313 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    Why were there California Schoolchildren in Afghanistan in the first place?

    • AlexinCT

      They were safer there than in school in Cali?

    • Dr. Fronkensteen

      Taking the jobs of Afghan war orphans to harvest opium.

    • juris imprudent

      That smells of bullshit.

      • juris imprudent

        Attendance records as the school year has progressed showed more students were missing, and staff traced their whereabouts to the country.

        from the Sacramento Bee article

        Uh-huh, staff traced. If this is just the parents fucking with school officials, that will be epic.

      • juris imprudent

        Should’ve read further and linked later.

        School districts in Sacramento reported having about 1,500 students with direct connections to Afghanistan enrolled at the start of this year. While some of those relatives might be U.S. citizens, many are not. For years, students have traveled from Sacramento to Kabul to visit loved ones, including grandparents, aunts and uncles.

      • R.J.

        Something is off about that story.
        1. If the kids are there, trapped, wouldn’t parents or relatives be raising hell on TV 24/7 right now? Not even the Biden machine could tamp that down.
        2. Staff traced… Not hysterical parents relatives and friends showed up an yelled about it. Staff noticed they were missing… ? WTF?
        3. Is there a public list if the missing students? Has it been released? Aren’t parents or relatives pushing for help? Just the school is pushing for help?
        This points to the school remotely educating students native to Afghanistan. Not some kind of exchange program.

    • invisible finger

      And who asked them if they felt “trapped”?

      • UnCivilServant

        Taliban Social Workers?

  2. Not Adahn

    Ohio lawmakers propose school choice for all students

    How did he survive the NEA assassins?

    • AlexinCT

      So far…

      Right? Cause they are going to come for him now for sure…

    • Ghostpatzer

      He got the jab which gives eternal life!

      • DrOtto

        +1, +1, + another 1 every 3 months until we flatten the curve!

  3. UnCivilServant

    Morning, Banjos.

    Just trying to focus on getting something off my work desk. I picked the most mindless task becasue I’m feeling frazzled today. I had too many urgent tasks, and figured someone was going to be mad, and there was nothing I could do about it.

  4. Rebel Scum

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday offered a short-term suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debt in the coming day, resulting in a potential economic crisis.

    The Kentucky Republican made the offer to leaders of the Democrat-controlled Senate until they can pass a more permanent measure before the year’s end.

    Three jeers for bipartisanship. We get to go through this charade again in December and hear about muh poor federal workers that will be left out in the cold at Christmas if there is a gov’t “shutdown”.

    • AlexinCT

      Bipartisanship means democrats and the political class get what they want, and American taxpayers get the shaft..

      • Fourscore

        Compromise is half way between two bad ideas

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        It’s, I say it’s, downright Hegelian…the dialectic that is.

    • Urthona

      Actually his decision seemed kind of shrewd.

      • Festus

        Yup. He’s inviting them to go fuck themselves.

    • CPRM

      Member last time when to end the shutdown Dems ‘agreed’ to let Trump build the wall. Hahahahahaha

      • UnCivilServant

        So what was the original photographic source for the astronauts used in that template?

  5. waffles

    Democrat Registration Numbers Plummet In Swing States

    Democrats don’t need to be registered to vote.

    • Ghostpatzer

      Democrats don’t need to be registered alive to vote. FTFY.

      • DEG

        True.

        Nice avatar.

    • Fourscore

      Don’t even need to vote to vote.

      “We’ll take care of it for you”

      • AlexinCT

        ^^^THIS^^^

        That’s called “Fortification”….

  6. Nephilium

    Stop giving me hope Ohio legislature, you’ll just keep dashing it with other bad laws.

    • Tres Cool

      I have a feeling DeWine will bend-over for the teacher’s union somehow.

      • Nephilium

        Let’s see if it even gets out of committee first. Local news didn’t even have a story about it, probably don’t want people in the inner suburbs getting hope they may be able to send their kids to a better school.

      • Tres Cool

        Here’s my thoughts on that, and its more of a “what if” scenario. Just like a-holes from Cali. moving to blue states and infecting politics there, say the shitty inner city urban schools are that way cause…the students are shitty. Why export (potentially) problem kids into “good areas” ?

        The other side of that coin is that ex Ms. Tres did some of her student-teaching in inner city schools, complete with armed resource officers, metal detectors, et al. She said that the kids that actually showed up to class seemed to want to learn.

      • juris imprudent

        She said that the kids that actually showed up to class seemed to want to learn.

        Their subculture will beat that out of them before they get too far.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        And therein lies the primary problem, likely even worse than detached and uncaring parents.

      • robc

        Especially if you force the kids who don’t want to be there to be there.

        The best thing that could happen to the kids that show up is the other kids not show up.

      • Nephilium

        I’d say the shitty parents with the bad students would take the path of least resistance and leave their kids in the failing public schools. It would also be a boon to the private schools that are currently operating with a budget that’s smaller then the public schools. Adding that it would both introduce competition in the schools, which could also bring in more options for learning, and potentially hurting the teachers unions, the only real downside I see is for the kids with bad parents. While that’s bad, unless we want a state is mother/state is father environment. I don’t see many other good options there.

      • robc

        ^^THIS^^

        The parents who care enough to send their kids to the best schools rarely have problem kids.

      • AlexinCT

        I have often pointed out that parents that make sure the kids understand the importance & value of an education (or make sure the kid knows the kid will get an asswooping for not doing the right thing, whether they understand it themselves or not) produces kids that do a lot better in school. Parents that tell their kids school is a waste of time will just undermine their kids.

      • Akira

        the only real downside I see is for the kids with bad parents.

        The biggest factor in a child’s academic performance is parental involvement, so most of those kids are probably not destined for economic success even if we keep the system exactly as it is now. I’m sure some kids will get a worse deal than they have now, but every policy has winners and losers.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        I’m not entirely sure how it would work, but my first thought would be private schools have the luxury of kicking out problem kids. The revenue attached to the kid is not worth the headache.

        Thus still a need for public schools.

      • AlexinCT

        So public schools are basically daycare for troubled kids that have not been told without a good education their future might be looking real bleak?

      • The Last American Hero

        Yes, but at least the bad apples won’t ruin the cart.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Same as now.

      • Fourscore

        So, like an 8 AM college class.

      • Fatty Bolger

        getting hope they may be able to send their kids to a better school.

        They may not even have to. Just having competition will make those schools a lot better.

      • AlexinCT

        The reality of losing money and the quality teachers will force the fucking administrative class that has ruined public education in so many places will make sure they adapt to the new reality or perish. Unless of course government comes in to rig the game…

    • CPRM

      If a student qualifies for school choice through income-eligibility, the local public school district sends the money to private school.

      “It’s about students and increasing the education opportunities for all. This bill seeks to find the right educational opportunity for each of the children in Ohio,”

      Those two statements don’t align.

  7. Rebel Scum

    US corporate tax rate would be among highest of developed nations under Dems’ plan

    A higher cost that will trickle down to the consumers.

    • AlexinCT

      This highest corporate tax rate idiocy is one of the promises the US contingent of the globalist movement gave the other participants so they would be taken seriously, and one of the main reasons the globalist machine wants to jack up our corporate taxes again to show compliance…

    • Rat on a train

      Higher prices will be because those corporations put profit above people. They already charge more than I can afford to pay. The government should force them to accept what I can afford to pay. #LivingPrice

  8. robodruid

    Good Morning:
    I am posting this from last night, would like to see if the “morning crew” has any interesting ideas.

    I have seen a pre-publication template for religous exemptions.

    While I am a lapsed Roman Catholic, i am still Christian, still believe the bible was written by people who saw what they did and tried to understand what they saw.
    But i do have TOS Spock as a major component of my “deeply held beliefs” And I sometimes feel the spirituality of animals…Science, the scientific method, the questioioning of all assumptions….They are a fundamental part of my soul that makes me me. How to translate into govt. speak?

    Their possible questions:
    #1 Please describe the nature of your objection to the COVID-19 Vaccination

    #2 Would complying with the COVID-19 Vaccination requirement substantially burden your religious exercise? If so please explain how.

    #3 How long have you held the religous belief underlying your objection?

    #4Please describe whether as an adult you have received any vaccines against any other diseases (such as a flu vaccine or a tetanus vaccine) and, if so what vaccine you most recently received and when, to the best of your recollection.

    #5 If you do not have a religious objections to the use of all vaccines, please explain why your objection is limited to particular vaccines.

    #6 If there are any other medicines or products that you do not use because of the religious beliefs underlying your objection please identify them.

    #7 Please provide any additional information that you think may be helpful in reviewing you request.

    I think a good argument is not phase 3 trials and no control groups, no control groups means there is no science, only hope. Since there are calls for a 3rd shot the theory that says 2 should have worked is now proven false and not science.

    All of this is with the work or Trashie’s doc.

    Give me *and us some ideas

    • Rat on a train

      Have you recently converted to Christian Science or Dutch Reformed?

    • Tres Cool

      Come join us Mennonites. The clothes are drab, but its worth it for the hats & beards.
      Not to mention thicc chicks in calico.

    • Rebel Scum

      You don’t even have to be religious. It’s based on a deeply held belief. And my deeply held belief is that if someone tries to jab me against my will they will find themselves jabbed by something far more unpleasant than a needle.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      1) you’ll probably be able to get good info and resources from my document (complete doc is in the forum) even if you don’t want to use it directly. While my document is tailored to Protestant Christianity, I’ve separated out the conscientious, biblical, and rational objections in a way where you can pick and choose your arguments with relatively little effort required to clean it up.

      2) this is also addressed in the document and basically boils down to “based on my conscience, which is informed by my strongly held religious beliefs, I must approach this situation, the facts of which I have approached using my God-given reason, by abstaining from the vaccines.”

      3) irrelevant. If they ask that, tell them that your employment lawyer will be in contact shortly to sue the shit out of them. Alternatively, tell them that COVID has exposed some concerning aspects of vaccination that you werent previously aware of.

      4) it’s up to you how much you want to push back on that BS. I’d tell my employer to fuck off if they asked for my vaccination records.

      5) there are a few ways to go depending on your specifics. Not all vaccines use fetal tissue. Most other vaccines haven’t been rushed out the door like this one. The mandate itself is noxious even if it is for a vaccine that is perfectly safe and ethical.

      6) “fuck off”

      Generally, you’re not required to follow a template. It’s a courtesy to your employer. You can submit it in whatever form you prefer.

      • Nephilium

        Generally, you’re not required to follow a template. It’s a courtesy to your employer. You can submit it in whatever form you prefer.

        So… nailing my thesis to the doors of the office works?

      • Sensei

        Nice!

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      I am a devout member of the Reformed Church of Gophuckurself.

      • UnCivilServant

        Sometimes, the best approach is to not tell them that to their face.

  9. The Late P Brooks

    Would it make you feel any better if they was all pushed outta windows?

    Of all the sad statistics the U.S. has had to deal with this last year and half, here is a particularly difficult one: A new study estimates more than 140,000 children in the U.S. have lost a parent or a grandparent caregiver to COVID-19. The majority of these children are racial and ethnic minorities.

    “This means that for every four COVID-19 deaths, one child was left behind without a mother, father and/or a grandparent who provided for that child’s home needs and nurture — needs such as love, security and daily care,” says Susan Hillis, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and lead author of the new study.

    ——-

    These communities experience inequities in access to health care, housing, education, and other factors that contribute to children’s well-being, says Dr. Warren Ng, a psychiatrist at Columbia University who primarily works with kids in communities of color.

    “The numbers don’t tell the full stories,” he says. “The full story is really in the lives and the affected future of these children and adolescents and their families.”

    Death in service to the Greater Narrative; can there be anything more noble? These are the tastiest eggs with which to make an omelette.

  10. Rebel Scum

    More than half say 55%-42% said the Biden administration is not competent in running the government.

    He is not competent to run his own bowels.

    Fifty percent said Biden is not honest, while 44% said he is.

    44% are deluded fools.

    • WTF

      44% are just partisan fucksticks. They know damn well he isn’t honest.

      • Fourscore

        Well, he is a politician…

    • AlexinCT

      Biden isn’t running anything but his mouth.

      There are old Obama acolytes doing all the “running” behind the scenes, and they are now no longer worrying about holding back like they did when he was in charge so they wouldn’t get a revolt. The left overplayed its hand because Trump wrecked their cleverly done machinations and exacerbated their ineptitude as they tried to get him, causing them to end up scared that too many people have seen their end goal to allow them to make it happen under the covers anymore. It’s desperation to use the Kung Flu crisis to the max, by destabilizing everything and creating serious pain for the average person, so they will be forced to appeal to government for redress and help. Panicked and hurting people will tolerate any and all abuse for the promise that things will go back to normal. They never go back to normal, because the new normal will be totalitarianism and the continued terrorization of the serfs to keep them compliant.

  11. Rebel Scum

    Democrat Registration Numbers Plummet In Swing States, Spelling Doom for the Left

    Nothing a little election fortification can’t handle.

    • Sean

      Dead people still vote Democrat, so they have that going for them.

      • Rat on a train

        Some Republicans could find they vote Democrat when they show up at the polls.

      • AlexinCT

        Don’t worry, cause the media will bury those stories and call it misinformation…

    • WTF

      Really, we know legitimate registered voters don’t mean shit.

      • AlexinCT

        The US election system in too many states is broken, unable to be audited, and rife for abuse, because the people that profit from it want it so. Fuck the asshats that think their votes should matter. What matters is that the powers that be get to decide who wins cause the morons that vote can’t be trusted to pick what is good for them…

        /totalitarian asshats

  12. The Late P Brooks

    #7 Please provide any additional information that you think may be helpful in reviewing you request.

    I believe it is an affront to God and man to be treated as the chattel property of the United States Government.

    • robodruid

      nice

  13. Sean

    At least 41 elementary school students from the San Juan Unified School District remain trapped in Afghanistan, the Sacramento Bee reported Wednesday, and getting them out is proving an impossible task, though Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) says it it is continually pressing the Biden administration State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and even the White House to assist in their rescue.

    You can’t force a vaccine on them if you don’t rescue them first. Get the governor on it, STAT!

    • Certified Public Asshat

      We don’t rescue the unvaccinated.

  14. The Late P Brooks

    “A citizen in that position, given those indicators, would it be reasonable for them to believe they were about to be assaulted?” Black stated. “I would argue yes.”

    Those people merely wanted to express their sincerely held beliefs. That’s how the process works.

    • WTF

      I like how the prosecutor objects that he’s a use of force expert for police, not “civilians”. As if there’s any difference when it comes to self defense.

      • Not Adahn

        Can civilians bench press Morgan Fairchild while winning a surfing championship? I think not.

      • WTF

        +1 totality of the circs

      • Rebel Scum

        I despise that characterization. Police are civilians hired to conduct law enforcement.

      • Rat on a train

        Police are civilians – Army veteran

      • Tres Cool

        Ive made that point more than once, when a cop family member referred to non-cops as ‘civilians’.

        /also Army veteran
        /cop family member never served

      • R C Dean

        “Hello, fellow civilians.”

        *insert glowie meme here*

  15. Rebel Scum

    U.S. private-sector hiring accelerated in September as supplemental unemployment benefits expired.

    Funny how that works.

    • AlexinCT

      Too many people still are holding out and pining for government to go back to paying them not to work (and also allow them to squat in other people’s property without compensating them for that living arrangement). It frightens me that so many people feel they are owed free shit cause they exist.

      • Akira

        And it’s sad to hear so many low-information people just exclaiming with glee over how restaurants and grocery stores are paying 15, 16, 17 bucks an hour now just to get people in. It’s like they don’t realize that that money comes from somewhere, and it’s higher prices.

  16. The Late P Brooks

    Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger argued that Black is an expert in the use of force by police, not civilians.

    That “feared for his life” defense only works for the King’s men, I guess.

  17. Rebel Scum

    At a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, a use-of-force expert stated that Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions during the riots in Kenosha, Wisc., in August 2020 were justified. Rittenhouse shot three men during that rioting, two of those men, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, died from their injuries.

    My money is still on him being railroaded, unfortunately.

    • AlexinCT

      Oh, they need to fuck him over to set an example, but doing it in a way that makes it blatant they fucked him over for political reasons (see George Floyd trial) causes trouble fro the people that have the agenda of making us all serfs again.

    • EvilSheldon

      Good morning!

      Black told Binger that he has taught civilian self-defense courses and that Binger was presenting a hypothetical situation, but if Rittenhouse hadn’t been armed with a gun, Black noted that Rittenhouse may not have been justified in using deadly force.

      Um, WTF? If he didn’t have a gun, he would not have been justified in using deadly force? I’m just a poor tech industry college dropout here, but how the fuck does that even make sense?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        It means that having a gun is just endangering yourself and in doing so, endangering others because you might have to respond to their aggressive acts, which only occur because you have a gun.

        In a lefty mind, this makes sense because the guns are the problem, and the people have no agency.

      • ron73440

        Still doesn’t make sense, but at least I see what the attempted argument is, thanks translator!

      • EvilSheldon

        I understand this argument. I don’t understand why the defense expert witness agreed with it, instead of shooting it down as the arrant nonsense that it is.

      • Ozymandias

        Now you know why he’s a *police* expert.

      • ron73440

        So if he had a knife in his pocket he couldn’t have attempted to use it and he would’ve had to let them assault/kill him?

        I’m with you, that doesn’t make any logical sense.

  18. Rebel Scum

    CNN spent nearly 80% of September under 1 million viewers

    *Nelson laugh*

  19. Rebel Scum

    Gas prices now highest since 2014.

    Huh. I wonder what changed recently.

    • Festus

      Just jumped here, too. I wonder if people travel more for a holiday weekend? We’ll never know…

      • AlexinCT

        Gas prices at the level they are now hurt the lower middleclass the most. When my gas budget jumps from $100 to over $350 a month, it just fucking pisses me off. But for some people that make less money than I do, that difference is going to make them have to choose to give up something they can’t really afford to give up. But that’s exactly what the people that want you to turn to more government for help want…

      • WTF

        Also, the lower middle classes are the people that have to drive to and from work every day, while white collar workers can just work from home and not feel much of a burn from increased gas prices.

      • Nephilium

        But I’m sure this won’t have any impact on the staffing issues going on at entry level jobs and restaurants.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        *whistles past all the signs I’ve been seeing during this road trip begging for people to apply and apologizing for the slow service due to being short staffed*

      • AlexinCT

        Touché mon ami.

        Remember that they are already telling people that the agenda is to make the serfs own nothing, get everything they need from government (as long as they do what government wants, or else), and be happy finally…

        I have asked anyone that was pro government healthcare, in the past if they have had second thoughts about people advocating healthcare be withheld from those that don’t comply with government wishes if they still thought that was a good idea, and while quite a few now say they no longer are so sure, there are some the thing this is exactly why government healthcare is a good idea: force compliance…

  20. The Late P Brooks

    This bullshit talking point about how “700,000 lives have been needlessly and avoidably lost!” really gets my goat.

    The overwhelming majority of hose deaths were merely pulled forward by a few months. None of those people, no matter how young or strong, were going to live forever.

    The mortality rate is and has always been, 100%. You’d think so-called health experts would know that.

    • Festus

      “Shut up!” they explained.

    • Rebel Scum

      The convid death numbers are bs anyway. It’s probably more like a tenth of what they say, which is a mild flu season since we are counting this now endemic disease (using tests that are bs…) for 2 years not instead of starting over in the new flu seasons.

      • Michael Malaise

        When you see historical estimates that show Mao killed between 30 and 80 million people you know the accounting isn’t very good.

    • Akira

      There needs to be a massive retrospective audit of all the COnVID death numbers before I will take them remotely seriously.

      I try to tell people this (people I thought were reasonably intelligent) and all I get is some variation of “there are always some statistical anomalies but the numbers are mostly accurate” usually followed by an accusation of wanting to kill grandma, then asking if I have a moment to talk about our vaccine and savior.

      And I’m not a mathematical supergenius by any means whatsoever, but you don’t have to be to see through this bullshit. You just have to be someone who doesn’t soak in the incessant propagandizing from CNN and NPR.

  21. Festus

    Mornin’ Banjos! Thanks for the Gif! I needed a little levity in my life this fine morning.

    • rhywun

      Yeah, that one’s a keeper.

  22. Rebel Scum

    Ohio lawmakers propose school choice for all students

    Only Nazi’s believe in choice anything that does not involve muh-‘bortions.

    • Ted S.

      Cool link, bro!

    • DrOtto

      The jokes on them, MN has been issuing the grade of “E” instead of “F” for years. The stigma of “failure” was too much for the little dullards to handle.

      • Festus

        hah! They did that here forty years ago.

      • hayeksplosives

        Is it more for the parents or the kids? Kids still know that “E” is for failure.

    • Rat on a train

      An “F” now will be designated an “I” for “incomplete, and teachers also will not be able to assign a grade lower than 50 percent to any student.

      Don’t feel bad, your child got all “I”s instead of “F”s.

      Further, students are “encouraged” to retake and/or revise tests, quizzes and papers within a 10-day window to improve their initial scores

      Just let them keep taking it until they pass.

      Grading should not be a behavior punishment and should not be a measure of how well a student can survive stress at home.

      Huh, I always thought grading was based on tests and assignments. I could have got bonus points if my home was more stressful?

      • Dr. Fronkensteen

        Letting them take the test until they pass may not be a bad idea. If the the idea is that they learn the material before they get more advanced material. Some people just learn faster than others.

      • Michael Malaise

        My biology teacher gave us 5 shots to pass a test. (Well, actually 2 shots to get over 80%, and then 3 more to improve your grade) He would show you which ones you got wrong, too. It did make it possible to learn the material more thoroughly and also rewarded effort.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    Your flying machine has to be able to fly, at some point

    NASA in August 2018 had assigned the pair to fly on Boeing’s first crewed Starliner missions – with Mann on the Starliner crew flight test and Cassada on the first operational Starliner flight. But after spending three years preparing to fly Boeing’s capsule, the two astronauts are the first to be reassigned from one U.S. spacecraft to another.

    “We understand the agency’s need to make adjustments to get members of the current astronaut class flying experience on an operational vehicle while the development of the Starliner spacecraft continues. We fully support NASA’s decisions and remain committed to putting the safety of the astronauts who will fly on our vehicle first,” a Boeing spokesman said in a statement to CNBC.

    NASA has three astronauts still assigned to Boeing’s Starliner crewed flight test: Butch Wilmore, Mike Fincke, and Suni Williams. The agency says it will make further assignments to Boeing missions “in the future.”

    They just need more money.

  24. AlexinCT

    NICE!!

    • hayeksplosives

      “ late-night Matlock binges ”

      Lol.

  25. Rebel Scum

    That’s a good start…

    Today, as Acting Governor, I fixed Gov. Little’s Executive Order on “vaccine passports” to make sure that K-12 schools and universities cannot require vaccinations OR require mandatory testing. I will continue to fight for your individual Liberty!

    …now do everyone else.

    • DEG

      She and the Gov have butted heads over his Lil Rona Panic orders.

    • ron73440

      Standard warning for twitter, but don’t scroll down.

      So many people love the taste of bot leather.

      • ron73440

        Bot leather, boot leather whatever

      • R.J.

        Bot leather sounds like a great thing to throw in a short story to mess with people.

      • Ted S.

        I figured bot leather was Ron’s kink.

      • Rebel Scum

        A. Marie Jack-o-lantern
        @JaniceMcGeachin

        Why don’t Republicans want the pandemic to end?

        Bless your heart. The pandemic was over by the time it was announced.

  26. Festus

    My circle of happiness has been shrinking. You know that feeling of bonhomie when you sing the anthem at a sportsball game? That’s gone. Or when you walk around the city on a beautiful Springtime day and greet everyone with a smile and a nod? Now we have paranoics scuttling around with masks on and people actively shouting “FJB!” We are a civilization divided and that was the whole point and thrust of this entire charade. I know siblings that may never speak again. Come on SMOD, we know you can do it!

    • Not Adahn

      Dog park.

      • Festus

        True enough but all dog parks are not created equal.

      • Michael Malaise

        What do we want? DOG PARK EQUITY!
        When do we want it? AFTER OUR NAP!

  27. db

    I glanced through the overnight post comments and saw more discussion on the 96-year old German secretary.

    My thoughts are this: Hitler and his cronies, absent active and tacit support from the German populace, could not have continued their reign of terror.

    Absent active and tacit support from the American populace, our government could not continue to disregard our founding documents that were designed to limit their power to prevent an autocracy from forming. I fear we are in the initial or early middle stages of sliding into an authoritarian system. It would have been so much easier to stop it when it began decades if not a century ago. The longer it goes on, the more difficult it will be to prevent.

    The focus on the Top Men such as Hitler or Bush, Obama, Trump, Clinton, Biden, Roosevelt, etc., is misdirection. Those men could not achieve their goals or exercise power without at least the initial approval of the people. The fault lies with the populace that makes up the society not being able to recognize what is happening, and that comes (in the case of the US, at least) from inadequate and compromised civics education, compounded with other failings of our educational system.

    At root, it is simply decadance and decay. Something always grows from decay, but it’s hard to know what it will be unless it’s carefully planted and cultivated.

    • R.J.

      Well said.

    • Ghostpatzer

      Bingo.

    • Festus

      Yup. It’s rot from within that sinks the ship, not the reef.

  28. db

    What kind of moron lets his or her elementary-school-aged child travel to Afghanistan in the months just prior to an announced withdrawal of protective military forces?

    • juris imprudent

      Afghani immigrants to the U.S. apparently.

      • db

        I guess they fucked up and trusted us.

      • juris imprudent

        Seems they felt the country was safe enough to travel to, rather than just get the hell out of. Oops.

    • Urthona

      Well the Biden administration was giving messaging that getting out would be orderly and no problem.

      • db

        Trusting the Biden administration seems like a reasonable move.

    • db

      I’m torn about whether Costello should cancel his appearance in solidarity, or go on with the show as a thumb in the eye of the pressure groups.

      • PieInTheSky

        It is in poor taste to make these kind of jokes most Romanians would not get

      • PieInTheSky

        I do. 99% don’t.

      • juris imprudent

        Oh look at someone touting their 1%er-ness!

      • Festus

        Better cancel xim, then.

  29. Rebel Scum

    Muh-insurrection.

    Nine months ago today – on Jan. 6, 2021 – an angry mob attacked the U.S. Capitol. I walked around the complex today and it was very calm. As you know, the perimeter security fence is gone – at least for now.

    Cry about it.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    NPR exultant headline:

    Faced with losing their jobs, even the most hesitant are getting vaccinated

    What a triumph. Society wins when anti-communitarians are forced to grovel and submit.

    Holy fuck I despise people.

    • db

      My alpha ape can force your alpha ape to submit and that’s a win for both our bands.

  31. The Late P Brooks

    C’mon, Citizen. Bend over and get poked by the government. You’ll enjoy it more than you ever imagined.

  32. juris imprudent

    Not the Bee. I swear to God.

    • Rebel Scum

      That’s perfect.

  33. Rebel Scum

    Merkmectin.

    A FIVE-DAY COURSE of molnupiravir, the new medicine being hailed as a “huge advance” in the treatment of Covid-19, costs $17.74 to produce, according to a report issued last week by drug pricing experts at the Harvard School of Public Health and King’s College Hospital in London. Merck is charging the U.S. government $712 for the same amount of medicine, or 40 times the price.

      • db

        I’ll give a hint: There’s a single box labeled “Cost of production per tablet.” There is no information or justification for what or why they chose a specific value for that. The cost of the API is known–they got that from public information. The cost to produce the tablet is unknown, other than they claim it should be $0.44/tablet, without explanation.

        Even assuming that the compounding process is straightforward and can use repurposed existing equipment, there is an enormous amount of work that goes into qualifying a production line, and that costs money. I don’t deal with parma-grade GMP, but I’m well aware of the costs associated with manufacturing, and even producing for the automotive industry has an enormous amount of overhead costs for compliance, QA/QC, permits, etc.

        You don’t just walk up to the production line, pour in some powder, and get a tablet out. Not if you want the FDA to allow you to sell the product.

      • db

        Also note that they claim, without justification, that a 10% profit margin is all that should be allowable. Even granting that (there aren’t a whole lot of manufacturing companies out there that would build a new production line to make 10% margin on a product), the lack of information about how they calculated the production cost is telling. It’s almost like they think that the cost of materials, not labor, are the defining factor of the cost of a product.

      • juris imprudent

        parma-grade

        Sounds cheesy.

      • db

        Yeah I saw and another typo just as I clicked “Post,” which really grates on me.

      • AlexinCT

        I thought you were making fun of that Biden kid that was scouring his carpet for cheese to smoke in his crack pipe…

      • Festus

        ^^^ top sail comment!

    • juris imprudent

      The benefits of our intellectual property regime!

    • juris imprudent

      +1 Stop Resisting!

    • waffles

      I hate how in our present scenario stories like this only harden the already politically activated and result in no action, no changes. I do think the government is like a star burning the last of its fuel and the collapse of each narrative is hastening.

      • db

        Are we through the helium yet?

      • AlexinCT

        It feels like it is fusing Iron, and that means the collapse is soon….

        Of course, what usually follows is a Nova, a Neutron star, or Black Hole collapse event, and in all cases it sucks to be around…

      • Festus

        But I’m the 20% hydrogen that’s still floating about on the outer sphere. Sucks to be me, apparently. Okay water, here I come!

      • PutridMeat

        Note to self: Finish part 3 you slacker.

  34. Rebel Scum

    About that religious exemption…

    “One of more cell lines with an origin that can be traced back to human fetal tissue has been used in laboratory tests associated with the Vaccine program. We have not received any questions from policy makers or media on the issue so we want to avoid raising this if possible.”

    “We want to avoid having the information on the fetal cell lines floating out there. We believe the risk of communication this right now outweighs any potential benefit that we could see, particularly with general members of the public who may take this information and use it in ways we may not want it out there.

    Melissa Strickler, a Pfizer worker at the McPherson Kansas plant is the whistleblower.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      “particularly with general members of the public who may take this information and use it in ways we may not want it out there.”

      We’re all for self-empowerment as long as you make the right decision, otherwise we’ll conceal critical information from you. I wonder what other info that would unduly effect people’s decisions they’ve kept under wraps.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Also, it’s funny how these decisions always seem to fall in with whatever happens to be in the best interests of these companies’ bottom lines.

  35. The Late P Brooks

    Slave state of the future

    \By next month Los Angeles will require residents and visitors to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccine in order to eat, drink, or shop in indoor establishments across the city.

    Under this mandate, eligible patrons will need to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, coffee shops, stores, gyms, spas or salons. People attending large, outdoor events will also need to show evidence of either vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test to attend the event.

    Proof of vaccination includes a vaccination card issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a photo of both sides of the card, documentation from a health care provider, or a digital record of vaccination issued by California, another state or country.

    The City Council passed the new law on Wednesday and Mayor Eric Garcetti approved the sweeping ordinance later that day. It’s set to take effect sometime in November.

    Just put a bounty on the Unclean, and be done with it.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Eat me LA, I can visit plenty of urban shitholes where I wouldn’t have to put up with this.

    • rhywun

      or shop

      Starve them out. Yes, that’s perfectly sensible.

    • Urthona

      It already seemed like a ghost town when I visited there a few months ago.

    • The Other Kevin

      Just line them up in front of a ditch. Sadly, there are people who’d have no problem with that.

    • creech

      Danger is so immediate and serious that new mandate doesn’t take effect until next month.

  36. juris imprudent

    Notice of course the headline is not My Model Predicts.

    Townsend and his team analyzed known reinfection and immunological data from the close viral relatives of SARS-CoV-2 that cause “common colds,” along with immunological data from SARS-CoV-1 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Leveraging evolutionary principles, the team was able to model the risk of COVID-19 reinfection over time.

    • AlexinCT

      Why is this cuck stopping with just meeting the dude? Maybe they should make him watch the boyfriend plowing his wife and then humiliate him after the lover does the deed… Sounds like that might make things better for this pussy.

    • PieInTheSky

      Back in the day you would challenge the fucker to a duel after sending your wife to a convent… good times

      • AlexinCT

        Get thee to a nunnery, go. Farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool; wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go, and quickly too.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      If you’re contemplating anything other than meeting the guy so you can take care of business and toss what’s left in the Thames you’ll just make it worse.

  37. DEG

    Mornin’.

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday offered a short-term suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debt in the coming day, resulting in a potential economic crisis.

    Just let the default happen.

    The plan, unveiled in September by the House Ways and Means Committee, seeks to generate about $2 trillion over the next decade to pay for programs that would expand Medicare, establish free community college, provide paid family leave and combat climate change.

    So… $1.5 trillion short. Money machine go BRRRR!!!!!

    At a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, a use-of-force expert stated that Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions during the riots in Kenosha, Wisc., in August 2020 were justified.

    Yep. Rittenhouse did nothing wrong.

    CNN had a dismal September, failing to reach 1 million viewers on any of its programs for 23 out of the 30 days in the month, equating to a staggering 77% of the time according to Nielsen data.

    🙂

    A recent report from CNBC indicated Americans are paying the highest prices for gas in the last seven years, and some cities have gas prices as high as $5 per gallon.

    Urgh. I’m hitting the road Tuesday for Florida. Gas prices have slightly dropped here in NH over the last week or two, but this has me worried about how expensive this trip will be.

    The Ohio Backpack Bill, originally introduced in May and updated with a sub-bill to House Bill 290, would allow all parents to send their children to public school or establish an education savings account. The state would send the money earmarked for that student to the public school or into the parent’s account, allowing it to be used for private school tuition or other education expenses.

    Excellent. Better than what the Legislature in NH did which was create education savings account but only if your income was below a certain level.

    • creech

      New Math: $3.5 trillion minus $2 trillion equals Zero.

  38. Rebel Scum

    What?

    NY Gov. Kathy Hochul: “I heard so many people say they’re afraid to go get vaccines because they’d have to get on the Subway and they’re afraid of being assaulted in this very city.”

    • db

      Well, there you have it: you have to solve Gun Violence before you solve COVID.

    • Urthona

      When I lived in NYC in the 00’s the subway was very safe.

      • Sensei

        Hello de Blasio!

      • rhywun

        Crime is way up but it’s still “very safe” except for when it isn’t. ??‍♂️

        It’s like saying “I’m afraid to drive to work because I might get in a car accident.”

        PS. I am 100% certain that nobody needs to “take a subway” to find the prick. It’s fucking everywhere, at every drug store and at pop-up shops galore.

    • Drake

      She is a special combination of evil and crazy.

      • rhywun

        I think she is actually worse than Cuomo. I didn’t think that would be possible but here we are.

        The single good thing she has done was stopping one of Andrew’s vanity projects, the LaGuardia Air Train.

      • slumbrew

        It’s really impressive how deeply awful NY state pols are. Just when you’ve reached bottom, you find a whole new vein of awfulness.

      • rhywun

        The state Assembly here is a lost cause but the Senate should at least be in play since the Dems only captured it a couple years ago.

        So there is a chance our state politics can swing back to the historical mean of merely “awful” from the current state of “dreadfully abysmal”.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    From Juris’ link:

    “As new variants arise, previous immune responses become less effective at combating the virus. Those who were naturally infected early in the pandemic are increasingly likely to become reinfected in the near future.”

    The team’s data-driven model reveals striking similarities to the reinfection risks over time between SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronaviruses.

    “Just like common colds, from one year to the next you may get reinfected with the same virus,” Townsend said. “The difference is that, during its emergence in this pandemic, COVID-19 has proven to be much more deadly.”

    A hallmark of the modern world is going to be the evolution of new threats to human health, Townsend added. Evolutionary biology — which provided the theoretical foundations for these analyses — is traditionally considered a historical discipline.

    Assume a can opener doomsday scenario.

    Just like every other virus, only scarier. Send more grant money!

    • Urthona

      Immunity to SARS can last for decades.

    • Dr. Fronkensteen

      If you had it you’re better off getting it again sooner rather than later. Time to open up completely.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      So, uh, therapeutics? Seems like we ought to be developing (or approving) them with a little more urgency.

      • The Other Kevin

        To me the ideal situation would be to have a therapeutic like TamiFlu that works on COVID. So you start to feel sick, take a quick test, and your doctor prescribes 5 days of pills that keep the symptoms mild.

        AIDS is no longer the death sentence it used to be because we have therapeutics that all but cure it. But Fauci has a hard on for vaccines so that’s where went with COVID.

      • UnCivilServant

        I think at first Fauci wanted to be remembered as the next Jonas Salk, but didn’t do science, and needed to glom onto a problem, even if it wasn’t the correct solution. After failing in the 80s, he’s been stuck in that mode.

      • The Other Kevin

        100% this. He and his counterparts want to be the ones who saved the world. They’re finally in charge, and they finally get to do all the Armageddon play acting they’ve been planning for decades. It’s all ego driven.

      • waffles

        I feel like if they just let go once the vaccines rolled out they could claim the savior role and we could just wash our hands of this sordid affair. Most of the issue is not knowing when you need to let go. Let us live in peace, sirs.

    • juris imprudent

      The team’s data-driven model reveals striking similarities to the reinfection risks over time between SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronaviruses.

      Data-driven model == jumbo shrimp.

    • Rebel Scum

      Those who were naturally infected early in the pandemic are increasingly likely to become reinfected in the near future.

      Maybe, maybe not. It is kindof like a cold/flu going around. No, wait. It’s exactly like that.

      The team’s data-driven model

      Uh huh…

      A hallmark of the modern world is going to be the evolution of new threats to human health

      Mostly coming from the government.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Those who were naturally infected early in the pandemic are increasingly likely to become reinfected in the near future.

        That is a massive lie of omission of through missing context. I hate these people.

      • R C Dean

        Hasn’t the the evolution of new threats to human health been going on forever? The only thing that has changed in the modern world is now we can manufacture them ourselves. Maybe that’s what we should be focussing on.

  40. robc

    Evan Longoria, Mookie Betts, HoFer Chuck Klein, Brickyard Kennedy, Jose Cardenal.

    Top 2 are still active. Klein is a borderline HoFer at best. His last nine years were pretty mediocre, but there was a nice peak before he hit age 30.

    • PieInTheSky

      I read that as Eva Longoria and reread twice before getting to Evan

      • robc

        That joke has been floating around since he was a rookie.

        I think they even did a commercial together or something.

      • PieInTheSky

        it was not a joke i was confused

      • waffles

        I believe you.

      • robc

        Yeah, I know. “Joke” wasn’t the right word. “Situation”?

  41. The Late P Brooks

    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday offered a short-term suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling to avoid the U.S. defaulting on its debt in the coming day, resulting in a potential economic crisis.

    If the music stops, a lot of very important people will be left standing around with to chair to sit on. We wouldn’t want that, would we?

  42. Sensei

    Bill de Blasio Thinks He Could Be Governor. Does Anyone Else?

    “Osama bin Laden is probably more popular in Suffolk County than Bill de Blasio,” said Rich Schaffer, the chairman of the county’s Democratic committee, who endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday.

    Perhaps if he locks down the city and campaigns from his basement?

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      de Blasio or Hochul, bin Laden or Baghdadi: take your pick.

    • The Last American Hero

      Well, since Bin Laden’s dead, then there isn’t too much more damage he could do. de Blasio on the other hand….

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        *nominates the corpse of Bin Laden for President*

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Bin Laden

      • Certified Public Asshat

        You’ve never seen both corpses together is all I’m saying.

  43. wdalasio

    I despise that characterization. Police are civilians hired to conduct law enforcement.

    I’ve always responded to that characterization that the moment police subject themselves to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, are legally bound to adhere to pre-set Rules of Engagement and are forbidden from unionizing, we can talk about them being something other than civilians.

    • Festus

      Avoid thugs at all costs. Whatever the circumstance. Do you approach a snarling dog?

    • Tres Cool

      Its like you cant even qualified immunity, brah.

    • invisible finger

      Something something Mutual Combatants

      /kimfoxx

    • AlexinCT

      Everybody knows that the 6 branches of the military (7 now with the Space Force) are: Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and the Post Office….

      Cops claiming to be non civilians is totes bullshit…

      /Cliff Clavin

  44. ignoreLander

    Democrats poised to accept temporary debt ceiling offer from McConnell

    And it’ll totes be temporary gize! NO way will it become the new baseline

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      I’m sure the turtle will put his foot down the next time.

    • Festus

      The Turtle is safe. He’s lived through the K2 event, this is nothing.

  45. Festus

    I have to bail, fine people. Have a great one if you can manage.

    • Tres Cool

      Not far behind ya, filthy Canuckian. Im working the next 4 nights, and spent the last one drinking beer and binging on Letterkenny and Bob & Doug until I fell off the couch eh.
      Now Im about to order a calzone (that Ill gut like a perch) and make a salad.

  46. The Other Kevin

    I’d like to be optimistic about the next election, but never underestimate the ability of the Dems, big tech, and the media to drum up fear and get their voters out, even if it takes outright lying. And add some fortification to top it off.

    • juris imprudent

      Alternatively, you could look at it as it took their best shot to push Biden over the line, since they didn’t carry any down-ballot contests.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      The man fell on the car and then got up, and fell on the ground.

      “The sound was very loud,” she said. “He was screaming ‘help.’

      “I was trying to tell him to calm down and stop moving.”

      His condition was not immediately clear.

      STOP MOVING SO I CAN GET A GOOD SHOT YOU DUMBASS!

      • juris imprudent

        Do people masturbate to the thought of generating a viral video?

      • waffles

        No comment.

      • R.J.



        Maybe…

      • Tres Cool

        I only masturbate to videos I made of myself masturbating.

        /narcissist

    • ron73440

      I figured you were just being snarky, but that’s exactly what she said she did.

      Christina Smith said she caught the fall from the corner of her eye. She called police right away, and then began filming.

      Don’t check his condition or try to help.

      It’s not my fault I hate people.

    • creech

      Surely she called 9-1-1 to dispatch EMT. Cops come with it. And, if not a nurse or doctor, what aid can you give that might not make the dude’s condition worse? Filming is important; after all, the dude is trespassing on the BMW and may therefore be an insurrectionist.

  47. LCDR_Fish

    Morning Glibs – I am back on the night/eve shift for the next 9 weeks or so (then reserve stuff, holidays, etc – and more night shift). Not bad – just a bit of readjustment for gym schedules, etc. Consistency is where it’s at though.

    Speaking of which, I have a nice big block of time next year when I have what should be openings to conduct more reserve support/training/etc. Might finally be my chance to get some crane operator training or other heavy equipment training.

    Unfortunately, it looks like the place I was thinking about in the Richmond area is no longer around. Searching online…I come up with places in Ohio like PTSworks.com – seems like a good place – nice brochure and they do take the GI Bill. Asked my brother about it – but he’s closer to Lima and not as familiar with the Columbus area. Not seeing a lot of reviews or opinions online either, but seems like they’ve been around for a bit.

    Anyone have recommendations/experiences with these guys or want to suggest another GI Bill compatible place for Crane/Equipment training?

  48. kinnath

    Mega corp ups the ante. Failure to disclose is resignation.

    • rhywun

      Consider it a blessing in disguise.

      Am I crazy or have Joe’s edicts not actually even been written yet?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Not been written. OSHA hasn’t even started the regulatory process to create the rule.

        Not that that stopped the FDA from ignoring multiple regs in approving the clotshots, but still…

      • The Other Kevin

        As some suspected, this was just cover so big companies could enact their own mandates. By the time the rule gets in place, and there are lawsuits, and it gets to the SC, those jobs will be long gone. I mostly think this is a way to easily purge those who don’t have the right political views.

      • Gustave Lytton

        My company is now using customer contract requirements as a business reason for knowing (and soon requiring) who has been vaccinated. Gee, if the customer demands we only send blue eyed blond haired employees onsite, there’s nothing wrong with that either, right? We’d never tell them go pound sand and we’ll send whoever can do the work.

      • R C Dean

        That can be legit, if the contract says anyone going onsite has to comply with the customer’s workplace requirements. But that’s as far as that can be pushed, I believe. I’ve never seen a contract that required offsirte contractors to meet workplace requirements. If a company requires their offsite employees to be vaxxed, I don’t think that qualifies as a “workplace” requirement.

      • kinnath

        Not going to hurt me at this point.

        It will only become an issue of Moderna boosters become mandatory.

      • Sensei

        Who knew that for whatever reason they seem unwilling to “mix and match” vaccin boosters? Given the rest of the extensive “science” used in their approval and use this has surprised me.

        Turns out for non-Pfizer recipients this has allowed a welcome delay.

      • kinnath

        Even the pfizer is “only recommended” for at-risk groups under EUA and not formal approval.

        One report I saw shows that Moderna effectivity is holding up much better than pfizer (probably because Moderna was a much higher dose to start with).

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        AFAICT Moderna and Pfizer are almost identical treatments. Moderna has the higher dose, which they found was 4 times higher than necessary back in July.

        Both last for about 6 months.

      • Sensei

        The few articles I’ve read support modestly longer lasting and slightly broader protection for Moderna.

        As you bost noted Moderna had a higher dosage.

      • cyto

        Scientifically speaking, mixing and matching should enhance immunity.

        But scientifically speaking, you probably shouldn’t be pushing to vaccinate those who have already had the virus either.

    • UnCivilServant

      At my agency there have been no threats for non-disclosure of status. In fact the way that they’ve not even issued procedures for the “or else you must get tested!” has been speculated to mean they’re gauging the noncompliance rates with the disclosure. We’re spread so thin that they know we’re going to have trouble if people walk over this.

      If I walk, several business areas are screwed. Plus, the added workloads will cause a knock-on effect where even the compliant bail (being eligable for retirement, or confident in finding other work). Which means even a small percentage of walkouts snowballs into a departure cascade.

      Since hiring is such a chore, they’re hoping to avoid that kind of disruption.

      • Akira

        I think my workplace is hesistant to fire the unvaxxed since it’s a pharmacy and many of the techs are refusing and even a couple pharmacists (I think the latter scares them more than the former; pharmacists are not easy to replace).

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        That’s good to hear.

        I assume that a lot of pharmacists are hearing the results of alternative treatments that have been prescribed.

      • Nephilium

        My workplace sent out a message a couple weeks back saying they would be complying with the regulations… when they get them. The company just had a RIF, which happened right before two massive outages that burned out quite a few techs, who left. So the company is a bit short staffed, and trying to hire people. Getting rid of the non-compliant (which is an unknown number at this point), would probably hurt them quite a bit. The fact that most of us have been WFH since March of last year also makes it hard to justify the vax for workplace safety.

    • kbolino

      I’ve already been vaccinated. I’ve disclosed to the client (I work on their premises) but not to my employer (they hadn’t asked). Just got word of the employer mandate yesterday. I’ve got a month and a half to comply, but only a week to apply for an exemption. I’m weighing my options. My biggest concern is that admitting compliance now will lock me in to having to get the booster later. But I have no sincere medical or religious reason to be exempt. So it really comes down to, do I quit sooner or later?

      • kinnath

        I think it will be impossible to ask for an exemption after being vaccinated. This will become important if recommended boosters become mandated boosters. I have no interest in getting a booster.

      • kbolino

        When I got the vax, it seemed like the right thing to do. There were lots of people getting it too. That was March/April. Now, I don’t give a fuck what they say. It wasn’t enough, and they won’t admit it wasn’t enough, and now they want us to do it all over again. I thought it was the right thing to do. I didn’t sign up for a lifetime of dependence on the medical-industrial complex.

      • kinnath

        ditto

      • kinnath

        It’s a fucking corona virus. The vaccine was always going to be temporary.

      • R C Dean

        I definitely think there is room for someone to file an exemption for a mandatory booster even if they got the vax voluntarily. Free will, and all – I freely consented to the vax, but I do not freely consent to the booster, and getting medical treatments against my will violates my strongly held beliefs/religion.

        EVen my Branch Covidian infested company hasn’t said boo about booster mandates. That’s where I will draw the line. My game will be to force them to fire me in a way that triggers my severance agreement. I suspect that they realize that I can inflict far more pain on them than my severance agreement is worth, so the easy way out will be to pay me rather than fight me. I do not think they want me in the media saying that their mandate violates fundamental medical ethics. And never mind their fear that I know every single frickin’ legal skeleton in their closet, and could hand an AG a roadmap to a world of unendurable pain. Not saying I’d do that, but they should be worried about it.

      • kinnath

        I have an out — retirement.

        I imagine 90% of the young engineers have no way out.

      • kbolino

        There’s a reason they’re playing the “resignation” not “termination” game. They want to argue, and the government will probably support them in this, that if you refuse to get vaccinated you are “voluntarily” separating. Hence, no severance, no unemployment, no liability.

      • AlexinCT

        I think this shit is all grandstanding. Practically every fucking single transplant patient will have some kind of compromised immune system issue and would have a doctor that would tell them any vaccine was a serious risk. I hope someone sues them just because…

      • R C Dean

        That doesn’t work for any other policy violation, and I have my doubts that the government will sign off on giving employers a “get out of compliance” free card by saying refusal to comply with a policy is a voluntary termination.

        Maybe, though. The rule of law is pretty much dead, so gross inconsistencies in the enforcement of requirements may be just fine and dandy these days.

        I am close to retirement, too. But if they mandate the booster, I’m not letting them off that easy. Of course, I have a financial incentive (severance) to force them to fire me. The great thing is, unless I am under my severance agreement, I have free reign to sue them and to disparage them publicly. Pay me, and the release from liability and non-disparagement clause kick in, and I have to behave myself.

      • kbolino

        As to the exemptions, I think we all know damn well they’re going to start punishing the exempt at some point. It’ll no doubt start mildly, like stricter mask rules, and then start to ramp up from there. This will be especially done for the religiously exempt, though the medically exempt will get the bullet too eventually. The medical establishment is embracing idpol, DEI, and neo-eugenics at an astonishing rate and before too long I think made-up bullshit will be treated as more real than genetic disorders, legitimate allergies, and other justifiable concerns.

      • R C Dean

        They already are – mandatory ‘Vid tests are pretty standard for the exempt. Because they are mandatory, there’s pretty much no way the employer can get out of paying for them, so there’s that at least.

      • grrizzly

        13% of faculty and staff at my partner’s school (CSU) haven’t yet bothered to “attest” to their vaccination status. So, my partner who filed for a religious exemption (clicked Yes/No on a web page, no justification has been requested yet) is still not in the most deplorable group.

      • kbolino

        Things must be different in your neck of the woods, because around here the tests are absolutely at the employee’s and not the employer’s expense. Yet another “nudge” towards compliance.

      • R C Dean

        Things must be different in your neck of the woods, because around here the tests are absolutely at the employee’s and not the employer’s expense.

        Very surprised to hear that. If so, there’s an ADA/civil rights lawsuit just for requiring someone to pay for something because of their religious beliefs or medical condition as a condition of keeping their job.

      • kbolino

        Lawsuits take time and cost money. Easier to comply now and fight it later (or never).

    • R C Dean

      Failure to disclose is resignation.

      No, its not. Its termination. Its not a resignation just because they use that word.

      You can’t say “wrongful termination” without “termination”.

      • kinnath

        <>

        Perhaps some class action suit will resolve to “wrongful termination” a decade from now.

      • kinnath

        the squirrels ate my “comment deleted” comment. Very meta.

      • R C Dean

        And I don’t see the EEOC enforcers going along with “forced resignations” as a way to avoid enforcement of laws against wrongful termination, or else every termination will be called one by the employer and all those enforcers will have nothing to do.

        Its termination for a policy violation. If those get carved out of employment law, then there’s very little to enforce under the ADA or Civil Rights employment rules.

  49. The Late P Brooks

    Failure to disclose is resignation.

    Nobody has a right to a job.

    Hobby Lobby shouldn’t have to put up with the stench of unbelievers in their stores, should they? And what about Korean grocers? They should be allowed to exclude back people and Nips.

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      Jesus Ozy, getting me prepped for Unico?

    • EvilSheldon

      Good article.

      It reminds me very little of a line from the late, lamented Lassiez Firearm webpage about bureaucrats who, “…glory in tending to the poor like a bunch of sheep-fucking farmhands.”

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Very Kaczinskian.

  50. cyto

    The new Dave Chappell spacial is another work of art.

    He delivers a powerful sermon on cancel culture. It is more reminiscent of a Louis Giglio evangelical sermon than it is of traditional standup.

    His target: a full throated condemnation of cancel culture, delivered with a powerful and poignant twist. It is funny and moving.

    And I predict that it will fall on deaf ears.

    • AlexinCT

      Ackshually, the woke crowd has already attacked him and hinted that he should be punished/canceled for making fun of their sacred cows…

      • waffles

        Chapelle is untouchable.

      • AlexinCT

        That’s not going to stop them from trying… Trump slapped his dick in their face for so long that they felt obligated to “fortify” an election to get rid of him, after 3 failed coup attempts, one of which was a Clinton campaign lie about Russia, and the other two masquerading as impeachments, and are still trying to cancel him, because his refusal to knuckle under was the biggest threat to them and their agenda. Chappelle is now moving in that same direction of being a thorn in their side, and we all know religious fanatics hate apostates more than they do non-believers…

  51. Certified Public Asshat

    Hey @JoeManchinWV ….this is an actual road in southern WV that goes to where people live. This is why we are 50th out of 50 in infrastructure. Maybe is you took the time to visit these areas you would know this. Pass the bill Joe. WV needs it more than any other. Do your job! pic.twitter.com/FWoI5DFKdF— Richard N. Ojeda, II (@Ojeda4America) October 2, 2021

    How do you make asphalt though?

    • kbolino

      TIL you need $3.5 trillion to pave a dirt road.

      • AlexinCT

        Mint 4 coins!

      • Certified Public Asshat

        All for WV too!

    • Nephilium

      How do you make asphalt though?

      It comes from the asphalt store.

    • R C Dean

      If its not an interstate highway (and its not), he should be bitching at his state reps and governor (or, more likely, the county – I seriously doubt that’s a state road).

      For a dirt road, that’s not terrible. I’ve been on worse, that people live on. Hell, there’s a worse one near my house.

      • kbolino

        He’s a fedplant complaining that the provinces aren’t up to his capital-dweller standards. He should be driven out on a rail by the locals. His neighbors probably hate him and don’t want the road paved.

      • robc

        If infrastructure for streets was handled at the most local level, there were be lots of paved streets that the residents would go back to unpaved, as gravel is much cheaper.

        Although, surprisingly to none of us, private road paving is insanely cheaper than when the government does it. So that changes the equilibrium back the other way.

      • kbolino

        A biography so moving that it almost glows

    • Pine_Tree

      It’s a normal gravel road. I have no idea what he’s complaining about.

    • B.P.

      It’s such a terrible road he had to dress up in tacticool gear to stand on it.

    • Dr. Fronkensteen

      Sorry we spent all the infrastructure money on new statues. We’ll need another 4 trillion for infrastructure and we need to tax you for it as we ran out of the rich.

  52. AlexinCT
    • kbolino

      “Far-right”
      “Right-wing”
      “Center-left”

      Gee, I wonder what kind of spin DW is putting on this.

  53. UnCivilServant

    Hmm… there’s a subaru with Minnesota plates parked outside my house.

    Which glib is this threat from, and for which of my crimes?

    • AlexinCT

      His Holiness has not commented yet, so it could be him… Did you make fun of the Minnesoda meat raffles?

  54. The Late P Brooks

    Thanks fr that Brownstone link, Oy.

    Bookmarked.