¡Martes por la tarde, enlaces mexicanos!

by | Mar 1, 2022 | Daily Links | 271 comments

I was assigned a project at work!  I have to audit policies and procedures of subcontractors to determine if they comply with Medicaid/Medicare contracts the state agreed to with my company.  But first I have to read the contracts and find the requirements for subcontractors…then create an audit tool.

Did I mention this was for 21 states?  I’ll catch you all in April…

 

Now for the links!

Given the oil market in the last year, how the hell does that happen?  This may be a bigger deal than you may think.  The Mexican energy market is the second largest part of their economy…after remittances.

Holy shit. For those that want to avoid a paywall…holy shit.

In the lighter side of news!  No seriously, this one makes up for the mass graves.

I don’t care, I like this guy.

Brazil decides to stay out of it.  BRICS gonna BRIC. Interesting how this story of “the former Army captain” decision is nowhere to be seen on the BBC homepage for Latin America.

Bolsonaro

Qa’Tar is a terrible place for women.

Shouldn’t you people be in Argentina?

 

On some level, I think they made their songs catchy so you didn’t pay attention to the words…cause every time I tune in I catch another clue he was going to hang himsel.

About The Author

mexican sharpshooter

mexican sharpshooter

WARNING: Glibertarians.com contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. https://youtu.be/qiAyX9q4GIQ?t=2m22s

271 Comments

  1. Yusef drives a Kia

    I thought we were all gonna die in a nuclear holocaust, what gives?

    • robodruid

      Need to find the keys for the fueling trucks.

    • Bobarian LMD

      It’s early yet.

      I’m sure they set the Doomsday clock back five minutes because Joe is gonna tell us what’s what.

      • hayeksplosives

        Vladimir “Corn Pop” Putin is a bad dude.

    • Rebel Scum

      Indeed, my radiant excitement has been disarmed.

    • SDF-7

      What, y’all were listening to Jennifer Griffin fellate the CIA analysts in the last thread? I just kept hearing “Iraq WMDs! Iraq WMDs! All the Western Intelligence experts agree!” reading that.

      One other step towards my not believing a damned thing the supposed “experts” say these days….

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      At least I live close enough to a facility where I don’t think I’ll have to worry about envying the dead.

  2. Rebel Scum

    The Mexican energy market is the second largest part of their economy

    It must take a lot of Speedy Gonzalez’s on hamster wheels to power a whole country.

    • Compelled Speechless

      Especially when most of their electronics are our hand-me-downs from the 80’s. Super energy inefficient.

  3. Count Potato

    “Holy shit. For those that want to avoid a paywall…holy shit.”

    They need to legalize the drugs.

    • R C Dean

      There’s a reason why Mexico isn’t on my list of possible expat destinations.

    • robodruid

      Or we need too.

      What a failed state, not sure if its fixable.

      • Bobarian LMD

        That is a drug war.

      • Count Potato

        We both do, but either would make a huge difference.

    • Mustang

      That will only slow things down while they find other avenues for funding, at best. Whether it’s a criminal gang or the government, the end game is power.

      • The Last American Hero

        Yes, but certain ventures, like prostitution or coyote smuggling don’t have the profit margins that cocaine sales have. The mob exists in the US, but is a shadow of its former self, when alcohol prohibition was a thing.

      • Mustang

        This is a failed state, unlike the US during prohibition and after. It’s a power vacuum that’s being exploited. As HE says below, ending the drug war won’t make these thugs suddenly see the light and give up all the power they’ve accumulated.

      • The Last American Hero

        How will they pay for their army? Selling knockoff dvd’s? The cartels became a major force when they ramped up coke shipments to the US. The margins on coke allowed them to pay the cops and judges, pay for their army of thugs, and support the social goodwill projects that buy citizen loyalty. Take away the coke sales and they have to move a whole lot of unlicensed tequila or cigarettes to keep paying their bills.

        Yes, Mexico will be a failed state, just like it was before 1980. Yes the cartels will still have some pier and keep breaking the law, but their power will diminish significantly.

      • hayeksplosives

        That what I was thinking too.

        The massive amounts of money generated by the strong demand for illegal drugs started it, but now they have some massive warlord style shit going on.

        If/when they (and we) legalize drugs, these guys aren’t going to start planting avocados and become car mechanics.

        This is too ugly to come to a quiet end. 100k people “diasappeared”??

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Until the money is out of it, it can’t be solved. Half the government is on the take.

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        Ploma o plateria.

        Lead or silver, you make the choice.

  4. juris imprudent

    how the hell does that happen?

    The graft is both a fixed and variable cost?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Something is definitely weird with those numbers. I’d like to see a breakdown.

      Actually, no I don’t, let somebody else do that and report on it.

    • Bobarian LMD

      They made the mistake of paying themselves in pesos?

  5. DEG

    Founded by German immigrants in the first half of the 19th century, Colonia Tovar is an agricultural community about 45 miles west of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. The strawberries, peaches, garlic and other temperate crops grown here are sold across the country. So are the charcuterie products, baked goods and candy produced in various facilities.

    The village is also a tourist attraction with charming hotels and restaurants and an Oktoberfest. Its weather offers a respite from the Caribbean heat.

    Good for them for keeping this going in Venezuala.

    • pistoffnick the refusnik

      Mmmmmm charcuterie

  6. Count Potato

    “This week, three well-known senators: Jim Risch, Bob Menendez and Bill Cassidy proposed to the US Congress an initiative for Responsibility for Cryptocurrencies in El Salvador (ACES, for its acronym in English), to investigate El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.

    In a statement, Risch raised the usual paranoid speech: «El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender empowers evil actors like China and criminal organizations».

    While Senator Cassidy said: «El Salvador, which recognizes Bitcoin as an official currency, opens the door to money laundering cartels and undermines the interests of the United States (…) If the US wants to combat money laundering and preserve the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency, we must tackle this problem head-on».”

    Oh, fuck off.

    • R C Dean

      If you want to preserve the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency, there’s another problem you need to tackle head-on first.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      The last reason is the only one they really care about

      • Drake

        Omar Qaddafi agrees.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      This hatred for El Salvador is convincing that there’s something to Bitcoin.

    • Plisade

      “If the US wants to combat maintain its monopoly on money laundering and preserve the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency, we must tackle this problem head-on.”

    • Pope Jimbo

      You think Menendez would be a big fan of bitcoin.

      Do underage prostitutes not take crypto?

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Recognize that this isn’t targeted solely at El Salvador. Anybody in crypto should have their ears perk up. “Money laundering” is going to be the pejorative slapped on any monetary activity the US finds threatening. Remove it and El Salvador from the quote to see what they really care about.

      «El Salvador, which recognizes Bitcoin as an official currency, opens the door to money laundering cartels and undermines the interests of the United States (…) If the US wants to combat money laundering and preserve the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency, we must tackle this problem head-on».”

      IOW, Bitcoin is a threat to Economic Fortress America, and as soon as it gets big enough, they’re gonna squash it like a bug.

  7. Rebel Scum

    For the investigators, the human foot — burned, but with some fabric still attached — was the tipoff: Until recently, this squat, ruined house was a place where bodies were ripped apart and incinerated, where the remains of some of Mexico’s missing multitudes were obliterated.

    Someone stepped on the wrong toes.

  8. R C Dean

    Qa’Tar is a terrible place for women.

    I was seriously considering, and being seriously considered for, the GC position at their big new medical/research campus.

    • Ted S.

      Libs of TikTok; didn’t watch.

    • pistoffnick the refusnik

      Calm your tits, lady.

    • Count Potato

      She doesn’t realize women can wear men’s clothes?

    • Necron 99

      Shit, that might be my sister’s wife husband. Sounds just like her him.

  9. The Other Kevin

    In this crazy world, where nothing seems to make sense, at least we have the butt slap gif.

    • Count Potato

      It’s both biology and physics!

      • The Other Kevin

        And art!

      • Plinker762

        Is it a dessert topping too?

    • whiz

      The gif that keeps on giving.

  10. JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

    “Given the oil market in the last year, how the hell does that happen?”

    Because it’s a state owned oil company. Something, something, the Sahara desert would run of sand.

    • Bobarian LMD

      Somebody captioned that as an ‘Angry lesbian protests war from her bookstore’.

    • WTF

      Well THAT should make a real difference!
      *virtue signaled*

    • Rebel Scum

      gold star*

    • B.P.

      His face has turned into The Grinch.

    • Drake

      If Pol Pot came along and marched everyone at that school to a work camp, I’d have a hard time mustering any outrage.

    • Sensei

      He will likely successfully appoint a Supreme Court Justice using genitalia and skin color as the primary selection criteria.

    • B.P.

      That’s a lot of people outdoors with masks on.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      He got a lot of people to volunteer, totally voluntarily, to participate in the margest medical experiment ever.

  11. kinnath

    It’s 55 degrees out today. The air just kicked in because it’s 76 degrees in the house, and I forgot that I had the HVAC set to auto.

    Passive solar engineering for the win.

  12. Count Potato

    “Potential jurors selected for the first trial surrounding the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol grew emotional in court Monday upon being questioned about the events of the day, raising concerns regarding their reliability to serve on the historic case.

    ‘I felt like it was an attack on my home.. It was a very scary time,’ one potential juror, with his voice shaking, told the DC court Monday, after being selected along with 33 others to potentially preside over the case of accused Capitol rioter Guy Reffitt, 48.

    Noting how emotional the juror appeared in the courtroom, US District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich excused the candidate from service, saying he was ‘starting from a place where he feels so clearly, visibly impacted from the events.’

    The prospective juror was one of nine dismissed by Friedrich Monday after displaying strong feelings about the Capitol attackers.

    Meanwhile, 24 others – several of whom said they had followed news coverage of the riots and had strong political opinions regarding the case – made the cut, including a lobbyist who boasts connections to Congress.

    Reffitt’s case is the first of more than 700 criminal defendants set to go to trial in the coming weeks.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10565443/Judge-Jan-6-case-dismisses-jurors-feelings-Capitol-riot-strong.html

    • Gustave Lytton

      Show trial in a kangaroo court of a banana republic.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Does this mean I have to look for Kafka in the non-fiction section now?

      • Bobarian LMD

        They’re in with the Self-help books.

    • SDF-7

      Maybe in a company town, you’re not going to find folks who don’t depend on the company and are upset at people who want to disrupt it?

      Or in other words — besides all the other crap they’re doing, having DC judges and DC trials is patently ridiculous.

    • Rebel Scum

      several of whom said they had followed news coverage of the riots and had strong political opinions regarding the case – made the cut

      Sham juries for sham trials. Seems legit.

    • Drake

      What the hell are they charging them with that would be more than time served?

      RIP Sixth Amendment

      • Plinker762

        They fought to keep Putin’s Puppet in power. Since we are now at war with Russia, treason is the obvious charge.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        That’s just stupid enough to actually happen

  13. Rebel Scum

    I guess we have to cancel The Nutcracker…

    Russian ballet has been stood down by theatres in both the UK and Ireland, with The Helix in Dublin cancelling a performance of Swan Lake by the Royal Moscow Ballet, while London’s Royal Opera House has cancelled the upcoming temporary residency of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet.

    Both venues cited the ongoing conflict for the decision.

    Other parts of the music world have also seen Russian artists de-platformed, with Eurovision prohibiting the appearance of a Russian delegation at the 2022 song contest, while the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra has reportedly dismissed its conductor Valeri Gergiev over his alleged ties with Vladimir Putin.

    And Tatu.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      We’ve become tribalist cretins.

      • Compelled Speechless

        You say it as if it’s a sudden, unexpected development.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Yeah, I know.

        I’ve got sinned sympathy for the Russian ballet companies. They’re unbelievably disciplined and abused by wealthy benefactors. It’s not an easy life at all.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Some sympathy

      • Compelled Speechless

        Right there with you. Let’s punish some of the great artists of all time’s legacies along with the people that keep those works alive because they happened to be born in between some imaginary lines hundreds of years ago and now some asshole is in charge in between the same lines. Great thinking. These people are too stupid to parody. I’d love to ask the people behind this what their thoughts are on the parallels between what Putin is doing to Ukraine vs what Obama did to Syria, Libya and Yemen. I’ve got $50 on nothing but blank stares.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        TGA called it World War Woke.

        I think it’s an excellent descriptor.

      • Ed Wuncler

        The Left didn’t giving a flying fuck when Obama was blowing up brown people with his murder drones. I brought this to a lot of my Left friends attentions and most of them gave some mealy mouthed response but one of them actually went on a tirade that the GOP (who was the opposition party in the House and Senate at the time) forced Obama’s hands because they didn’t give him what he wanted.

        This whole Ukraine sympathy is an extension of the Left’s TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) because of the belief that Trump at best was too deferential towards Putin and at worst was Putin’s agent in the White House

      • Compelled Speechless

        Perfect descriptor. I for one say we provide these people with a real opportunity to show their commitment to justice and fighting tyranny against the oppressed. I’m 100% for approving every tax dollar needed to strap a gun, some grenades and full body armor to every pink and blue-haired gender-morphing SJW we can find and shipping them over to lend a hand. Maybe if they saw what actual injustice and aggression looks like, the 7 that survive could return with some perspective and a neatly reworked moral hierarchy.

      • Mustang

        Definitely a lot of TDS here. Trump was Putin’s stooge and Republicans have come out on the side of Russia (I don’t actually believe this, but it’s the narrative they’re getting), therefore we must virtue signal our support for Ukraine and crush anything that even vaguely smells like dissent. I suspect there’s a lot of Republicans who would be confused by this, thinking they’re on the same side but not realizing the rationale behind the virtue signaling.

      • WTF

        Become? Or just reverting to the instinctive norm?

    • grrizzly

      On Sunday I caught a part of the organ concert that took place in Balboa Park in San Diego. Yep, outdoors. The concert started with the Ukrainian anthem, which I didn’t recognize. After that the organist announced the program. Typically, he starts his Sunday performance with the US anthem but he felt so strongly about Ukraine that he made this change. Then he announced some Bach pieces, something else and at the end two pieces by Mussorgsky. The spectators ended up listening to more Russian music than Ukrainian. And Mussorgsky is not known for his organ music. Like at all.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Interesting. He was just here in Virginia. My wife and daughter went to his concert at a a local church.

      • Rat on a train

        +1 Борис Годунов

    • The Other Kevin

      The IOC will announce tomorrow if Russian athletes will be sent home from the Paralympics.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        The worst part is that they will have to leave on foot.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Fuck. Everyone knows short notice flights cost an arm and a leg.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Those guys will be hoppin’ mad!

      • MikeS

        Someone needs to get a spine and stand up to them!

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        Yeah, but it sounds like there is a spare in Mexico.

      • juris imprudent

        Swiss’s gaze be so narrow he won’t see clear for a week.

      • Rebel Scum

        A move that will surely handicap Putin’s onslaught.

      • The Other Kevin

        It will paralyze him diplomatically, for sure.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Really?

      • The Other Kevin

        Yes, really.

        But if you meant “really” about our collective sense of humor, then that is also Yes, really.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I’m totally on board with the humor. I’ll even lend a hand in the effort.

      • The Gunslinger

        You’re sincerity seems artificial.

      • juris imprudent

        It’s just how he rolls.

    • Compelled Speechless

      Maybe it’s really just an excuse to get Solzhenitsyn out of circulation. He had a lot of problematic ideas that marginalized and degraded minority groups. The minority group in this case being The Council of People’s Commissars. Those ideas could throw some wrenches in the gears for the people thinking about forming a similar minority group here.

    • Compelled Speechless

      Must be a relative of Sodomayor.

    • WTF

      Fuck contracts!

    • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

      My son had a hell of a time finding an apartment when he returned to college. The problem was finding roommates who had cosigners. He was blaming mean landlords, but I told him, “Given that they weren’t allowed to evict anyone for a long time even for lack of payment, don’t you think they need to be really careful about who they rent to? Maybe that’s why they are so strict with their cosigner requirements.” Surprisingly, I think I got the point across, but I doubt it will stick.

      • Rat on a train

        My father cosigned my first auto loan. Who would have thought banks charge a higher rate for people with little income, assets and credit history? It’s not fair – foot stomp! He told me to never come home if I missed a payment.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        Interest from the Bank of Dad can be pretty good, but the other terms are often pretty onerous.

      • hayeksplosives

        My dad was kind enough to co-sign on a small loan for a $4k computer when I went to college. The entire purpose was to help me establish credit history.

        I put my eldest son on a credit card with me as a second user for the same purpose. The younger son had not earned my trust so he was on his own.

    • The Other Kevin

      Ukraine started a foreign legion. He could be there by the end of the week.

      • Sensei

        Billion dollars should buy him quite a few “private security” personnel.

      • Rat on a train

        I would join, but I don’t want to.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Does anyone know if the Russians are also signing up foreigners?

        A while back we locked up a bunch of young Somali men from Minnesoda for trying to fly back to the Mideast to fight for ISIS. Seems only fair that we would lock up people trying to go to Ukraine to fight (for either side) or let those Somali guys out of the klink.

        I really don’t care if people want to go fight in a foreign country. I would probably stipulate that anyone who takes up arms for a foreign country has forfeited their citizenship and isn’t welcome back.

      • Plinker762

        Hmmm, would they still owe US taxes? Asking for a friend.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Don’t be silly. Of course they owe taxes.

      • Bobarian LMD

        In perpetuity.

      • Compelled Speechless

        I’m really trying to think what Russia’s sales pitch to these foreigners would be and I can’t come up with anything. Maybe some of the “moderate rebels” we armed in Syria would see an opportunity to turn that back around on us, but I don’t see that being all that compelling.

      • Pope Jimbo

        War brides?

      • Pope Jimbo

        Also if you join the Ruskies, you can fight Nazis. You want to kill Nazis don’t you?

      • juris imprudent

        There should be a whole division’s worth of pink and green haired thems spoiling for that.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Hmmmm…How many are we talking? Do they come declawed and defanged or is that a cost I’ll have to bear when I get them?

      • Plinker762

        Forty acres and a polar bear in Siberia?

      • Drake

        A good take on how we got to where we are with the Ukraine.

        By tying itself to an American administration that had shown itself to be reckless and dangerous, the Ukrainians made a geopolitical blunder that statesmen will study for years to come: A buffer state had staked its future on a distant power that had simply seen it as an instrument to annoy its powerful neighbor with no attachment to any larger strategic concept that it was willing to support. Russia then lopped off half of the Donbas region on its border and subjected Ukraine to a grinding, eight-year-long war, intended in large part to underline Russian capacity and Ukrainian and American impotence.

        And where we are at.

        The Russians swept in but stopped short of going into major cites. They have most certainly occupied the disputed provinces in the east and have liquidated the Ukrainian irregulars. Otherwise, the lack of images is the result of two armies in a stand-off as the political and psychological war rages around them…
        It is assumed the Russians wanted to quickly knock out the Ukrainians, but that appears to be false. They want a deal with this Ukrainian government, not one they install. That means they came into this with a much longer timeline than has been suggested

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I’ve heard rumors that they’re offering Zelensky a pass and maybe even control until an election if he capitulates.

        Just rumors though.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Short of Ukraine being a Belarus style puppet, and even then, Russia would have grabbed Crimea and supported the ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. The US is a convenient excuse but there’s no way Russia would have accepted not reclaiming Sebastopol and the Black Sea Fleet.

      • R C Dean

        The Russians swept in but stopped short of going into major cites. They have most certainly occupied the disputed provinces in the east and have liquidated the Ukrainian irregulars.

        That’s an awful lot of assertion based on what evidence? They are bombarding at least one city; how does that fit into this narrative?

      • C. Anacreon

        Roses are red,
        They grow in this region.
        If I had a face like yours,
        I’d join the Foreign Legion.

    • SDF-7

      Bill Ackman is hereby invited to form a privateer force using his own money and anyone crazy enough to fight for him to go fight his own battles and stop trying to enslave the rest of the country to do what he thinks is best for the world. Jerk.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Bill Ackman should bring back the Filibuster! (seems especially apropos given that today is Mexi’s Latinix Linkos).

        A filibuster (from the Spanish filibustero), also known as a freebooter, is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country or territory to foster or support a political revolution or secession. The term is usually applied to United States citizens who incited insurrections across Latin America, particularly in the mid-19th century, usually with the goal of establishing an American-loyal regime that may later be annexed into the United States. Probably the most notable example is the Filibuster War initiated by William Walker in Nicaragua.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        And Costa Rica IIRC

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Yes yes of course, inching even closer to nuclear exchange is the most moral position.

      • The Other Kevin

        Not to worry, he’ll be perfectly safe on his private island and/or mega yacht.

  14. Tundra

    The world is fucked, so I’ll pull this one from the bullpen

    A lot of us are pullin’.

    Thanks, Señor!

  15. Pope Jimbo

    Whale kissing? Since when have we started pandering to Tres?

    • pistoffnick the refusnik

      You know what whale kissing leads to?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Lower back injuries?

      • SDF-7

        Sadness and blubbering?

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        I’d krill for some blubber right about now.

      • MikeS

        Cold sores the size of pumpkins?

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        Whale dancing?

      • pistoffnick the refusnik

        Leave space for Jesus!

      • Compelled Speechless

        Clogged blow holes?

        Fine…..slightly obstructed blow holes ???.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Developing an anti-virus… software?

      • C. Anacreon

        You know what whale kissing leads to?

        If I remember the jump rope rhyme correctly, after kissing,

        First comes love,
        Then comes marriage,
        Then comes Trey with a baby carriage.

    • DEG

      Next thing you know, you’ll have whale fucking.

      Uhh…..

      • pistoffnick the refusnik

        DEG is my brutha from anutha mutha…

        …my whale mother

      • DEG

        🙂

    • SDF-7

      Yeah, I really hate crowds too….

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      It’s the smell. The French Quarter smells like an open sewer.

    • R.J.

      Looks calm right now. A distinct lack of three foot long rum drinks with swizzle straws. Wait until 6:00.

      • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

        Also a lack of boobs so far

      • R.J.

        I noticed that! It’s the elderly crowd. All the party people haven’t gotten off work yet.

      • MikeS

        And yet I see beads being given away. WTF?

    • MikeS

      I watched a few EarthCam feeds down there one year about 7am. It was interesting to watch the street crews cleaning up the mounds of trash.

      • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

        I’m wondering if I can stay up til the cops come and sweep everyone away

    • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

      There’s a guy on a scooter with an IV bag. That’s…dedication?

      • MikeS

        Depends on what’s in the IV bag.

      • R.J.

        Sailor Jerry’s rum, mainlined.

      • MikeS

        That’s a party!

    • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

      5-0 alert!

    • Dr. Fronkensteen

      It was fun when I was 24. Of course I missed the actual Mardi Gras parade. Something about 12 shots worth of liquor the night before.

  16. Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

    Am I the only person that finds King Cakes unappetizing in both looks and taste? It looks dry & sugary (IIRC tastes the same)

    • limey

      Queen cakes are nice and moist.

      • Compelled Speechless

        I would like to purchase one of your cakes. Is there a drive-thru option?

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        I think Tres has the franchise.

      • Compelled Speechless

        So they’re actually Welfare Queen Cakes. Pass. Actually, pass the bourbon and I’ll think on it.

      • Animal

        But hopefully not flaky.

    • R.J.

      Unless it is fresh out of the bake shop a king cake is dry and sad. Especially so if it has the bad spray paint icing. Avoid!

    • l0b0t

      You have to try the French style; it’s more of a custard tart type confection. The American style, flaky sweeet-roll dough, is only good fresh. And even then, there are only a couple of bakeries worth the hassle. Fuck! I DO know what it means to miss New Orleans… Never should have left.

  17. rhywun

    Jesus… I wonder if my job sounds that horrible if I write it down in words.

    • Tundra

      Narrator: “It does.”

      • Compelled Speechless

        Just curious, does everyone else hear Ron Howard whenever we do the Narrator says gimmick?

      • SDF-7

        No, I hear the narrator from Scott Pilgrim, I’m afraid.

      • rhywun

        Now I do.

      • The Bearded Hobbit

        Don Pardo

      • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

        I hear Morgan Freeman

      • Draw Me Like One of Your Tulpae, Jack

        (specifically, Morgan Freeman as Red in Shawshank)

      • hayeksplosives

        Peter Coyote

      • Tundra

        Every time.

      • Compelled Speechless

        I can confidently say that Arrested Development had the greatest use of a narrator in the history of of all literature. Anyone who is not familiar is depriving themselves of joy. If you do, check it out you should stop before season 4.

      • juris imprudent

        Richard Attenborough – it classes things up a lot.

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        Pee-Wee Herman.

  18. Gustave Lytton

    I love how all these companies that didn’t give two shits about getting into bed with the ChiComs and kowtowing to their every demand (like Taiwan, Province of China. Fuck you Grainger) are suddenly trying to virtue signal by dumping everything Russian.

    • Rat on a train

      The Chinese pay more.

      • Compelled Speechless

        And no one actually owns anything Russian anyway. Like most virtue signaling, it catches on precisely because the cost to the signaler is somewhere between extremely low and non-existent.

      • Plinker762

        They make a really good magnetic testing machine for wire rope.

    • R C Dean

      Russia is a pretty insignificant global market for anything not oil-related. Cheap virtue signalling is best virtue signalling.

      • Sean

        I’ll be buying Russian steel cased ammo if it goes back to pre covid prices or there about.

      • Plinker762

        Sandpaper at Harbor Freight

    • Mustang

      Hollywood says hi!

      • limey

        Those scenes in the sequel to Independence Day where it keeps cutting to the Chinese pilot but she never says anything.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Oh good God….

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      It’s like Marxist oppression narrative is the only thing running on the squeaky, lopsided hamster wheel they call a brain.

      • Compelled Speechless

        It’s funny how the people that Marxism appeals to aren’t capable of handling any political thought more sophisticated that Marxism.

    • MikeS

      Either this woman gives literally the best blowjobs imaginable, or she’s putting on an incredible act and is actually a real life Charles Augustus Milverton. Or both. There’s no sensible explanation as to how she has reached to within a breath of the most powerful office in the world.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Either this woman gives literally the best blowjobs imaginable

        yup (SFW)

      • Compelled Speechless

        Woah, I thought that footage was really Kamala until I saw the electrical wires. Actually, I’m back to being convinced.

      • juris imprudent

        I do not believe having a catheter inserted (and removed) during a blowjob would make for a great blowjob.

      • Compelled Speechless

        Prude

    • rhywun

      Maybe she thinks she’s talking to that circle of child actors again?

    • Animal

      I saw a comment somewhere (that I can’t be arsed to go back and find now) that stated, “Obama picked Biden as his VP because Biden was the only guy in the Senate dumber than he was. And Biden picked Harris as his VP because…”

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      No surprises there

      It’s blatantly illegal but it benefits their masters

      • Compelled Speechless

        I’m guessing the job interview for these judgeships is only a single question. “Are you going to work for Daddy?”

        What kind of system of checks and balances allows for one branch to hand pick the people that are supposed to oppose them in the other branch?

        It’s not like it’s any better when judges are actually on the ballots either. Quick, without Googling, everyone name one judge you voted for last time (if you still bother with that silliness).

      • limey

        Judge Reinhold?

      • SDF-7

        I think the one I voted for was… Mike?

        Something about selling propane and propane accessories…..

      • limey

        That boy ain’t right.

      • DEG

        Judges in PA are elected.

      • DEG

        Oh. I should have read your whole comment. You do talk about judges on ballots.

        Well, I will say this.

        Three of the five Democrats on the PA Supreme Court have not yet had retention votes.

      • MikeS

        Quick, without Googling, everyone name one judge you voted for last time

        I’ve never voted for a judge because if I know nothing about the seat or the people running I leave it blank.

        I’ve said for years that a huge way to lessen uninformed voting is to include on voting instructions that you do not have to completely fill in the ballot. As much as it looks like it, this is not one of those standardized tests we did in school. Vote for who/what you came to vote for and leave the rest blank so people who actually pay attention can decide the rest.

      • Compelled Speechless

        So judges, even in major cities, will be decided by less than 20 people? That might still be generous with the number of people that pay attention.

        But you are right. IF you’re going to vote, don’t do it in the categories you’re ignorant of. That’s how we end up with so many feckless and corrupt incumbents that never leave.

      • Plinker762

        Two years ago I researched the judge candidates on our ballot as best I could. One was in tight with the local government and was endorsed by all of the various interests in the court system (popo, prosecutors, defense, etc.) the other spewed some nonsense about the rights of citizens. I voted for the second and of course the first won.

    • creech

      Consequences of the PA GOP not concentrating on the Supreme Court elections several years ago. And the Court (5-2 Dems) will again impose the new congressional district map because Gauleiter Wolf refused to sign off on the one constitutionally submitted by the Legislature. The new map (PA lost a house seat) pits two incumbent Republicans against each other, and reportedly beefs up a solid Red district while trimming off other Red areas and putting them in solid Blue districts where their inclusion will have no appreciable difference. Red Wave 2022? ?? New York (also losing a seat) has apparently made three now Red districts vulnerable. And nationwide, with 29 states having completed their maps, there are only 22 toss up districts left (defined as 5% or less victory margins) when there used to be 44 (in 2020 election). Supposedly, Cal Dems are looking at ways to cost five incumbent Republican congressmen their seats.

      • SDF-7

        If they’re going to, they already have. I’m pretty sure the maps are already announced and finalized (it came up because things are shifting around a little. It looks like Tom McClintock at least should be safe, so that’s one that survived. Our incumbent weasel is shifting out, but I’m sure we’ll get another Pelosi lapdog.

        Yeah — the final maps were approved / set in stone back in December from what I can tell.

      • R C Dean

        Its a constant source of bafflement to me, how Team Blue can leverage just about any position (Secretary of State, judges, prosecutors, you name it) into gains for their agenda, but when Team Red completely sweeps the board, its just more failure theater.

        *Note: confirmation bias may apply.

    • rhywun

      Even New York voters shot down vote by mail.

      I’m not sure how the Dems allowed that to get on the ballot but there it is.

      • SDF-7

        Great… yet another way California is even nuttier than New York. I’m pretty sure they made it permanent here. One party rule by the insane for the win….

  19. Chafed

    Fourscore popped up in my Word of the Day:

    Melliferous
    mə-LIF-ə-rəs
    Part of speech: adjective
    Origin: Latin, 17th century

    1
    Yielding or producing honey.

  20. Gender Traitor

    O/T and apropos of nothing: I finally downloaded the SiriusXM app. Mardi Gras Radio is making my Y workout much more pleasant. ?

    • Gustave Lytton

      OZ has an app for the rest of the year. 😉

  21. straffinrun

    Shut up, Hitler, and support us in our fight against Hitler, Hitler.

    • MikeS

      Oh my gawd. You are like, literally Hitler right now.

    • hayeksplosives

      Who’s going to tell them about the Azov Regiment?

      • SDF-7

        Hitler, apparently. Je suis Charlie… Je veux dire Hitler…

      • Compelled Speechless

        I don’t know what any of that means, but I have to assume it’s a dog whistle in German…….

      • SDF-7

        Already forgot the whole Charlie Hebdo thing a while back?

      • Compelled Speechless

        No, I remember. I was just sticking to the whole treat everyone like a nazi theme we were doing.

  22. grrizzly

    What COVID? We only care about the Russian invasion now!

    Boston will lifts its mask mandate for certain indoor venues on March 5, city officials announced, citing declining COVID-19 positivity rates, less strain on the health care system, and higher vaccination rates.

    The city will continue to require masks in Boston Public Schools.

    Beginning Saturday, people will no longer be required to wear masks in Boston’s gyms, bars and restaurants, museums, and entertainment venues.

    • R C Dean

      The city will continue to require masks in Boston Public Schools, citing declining COVID-19 positivity rates in children, less strain on the health care system for children, and higher vaccination rates for children.

      • hayeksplosives

        They enjoy the fact that masking the children has caused them to disengage with one another and led to them being quieter and easier to control.

    • juris imprudent

      FEMA reminds you in the event of a nuclear holocaust, to wear a mask and keep 6 feet distance.

  23. Fourscore

    I haven’t had a job for 30 years and still have to pay to fight them over there rather than here. Just finished my Turbo Tax and sent off the cash to help the spendthrifts in DC dig me into a bigger hole.

  24. Fourscore

    Preview: “Biden will say, according to his prepared remarks. “He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready,” Biden will say. On inflation, the president will say: “We have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation. Lower your costs, not your wages.”

    • Compelled Speechless

      “We have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation. Lower your costs, not your wages.”

      They finally invented the unprinter?

    • SDF-7

      The rumblings I’ve seen is that he’ll be pushing the Green New Deal or equivalent to “lower energy costs”. Yeah… pull the other one, PPP — it has bells on.

      The one that worries me more is that he’s also supposed to push for national mental health — which given his already proven propensity for one size fits all mandates and the politician’s tendency to define opposing view points as “mentally deranged” does NOT fill me with any optimism. Frankly, given he’s leading up to this with a supposed quote (I’ve seen the quote but haven’t cared to find a video clip or anything) along the lines of “Americans are psychologically predisposed not to be happy with what I’ve done for them” — that’s a nasty, nasty linkage in my head. “They aren’t psychologically disposed to like me? I’LL MAKE THEM!”

      And given KK’s various Mardi Gras stuff above and thinking of mental health — y’all do y’all and all… but what on earth do people get out of the mess like Bourbon Street? Put me in that mess, and the number one thought in my head is going to be to find a way through the crowd and get out of there if I can — and to just stay out of the way if I have to be there. Is it something to do with the drinking? (Because I don’t do that, and hence don’t care at all for drinking social gatherings… but surely you can drink in a smaller venue and still have fun?)

      • R.J.

        At the time I liked to meet nice girls and flirt while drinking. It’s nice. Now that I am so much older I can just get on my scooter, with my IV, and poor down the road pinching butts and cackling.

      • Count Potato

        Hey RJ, I looked at your movie list. “Matango” and “Attack of the Mushroom People” are the same film, as far as I know.

      • R.J.

        Might well be! Whichever version I find first will be posted. The problem now is finding some of those films. I need to do a big search of Pluto, maybe FilmRise, other places that don’t have a log in requirement for viewing.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        I’ve never been to Mardi Gras, but I’ve been to Carnivale in Venice a couple times. I usually don’t like crowds either, but Carnivale isn’t necessarily a sloppy drunk fest, so it was pretty enjoyable. Of course I was drunk, just not sloppy. And the costumes were awesome.

      • DEG

        I don’t like crowds. I’ve been to Oktoberfest twice. The crowds actually didn’t bother me. And that was before I had anything to drink.

  25. Timeloose

    I happened to listen to a few minutes of Fox News the morning about the Ukrainian war with Russia. There were a slew of talking heads going on and on about thermobaric bombs and how the ruskies are violating the Geneva convention by using them.

    I seem to remember another country that was firing them down cave openings in a county once invade by Russia.

    https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-american-militarys-deadly-thermobaric-arsenal-14505

    No complaints then.

    • hayeksplosives

      I hate to even consider this, but could it be because Ukrainians are white Europeans and Afghanis were “brown” (albeit with interesting ethnic mixing)?

      • Ted S.

        Ukrainians also don’t have a barbaric culture.

      • hayeksplosives

        They didn’t fly planes into the WTC either, but neither did the civilians in Afghanistan.

        However they did give aid and comfort to Bin Laden and his bunch of psychos.

        Yeah, it’s probably that, the barbaric culture thing.

    • Rat on a train

      Modern thermobaric weapons are advances on fuel air explosives used since at least Vietnam. There use is not a violation of conventions on war.

      • Timeloose

        I personally don’t see much difference between having my lungs exploded, getting burned up by napalm, blown up by a bomb or having a building crush me.

        The type of bomb being used and vilifying enemy is the usual propaganda. I’m just pointing out that the Fox new crowd is pushing this BS.

  26. rhywun

    6️⃣4️⃣
    5️⃣8️⃣

    ? better than I expected of myself

    • Count Potato

      ???

      • rhywun

        Silly word game.

  27. Count Potato

    In case you didn’t know, KFC’s twitter in Spain is run by Salvador Dali.

    https://twitter.com/KFC_ES

    • R.J.

      Wow. I want that job.

  28. Rat on a train

    MLB Opening Day Cancelled

    MLB proposed raising the luxury tax threshold from $210 million to $220 million in each of the next three seasons, $224 million in 2025 and $230 in 2026. Players asked for $238 million this year, $244 million in 2023, $250 million in 2024, $256 million in 2025 and $263 in 2026.

    MLB proposed $25 million annually for a new bonus pool for pre-arbitration players, and the union dropped from $115 million to $85 million for this year with $5 million yearly increases.

    MLB proposed raising the minimum salary from $570,500 to $675,000 this year with increases of $10,000 annually, and the union asked for $725,000 this year, $745,000 in 2023, $765,000 in 2024 and increases for 2025 and 2026 based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners.

    I will ride pine for $675,000

    • Ted S.

      Eh, it’s baseball. Maybe people will get interested in other sports.

  29. Count Potato

    Have any of you heard about this thing in Ukraine? Gamergate has gone too far!

  30. rhywun

    Guess what guyz? There are still white people in NYC who don’t know about The Gift.

    #notoneunjabbed

    • Count Potato

      So you are saying you can’t pack the mayor in a box and send him to his college girlfriend?

    • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

      For now.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, I’ll believe it when Germany starts opening up coal mines in the Ruhr valley again.