbles no longer Joe Biden's 'biggest problem'

But first, some laughs at the expense of Justin Trudeau.

White House finally addresses Biden's commencement fall: 'Things happen'

Joe Biden is too old to be president.

'Dumpster fire': 'The View' torched for 'racist comments' after Tim Scott's 'ambush'

Leftists are quite insecure. That explains why they can't tolerate black conservatives like Clarence Thomas and Tim Scott.

Shopping on Amazon? Do so thru Marathon Pundit--it costs you nothing extra

Are you shopping for an item on Amazon? If so, click on the below link and get started. 

It costs you nothing--but if you shop thru Marathon Pundit, I receive a small commission. And doing so costs you nothing extra!

From Doug Ross: The Origins of the Global Warming Scam

Doug Ross, in his Substack, looks back at the climate change racket: The Origins of the Global Warming Scam.

10 dead and at least 43 others wounded over weekend in Chicago

Violence remains at a high level in Chicago. After the most violent Memorial Day weekend since 2016, the recently concluded weekend was a terrible one as well, with ten people shot to death and at least 43 others wounded. 

There was a mass shooting, at a celebration of life gathering memorializing an automobile accident victim, in Austin on the West Side. One woman, the girlfriend of the deceased, was killed and six others were wounded. 

From Da Tech Guy, Let’s go Brandon: a violent start to Brandon Johnson’s Chicago mayoralty

Memorial Day weekend was bad--and this weekend in Chicago isn't looking good either. From my post at Da Tech Guy, Let’s go Brandon: a violent start to Brandon Johnson’s Chicago mayoralty.

Van Morrison - Greenback Dollar

Here's another cut from Van Morrison's latest album, Moving On Skiffle. Here's a live performance of "Greenback Dollar."

Related post of mine at Da Tech Guy:  

Review: Van Morrison’s Moving on Skiffle

Megyn Kelly explains why she will no longer use "preferred pronouns" as trans ideology grows

Yes, here's Megyn Kelly again, my second post in a row with her. 

Yesterday I listened to her podcast, which includes this segment, and not only does it include Kelly's mea culpa on the nonsense of using preferred pronouns, but Megyn also condemns the folly of the trans movement.

Trigger warning: If you believe in the trans movement, you'll get very upset.

Dylan Mulvaney now a 'lesbian' after suffering a 'lull in the clicks department: Megyn Kelly

Within a couple of years Dylan Mulvaney has gone from a gay man to a trans woman, to a lesbian to a woman who wants to have babies. 

Even though he doesn't have womb. Megyn Kelly has more.

What's next for Mulvaney? Doing a Vince Taylor--he was the inspiration for David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust--and claim to be a space alien?

Latrell Allen, man whose shooting by Chicago cops inspired rioting in August 2020, found guilty of attempted murder of police officers

Three months after the George Floyd riots in 2020, incorrect information spread online that Chicago police officers shot a 15-year-old boy. There were calls on social media, what happened instead was a another round of massive looting on the Magnificient Mile and other retail area.

The "boy," Latrell Allen, was 20. And he shot at Chicago cops, according to police officials. 

Yesterday, in a story only CWB Chicago is carrying as of this blog post, the site reports, "Tonight, after less than three hours of deliberation, a jury convicted Allen on all charges before them, including four counts of attempted murder of police officers."

That second round of looting greatly accelerated the exodus of big-ticket retailers, including, Gap, Disney, and Macy's from the Mag Mile.