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.

Former DSA Insider Sounds Alarm on Group’s Rabid Anti-Americanism

In June, The Gateway Pundit reported that former Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) organizer Jake Altman shared warnings about the organization with the Free Press. According to Altman, the DSA does not tolerate dissent among its ranks and works to get rid of its critics. Everyone has to be with the program to be in good standing.

Altman spoke with Fox News to sound the alarm on the radical group and their efforts to “force their agenda down other people’s throats.”

Altman told Fox News Digital, “I had been involved in my local union and met some people who were far, far to the left, in like, a frightening way. I was looking for a more pragmatic and thoughtful option on the left that was focused on economic policy.”

“One of the concerns I had very quickly was that [the] DSA was beginning to sound more and more like those extreme groups on the left that I, you know, certainly didn’t want anything to do with.”

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The former DSA leader recalled voicing concern in 2019 after the DSA issued a statement that he characterized as “defending or apologizing for the Maduro regime.”

“I raised a concern about that … and I said, DSA should be denouncing Maduro … the Democratic socialists and social Democrats in Venezuela are in the opposition — there should be free and fair elections,” he continued.

“The person disagreed with me and defended, you know, essentially defended the Maduro regime,” Altman revealed.

Altman noted that the organization holds view that “America is a unique evil in the world and that its enemies have a point.”

And as for dissent? Altman does not believe it is tolerated.

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5th Circuit: Federal Ban on Interstate Handgun Sales Violates 2A

On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the federal ban on interstate handgun sales violates the Second Amendment.

CQ Almanac noted that the ban on interstate handgun sales was put in place via the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The ban was then fleshed out and expanded in the Gun Control Act of 1968 which was signed into law by Democrat President Lyndon Johnson.

The Fifth Circuit surmised: “The government’s theory of the Ban’s historical justification centers on its contention that ‘when it enacted the Omnibus Crime Control Act and the Gun Control Act of 1968 [which contains all of the provisions comprising the Ban], Congress sought to address concerns about public safety and that individuals deemed dangerous might evade state laws designed to ensure only law-abiding citizens could acquire firearms by purchasing them outside the jurisdiction.’”

But the government’s theory did not survive the Bruen (2022) test.

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OpenAI flags concerning new AI behavior and vows to track it more closely

OpenAI has disclosed six reports of “unexpected or concerning” behavior in artificial-intelligence models as the debate on AI safety becomes increasingly heated.

The AI company also said Wednesday it was introducing a new framework for tracking, probing and disclosing instances of what it called “misalignment,” including cases where AI models acted without authorization, coordinated with other models or evaded oversight.

OpenAI’s latest announcement came as U.S. AI bosses, including the leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic, are calling for a slowdown in the technology’s development over safety concerns.

Among the new cases reported by OpenAI, an unreleased research model inserted “jailbreak-like instructions” into its own notes to disregard its normal constraints and told itself to be “freed from the roles and identities that bind other chatbots.”

In another instance, an AI “agent” used computer code to come up with the answer to a question, but, in order to have an online source to cite, it uploaded a file to the public internet without asking the user.

During training of an AI model called 5.6-sol, the model instructed itself to invent missing data, and an agent wrote a message to remind itself to hide mismatched information.

The six reports were discovered during training or evaluation over the past months, OpenAI said.

“As AI systems grow more advanced and more widely deployed, we need to build a broader and better-informed consensus on the progress of alignment research,” OpenAI wrote in a blog post as it disclosed the events.

“Decisions about how AI development should proceed in the months and years to come need to draw on evidence that people outside the companies building frontier models can examine for themselves,” the company said.

Wednesday’s new cases followed OpenAI’s disclosure in July that its rogue AI system hacked into AI startup Hugging Face. Anthropic also said the same month that its AI models hacked into three organizations during testing.

AI “agents” are becoming smarter and have become “more determined to resolve complex tasks through inter-agent collaboration, knowledge sharing, deception, and concealment,” said Lian Jye Su, a chief analyst at technology research and advisory group Omdia.

That’s making it harder to govern and contain them using traditional AI security approaches, he said.

OpenAI’s new tracking and disclosure framework, meanwhile, can help push for other AI developers to also adopt similar practices.

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Waste Of The Day: SBA Reviewed Loans 20 Years Late

The Small Business Administration potentially made $11.5 million in improper payments to banks after overruling its own employees who had recommended reducing or denying government guarantees on 16 failed small-business loans.

For another 13 failed loans, SBA took so long to review them that the six-year statute of limitations expired, wasting another $5.4 million, according to an Aug. 27 inspector general report.

Key facts: SBA’s 7(a) program helps startups with a risky business model get loans, but it does not generally lend taxpayer money directly. Private banks make loans of up to $5 million, and the government promises to cover as much as 85% of the loss if the borrower defaults.

But taxpayers only have to honor that guarantee when the bank follows SBA rules. If a bank failed to properly determine whether a borrower could repay the loan, verify required investments or follow other safeguards, SBA can reduce or deny the payout to the bank.

Auditors reviewed 32 failed loans where SBA employees recommended reducing or denying the payouts to banks, but higher-level reviewers later overturned those decisions.

For 16 of the 32 loans, auditors found insufficient evidence to justify the reversal, resulting in $11.5 million worth of potential improper payments. That included almost $4.9 million loaned to borrowers who never showed evidence they could repay the money.

One small business defaulted within 18 months. The bank argued that the small business had a sound strategy, but it failed due to the unforeseen loss of a major customer. The bank provided no evidence for its claim, but the SBA paid the guarantee anyway.

The SBA is also taking far too long to review high-risk loans, the audit found. The agency has only six years to sue a bank for violating the loan terms, but auditors found 13 loans where impropriety was not discovered until that deadline had passed. Two of them were not reviewed for more than 20 years after the loan guarantee was paid.

The SBA legally could have withheld other federal payments to the banks even after the six-year time limit expired, but the SBA has no process for doing so, the audit found.

SBA guaranteed $37 billion through 77,600 new 7(a) loans in fiscal year 2025.

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Cuba Hit With National Power Grid Collapse As Oil Sources Dry Up

Cuba’s power grid collapsed once again this week, this time at a national level, leaving millions of people across the island without electricity.  This is the sixth time since the US cut off fuel sources to the island since January that the national grid has collapsed and it’s the most utility shutdown events in the country’s recent history.  

Even when Cuba’s grid is in operation, only 30% of the population at most receives electricity at any given time.  Many regions stay dark 20 to 30 hours at a stretch. Some provinces have reported 60–90 hours without power. Havana has gone from 4 hours a day early in the year to 18 hours after the fuel cutoff. 

“Protocols are now in place to begin ​the gradual restoration of the system,” said Felix Estrada, an ⁠official with Cuba’s National Electrical Union (UNE). Power had returned to a handful of ​scattered neighborhoods in Havana by late evening, primarily around hospitals, but much of ​the city remained completely dark.

Many exhausted residents ​of the capital Havana were already without power when the national blackout hit.

“Yesterday I’d gone without ‌power ⁠for 24 hours. They turned the lights on for an hour, and then the grid collapsed,” said Frank Lorenzo, a 23-year-old Havana resident.

Around 61% of Cuba’s oil was sourced from Venezuela until the US capture of illegitimate president Nicolas Maduro.  Shipments from Mexico have were also scaled back and then cut off.  Russia has sent only one tanker so far this year. 

Reports of a “shadow fleet” of tankers carrying Iranian oil to Cuba have circulated since at least 2020.  Investigations of the seized tanker “Skipper” in 2025 found it had previously carried Iranian oil to Syria and China, then later moved Venezuelan oil on a route tied to Cuba. It confirmed the existence of overlapping Iran–Venezuela–Cuba shipping networks. 

The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has proven incredibly effective in shutting down Iranian oil exports, leaving Iran’s clandestine trade partners high and dry.  

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Lauren Boebert Strongly Denies Sworn Ethics Complaint Alleging Affairs With Two Female Staffers and One Male Staffer — Matt Gaetz Responds After His Name Is Dragged Into Allegations

Rep. Lauren Boebert is forcefully denying a sworn ethics complaint accusing her of engaging in sexual relationships with three congressional staffers, two women and one man.

The complaint was filed on September 17 by David B. Wheeler of American Muckrakers. It names Clarice Navarro, Boebert’s former district director; Raven Finegan, her current district chief of staff; and Jeffrey Small, her former chief of staff.

According to the complaint, Boebert’s alleged relationship with Navarro lasted from 2021 through January 2025. It further alleges that Navarro received approximately $30,650 in year-end bonuses from House funds, along with a $5,000 campaign payment listed as “fundraising consulting.”

The complaint also alleges that Boebert arranged an approximately $200,000 payment to Navarro in 2025 after Navarro allegedly threatened to file an ethics complaint of her own.

The payment is described by American Muckrakers as an alleged hush payment, though the claim has not been independently established.

Wheeler’s complaint argues that the alleged conduct violated House Rule XXIII, which prohibits Members from engaging in sexual relationships with employees under their supervision.

It asks the House Ethics Committee to open an investigation and refer possible campaign-finance and criminal violations to the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission.

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Two Deported Child Sex Predators Busted Illegally Re-Entering the U.S. After Deportation

Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass nabbed two convicted sex offenders attempting to re-enter the United States in less than one week. In each case, the agents discovered the two had been previously deported from the United States after being convicted of sex crimes against children.

On September 6, Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass Station were patrolling the banks of the Rio Grande when they encountered two illegal aliens attempting to elude apprehension. After arresting the pair, agents conducted a biometric search of criminal databases on the pair and determined one of the individuals was a previously convicted sex offender.

Johan Alexander Moncada-Narvaez, a 40-year-old Venezuelan national, was determined by the agents to have been convicted of charges related to prostitution and electronic solicitation involving a 14-year-old girl in Moorhead, Minnesota in October 2025. According to court records, the minor child victim reported Moncada-Narvaez had sexually assaulted her on more than one occasion and had given the victim money after the assaults, threatening her with violence if she reported it.

According to a report in The Watch MN, Moncada-Narvaez received a suspended sentence after being convicted in Clay County District Court of Prostitution-Engaging a 14- to 15-year-old- and felony electronic solicitation of a child after entering an Alford Plea. Moncada-Narvaez received credit for 258 days served in the Clay County Jail at the time of conviction in July 2026. According to the Border Patrol, Moncada-Narvaez was deported from the United States on August 7.

After waiting less than one month to attempt a return to the United States, Moncada-Narvaez now faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted for illegally reentering the United States as an aggravated felon.

Just three days after Moncada-Narvaez’ arrest, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass South Station were patrolling a rural ranch not far from the border when they arrested two illegal aliens. Upon further investigation, one of the illegal aliens, Jose Enrique Vasquez-Nicolas, a 31-year-old Mexican national, was determined to be a convicted sex offender.

According to the Border Patrol, Vasquez-Nicolas was convicted in 2020 in Castro County, Texas, of indecency with a child and sentenced to five years’ confinement. Vasquez-Nicolas is a registered sex offender in Texas whose photo and conviction details appear on the state’s Sex Offender Database. According to state records, the victim in Vasquez’ case is a 16-year-old female.

After serving his sentence, Vasquez-Nicolas was deported to Mexico on June 28, 2026. Within three months, Vasquez-Nicolas would attempt to return to the United States illegally without success. As a returning aggravated felon, Vasquez-Nicolas faces a charge of 8 USC § 1326 (reentry after deportation), which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good commented on the arrests, saying, “Child sex offenders who repeatedly cross our borders are an imminent threat to our communities. U.S. Border Patrol agents are our safeguard against this menace.”

As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers remove the “worst of the worst” offenders, the Border Patrol faces the daunting challenge of making sure they do not successfully re-enter the United States. Agents in the Del Rio Sector are finding more illegal aliens attempting to return as time passes.

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Illegal Alien Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Numerous Crimes Including Voter Fraud and Theft of Government Funds

An illegal alien from Mexico was indicted by a federal grand jury this week for numerous crimes, including voter fraud, making a false statement applying for a passport, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Fredy Avila Gomez is also being indicted on wire fraud and stealing government funds.

Based on court records, from 2017 to 2026, Gomez intentionally defrauded US government agencies and the State of Idaho. The list of agencies included Health and Human Services, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

Gomez allegedly made false claims to be a citizen of the United States in order to vote in elections.

He has his first court appearance scheduled for September 21st in the US District Court for the District of Idaho. Gomez is looking at a maximum of 20 years in federal prison if he is convicted on the charges.

The prosecutors handling the case are Assistant US Attorneys Sean Mazorol and Darci Crane.

The DOJ created the National Fraud Enforcement Division earlier this year to prosecute individuals committing fraud against the United States and its citizens.

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HHS Awards $42.3 Million To Push ‘Treatment First’ Model For Homelessness & Addiction

A federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $42.3 million in new supplemental cash Friday to states and territories with the goal of speeding up the implementation of the Treatment First model for homelessness tied to addiction.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funding supports the initiative falling under President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” and the relevant Best Practices Toolkit that followed. That order from July 2025 directed agencies to put treatment and recovery ahead of the old approaches.

“President Trump has directed us to break the cycle of homelessness and addiction by putting treatment, recovery, and self-sufficiency first,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “These investments will help states move people from crisis into treatment and from treatment into lasting recovery, stable housing, and work. We are funding results that help people reclaim their health and independence.”

About $17.3 million of the funds went to Community Mental Health Services Block Grant recipients. Officials say it builds systems, partnerships, workforce capacity, policies, and the technical pieces needed to make Treatment First a success. The funds will go toward technical assistance, training, policy work, and coordination across systems.

Roughly $25 million went to Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant recipients to expand options for safe, licensed, certified, or chartered sober and recovery housing, as well as the requisite technical assistance to ensure that more recovery residences open and quality standards tighten.

“Treatment First means building a system that does not leave people cycling between homelessness, emergency rooms, and the criminal justice system,” SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher D. Carroll said. “These investments will help states strengthen the infrastructure – partnerships, data, workforce, and recovery supports – needed to connect people with serious mental illness and addiction to effective treatment and support them on a path toward lasting recovery, stable housing, employment, and self-sufficiency.”

In June, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a $4.04 billion Continuum of Care notice. It walked away from the Housing First model, which provided permanent housing with no strings attached. Chronic homelessness climbed 81 percent from 2013 to 2025, despite the number of taxpayer-funded beds increasing 151 percent, HUD figures show.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner called Housing First a failure that “warehoused the vulnerable without results.” Housing alone will not fix a crisis driven by addiction and mental illness, he said.

Kennedy earlier this year announced more than $700 million for related work, of which nearly $100 million went to the STREETS program for homeless people dealing with addiction or serious mental illness. In February, he introduced the $100 million STREETS effort itself, built around continuous contact from the street through recovery, jobs and self-sufficiency.

A federal appeals court this week allowed HUD to forge ahead with funding shifts after lower-court challenges. The department has earmarked $1.3 billion for transitional housing and supportive services.

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Letitia James Seized Nuns’ $19 Million and STILL Won’t Release It So They Can Care for Aging Members

For 123 years, the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence devoted their time and money to help young women in Manhattan through the Jeanne D’Arc Residence.

Jeanne d’Arc Residence is dedicated to creating a welcoming and caring environment for women seeking safe, affordable and temporary housing in New York City. Through the ministry provided at Jeanne d’Arc Residence, the Sisters of Divine Providence are committed to ensuring a Christian environment which serves women of all nationalities, cultures and religions. In this setting, the good news of Jesus Christ is lived and proclaimed in the spirit of Providence.”

The nuns, whose order is based in Kentucky, have seen their number shrink and their population age.  The cost of continuing to run the residence has become too much to bear as they face caring for their own elderly sisters.

The sisters sold the property to John Catsimidis for $22.5 million. Because the property is part of a registered charitable organization, Letitia James’ office must, and did, approve the sale.

But devoting over a century to vulnerable women in the city is not enough for James.  Her office seized the proceeds of the sale and, for two years, has refused to release it to them.

James’ reason? She doesn’t like what the nuns will do with their money.

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