Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department Blew $22M On Steak and Lobster in a Single Month, Watchdog Claims

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s Defense Department allegedly blew through $22 million on lobsters and ribeye steak as part of a wild September 2025 end-of-year spree.

According to an analysis by nonprofit watchdog Open the Books, Hegseth’s DoD spent $93.4 billion on grants and contracts in Sept. 2025 alone — nearly 50 percent of which was expended in the last five business days of the month.

Open the Books, run by the American Transparency charity founded in 2011, collects and publishes government spending data, including expenditures down to the lobster tail.

Per the analysis by Open the Books, in September, the Pentagon spent $2 million on Alaskan king crab, $6.9 million on lobster tail, $15.1 million on ribeye steak, and $1 million on salmon. Dessert included 272 orders of doughnuts for $139,224 and ice cream machines for $124,000.

While the Pentagon does not technically have to spend all its congressionally allocated funds, “use-it-or-lose-it” policies often push it to do so. Any leftover funds could be removed from the budget the following year. So, extravagant sprees are not unusual at the end of a fiscal year.

For example, the group noted in its report, “Furniture is near the top of the military’s wish list at the end of every fiscal year. Since 2008, the DoD has spent an average of $257.6 million on furniture every September — a 564% increase above the norm. In months besides September, furniture costs the military only $38.8 million on average.”

Speaking to Open the Books, the CEO of Govly, an AI company that assists government contractors, compared Sept. 30 to “Amazon Prime Day” for the federal government.

Extravagant spending sprees are also not unusual for Hegseth’s DoD. The report noted that the department also spent more than $7.4 million on lobster throughout four months in 2025: March, May, June, and October.

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Online age-verification tools spread across U.S. for child safety, but adults are being surveilled

New U.S laws designed to protect minors are pulling millions of adult Americans into mandatory age-verification gates to access online content, leading to backlash from users and criticism from privacy advocates that a free and open internet is at stake. Roughly half of U.S. states have enacted or are advancing laws requiring platforms — including adult content sites, online gaming services, and social media apps — to block underage users, forcing companies to screen everyone who approaches these digital gates.

“There’s a big spectrum,” said Joe Kaufmann, global head of privacy at Jumio, one of the largest digital identity-verification and authentication platforms. He explained that the patchwork of state laws vary in technical demands and compliance expectations. “The regulations are moving in many different directions at once,” he said.  

Social media company Discord announced plans in February to roll out mandatory age verification globally, which the company said would rely on verification methods designed so facial analysis occurs on a user’s device and submitted data would be deleted immediately. The proposal quickly drew backlash from users concerned about having to submit selfies or government IDs to access certain features, which led Discord to delay the launch until the second half of this year.

“Let me be upfront: we knew this rollout was going to be controversial. Any time you introduce something that touches identity and verification, people are going to have strong feelings,” Discord chief technology officer and co-founder Stanislav Vishnevskiy wrote in a Feb. 24 blog post.

Websites offering adult content, gambling, or financial services often rely on full identity verification that requires scanning a government ID and matching it to a live image. But most of the verification systems powering these checkpoints — often run by specialized identity-verification vendors on behalf of websites — rely on artificial intelligence such as facial recognition and age-estimation models that analyze selfies or video to determine in seconds whether someone is old enough to access content. Social media and lower-risk services may use lighter estimation tools designed to confirm age without permanently storing detailed identity records.  

Vendors say a challenge is balancing safety with how much friction users will tolerate. “We’re in the business of ensuring that you are absolutely keeping minors safe and out and able to let adults in with as little friction as possible,” said Rivka Gewirtz Little, chief growth officer at identity-verification platform Socure. Excessive data collection, she added, creates friction that users resist. 

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States Sue Trump Over New Tariffs Imposed Under 1974 Trade Act

A coalition of 24 Democrat-led states has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and several federal agencies and officials, arguing that their latest tariffs violate both federal law and the U.S. Constitution. The case, filed last Thursday in the United States Court of International Trade, challenges tariffs imposed under long-dormant Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 right after the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s earlier “emergency” tariff policy.

The states are asking the court to block the tariffs and order refunds for the costs already paid.

A New Tariff Strategy

The legal battle began after a major ruling from the Supreme Court on February 20.

In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Court ruled that the administration could not impose sweeping tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). That law allows presidents to respond to economic emergencies, but the Court concluded that it does not authorize tariffs. The ruling was a significant blow to the administration’s trade policy. For more than a year, the White House had been imposing global tariffs using IEEPA.

But the administration swiftly adopted a new strategy. Per the challenge:

Having lost the battle on IEEPA, the President now dusts off a separate statute: Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, 19 U.S.C. § 2132, which is another statute that has never been used to impose tariffs. Indeed, it has never been used at all.

On the same day the Supreme Court decision was issued, Trump signed a proclamation invoking Section 122 to impose a 10-percent tariff on most imports worldwide for a period of 150 days. The new tariff took effect on February 24.

The next day, the president announced on Truth Social that the tariff would rise to 15 percent — the maximum rate allowed by the statute. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later confirmed the prospect.

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Democrats Advance Gun Control Blitz In Virginia With Abigail Spanberger Now In Office

Democratic lawmakers in Virginia moved forward Monday with a broad package of firearm restrictions, reviving proposals that had previously been blocked under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin as they test whether the state’s new governor, Abigail Spanberger, will support the measures.

During a nearly four-hour meeting, the Democratic-controlled Senate Courts of Justice Committee approved more than half a dozen gun-related bills addressing assault-style firearms, gun storage requirements, concealed carry reciprocity, ghost guns and firearms carried in public places.

The committee rejected the lone Republican-backed proposal, which would have increased mandatory minimum penalties for repeat firearm offenses.

All votes taken during the meeting followed party lines.

The legislative push comes amid heightened political attention surrounding gun policy in Virginia.

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Former MLB prospect sues White Sox for millions over COVID-19 vaccine injury

An awful vaccine side effect has allegedly sidelined a baseball player for the rest of his life.

Isaiah Carranza was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2018 but never made it to the major leagues. Now, Carranza is suing his former organization, saying it denied his vaccine injury after he was “coerced” into getting the shot.

Carranza played two years in High-A, the third-highest level of minor league baseball in the United States. However, 2022 was the last time he appeared in a game, and the former pitcher has since alleged that team officials warned him he would be “blacklisted” if he didn’t get a COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Carranza claimed if he did not get two doses, his organization would not release him from his contract so that he could pursue other teams. At the same time, he was allegedly told he had “no prospects of moving up” within the White Sox’s organization.

After getting the Pfizer vaccine, Carranza says he soon began suffering “extreme dizziness, nausea, near-fainting, and wildly fluctuating heart rate,” but the team told him it was simply dehydration, anxiety, and “rookie nerves.”

Carranza also allegedly began experiencing severe pain and dysfunction in his pitching arm.

“After receiving the vaccine, Plaintiff suffered severe adverse health reactions with little to no support from Defendants, who denied him necessary accommodations,” the lawsuit said, according to Newsmax.

Carranza also claimed that the injury impaired his ability to throw at a professional level and essentially ended his career. He is reportedly seeking $19 million in damages and has an estimated $557,000 price tag in future medical expenses.

The MLB did not have an official vaccine mandate but encouraged players to get vaccinated through its union and the league.

Carranza’s legal team said on its website that minor league players lacked union representation and the financial security to safely speak out against the “condition of employment.”

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Trump appoints Erika Kirk to Air Force Academy board

President Donald Trump has appointed Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, to fill a seat on the Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors.

Charlie Kirk, the founder of conservative group Turning Point USA, was a member of the Board of Visitors and attended a meeting before his assassination in September.

His wife, Erika Kirk has taken over has CEO of Turning Point USA since his death. The group says it has more than 800 chapters on college campuses nationwide. It also hosted the alternative half-time show during the Super Bowl featuring Kid Rock.

As a Board of Visitors member, Erika Kirk is one of 16 members responsible for making recommendations to the Secretary of Defense about changes at the Air Force Academy. The board also includes members of Congress including 5th Congressional District Rep. Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs along with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Chairman Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, among others.

The board did not announce her appointment. But her name now appears on the list of members.

Turning Point USA said Erika Kirk was unavailable to respond to questions about her Board of Visitors appointment.

During his short time on the board, Charlie Kirk drew attention to the construction delays at the chapel and encouraged the school to emphasize what sets America apart.

“It’s imperative that these cadets know that we are the greatest nation ever,” he said, the board meeting in August.

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed Sept. 10 at a college event in Orem, Utah.

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DC Bar Files Disciplinary Charges Against DOJ Official Ed Martin – DOJ Responds

Justice Department official Ed Martin is facing ethics charges after he sent a letter to Georgetown University Law Center related to its DEI policies.

Ed Martin sent the letter last year while he was Interim US Attorney for DC.

The DC Bar is targeting Ed Martin for pushing to end the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies at Georgetown.

Martin may be sanctioned.

“The DC bar’s attempt to target and punish those serving President Trump while refusing to investigate or act against actual ethical violations that were committed by Biden and Obama administration attorneys is a clear indication of this partisan organization’s agenda,” a statement from the DOJ to CBS said.

CBS News reported:

The office that polices attorney misconduct in Washington, D.C., has filed ethics charges against Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin, after Martin last year sent a threatening letter to the Georgetown University Law Center that raised questions about its diversity and inclusion policies while he was serving as interim U.S. attorney, according to court filings made public Tuesday.

In a Feb. 17 letter to the law school, Martin told university officials that a whistleblower claimed Georgetown was teaching DEI and asked about the practice. Without waiting for a response, he told the school he was imposing sanctions by instructing his office staff not to employ any students from the school as fellows, interns or employees at the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C.

In response, the school’s now-former dean, William Treanor, told Martin, who is a devout Catholic, that his letter represented “an attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution.”

In filings made in the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Board on Professional Responsibility dated Friday and made public on Tuesday, Disciplinary Counsel Hamilton “Phil” Fox III of the D.C. Bar alleged that Martin’s conduct as a government official violated the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by making demands that the law school change what it teaches students and how it teaches them.

Ed Martin was the Interim US Attorney for DC but his confirmation got derailed by GOP Senator Thom Tillis.

Martin is currently the DOJ’s pardon attorney.

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“Unprovoked act of aggression,” Russia claims Israel attacked its cultural center in Lebanon

Russia’s international humanitarian cooperation agency said on Monday that Israel attacked the partner Russian House in the Lebanese city of Nabatieh, calling it an “unprovoked act of aggression,” Anadolu reports.

In a statement on Telegram, head of the agency, Rossotrudnichestvo, Evgeny Primakov said the cultural center was strictly civilian.

“Israeli aviation struck the partner Russian House in the Lebanese city of Nabatieh. The director of the cultural center, Assaad Deia, is alive and safe. These are our good friends, there was no military activity in the cultural center. The strike was not provoked by anything,” he said.

He added that the agency’s official representative office, the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, is in contact with colleagues from the Nabatieh office.

“We regard its destruction as an act of unprovoked aggression,” Rossotrudnichestvo said in an official statement published on Russian social media platform Max.

It also noted that the Soviet Cultural Center in Syria’s capital Damascus was destroyed by a direct hit from Israeli bombs on Oct. 10, 1973, during the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, killing two people.

Tension escalated across the region on Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched large-scale attacks on Iran that have so far killed around 1,300 people, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Gulf countries that are home to US assets.

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Critics Say New Definition of Anti-Muslim Hostility Is ‘Assault’ on Free Speech

Critics have said that a new UK government definition of anti-Muslim hostility is an “assault” on free speech.

On March 10, the Labour government adopted a new non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility as part of its “Social Cohesion” strategy, aimed at tackling hate crime and strengthening community relations.

The guidance, titled “Protecting What Matters,” sets out a definition intended to help institutions identify and respond what they call to anti-Muslim hatred and discrimination.

The Free Speech Union (FSU) said the initiative could represent an attempt to revive blasphemy-style laws in Britain. The FSU offers legal help to people disciplined or arrested for lawful expression.

“What we are seeing is an attempt to reintroduce Britain’s blasphemy laws, 18 years after they were abolished by Parliament, and the biggest assault on English liberty, particularly free speech, in over 800 years,” it said in a March 10 post on X.

According to the document, the definition, laid out over three paragraphs, says anti-Muslim hostility includes “intentionally engaging in, assisting or encouraging criminal acts—including acts of violence, vandalism, harassment, or intimidation, whether physical, verbal, written or electronically communicated, that are directed at Muslims because of their religion or at those who are perceived to be Muslim, including where that perception is based on assumptions about ethnicity, race or appearance.”

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Iranian TV Says Khamenei’s Son Mojtaba, Elected New Supreme Leader, Has Been Wounded by US-Israel Strikes

Like father, like son?

The late ayatollah Khamenei was killed during the airstrikes by the US-Israeli coalition, and now it arises that his son, Mojtaba, has been chosen to be the new ‘Supreme Leader’.

However, that is not the only report going around, as it’s been widely published that Mojtaba has been gravely wounded, also by coalition airstrikes.

The news was first reported by Iranian TV, but has been subsequently picked up by the UK’s Mirror and LBC, Times of Israel, The Western Journal, among others.

See how War Secretary Pete Hergseth declines to deny that he is injured.

The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan: “There’s been reports that the new leader of Iran has been wounded. Do you know if this is true and what his condition is? And then another one, President Trump said he had a really good call with President Putin yesterday. Will Russia be… pic.twitter.com/bRkzOY9OC3

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) March 10, 2026

“The President, as I’ve said before, maintains strong relationships with world leaders, which creates opportunities and options for us in very dynamic ways… The new leader of Iran. He would be wise to heed the words of our President, which is to not pursue nuclear weapons, and come out and state as such. As far as his status, that’s not something I can comment on right now.”

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