Wednesday Afternoon Links

by | Aug 5, 2020 | Daily Links | 377 comments

Little boys are awesome. My little one who will be five next week has been resistant to getting rid of his training wheels. So I’ve been telling him, well, when you’re five, and he’d try to argue for six. Until last night, when an older kid on the block was jumping his bike off ramp. T comes running down to get his bike, “I gonna jump the ramp, too!” So I explained to him that he couldn’t really ramp with training wheels. Two minutes later he’s riding on two wheels down the street. I guess I’m not a true old-school dad, though. I told him no ramp until he can start, stop and turn by himself. Only because I know he’s gonna eat it hard the first time, so we’ll try to separate that from riding without training wheels by a couple of days.

Controlled detonation of a grain elevator. I hear that the Misscagoula plant explosion launced a piece of industrial equipment just like that much higher, but didn’t stick the landing.

Coral Sex Milestone. Great album.

News from the finance boffins — people without income stop paying unsecured credit.

This is all about bringing your own biases to an event. The Texas City fertilizer explosion in 1947 also shattered windows 15 miles away and flung a one ton ships anchor two miles. Seems about the same as what happened in Beirut. A shipload of fertilizer blowing up is catastrophic.

Fuck it, I’m just going to go with it all week.

About The Author

Brett L

Brett L

Brett set out to find America, the real America, the America of strip malls and serial killers, of butthole waxing and kelp smoothies, of cocaine and maggots. He sought it in the most American part of America—Florida: swamp gas and fever dreams, where love arrives on a rickety boat and leaves when it doesn't have the money for its fourth abortion. Oh, where has Brett gone? He’s drinking at the neck of America’s wang, chewing its foreskin and working its shaft. Brett is becoming legend. Brett can never die. Brett can never die. Brett is America, facedown in his own patriotic puke: the red his blood, the white his stomach lining, and the cold, cold blue his gas station slushie, spiked with coconut rum and tetracycline.

377 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    Random question – If you put an earthenware crock with a lid in a pressure cooker, will it be damaged by the pressure?

    • Nephilium

      I think it will depend on the pressure level you’re getting it up to, how well the crock was made, and how well the lid fits.

      • UnCivilServant

        That really doesn’t narrow down whether or not it’s safe to try.

      • juris imprudent

        Oh, you want safe do you? Where is your spirit of adventure? Where is your drunken stupidity?

        Do, or do not, there is no try.

      • UnCivilServant

        That muppet was a moron and a hypocrite.

      • UnCivilServant

        The more I think on it, separating the pressure levels makes it fail to accomplish what I’m looking for. All I really need is a way to keep the steam from getting into the food and making it soggy. Not sure how to maintain the pressure, unless it’s in a vacuum bag.

      • pan fried wylie

        Pressure cooker really ain’t the way toward crisp and crunchy.

        Just quit eating.

      • UnCivilServant

        If I was trying to crisp, I’d apply direct heat.

      • Nephilium

        Talking stove top pressure cooker or electric? Based on what I can find through some quick searches, most are going to operate at around 2 bar max pressure. Is there a reason for putting something with a lid inside the pressure cooker? And how attached to the crock are you? Theoretically, you could probably test it by putting it under ~10 meters of water (which makes me think it’ll probably be safe).

      • Jarflax

        You left out the link.

      • Rhywun

        No, this link.

      • Sean

        My vote is no for sealed earthenware, based on nothing more than a guess.

    • Not Adahn

      No.

      The pressure in a pressure cooker is only about 15psi. Unless there is a gasket on your lid (which I’m assuming there isn’t because you didn’t mention it) it will equalize and not be any kind of issue (any voids in the clay aren’t going to have enough surface area to worry about.)

      • UnCivilServant

        None of the candidates have a gasket.

        I’m just brainstorming ideas for ways to keep the steam from sogging the food.

      • Not Adahn

        Some canning jars are designed to be used inside pressure cookers. I know you have to use them if you want to can meat, for example.

      • Nephilium

        So, you’re looking for heat, but I’m guessing you don’t want to turn on the oven? This would be a job for a toaster oven or a convection oven. An air fryer would probably work as well. Pressure cooker is made to cook in a wet environment (pretty much by definition).

      • UnCivilServant

        I have none of those things, and they don’t apply pressure.

      • Not Adahn

        Not to be a negative Nelly, but heating food in a sealed vessel will drive the moisture out and trap it against the surface of the food. Sogginess will be assured.

      • UnCivilServant

        There are different levels of moisture and sogginess.

    • Don did not Escape Bama

      If the lid seals, it will be cracked.

      If the lid doesn’t seal, it may very well still crack. There are are always voids/occlusions of some size at some pressure; when the cooker comes to pressure, material between that pressure and the void will deflect an amount that is not the same as the neighboring ceramic setting up zones of compression (possibly tolerable), shear (from relative compression, not good), and tension (almost certainly fatal). Ceramics (like concrete and cast iron) have poor tensile strength; whatever/wherever/howsoever much strain there is, there will be some tension zone created.

    • pan fried wylie

      Any plans to reveal the food in question?

      • UnCivilServant

        No. Because it’s still a partially formed idea.

      • pan fried wylie

        You’re a partially formed idea.

      • Ted S.

        At least neither of you said “idear”.

      • pan fried wylie

        I just think it. Like “wuhter”.

    • Mad Scientist

      Surprise. UCS is looking for a method to further reduce any kind of flavor in his food.

      • pan fried wylie

        I only use my instantpot to make potroast. The juice goes into some roux.

        Fucking delicious. #FactChecked

    • Animal

      I can only think of one way to find out.

      • Jarflax

        That is because you are trapped in your racist white male colonialist science paradigm.

      • Animal

        No, I just like explosions.

  2. Nephilium

    Hopefully the people defaulting remember to set enough money aside to pay for the bankruptcy. I doubt any bankruptcy lawyer is going to take credit.

    • Pope Jimbo

      I’m sure the Squad is working on an emergency bill that creates a large Federal pool of money to pay for bankruptcy filings. Because it is only fair.

      • Hyperion

        I’m also pretty sure a good chunk of that money is yours. If you work, you’re part of the patriarchy, so part of the problem, so you should shut up and pay lazy people to not work.

    • Hyperion

      What bankruptcy? I don’t think there is any such thing if you’re not a corp. Personally, I knew one guy who tried this several years ago and after the lawyer basically told him he’d be worse off, he dropped it. So I don’t think an individual can actually discharge debt, only restructure it. Unless they’ve changed that again since then, was maybe 7 years ago I heard about that. But you can call the credit card companies and negotiate very low payments with no interest.

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        you can do a personal chapter 7, but it sucks. folks with Insane medical debt is the primary clientele.

      • Jarflax

        The bankruptcy changes were vastly over hyped. Nothing of substance changed for actual broke people.

  3. juris imprudent

    The WWII munitions ship explosion probably still tops the others.

    • Chipwooder

      WWI or WWII? I had never heard of the Halifax explosion until we were there and went to a local museum.

      • juris imprudent

        Port Chicago (which was a facility in the San Francisco bay) – WWII.

      • pan fried wylie

        “No, not THAT San Francisco bay, the one in Massachusetts.”

  4. The Late P Brooks

    To be sure, Congress is considering plans for additional bailout money. But without more support, there would also be more immediate problems than credit scores: Millions more Americans would face poverty by the end of this year, according to one study.

    What the hell, as long as the omelette tastes good.

    • Ted S.

      Write the law to pay off debt in a specific order. If you don’t have those debts, you get to keep the Trumpbux to do with as you wish.

      • Nephilium

        From what I’ve read, the most recent Trumpbux bills have wording in them to make the money not subject to liens or judgments. Because of reasons.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I remember sob stories when the first batch of Trump Bux came out because evil banks were taking some of it because their “customers” were already in the hole. The people were mad! Sure they already had an overdraft of a few hundred bucks, but how dare the bank take that relief money.

      • UnCivilServant

        “Who is this NSF and why are they taking my money?”

      • Not Adahn

        National Science Foundation. They need it for SCIENCE! Why do you deny SCIENCE! you denier?

      • Gustave Lytton

        Now do government garnishments like child support or loan repayment.

      • Pope Jimbo

        My youngest was buying his fishing/hunting license this year himself and was mystified about why he was REQUIRED to give up his SSN. Then he discovered it was because of a law that demanded it to make sure that dead beat dads weren’t wasting their money on licenses.

        He asked, do a lot of dead beat dads hunt and fish?

        Nope. Just one of those stupid OBEY laws.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I imagine a lot of deadbeat dads still hunt and fish, just without the trouble of acquiring a license.

        VA does something similar with rabies shots and dog licenses. All dogs are required to get a rabies vax from a vet (can’t do it yourself with vax from a farm store). The vet is then required to send your information to the city/county who checks your info against sold dog licenses. Those fuckers hounded me every damn year until I found a vet who keeps my visits between us.

        So the consequence is that a lot of people just choose to no longer vaccinate their dogs in order to fly under the radar.

    • Hyperion

      “Millions more Americans would face poverty by the end of this year, according to one study.”

      Feature, not bug. /DNC

  5. pan fried wylie

    People were planting tank grown coral cuttings back into the wild 20years ago. Still no breeding in the tank. What milestone?

    Corals have survived multiple mass extinctions. Fuck off.

  6. R C Dean

    If we assume that it’s ANFO rather than straight ammonium nitrate,

    Well, there’s the pics supposedly of the warehouse showing one ton bags of pelletized ammonium nitrate used for mining explosives (probably – the brand name doesn’t exactly line up with what’s now being sold).

    And I don’t think you just store ANFO, I think you mix it before use. But I’m no expert.

    And of course, there’s the notion that Hez controls the port where all that explosive ingredient was being stored. And a “fireworks” factory or warehouse in a Hez-controlled industrial area? Sure.

    This is the Mid-East, so the real story is likely even stupider than we can imagine, and unlikely to ever become known.

    • B.P.

      Marginally related: About 15 years ago my wife was on the phone with her bank, since her charge card had been compromised….

      Wife: B.P., where is Karachi?

      Me: Pakistan.

      Wife: Apparently someone used two separate charges on my card to purchase $16,000 worth of fertilizer there.

      Me: Good luck getting on an airplane any time soon.

  7. Pope Jimbo

    My dad drove my wife and I out past that launch pad in Boca Chica when we visited him last winter. You could blow up a lot of stuff out there and not hurt anyone.

    The most impressive thing to me though about that trip was that when we got to the end of that road, my dad actually turned his truck around on the pavement instead of driving out in the soft sand of the beach and getting stuck. 75 years old and finally showing some sense.

  8. The Late P Brooks

    If you put an earthenware crock with a lid in a pressure cooker, will it be damaged by the pressure?

    I can’t imagine an earthenware crock seals well enough to implode in the pressure vessel, if that’s what you’re asking. The pressure will equalize.

  9. The Other Kevin

    Someone posted this story about a living statue on FB this morning.

    I was very, VERY tempted to comment on my idea of a living statute that involves peaceful protesters shooting lasers into someone’s eyes.

    • Rhywun

      ?

    • zwak

      Shoot, that isn’t too far from me. I should head down there and see if I can get anyone on board with a “Hey, that’s a Trump statue! Pull it down quick!”

  10. R C Dean

    A shipload of fertilizer blowing up is catastrophic

    Can’t decide if typo.

    • Pope Jimbo

      *snort*

    • pan fried wylie

      IT’S A SPEETH IMPEDIMENT YOU SHITHLORD.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    And a “fireworks” factory or warehouse in a Hez-controlled industrial area? Sure.

    Don’t forget, you’re talking about a culture where firing your AK47 into the air counts as a “fireworks display”.

  12. DEG

    V – I liked that 80s version of the miniseries. I never watched the new one.

    Coral Sex Milestone. Great album.

    Seconded.

    “I think the overall trend [of credit card debt going down] masks some of the difficulty at the household level, and I do fear that we’re going to have more people relying on cards for financing and relying on cards just to make ends meet,” said Ted Rossman, an industry analyst at CreditCards.com, which sponsored the survey.

    Here’s a crazy idea. Just open everything up again and let life get back to normal.

    • Pope Jimbo

      No if we opened up things now, too many people would go back to work. We need to keep them locked up for a few more months so that they become completely habituated to sitting around doing nothing. Then when things reopen the slugs will be begging for Uncle Sugar to save them.

    • R C Dean

      You’re going to have to explain how credit card debt going down is a sign of increased difficulty at the household level.

      Because it sounds like just the opposite to me.

      • DEG

        Let me see if I can correctly write some panic porn.

        People are paying down credit card debt because they’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs. If they lose their jobs, they can’t pay the debt, and so will have to default. If they default, the evil credit card companies will come and steal their children.

      • R C Dean

        So what you’re saying is, the orphan market may soon have a glut of supply, and I should go short on orphan futures?

      • DEG

        Making lemonade from lemons is not panicking.

  13. DEG

    David Horowitz on masks

    The trope of “just shut up and wear a mask” is not science, ordered liberty, or constitutional governance. It’s what they do in North Korea. We need real debate on the effectiveness of masks, the type of masks, the situations in which they are worn, the duration of time, the benchmarks that need to be met to measure effectiveness, and the process for promulgating these rules. We are no longer 24 hours into an emergency. We are four months into this virus, and it’s time to function like the representative republic that we are.

    • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

      We need real debate on the effectiveness of masks, the type of masks, the situations in which they are worn, the duration of time, the benchmarks that need to be met to measure effectiveness, and the process for promulgating these rules.

      Fuck off you utilitarian cunte! How about this? No rules. Only guidelines. Oh, and anybody found to be in a situation where they’re profiting from panicking the American public is summarily shot.

      • DEG

        Oh, and anybody found to be in a situation where they’re profiting from panicking the American public is summarily shot.

        I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

      • Jarflax

        Politicians and press get the bullet first?

      • Sean

        So, all of CNN?

    • Viking1865

      Yeah in August the General Assembly is meeting in special sessions, and those obstructionist Republicans want to limit the Governors emergency powers. How dare they, says local media. Emergencies, by definition, happen quickly. You cannot be months into an emergency and argue that the legislature has had no time to pass laws addressing it.

    • grrizzly

      This is actually Daniel Horowitz. Son?

      • DEG

        Shit. I even read the article before posting it. I thought it was David Horowitz.

        I have no idea if these two are related.

  14. The Late P Brooks

    It’s a conspiracy

    “I fear Republican sabotage of the USPS, including slowing mail delivery, is a Trump strategy to make voting by mail more difficult this fall,” Clinton tweeted. “Request your ballots and return them as early as you can.”

    “Neighborhoods across the Philadelphia region are experiencing significant delays in receiving their mail, with some residents going upwards of three weeks without packages and letters, leaving them without medication, paychecks, and bills,” the Inquirer reported on Monday, noting that the postal agency has undergone a round of cuts that eliminate overtime and slash work hours.

    Local union leaders in Philadelphia allege mail is “piling up in offices, unscanned and unsorted” and that mail carriers are becoming “overwhelmed.”

    No chance the union is engaged in a work slowdown in retaliation for overtime cuts. None.

    • Pope Jimbo

      More evidence that Herself is planning to shove Biden out at the last second.

      Get all the rubes to mail in their ballots early and then stab Joe in the back and ride in to “save” the party and run in his place. And there is nothing those deplorables can do to take their vote back.

  15. Pope Jimbo

    So is the coral story really good news?

    How many trust fund kids workng at nonprofits to Save the Coral are in danger of losing their phoney-baloney job? And it isn’t even like they lost their job, but they managed to destroy or cripple evil capitalist corporations in the process.

    No. Fucking goddamned losers came up with a way to save that fucking coral without banning anything? I thought this was America! How can that happen?

    • pan fried wylie

      They aren’t saving shit.

      • Pope Jimbo

        They are saving themselves from a horrible fate of having to get a real job.

      • pan fried wylie

        No argument that growing corals would be a sweet gig if you can get it. The aquarium hobby seems to be dying out based on the availability of tanks larger than 10gal.

      • Not Adahn

        They had an excellent movie “The World According to GARF.”

  16. Gustave Lytton

    Carrying over from the dead thread so doesn’t count for the 30 minute rule. From Sean

    https://twitter.com/25th_Prestige/status/1291075157688123393

    The most worrisome thing here to me is they had a motorbike ready to use for their roadblock. It’s been clear that they are coordinating these shutdowns and freeway closures yet the police haven’t arrested the drivers blocking lanes. This takes it to a new level. They’re setting up security elements for their closures now. Even if you floor it and try to leave, they will follow to dox and hunt you down later.

    I fear we are dangerously close to out and out partisan death squads. The ones that weren’t started to advance revolutionary power, were mostly formed to provide security that the state wouldn’t or couldn’t provide. However, absent a legal framework, they quickly devolve into criminal gangs.

    • Not Adahn

      Yeah, that was a straight-up hit.

    • Sean

      It was that 3rd video that really put it in perspective. You didn’t get that from the earlier ones.

    • pan fried wylie

      Everyone is worried about the mail-in ballots. The armed goons at the electoral college will be the real problem.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      It’s unclear to me how the Libertarian party isn’t considered just another wing of the Democrat party.

      • Negroni Please

        Im not sure it’s even real. I don’t think I’ve ever met a member.

        Without exception every single libertarian I’ve ever met makes certain to quickly qualify that they are a small l libertarian.

      • DEG

        I used to be a member.

      • Negroni Please

        Uh oh. Is this the start of a slate or salon article?

      • DEG

        Glibertarians after dark.

      • pan fried wylie

        *shaken fist*

      • DEG

        We can work that into the story.

      • pan fried wylie

        This is Glibs: Penthouse Letters.

      • SugarFree

        I’m registered as LP but only because it means I never get called for jury duty.

      • Negroni Please

        I was excused from jury duty once. In voir dire the DAs asked if any of us believe in jury nullification. I of course raised my hand along with about 3 other people. They dismissed us.

        The case was for murder.

        Wtf?

        Who is out there trying to nullify murder laws?

      • Ted S.

        Antifa?

      • pan fried wylie

        They need to?

      • Nephilium

        Police Unions?

      • Hyperion

        “It’s unclear to me how the Libertarian party”

        Not even a real party to me, more of a joke… oh wait, they’re all jokes, just that one can’t get any votes.

    • Fatty Bolger

      Ugh. I get her point, but that’s a clumsy way to make it.

    • Gustave Lytton

      That headline is misleading. The actual video is much better and JoJo doesn’t seem to endorse the actual action but uses it as an example of private actors are more responsive to market pressure than government.

      • grrizzly

        I’ve watched the video. Jorgensen uses this episode as an example of a good commendable anti-racist action taken by a private company. Immediately after that, she brings up another example: Disney Land (or World) being better on gay issues than the government in the ’90s. Jorgensen’s line is very clear: government–bad, private companies–good.

      • Fatty Bolger

        If she thinks that argument is going to bring the woke crowd over to our side, then she doesn’t understand them at all.

      • juris imprudent

        Who gives a fuck about the woke crowd? You ever try to talk a religious zealot out of their belief? At best, you can puncture the bubble, but after that, they are on their own.

      • Viking1865

        “Jorgensen uses this episode as an example of a good commendable anti-racist action taken by a private company”

        But by doing this, she is conceding the premise that “All Lives Matter” is racism.

        The Libertarian Party: Because Corporations Are Very Important Tools In Establishing a Permanent Leftist Orwellian Nightmare.

      • grrizzly

        But by doing this, she is conceding the premise that “All Lives Matter” is racism.

        This is exactly my point. When earlier she said that one needs to be actively “anti-racist” it wasn’t a one-off.

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        she has buddied up with the greenies and the SJWs, being careful not to accept their entire belief system, only their premises.

      • Don did not Escape Bama

        she is conceding the premise that “All Lives Matter” is racism.

        nah: she’s saying this is a debate within the culture and outside government’s scope; she’s simply arguing that you don’t want Congress deciding what is and isn’t racist or regulating thought whatsoever

      • Viking1865

        She explicitly contrasted this company playing speech police with Jim Crow. She’s absolutely in favor of SJW HR reps firing people for posting something that’s not even fucking racist.

        Honestly, if libertarianism means “That crazy asshole in HR gets to fire me because I post at Glibertarians because MUH PRIVATE COMPANIES” then you can fucking have it.

      • Don did not Escape Bama

        I don’t know her agenda; I just characterized the video; you might well be right.

        Again, I took her to mean this is all a private matter not for government. I agree with her that companies should be free to do what they wish, which will often include mistakes (iron law: residue of freedom). I agree with you that we should penalize companies that make mistakes; I’m long on record as such.

        Honestly, if libertarianism means “That life is a market of ideas, but I don’t believe in telling others what to do, and I especially don’t want a Bureau of HR Oversight,” then I realize there are fucking residues that will need to be met . . . with persuasive and countervailing logic.

        I don’t see how you can have liberty without pluralism; I don’t see how you can have liberty if the government makes all the decisions.

        I think everyone just got bent out of shape by a poorly chosen free-to-be-wrong example which wasn’t even fucking wrong.

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        I think everyone just got bent out of shape by a poorly chosen free-to-be-wrong example which wasn’t even fucking wrong.

        If this were the first time that Jo stepped into this particular cow patty, I’d be more tempted to give the benefit of the doubt.

        This is now the 3rd time in a month (or so) where she has followed the same script. Assume the righteousness of the leftist cause, then quibble about the details of implementation.

        Perhaps my cynicism when it comes to the end goal of movements like BLM and the Greenies is clouding my perception of her comments. However I’d say that it’s equally as likely that she and her campaign are hopelessly naive and are compromising themselves to appeal to a group of people who are staunchly opposed to the core tenets of libertarianism.

      • Viking1865

        “The boot on your neck is a private sector one!”

        is not a winning political message.

        All Lives Matter is not a racist statement. The Libertarian Party cannot win. But it could speak the truth. She chooses not to. Fuck her.

      • Viking1865

        Assume the righteousness of the leftist cause, then quibble about the details of implementation.

        “Common sense market based methods of enacting the progressive agenda. Vote Libertarian!”

        Like, it’s absolutely fucking absurd to talk about a private company firing someone for a Facebook post that is not racist except to insane leftists and gush about Rosa Parks in the same sentence.

      • robc

        Umm..that is exactly what Freedom of Association implies.

      • Don did not Escape Bama

        I didn’t see the entire thing and can’t be assured of context, but my takeaway is that the larger point was that social media as the vanguard of the people’s will on private platforms does a better job of looking out for the rights of individuals than the government does. She’s saying that private actors, including firms, are the correct people to make social decisions compared to what: commerce clause and due process/ equal protection over-reaches deciding how people and firms should make decisions; if that’s what is meant by government–bad, private companies–good, I must say I quite agree with her.

        Note also that this is a user-defined clip: some non-C-SPAN person picked the start and stop times and named it as well.

        I’m sticking with Occam on this one: much more likely that someone with an agenda or someone who lost the point/context made a misguiding clip.

      • grrizzly

        Somebody should ask her if she believes that All Lives Matter is racist per se. But a solid attempt to explain away what she said.

      • Don did not Escape Bama

        that’s a fair question; they had a clear gaff on that last month

        explain away: I only want fair hearings and true records at Glibs dot com; I disagree with the nature of your reading and think putting the story right is worth some effort.

        I am glad for Jo to swing for her sins whatever they be; I, sir, carry water for no one.

      • R C Dean

        Its a terrible example for a Libertarian candidate to use.

        Might as well say “Corporations are more responsive to pressure from Marxist activists than the government.”

      • Fatty Bolger

        “Capitalists will sell you the rope you hang them with, so you should support capitalism! Wait, why are you dragging me to that wall?!!”

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        I hate to keep linking back to this article I wrote a couple years ago, but I think Jo embodies the Deferentialist end of the libertarian spectrum to a T.

        She just. can’t. manage. to contradict the assumptions of the leftist orthodoxy. It reminds me of the Japanese way of disagreeing with a superior. “Yes sir, yes sir, you’re right! But if I may make a suggestion, you can get social justice without turning the country into a totalitarian hell hole.”

        When your moral compass is no more developed than “gubmint bad, private actors good” (HT: griz), you really struggle with taking a strong stand against the advances of the militant left. “Oh, but you’re doing the right thing in a way I don’t like” rings particularly hollow.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Libertarianism without a moral spine.

      • Don did not Escape Bama

        ^^ this is correct ^^

    • AlmightyJB

      The crack vs cocaine sentencing being racist is another one if those media lies. Crack sentencing was longer because in the 80’s black leaders demanded the government do something about the crack issue, and that’s one of the things they came up with. And no one said shit about it until 20 years later. So she’s either talking about shit she knows nothing about, or she’s a liar like every other pandering politician.

      • Fatty Bolger

        As usual, the media created or at least pushed a lot of that panicky bullshit themselves. Remember how crack would make anyone who used it permanently addicted after just one try? And the whole “crack baby” myth.

      • Mad Scientist

        I remember hearing the same thing about cocaine in the early 80s. “Taking even this much,” marks dot on chalkboard, “will make you addicted for life!”

      • Fatty Bolger

        Oh, yeah. Also, just one hit of LSD guaranteed permanent and disabling flashbacks for the rest of your life, and could cause you to be declared mentally insane. It’s just science, bro!

    • Jarflax

      Government leaving people alone is a necessary condition for liberty. It is not a sufficient condition for liberty, and Libertarians tend to miss that fact, because they tend to assume that only government can exercise the sort of universal control that truly bans marginal beliefs. In a world completely dominated by one ideology that stops being true. Any dogma enforced by sanctions against heretical behavior curtails liberty. This is true whether it is enforced by corporations signalling their virtue by blacklisting heretical politics or churches excommunicating and shunning heretical religious beliefs. The defense against this can only be toleration for pluralism. The hard left is making a serious bid for that sort of universality of belief in many areas of economic and intellectual life, and it is worrisome.

      • Viking1865

        Look, as long as you never ever speak or publish a “far right”* opinion in college or at any one of over half the jobs in America, you can say whatever you want with no consequences. Oh, and media corporations can say whatever they want about you, but if you sue a company with a market cap in the billions for defamation, they will claim free speech and you have to pay them legal fees. Who cares if the IRS audits every conservative nonprofit, that’s just a coincidence. Unless you can explicitly show a signed memo from Obama ordering it, its just a conspiracy theory.

        *The definition of “far right” will be whatever the most insane fucking leftist thinks is far right.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    The most worrisome thing here to me is they had a motorbike ready to use for their roadblock.

    What are the odds that bike was stolen? If not, the clearly readable license plate may be a clue.

    • Not Adahn

      I’m assuming that they also have something akin to a VIN on the frame?

      • thepasswordispassword

        You really think someone would do that, just scratch out the serial number on a firearm?

      • Not Adahn

        Dude, you can’t do that, that’s illegal!

      • pan fried wylie

        So is killing all the witnesses, but I’m not likely to stop now. Err…

  18. Nephilium

    Alright, I have my nomination for most idiotic ban through the entire lockdown (so far):

    A Bar Banned The Song ‘Sweet Caroline’ To Help Patrons Avoid Touching One Another While Singing

    Restaurants and bars have been adjusting their services for the safety of their customers in more ways than one, but this might be the most obscure adjustment yet. An Irish pub in Spain is banning the classic singalong song “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond to keep its patrons safer.

    • Negroni Please

      Does the explanation/justification really matter?

      Banning Neil Diamond is a good thing in and of itself.

      • C. Anacreon

        “Irish Pub in Spain bans American singer’s song”

        Great example of multiculturalism there.

      • juris imprudent

        So much appropriation.

      • Jarflax

        Is it really any more appropriation than Spain commits by using the language of brown people from Central and South America?

      • Nephilium

        So, who’s appropriating what there? It’s probably those Irish spreading out everywhere.

    • DEG

      Fuck.

      • Grosspatzer

        “I got up to wash my face,
        When I come back to bed
        Someone’s taken my place”

        Sounds like the letters to woke advice columnists I see here every day. Simon should sue.

    • Mostly Peaceful JaimeRoberto

      They’ll have to ban Joe Biden too.

  19. Mojeaux

    I have polished off the last of my fixings for Reuben sandwiches. I think I’m good for a while.

    In other news, this happened.

    My next project is a cross-stitched Mahomes for Mr. Mojeaux, based on this art. No, I don’t know who that guy is. Some rando from the internet who drew something easily chartable and stitchable.

    Yes, I know. Girlie stuff. Because I’M A GIRL.

    • UnCivilServant

      I have polished off the last of my fixings for Reuben sandwiches. I think I’m good for a while.

      Does not compute. Those seem contradictory states.

      • Mojeaux

        I get a craving for something and I will eat that thing almost exclusively for X number of days or weeks. Then I’m done and I won’t eat that thing for another long while.

        So I’m over my Reuben jag.

      • pan fried wylie

        I get upset when I fall out of the craving after just-having stocked up.

      • Mojeaux

        Right?!

      • UnCivilServant

        They used to sell these poor-quality frozen quesadillas at the store. Objectively, they sucked, but I still liked them. They stopped selling them years ago (no one bought them because they sucked). I still get occassional cravings, but I can’t recreate the actual flavor combination. (Objectively, the stuff I make fresh is too good in comparison, so it ends up missing the mark)

      • pan fried wylie

        Maybe freezing them is the secret.

      • Fatty Bolger

        That, and several ounces of MSG.

      • Mojeaux

        Good point! Accent to the rescue.

      • pan fried wylie

        Started using Accent a few years ago. I don’t have to add salt to my Progresso anymore.

        Not that I’ll be eating Progresso when my pantry runs out. Lack of steel from China? My grocery hasn’t restocked it in months, and their attempts at creative shelf placement (one row along the front) doesn’t conceal the lack of my preferred varieties.

      • Mojeaux

        I’ve had experiences like that, too.

        objectively better != preferred taste profile

      • Gender Traitor

        Oh, you mean like the way some of us really really love SKYLINE CHILI???

        Dang. Now I want Skyline, but the salsa’s already made for our chicken burritos. No problem, though – I’m almost certainly on my own for dinner tomorrow evening, and Skyline’s on my way home from the Y.

      • Mojeaux

        I do not know this Skyline chili of which you speak, but chili with beans > chili without beans.

        Objectively.

        Fight me.

      • UnCivilServant

        It seems wasteful to use your chili to flavor your beans.

      • Gender Traitor

        chili with beans > chili without beans

        Beans cause flatulence. (And don’t pretend that because you’re a chick you don’t fart . We both know that’s bullshit.) And beans probably add a boatload of carbs. (Have not verified this, but it sounds truthy.)

      • Mojeaux

        GT, you are not wrong on either point: carbs and farts come with the bean territory.

        I will eat chili without beans, but I prefer beans in my chili.

      • Nephilium

        Mojeaux:

        Skyline (and Gold Star), are a Cincinnati thing, generally based on Greek meat sauces. They frequently include chocolate and cinnamon in the ingredient list. Traditionally served on hot dogs or spaghetti with about a quarter pound of shredded cheese on top. It’s worth trying just to see how Stockholm syndrome can effect some people.

        And beans is for when you need to stretch out the meat in the chili. Save the beans for red beans and rice (with some andouille in there).

      • UnCivilServant

        Rice exists for when there is no real food to eat and you need to bulk up otherwise limited ingredients.

      • Gender Traitor

        a quarter pound of shredded cheese on top

        A large part of what makes it so awesome.

      • Mojeaux

        The only way I can choke down rice is with sugar and milk.

      • Not Adahn

        Rice exists for when there is no real food to eat and you need to bulk up otherwise limited ingredients.

        True.

        However, it is also excellent for soaking up salsa so you can eat more salsa without the burrito dripping and wasting it.

      • Cancelled

        Decent rice, properly cooked is delicious. Russian dressing on the other hand is a vile substance used to ruin a decent corned beef sandwitch.

      • The Hyperbole

        There’s your problem Jarflax , a proper Rueban is made with 1000’s Island not Russian dressing.

      • Mojeaux

        Says YOU.

        /lame comeback

      • Mojeaux

        Russian and 1000 Island aren’t that different.

      • Tres Cool

        Or a Reuben Kincaid

      • Mojeaux

        I can’t un-read that. I stopped 3 sentences in.

      • Mojeaux

        So cute! I made my kids watch Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. I don’t remember if they liked it or not.

    • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

      Yes, I know. Girlie stuff. Because I’M A GIRL.

      *looks confusedly at the URL*

      No, Im still on Glibs. Mo must be off his rocker.

      • Mojeaux

        Did you just refuse to address me by my preferred pronouns?

        TRIGGERED.

    • Ted S.

      In other news, this happened.

      I figured maybe you found That Which Was Lost.

      • Mojeaux

        No, I have not and now I am not sure it was lost. Family drama level is too high for my comfort.

    • Gender Traitor

      Your cross-stitch is lovely! Did you really start over? Seems a shame not to keep it out at least for a while where you can see it and give yourself a little metaphorical scratch behind the ears.

      • Gender Traitor

        Also – #YayGirlieStuff (the fun kind – not the crap that drives me to be a traitor to my gender)

      • Mojeaux

        Thank you!

        Yes, I really started over. The ink blot failure on top of my already pressing problems was too much for me to look at. ALSO, try #2 showed me that I had made a lot of mistakes (misread the chart) (damned old-age eyesight) (also, stupid designer who put similar symbols next to each other) and it was just best I started over anyway.

        Being a gender traitor is precarious at best. Does one betray femininity or feminism by doing traditional women’s work/crafts? I mean, there IS such a thing as subversive cross stitch (tender, lovely, flowery stitches spelling out FUCK YOU and suchlike). But does that really count? Or is it just putting lipstick on a patriarchal pig? Like feminist romance readers who aren’t content to say “fuck you, I like it” but must explain WHY it’s OKAY to like romance or, worse, [insert problematic subgenre here]. And explain. And explain. And explain. And keep explaining so they don’t get their feminist card taken away.

        We all can’t be manic pixie dreamgirl (although it seems to me a whole lot of feminists are bitter that they can’t/aren’t), but are we really gender traitors because we can see the flaws in our sex and agree when a man makes the same observation?

        Yes. Yes, we are. And I’m okay with that.

      • pan fried wylie

        It’s alright. Don’t you have an asian market nearby?

      • pan fried wylie

        (not because of the dragon, because they carry affordable bowls)

      • UnCivilServant

        Their crap is Made in China.

      • pan fried wylie

        That imported from Japan bowl is probably made in China too. Are you going to start making your own pottery?

      • UnCivilServant

        Not needed, I know potters.

      • Gender Traitor

        I can recommend a potter at the opposite end of your state (almost to PA.)

      • Gender Traitor

        If I were in the market for such a bowl, I’d buy it. It’s a very cool design, and I LOVE blue. If it’s as pretty IRL as it looks online, I might avoid putting it in the microwave or the dishwasher (even though it says it’s safe in both) out of an abundance of caution. I’d have it on display in my home in a heartbeat.

      • Mojeaux

        Gorgeous.

        I wish I could find a lovely poem I read once about blue bowls.

      • Gender Traitor

        Are you sure it was “bowls”?

      • Mojeaux

        Well, I don’t know. Can’t find the poem. It’s not the one with the dead cat being buried.

      • pan fried wylie

        Cuntes, Coddes, and Bawles.

      • Not Adahn

        I was gifted some of Townsends coffee. It’s meh.

      • UnCivilServant

        You never answered whether the coffee had gone bad sitting on my desk for months.

      • Gender Traitor

        their feminist card

        “What’s in YOUR shredder?”

      • UnCivilServant

        “What’s in YOUR shredder?”

        Mostly junk mail. I shred it as chaff so anyone looking for fragments of important documents has a more onerous task.

      • Jarflax

        Let me propose a radical idea: Men and women could try to like each other, not emulate each other, or force the other to emulate them.

        ****User not found. No Jarflax exists in this timeline, nor ever did, and asking questions will make your kids orphans ****

      • UnCivilServant

        Who’s nerdier, the nerds or the nerds who hang out with them?

      • Cancelled

        You crave Nerds? Not really a candy I’d expect anyone to crave but De gustibus…

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Take That, Cartoon Villain!

    Frustrated by a lack of federal leadership, governors of both parties are trying to forge a national coronavirus testing program without the White House’s help.

    The seven-state effort to buy more than 3 million coronavirus antigen tests was born of need and disappointment. It was midwifed by the Rockefeller Foundation and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and skirts President Donald Trump’s administration, even if many governors would prefer an approach coordinated by the federal government.

    ——-

    The agreement is a significant reproach to the administration, which has failed to formulate a coherent national plan to fight a disease that has so far killed more than 156,000 Americans and has at times left states competing for supplies. It brings together politicians of different parties, despite Trump’s effort to sow dissent before the November election. And it comes in partnership with an elite charity that’s a bastion of the American establishment.

    A stinging rebuke, it is.

    They’re just pissed they can’t get the feds to pick up the tab.

    • Grosspatzer

      The seven-state effort to buy more than 3 million coronavirus antigen tests

      They’re broke. Expecting a bailout?

  21. Hyperion

    “Coral Sex Milestone. Great album.”

    What if they are Frankencoral and they take over the seas?

    • Grosspatzer

      Coral is kinda red. I bow to our soulless ginger overlords.

  22. B.P.

    This afternoon my wife had an interior design guy over to hang some pictures and such. I have no idea what they were talking about, but heard in a wonderfully loud, shrill voice: “If another person say this thing or that thing is racist, I’m going to explode! I am a gay, Asian man*, and I am through with all this shit!”

    *Interior design guy, not my wife

    • Sean

      Good thing you clarified.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I was kind of hoping it was his wife.

      • DEG

        #metoo

    • Negroni Please

      Odds he votes straight ticket dem anyway?

      • B.P.

        I politely declined to offer up that question.

      • Viking1865

        Any white or Asian person who works in the private sector is a fucking moron if they vote Democrat this year. The explicit promise of the 2020 Democratic Party is reparations and racial preferences in favor of black and brown people.

    • Grosspatzer

      Didn’t know George Takei was an interior decorator. The things I learn here.

      • Not Adahn

        Oh please, he will never be over calling things racist.

      • Grosspatzer

        Oh myyyyyy!

    • Mojeaux

      Gay men are the white men of gays.

      Asians are the white people of POCs.

      • Grosspatzer

        My 19 year old says he identifies as Asian. Let’s see…

        – majoring in a STEM subject. Check.
        – teaching compsci to rich white kids. Check.
        Loves online gaming. Check.
        Turning Japanese. Check.

        I think he’s on to something.

      • Don did not Escape Bama

        I really think so

  23. Not Adahn

    Loading up some mags with the Target Sports ammo.

    It’s brass cased, and the jacket is a slightly paler shade of brass. The headstamp says “TSA” which of course reflexively angers me. It’s very closely packed, probably even closer than Russian 9mm. But instead of a tray, it’s in a black plastic rack which isn’t really like anything I’ve seen before but is closest to the way CCI packages .22LR

    • Not Adahn

      It’s after 17:00, time to go test it out.

      • Not Adahn

        Back. Did I ever mention that I love living across the street from a range?

      • Not Adahn

        And I was Der Freischuetz out there tonight. I’m going to use some of those targets when I do my 10,000 round review.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Tried to find where I saw the manufacturer. Closest I could find was someone who had TSA made in Czechia and speculated it was S&B or someone that did OEM for S&B. But also sounds like TSA may themselves have multiple OEMs.

      • Not Adahn

        The shit is filthy.

        After only 50 rounds, the tip of my right thumb looks like I stuck it in an ash pile and my forearms look like I crawled through a tick-infested field.

        How do the Rooskies make such clean-shooting cartridges for so much less?

      • Gustave Lytton

        Thanks for saving my wallet some dollars.

    • Jarflax

      You are mising a bet here. You have ammo stamped TSA, time to try and get it on a plane in your carry on bag.

    • Negroni Please

      As long as we fully test these on SEC players first I think it’s a great idea

    • B.P.

      Football players who can’t see because of fogged-up face shields should add an exciting new element to the game.

      • B.P.

        Holy shit, that was the exact same visual I had.

      • Hyperion

        How about we just them all in big bubbles. That way they can’t get the commie flu or concussions. WIN!

        We can rename it to Bubble Ball.

      • pan fried wylie

        I’d finally become interested in sports if giant hamster balls were part of it. Giant plastic spheres or rodent testicles, either way.

      • pan fried wylie

        Huh, I was wrong.

    • Hyperion

      The foozball players wanted woke didn’t they? Now wear your facemasks, wokesters!

    • Rhywun

      What a f–king joke. Soccer is going on without face masks. Why are football players such pussies?

      • Nephilium

        I believe it’s the NFL making the rules, in some cases the states.

        Related: OBJ didn’t have a lot of goodwill in Cleveland after last year, I’m pretty sure it’s all gone now.

      • Rhywun

        Oh, I’m just being a dick.

        But still. It’s not a good look, is it.

      • Nephilium

        No worries. I will admit to getting annoyed watching the baseball players pull up masks when they’re running the bases and the like. So have the Marlins all died yet?

      • Rhywun

        baseball players pull up masks when they’re running the bases and the like

        For real? I don’t watch baseball. That’s just so fucking stupid.

        PS. I just got the #MaskUpAmerica commercial (“you’re a loser if you can’t wear a mask for eight hours a day”) followed by another BLM commercial. I think I’m done with TV for awhile.

        Aiieee I need to go vent at something.

      • Rhywun

        PPS. I was just watching an episode of ST:DS9 on BBC-A and at the end I swear they cut something out – a pretty necessary plot point in fact. Confirmed it against my DVD. Assholes.

      • Nephilium

        Yeah. It’s just stupid. I keep getting notifications in my news feed about how the CW superhero shows have all made promos about how important it is to wear a mask. I strongly doubt that Supergirl is susceptible to COVID, pretty sure the Flash will be able to survive it, Stargirl’s a teenager, the Legends can travel through time and have superscience from the future, and Batgirl already quit the show (to be recast next year).

        Of course, this is the same channel that used Supergirl and Arrow (who had a gun user on his team) both do an anti-gun episode.

        Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl are both good so far (just skip the first season of Legends of Tomorrow, they were still finding their footing).

      • pan fried wylie

        The real question is, can a loser punch maskfaces for 8hrs a day?

      • pan fried wylie

        I was just watching an episode of ST:DS9 on BBC-A and at the end I swear they cut something out

        Hmmm. ST:DS9 has been declared a Black Story, so, I dunno, OPPRESSION!

  24. kinnath

    Should I pay $600 to get another thousand 9 mm luger?

    I am of two minds on this.

    • Drake

      I did better than that at the local shop last week. Not sure what they charge for shipping, but Buds has that beat for range ammo.

    • DEG

      Sure.

    • Not Adahn

      I bought the case I’m shooting upthread last week for $331 from targetsportsusa.com

      • Not Adahn

        …and they’re already sold out.

    • Mostly Peaceful JaimeRoberto

      Learn to reload.

    • kinnath

      Got 2000 at $800.

    • Sean

      I wouldn’t.

  25. DEG

    Lil Rona Panic fall-out

    Woods said restoration efforts could take a little longer than normal, as the storm affected the entire region and workers are a bit hampered because they are adhering to coronavirus safety guidelines.

    “During the pandemic, our crews are adhering to strict social distancing, hygiene and hand sanitation. They’re wearing masks when within 6 feet of each other. Our line crews are traveling in separate vehicles. It does make it even more challenging, so it could be a little longer for restoration than usual,” Woods said.

    • Grosspatzer

      No shit. I’m sure they will reimburse me for the cost of my spoiled food. And reimburse my employer for.lost productivity. But if it saves 1 life…

      • pan fried wylie

        Discounting any deaths from heatstroke, falls in the dark, etc.

        Hey, old people, just fucking kill yourselves already.

        *38…checks Logan’s Run jewel…offs self*

      • Grosspatzer

        *checks birth certificate*. I’m in. Tired of waiting for SMOD.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      That’s beyond stupid. Get there, get shit done.

      Next up, socially distanced infantry and recon teams.

      • juris imprudent

        Recon usually is well distanced, no?

      • pan fried wylie

        FROM EACH OTHER, HUH SMARTGUY>??!>!

      • Grosspatzer

        Next up, editorials thanking those heroes for their sacrifice.

  26. Hyperion

    We don want no mo police

    I’m not sure how this reconciles with most people in the country wanting to defund the cops and everyone wanting every city and small town turned into Portland or Seattle. But that’s the message I’m hearing. Apparently antifa and BLM now have majority support and only a few deplorables are against them. I mean that’s the message I’m hearing from the media and the polls.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I’m going to die laughing if they lose the black vote in November.

      • Grosspatzer

        Black. Remember to capitalize!

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Do I have to bold and italicize too?

      • pan fried wylie

        italicize? Because you gotta make them white in the end. you. racist. fucking. shitlord.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Can’t help it, I was “Born This Way”

      • pan fried wylie

        That only works in the other direction, Honkey.

      • Mostly Peaceful JaimeRoberto

        The Romans were Black!

      • Jarflax

        of heart, because they were white.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        They’d deserve it for kissing the radicals’ asses. It won’t happen but they’ll probably get a smaller percentage than usual, VP decision dependent of course.

    • Mostly Peaceful JaimeRoberto

      They polled blacks. There only about 2 of them in Portland. Maybe 5 times that during basketball season. That’s how you reconcile it.

      • Hyperion

        Someone who lives there once asked me ‘Why are there no black people in Portland’? I said ‘You live there, don’t you know?’. So he says ‘no’. So I said ‘Is it a problem? Maybe blacks don’t like Porland’. That seemed to really throw him and he didn’t know what to say, so that sort of ended the conversation. I should have said ‘Why do I care, don’t live there, ain’t woke, don’t give a shit’. But he’s a nice guy, just a little confused by all this woke shit, like that this is a question you need to ask people.

      • Mostly Peaceful JaimeRoberto

        My cousins up there told me that the few blacks that are in Portland got pushed into one corner of town and so they are even less visible than their numbers would indicate.

  27. Hyperion

    What, they might leave? Why?

    These guys are fucking unbelievable. You really think that what mayor dipshit of NYC is doing, might cause some people to leave?

    The only one thing I see for sure coming out of this 2020 clusterfuck is that we are going to see a massive exodus from metro areas. The dems really are going to need a true supermajority to prevent that, including all 3 federal branches, the courts, and a majority of governorships. Then they can just forbid citizens from moving about freely. Otherwise, what we’ll get instead is a whole lot of city folk spread all over the country and the entire country tuning deep blue. So tails they win, heads they win. We’re fucked. All of us, the ones who vote for it and the ones who didn’t.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      We’ll be fine or no worse off at least. The majority of people who relocate will be disproportionately people who ain’t about all of this nonsense I would think. If anything, the only thing that’ll happen politically is the blue cities will get bluer.

    • pan fried wylie

      Your concerns are overblown as there will be no 2022, 2024 or futher elections.

    • B.P.

      “The lighthouse is about a mile off the coast of Newport News and about a half a mile from the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel.”

      One of those boats was used by the Confederates during the Civil War. Time for a name change.

      • creech

        It’s already been changed. Merrimac is the Union name; CSS Virginia was the Confederate name. But you are probably right about the foolishness of name changes: I expect future history books will talk about the Civil War as the war between the Union North and the Other Guys.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      You’re old, dude

      • Incentives Matter

        Nah, just read the book back in high school. I could only wish to live over 120 years in decent health.

    • Mad Scientist

      Mont-Blanc’s forward 90-mm gun landed approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) north of the explosion site near Albro Lake in Dartmouth with its barrel melted away, and the shank of Mont-Blanc’s anchor, weighing half a ton, landed 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) south at Armdale.

      That’s just amazing.

      • Incentives Matter

        It was a Marvin-the-Martian earth-shattering kaboom, that’s for sure.

    • Hyperion

      “Halifax explosion in 1917”

      Does that mean in 75 years or so, Beirut is getting their very own trailer park boys?

      • Incentives Matter

        With good Muslim names, like Mahood Mahmud Mohammed el-Mohammed. ”This is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.”

      • Hyperion

        lol

    • Ted S.

      There are Great Canadian Novels?

      • Incentives Matter

        Just like there are okay American ones.  ;-)

      • Not an Economist

        Here is the best before/after picture I’ve seen.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Invasion

    Despite objections from a majority of its residents, a South Dakota city is preparing to host what some locals say is the largest gathering of motorcycle enthusiasts in the world.
    Visitors have already begun trickling into the city of 7,000 for the 80th Annual City of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. They are expected to number in the tens of thousands by the time the event — 10 days of drag racing, music concerts and other festivities — kicks off on Friday.
    The celebration — which usually draws about 500,000 people — will take place as the coronavirus pandemic remains out of control in cities across the country and health experts warn against large gatherings that help fuel the spread.

    South Dakota has reported more than 9,000 cases of the virus, among the lowest state tally in the country. And Meade County — home to Sturgis — has recorded about 78 infections, according to state data.

    Some 60% of Sturgis residents, when surveyed, told the city they’d rather the event not proceed as scheduled this year.
    But city manager Daniel Ainslie, who expects attendance to be lower this year than in previous ones, said the city council had already heard from thousands who were planning on making the trip and had little choice but to prepare for the crowds.

    “As a city, there’s nothing we could do, we’re not able to put up roadblocks and say, ‘You can’t come in,'” he said. “And it was quite obvious that we were going to have a lot of people here, even if we didn’t call it the rally. The issue is if we did not officially sanction it as a rally, then we would not be able to prepare for it.”

    ——-

    “In an area where we have this many national parks and we rely that significantly on tourism, it’s very hard to look at a virus that has a very low mortality rate — and especially from people who don’t have co-morbidities — and state that we should destroy the entire economy, just to try to reduce the spread of a disease which everyone has said is going to ultimately spread to the community anyway,” Ainslie said.

    But for some people within the community, the threat of the virus looms large. One resident, who told CNN they have asthma, said amid the crowd influx, they feel like they’ll be confined to their home to stay safe.

    ——-

    “My grandma is absolutely terrified because she has diabetes and is in her 80s and has lupus,” they said. “If she gets it, it’s a death sentence.”

    Just hold your breath until you turn blue.

    “it’s very hard to look at a virus that has a very low mortality rate — and especially from people who don’t have co-morbidities — and state that we should destroy the entire economy, just to try to reduce the spread of a disease which everyone has said is going to ultimately spread to the community anyway,”

    Sure, Mengele.

    • pan fried wylie

      “My grandma is absolutely terrified because she has diabetes and is in her 80s and has lupus,” they said. “If she gets it, it’s a death sentence.”

      Go fuck your Grandma.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Dude…

        No German stuff

      • pan fried wylie

        Ok.

        I hope she dies while they are unable to visit her or attend her funeral. Also, she never loved they and they has always been a disappointment.

    • Rhywun

      they feel like they’ll be confined to their home to stay safe

      So make the rest of humanity join you. It’s only fair.

    • pan fried wylie

      *starts GoFundMe for delivery of bats’n’bricks to their protest/counterprotest*

    • Don did not Escape Bama

      I take their point, but the shorter observation is that, simply, most people have at least some willingness to impose their beliefs on others because, after all, it’s for everyone’s good. The only thing that has changed in the 40 years covered is that everyone has a mouthpiece and a avatar now. The culture war is now fought on more fronts, asymmetrically where necessary.

      • Fatty Bolger

        That’s a pretty good explanation of why Jo’s statement was a mistake. Fight on all fronts. You don’t disarm the enemy by conceding a big chunk of the battleground.

      • Suthenboy

        “…most people have at least some willingness to impose their beliefs on others…”

        I am not sure who to point my finger at.

      • Mad Scientist

        I blame two groups: people who like the Beatles, and people who don’t like the Beatles.

      • UnCivilServant

        Most people will simply not care about the Beatles.

      • C. Anacreon

        You forgot about people who Beat the Meatles.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    More Sturgis:

    The city will provide personal protective equipment to businesses that will be working during the rally, Ainslie said, and recommend sanitizing stations and 50% capacity at bars and restaurants.

    But none of that is legally enforceable, he said.

    “But we are requiring them to post that recommended capacity limitation so that people are fully aware when they’re going in,” he said. “If an individual decides to proceed in, then it’s by their choice.”

    Good gravy. Why not rename the town Somalia?

    • pan fried wylie

      Why not rename the town “”?

      lrn2somalia, bro.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Al Swearengen is smiling somewhere. Those cocksuckers from Yankton can’t tell them what to do in the Black Hills.

      • Mostly Peaceful JaimeRoberto

        Swedgin!

    • Hyperion

      OFFS!

      • C. Anacreon

        The irony, since her husband’s economic policies nearly put the whole country in a depression.

      • pan fried wylie

        You gotta commend her effort here relieve our depression.

    • Grosspatzer

      Huffing your own farts causes depression? That explains a lot.

    • hayeksplosives

      She has low grade depression because she can’t be empress of the World.

      • Hyperion

        Did she think she was going to get to play Princess Wookie forever? I don’t know, she said she hated the entire gig and she’s always seemed like an angry person. I don’t think it has anything to do with Trump, but that’s a really popular excuse these days.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Don’t talk about the near future VP and the near future Pres like that.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      “ Last week former President Obama delivered a eulogy in Atlanta at the funeral of former Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and encouraged Senate Democrats to repeal the filibuster if they regain control”

      That’ll really let them fuck the kulaks and the wreckers up the ass. He’s such a uniter…

      • Hyperion

        Didn’t they already do something similar to that and then it came back to bite them in the ass? Something nuclear option…

      • pan fried wylie

        No, THIS time it’s gonna work.

      • Hyperion

        Also, there’s nothing that POS cannot make political, is there?

      • pan fried wylie

        Mind of a Chef made fried chicken political. Now I need to go back and check the credits for Obama.

        Also.

      • KSuellington

        Not to mention a dumbshite. How did that ending of the judicial filibuster work out for you, Hopey McChange?
        Seriously, how this guy is considered smart is baffling.

      • Grumbletarian

        Getting rid of filibusters sure didn’t backfire on the Democrats before, nope nope.

      • UnCivilServant

        Of course not, they’ll abolish elections with 51 votes and outlaw other parties.

      • B.P.

        He also said this during that eulogy:

        “George Wallace may be gone, but we can witness our federal government sending agents to use tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators. ”

        And a bunch of shit about vote suppression.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Coming from the guy who straight up murdered two US citizens outright.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Well that’s pathetic.

    • pan fried wylie

      Like, the crust is made of chicken?

      I could eat a giant chickparm…

      • pan fried wylie

        Ahhh, non-twitter links, those actually work for me. I tried opening twitter links recently and they just refresh this page, so back to not bothering and just getting someone to explain. GOTCHA, LABOR ENACTED (?).

        Interesting, but I think my version will just use breaded chicken fingers. Atop a normal, god fearing, wheat flour crust.

      • AlmightyJB

        I just put pizza sauce and seasonings, pepperoni, and mozz on chicken thighs. In fact I just made that Monday night and had leftover today. Been making that forever.

    • Ted S.

      No Harvest Gold. 😉

      • Sean

        Ha!

    • Jarflax

      Reinventing chicken cacciatore and parmesan.

    • AlmightyJB

      I might try that with hamburger this Friday

  30. Gender Traitor

    My new Dyson cordless vacuum cleaner sucks. In the good way!! I like the light weight and the balance of the design, and it’s insanely easy to empty. It seems to get edges better than my corded upright. This thing might actually make me hate vacuuming less.

    And it’s CORDLESS, BITCHEZZ!!!

    • Incentives Matter

      We’ve looked at those (or ones like ’em from Costco) off and on for several years now, but could never pull the trigger. I like my cordless tools, but vacuum cleaners are in a whole ‘nother category of power for me, and I worry about the battery life before recharging is required.

      • LCDR_Fish

        I love them – you gotta register the warranty though.

        Excellent battery life initially, but look for the 3rd party battery replacements.

        Also, use the permanent 20% coupons at bed bath and beyond when they have the regular dyson sales.

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        woot.com has Dyson at a discount on the regular. I buy my vacuums refurb

      • Gender Traitor

        Ordered this one from Sam’s on sale for $125 off, so about $200. It seems to be meant to be stored on its charger. I didn’t want to mount the wall bracket for it, so I’m trying to figure out whether it’s better to let the battery discharge completely before recharging or if I should just leave it plugged into the charger after each use. Manual doesn’t appear to address that specifically.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Recharge immediately

        LI batteries prefer to be topped off.

      • SUPREME OVERLORD trshmnstr

        sufficiently strong command strips may hold the charger to the wall, if it’s an aversion to putting holes in the wall that’s keeping you from hanging it.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Leave it plugged in all the time you’re not using it – like a roomba (although sometimes if I’m in a different room, I’ll leave it off for a day or two). I never wall mounted mine either, just lets me move the charger around, etc.

        Also, make sure you pull out the filter and rinse it (air dry for 24-48 hours before replacing in vacuum) otherwise it could get some clogs – I do it about once a month or so, depending how much I use it.

        I had a fault – series of light flashes – that apparently represented something based on that – they warned me about it, but I got a free repair/replacement part because of the warranty.

    • Tres Cool

      “I just bought a new vacuum. It really sucks!” -Rip Taylor in “Things Are Tough All Over”

      • pan fried wylie

        But does it work on confetti?

      • Mojeaux

        Glitter is the real test.

      • Cancelled

        Dog hair. Dog hair beats all vacuums.

      • Gender Traitor

        Or black cat hair on off-white plush carpet.

        Ask me how I know this.

      • Cancelled

        I have a black dog and a white dog. No surface is safe.

      • UnCivilServant

        You’re supposed to wait for the hair to be shed, not just vacuum the dog.

      • Cancelled

        No waiting is required.

      • Nephilium

        You mean craft herpes?

      • Mojeaux

        That’s it.

      • pan fried wylie

        “herpes of the craft world”, reference-mangler.

      • Tres Cool

        ‘stripper-glit’ will get a guy in trouble faster than lipstick on your collar.
        You can always change your shirt on the way home- glitter hangs on for days.

        “Tres? Whats this shiny stuff in your truck?”
        “I dunno…prolly that card my niece sent me?”
        “She’s 25.”
        “Yeah, well. Quarantine. She likes art stuff.”

    • Rhywun

      I noticed it went out of stock about an hour after you posted. I was thinking “Hm” but no way I’m dropping 4- to 500 on a new one.

  31. OBJ FRANKELSON

    I just learned a thing today. Beta-blockers (high blood pressure meds) are banned by some collegiate and professional sporting organizations including golf, archery, and riflery due to their ability to reduce tremors. Mayhaps I would’ve qualified experts more often if I had this knowledge.