Winston’s Mom does the links

by | Jul 13, 2021 | Daily Links | 426 comments

Clients in my waiting room parlor were gathered around watching the home run derby last evening.  That was boring as hell.  They need to give these clowns more steroids.

A handful of states decided to rob you a little bit less.  Then they go in Fox and want to gloat about lowering taxes when some states have no income tax?  Thanks, but get fucked.

The process is the punishment.

This job market sucks, and we’re turning into Europe …except my business is still illegal.

…okay maybe we have a ways to go.

No, CNN did not blast Trump.  If anything they sense the ginger everyone wants to hate-fuck is easily tossed around like a old doily and made her look like the idiot she is.

You mean there are several ways to spin data to suit your agenda?  You don’t say?

and finally

First off, a bank that large is a hardly a capitalist institution since its market dominance is based on buying out smaller banks for decades.  Not to mention the number mortgage loans it buys are backed by federal guarantees, along with FDIC being funded by the taxpayer, you might even say JPM are a bunch of socialists.  But I digress.

Had this shit stain actually read the article he would know JPM is basing this on Google search data for the few days following states curtailing unemployment benefits. Which means even if this is true, the point he’s trying to make is based mostly on horseshit.  Don’t take my word for it, take Bloomberg’s.

“We do find an increase in Google searches for ‘unemployment’ in states ending benefits in the days after the announcement, suggesting increased attention to the issue,” wrote Peter McCrory and Jesse Edgerton at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “But we find little evidence for an increase in searches for ‘jobs’ that would indicate an increase in people actually looking for jobs.”

Dumbass.

About The Author

Winston's Mom

Winston's Mom

Biological mother of Winston.

426 Comments

  1. Tres Cool

    Hey there Miss W.

    How YOU doin’ ?

    • Winston's Mom

      I’m doing fine. Shoulders are sore for some reason, but thank you for asking.

      • AlexinCT

        Shoulders? OK, I am curious now lady..

      • Bobarian LMD

        Are you familiar with the wheelbarrow.

      • Bobarian LMD

        *?

      • AlexinCT

        I thought her specialties were “the Dirty Sanchezes”, the “Cleveland Steamers”, and the “Rufus Turners”?

  2. Count Potato

    “San Diego Superior Court Judge Kenneth Medel ruled last week that Smith & Wesson can be sued for the April 27, 2019, Powoy Synagogue shooting.”

    I rule the judge can be hung.

    • Tres Cool

      “Bart! They said you was hung!”

      “And they was right.”

      • Swiss Servator

        Curse your speedy typing!

      • Tres Cool

        But Amen to the fact that we both appreciate the classics.
        You shoulda seen the look on Tres Version 2.0’s face when the old woman said “Up yours, n*gger”.

        “Dad! They let that on a movie!”

      • Swiss Servator

        “Keep watching son, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

      • Tres Cool

        Fred Sanford dropping the n-word on national TV blew his mind, too.

    • Count Potato

      “The suit claimed Smith & Wesson “attracted impulsive young men with military complexes who were particularly likely to be attracted to the unique ability of AR-15 style weapons.””

      Does this mean I can sue Wonderbra?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I guess this goes along with their idea that none of us have free will or agency.

      • AlexinCT

        Their agenda is to make us all obedient serfs that will not be able to do anything but complain under our breath when they fuck things up worse than they already do while claiming to be the reason we all are better off…

      • Rat on a train

        Is Jackie Chiles available?

      • Bobarian LMD

        Unique ability of AR-15 style weapons?

        Fuck them lying stupid assholes.

        There are any of a huge numbers of guns that would be just as or more effective…

        Pistols or shotguns.

        Also: The shooter fired eight to ten rounds before his rifle jammed or malfunctioned

        Sounds like S&W should get a reward?

    • Count Potato

      “San Diego Guns, the store that sold the gun, is also a defendant in the suit, the Times of San Diego pointed out.

      The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence cheered Judge Medel’s ruling, saying, “Today’s judgment is a victory, and an important step on the road to justice for the victims of the shooting at Chabad of Poway Synagogue, and all Americans who believe that the gun industry is not above the law.””

      Which law, asshole?

      • AlexinCT

        The one he is making up as a legislator from the bench…

      • Rat on a train

        The judge is the law.

      • UnCivilServant

        I Dredd such a circumstance.

      • Grosspatzer

        Nothing to fear, I’m sure you will get off Scott free.

      • leon

        You really executed that pun.

    • leon

      dontcha know, judges can ignore plain text of law and cost people millions of dollars, and have no real consequences. Sure they can appeal, but this judge will get to keep pushing his legal agenda in opposition of the law, because he is the law.

    • EvilSheldon

      This is a major problem. This is the second judge in less than a year who has straight-up ignored blue-letter Federal law.

      Legislation does no good if the courts can just say, “Yeah, fuck your law.”

      • Rat on a train

        Yeah, banana republic!

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        Dammit. I hate bananas.

      • leon

        I was thinking about this. Maybe it’s always been this way, but it certainly feels like judges are realize they can be legislating and ignoring law because nothing happens to them. It’s a recipe for people calling for judicial reform. As it stands it’s needed, since they have given themselves immunity in all situations.

    • Suthenboy

      Jesus Christ, what a can of worms. I can’t wait to hear….” oh no wait we didnt mean that…that is now what we meant.”

  3. waffles

    We should give clowns more steroids. Then we can have a bigger stronger clownworld with bigger stronger clowns. I’m tired of scrawny subpar clowns. I need to know that my clown is operating at the peak of clown performance.

    Good morning, I haven’t had my coffee yet.

    • AlexinCT

      I thought to make clowns perform at their peak you gave them either cocain or meth?

      • waffles

        I wish I could tell you that I didn’t know the answer to that.

      • AlexinCT

        I bet you are going to tell me it is both?

      • waffles

        No, you just triggered some clown-related PTSD in me and I am now rethinking my life.

      • AlexinCT

        Hopefully in a good way and you decide what you need is some sweet ladies to show you a good time..

    • Winston's Mom

      I approve this plan,

  4. Count Potato

    “Greek PM Mitsotakis announces mandatory #COVID19 vaccinations for all healthcare workers”

    Not that surprising, I couldn’t work in health care without getting vaccinated for everything.

  5. Swiss Servator

    I notice that all the states around Illinois are cutting taxes or considering it, or are already lower than IL to begin with… and our Governor Landwhale is still moaning about the failure of the voters to approve cracking open the state constitution to allow “progressive” taxation…why, he even said they might have to consider….cutting spending! DUN DUN DUNNNNN!!!!!!!!

    I want out of here.

    • leon

      All those damn tax Haven’s! What we need is for the Feds to ensure there is a National tax floor, and that no one can avoid it by moving to another state.

      • Rat on a train

        A national minimum tax rate that ratchets up as the Democrat states increase their rates.

      • Ted S.

        Are there any apostrophe havens?

      • leon

        No’ sir

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        Theres no way there taking my money their.

      • db

        They’re, they’re. Its o’kay.

    • rhywun

      Don’t some of the no-income-tax states make up for it with e.g. higher property taxes? It would be more informative to compare states on total tax hit.

      • Swiss Servator

        Why not both? Here in IL we bounce round from having the highest or second highest property taxes as well as a 5% income tax. Oh, and very high sales taxes too! Got to keep those ASCME, CTU, AFT, SIEU and cop retirees in clover.

      • Grosspatzer

        NJ says Hold my beer

        Sales tax – 6.625%
        Property tax – don’t get me started.

      • Swiss Servator

        I wish our sales tax was only 6.625%….the State portion is 6.25%, and municipalities and counties can add another 3-4%. Chicago only backed off from 10% sales tax when even the tax cattle there starting mooing ominously.

      • invisible finger

        Rosemont’s is 11%

      • Grosspatzer

        Yikes.

      • blackjack

        LOL, we’re near or over 10 almost everwhere. In my area, we pay 9.5

      • rhywun

        8.88 here.

      • Animal

        AK sales tax – zero. Some towns have a local sales tax, Wasilla (I think) is 1.5%.

        Property tax on our place, two acres, house and outbuildings, is ~$3K a year.

        Oh, and AK state income tax – zero.

        Pretty much the only gubmint services we get here are from the Borough – a volunteer fire department and the guy who runs the grader in winter. (ROOAAADZZZZ!) Our utilities are all from private companies, although I think the electric is a negotiated monopoly with the state of Alaska. Haven’t really figured that out yet, because it’s pretty low on my Give-A-Shit-O-Meter. No local cops, nearest law is the Alaska State Police in Wasilla.

        That’s not why we moved here, but it’s sure a nice fringe benefit.

      • Not Adahn

        Yes, but some states have a vastly smaller per-capita “public” workforce and associated benefits.

      • Festus

        Gotta keep those unemployment #’s low.

    • Chafed

      Join the exodus. Help IL lose another congressional seat.

  6. Suthenboy

    I am worn out on the use of the word ‘capitalist’. It is a marxist term meant to carry a negative meaning.

    ‘Free Market’ is the term we should be using. Stop playing on their terms.

    • AlexinCT

      Marx invented that word so he could create the first collectivist movement entity… You pick it, marxism, old fascism, or the new fascism we have these days, they all need to invent some bad guy to rile the envious on their way to making them serfs of the new power structure.

  7. Count Potato

    “Among the 18 to 39-year-olds, the rates were lowest for those who were younger, black, poorer, less educated, uninsured and living outside metropolitan areas.”

    I’m sure WaPo reads “less educated, uninsured, and living outside metropolitan areas” as Rethuglican Trumptards.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      “Those suffering from false consciousness”

    • rhywun

      That’s because places where young black poor uneducated uninsured hicks live are vaccine deserts. Duh.

  8. Scruffy Nerfherder

    The Marxist communist socialists at, um, JP Morgan find no evidence that cutting unemployment benefits creates jobs

    Although I understand what he intended to say, you might think a Nobel laureate would be able to write a sentence that is just a hair more specific and clear. Unless of course, he is intentionally eliding the issue and by saying “creating jobs” instead of “raising the number of employed.”

    Either way, he’s a fucktard.

  9. AlexinCT

    If anything they sense the ginger everyone wants to hate-fuck is easily tossed around

    I want to high five someone over her back like I usually do with Winston’s mom…

    • Tonio

      the ginger everyone wants to hate-fuck

      [golf clap]

      • Festus

        A real slammer-rama!

  10. The Late P Brooks

    Casting my eye upon Krugabe’s twatter feed has injured me irreparably.

    I demand reparations.

    • Grosspatzer

      Speaking of reparations…

      https://www.nj.com/marijuana/2021/07/nj-has-dismissed-88k-weed-cases-under-new-marijuana-law.html

      I demand reparations for all those jobs I failed to get because of that little box on the job applications asking if I had ever been convicted of a crime. I don’t think expunging my convictions from the 1970’s does a whole lot of good now. Maybe I’ll get a tee shirt proclaiming “I’m really not a criminal!!!”

    • Winston's Mom

      Its mostly him going on multi-twat thread posting a graph that looks like a sine wave drawn by a retard. I refuse to bother to know why the sine wave graph is in any way relevant.

    • Animal

      Honestly, you should have known better.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    Don’t some of the no-income-tax states make up for it with e.g. higher property taxes? It would be more informative to compare states on total tax hit.

    Sales taxes. Which, in the greater scheme of things, is not necessarily all bad.

      • rhywun

        Excelsior!

      • waffles

        So when did that become a NY thing? Has it always been there? I noticed it this spring when driving to Rochester. That’s also when I noticed NY would be an awesome state if it weren’t for the New Yorkers.

      • rhywun

        That is the state motto, probably since forever.

      • waffles

        When did they start putting it on the license plates?

      • rhywun

        Last year, I think.

      • Not Adahn

        Was it an Avengers marketing tie-in?

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Your point is well made. People in Virginia kept asking me how bad the property taxes were in Texas. The rate was a little bit higher, yes, but I was paying more in tax for a worse house in Virginia because the housing prices were so high there.

    • blackjack

      All taxes are bad. All monwy removed the actual market reduces it’s effectiveness. Stolen money is wasted and flows towards things we really don’t want. Thereby increasing the prevalence of those things and decreasing the available resources for things we do want. Take a thousand bucks from me and i can’t spend that thousand on the things I value. Then you waste 2/3rds od it and spend the rest paying whichever of your buddies you owe the most to, to build solar widgits that nobody wants. Multiply by everyone and you’ve just made us all poorer in myriad ways.

      • rhywun

        spend the rest paying whichever of your buddies you owe the most to

        Just keep hiring enough of those people until they have complete control. Machine politics in a nutshell.

  12. waffles

    I don’t understand how this recovery (which remains to be seen) is a jobless recovery. In 2009, no one was hiring. This trend continued until 2012-13. Jobs were scarce for most of Obama’s presidency. Today, at least in my area, light industrial and service jobs are falling over themselves to hire at wages 50-75% hirer than the same job paid 10 years ago. Is it a jobless recovery only in the sense that the workers aren’t there? Because the jobs are definitely there.

    We’re hiring.

    • leon

      The local Wendy’s raised wages from 9 to 12 dollars an hour. I am confused as well.

      • Nephilium

        Amusement parks are starting at $20/hour with a signing bonus. This is a job that was generally done with high school kids, college kids back for the summer, or foreign workers who came over for the summer. Every single fast food place has signs up starting at $12/hour, most with a signing bonus (some saying it’s payable after two weeks). Based on personal experience these places haven’t upped their hiring standards, so it appears that there’s a lot of low skill jobs out there.

      • Festus

        This is why my overseers keep adding on stupid shit like gift cards and such what-not. They are terrified that everyone will just stay at home and their business model collapses. Hero-pay is another one. What happens when the powers-that-be decide once and for all that the plague is done? It’s going to be like the late 14th Century.

      • Agent Cooper

        (Tries to remember what the late 14th Century was like.)

      • R C Dean

        Ask Fourscore.

  13. The Late P Brooks

    After the weekend uprisings in Cuba when citizens of the nation took to the streets to demand liberty and freedom, the Biden administration claimed at the same White House presser that recent efforts had more to do with concerns over the rise in COVID-19 cases on the island than an impassioned desire for regime change.

    “I would say that when people are out there in the streets protesting, and complaining about the lack of access to economic prosperity, to the medical supplies they need, to the life they deserve to live, that can take on a range of meanings. There’s a global pandemic right now, most people on the ground don’t have access to vaccines, that’s something we’d love to help with,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki answered Fox News journalist Peter Doocy.

    That’s quite an impressive contortion. She should be in the circus.

    • leon

      They are protesting to get the Vaccine!

      Always. Be. On. Message.

    • waffles

      Does anyone else feel like this administration’s narrative is getting increasingly shaky by the day? There’s no message, no glue, no hope to keep this thing on track to do anything. It’s hollow and crumbling before our eyes.

      • invisible finger

        Like Biden himself.

      • Agent Cooper

        The Catheral is losing control.

    • Festus

      I thought they were asking for more white wimmins…

    • Agent Cooper

      I don’t even get it. What’s the political fallout from actually embracing the concept of a ‘free’ Cuba? You’re going to lose the Tankie vote?

  14. Count Potato

    “Biden allied groups, including the Democratic National Committee, are also planning to engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is sent over social media and text messages. The goal is to ensure that people who may have difficulty getting a vaccination because of issues like transportation see those barriers lessened or removed entirely…

    Indeed, over the past few weeks, criticism of the administration’s door-to-door vaccination strategy has increasingly become a fixture on Fox News, in addition to being a top topic on conservative social media posts and over SMS messages to cell phone users.”

    https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/12/biden-covid-vaccination-campaign-499278

    “In short, they want carriers to monitor private conversations over text messaging so they can ‘counter’ criticism of Covid-19 vaccines.

    This represents the next wave of censorship as it now focuses on private conservations rather than simply speech made on a public forum such as Twitter – and it’s a violation of the Fourth Amendment which confirms “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

    https://www.infowars.com/posts/breaking-dnc-announces-plan-to-surveil-censor-all-americans-private-text-messages-reports-politico/

    • leon

      I’d agree that if a Corp is doing this at the behest of the state, that makes them a state actor.

    • rhywun

      November 2022 can’t come soon enough.

      • Suthenboy

        You are an optimist.

      • rhywun

        Yup. I do think the Dems are going to get shellacked.

      • db

        Whenever I hear the term “shellacked,” I think of this.

      • Festus

        Funny! I always think of someone else’s turd being coated and shoved the wrong way up my bum.

      • Chafed

        From your lips to doG’s ears.

      • Old Man With Candy

        I do think the Dems are going to get shellacked.

        Great, so we’ll get those freedom lovers who gave us the Patriot Act and DHS. Quite an improvement!

      • rhywun

        That’s the spirit!

      • Rat on a train

        The votes were 357-66 and 98-1. Bipartisanship!

    • Agent Cooper

      I hope they all get their asses sued.

    • Ozymandias

      More “Tinfoil Hat Time with Ozy!” (needs a logo and gif), Your Resident Anti-Vaxxer (under current coinage of the word – I’m not actually against that technology)

      Does the non-stop drumbeat to jam this vaccine – for a virus that is about as bad as a bad flu season (‘member when saying that was badthingk?!) – not cause the hairs to stand up on everyone else’s neck? Am I the only human being left who gets alarm-bells going off in their head by our government pushing sooooo hard on a cure for a virtually non-existent disease? One that affects only the most aged or most sick… IOW, people who are already at risk from basically anything – like, a strong wind – because of their advanced age or ill health?
      Why does the govt want the entire healthy population to have those particular substances in our body so fucking badly?? This is like nothing I’ve seen in my lifetime. I have NEVER seen the USG push a vaccine – or frankly, any public health solution – this hard. I’m not sure the polio vaccine got this much propaganda, but then again, (a) it probably didn’t need it because of how awful it was, (b) how it threatened children, and (c) we didn’t have American pravda the way we do now.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I’ve spent a fair amount of time pondering the motivations here.

        I think it’s a combination of factors. Fear being the primary factor. The politicians are terrified of another spike because that will put them in a bind. Lockdowns are unpopular and unsustainable. They know it, they can’t sell it, but they have to appear to be doing something. If they can remove any possibility of another spike with vaccines, well then, who the fuck cares who they hurt in the process? They can still try to justify that action.

        In short, they politicians and bureaucrats taking the easy way out for themselves. The citizenry be damned.

        That doesn’t touch how the populace is handling it.

      • Sean

        We know they lie – about everything.

        We know they are unaccountable.

        We know they are greedy and power hungry.

        This race to prick everyone is not for our own good.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        This, by the way, is why I’m retreating into the background of society with my family.

        Fight, hide, submit. Those are the choices. I choose hide, for now. As things get more totalitarian, the hide impulse gets stronger. The social circle gets smaller. The spectrum of acceptable discussion topics with acquaintances and older friends gets narrower.

        However, hide isn’t some fundamental, unchanging choice. My children will not get the vaccine. That is the bright line for me. Try to drag my kids away by force, and, well I avoid going there in my mind. I pray to God that we don’t get there as a country.

      • db

        It’s aliens. We’re about to be visited by a large group of aliens and the virus was an attempt by China to infect the majority of the human race with a disease that would be lethal to the alien invaders. The vaccine is an attempt to get everyone infected, because the virus wasn’t successful.

        Alternatively, The virus was itself a vector to immunize the human race against infections that the aliens warned the Chinese government about in advance. The vaccine is an attempt to get everyone immunized because the virus wasn’t successful.

        Alternatively, the virus was an attempt by China to weaken the rest of the world by spreading an infectious agent that would prime our immune systems to initiate a disastrous response to alien diseases, so that when the aliens arrive, the rest of the planet will be scourged clean by the virus, and the Chinese will be left. The large infrastructure works in Africa funded and executed by the Chinese government are preparations for alien colonization of that continent in an attempt to curry favor with the aliens and keep them at arm’s length until China can develop an effective defense.

      • db

        nice

      • waffles

        All three of your alternatives involve aliens, so it’s definitely aliens.

      • db

        One of the side effects of being exposed to the virus is being implanted with the genetic knowledge of the Elder Humanity, which remembers the last interactions between the aliens and humans. Only people with a certain sensitivity to genetic memory are able to access this knowledge, however.

      • waffles

        You’d think the people pushing the vaccine would be smart enough to include this in the marketing.

      • Mojeaux

        a virtually non-existent disease

        The problem is that the number 607,000 “deaths from COVID” keeps being run out ad nauseam. That’s a large number to most people.

        If they trotted out 0.001849% of the population, nobody would blink an eye, which does not fit the narrative, and the narrative is designed to shackle people.

        Remember, we still have the TSA, 20 years later. The terrorists won because people want safety more than liberty.

        Liberty is hard.

      • db

        Look, if it saves even one one-thousandth of a percent of a life, it’s worth it.

      • Rat on a train

        You can’t put a price on life, until I have to pay.

  15. Not Adahn

    Ze Germans are pissing me off. So far I’ve needed 5, 4, 3, 2.5 and 2mm allen wrenches.

    Efficiency my ass. Shit like this is why they lost the war.

    • UnCivilServant

      They weren’t all on your standard issue multiwrench?

      • Not Adahn

        Actually, this repair is on a subassembly that was installed in a module that was then dropped into the chassis such that the the corner with this particular subassembly is in the center of the equipment. I am removing an entire robot just so I can get at the part that needs replacing.

        This was designed so that the manufacturer would need you to ship the equipment back to them for repair. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the combination of miserliness and spite that we have here.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      LOL

      That is the result of a design engineering group that tells the manufacturing departments to fuck off because they’re not in possession of as many professional titles.

      Can you tell I’ve worked with German engineers before?

      • Pope Jimbo

        *snort*

        Remembers old German employer demanding that any web form on the intranet have a mandatory salutation field so that they could select “Dr.” from the drop down.

    • Tres Cool

      I dont have a lot of experience working on german cars, but I do know that BMW is notorious for using different sized fittings on the same piece.

      • AlexinCT

        My kid, a car mechanic, hates it when he has to work on any German cars. They are, by design, a pain to work on even for the smallest tasks (so they can bill longer hours is my guess for simple crap), and yes, require a different and really expensive tool set to service.

      • Not Adahn

        The Swiss are worse. One of my titrator drives “requires” a custom screwdriver with two 90 degree and one 45 degree bend in it. To remove/tihten a steel screw next to the motor magnet. I cut a window into the housing, because fuck that shit.

      • Not Adahn

        My boss (who was oh so popular with this vendor) would say “all the good Swiss engineers work for Rolex. The ones left over work for [your company]”

        I have a feeling he was right. There is something very much “I’ll show them the genius of my designs!” about that equipment.

      • Not Adahn

        Demented frustrated clockmakers, the lot of them!

        Who else would make a $4k CZ75 clone?

      • Tres Cool

        psst…Im Swiss, too. Don’t let these racist, anti-Swissites get to you.

        Hell, my family even had a castle there until some cunte left it to the Canton when she died.

    • blackjack

      My grandpa was a Lt. In ww2. He went to normandy after the shooting mostly stopped to over rebuilding the bridges.

      He told me that the French people would tell him that the US were sloppy and disorganized, while the Kruats were meticulous and everything was carefully arranged. Then the told him the Kruats took 9 months to build the same bridge that we put up in two weeks.

      • Tres Cool

        An acquaintance is an engineer for GM. Years ago we were talking about Volvo and the PRV 6-cylinder (Peugeot/Renault/Volvo) and he remarked, “the french have some really brilliant engineers, they just cant manufacture anything reliably.”

      • AlexinCT

        Bureaucratic and centralized operations always provide the appearance of efficiency to idiots that don’t actually measure outcome. Unfortunately these days the bureaucratic centralized entities no longer are even able to pretend to be efficient or effective, and can only deliver failure, but some people have been institutionalized to accept this ineptitude as good.

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      Sort of. It was mostly oil. The fact that they over-engineered their aircraft and tanks didn’t help. They were notoriously man-hour intensive to maintain. A tank YouTuber (The_Chieftan) I follow attributes the fact that we could keep more Sherman’s in the field than they could Panthers/Tigers as a factor in our victory on the western front.

      • Animal

        I have some memory (but can’t be arsed to find the source) of some German general complaining that “one Tiger or Panther is as good as four Shermans. But the Americans always seem to have six.”

      • BakedPenguin

        Similarly, US Navy damage control was a huge part of the win in the Pacific. After one battle (I forget which), the Japanese estimated a US carrier would be in dock for months. Thanks to DC limiting the fire, they turned it around in 48 hours. It wasn’t in great shape, but it was putting planes in the air.

      • AlexinCT

        You discussing the fact that the JIN believed they had sunk the Enterprise and the people manning her had her back in the fight less than a day later?

      • BakedPenguin

        Yes, I believe that’s the one. Scotty was a hell of an engineer.

        But more than just that – according to random YT vids, it was a common theme that US DC crews saved a lot of ships that might have otherwise gone to the briny.

      • Shpip

        I was thinking USS Yorktown after Coral Sea. Limped back to Pearl, was supposed to be out of action for weeks, put back to sea after 48 hours in drydock.

        It’s presence at Midway came as an unpleasant surprise to the IJN.

      • dbleagle

        And at Midway the Japanese thought they had attacked two different carriers because the Yorktown’s damage control parties had so quickly gotten the ship back on line after the first attack.

        Meanwhile poorly conducted damage control directly contributed to the IJN losing each of their four carriers.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        The fact that the USS Franklin did not end up at the bottom after a kamikaze (Okinawa IRRC) had her burning from stem to stern was another example of the Navy’s emphasis on damage control paying off.

      • Lord Humungus

        I do enjoy the book Miracle at Midway – it should be read by project managers about the pains of going “too big, too wide” with your plans.

  16. Festus

    That was a healthy set of of Links! We don’t refer to Jen as a “ginger” around here, she’s “Strawberry”. That gun case is retarded.

      • rhywun

        Girls of WalMart…?

        *ducks*

      • Tres Cool

        Stop turning me on- I was actually going to make a Wal-Mart trip this morning, till I opened a beer.
        Jugsy doesnt get home till’ Friday.

      • AlexinCT

        Are those like “the Big Gurlz of San Antone” that Charles Barkley always talks about?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      That’s hilarious

  17. The Late P Brooks

    Ze Germans are pissing me off. So far I’ve needed 5, 4, 3, 2.5 and 2mm allen wrenches.

    “Haha, what do I care? It’s not like I’ll ever have to work on it.”

  18. The Late P Brooks

    Back in ye olden times, BMWs (the ones I had, anyway) were reliable, well made and easy to work on. You could just about completely disassemble a 2002 with a 10, a 13, and a 17mm wrench.

    • waffles

      It took me a second to realize you were talking about the model 2002 and not the year. My 2001 325i was a bitch to work on, even with the fucking textbook-sized manual.

  19. Tundra

    Good morning, WM!

    The vaccine obsession is so odd. I still want to know why we are pretending that there is no such thing as natural immunity. Can it really be as simple as money?

    Sebastian Rushworth has been consistently good on the ‘vid. Does it make sense to vaccinate those who have had covid?

  20. PieInTheSky

    And in local news some invasive species of African catfish reached the Danube delta and is a threat to local fish.

    • waffles

      You’re in Ukraine? I always read you with a Canadian accent, weird.

      • waffles

        I meant Romania, whoops.

      • Not Adahn

        If he were Canucki, we’d be making wendigo jokes, not vampyr ones.

  21. Count Potato

    “Governor of Texas Greg Abbott on Monday night has described state Democrats who fled to Washington DC to prevent a vote as ‘quitters’ who were ‘un-Texan’ in running from a fight, and said they will be arrested on their return.

    At least 58 Democrats left Austin to avoid the vote on election bills, touching down in Washington D.C. on Monday evening in two private jets – chartered at a cost of $100,000.

    They fled to break the quorum of two-thirds lawmakers being present in the House to prevent a vote on two bills which would add new identification requirements for mail voting; ban some early voting options; and create new criminal penalties for breaking election code, while empowering partisan poll watchers.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9782459/Abbott-slams-Texas-Democrat-hypocrite-runaways-fled-private-jet-stop-voting-rights-bills.html

    They should have shot down the plane.

    • Not Adahn

      Or at least put some motherfucking snakes on it.

      • EvilSheldon

        Snakes already have it rough enough, without putting them on a plane with a bunch of politicians…

      • Festus

        Jesus. Did you see the photos? Snakes would slither away from that flight!

      • R C Dean

        Looks to me like that plane was already full of snakes.

      • Count Potato

        I wonder if he is going to actually arrest them, or that’s just red meat and bluster.

  22. The Late P Brooks

    Does anyone else feel like this administration’s narrative is getting increasingly shaky by the day? There’s no message, no glue, no hope to keep this thing on track to do anything. It’s hollow and crumbling before our eyes.

    When you define yourself exclusively in terms of what you are against, you might find it hard to build anything positive.

    • The Other Kevin

      So buying into the BS that LITERALLY EVERYTHING Trump did was wrong, and then just doing the opposite of Trump, isn’t working out so well? Huh.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    They fled to break the quorum of two-thirds lawmakers being present in the House to prevent a vote on two bills

    DEMOCRACY!

  24. The Late P Brooks

    This was designed so that the manufacturer would need you to ship the equipment back to them for repair. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the combination of miserliness and spite that we have here.

    Right to Repair, FTW!

    • Tonio

      That just means you don’t void the warranty merely by removing a cover, even if labelled ‘not to be removed by the consumer.’ It doesn’t mean they have to make it easy for you. RTR laws may have been the motivation for some of manufacturers to engage in these shenanigans.

      • Festus

        So I can remove that mattress tag, now? Just checking.

  25. PieInTheSky

    Also in local news, bus tickets in Bucharest increase from 1.3 to 3 lei.

    • invisible finger

      That’s a lot of flowers

    • rhywun

      72 cents LOL

      I pay $2.75.

      And then another $2.75 to complete my trip across state lines if traveling to the office.

      • PieInTheSky

        Romania does not have that thing in many european cities where there are rings/zones and depending on which ones you travel in you pay more.

      • rhywun

        Neither does my city.

        I can travel anywhere in NYC for $2.75 but cross the Hudson River and you’re dealing with a completely different entity. Same if I leave the city in any direction – each direction is another entity that requires another full fare.

      • PieInTheSky

        have you considered purchasing an electric scooter?

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        The mental image I have of Rhy on an electric scooter in the Holland Tunnel made me snort laugh.

      • rhywun

        No but I have considered, and rejected, purchasing a bicycle. I came to my senses after observing the way other people drive.

    • Sean

      Do you use the bus?

      • PieInTheSky

        rarely. The tram more often than the bus. I used to use the subway to go to work and that also increases in price.

      • AlexinCT

        Where else can you grope women and make all that Japanese bus pr0n?

      • Pope Jimbo

        The subway stairs in many Japanese stations are super steep. Combine that with the super short skirts that many young ladies were wearing when I was working there in ’98 and it was nearly impossible to avoid seeing more panties than you jerk a chicken at.

      • AlexinCT

        I like the moaning those Japanese ladies do…. Miss it sometimes.

      • R C Dean

        Well, now I’m thinking impure thoughts.

  26. The Late P Brooks

    Huh. I detect the pitter patter of raindrops on my tin roof. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t in the forecast.

    • PieInTheSky

      You need to be more environmentally friendly and have a thatched straw roof and you would hear less pitter patter

  27. Gender Traitor

    The Home Run Derby is glorified batting practice. Boring as hell, indeed.

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      It was fun to watch when everyone was juiced to the gills.

    • AlexinCT

      Don’t say her name 3 times fast, or else…

      • db

        Not *quite* the same film, but good advice as well.

    • AlexinCT

      HOW DARE THESE CUBAN INGRATES INSULT US MARXISTS!

      They have free education and healthcare, provided by their benevolent government class, and they complain? How dare they?

      • Shpip

        Some people are actually making that “argument” with a straight face.

        I’m reminded of the John Derbyshire quote: “Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy.”

    • Brochettaward

      If Cubans want to be liberated by the American military, they had better fly some planes into some buildings or find a shit ton more oil.

    • PieInTheSky

      I have seen to many movies where the agent lies and breaks the law and uses excessive violence but in the end saves the day so it was worth it and now I just trust the agents to do what is right.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        +1 Jack Bauer

    • waffles

      Why does this matter at all? Is it just to show that the alphabets are an unelected 4th branch of government running roughshod over us in an absolute clownshow of malice and incompetence? Because I agree.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        ^ This. Those who are laughing about the Lego set are entirely missing the point. The Feds are saying they will go after anyone without needing a reason. This is less about bureaucratic incompetence and more about a Soviet-style show trial where the charges are absurd but the absurdity is irrelevant because the State can do as it wishes. The more absurd the charges, the powerful the State appears.

        To further support the analogy, the protestors from Jan 6th have been held for months now without bail, without trial dates, and there’s been evidence leaked of many having been beaten badly by their guards.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        They can burn down your house and not get charged but they’ll overcharge you for relatively minor shit? Message received (and not just by me, by many who used to suck the law enforcement and prosecutor cock).

    • rhywun

      I’m trying to understand, and giving up, why it matters.

      Are we supposed to believe that an assemble LEGO set is some sort of evidence of… something?

      • UnCivilServant

        My lego ship in a bottle clearly means I intend to raid mediterranian shipping.

      • Sean

        ???

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        Is it a Trireme or Corsiar?

      • Tres Cool

        Perhaps its a Barbary vessel intent on raiding shipping off the coast of N. Africa.
        Which flag did you put on it ?

      • Pope Jimbo

        WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!!!!! HATER! HOMOPHOBE!!!!! WHY ARE YOU MAKING STEREOTYPICAL GAY NAVY JOKES????

        Ooops, wait. You said flag. Misread that, my mistake.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        A Lego Barbary pirate!

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      But if you know any family members that own Capitol Building Lego sets, you should definitely snitch on them to the FBI.

    • Sean

      Top men.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Did you just assume my preferred dimensional rules?

      In Xy world, those pieces are all fitting together perfectly. Only you cis-patriarchal haters refuse to acknowledge that.

  28. wdalasio

    the ginger everyone wants to hate-fuck

    Yeah, count me out on that one. She strikes me as a massive can of neuroses that would be much much more to deal with than its worth. Like, after your hate-fuck she decides you’re the solution to 45 years of insecurity and self-loathing and she’s telling all her friends (and worse, your friends) about how the two of you are in love. Oh, and she’s had a key made to your place while you were sleeping. You can thank her for taking the time to do it when you meet up tonight.

    Sort of a Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction. Only orders of magnitude more passive aggressive.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Well I’m not going to say wouldn’t but I’m a masochist.

  29. Tonio

    “The suit claimed Smith & Wesson ‘attracted impulsive young men with military complexes who were particularly likely to be attracted to the unique ability of AR-15 style weapons.’”

    “The suit claimed Dolce & Gabbana ‘attracted impulsive young women with fashion complexes who were particularly likely to be attracted by the unique look of their products.’”

    • AlexinCT

      Hater…

    • EvilSheldon

      Eleven ARs in, and I’m still looking for this ‘unique ability’. Unless they’re referring to the ability to make progressives shit themselves in public…

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        It’s the unique ability that comes from the ritual demon possession S&W does to their ARs. It shoots Satan seeds after that.

        Seriously, you have to wonder how such a stupid claim could get through an unbiased legal inquiry*.

        * obviously this judge is not unbiased

        “What is the unique ability of an AR rifle?”

        “Umm, uhh, it uhh shoots 30 clip round bullet buttons per lightyear”

        “That’s your expert opinion that you would like to put on the record?”

        “Uhh, it’s a semi-full-automatic black assault gun with extra pistols on the grip”

        “What does any of that mean?”

        “uhh, it looks scary and reminds me of the guns that I saw in Full Metal Jacket”

      • Chafed

        You had me at Satan seeds.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        They are terrified of plastic and Picatinny rails.

      • EvilSheldon

        DickMod handguards FTW!

      • Gender Traitor

        Racist!!!11!!

        Oh. You said PicaTinny.

        Never mind.

    • Suthenboy

      What unique ability are those?

      • Not Adahn

        Honestly, easily home gunsmith-able.

        There is a reason I’m using AR platforms for my gaming guns. I can set them up to fit me, with the length of pull I like and the sighting system I like (HK > A2).

  30. The Late P Brooks

    I have seen to many movies where the agent lies and breaks the law and uses excessive violence but in the end saves the day so it was worth it and now I just trust the agents to do what is right.

    The time bomb is ticking! We don’t have time for your warrants, and kid glove procedural shilly shallying..

    • Tres Cool

      “I have to answer to the police commissioner about your antics! You and your partner are all over the papers! You have 24 hours to get me a conviction or you’re off the force!”

  31. Tres Cool

    Reading up-thread about taxes. Jugsy has been working out-of-state for the past 6 months or so, most recently in NYC.
    What are the chances some bean-counter will hit her for local/city taxes where she’s been working (NYC) as opposed to her home state/city ?

    • Sean
    • PieInTheSky

      should have to pay both if you ask me.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      I hope they both lose.

    • ignoreLander

      To quote the great Rand McPherson, “doesn’t matter who wins ’cause they’re all losers.”

  32. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Re Krugman dumbass: He’s not a dumbass, he’s a shill and a lazy shill at that but a dumbass he isn’t. He knows what he’s selling is garbage but he doesn’t care and he hides behind his credentials to everyone’s detriment.

    • wdalasio

      I’ve noted that before. When Krugman writes for an academic audience that can see through his BS, I still don’t agree with a lot of what he has to say. But, he’s much more balanced and cautious with his pronouncements.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Look at any Twitter thread that criticizes him and the very original “Where’s your doctorate and/or Nobel in economics?” Is invariably found. He preys upon the ignorance of his devotees and is so bad it’s not really even productive to dissect his arguments as they’re made in bad faith.

      • Winston's Mom

        Well I guess my schtick is stale. I quit.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        I said it’s not productive, not that it’s not funny.

    • db

      He’s a snake oil salesman. Doesn’t care whether what he writes and says is true; only whether there is an audience that will pay him to say it.

    • Akira

      He used to write fairly reasoned and balanced stuff, like saying that unemployment benefits and minimum wage laws had negative effects (as the old Contra Krugman podcast was fond of pointing out). My theory is that at some point, he became dissatisfied with his level of fame and income and decided to step up his game by becoming a political shill. I think he’s angling for a post in a presidential cabinet, so he picked a party (the big D’s) and started kissing up to them.

  33. wdalasio

    The suit claimed Smith & Wesson ‘attracted impulsive young men with military complexes who were particularly likely to be attracted to the unique ability of AR-15 style weapons.

    I have a theory. For anyone with even a totally rudimentary knowledge of firearms (count me in that group), the comments about guns from the various would-be gun controllers sound utterly stupid and ignorant. “Why don’t they get someone who isn’t an utter moron to make their case?”, you wonder. But, I think that might be the problem. The more knowledge one acquires about firearms, the less likely one is to support gun control.

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      It’s hoplophobes all the way down.

    • Count Potato

      They actually defend their ignorance as a virtue.

      • AlexinCT

        Your mistake is to think this is about ignorance. It is about cultish faith. These morons DON’T want the facts or reality to interfere with the message they were given by the priesthood that the answer is to disarm law abiding citizens.

    • Akira

      unique ability of AR-15 style weapons.

      You want a good laugh? Ask an anti-gunner what makes the AR-15 unique; what it can do that no other firearm does.

      • Not Adahn

        It’s readily customizable without the need of a skilled gunsmith.

    • EvilSheldon

      I signed it. I’m perfectly okay with social media ceasing to exist.

  34. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Their lack of knowledge is simple signaling and is feigned for the most part. Only gross people like to show off their mastery of firearms terminology after all. It doesn’t serve them well in lawsuits though.

  35. Pope Jimbo

    I am getting real tired of the “teens brains are still developing” argument. It is always to excuse bad behavior or an attempt to exert more power of the kids.

    The latest story about how teens who don’t get good sleep are super gonna get addicted to weed and have mental health issues.

    The adolescent brain is still developing, Cici said, and because of this, poor sleep can be particularly problematic for teens’ growing bodies and brains. Without enough rest, she explained, “All of us are more irritable, prone to feeling bad, having depression or having increased worry when we don’t get enough sleep. In adolescents, the problems created by sleep deprivation are only intensified.”

    Michael Howell, M.D., medical director of Sleep Performance Training for Athletes at M Health Fairview and co-author of the SPI Sleep Journey app, explained that because sleep deprivation negatively impacts a person’s executive functioning and impulse control, it can be particularly hard on teens.

    “Adolescents are already at a much lower baseline in terms of executive functioning,” Howell said. “When a young person is sleep deprived, they are more prone to take in information and put it into a negative filter. Say if you were left out of your friend’s group chat, if you are sleep deprived, you are more likely to think there is something malicious going on there rather than thinking that somebody just forgot to include your name on the list. When an adolescent doesn’t get enough sleep, they are more likely to have cognitive distortions.”

    How come these quacks weren’t screaming from the mountain tops about how bad lockdowns were for kids because their brains are still developing?

    • Nephilium

      So are they going to adjust the start time of the mandatory schooling?

    • EvilSheldon

      They loaded my (allegedly) still-developing brain up with Cylert and Ritalin, and I turned out okay…

      • R C Dean

        *introduces bill to ban Cylert and Ritalin*

  36. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Their brains are still developing and that deserves some consideration. No free pass though.

  37. Pope Jimbo

    I linked to a story yesterday about one of our sillier legislators stepping on his dick over a traffic ticket. This story covers the background as well as a some new information.

    The legislator finally issued a statement and said he will allow police body cam footage to be released. The interesting wrinkle:

    WCCO looked at a copy of the ticket issued by St. Paul police to Thompson. On the ticket, it says his home address is on Blair Avenue in St. Paul. The problem is that this house is not in his district, and state law requires state representatives to live in their district. Also, his filing papers with the Minnesota secretary of state’s office show he apparently crossed out a home address, instead providing a P.O. box. He also checked a box saying he wants his address to remain private.

    The box is for those with orders of protection or a police report showing they have been threatened. And checking the box means providing a separate form with a home address listed. The secretary of state’s office says Rep. Thompson’s separate form is not a public document.

    WCCO wanted to ask Secretary of State Steve Simon if any of this was a violation of state law, but we did not get a comment from him. The secretary of state’s communications director Peter Batz-Gallagher gave us this statement: “We don’t have any legal authority to take action. We don’t have guns and badges.”

    I’m always impressed when the govt flacks say something so outrageous that it leaves you speechless.

    • Swiss Servator

      “He is one of us, so we are not going to do anything.”

    • waffles

      I feel like I have to buy a house, even at inflated prices because things are getting worse. If I can get a mortgage at a reasonable rate it will almost certainly be less than inflation. There’s so many ways this macroeconomic picture can play out. I just don’t know. All I know is that anyone who claims to know is a liar.

      • AlexinCT

        Stay away from variable rates.

      • waffles

        Fixed rate only for me. ARMs are speculative nightmares in a world with record low interest rates.

      • AlexinCT

        This was one of the most dangerous things that helped usher in the crash back in 2007-2009. So many people that should never have qualified for a loan because of bad economic habits got these (they were really low and the people giving the loans recommended them to these folks) and then were unable to pay the loans when the rates skyrocketed. All these people were sold on the idea that they would just refinance when things started heading south only to discover that was not even close to being an option..

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        It depends on your situation. Anything over 10 acres is classified as unconventional, so I was not able to secure a fixed rate loan. Even the USDA Rural loan program was not willing to provide a mortgage for anything over 10 acres. Their unstated mission is really to bust up plots of land and prevent family farm ownership. I was finally able to get a variable loan from a local credit union.

        Over 9 years, it’s fluctuated by no more than quarter of a point up and down. The rate also can’t be increased by more than 2% per year. I’ve thought about refinancing to a fixed rate but it makes no sense to take the refinance fee hit (the no-fee ones just have it baked in). If raising interest rates ever become a problem, I can just pay it off in a year or two so the possibility for damage is minimal.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I had no idea about the acreage limitation.

        Stated versus revealed intentions strikes again.

      • Grummun

        Twice (on the same piece of land!) I’ve gotten purchase/construction loans from Farm Credit Services, which I believe is backed by the Feds. They recently went through something of a re-org, keeping the business with the actual farmers and rebranding the “move out of the city and buy 5 acres and a pony” business as Rural First.

      • Sean

        There is none currently on the market in my development. Which is unusual.

        There was one in the past couple weeks. It was listed high, and still was only on the market for 9 days.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I’ve been hearing houses are starting to sit in many places where homes were sold in a day or two and sellers have begun reducing their asking prices. Not everywhere but it looks like market may be cooling down.

        A lot of people thought they were going to be able to work from home forever, but many employers are releasing plans that require at least a day or two in the office. I thought that maybe we were looking at the new baseline for houses, but now I’m starting to think prices are going to come down as people are forced to return to the office and have to live nearby.

      • db

        I was talking with one of our HR people the other day. They (both HR at our company and, she says, many in HR around the country) are preparing for a “Great Relocation,” in which it is expected that people who have tasted the fruits of remote work and want to continue it, or even want to move to far flung areas, will be doing so, regardless of whether their employer supports it. Companies that don’t will have to pay a premium. Companies that do will have access to large pools of talent they previously haven’t.

      • waffles

        I am deeply suspicious of this. In some fields I can imagine this happening but I think some of these workers who aren’t “top talent” might be walking themselves out of a job.

      • Pope Jimbo

        If top talent gets away with it, pretty soon even the middling level talent will get it.

        Too few firms will be willing to fight with people about why Joe can work remotely and they can’t.

        The alternative is to shut down all remote work, but that just means top talent moves to a different company.

        The secret to remote workers is to find concrete metrics that can be tracked. If you can measure the work they are doing, things will work out. The jobs that don’t have concrete metrics are the ones that are tough. If you can’t tell if a person is working or not, a good chunk of those workers won’t be working.

      • Animal

        I’ve been reaching out to a few people looking for my next project. Every gig I’ve talked with anyone about has been remote.

      • Nephilium

        Based on info coming from my company, they’re looking for remote work to continue moving forward as well. And not just for the technical staff.

      • Swiss Servator

        Same with us. But the Swiss are allergic to expenses, so getting out of our real estate had been going on for years, before the ‘vid.

      • kinnath

        I’ve had my first conversations with my boss about returning to the office or staying remote. I was adamant that I have no desire to return to the office. He agreed that my work does not require me to be in the office.

        The final determination should happen sometime in the next 4 to 8 weeks.

        I expect that I will clear my stuff out of my old office soon. The only time I will go to the plant will be to test stuff in the labs.

        Long term, this will ease the transition to semi-retirement and remote contracting gigs. {I think}.

      • R C Dean

        I suspect that, like most things, when the dust settles there will have been an incremental move toward WFH, but not a massive reorganization of even the white-collar workforce (which are the only ones that can WFH). A lot of the people going on about this have tunnel vision – they have no clue how many jobs there is no possibility of even transitioning to WFH.

      • db

        At least in our company, most of the corporate support jobs can be WFH. It’s our R&D and manufacturing folks, largely, who have to be present at a facility.

      • waffles

        I don’t want to do anything until 4Q 21 because that is when many heads of this hydra have to be dealt with and hopefully I’ll have a better idea of what’s happening. But the urge to “do something” is strong.

      • Lord Humungus

        The last place I interviewed at – in March – was adamant that they wanted their employees on site. That was a big sticking point for me during the interview; especially with a special needs adult at home. I think – but have no direct evidence – that was one of the reasons they passed over hiring me.

      • Akira

        According to Zillow, my house is currently worth about 50k more than what I paid for it. I’d love to sell and take a profit somewhat like that, but I’d have to buy another house at inflated prices… It’s a conundrum.

      • Professional Beach Bum

        Our son sold his place for 2x what he paid (Buda, TX, southern suburb of Austin) so after paying of all of their debts, he and his wife are waiting for the land prices to settle a bit, then has enough left to buy ~5 acres and build a barndominium outright. Very proud of him… he’s 31.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Smart of them to sit on it for a little bit. We are doing the same thing. You don’t gain anything by jumping from hot sale to paying for hot purchase.

      • Professional Beach Bum

        Yep, they are renting for a year. Smart young man. Did I mention proud of him?!

      • Tulip

        The Zillow estimate for my house has been dropping, but the redfin estimate has been rising. There are a couple for sale in the neighborhood, it’ll be interesting to see how they do.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      TRANSITORY! TEMPORARY! IT’S JUST A BLIP!

      • Swiss Servator

        How did you get a transcript of our CEO at the last townhall meeting?!

  38. The Late P Brooks

    “We don’t have any legal authority to take action. We don’t have guns and badges.”

    We can, however, get some guys with guns and badges on the phone, if we deem it necessary. Now go away, or we shall taunt you some more.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    The Fed is starting to get nervous.

    They’ll just refine their definition of inflation.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Didn’t they already cut gas and other energy out of the calculations? Food, shipping costs, and building materials should be easy things to write out too.

  40. PieInTheSky

    So in the end are lumber prices back to normal?

    • Sean

      Not even close.

    • blackjack

      Wood, but only if I’m feeling knotty.

  41. PieInTheSky

    Philadelphia issues more than 1,000 tickets for trash left outside, despite ongoing pickup delays

    The city is “charging people for its own mismanagement of services,” said one West Philly resident.

    https://billypenn.com/2021/07/12/philadelphia-trash-delays-tickets-1000-fines-appeal/

    Bucharest had trash issues recently because the new mayor quarreled with the trash company over the overpriced contract

    • AlexinCT

      That’s how you grift, and Philly, like all donkey run areas, is at the mercy of that crime syndicate and it’s money making rackets…

    • db

      I like the idea of what someone here pointed out yesterday as a solution during one of New York City’s (Archer voice: “You can just say ‘New York'”) garbage crises:

      Package your trash up like it’s something valuable and let someone steal it out of your car, or off your front porch.

      Perfect application for all those Amazon boxes you don’t want to break down.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Bring back the curbside burn barrels then because that’s bullshit.

    • PieInTheSky

      Also the garbage contract in Bucharest was signed for 25 years. I find it fucked up that a mayor with a 4 year term can sign a 25 year contract

  42. Professional Beach Bum

    Just scored cci #41 military primers from Midway USA. They may still have some… Dillon press is about to finally get some action!

    • EvilSheldon

      Hell yeah!

      I’ve noticed a small trickle of primers returning to the market. Still expensive, but we might have passed the peak.

      • db

        Yeah, but try and find powder. Varget is impossible to find, at least for me.

      • EvilSheldon

        *hugs unopened 8# keg of Varget*

        Yeah, powder still kind of sucks.

      • Professional Beach Bum

        I got the powder last year before Dad died in November, along with brass and 77 grain bullets. Now having problems getting JHP and powder for the .45 ACP.

        The Sig 716i that I ordered in Jan is finally getting here Thursday along with 500 rnds of pmi m80 ball and 500 rnds of jsp for it.

        Like Christmas in July. Other stuff as well, side plates, MSA sSordins (my Peltor Comtac 3s are on my dome bucket)…

  43. The Late P Brooks

    Nothin’ up muh sleeve…

    The prices dealers pay for used cars at massive auctions across the country finally dipped in June after hitting record highs in each of the four previous months, according to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index.

    Those drops in wholesale prices bode well for those in the market for a used Jeep. While retail prices for used cars still surged in June, the fall in wholesale prices suggest that what consumers pay will likely start to fall soon.

    Such an easing in prices would be consistent with the Federal Reserve’s argument that the recent surge in consumer prices is likely to fade as pandemic bottlenecks are resolved and demand returns to more normal levels.

    It’s a view that’s shared by many economists, though not all, who fear accelerating inflation could prove harder to reverse.

    The Labor Department reported Tuesday that consumer prices jumped 0.9% between May and June — the largest one-month increase since 2008. Surging prices for used cars and trucks accounted for more than a third of that inflationary spike.

    On a year-to-year comparison, prices surged 5.4%, the highest in nearly 13 years.

    For inflation to ease some factors the Fed believes to be transitory will need to ease, like used car prices.

    Used cars have been in high demand this year, partly because of a shortage of new cars.

    A severe global shortage of semiconductors hit automakers hard, forcing them to limit production despite surging demand.

    ——-

    Assuming retail prices follow a similar path, that would support the Fed’s argument that higher inflation is being driven by temporary phenomenon like used car prices.

    “This is the poster child illustration for transitory” price hikes, Smoke says.

    Money supply? What’s that?

  44. Cowboy

    Morning everyone, I know I’m more of a lurker and you folks don’t know me too well but I’m too excited not to share.

    Wife and I had our first born last night. Baby boy was healthy 5lbs 15oz and 20 inches. He came early, at 36w5d but he’s perfect and healthy and ready to fight for liberty.

    Thats all. We are super happy and tired.

    Now back to your regularly scheduled kvetching 🙂

    • db

      Congratulations!

      • AlexinCT

        Now you will have 18 months of “walk & talk baby!” followed by 18 years of “SHUT UP! SIT DOWN!”…

    • Sean

      Congrats.

    • Animal

      Congrats! The best years of your life begin now!

    • The Other Kevin

      Congrats! And thanks for adding to the ranks of us unwashed masses. We can use all the help we can get.

    • waffles

      That’s such good news Cowboy! Congrats!

    • Pope Jimbo

      Congratulations!

    • BakedPenguin

      Happy days. I hope you’ve caught up on your sleep.

    • Count Potato

      Congrats!

    • Professional Beach Bum

      Congratulations!

    • EvilSheldon

      Congratulations! Where do we send the pocket BoR?

      • Cowboy

        Nice try, FBI!

        Thanks everyone. Also glad to have found this slice of the web, catching up on yalls usual brilliance and snark really improves my day. Only problem is, this is the worst chatroom ever and by the time I have something clever to say the topic or the post has moved on.

      • UnCivilServant

        So what agency are you from, since you’re clearly not a Tulpa.

      • EvilSheldon

        Hey!

        You know, I applied to work at the FBI, but they found out that my parents were married…

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Congratulations!

      I prefer the 10w30 kids but still, good for you!

    • Grosspatzer

      Congrats!

    • Gender Traitor

      Mazel tov! ? ?

    • Mojeaux

      Hey hey hey, a new shitlord in training! Well played, sir. Well played.

    • blighted_non_millenial

      Congrats!

    • Old Man With Candy

      Hotsy totsy, another Naz… errrr…. libertarian!

  45. PieInTheSky

    South African looters raid Durban warehouses as riots escalate

    https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-african-looters-raid-durban-warehouses-riots-escalate-2021-07-13/

    The violence was triggered by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma as his supporters took to the streets last week, but the situation has evolved into an outpouring of anger over persistent poverty and inequality, 27 years after the end of apartheid.]

    Can anyone really believe Jacob Zuma was not corrupt to his very core?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Find me a politician in South Africa who isn’t corrupt.

    • Suthenboy

      “persistent poverty and inequality, 27 years after the end of apartheid.”

      Oh my, who could have seen that coming?

      • Brochettaward

        If all the white people would just leave South Africa, think about how much less inequality there would be.

      • Urthona

        Everyone wants to be Haiti.

      • R C Dean

        It would likely accelerate South Africa’s reversion to the (African) mean, yes.

      • Shpip

        If all the white people would just leave South Africa, think about how much less inequality there would be.

        Life would be pretty Boer-ing.

      • PieInTheSky

        No one. Bad luck on this scale is basically unforeseeable.

    • rhywun

      “I’m angry, therefore I’m stealing this television!”

      Seems legit.

  46. Endless Mike

    In Montana’s defense, this is the first Legislative session in 16 years in which there was a Republican governor (thanks to some, uh, “fortification” in Missoula County); also, we have never had a sales tax.

  47. The Late P Brooks

    WHEEEEEEE!!!!

    Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday said he’s pushing Democrat-only infrastructure package larger than $3.5 trillion, as Senate Democrats kicked off a frenzied legislative period.

    “I’m going to fight to make that proposal as robust as it can be,” Sanders told reporters outside the White House after an afternoon meeting with President Joe Biden. He’s pushed for $6 trillion in new spending and shot down a $3.5 trillion price tag that has been floated.

    The price tag was pitched by Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, according to two people familiar with the talks. Both were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak about the negotiations.

    Sanders also said the legislation was a way to show average Americans that the government was capable of improving their lives.

    Show us, Bernie. Show us good and hard.

  48. The Late P Brooks

    If top talent gets away with it, pretty soon even the middling level talent will get it.

    Too few firms will be willing to fight with people about why Joe can work remotely and they can’t.

    The alternative is to shut down all remote work, but that just means top talent moves to a different company.

    I read a thing yesterday about a big dustup at google over this exact issue. They’re calling people back. Meanwhile some highly placed wizard says s/he is moving to New Zealand and work remotely.

    *not mentioned: how this person is even going to be allowed into NZ.

  49. Aloysious

    I notice that the Cuban people protesting aren’t clad all in black. Nor are they burning, vandalizing, and assaulting their fellow citizens by sneaking up and hitting their victims from behind.

    I propose we trade antifa for Cubans. The communists can have our commie bastards, and we can have people who *want* to be free.

    • waffles

      That’s a good deal, I would take that deal 10 times out of 10.

    • EvilSheldon

      Throw in some Hong Kong protestors, and you got yourself a deal.

    • Urthona

      I mean they are turning over cop cars and vandalizing shit.

  50. The Late P Brooks

    I am getting real tired of the “teens brains are still developing” argument. It is always to excuse bad behavior or an attempt to exert more power of the kids.

    Their brains are mushy and moldable. Now is the time to pump them full of really stupid theories about economics and the way the world works!

    • AlexinCT

      Most people will accept really evil and stupid shit if you present it as a means to fix injustice and make things more fair, and in this day & age where both common sense and logic & reason are dead, you can peddle some real stupid & evil shit as good. I always tell these people that they should never believe and actually become highly suspicious of anyone that tells you they will fix an unjust world/universe. Equality of outcome is only possible if you drag everyone down to the lowest common denominator. That system, even if you could find angels to run it and keep it from being abused, is one that is doomed from the getgo.

    • AlexinCT

      Larry will make Gavin his bitch…

      • Urthona

        Eh, polls indicate Newsom will win re-election with ease. This has been an epic time waste. You can’t help California.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Will Newsom be vindictive enough to immediately impose lockdowns again once he wins the recall?

        Maybe announce that all the money he’s been shoveling at the voters will now be considered taxable and get ready to write that check?

      • AlexinCT

        You can still make the guy look like the fucking idiot and evil shit he is even if the drones will vote for the evil stupid guy… Not mutually exclusive, but yeah, California is gone. I suspect things still have a way to go before it gets ugly enough for enough people to realize they need a change. Fuck, even the Cubans finally had enough of the shit storm..

      • Urthona

        Yeah i’m being a real pessimist here.

  51. prolefeed

    The TX governor said they’re gonna arrest the Ds who fled town, haul them back, and make them sit in the legislative chambers to make a quorum. 🙂

    • Urthona

      Thereby encouraging them to stay out of state so the legislation never passes.

      Last time they did this they actually broke just fine on their own. They had to come back eventually and it got too expensive.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        And I’m sure he’s well aware of those potential consequences. Trying to act tough while sabotaging his own agenda? Maybe…

      • R C Dean

        Yeah. Just extend the session for the max 30 days, and if they don’t show, start another one. Rinse and repeat. They’ll come crawling home eventually.

    • EvilSheldon

      I’m not sure I like the precedent of arresting sitting legislators.

      But since they walked off the job, could they be fired for nonperformance?

      • Sean

        It’s insurrection.

        They’re interfering in the functioning of government.

      • Akira

        I remember when the Democrats freaked the fuck out every time Republicans wouldn’t rubber-stamp everything Obama wanted – “They’re not doing their jobs! They’re holding democracy hostage!!”

      • Urthona

        I’m generally fine with it and am supportive of a republicans doing the same in california.

        we need more obstacles to a functioning legislature.

      • EvilSheldon

        Fair point, but think of it in a practical sense. One branch of government refusing to do their job gives the other branches a lot of political cover to ‘get things done.’

      • kinnath

        Plenty of precedent for it.

        Elected representatives can’t be removed from office except for committing high crimes. I am ok with this.

        Once elected though, there should be consequences for not showing up.

        I would start with an immediate end to their pay checks — no show, no pay.

        Then issue a warning. Show up in 7 days or be arrested.

      • Urthona

        I’m fine with this in general.

        However yet again I’m reminded of when Republicans just tried this in Oregon and all positions were reversed.

        And this is the same Democrat party that federally wants to kill the filibuster. But won’t again when they lose power.

      • R C Dean

        As long as everybody plays hardball, I’m good with it.

        Legislators walk out, fine.

        Arrest warrants issued, per the rules, fine.

        Legislators hauled by their ears back to the capitol, per the rules, fine.

        What I don’t want is one side playing hardball and the other laying down. If we’re going to have oppositional, partisan politics, I want to see everybody down in the gutter, scratching and kicking.

      • Urthona

        My county commissioner — a Texas Republican whose kid plays on my daughter’s soccer team — just shared the law that apparently vacancies in the state legislature can cause a new election if they are abandoned for more than a month.

        I find this the most amusing of possible outcomes.

      • R C Dean

        Suh-weet. I wonder what counts as a vacancy? Just not showing up? Or do you have to resign or be more or less incapable (as in dead, jailed, committed, or hospitalized) of being a legislator?

      • Urthona

        They are trying to argue that now. it doesn’t appear to be well defined.

      • kinnath

        By the way . . . Denying the majority a quorum to prevent legislation from passing is a legitimate tactic.

        Getting on a private jet to fly to DC to participate in federal politics is really, really bad optics though.

      • R C Dean

        Even worse optics: Going to DC to deny a supermajority quorum needed to pass a bill, while protesting that the Senate requires a supermajority to pass a bill,

      • R C Dean

        I’m not sure I like the precedent of arresting sitting legislators.

        Something I never thought I’d see on this site. I’ve always thought we arrested far too few sitting legislators.

      • Urthona

        The problem is it’s the other party that decides to arrest them. Therein is concern for me too.

      • EvilSheldon

        This right here.

        If they were being dragged out into the streets and hurled into woodchippers by angry citizens, I would be applauding unreservedly.

        As it is, this seems to be Yet Another Political Game that’s gonna get turned against me.

      • R C Dean

        Of course, blocking a quorum is also Yet Another Political Game, which can be (and has been, and is) turned against you.

        Parliamentary maneuvering has always been part of the Game. It includes, if its part of the rules, arresting and dragging legislators to the legislature. Being absent is just as much a play as being there and voting no, and in this case its a leveraged play because of the supermajority quorum requirement.

        If your parliamentary maneuver means you have to choose between exile and arrest, well, that’s the game you decided to play.

      • EvilSheldon

        I know.

        Even (or especially?) considering that since politicians are not people, I don’t think that they should be granted the typical legal protections against assault and murder.

        Well, two contradictory ideas, and all that…

    • invisible finger

      After 2020, I’m not sure why not physically being there is any sort of inability to have a quorum.

      • R C Dean

        They’d still have to show up remotely to count for a quorum.

      • invisible finger

        “Have to show up” or “have the ability to show up?” It just seems to me the quorum rules were about the inability to show up rather than a refusal to show up. If any of these legislator escapees voted via telecommunication in 2020, they set a precedent that they have the ability to count for quorum.

      • R C Dean

        No, have to show up. If you aren’t present to vote, you don’t/can’t count toward a quorum. Everybody on any board, committee, whatever has the ability to show up (with pretty rare exceptions). What matters is whether they actually do.

        In 2020, they could be virtually present (due to a change in the rules), but if they didn’t actually dial in, they didn’t count toward a quorum.

    • Endless Mike

      It seems like the best option would be a change in quorum rules – if you miss X number of votes, you are counted out of the total needed to make a quorum.

  52. The Late P Brooks

    [Bernie] added that the package Democrats are drafting could be among the most transformative since the New Deal era.

    “What we are trying to do is transformative,” he said. ‘The legislation that the president and I are supporting will go further to improve the lives of working people than any legislation since the 1930s.”

    Oh, goody.

  53. Stinky Wizzleteats

    ‘Potentially a death sentence’: White House goes off on vaccine fearmongers“

    https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/12/biden-covid-vaccination-campaign-499278

    Pretty standard stuff but this stood out: “ Biden allied groups, including the Democratic National Committee, are also planning to engage fact-checkers more aggressively and work with SMS carriers to dispel misinformation about vaccines that is sent over social media and text messages. The goal is to ensure that people who may have difficulty getting a vaccination because of issues like transportation see those barriers lessened or removed entirely.”
    In other words, they’re going to partner with “private” groups to fact check your texts. I’m not saying that degoogleifying is necessarily needed but deandroidifying sounds like a must.

    • Urthona

      Everyone who wants to has had it. We are done.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Yep. Let the pieces fall where they will.

  54. limey

    Good grief Paul Krugman is an absolute piece of garbage. Oftentimes worth repeating.

    • limey

      I like YMO a lot. I really don’t like what Clapton did with ‘Behind the Mask’, via that Phalanges guy (whatever his name was), but it’s hard to ruin it. I still really enjoy this (NSFW) tangential evolution of the tune somewhat, which is probably as close to it’s platonic archetype as we’re ever likely to hear.

  55. R C Dean

    Best proposed name for the Washington Football Team:

    The DC Comics.

    • Rat on a train

      It will be to me, Football Team, forever more.

    • db

      The DC Grift

    • Endless Mike

      I liked this one best

  56. The Late P Brooks

    My county commissioner — a Texas Republican whose kid plays on my daughter’s soccer team — just shared the law that apparently vacancies in the state legislature can cause a new election if they are abandoned for more than a month.

    I find this the most amusing of possible outcomes.

    Can the governor appoint a replacement until an election can be held?

  57. Sean

    Needs more knife control.

    According to the BBC, 21 teenagers have been killed in London this year. The British capital may record its worst year in terms of teenage homicide if the current rate continues.

  58. Lord Humungus

    People can obviously do what they want with their money, but, as someone who is interested in and makes a (small) living selling mid century art and antiques, I was sad to see a nearby 1960-era home torn down today.

    EF did some research and someone bought the house for $370k, only to tear it down so they can build something else on the lot.

    From what I could tell, it just needed some new siding and some updates – maybe $20-$30k worth of work. It had big floor-to-ceiling windows, beam ceilings, an built-in garage, and a whole bunch of stuff I would love my 1961 domicile to have. Now the house is a pile of rubble.

    I’m sure some horrible (to my eyes) Tuscan-style McMansion will be built on the spot. It’s not a big lot so I imagine the house will be squeezed on to the edges of the lot.

    Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised but, given the current ugly new houses being built, I doubt it.

    • UnCivilServant

      I’ve never seen a pretty house go up. They all seem to be cheap as crap bland monstrosities that lack pretty much any appeal.

      • creech

        What style appeals to you?

      • UnCivilServant

        Not ‘box with vinyl siding’, which seems to be the current design definition.

      • R C Dean

        I would say this is true of teardowns, in my experience. I think anybody who buys to tear down is already planning to build the biggest house they can fit on the lot. That nearly always means a McMansion, and a McMansion means you are trading nearly everything for raw square footage.

      • Lord Humungus

        There was someone in my suburb who bought two old houses where the lots were connected, not side-to-side, but butt-to-butt. Both of the houses were torn down and this huge, and very long, McMansion was built on the two spots. So one street gets to see the garage/backed end of this house, while the other gets the front.

        After this, the city changed the law so this wasn’t possible to do anymore.

      • invisible finger

        Property taxes are the main economic motivation behind a lot of this work.

        In my state, it’s the value of the lot, not the value of the structure, that determines the tax. A small house on a highly-taxed lot makes little sense. I’m in that boat now – my house will likely be a teardown when I sell (in about 5 years) so there is almost no point in doing curb-appeal work on it. I do the work I want to do on it for my own enjoyment. Even if someone went by and said “A small mind-century home with a large yard – just what I want! the taxes would likely scare them off. But a builder would see the lot size and the demand in the neighborhood and see a gold mine after knocking the house down and putting up another with 2.5x the square footage. That is the market.

    • Mojeaux

      A midcentury modern in my neighborhood was completely made over into a craftsman style. Now, it had been on and off the market many times while I have lived here, so I suspect there were structural issues, especially because it’s on a steep slope.

      I am not one to scoff at structural issues, so in retrospect, those people were smart to get out instead of trying to overhaul it.

      But really–turning it into a craftsman (and oh, hey, barn doors!) and every trendy thing ever* was just over the top.

      *Can’t go wrong with a pure white kitchen and stainless appliances. Plain Jane. Let other people figure out how to decorate it.

      • Lord Humungus

        That seems to be the thing to do with MCMs – especially around here. It’s weird to see a 1960 home with Craftsmen doors, stain glass windows, etc.

      • R C Dean

        Can’t go wrong with a pure white kitchen and stainless appliances.

        Until the cold, sterile, hard to clean kitchen falls out of fashion, anyway.

        Not cold, sterile, and hard to clean.

      • UnCivilServant

        How is it ‘hard to clean’? It stands up to most cleaning techniques.

        Or are you worried about being pressured to clean more often? (A valid critique, but not ‘hard to clean’)

      • R C Dean

        Stark white may look good on first impression, but it shows everything. To make it look clean, you have to work harder at it than a kitchen that isn’t stark white. Its a great kitchen for germophobes, but based on a couple of conversations I have had with people who have them, they will wear your ass out if you aren’t.

        Of course, I’m not even a fan of the look, so there’s that.

      • Mojeaux

        Not cold, sterile, and hard to clean.

        Also not my style.

        I like cold and sterile so I can go wild with curtains and other decorations. There are lots of things you can do to dress up a white kitchen that are easy and inexpensive.

      • The Hyperbole

        I can’t wait for the all white cabinet kitchen to go out of style, I’m starting to see some diversity so maybe it will be soon.

      • Mojeaux

        That faux Tuscany/French provincial thing was everyfreakingwhere for 15 years. I still see it occasionally.

      • UnCivilServant

        An ugly house with good structure can be made pretty.

        A pretty house with structural issues can be made to fall down.

      • Mojeaux

        After having watched them work throughout the process, I believe they fixed the structural issues. They gutted it completely.

    • Gender Traitor

      In Tom T’s hometown, a small, landlocked ‘burb of St. L, I understand that’s a common practice. I believe the home his parents built in the ’40s and added on to in the ’50s barely survived a “remodel.”

  59. Hyperion

    “A handful of states decided to rob you a little bit less. Then they go in Fox and want to gloat about lowering taxes when some states have no income tax? Thanks, but get fucked.”

    No worries, the Biden admin are going to let an unnamed global shadow organization set the tax levels for all states, the same. I’m thinking 30% would be a good start. Gotta make sure everyone pays their fair share. And what are you getting for all those taxes? You’re getting to still keep a little of your money, shut up and be grateful, serfs!

  60. Lord Humungus

    I went to a record show last weekend – this one in Lansing. No one was wearing masks. It was packed full of people; often standing next to each other to flip through vinyl. There was zero social distancing.

    I still haven’t been vaccinated – not looking forward to seeing my pushy doctor next year for my physical – and surprise, surprise, I haven’t come down with anything yet.

    I mean how infectious is this disease? I – as far as I know – haven’t gotten it; even after several large meetups, being in an office for several weeks, multiple different airports, and many, many trips to the liquor and grocery store. I’m just not worried about it – at all.

    • invisible finger

      It’s like someone other than me is writing my posts.

      My biggest concern is the precedent that was set. I cannot recall any other illness in my lifetime where the medical establishment basically refused to treat patients. “Stay home, don’t come in until your lips turn blue” was always unethical and borderline malpractice until 2020.

    • Akira

      I mean how infectious is this disease? I – as far as I know – haven’t gotten it; even after several large meetups, being in an office for several weeks, multiple different airports, and many, many trips to the liquor and grocery store. I’m just not worried about it – at all.

      Vast majority of people will get it, clear it, and have absolutely no symptoms the whole time.

  61. Hyperion

    “Greece Joins France, Announces Mandatory COVID Vaccines For All Health Workers & Vaccine Passports”

    Can’t some Eurotard country step up to the plate and out fascist these lightweights?

  62. Hyperion

    “No, CNN did not blast Trump.”

    If only they had real communism.

  63. Ask your doctor if BEAM is right for you

    Well, lumber prices are dropping in my neck of the woods, but they’re still outrageous compared to this time last year, when I paid $2.11 CDN for an 8-foot 2×4. Today the price at our local Home Despot (best retail I can find) is $7.98 CDN for the same stud. I guess I’ll have to look at the bright side — three weeks ago or thereabouts, that same stud temporarily peaked in price at $12.55 CDN.

    I need to build a knee-wall in my garage to insulate a bare concrete wall that got ice buildup last winter, but not at eight bucks a stud.

    • Lord Humungus

      STEVE SMITH ULTIMATE STUD

      • Ask your doctor if BEAM is right for you

        If he’s cheap and can stay still for twenty years, I’ve got a gig for him.

    • Mojeaux

      How are steel stud prices looking?

      • AlexinCT

        Let me ask my girlfriends quick…

      • Mojeaux

        “Quick” is not a selling point.

      • R C Dean

        *lights Lachowski signal*

    • Akira

      I’ll take any price decline as a good omen at this point.

      I picked a bad time to get into woodworking. I have so many projects I’d like to do (mainly bookshelves) but I loathe to pay those prices when I know they’ll eventually come down… How soon, I don’t know though. I’m always watching the curbs for discarded furniture from which I may be able to salvage some good pieces of hardwood.