About The Author

Banjos

Banjos

Wife of sloopy, mother to three bright, curious, and highly active young girls. Perpetually exhausted.

426 Comments

  1. The Late P Brooks

    Joe Biden promised us an FDR-sized presidency—starting with bold action to halt the spread of COVID-19, end the worst economic downturn in decades, and stop the climate crisis. Biden could use regulation and executive action to move quickly to decarbonize the economy, cancel student loan debt, and raise wages.

    Overpromise, deliver nothing. It could work.

    • UnCivilServant

      You didn’t happen to be a vendor to New York State in a previous career by chance?

      We literally got one statement of work that boiled down to “State staff will perform all of the project related tasks while vendor gets paid to do nothing.” We rejected it. We still ended up doing all the project related tasks, but the vendor wasn’t paid a dime.

      • juris imprudent

        Wonder what dirty politician ended up with the broken thumbs?

      • leon

        John McCain?

    • leon

      “starting with bold action”

      I.e something illegal

      • Nephilium

        It’s not illegal if the president does it!

      • Chipwooder

        Somewhere in Hell, Dick Nixon smiles

    • hayeksplosives

      I especially enjoy how ending the economic downturn is adjacent to stopping climate change.

      Those two things can’t coexist.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Here we go again with four bucks a gallon for fucking gas.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        At least we’re not allowed to drive anywhere this time.

      • Hyperion

        “Under my administration, energy costs would necessarily skyrocket”

        Someone said that.

      • Chipwooder

        But…but….GREEN JOBS!

      • Jarflax

        That isn’t strictly speaking true. An economic downturn ends when the economy starts to improve, but it also ends when the economy goes flat. Like say for example, the economy collapses to hand agriculture level, or hunter gatherer, the downturn would end at that point.

      • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

        “But I’m the best berry picker in this clan!” Wait until Og hears of this!

    • Claypoolsreservoir

      I think my favorite part about that piece is how they pine for an FDR size presidency. ME TOO!! THAT WOULD REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE STATE BY LIKE 50%.

      Dweebs.

      • The Last American Hero

        At least those guys in the works corps and the TVA had to actually, you know, work, to get their welfare check. And there were strict restrictions on how the money could be spent and the living conditions in the camps. I don’t pine for those days but compared to handing out checks for nothing and putting half the country on disability and food stamps, it would be an improvement.

  2. UnCivilServant

    I’ll be in my bunk.

    Now, if they also kill Chevron…

  3. Not Adahn

    And what an absolutely beautiful day it is!

    There are squirrels chasing each other through my trees while it snowing. It’s so adorable I think my pancreas shut down.

    • Not Adahn

      I guess now that it’s winter I should leave the screen door open so I can take better pics.

      • UnCivilServant

        The squirrels are fattening up for winter.

      • Not Adahn

        Some of them are quite chonky.

      • Tonio

        We can always use good quality squirrel pics here. Please feel free to upload them to the media bin and tag them as for anyone to use.

      • Not Adahn

        welcome back!

    • I. B. McGinty

      Back in the spring I pointed out to Mrs. McGinty there were 2 squirrels frolicking in the yard. Then one mounted the other.

      • AlexinCT

        MAU GIGGY MAU MAU!

    • beer league keeper

      As a child I though squirrels were adorable. Then I saw one eating a chipmunk. It paused in its meal to peer up at me, and I could see chipmunk blood all over its tiny snout.

      Ever since I’ve seen them as fuzzy-tailed tree-rats.

      • Akira

        Those fuckers ate all my Roma tomatoes two summers in a row (and by “ate”, I mean “ripped the fruit off the plant as soon as it started to turn red, sunk their teeth into it once, then threw it on the ground”).

        I bought a slingshot and some 3/8 pellets and would camp out in my upstairs window with a book. My counterattacks didn’t stem the population or willingness to go in my yard at all, but a little revenge sure was fun.

      • AlexinCT

        I had the same issue with my cherry tomatoes. I tried nets and all sorts of passive things before I just started shooting them with a bb rifle and throwing them in the trash.

      • Akira

        Yea, I did consider the BB rifle route, believe me. I was just 1) resistant to spending the money to get a good one, and 2) leery of doing that since I’m kind of in “the city” and worry about ricochets taking out a window. When I was in 8th grade, my friend shot something but hit a tree about 50 yards away, and the projectile ricocheted and took out the plate glass backdoor. I’ve been paranoid about firing BBs ever since.

      • AlexinCT

        I live in the boonies so I don’t have that problem. Note that slingshot rounds can ricochet as well.

      • Animal

        Note that slingshot rounds can ricochet as well.

        Can confirm.

  4. The Late P Brooks

    Congress doesn’t have the capacity to pass laws that nimbly address complex, technical, and ever-changing problems like air pollution, COVID-19 exposure in workplaces, drug testing, and the disposal of nuclear waste. So Congress tasks agencies staffed with scientists and other specialists to craft regulations that directly address those problems. This division of responsibility—Congress legislates policy goals and agencies implement them effectively—is the foundation of functional government.

    Stop it. You’re killing me.

    • leon

      “is the foundation of functional government.”

      But not the foundation of our government. This spells it out if you have eyes to see. Only the select politically favored elites should set the law.

      When someone says “Congress is unable to create such a law because of how Congress is structured” what they mean is my law is not popular enough to be passed by Congress so we should bypass this. See also complainants about how hard it is to amend the Constitution.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        “Congress is unable to create such a law because of how Congress is structured”

        Roughly translated: Congresscritters really really really don’t want to held responsible for regulatory changes.

      • The Last American Hero

        While I think Congress should be passing the laws, I think there argument is more like “Do you really want the guy who thinks the internet is a series of tubes to be writing laws governing communications?”

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Ideally the administrative state would be in an advisory and enforcement role while Congresscritters would have to put their names and votes to the proposals emanating from the executive branch.

        As it stands right now, Congress has delegated almost all of their law-making authority to unelected bureaucrats. Hell, they even delegated away their powers to declare war to the executive branch.

    • hayeksplosives

      Once Joe packs the court with 5 more friendlies, he’ll be fine.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        ^This, at which point they can restructure the legal system to their liking and they don’t have to worry about elections because they can just cheat if the tide of public opinion turns against them. We’re in for dangerous times.

  5. Certified Public Asshat

    Wealthy benefit the most from student loan cancellation.

    And that’s just those carrying debt. Those working in higher ed can continue to spend like crazy.

    • AlexinCT

      This is a way for the less better off and those that actually got real degrees to be forced to pay for the better off financially idiots that got worthless studies degrees and now suffer at their fast food or barista jobs because of the hefty student loan debt.

      • Hyperion

        Living wage, $50 an hour! Except for people who are already making $50 an hour or less, they get nuthin! Equality! $15 loaves of bread, $40 Chicken McNuggets! Utopia!

  6. Tundra

    Good morning, Banjos!

    By your lynx, I’m getting the feeling that there might have been some irregularities with the election.

    Shocking.

    I would love to see the SC do the right thing, but I am afraid to hope for any part of this fucked up experiment to side with liberty.

    That is one of the best pop songs ever recorded. I love it as much as I love this one.

    Great choice.

    I hope you all have a great day!

    • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

      You too. Tundra! I really wanted to like that tune and then the guy started singing. Soorry.

  7. Animal

    As Justice Elena Kagan pointed out in Gundy if the conservative justices bring back the nondelegation doctrine, “most of Government is unconstitutional.”

    Feature, not bug.

    • prolefeed

      if the conservative justices bring back the nondelegation doctrine, “most of Government is unconstitutional.

      “If”? The Constitution doesn’t mean whatever you say it means. What you’re saying is that, currently, most of what the feds do is unconstitutional.

      • leon

        Well it’s Kagan. The first step is acknowledge there problem.

    • Tonio

      I think some people are going to be in for a rude awakening when the current SCOTUS takes on public accommodation and freedom of association.

  8. The Late P Brooks

    Members of Congress are too busy raising money and campaigning for re-election to bother themselves with the mundane nuts and bolts details of their jobs. That’s what experts and lobbyists are for.

  9. Pine_Tree

    Yeah, the Proggie solution to “college loan forgiveness really helps the upper class idiots the most” won’t be to not do it.

    It’ll be to do it AND also “make it up” to the poors by “giving” them something else. They’ll be called “hope grants”, or “career something-or-other” or “equity future blah blah”.

    • leon

      I especially like when it gets pointed out that this is helping the rich AOC gets defensive and goes “well of course it helps the rich, it helps everyone!!!”

      No. That’s our point. It hurts the poor and helps the rich.

      • Pine_Tree

        Even if it happens and erases their debt, it will hurt them in ways they’ll never understand.

        Debt forgiveness will devalue the (mostly worthless already) degrees they got. There will be ways to tell who got it and who didn’t. It’ll be like a high-school diploma – worth nothing. And there will be a whole ‘nother layer of “services” imposed at colleges to suck up all that new federal fat.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        There will be ways to tell who got it and who didn’t.

        Yes, everybody else will be fuming mad.

      • leon

        Yup. I think I had one class in total that helped me at all in my job prospects. (Yes ignoring the discussion that that’s not what college _should_ be about, it is what college is about). And that was because it got me an internship. Employers just want proof that you can do whatever it is that they think a diploma signals. That is the economic benefit of a college education currently. Inflate it and you will see that benefit decline.

      • UnCivilServant

        I mistook the elective class “OS Scripting” as mandatory.

        I still use stuff I learned in it almost daily.

      • CPRM

        I took an intro Comp Sci class ‘Intro to Computers’…that’s literally what it was.

        “This is a mouse, it moves the cursor when you move it…”

  10. The Late P Brooks

    I especially enjoy how ending the economic downturn is adjacent to stopping climate change.

    Those two things can’t coexist.

    Oh, piffle. You merely lack faith and imagination.

    *reaches deep into magic hat, extracts snarling bear*

    • Not Adahn

      That trick never works!

      • Spartacus

        This time for sure! Presto!

  11. Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

    Wow. That spinning gorilla was me scant two weekends ago… Where do you find these wonderful gifs?

  12. The Late P Brooks

    Take, for example, the Clean Air Act. In 1963, Congress ordered the EPA to regulate air quality standards “at a level that is requisite to protect public health.” Based on that authority, the EPA routinely issues lifesaving regulations limiting lead in the air, air pollutants coming from chemical plants, and, critically, greenhouse gasses. Biden can use the CAA to start tackling the climate crisis on Day One.

    In a world in which there is no such thing as diminishing returns….

    • banginglc1

      the Clean Air Act. In 1963, Congress ordered the EPA to regulate air quality standards

      Umm . . .it did not. The EPA didn’t exist at the time.

      • juris imprudent

        And the next thing you’ll say is that the Germans didn’t bomb Pearl Harbor.

  13. Sean

    There is no evidence of wide spread voter fraud.

    Nope.

    None.

    *covers ears*

    Lalalalalalala…I can’t hear you.

  14. robc

    No evidence at all.

    • straffinrun

      There was motive like nothing you’ve ever seen before the election even started. The dismissal of motive is the real gaslighting.

      • leon

        ^^^ I like what Bob Murphy said regarding this. “Do you know how many people commited murder last year? It’s silly to think that _no one_ would attempt fraud”, especially given the rhetoric around the election.

      • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

        Stupid sexy Flanders!

      • straffinrun

        Now they get to explain how they “Didn’t hate Trump THAT much.”

      • Akira

        As Dave Smith put it,

        “The Democrat Party committed fraud in their own primaries to screw over Bernie supporters – you don’t think they’d do the same thing to Trump supporters??”

  15. hayeksplosives

    The more I’ve read, the more I’m convinced that this election was stolen blatantly, and not just at the presidential level.

    But what do we do about it? Media won’t report on it except to mention how that loose cannon Trump won’t concede.

    There’s not even a need to send incriminating emails from the DNC to the various key precincts in swing states. The local operatives know what to do.

    Corruption permeates our government and societal structures to an extent that may very well be irreversible.

    It’s reminding me of Putin’s groundwork he laid before his election as Russian president in 2000. Neutralizing the media was key.

    • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

      We hunker down and wait. We’re powerless but I saw two somebodies get red-pilled just yesterday. My Wife and the eldest daughter have had enough. Think that old shampoo commercial.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Think that old shampoo commercial.

        The one with the lady moaning in the shower? I’m not sure how it’s relevant to your comment, but I’ll think about it.

      • Tres Cool

        “Think that old shampoo commercial”

        Gee, your hair smells terrific ?

      • Nephilium

        But Tres, you’re a midget!

        /punchline to a joke with that same setup.

      • Gdragon

        Calgon/FBI, take me away!

      • Gdragon

        I missed you yesterday but Happy Birthday l0b0t! Hope it was a great one!

    • EvilSheldon

      Rioting and torching government buildings has a certain atavistic appeal…

    • robc

      What this election proves is that I was right about my suggestion of a constitutional amendment forcing the ME/NE plan on every state. And why nationwide popular vote is horrible.

      If fraud occurred, and I think some did, it happened in a limited number of locations. Which is why House races werent affected, as those places probably didnt have many close House races anyway (outside maybe one in Virginia that looked fishy). The ME/NE plan means that fraud in one location can flip AT MOST 3 electoral votes, 1 for the district and the 2 statewide. And probably 2 at the most as my assumption is the fraud is occurring in “safe” districts. Spreading the fraud out, if they are “safe” districts, gains nothing. I dont think flipping massive number of red districts in PA or MI or GA would have been at all plausible.

      It is a safety feature.

    • juris imprudent

      The more I’ve read, the more I’m convinced that this election was stolen blatantly, and not just at the presidential level.

      So you’re saying the Republican wins down ballot were fraudulent?

      • Homple

        No, that’s not what he’s saying. Not even remotely.

    • LCDR_Fish

      What really bugs me is the insistence of the Never Trumpers that every allegation of fraud is unproven and impossible to justify and the loss of court challenges, etc. Hear barely anyone address the bizarre number discrepancies – it’s like it’s enough to barely hold the senate as long as Trump loses because he’s rude and wacky….

      Just weird and irritating (if expected from the Remnant) even with the usually more libertarian guys at NRO and others.

      • juris imprudent

        Just one word about losing in court. That is the place where facts matter, not fucking narratives for public consumption.

        The Bundy clan lost in court and believed they had some greater claim than the legal system allowed. Whatever sympathy I might have given them evaporated at that point; you had your day(s) in court, and you lost. You are not a law unto yourself.

      • Social Justice is Neither

        And when the system is explicitly working to thwart any remedy? That is what’s going on here with explicitly unconstitutional or non-legal actions/procedures being waved through as fine because there might be legal votes in the mix (but who cares about the proportions) or the challenges were dismissed for standing but now it’s too late should have filed earlier when you don’t have standing…

      • juris imprudent

        Ultimately, you’re talking which is the greater harm – disallowing the majority of votes that are legit, or allowing the portion that are bad to stand. That’s no easy call, and it better be based on evidence (other than statistics, because Philly voted right along historical norms).

      • WTF

        Of course Philly’s “historical norms” include 120% of the vote for the Democrat.

      • juris imprudent

        Could be. That isn’t where Biden even won the state, but if that WAS the margin of victory, then I would look at it differently.

      • Not Adahn

        When you sat “Bundy clan,” do you mean Ted or Al? Because Cliven didn’t lose in court.

      • juris imprudent

        Clive lost his original legal battle over grazing permits on federal land with the BLM which led to the armed stand-off. As it happens I ended up dealing with the same BLM LE guy when he was promoted (and was actually incompetent enough to get his ass fired from the govt).

  16. Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

    Re: that Michigan hearing – Veronica Jackson is looking pretty fine for a lady who is well up in her Sixties!

  17. The Late P Brooks

    Government doesn’t work without the administrative state. But that’s sort of the point. The conservative justices have long been hostile to regulation and executive action. And now they may finally have the votes to bring virtually any regulation to a halt. At least five justices are ready to drop a 1,000-pound anvil on any Biden administration rule that displeases them.

    The horror.

    The HORROR.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Do they get to a say if the Dems attempt to pack the court? If they get the chance it looks like they’ll really try to do it this time.

      • prolefeed

        IIRC, there’s nothing in the Constitution saying how many SCOTUS justices there can be. So, if the Dems win both GA special elections, and Biden gets inaugurated, the only thing preventing court packing is enough Dems in the House or Senate saying no.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        I thought they needed 60 senators to get over the filibuster on changing the judicial whatever act that would need to be changed. I also thought they need 60 to get rid of that filibuster. (this isn’t the judicial filibuster they got rid of last time they had 60, but another one).

      • prolefeed

        Nope. The 60 vote filibuster is just a Senate rule of procedure – a tradition, not a permanent binding rule. Any such rule can be ended by a majority vote. This already happened for judicial nominations – the latest SCOTUS justice did not get 60 votes, but she got confirmed.

        Sort of like the tradition that Presidents can only have two terms, that held until FDR won four consecutive terms, and a Constitutional amendment had to be passed to keep that from happening again.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        This already happened for judicial nominations

        I thought that happened when they had a supermajority.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        On review, it looks like you’re right. I’m still a bit perplexed by this paragraph from wikipedia:

        In 1975, the Senate revised its cloture rule so that three-fifths of sworn senators (60 votes out of 100) could limit debate, except for changing Senate rules which still requires a two-thirds majority of those present and voting to invoke cloture

        Either that rule changed in the interim, or the Republicans voted to invoke cloture on the change in Senate Rules that got rid of the filibuster. I’m not sure which happened, though.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Wow, or they just ignored it.

        Despite the two-thirds requirement described above being written into the Senate rules, any Senator may attempt to nullify a Senate rule, starting by making a point of order that the rule is unconstitutional or just that the meaning of the rule should not be followed. The presiding officer is generally expected to rule in favor of the rules of the Senate, but under rule XX, “every appeal therefrom shall be decided at once, and without debate” and therefore by a simple majority as there is no need for a vote on cloture.

        This happened in 2013, when Harry Reid of the Democratic Party raised a point of order that “the vote on cloture under rule XXII for all nominations other than for the Supreme Court of the United States is by majority vote.” The presiding officer overruled the point of order, and Reid appealed the ruling. Mitch McConnell of the Republican Party raised a parliamentary inquiry on how many votes were required to appeal the chair’s ruling in that instance. The presiding officer replied, “A majority of those Senators voting, a quorum being present, is required.” Reid’s appeal was sustained by a 52–48 vote, and the presiding officer then ruled that the Senate had established a precedent that cloture on nominations other than those for the Supreme Court requires only a simple majority.[1][84] On April 6, 2017, that precedent was further changed by McConnell and the Republican majority, in a 52–48 vote, to include Supreme Court nominations.[85][86]

      • R C Dean

        My understanding is that its a procedural rule adopted at the beginning of each session. By a majority vote.

        Its a miracle its lasted this long. I expect the 50 + VP Dem Senate to junk it in January.

      • juris imprudent

        Manchin has already said he won’t cross that line. So even with both GA seats going Dem, you’re back to being short 1 vote.

      • Hyperion

        “Do they get to a say if the Dems attempt to pack the court? If they get the chance it looks like they’ll really try to do it this time.”

        If they get the Senate, we are all screwed. There’s nothing in their wildest proggie dreams that they will not try, welcome to Venezuela Do Norte, comrades.

        And I don’t know how they don’t get the Senate, because they’re going to cheat. If they get way with it once, it will never stop.

  18. straffinrun

    McBroom looked for clarity as to what happened to the ballots, saying that after ballots were counted they were meant to be put into locked boxes. Corrone said that this was not happening, and that instead those steel boxes were being used “for barriers for the poll watchers so they couldn’t get close.”

    At least they have a sense of poetry.

  19. Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

    Mornin’ Banjos. Thank you for the links that I haven’t read yet 😉

  20. The Late P Brooks

    The lieutenant governor of New York did a flyby on Bloomberg. Did you know New York has a NINE PER CENT POSITIVITY RATE!?

    NINE PER CENT

    Of what, you ask. She did not specify.

  21. Jerms

    Absolutely no evidence!!
    35,000 #fraud votes added for each #Democrat candidate in Pima, #Arizona: cybersecurity expert | NTD

    @Transparency2020 #Transparency2020 https://api.parler.com/l/XvD2K

    • Jerms

      Not to worry, mefia is all over this.

      • Jerms

        The media too

      • straffinrun

        Mefia works great.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        It’s perfect isn’t it? I think I’ll start using it.

    • Tundra

      Nice!

      Bad link, though.

    • Mojeaux

      Wait, what? You popped the question?! Congrats!

      And yay Anna!

    • DEG

      Nice!

  22. straffinrun

    There is no way Biden won 21% of mail-in ballots from registered Republicans in this state.

    Guess you should’ve changed the registration while you up your fuckery.

    • WTF

      Guess you should’ve changed the registration while you up your fuckery.

      Why? They’re going to get away with it, anyway. They knew that once the numbers were in, no court was going to throw out or overturn the bogus result.

  23. Certified Public Asshat

    Sorry, I didn’t respond because you quoted me instead of just replying. Maybe don’t be an idiot and I would respond? I guess this is how we’re doing it.I think defining gender has led to many deaths and is a religious construct that has suppressed accepting non European beliefs https://t.co/8vqYLIBlAS— Dave Anthony PHD, MD, Esquire. (@daveanthony) December 2, 2020

    When you are so woke.

    • leon

      The Esquire makes me think it has to be parody.

      In the US there is no requirement for adding Esquire after your name afaik.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Oh that is all bullshit, he is a woke “comedian.”

      • juris imprudent

        Is that like military intelligence or jumbo shrimp?

      • Tonio

        But it worked so well for Bo Cara, esq,

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        So tedious and pedantic….

      • ruodberht

        Holy shit I forgot about him until just now!

        Thanks, Tonio.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Tonio gets no thanks for reminding us of Bo Cara.

      • Chipwooder

        No thanks, just glares.

        I still believe chemjeff and Bo are the same guy. Their posting styles are identical.

      • RBS

        In the US there is no requirement for adding Esquire after your name afaik.

        Actually, it’s required if you’re a known asshole. That way the rest of us know what sort of person we are dealing with.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        In the US there is no requirement for adding Esquire after your name afaik.

        That hasn’t stopped my most pretentious classmates from doing it.

      • Jarflax

        I use it on my letterhead not elsewhere.

      • Jarflax

        To clarify that, I use it on my letterhead because as a solo I do not have a firm name and it is sometimes important for negotiating scaring people purposes to make it clear that a letter is from an attorney’s office, and Law Offices of sounds like the old Joel Hyatt ads.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Everybody that was born under the two gender system has died.

      What other proof do you need?

  24. leon

    https://youtu.be/9qqEU1Q-gYE

    If you like science and physics explained by a scientist who is as sick of scientists fart smelling bullshit as you, I highly recommend Sabine’s YouTube videos.

    • Not Adahn

      I cannot agree more. I don’t even have a cruel, stern older woman festish and I would bang her like a screen door in a tornado.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        She gets extra hawt points for beating on the string theory masturbatory fantasies.

      • Not Adahn

        I got a copy of her book for Christmas. I’ll open it early and see if it’s worth recommending during the next “What are We Reading?”

      • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

        “She a-looka-like-a men!”

      • Tres Cool

        German. Ya just know she gots hairy armpits.

      • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

        Come on Tres. You know you need to nest your nose in there.

  25. robc

    As Justice Elena Kagan pointed out in Gundy if the conservative justices bring back the nondelegation doctrine, “most of Government is unconstitutional.”

    Yes, most of the government **IS** unconstitutional.

    • PieInTheSky

      why do you hate air?

      • robc

        Allergies.

  26. Aloysious

    The “non-delegation doctrine”?

    If any of that happens, and I so hope it does, I don’t think I’ll ever stop laughing.

    Just the thought makes my tits all kinds of flappy. I might have to buy a minimizer (sorry, Q).

  27. Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

    Re: that Salon article about The Supremes staying out of the Legislative State? I think I might have peed down my leg a little.

    • robc

      We are all going to be majorly disappointed. You know they will put so many caveats and rules and exceptions into any decision to dial it down the minimum amount possible.

      • leon

        Of course. They aren’t going to declare agencies unconstitutional. Large sweeping changes are easiest done in one direction. Think of it like some tool that rotates freely in one direction but resists in the opposite direction.

      • juris imprudent

        Ah, but when a ratchet fails, it tends to do so rather spectacularly.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of TMITE- in the time-honored tradition of throwing anything and everything at the target to see if it will stick, the media are now reporting that the DoJ is investigating Trump for a “pay to play” pardon scheme.

  29. Rebel Scum

    Joe Biden promised us an FDR-sized presidency—starting with bold action to halt the spread of COVID-19, end the worst economic downturn in decades, and stop the climate crisis. Biden could use regulation and executive action to move quickly to decarbonize the economy, cancel student loan debt, and raise wages.

    I can’t wait for the resulting depression.

    At least five conservative justices have signaled that they are eager to revive the “non-delegation doctrine,” the constitutional principle that Congress can’t give (“delegate”) too much lawmaking power to the executive branch.

    It’s almost like we have separate branches with separate authorities.

    • juris imprudent

      NO! We must have unity to march on to our progressive paradise!

  30. Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

    Present for the lovely Banjos – https://youtu.be/4UjCzrdzR48

  31. Not Adahn

    Lol. It’s that time of year for my CFATS (chemical facility anti-terrorism standards) training. It’s always a hoot.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    I think some people are going to be in for a rude awakening when the current SCOTUS takes on public accommodation and freedom of association.

    I was thinking about this the other day. If, in the context of Mask Hysteria, we are going to allow “private businesses” to flatly say say, in the absence of law, “No one without a mask may enter these premises, because we say so.” why can I not, as a business owner, put up a sign saying, “No Chinks, No Niggers, No Irish”?

    • UnCivilServant

      The right to freedom of associate must include the right to not associate. It is within your right to exclude people based upon what you assume their heritage to be.

      • straffinrun

        4Chan needs to convince the normies that the mask is a white supremacist symbol.

      • Tejicano

        Well, it actually is a contemporary version of the Nazi arm band – declaring to the world that the wearer follows proper political thinking. But the left would need a billion tomes more self awareness to understand that.

      • juris imprudent

        Any non-white mask means the person is spitting on people of color. /now just insert into the right crease in social media

      • KSuellington

        Oh please lord yes, make that happen.

    • DEG

      A local gun shop got a visit from the Clown Prince’s and local doofus’ goons.

      He has a sign up telling customers to take their masks off before entering. He won’t do business with anyone that comes in wearing a mask and will ask them to either take the mask off or leave.

      The goons told him he has to.

      It sounds like he’s not going to back down.

      • Not Adahn

        One of mine has a similar sign. But they’re probably immune from enforcement due to them outfitting way too many police officers.

  33. Rebel Scum

    “So if you want a good concrete example of what happens when you don’t have a good transition, well, look at the Twin Towers.”

    That doesn’t even make sense.

    • Sean

      Quiet, you!

      Don’t you even fearmonger?

    • Not Adahn

      He’s blaming 9/11 on Clinton. Obviously he’s wrong (it was Carter’s fault) but this is a good indication that like Weinstein, ol’ Billy C. is no longer powerful enough to be appeased. Next time they need a scapegoat, they’ll suddenly discover that he was a serial rapist.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      BE AFRAID BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO DIE WITHOUT DADDY GOVERNMENT

  34. The Late P Brooks

    Haha, just heard this:

    “They’re going to put a warning label on the jobless report. These numbers are wildly inacurrate, and ought not to be taken at face value.”

  35. robc

    Re: discussion yesterday.

    The gap between league placement of Marine FC and Tottenham Hotspurs is the largest in the history of the FA Cup 3rd round. So it would be an entirely unprecedented upset if it were to happen. Also assuming Spurs are still in 1st in early January. Not sure how far they would have to go down or Marine would have to go up in order for it to not be the record.

    I compared it to UMBC over UVA, based on the fact that non-league teams beat PL teams sometimes and a 16 has only beaten a 1 once, but tier 8 teams don’t do it so it would be bigger than that.

    • robc

      I wonder what the AirBNB rate for game day will be for those houses in the background?

      Marine only has spectatators on 3 sides. Which is allowed at tier 8. At higher level, regulations specifically require outside viewing to be blocked.

      Marine FC

    • Chipwooder

      Well, since you felt like pouring lemon juice in an old cut, the UMBC game was historic for the 16th seed part, but then-#1 UVA losing to Chaminade in 1982 is a more unbelievable upset. Chaminade was an NAIA team at the time.

      • robc

        Didnt Chaminade also beat Georgetown? Someone else big about the same time.

        But yes, that might be a better comparison. Maybe Sampson couldn’t see the little guys running around him.

      • robc

        I have another comparison, with back story. My sophomore year of High School, my HS team lost 2 games all year. The first was in a Christmas tournament to Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble (Dobbins Tech out of Philadelphia). The second was in the regional finals to Louisville Eastern with Felton Spencer. We beat them bad in the regular season and got robbed by bad refs in the regional.

        So despite being ranked #2 in the nation, we didn’t make the state tourney. Eastern was prohibitive favorites in the first round against an A sized school (Ky tourney is undivisioned for basketball), that my cousin attended. They had no one who could dunk. They attacked Spencer early, went right at him, gave him a bloody nose and he got a bunch of quick fouls and went to the bench. They got an early lead, then made free throws the entire 4th quarter to hold off the comeback.

        Just looked it up, They had a 22-6 1st quarter lead and won 60-58. Made 24 of 30 free throws for the game.

      • robc

        Google is amazing, found the official play-by-play. Eastern led 6-2. During the 20-0 run to finish the 1st quarter, Spencer picked up 3 fouls.

        Metcalfe County (the winners) were 11-13 on free throws in the last 4 minutes of the game.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Ky tourney is undivisioned for basketball

        As God intended

        *glares at Indiana *

      • robc

        KY now has an A only tourney too, but the real tourney is still totally open.

      • Chipwooder

        I don’t think so. They had a few other upsets over the years after that, but at the time virtually no one even knew who they were.

        The reason the Hoos were in Hawaii was that it was a stop on the way back from Japan, where they had played games against Houston and Utah. They had won both despite Sampson missing both games with the flu. He played the Chaminade game but apparently was still pretty sick. Supposedly the team didn’t take Chaminade seriously at all and most of them went out partying late the night before with the USC women’s team, who was in Hawaii for some tournament. In a weird quirk, Chaminade’s center was a guy who was from Harrisonburg VA like Sampson and had played against him in high school, and wasn’t intimidated by him.

      • robc

        They have moved from NAIA to NCAA D2.

        Also, they started the Maui Invitation in 1984 on the backs of the Virginia win. They have won 8 games in it, including beating Davidson in 1984. But, yeah, no wins near as big as UVA.

      • Chipwooder

        I think they beat Texas one year when Rick Barnes was there.

      • robc

        They beat Barnes twice: Texas and Providence.

  36. Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

    Another one for the Dealer – https://youtu.be/lpqDTQOFvf0

  37. Drake

    Listening to these two whistleblowers and some of the others I realize part of the challenge. The election process is too complex for the average 15-second American attention span to understand. There was rampant fraud – and it was more than enough to change the results of the election.

    • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

      Yes and two months is not enough time to stem the tide. You guys are fucked.

      • Drake

        Us guys?

        The whole country is fucked. If this isn’t addressed and fixed, there is absolutely no reason not to use violence to effect changes since voting is no longer an option.

      • Nephilium

        It’s not going to be addressed or fixed. If it was going to, the time to do that was after the last midterm elections (if not earlier).

      • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

        I’m not an American. We’ve been fucked hot in the arse since 1982 when they repatriated the “Constitution” and let the Supreme Court set the law of the land with special cut outs for special people. I thought you guys would get into a shooting war over this nonsense but no, everyone wears the ribbon/mask.

    • AlexinCT

      I can’t help but laugh when I point out to people vehemently denying fraud could have happened that one would really have to be cognitively dissonant to believe that the bureaucratic machine that saw Trump as an existential threat to their racket and not only ran multiple coup attempts, all based on lies and bullshit they had been doing themselves, but reached ever deeper in the cesspool of criminality to get rid of him through a fake impeachment, suddenly drew short when it came to cheating an election – something they do every election BTW – so they could remove him, and they give me a look like I just told them I have pics of their significant other servicing donkeys and plan to put them on the interwebs.

      • juris imprudent

        I won’t contest the federal bureaucracy hating Trump and wishing him to go away as expediently as possible.

        I will contest that that has fuck-all to do with 50 state bureaucracies and countless county/municipal bureaucracies – the people who actually run the elections.

        Also – all of this fraud, at the Presidential level only, right? Or are you going to say that all of the Republican down-ballot success was also just as sketchy?

      • R C Dean

        I will contest that that has fuck-all to do with 50 state bureaucracies and countless county/municipal bureaucracies – the people who actually run the elections.

        Who said anything about all 50 states? This five, maybe six. Which, with the exception of GA, all had totally coincidental, not coordinated at all, never explained, “stops” to the counting on election night. Followed by statistically anomalous changes to their counts.

        No, nothing to see here, move along, comrade.

      • juris imprudent

        Fine, let’s dissect PA then. How do you plan to prove that every single Philadelphia mail-in ballot for Biden was illegitimate? Or is not all of them, but some slice? That was over 300K votes.

        You do have a plan, a process for sorting that out, right? Or is it just OFF WITH THEIR HEADS to all of them?

      • kinnath

        Sure. Let’s start by executing everyone that didn’t segregate ballots that came in after election day in contempt of the SCOTUS order to do that.

        It’s not enough, but it’s a start.

      • juris imprudent

        I have no real problem with that – other than my usual reticence with regard to the state administering capital punishment. That does not address how you unfuck the ballots.

      • R C Dean

        How do you plan to prove that every single Philadelphia mail-in ballot for Biden was illegitimate?

        Who said I need to prove that every single mail-in ballot was illegitimate?

        There should be an audit of mail-in ballots, for starters (not just a recount). Take every mail-in ballot, which of course still has its internal envelope with it, right, because that’s what’s required of mail-in ballots. Check to see that it was requested. Check to see when it was mailed. Check the signatures. The cover envelope with the postmark is long-gone, so unfortunately that can’t be checked.

        If all of that doesn’t check out, then its illegitimate. Oh, what’s that? The internal envelope was thrown away, so the ballot can’t be validated? Then its an invalid ballot, and is tossed. Oh, it was mailed without a request under a court order, or just because? Then its illegal, because the court can’t make election rules, and election officials can’t ignore them.

        Do a sample, one that meets statistical standards that have long been adopted by the courts. Run the analysis, and see what you get.

      • juris imprudent

        Pretty sure the ballots end up separated from envelopes at the time they are counted (assuming they are run through a scanner) and probably don’t get reunited afterwards. You’d be asking the process (which WAS FUCKED UP) to process them in a very inefficient (if forensically sound) manner.

        Given that you probably cannot do as suggested, your alternative is to assume guilt, not innocence on over 300K ballots. Counselor, good luck with that.

      • R C Dean

        I fully expect that there is no good way to audit mail-in ballots. The chain of custody is fucked from one end to the other. I’m not an expert on the minutiae of election law, but I thought I saw the internal envelopes were required to be maintained as otherwise there is absolutely zero protection against massive ballot dumps.

        The kind for which there is evidence, both direct eyewitness testimony and statistical analysis.

        Biden gets sworn in. No election fraud of consequence is ever “found” by a court. Your position will be the one that prevails, regardless of what actually happened.

        You do need to anchor your goalposts, though. I’ve noticed some drift in them recently.

      • juris imprudent

        Remember, statistically, Philly voted right along the norm (in fact, Trump did better than in ’16) – so the claim of chicanery there is up against that. So you would have to prove that a massive ballot dump there propped up what would have been an anomalous result (Biden having less votes than Clinton).

        As for the rest of the state, the Philly suburbs and elsewhere (not counting Pittsburgh), where Biden performed better than Clinton, and consequently won – is the claim really going to be that every county slid in dirty mail-in votes?

      • AlexinCT

        Part of the cheat was to make that impossible to do (and that was not just done in PA, it was done in all of the critical states, and on purpose, and they purposefully fubared it in PA despite Alito telling them to make sure to do whatever was necessary to allow this specific recount scenario after the fact to be done). That’s why Trump’s campaign’s only recourse is to throw the ballot counting out completely and have the state send electors. When RBG was there the democrats felt even this scenario would allow them to steal it with the SCOTUS (Roberts is their bitch), but then Trump went and got ACB to replace zombie RGB. Why do you think the media is so desperate to run out the clock and avoid this going to the SCOTUS?

      • juris imprudent

        You really think ANY court is going to throw out good ballots with bad, on the assumption that the bad represent a much smaller portion? When you can’t prove any of it?

      • Claypoolsreservoir

        I don’t think the assumption would be that the bad represent a much smaller portion. It’s that no validity to any of the mail in ballots exists if no envelopes and signatures were maintained. The margin is small enough and the statistical anomalies are large enough that throwing out good ballots with bad would not be seen as improper. For we are only assuming there are more good ballots than bad, we don’t actually know that. Which is entirely the point. If you can’t verify a vote is legitimate, it’s not legitimate.

      • juris imprudent

        You would have to prove in court that assumption – that the bad vastly outnumber the good. And really, in the case of PA, you need to do that across the whole state, not just in Philly.

      • Claypoolsreservoir

        I will admit to being a legal laymen. But all you need to prove that a ballot is bad is to prove that verification is impossible because the proof of validity was not maintained. Which has already been done (I believe) and is in violation of state election laws.

      • juris imprudent

        I don’t think so. No court is going to throw out 100 presumptively good ballots because of 10 presumptively bad ones.

      • UnCivilServant

        In some states, the law requires exactly that – if the count is shown to be tainted the whole ward is thrown out of the tally. I’m trying to remember which of the midwest ones it was so I can hunt down the citation.

        Too many shennanigans and their associated discussions.

      • AlexinCT

        Doesn’t even have to be more than ONE jurisdiction in each of these 4 or 5 states to get this done. And that’s the key. And since it was mentioned that republicans won most of the down ballot races, an anomaly for sure if Trump loses the election, I also feel compelled to point out that when the machine realized that the planned level of the original cheating was not going to be enough and had to go make up more ballots, they did what was the most expedient to produce some hundred thousand ballots of more: Only check Biden and leave everything else blank.

      • juris imprudent

        an anomaly for sure if Trump loses the election

        Why? Because every one must LOVE Orange Man? He’s our Glorious Leader? Why is it utterly impossible that he just lost?

      • AlexinCT

        Because historically, down ballot voting is happens in lower numbers than for the top candidate. Could it happen that the top voter gets less than the down ballot guys? Absolutely. There are no absolutes, so yes, but not in every single fucking instance. Statistically that is less likely than Winston’s mom not sucking dick for $2. But when there are several scores of weird statistical abnormalities, all helping the one guy that the machine needs to win to cockblock orange man, you can pardon the observer that calls bullshit.

      • Not Adahn

        Why do you keep equating “democratspoliticians in the US have been rigging elections since Tammany Hall, and here’s how they could have done it now” with “It’s utterly impossible that Trump lost?”

        For your next trick will you declare that anyone who wants to know how Ryan’s divorce records were illegaly obtained is just a racist that can’t stand having a President of Color?

      • grrizzly

        Even if he lost, you neverTrumpers have failed to convince half the country that he did. But keep being tedious. You’ll convince us that way one day.

      • juris imprudent

        I’m not a neverTrumper, I can just accept that he won narrowly in ’16 and could *plausibly* lose in ’20. Evidence, not story-telling, would persuade me. Everyone agrees he is NOT the usual politician, but keeps demanding that the usual political rules apply. I’m damn happy at the down-ballot Republican success, but I’m not so in thrall to the TOP.MAN that I’m willing to throw my brain away for Trump.

        For all the whining about Dominion, there is NO FUCKING CONCERN at all that Florida or Ohio could’ve been manipulated. It’s a one-way street. You all just don’t happen to see that, at all?

        Ticket-splitting is still a thing, no? I mean, the old voting machines with pull once for all R or all D are out of fashion (these actually were still used when I first voted in PA, to my shock).

      • Chipwooder

        Part of why no one suspects any shenanigans in FL and OH is that their process was timely and transparent. There were no sudden late-night vote counting pauses or massive numbers of votes showing up in the middle of the night that overwhelmingly favored one candidate.

      • R C Dean

        Evidence, not story-telling, would persuade me.

        And evidence there is, in the form of sworn eyewitness testimony and expert affidavits, concerning multiple states.

        Naturally, this will never go through discovery and a full adversarial hearing because there isn’t time, so we’ve got pretty much what we’re going to have. Insisting on full discovery, etc. is a way of saying that no matter what happened or what evidence there is, it doesn’t matter because an impossible standard (full, multi-year legal process) can’t be met.

      • AlexinCT

        When the democrats started changing the rules of the elections – by fiat and not through their state legislatures – under the guise we should let everyone get a ballot and then count them all, there was no doubt in my mind this election was going to see enormous amounts of fraud and abuse, resulting in legitimate voters being disenfranchised. There is no way to argue that to protect the good votes we should just buck under and count the bad ones, when that lets the election be stolen. Fuck that.

        If we allow this shit to stand we might as well quit bothering with a vote and letting the machine tell us what “candidate” they approve of and want in charge. I would rather the election be called a farce, the damage it does require us to finally institute a system where showing you are a legal entity and voting isn’t treated like a joke, and we move forward, than be told to accept this fracas of a result. The republic is dead if we allow that to happen.

      • Tundra

        The Republic has been limping along on a cocktail of legend and prosperity. Remove those and watch what happens.

  38. Rebel Scum

    “Not one of the military ballots was a registered voter and the ballots looked like they were all exactly the same xerox copies of the ballot,” the witness testified to the state’s Senate Oversight Committee at the Binsing Office Building in Lansing, Mich.

    “What I witnessed at the TDS Center was complete fraud,” Corrone said. “The whole 27 hours I was there. There were batches of ballots being ran through the tabulating machines numerous times, being counted eight to ten times, I watched this with my own eyes. I was there to assist with IT. These people on night shift, there were four people on night shift, one of whom I’ve known for over 20 years. He approached me and said he has absolutely zero training whatsoever.”

    Well, that is neither here nor there. It is over. Time to move on by accepting Biden’s glorious victory.

    • The Other Kevin

      “the TDS Center”

      Stuff like that makes me think we really are living in a simulation.

      • straffinrun

        Wondered if she was just making a joke or that is the actual name.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    Well, that is neither here nor there. It is over. Time to move on by accepting Biden’s glorious victory.

    Let the healing commence!

    • Drake

      Never forget where the counts were right before the coordinated shutdown and rigging commenced.

      • juris imprudent

        coordinated shutdown and rigging

        How many people were involved? Must’ve been quite a few. How did they do this coordination?

  40. The Late P Brooks

    “The CDC says maybe more people will comply with their quarantine rules if they change their made up number from 14 days to 7.”

  41. PieInTheSky

    Post election the comments on reason are dumber than usual. I wonder if they ran a single contrarian article saying there may have been some fraud here and there because most I saw were no fraud move on.

    • Jerms

      Nope. Every piece about it was on how ridiculous Trumps claims were.

  42. Drake

    Child-abuse. This kid will end up on meds and/or suicidal by High School. Obviously no father around to make it stop.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Narcissistic sociopath who only sees the signaling benefit to herself. There is no actual concern for the child’s mental and emotional well-being as they are simply an internet prop for mommy.

  43. Pine_Tree

    Anything new on the CIA director thing?

    Is the current theory that Trump personally led an Army intel team into a conflict with a CIA deep-state op in Frankfurt, and personally clapped her in irons for cryogenic shipment to Gitmo?

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Trump and the Greys attacked the CIA lizard batallion in Frankfort, fighting over the Ark of the Voting Covenant.

    • Drake

      Snopes says she’s fine, she has just decided not to go to work or appear in public for 2 weeks because of spy stuff.

      • Pine_Tree

        Well if Snopes says that then she must really be toast.

        Clearly the cryo exit failed and she died at Gitmo, and they’re in the process of re-animation, but only certain segments of her brain, so she can be made to testify to what the CIA was really doing without all the obfustication-y parts of her brain getting in the way.

    • bacon-magic

      I’m not familiar with this one. Any links?

      • Gustave Lytton

        Just search for Gina Haspel on twitter.

        It evolved out of the bizarro rumor that there was a military raid in Germany to secure election servers.

      • bacon-magic

        Thanks!

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I wouldn’t call it a rumor anymore since Powell acknowledged the raid did actually happen (not military led though). She might be lying, but it’s no longer just internet conjecture.

  44. PieInTheSky

    Breaking news, something retarded on twitter !

    Thread:
    Thinking face
    We have prepared the most mouth watering article for you about… culinary deceptions: https://bit.ly/3mulRPk

    Flushed face
    Or rather, top 8 dishes culturally appropriated by Russia, because food can be instrument of hybrid warfare as well.

    https://twitter.com/hwag_ucmc/status/1333697145933848576

    • juris imprudent

      Given that Twitter literally swims in tides of retardation, how DO you pick out only one?

    • Rufus the Monocled

      Yup. Nice and classy.

  45. Mojeaux

    At the hospital with my mom, who is undergoing surgery for a frozen diaphragm. I do not have a good feeling about this surgery. Now I find out she’ll be on a ventilator for a while after surgery because she will be too weak to breathe on her own.

    On the plus side, doc said she could probably go home tomorrow instead of the next day.

    Once in the hospital, I can’t leave (even to put stuff in the car) because I won’t be allowed back in. I generally spend the night with her to help but they said no. I’m going to try to wheedle my way into staying.

    Otherwise, I have to leave by 8p. I found a comfy place to park my butt and am wearing my mask half down. Nobody’s said anything to me yet.

    Hospital cafeteria food is good, as per usual.

    • straffinrun

      Sorry, Mojo. That’s the situation where we actually should be extra careful of the virus. I’ll avoid the obvious joke about “frozen diaphragm” and hope she gets well soon.

      • Mojeaux

        I’m not trying to be a dick about the mask. I just can’t breathe. I’m in a pretty isolated location with no one else. (The idea was to take a nap, but that won’t be possible.)

        Anyway, haven’t heard anything yet. It’s called a diaphragm plication. They apparently have to collapse a lung to do it.

      • straffinrun

        Didn’t mean to imply you were being a dick. That procedure mom is going through sounds awful.

      • Mojeaux

        You didn’t! It just occurred to me that my remark could’ve been taken as general saltiness. In this case, it’snot. What makes me salty is not being able to spend the night as I usually do.

    • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

      Sending magical Festus power to you and your Mom, Mojo. I wish I could be there to split some metaphorical wood for your family. You are in my thoughts, dear Lady.

      • Mojeaux

        Thanks, Festus. Much appreciated!

      • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

        I’m a loser but I’m a gracious loser. It’s nice to excel at something. That guy that you see on the podium getting the Bronze Medal? That’s me.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        / Bumps Festus up to Silver, takes the Bronze!

    • Rufus the Monocled

      Hang in there. Good luck.

      2020. smh.

      • Mojeaux

        Thanks, Rufus.

        No, I am not working today. ?

    • The Other Kevin

      When my MIL was in the hospital recently with COVID, she was isolated and you could just hear it in her voice that she was on the verge of giving up. A bunch of us drove up there and waved to her from the parking lot, and tons of people sent cards to her. (She is one of those people who sends cards and letters to everyone she knows, even if they are just an acquaintance). That turned her around and she was home a few days later.

      It is extremely important for your mom to have you there to support her. I hope you can stay as long as needed.

      • Mojeaux

        Thanks, TOK.

        I didn’t know how much it meant to her that I stayed the night with her last time. I helped her with stuff she didn’t want to call the nurses for, but… We will see how persuasive/whiny I can be.

        She really needs this surgery. She hasn’t been able to breathe right for months.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        First, prayers for your mom (and you!), Mojeaux. Never easy.

        I have never regretted the time spent in hospital with family. Even when I get a bit of a side-eye (“Why are you staying this entire time? Go home!”), and it’s been exhausting, I’ve always thought “Where else would I be? NOT with my child/friend/family?”

        That’s not to stand in judgement of those that can’t stay, but in support of you and your decision to stay.

      • Mojeaux

        Thanks, Kwihn.

    • LemonGrenade

      Sorry to hear that Mojeaux. Hope your mom comes out of surgery just fine, and that the staff takes mercy on you and lets you hang out.

      • Mojeaux

        Thanks. Doc just let me know she did fine.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Uffda Mojeaux. Best wishes to your mom (and you).

      Hospitals suck big time. Waiting stinks bigger time.

      • Mojeaux

        Thank you, your holiness.

    • Akira

      Sorry to hear that Mo. I hope everything goes off with no issues.

      • Mojeaux

        Thanks, Akira.

    • Tundra

      Prayers for you and mom, Mo.

    • DEG

      Sorry Mojo. I hope it works out.

    • Mojeaux

      Okay, came thru it just fine, no ventilator. Still in recovery.

      • DEG

        This is good news. Hopefully the good news continues.

      • Chipwooder

        Congrats! Great to hear. Once people reach a certain age, any hospital visit/surgery, no matter how routine, can go haywire, so I’m glad your mom came through swimmingly.

      • Mojeaux

        Yep. I get more twitchy every time she goes under. Last year it was a cardiac ablation and pinning a broken arm. But then, if her bones would break if you looked at her too long.

  46. PieInTheSky

    whenever people here start talking about the “problem with ML” I can’t tell if they are referring to Marxist-Leninism or Machine Learning without any further context

    https://twitter.com/Aelkus/status/1333947395143512064

    • AlexinCT

      I bet that they (the dnc operatives with bylines) will bury this because what she says makes it obvious the problem exists specifically to allow fraud…

  47. The Other Kevin

    I think there was plenty of election fraud, but I highly doubt there was orchestration from the top. If a majority of Democrats think Trump is literally Hitler, then you would expect them to do anything and everything to stop him. (Who wouldn’t consider it their moral duty to go back in time and kill baby Hitler?). So the cheating was basically crowdsourced. Everyone took it upon themselves to do what they could.

    The biggest problem I see here is that it calls into question all past and future elections. There’s going to be zero confidence in elections going forward, and that’s going to be a big problem.

    • Animal

      The biggest problem I see here is that it calls into question all past and future elections. There’s going to be zero confidence in elections going forward, and that’s going to be a big problem.

      If that’s not the understatement of the week, then it will do until a better one comes along.

      • juris imprudent

        seconded

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      So the cheating was basically crowdsourced.

      I’m not sure if the anti-markets party would rely on the market to spontaneously organize the fraud. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if an email chain were leaked showing national coordination.

      • The Other Kevin

        If there is, I think it will be something like “You know how important this election is, make sure you do what you find necessary to stop this evil”, wink wink, nudge nudge.

    • Chipwooder

      Probably.

      I think there was plenty of fraud, but like you I don’t think it was a big centrally orchestrated conspiracy. There are a bunch of suspicious anomalies, but not a lot of hard evidence that will stand up in court, so the election results won’t change. The only positive outcome would be for states to overhaul their election procedures the way Florida and Ohio have, but fat chance of that happening.

    • Drake

      I agree – the Trump = Hitler and there “any means necessary” philosophy means there is no reason for them to not cheat as much as possible.

      But I also watched 7 states stop counting votes simultaneously on election night. Two states might be a coincidence, seven isn’t. Somebody coordinated that shutdown.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Not to mention that the stops weren’t actually stops, they were just a way to get observers to go home for the night while they kept counting. Maybe not provable in a court but that’s enough for me.

    • Rebel Scum

      Who wouldn’t consider it their moral duty to go back in time and kill baby Hitler?

      Baby Hitler was innocent. That would just be murder.

    • AlexinCT

      And that’s the thing most people simply don’t get: you don’t need orchestration at all after you have created these pockets rife for fraud in key areas and then spend 4 years screaming orange Hitler that wants to bring back Nazism…

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      I don’t know. The Dominion whistleblower testified that the Dominion president was on the ground in Detroit right before the election. She also testified that there were illegal tabulator machines in the DOE building (not sure have this labeled exactly right). Both reek of higher level collusion.

      There’s info coming out now that once you trace back through all of the shell companies, Dominion is actually owned by the PRC.

    • Drake

      Watch a Dominion Representative at Gwinnett County Election Central, responsible for tabulating ballots and certifying results, download data to a USB from the Election Management Server, plug it into a laptop, manipulate the data, then palm the USB.

      The only way to really know the level of coordination would be to arrest this guy, threaten him with a long haul in federal prison unless he flips, then move up the chain. Not like we haven’t done RICO investigations before.

      • CPRM

        Watch a Dominion Representative at Gwinnett County Election Central guy somewhere, responsible for tabulating ballots and certifying results, download data to a USB from the Election Management Server, plug it into use a laptop, manipulate the data, then palm then remove some sort of dongle from the laptop.

        I’m sorry, but that is all the information that is actually backed up by the video.

      • juris imprudent

        Amazing, the shit we WANT to see, and lo and behold – we see it.

      • Urthona

        The site actually admitted this morning he took data from the server against the rules and looked at on his laptop.

        I don’t think this will do anything but apparently he did break the rules in some fashions

      • CPRM

        What site?

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      Me, don’t mess with Time, it bites back…..

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        that goes with this,
        (Who wouldn’t consider it their moral duty to go back in time and kill baby Hitler?).

  48. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of runaway regulatory agencies

    In a dramatic escalation, the task force, which has frequently pleaded in weekly reports with state officials to enact tighter mitigation measures, including mask mandates and indoor dining restrictions, urged public health officials to take matters into their own hands.

    “If state and local policies do not reflect the seriousness of the current situation, all public health officials must alert the state population directly,” the reports say.

    The reports offered this advice to public health officials: “It must be made clear that if you are over 65 or have significant health conditions, you should not enter any indoor public spaces where anyone is unmasked due to the immediate risk to your health; you should have groceries and medications delivered.”

    Additionally, the reports echoed comments from task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, who urged Americans who traveled to behave as though they have the virus.

    “If you are under 40, you need to assume you became infected during the Thanksgiving period if you gathered beyond your immediate household. Most likely, you will not have symptoms; however, you are dangerous to others and you must isolate away from anyone at increased risk for severe disease and get tested immediately. If you are over 65 or have significant medical conditions and you gathered outside of your immediate household, you are at a significant risk for serious COVID infection; if you develop any symptoms, you must be tested immediately as the majority of therapeutics work best early in infection,” the reports say.

    Rule of law? Don’t be ridiculous.

    The law is what we say it is. We’ll save your life if it kills you.

    • Rebel Scum

      Most likely, you will not have symptoms; however, you are dangerous to others

      Then how might I transmit this plague?

    • R C Dean

      Of course, what Birx says is contrary in almost every particular to what CDC recommends.

    • EvilSheldon

      Screeching hysteria has worked well so far, why not just double down again?

  49. The Late P Brooks

    WTF?

  50. Certified Public Asshat

    Meet Elliot Page

    Same news we heard yesterday, but to the comments!

    Good for him and hoping they won’t face a tonne of shit about it.

    Reply:

    Serious question: based on their stated pronouns of “he/they,” wouldn’t it be: “Good for them and hoping he”?

    • Chipwooder

      Mixing he and they is even dumber than the usual pronoun silliness.

      • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

        I don’t think that we’ve even pulled the thread on the comfy sweater of idiocy going forward. So disappoint. Fuck. She was Jim Lahey’s original daughter and now she’ll be sporting a scruffy beard and big boots.

  51. The Late P Brooks

    I also watched 7 states stop counting votes simultaneously on election night. Two states might be a coincidence, seven isn’t. Somebody coordinated that shutdown.

    Union mandated break. Nothing to see here.

    • Drake

      And in every big city where they declared a “break”, the election observers were sent home, then they resumed counting – and almost all the ensuing votes were for Biden.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Why isn’t this stuff being brought up at trial? It makes me question the veracity of the story. Seems like an open and shut case of fraud to me, but I haven’t heard a peep from the Giuliani circus.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        It’s brought up constantly. I see it over and over again from witness after witness at every hearing I’ve watched (I’ve been trying to hear some of the evidence directly by watching hearings rather than through the media). It’s all in the affidavits Giuliani and Powell have submitted for their trials.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        I guess what I haven’t seen is a first person affidavit from an actual election monitor saying “I was told to go home at 12:30 and come back the next morning at 7am, and when I got there the next morning, they had processed an extra 150k ballots without any supervision.”

        The concern here being that in any massively public scandal, there are plenty of tangentially connected lunatics who come out of the woodwork to say whatever they think will get them attention, perjury or no. The contractor for Dominion spikes my “15 minutes of fame” meter.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I hear you. Hundreds of people have come forward and swore under oath, including Democrats, and election monitors. I’ve only listened to a small number of their accounts and have not heard that exact scenario but it could easily be in there.

        I have heard accounts from those who observed the GOP monitor being thrown out and then personally witnessed the extra ballots being processed without supervision. I think this is more meaningful than from the person being thrown out because it’s conjecture from the person who was thrown out. The person who remained witnessed it happening in realtime with their own eyes.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        That’s just a coincidence you nutbar. They always stop counting in the middle of the night and then don’t actually stop counting.

  52. Rufus the Monocled

    As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly….and there wasn’t massive election fraud.

    • kinnath

      and there wasn’t massive election fraud.

      Correct. There was targeted election fraud in a handful of jurisdictions in a handful of swing states. Just enough to alter the results of the electoral college.

      • Drake

        Yes and no. The plan was to target the cities in a few swing states. The glitch was that Trump was much much farther ahead than planned. More than they could swing with a subtle touch. That’s when that had to “pause” the counts and really amp up the fraud.

      • Hyperion

        Yeah, he was on his way to win big and they stopped counting. I sat right here and watched that bullshit.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        ^This guy gets it…

      • AlexinCT

        What you do with these leftist asshats pretending there would never be a case for fraud is ask them why after 4 years of abuses of power and making up shit to get rid of orange Hitler, failing at every turn, risking serious retribution for that criminality if orange Hitler gets reelected, this crowd would they not cheat an election to get rid of him.

  53. Rufus the Monocled

    Re. CNN. So did they think this way when Obama purposely didn’t graciously hand Trump a smooth transition?

    /I’ll show myself out.

  54. Rebel Scum

    Does anyone want to tell him?

    BarackObama worries that future elections will likewise be contested: “Imagine if, going forward, every single election is treated this way at every level. Imagine if Democrats start acting this way.”

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Man I hate that guy.

    • KSuellington

      That’s just to hide the ankle monitoring bracelet that he is wearing. Within a few days he will be conceding the election to arrumo in exchange for a full pardon.

      • KSuellington

        *fucking Portuguese autocorrect*

        Arrumo=Trump

  55. Certified Public Asshat

    I’m more sick about missing this game than I am from this virus ??— Willie Snead IV (@Willie_Snead4G) December 1, 2020

    Willie Snead, covid denier.

  56. The Late P Brooks

    Bear with me.

    Vote counting irregularities on state/local level are eventually proven in court. Criminal sentences are handed down. FEC levies massive fines.

    President Biden issues blanket pardon?

    • Festus' Mustache's tits keep calm and carry on.

      They’ll be in their bunk.

    • R C Dean

      Vote counting irregularities on state/local level are eventually proven in court. Criminal sentences are handed down.

      Who is bringing these criminal cases? Harris’s DOJ? The Dem AGs in those swing states?

  57. The Late P Brooks

    The only way to really know the level of coordination would be to arrest this guy, threaten him with a long haul in federal prison unless he flips, then move up the chain. Not like we haven’t done RICO investigations before.

    Serious question: are there criminal statutes at the federal level for election malfeasance, or is it state by state.

    I know the FEC deals with technical and funding rules, but what about criminal prosecution?

  58. The Late P Brooks

    Then how might I transmit this plague?

    You’re one of them asymptomatic superspreaders, you fiend!

    *points, shrieks*

  59. R C Dean

    Joe Biden promised us an FDR-sized presidency

    So he’s going to drastically reduce the size and reach of government? Because its grown a shitload since 1945.

  60. The Late P Brooks

    Think of it like some tool that rotates freely in one direction but resists in the opposite direction.

    Behold! The sprag clutch

  61. The Late P Brooks

    So he’s going to drastically reduce the size and reach of government? Because its grown a shitload since 1945.

    *blows whistle, throws flag*

    Fifteen yards and loss of down, for quibbling.

  62. LCDR_Fish

    Nuts, looks like one of the guys in our office tested positive so I’m supposed to isolate for 14 days (paid at least thankfully). Huge impact on the work environment at least – granted a little slower the next two weeks but will affect quite a bit of the training based on how tied in to all the courses our team is.

    Not normally a big deal other than a few other reschedules…but I gotta figure out if that cancels my military orders for next week or if I can get around that with additional testing. Very inconvenient/frustrating.

      • LCDR_Fish

        We’re off 10 days now – including yesterday even though we were in the office all day yesterday….. ;p Out till next Friday and my MIL orders are canceled.

    • ttyrant

      Fish – I saw your glibfit post from the weekend asking about what you can do with dumbbells but saw it much too late at night to respond. One option is turkish get-ups — it’s a pretty good, all encompassing exercise, and using a 20 lb dumbbell will make it all the more difficult. Turkish get-ups are a bit difficult too describe, but there’s plenty of videos online. I usually do them as a warm-up or finish to my workouts on days when I lift.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Thanks. I did find some good sites last night. I’ll try and build a workout this afternoon for the next 10 days I’m isolating.

    • Akira

      That’s fucked.

      My company will quarantine you for a week or something, and you can get paid but you have to use up your VTO days on that. Still, if I just asked for a week off (with no advance notice) they would not grant it… But if I say I have a nasty cough, I could get a week off with pay… Incentives, incentives…

  63. Certified Public Asshat

    SP? I think, wrote a post awhile ago on how she makes her online life more private. I have been searching for it for awhile now, and cannot seem to find it.

    Can anyone with special powers help me find this post?

  64. DEG

    ‘Mornin Banjos!

    “It won’t make everyone happy,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said during a press conference on Tuesday. “But there’s been an enormous amount of work done.”

    Fuck you. Cut spending.

    China underreported Covid-19 numbers by more than half as it downplayed the severity of the virus and their failure to quickly diagnose cases in the early stages of the pandemic, according to leaked documents.

    A series of revelations in 117 pages of internal documents from the Hubei Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, obtained by CNN, shows how the Chinese Communist Party withheld vital information as the world grappled to contain the rapidly spreading virus.

    I don’t know where my shocked face is.

    At least five conservative justices have signaled that they are eager to revive the “non-delegation doctrine,” the constitutional principle that Congress can’t give (“delegate”) too much lawmaking power to the executive branch

    John Roberts says, “HI! We’re not doing shit!”

    • Ownbestenemy

      I can forgive rulings in which I think Roberts botched. It happens, and his legal view or possibly testimony heard swayed him. That is the justice system.

      I cannot forgive his cowardliness actions when he doesn’t even attempt to answer cases or brushes them off because it is a tough question to deal with or will mess up our institutions.

      • Chipwooder

        Which is his usual MO. He punts more than Ray Guy.

  65. Kwihn T. Senshel

    (from the Brooks link above):

    Most likely, you will not have symptoms; however, you are dangerous to others and you must isolate away from anyone at increased risk

    I’m just into middle age. I cannot remember in my lifetime – with the possible exception of Y2K, which had much more lead up to a nothingburger – of any change this massive in the public’s perception of something dangerous. I vaguely remember the kidnapping scare in the 80’s-90’s, but even that wasn’t followed by gov’t agencies demanding kids stay off streets or something.

    But with this, we’ve gone from not a big deal in Jan-Feb to EVERYONE MUST MASK AND FEAR AND ISOLATE and YOU ARE ALWAYS A DANGER TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS in less than 6-8 months. I’ve never seen anything like it. Even people in my social circle who were somewhat skeptical back at the beginning of all this have complied “just to be safe,” and those that were scared from the beginning are both terrified and triumphant.

    Nearly every governor in the nation has instituted massive restrictions, often with the force of law behind them. Even traditionally freedom-loving states like Idaho or Wyoming are mandating this stuff.

    Can anyone point to a nationwide sea change of perspective on a thing in their lifetimes like we’re having with masks and social distancing? Just interested in the perspective of those that have lived longer than I, or have a better grasp on US or world history.

    I guess I’m looking for a little comfort in knowing that this isn’t actually all that unique of a phenomenon.

    • Idle Hands

      no. we are living in a punctuated equilibrium.

    • Ownbestenemy

      I would say the aftermath of 9/11 came somewhat close and results are just the same. Pound home the fear factor to move the whole nation into acceptance.

      Those same words now when we have to go through TSA Security Theater “just to be safe” were uttered by the skeptics also. I know people that will not fly now for fear that terrorist will do what they did 20 years ago.

      People have grown to accept that they cannot fight the behemoth of Government so they internalize that if they want to fly and see grandma, they have to go through security and if they want to see grandma, they have to wear the mask.

      • Idle Hands

        Closest thing for sure about a momentous turn in attitude. My grandpa compared this to the japs bombing peal harbor.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Good call on 9/11. Definitely gave up a ton of freedom over that (that and the SHOEBOMBER).

        I personally don’t know anyone that won’t fly due to terrorist fear, although many I know think that the security is keeping us safe.

        The social pressure and bullying (which is back in vogue re:masks!) is something I have never experienced, though. Even in my small-ish town in Western WA, there are signs all over the place paid for by the town, and the compliance is almost 100%.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Seat belts maybe? Lots of shaming over that and trucking dead bodies and mangled cars all over to high schools?

      • mrfamous

        What’s going on now is precisely why seat belt and helmet laws were right to be resisted when they were introduced (and I always wear my seat belt). The principle in these cases matter and was very much worth fighting for.

        And you see it now, whenever people complain about the mask mandates, they get yelled at about seat belt and helmet laws. As if these laws were self-evidently good and non-controversial measures. You compromise on this principle, and your right to self determination disappears. Period. They will _always_ know what’s best for you.

      • juris imprudent

        think that the security is keeping us safe

        See what happens when someone wants a comforting delusion?

      • Mojeaux

        I refuse to fly because of TSA.

        (Also I really like roadtripping.)

    • grrizzly

      I think this case of mass psychosis is unique in the world history.

      • Idle Hands

        It’s not unique just far more widespread than anything ever.

      • Not Adahn

        Yup.

      • Tundra

        Yes, because we have the technology to freak out as a globe.

        Thanks, Deep Tech!

      • grrizzly

        It’s unique in a sense that it affected the entire world. On the local or national scale it happened before. On this scale never.

      • Not Adahn

        *looks askance at The Protocols of the Elders of Zion*

      • grrizzly

        I’m pretty sure Antisemitism existed well before The Protocols. Seeing healthy people around you as an existential threat wasn’t really a thing a year ago.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Perhaps, and that’s what I’m struggling to parse. Is it?

        I remembered an article on AIER (here) that I read a while back, that referred to a book called Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay (1841). To quote what Jeffery Tucker does in that article (emphasis mine):

        In reading the history of nations, we find that, like individuals, they have their whims and their peculiarities; their seasons of excitement and recklessness, when they care not what they do. We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first. We see one nation suddenly seized, from its highest to its lowest members, with a fierce desire of military glory; another as suddenly becoming crazed upon a religious scruple; and neither of them recovering its senses until it has shed rivers of blood and sowed a harvest of groans and tears, to be reaped by its posterity…. Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.

        Like Idle Hands said below, I wonder if the scale is unique, but not the phenomenon?

      • juris imprudent

        I think the whole effect is the result of 24/7 mass media and social media. We can say more stupid and wrong shit faster than any time in history. This won’t be the last time it all bites us in the ass.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Do you think that also means we can fix things faster than any time in history? I would say that the potential is there, but people being people, it will only go one direction.

        Like the book I quoted above, we go crazy all at once, and come to our senses one at a time.

      • juris imprudent

        What’s the old saying about how far a lie travels before the truth has gotten out of bed? No, I don’t think we can fix things faster – that isn’t human nature. It is like our pattern recognition wetware that is predisposed to detecting danger (for good evolutionary reason).

    • CPRM

      I just think the really nuts stuff is the swings in views. In December/January libertarians were the only ones paying attention to the ChiNazis welding people into their homes and were seen as crazies for saying there was some crazy shit going on. Pelosi and Schumer told everyone to go out and celebrate Chinese New Year. Then OMB said he was going to stop air traffic from China, and that was totes racist. A couple weeks later we needed to shut everything down and OMB wouldn’t do that! Then right wingers were anti-vaxx because that would take to long and Bill Gates will put a chip in ur butt! And left wingers that’s nuts, and no one can ever their home until there is a vaccine. Then OMB said vaccines were on the way, the right wingers touted this as a #WIN and the left wingers said you can’t trust a vaccine from OMB!

      Not even to mention the CDC saying masks don’t work, we have a shortage of masks, masks are the only thing that can save your life and they must be worn at all times!

      • mrfamous

        I saw a comment on Twitter about the famous trolley problem and how, when it comes to government, the choice is always to “pull the lever” regardless of the situation, because politicians can’t afford to be seen as “doing nothing.”

        What has turned this into such a shitshow is the media completely in lockstep leading the “pro lockdown” brigade. You’ve really got to look hard at this point to find news outlets that don’t portray this thing as the black plague. And the subset of people who are most susceptible to this kind of information warfare have bought into this wholesale. They really do believe this thing is like some sort of Hollywood movie contagion killing people by the thousands everyday. It’s clearly not, but we’ve crafted a narrative to make it seem that way, and the media has pushed it relentlessly for months.

  66. Playa Manhattan

    Shikha Dalmia got fired.

    Coincidentally, it’s the Reason Webathon.

    • kinnath

      Shikha Dalmia got fired.

      Too little; too late.

      • Hyperion

        She didn’t go far enough with her open borders TDS hysterics?

        No more cocktail parties for her. CNN will probably pick her up now.

      • Chipwooder

        Better late than never. Wonder what inspired this? She wasn’t writing anything that much different from other Reason writers

      • DEG

        Yes.

    • Hyperion

      The front page article to at TOS is interesting. Of course, the SCOTUS will not hear this and if they do it will be 9-0 opposed.

    • Not Adahn

      For reals?

      a) Wut?

      b) Don’t they have to pay them first to fire them?

    • juris imprudent

      Are they actually promoting that as a reason to contribute?

  67. Hyperion

    So, looks like there’s no evidence of fraud. Hmm…

  68. DEG

    Dan Feltes is the outgoing Senate Majority Leader. He ran for governor against the Clown Prince. He wanted the Clown Prince to lock down earlier, longer, and harder. He wanted mask mandates earlier.

    Bob Clegg wrote the law the Clown Prince is using to rule over the state.

    I can’t quite wrap my head around this editorial

    We fully recognize the incoming Legislature faces a number of challenges and choices, but perhaps no more important than the choice to get back to what the Legislature does: create laws and budgets. Right now, New Hampshire is essentially operating under one-person government, with the governor serving the role of governor and Legislature (sometimes even judiciary). One-person government was never intended by our founders, it is not healthy for our democracy, and we’ve seen the adverse consequences.

    • Claypoolsreservoir

      He didn’t get to be clown prince, so back to clown prince bad bloviating.

  69. Mojeaux

    I think the time for Civil War II and shooting has passed. There is just too much acceptance of TSA, riots, looting, masks, and election results to think there is a bloc of people willing to put their lives on the line for people who not only accept it but beg for it.

    The Israelites got tired of having a prophet and demanded a king, and God gave them a king–good and hard. That’s where we are.

    • Q Continuum

      As Don said yesterday: fat, lazy, rich people don’t lead insurrections.

    • Chipwooder

      I always thought it was unlikely, mainly because American life is still too comfortable and cushy to spark armed rebellion. I don’t think it’s unfathomable, though, given the kind of hardship the lockdown bullshit is generating. Eventually you’re going to have a fairly large group of people who are going to feel like they don’t have anything left to lose.

      • Urthona

        Nah your first part is right.

        Theres not gonna be any civil war.

      • Chipwooder

        What happens, though, when this nonsense continues on through the next year and millions of people are unemployed, thousands of small businesses gone forever? And, on top of it, Biden manages to get some of the more reprehensible bullshit he wants, like raiding people’s 401Ks, Green New Deal garbage that jacks up the prices of energy, and semiauto rifle bans? I don’t know. I don’t think it will be widespread violence, but a lot of that depends on how the various thugs in political office handle things. Push desperate people too hard and eventually they will push back in one form or another.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        If they can paper over the economic impact to individuals through handouts, that might mitigate the pushback.

        When someone is truly in a place where they have nothing to lose, then it’s much more likely they’ll act. If, however, you can keep them just this side of that line through handouts and programs, then it’s much more likely they’ll stay in line.

      • Mojeaux

        If, however, you can keep them just this side of that line through handouts and programs, then it’s much more likely they’ll stay in line.

        Bread and circuses.

      • Urthona

        If this vaccine comes out and there’s *still* lockdowns there does need to be real non-compliance. Because that’s absurd.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Dunno, seems people NM were okay with having their supermarkets shutdown…so if even not having access to food sources won’t push the people, nothing will.

    • Kwihn T. Senshel

      The Israelites got tired of having a prophet and demanded a king

      …and it took 120 years of kings before it really went in the crapper, and centuries more (and two captivities) before they truly regained independence and were willing to fight for their identity.

      Even when life was hard(er), it takes a lot to get people in general to generally rebel or take up arms.

      I wonder if we won’t become more like Greece or Italy or even France, who give lip service to the “system,” but have a massive and thriving black market, and non-violent civil disobedience (i.e., not claiming X on taxes, or ignoring certain laws) is the norm.

    • Hyperion

      This is why Beta will be giving you a visit to see if you have any illegal guns. And by illegal, I mean all of them.

      • Suthenboy

        Uh….the guns aren’t the illegal part.

    • juris imprudent

      I wouldn’t be surprised if similar arguments weren’t made around say 1774. Maybe we simply haven’t reached the tripwire for a critical mass.

      • Mojeaux

        What I’m trying to say is that there can be no critical mass now. Not enough pissed-off people to make a mass, much less a critical one.

        I don’t WANT Civil War II. I don’t think there will be one. But I do think we need one.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        A friend of mine (rock-ribbed conservative) asked me what I thought it would take to change the path we’re on, and was shocked when I told her “civil war.”

        I clarified by saying (1) I don’t want that, and (2) really, any black swan type event would potentially fit the bill.

        However, we’re not going to change the direction of things incrementally (she was talking about trying to get the Repubs to have principles again), and I told her I think it will require some externality to force change.

    • Claypoolsreservoir

      THIS RESPONSE HAS BEEN EDITED BY AN ACRONYM ORGANIZATION.

  70. The Late P Brooks

    My grandpa compared this to the japs bombing peal harbor.

    If we had surrendered unconditionally on Dec 8.

    To avoid further loss of life.

  71. Suthenboy

    Biden won the election the same way I am a flying reindeer. The guy told us straight out the election was a scam.

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-voter-fraud-organization-video-gaffe

    A gaffe. He misspoke. Even Snopes agrees it the claim is mostly false.

    I haven’t quite decided what to do. The fedgov has essentially become illegitimate in my view.

  72. Mojeaux

    And now I find out my husband’s dudebropal’s DIL had a stroke in the middle of the night and had to had emergency surgery. Prognosis is not good. She’s MUCH younger than I am. That’s on top of the fact that his 5yo granddaughter had leukemia, beat it, and now is back.

    2020. 2021’s not looking any better.

    • Tundra

      It’s a fucking miracle that we find any joy in this life. And yet we do.

      Good luck to your husband’s pal and his family.

    • Hyperion

      “2020. 2021’s not looking any better.”

      Just imagine 2020 with a dem supermajority at the federal level. *shudder*

    • Mojeaux

      So I just found out the DIL is 30 with a 3yo.

  73. The Late P Brooks

    What has turned this into such a shitshow is the media completely in lockstep leading the “pro lockdown” brigade. You’ve really got to look hard at this point to find news outlets that don’t portray this thing as the black plague. And the subset of people who are most susceptible to this kind of information warfare have bought into this wholesale. They really do believe this thing is like some sort of Hollywood movie contagion killing people by the thousands everyday. It’s clearly not, but we’ve crafted a narrative to make it seem that way, and the media has pushed it relentlessly for months.

    This.

    Numbers completely devoid of context, hysterical sob stories about the most absurd outlier cases, shameless appeals to emotion and fear.

    They have done such an excellent job of stampeding the cattle, it may never be possible to calm them down.

    • juris imprudent

      Who said they want the cattle calmed down. If they can keep a constant state of just enough hysteria, the people will let them do anything. Please, please save me from the fear you keep feeding me. And people like that deserve exactly what they get. I just pity those who don’t deserve it, but get it anyway.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Well said.

        If I can get you just afraid enough (not so little that you stop listening, and not so much that you completely panic), then I can control the direction of your response.

  74. Urthona

    On election shenanigans, here’s the thing.

    I am extremely cynical guy. And I’m cynical on right wing news stuff. It’s possible that a lot of this stuff is complete nonsense.

    What I don’t understand are why claims that appear interesting aren’t even being debunked. Not even on right wing sources. Even Breitbart, a populist pro-Trump news source. Nada.

    So I’m reading on far-right site “The Gateway Pundit” things like.

    1) Fulton County, GA never had a pipe burst. They faked it, sent poll watchers home, and then continued counting. Last week when Republicans were asking judges for access to Dominion machines to look at them before they were wiped, Fulton County grabbed theirs. and wiped it ahead of the judges ruling.

    Here’s the thing. Maybe this is bullshit. I dunno. Because not even conservative news sources are talking about this. I would love to hear it’s bullshit though. Let me know please. Do your fucking job and scrutinize the claims.

    2) A postal worker testified under oath that he drove 200,000+ filled-in ballots across state lines. Sounds fishy, but it’s still evidence. How did he know what was in the boxes? Dunno. But let’s talk about the story please.

    3) eh.. forget it. you get the point. There’s tons of these whac-a-mole stories popping up. But not on big sites.

    Here’s one thing I DO NOT agree with. Throwing up your hands and saying Democrats just run everything now.

    Fuck that. This fight has been going on my entire life. Back and forth. It gets fixed in certain areas and then it shows up in others. Florida used to have a huge corruption problem, and Republicans spent several of the last few years fixing problems and firing corrupt assholes. This was the smoothest election Florida’s ever done.

    I don’t care if they can somehow give the election to Trump or not. Fuck that. That’s not the point. Every single thing needs to be looked at. Every bush needs to be beat.

    ..

    This election coming up in Georgia is even more important. Repubicans have an 80% chance of winning, and even wall street money is going to the Republicans because it sounds like they want a divided Congress. Great. Ensure it stays that way. Take this very seriously. Flood the polls with voluneteers. Take video of everything. Shore up shitty rules. Can you have guys with clickers in each hand literally count the votes? Good. Do it.

    Please do not give up. This shit has been going on throughout history. Keep fighting corruption.

    • AlexinCT

      Journalism died a long time ago. It is expensive to do and the advertising dollars now all go to social platforms, so most of the media has basically become political echo chambers. The fact of the matter is that one side doesn’t want facts because it has an emotional narrative to sell. The other side lacks balls and still is unsure that when you are in a prison yard fight and a bunch of guys with shanks are coming at ya, you are not expected to still fight with Marquis of Queensbury rules and can resort to equal or worse force.

      • Urthona

        There has be a market for it, though, because I’m one of those that loves to consume journalism that actually deep dives on things, when it does. I can’t be alone on this.

      • Ownbestenemy

        The issue is no politician will ever interview with someone who actually does journalism. They might have to answer real questions. There may be a market for it, but there is no access to it.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      What I don’t understand are why claims that appear interesting aren’t even being debunked. Not even on right wing sources. Even Breitbart, a populist pro-Trump news source. Nada.

      So I’m reading on far-right site “The Gateway Pundit” things like

      This is what is so incredible to me. There are hundreds of claims coming forward, including eye-witness testimony, damning video, and statistical impossibilities, yet the reaction from the media and much of the GOP has been to stick their fingers in their ears and eyes. It’s starting to make more sense now when you see things like GA GOP election officials setting up their own private election consulting firms and funneling money from Dominion and others into their own pockets on the side while still working for the government. And Project Veritas revealed that the CNN has received the same marching orders on covering the election fallout from the GOP as the Dems. As I said last night.. 2 parties but 1 swamp.

      The Gateway Pundit is a bit sensationalist for me but that’s all who is covering this. I’d rather they report cleanly without the hyperbolic commentary. I will say in their favor that they include the primary source for their reporting in almost every article. That’s more than the MSM does, and let’s me evaluate the merits on my own of their claims.

      • Urthona

        Hey I would love to have some of that stuff debunked too. Because it pisses me off that it might be true.

        If they are just floating out there, there’s like a million Americans believing it too.

        Your job is also to refute things.

        The social media lock out thing is ridiculous. Used to be I could post a false meme and then everyone would say I’m an idiot and it was bullshit. Great. I love that. Now I just secretly believe it and hate the rest of the country. That seems… unhealthy.

      • Q Continuum

        “The social media lock out thing is ridiculous”

        I’m happy about it. Better they let their bias flag fly so it’s all out in the open. Sunlight is the best disinfectant; let people see these outlets (they’re *not* platforms) for what they are so they can either unplug or seek out alternatives.

    • Q Continuum

      “Please do not give up.”

      +1

      Demoralization and psyops campaigns are designed to get your enemy to give up and voluntarily submit. Everything the media and culture at large do is in service of that agenda; from incorrectly calling Biden the president-elect to purposely not covering widely known fraud. The fact that they’re obviously covering it up is a feature, not a bug; they want you to know that they control the narrative and drive you despair. Don’t let it.

      • Urthona

        I think people also false believe these are exceptional times.

        The country is exceptionally divided (nope. false. you don’t know history if you think that).
        The media is exceptionally full of shit (nope. false. always has been. go back and read some NY Times archives from 100 years ago.)
        The two major political parties are trying their damndest to cheat. (nope. they always have).

        etc.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Every generation wants to believe that they are unique.

        Every generation is wrong.


        “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, […] They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

        — Socrates, ~400 BC

    • juris imprudent

      I don’t care if they can somehow give the election to Trump or not. Fuck that. That’s not the point. Every single thing needs to be looked at. Every bush needs to be beat.

      Agreed.

      • R C Dean

        Every single thing needs to be looked at. Every bush needs to be beat.

        Sadly, that’s what is not going to happen.

  75. Hyperion

    Since I decided to stop by TOS in the first time in a while, I see the new federal weed legalization bill in the house, has exactly one GOP party member signed on:

    Rep. Gaetz, Matt [R-FL-1]

    That’s fucking pathetic.

    • Kwihn T. Senshel

      Do the Repubs think that their base is really fired up (ha!) about weed still? Maybe they are, but I tend to use some of my family as bellwethers for where the Republican Party is nowadays, and while they think that weed is gross and stuff, they don’t make it a platform position.

      For example, while many of my conservative friends and family didn’t like Oregon’s shift in drug laws, they weren’t nearly as up in arms about it as they would have been 15 years ago.

    • Urthona

      That is.

    • Suthenboy

      I don’t get it. I never had any use for the stuff and never fooled with it but it is essentially harmless. Why would anyone care?

      Oh, I forgot…the debil weed makes white womenz want negro dicks. Or something.

      • Urthona

        I live in North Texas but have a property an hour and half north in Oklahoma. There they have basically legalized the shit. There’s a weed store in every town springing up and my neighbor who also raises cattle has started a marijuana farm .

        As far as I can tell, there aren’t people dying on every corner from weed there yet.

        Speaking of which, they also have legalized gambling. Same deal.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        It’s Oklahoma, could you even tell if it was killing everybody?

        Also, I need to pick your brain on owning property in OK. Im thinking about buying some (more likely in AR, but I’m also watching eastern OK) in a few years.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Why would anyone care?

        I can speak to this a little bit. I was raised in a very conservative (both politically and religiously) home, and the messaging regarding mind-altering substances of any kind was overwhelming. It wasn’t a matter of freedom of conscience, but that it was a moral wrong, and is never justified, and of course you should stop people from doing that, buddy.

        Besides the religious factor, there was a mixup of cause and effect, as well: “That dude who’s all irresponsible and shifltless got that way because he smoked the weed.” Whereas I think now that they reversed it; should have been “dudes that are irresponsible and shiftless are the types that tend to smoke weed” (even that is not all that true, but at least it would be closer).

        At least in my background growing up in the PNW, I never noticed a racial aspect to it.

      • Suthenboy

        I was referencing the ridiculous claims made when the marijuwana was first made illegal. That was a real thing.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Oh, right, I forgot about Reefer Madness or whatever it was lol

    • Pine_Tree

      Short answer: because a big part of being “conservative” is insisting that your parents, and grandparents, and other “authority figures” from your youth were right.

      • Pine_Tree

        Dead-thread almost, but edited to add: It’s almost totally a subconscious thing, which beat conscious things all the time.

    • mrfamous

      Why isn’t Massie voting for it?

  76. AlexinCT

    WTF Walter Williams RIP?

    • Kwihn T. Senshel

      Ugh, sad. I mean, full life and all, but still, a loss.

      (and he was the cousin of Dr. J!)

    • Mojeaux

      ???

  77. The Late P Brooks

    I see the new federal weed legalization bill in the house, has exactly one GOP party member signed on:

    Party of Principle!

  78. The Late P Brooks

    If they can keep a constant state of just enough hysteria, the people will let them do anything.

    “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

    -Mencken

    • Suthenboy

      Fear is the mind killer and pols have always known this.

  79. Gdragon

    Morning Banjos! Great music, Seymour Stein strikes again!