Monday Morning Links

by | Mar 7, 2022 | Daily Links | 282 comments

A hell of a comeback by Illinois

Man City proved they are the class of their town after thumping a woeful ManUre. Liverpool kept pace Saturday by winning a tight match over West Ham. The last of the FA Cup quarterfinalists will be determined today in an all-Championship fixture. And the UCL kicks back in tomorrow with Round of 16 second legs. Meanwhile, on this side of the pond, we’re getting into NCAA Championship week, and Ohio State finished there regular season by laying an egg at home. And Illinois pulled out one hell of a gutty win to share the Big Ten regular season title.  Baseball negotiations are still shit. And some female basketball player is in a Russian jail for some petty shit. Whether or not she did what she’s accused of, I ave no idea. But be prepared to be bombarded by stories like “if the WNBA were paid a living wage, she wouldn’t have even been there” trash. And it will be the fault of men. Anyway, that’s sports.

We’re TRYING to buy oil from these guys because another guy is a bad man.

The prices at the pump will continue to rise. Because, and I shit you not, the talks with Iran have stalled. Iran. We’re negotiating with Iran so that we won’t have to buy any more oil from Russia. Oh, and we’re working on a deal with Venezuela as well. So we can stop buying from Russia.  Because two despots are better than one. And obviously better than none, since we could very easily just renew the federal land leases that were pulled by executive order in the beginning of 2021 by the current admin and pump a shitload of crude out of the ground and tell all those shitholes to fuck off. But that just doesn’t make as much sense as…checks nites…buying oil from Iran and Venezuela after negotiating with them hat in hand because we fucked ourselves.

Check out the balls on this guy. The ego is just amazing.  Well, “live by the sword, die by the sword,” champ.

Welcome to the 20th Century! Glad you could join us in the civilized world.

God bless this guy. And may his enemies know the sting of defeat and end up out of a fucking job.

Sociopath or moron? The jury is still out.

“They were people. And it was a bridge. It was a big bridge. They went to the bridge. A big bridge made of steel and concrete. And the people crossed it.” Or something like that was said.

This is what I like to call “pissing money away”. Because, you know, it’s pissing money away. But they’ll tell you it’s the way of the future. You know, because it needs massive infusions of taxpayer money to stay afloat. It’s just that popular!

NIMBYs gonna NIMBY. Here’s a thought: let people do what they want with their pwn property and kindly fuck off.

Cry more. If you’ve collected, counted, and preserved the ballots in accordance with the law, you should be good to go.

This song is as timely as ever. It’s also a fantastic tune. Although this one is probably better by an order of magnitude. But that’s just one man’s opinion. Enjoy them both.

And enjoy this wonderful start of a new week, friends!

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

282 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    If you’ve collected, counted, and preserved the ballots in accordance with the law, you should be good to go.

    Their behaviour makes me doubt it.

    • Lackadaisical

      “The “paper trail” Wu referred to is a new stipulation in SB1 that requires poll workers to document and create receipts for all “spoiled” ballots reported on election day. The law states officials must “maintain a register of spoiled ballots at the polling place” and record the name of each voter who returns a spoiled ballot as well as the ballot’s number.”

      So all of them seconds of work per spoiled ballot. Democracy is hard, especially when your trying to cheat.

      • Lackadaisical

        Ten seconds*

        Time doesn’t identify as other gendered, yet.

  2. The Late P Brooks

    Listen to the mournful wail of the panicdemic dead enders

    The official global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 6 million on Monday — underscoring that the pandemic, now entering its third year, is far from over.

    The milestone, recorded by Johns Hopkins University, is the latest tragic reminder of the unrelenting nature of the pandemic even as people are shedding masks, travel is resuming and businesses are reopening around the globe.

    ——-

    Edouard Mathieu, head of data for the Our World in Data portal, said that — when countries’ excess mortality figures are studied — as many as nearly four times the reported death toll have likely died because of the pandemic.

    An analysis of excess deaths by a team at The Economist estimates that the number of COVID-19 deaths is between 14 million and 23.5 million.

    “Confirmed deaths represent a fraction of the true number of deaths due to COVID, mostly because of limited testing, and challenges in the attribution of the cause of death,” Mathieu told The Associated Press. “In some, mostly rich, countries that fraction is high and the official tally can be considered to be fairly accurate, but in others it is highly underestimated.”

    I think they’re disappointed the plague is fizzling out.

    • sloopyinca

      They’re probably right though. 4x that number of people have died because of covid. Or rather that many died because they were denied almost two years of early diagnosis for diseases that merely required treatment to prolong their lives, coupled with drug overdoses, increased levels of domestic abuse, and myriad other results of the lockdowns.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Uh, not sure I agree with ya 100% on yer police work there, Lou. For fairly accurate, sub overestimated; for underestimated, sub fairly accurate.

    • rhywun

      Yeah, they really want the good times to keep rolling.

      Confirmed deaths represent a fraction of the true number of deaths due to COVID

      OFFS what horseshit.

      • UnCivilServant

        Confirmed deaths represent a fraction politically-motivated inflation of the true number of deaths due to COVID

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Or financially motivated, natch.

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        Si, Senorita.

      • Lackadaisical

        Any number can be represented as a fraction, so they’re not wrong.

      • UnCivilServant

        Just because you can represent the number as 50/3rds, doesn’t make it proper to do so.

      • NoDakMat

        They do want the fun to continue. Last week the wife and I went to Playa del Carmen. The overhead loop announcement at the Minneapolis reminded us to wear masks, blah, blah, blah, to “help reduce the spread of germs.” No mention of Covid or Corona. The enemy is now “germs.”

      • Sean

        WASH YOUR HANDS!

      • rhywun

        SOCIAL DISTANCE!

        Same shit in the schools here. The masks might be gone but everything else is still in place and they’re still aiming to get every last arm jabbed multiple times.

    • Ted S.

      Amazingly, that article didn’t call it a “grim” milestone.

    • WTF

      The official global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 6 million on Monday

      So, a fatality rate of about .08%. Which mostly includes people who died WITH Covid rather than FROM Covid.
      The horror, the horror.

    • Rat on a train

      The wildlife reservoir will provide years of cases. Too bad people won’t respect authority.

    • invisible finger

      The most recent Illinois DPH propaganda commercial I saw was about getting the jab: the ad is a middle-aged black woman who says she got Covid AFTER GETTING THE JAB. The tag line is “If you’re on the fence, get vaccinated.” WT ever-loving F????

      • Mojeaux

        It is a complete mystery why black people wouldn’t want to get vaccinated.

      • ron73440

        I saw a bill board advertising the jab with 7 or 8 people on it.

        All of them were black women and they all looked like school teachers.

        If I was black, that would piss me off.

      • rhywun

        You will not spot a white face in any of the NYC propaganda despite the fact that “white (non-Hispanic”) is still 31% of the population.

      • WTF

        Hell, if you watch TV, or any media for that matter, you’d think white people were a miniscule minority in America. I started watching the latest season of Top Chef, and out of 15 contestants, exactly 2 white males. A couple of white women, and the rest minority men and women. I guess I should stop watching, because if you don’t see adequate representation of people who “look like you” you’re not supposed to be able to relate, right?

      • Pope Jimbo

        I’m constantly surprised to find that our mixed race marriage puts us in the majority (based on commercials). We just must not live near the other mixed couples.

        Of course, I think our white guy/asian gal marriage probably comes with an asterisk because it isn’t truly progressive.

      • UnCivilServant

        I’m agnostic to that in competitions up until they spout some shit like “As a [Identity Group] I feel I have to…” or “I’m doing this for [Identity Group]”

        Surefire way to make me hate you, bigot.

      • Fourscore

        Can I play on your team, Jimbo? I know some other recruits, too.

      • rhywun

        I stopped watching Top Chef because it got insufferably “progressive”.

  3. Tonio

    “Because, you know, it’s pissing money away.”

    Investments. these are *investments* in infrastructure, society, and the future. For the children and all. /free-stuffers

    • rhywun

      essential workers, who are disproportionately nonwhite and lower income, continued to rely on public transportation to get to work

      One wonders if we’d be throwing so much money at “green transportation” if the riders weren’t “disproportionately nonwhite and lower income” because that’s relevant. ?

      • Tonio

        Yeah, they always say shit like that but fail to define things like “essential,” or to provide stats. Not that it matters anyway because the sort of people who make those arguments just want free stuff because it feels good to them.

      • juris imprudent

        Bah, they want the proles confined to that transport while Party members have uncrowded roads to themselves.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        So why don’t they fix the potholes? or does that come later?

    • Rat on a train

      Ridership drops have really hurt transit revenues. Local advocates say fares should be eliminated to entice people to return. You do the math because clearly they can’t.

      • UnCivilServant

        That’s because public transit is a moral good, dontchaknow?

        It doesn’t matter if people have been avoiding it due to asinine rules and a lack of anywhere to go.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Or poor security.

      • Rat on a train

        or poor maintenance

      • Zwak,The Baddest Johnny on the Apple Cart

        Or preferring cars.

  4. SDF-7

    Morning, Sloopy.

    “If you’re gonna tell a lie on me, I’m gonna tell the truth on you,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee,

    — The irony police were unavailable for comment as their heads had exploded.

    Seriously — Sheila Jackson Lee of all people is claiming you’re honest?

    On the Lanai housing development — yeah, Ellison can waste his money however he wants. If folks are trying to block it based on the reasons in the article — screw ’em… if it is so bad, it will fail. It read to me (and that may be the spin) more of “We think this is a bad idea” — which is fine… they can certainly criticize.

    Land of Confusion is a great song — but I always have that little voice in the back of my head saying “Thatcher and Reagan were a hell of a lot closer to correct than you there, Phil….”
    And solo, not Genesis — but my weak spot is for this. Obviously haven’t thrown him to sink or swim with a bunch of apes (yet) — but really encapsulates a lot of my hopes for how my son turns out somehow.

    Seize that elusive carp, Glibs. Today starts a week of (more) Agile classes I couldn’t get out of. So I’ll be in hell. Really tempted to flunk the “exam” at the end on purpose since I never, ever, ever would want to be a certified scrum master or any such role. I despise Agile.

    • Surly Knott

      As an early adopter of Agile, let me say in its defense that Scrum is waterfall with a coat of paint labeled ‘Agile’ slapped on. Scrum is no more Agile than the Department of Defense; at best it’s standard development in drag.

      • juris imprudent

        The real joke is DoD thinks it can do Agile.

      • Rat on a train

        +1 SAFe

      • kbolino

        Unlike much of social science, there is no reproducibility crisis for The Mythical Man-Month. The DoD is constantly reproducing its findings, on an almost daily basis, with an incredible success rate.

      • UnCivilServant

        That reminds me of how much I am not looking forward to the next few months. We’re supposed to finally be getting new people, who of course will know nothing about unix/linux, peoplesoft, or our environment, and I’ll have to teach them while we’re bringing on board the SI vendor to start the major project we’re hiring the staff to help with.

        We (the line managers) argued we needed the people in earlier so we could get them up to speed on at least some of our stuff, but they may not even be in before the SI and the project is supposed to be full steam ahead when the SI arrives.

      • Homple

        Does anybody write code anymore, or just go to classes on development methodology or whatever it’s called?

      • Drake

        I am a project manager and I’ve had the Agile classes. Whenever an exec suggests Agile, I say “sure, you know it’ requires a team 100% dedicated to the project, right?”
        The response is always a far away look as the try to imagine such a thing.

      • UnCivilServant

        “Can we split the difference and get a team 100% dedicated to showing up to work?”

      • robc

        Two jobs ago, the VP sent all of my team and our boss to agile training. He, of course, didn’t go. And guess where the breaking point ended up being? He just couldn’t wait until the end of a 2 week spring to change priorities. He just couldn’t do it.

        So we were scrummy (we were never fully scrum) for about 6 months.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Agile for any shop doing consulting or contract work is also a joke.

        My last job had an entire group of Agile True Believers who would help run scrums and other stuff. I was constantly clashing with our scrum master because she was always saying shit like “the work is never done in Agile, we are always constantly improving”. I’d have to tell her after the meeting that our client had paid us $100K for six weeks of development for these 3 things. The work will be finished. On a certain date. And no major modifications in the deliverables are allowed.

      • UnCivilServant

        “If you don’t finish the work, you will be in breach of contract.”

      • Fourscore

        A bonus if you’re early, a penalty if you’re late? Fair?

      • R.J.

        I still firmly believe that product owners turn into central planners for business. In that way agile ( I refuse to capitalize it) is a form of business communism that rots businesses from the inside out.

    • Drake

      Speaking poor project management – we are at the new rental house. I scheduled cable / Internet hookup. My wife did carpet cleaners and a cleaning lady – they all showed up at the same time this morning.

      • robc

        We closed on Friday. I have painter, internet, and electrician (putting in some different lights) coming today. I expect they will crash their trucks in front of the house arriving at same time.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I had two freight deliveries scheduled for the same day while we were renovating last year. There’s no street parking possible and the gated driveway doesn’t have space for more than one semi at a time. A entire day delivery window with the trucks coming from different directions and the second driver of course calls to tell me he’s almost there when the first one just arrived. That’s just how it goes some days.

      • Mojeaux

        Your carpet wasn’t cleaned and your apartment wasn’t cleaned before you moved in?

      • Ownbestenemy

        If his wife is like my wife she doesn’t trust it was cleaned properly?

      • Drake

        This.

      • Drake

        What I consider clean and what my wife considers clean are two entirely different things.

      • UnCivilServant

        “You can’t even see the chalk outline anymore.”

      • Sean

        Heh.

      • Mojeaux

        Got it. We moved in to new carpet. It’s almost cheaper for the landlord than cleaning.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Aw, but now you have to baby it for a few years, Moj.

      • Mojeaux

        Yes, but that’s okay. I appreciate the effort and expense.

      • ron73440

        A few years ago, my wife was out of town for a couple weeks, and my sons and I are pigs.

        We spent a couple hours cleaning the house the day she came back, and were really happy with how it turned out.

        I really thought the place was clean.

        She appreciated the effort, but still spent hours cleaning the next couple of days.

      • UnCivilServant

        Who has that many hours to spend cleaning?

      • ron73440

        Who has that many hours to spend cleaning?

        My wife, apparently.

      • Sean

        I’ve been lazy about busting out the Swiffers lately.

        *sigh*

      • UnCivilServant

        I would be happy were I at the point where that type of implement could be applied.

        I still have clutter to clean up. And I’ve been procrastinating about putting the shelves together, not that I’ve used the shelves I did put together to deal with the clutter they were inteaded for.

      • Pope Jimbo

        My wife does that too. If she leaves the house for a couple days she always spends a ton of time cleaning when she gets back.

        It infuriates me because I am by far the cleaner of the two of us. In fact, the only time she really works at cleaning is when she returns from a trip.

        Most of the time it is me who declares a field day and cleans the house.

        I don’t mind that she isn’t the tidiest person ever (she is great with the kids and other things), but it irks me that she pretends like she is the clean one.

      • Fourscore

        My wife is leaving on Friday for a week. I’ll clean up any wet spills before she gets back. I wash my dishes every evening, use the same ones again. She leaves lots of pre-cooked food so it’s heat and eat for me.

      • R.J.

        My wife cleans the house for hours before children come over. I find this pointless and illogical. A quick pickup is always necessary prior to arrival. Other than that, kids will trash the house and require massive cleanups again afterwards. To me, deep pre-cleaning is a waste of effort.

    • Pope Jimbo

      My dislike for Agile is mostly because too many people think that it is some magic process that makes everything work great. My gut tells me it was created to cover for managers who don’t know how to manage. Managers are too fucking timid now to hold developers’ feet to the fire. Why didn’t you get this done? How come this doesn’t work? With Agile hopefully the two week scrum means that you get some early warning that nothing is going as planned.

      Any methodology requires people to think carefully about what they are doing and then to stick to the plan.

      I am biased because when I worked for Andersen Consulting, they had their processes humming along. They ran huge waterfall projects that worked great and delivered big systems.

      • robc

        I am a fan of “release early, release often”, which doesn’t necessarily have to be done with some agile system, but it can’t be done (well) with waterfall.

        To me it is like the mega-project problem. Projects (construction usually) of $1B or more are on time 1 in 10 times. They are on budget 1 in 10 times. They deliver promised 1 in 10 times. And the 3 variables are basically independent, meaning mega-projects hit goals about 1 in 1000 times.

        Same goes for software. You can waterfall small projects. But any large project is going to fail in one of those ways. Break it into small projects and release often. Make sure the base features work and then release a few more features. And so on. That may not technically be agile, but agile is a way to get to that.

        And be like google, the first release is always a throw-away prototype.

      • UnCivilServant

        Another confounding factor in Mega-Projects is that the budget, timetable, and promises are all made up by people to make it sound good, often knowing full well they’re unrealistic, or being willfully ignorant of the fact.

      • robc

        And I am sure you have seen IT project budgets too, right?

      • UnCivilServant

        My primary source regarding my previous statement.

        I’ve also been forced to try to maintain the aftermath of multiple projects where they were unwilling to spend enough to meet their requirements, let alone their ambitions for the system.

      • juris imprudent

        always a throw-away prototype

        Really? Does one ever get thrown-away? Or does that fucked up architecture just get more shit grafted on top of it?

      • Gustave Lytton

        “release early, release often”

        Minimum Nonviable Product can go fuck itself. In an earlier world, those same evangelists would be extolling the virtues of inflight sabot mechanics.

        And be like google, the first release is always a throw-away prototype.

        Not just the first.

      • UnCivilServant

        I am of the opinion that releasing products in the state most modern software goes out the door in is industrial malpractice.

      • Sensei

        Completely agree.

        My advice on any product is that if it doesn’t do what you want it to do now effectively don’t buy it.

        Never believe that it will work with the next release or firmware revision.

      • Drake

        Agile can work well because it keeps developers focused on their work while PM, scrum master, whatever, shields them from all other corporate bs. Do it any other way and it doesn’t work.

      • robc

        Remake Office Space today and the guy with the “jump to conclusions” mat would be a scrum master.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    But some residents have voiced concern about the proximity of the housing project to a county wastewater treatment plant and its possible adverse effects on public health. They’re also disappointed the units are for rent and not for sale, and they’re worried people from off island will scoop up the rentals and increase the overall population of Lanai.

    The dog in the manger strikes again.

    • sloopyinca

      The dog in the manger strikes again.

      I’d also accept “Haole in the woodpile”.

      • Homple

        Channeling your inner Larson E. Whipsnade?

  6. Fourscore

    “Public transit gets $3.7B to woo riders, adopt green fleets”

    I feel like Delta Dawn, been waiting for a bus to come by my house forever. With that kind of money available I should have at least daily service to the local airport.

    • Tonio

      Reference for all the young whippersnappers.

      • CatchTheCarp

        I like the Helen Reddy version better than TT.

      • Pope Jimbo

        One of my dad’s buddies that I grew up hunting and fishing with had a version of Waltzing Matilda called Waltzing a Dildo that he picked up when he was in the navy.

  7. The Late P Brooks

    4x that number of people have died because of covid. Or rather that many died because they were denied almost two years of early diagnosis for diseases that merely required treatment to prolong their lives, coupled with drug overdoses, increased levels of domestic abuse, and myriad other results of the lockdowns.

    They covered that. People were denied diagnosis and treatment because all the hospitals were full to the rafters with plague patients, not because hospitals were prevented from performing their normal and necessary business operations as beds sat empty.

    • sloopyinca

      There’s a reason they say this in print instead of in front of a camera. Because there’s no way they could do so with a straight face.

    • kbolino

      It also “helps” that hospitals have been reducing beds since the 1970s, so they “overflow” rather easily. All those bureaucrats don’t work for free, after all.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        In every state, or CON states?

      • kbolino

        There doesn’t seem to be much difference among the states along that axis, either in terms of beds per capita in a given year, or in terms of the trend over time. The spread is moderately large among the states (from as low as 1.7 to as high as 4.8 staffed beds per 1,000 people) but some of the highest are CON states (MS, WV) and some of the lowest are non-CON states (ID, CO).

  8. Grumbletarian

    Check out the balls on this guy.

    Isn’t that what got him in trouble to begin with?

  9. robc

    “check nites”.

    Good to see our editing standards are keeping up with the NYT.

  10. The Late P Brooks

    On a small island of about 3,000 residents, one school, one hospital and no traffic lights, the additional housing will also aid in recruiting workers: employees for Pulama Lanai or other similar entities, and essential workers such as teachers, nurses and police officers.

    Not people who work for businesses which provide goods and services based on actual market demand. Fuck them. They’re not essential, they’re parasites.

  11. Q Continuum

    “Sociopath or moron?”

    Embrace the power of “and”.

  12. Q Continuum

    “The right to vote is a battleground and the party advocating the big lie is the victor.”

    What the fuck does that even mean? The NPCs clearly need a firmware update.

    • rhywun

      It’s stolen bases and word redefinitions all the way down. It’s not supposed to make sense because if it did, the voters might catch on to what they’re really trying to achieve.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Is this mentality something one would need to be a regional sports fan to understand? Porque je ne parle blargh.

  13. robc

    “But that’s just one man’s opinion.”

    I am pretty sure that is a fact.

  14. LJW

    What a shitty way to go

    “An employee at a Florida landfill died Friday evening after he was crushed by a bulldozer while inside of a porta-potty”

    • Tres Cool

      #1 or #2 ?

    • The Other Kevin

      First he said it then he did it. Or maybe the other way around.

    • Fourscore

      Got a bulldozer into a porta-potty? Fancy driving or a multi player porta-potty?

    • PieInTheSky

      toxic masculinity

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘Clearly, I was wrong, and I blame myself for not being upfront about it but I didn’t expect the abuse she inflicted.

      I am trying to move on from this but I feel traumatised.’

      Clearly. Pretty effed up relationship.

      • Pope Jimbo

        She should scissor that person out of her life

      • Lackadaisical

        That’d be one way to lick the problem.

      • Lackadaisical

        So you think she should just box her girlfriend out?

        Maybe they could clam up about their sex life.

        I think I’m satisfied now.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    Senior US officials traveled to Venezuela on Saturday for talks with President Nicolas Maduro’s government, seeking to determine whether Caracas is prepared to distance itself from close ally Russia.

    Pallets of cash, incoming.

    • Ownbestenemy

      This is part of the ‘doing everything possible part of his SOTU speech. They have no intentions of pretending to want gas prices lower.

  16. prolefeed

    Unironic NYT Headline about the Texas AG winning his primary:

    “Indicted. Under FBI Investigation. And still popular with Texas Republicans.”

    1) “I could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.”

    2) Is presumption of innocence no longer a thing?

    3) Because the FBI never acts politically in their choice of targets for investigation.

    4) It’s a mystery why headlines like these cause voters who hate the TMITE to turn out to vote in droves.

  17. Ownbestenemy

    And nowhere is that more clear than when it comes to the ongoing fight to secure the freedom to vote.

    Honest question, has there been an instance of proven denial to the ability to vote in say…the past 40 years? 50 years? Like mamma went down to thr local Y and they said ‘no colored allowed’? Not she showed up too late or a sob story, but actual denial…

    • Pope Jimbo

      All the voter fraud cases I have read about the last few years are the exact opposite. Someone gets arrested because they were convicted criminals who thought their voting rights had been restored and voted only to find out that their rights had not been restored.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Right that is all I have heard. Where legitimate conversation should be had for people who have paid their debt to society

    • rhywun

      They are lying liars who lie.

      The media organ of the DNC writes this crap in order to convince the party organ’s base to approve the permanent one-party state they’re looking to build.

    • The Last American Hero

      The closest I can come to is 2008, a lot of minority first time voters showed up at the polls after work, the line was wrapped around the block. It moved slowly since many weren’t registered and had to cast provisional ballots, and the polls had to close. This was in one of the bluest cities in the country in one of the bluest states in the country.

      Of course, if people had done 5 minutes of homework and registered to vote, the elections folks could have made sure the polls were adequately sized to handle that crowd.

      It really is the new Jim Crow.

      • juris imprudent

        This was in one of the bluest cities in the country in one of the bluest states in the country.
        and
        It really is the new Jim Crow.

        Is that any way to run a plantation?

    • UnCivilServant

      We discussed the impossibility of someone working 365 16-hour days in a row in this day and age when the story came up last week.

      I think the general concensus agreed with you that it’s shit that never happened.

  18. Mustang

    Damn that story about Virginia schools is infuriating. I’m dealing with the same shit, except it’s the IBPO that stands in the way of me getting rid of dead weight and saving the taxpayers over $500k a year. Public sector unions are evil. They shield government workers from the people they’re supposed to be serving and it’s insidious and destructive.

    • Pope Jimbo

      My current job is in the educational testing space. My company is heavily involved in administering those tests and reporting on the results.

      Let me say that the IT folks working directly for a school district might not be the best and the brightest. But boy are they diverse!

      • Mustang

        Sounds about right. We have a very diverse workforce too. None of them want to actually, y’know, work, since they’ve got that sweet union protection racket. The lack of work ethic crosses every racial divide. Progress!

      • ron73440

        According to the DEI training, diverse companies make more money.

        *Not asked is if they are more diverse because they hire on merit, or because they explicitly hire in order to be diverse.

        Just that diversity=better results.

      • WTF

        I’d like to see the source and methodology for that sounds-like-it-was-pulled-out-of-someone’s-ass statistic.

      • kbolino

        Successful companies get wealthy, wealthy companies can afford to (reverse) discriminate, many such companies remain wealthy (for a while), therefore we can infer that they were successful all along because of what they did long after they became successful.

    • robc

      That article was interesting in that is was praising Obama, and slamming on Republicans and the teachers union.

      The latter two probably deserve it, and not sure who was truly responsible for the original law, but I am sure Obama gets some credit. But it was interesting. I wonder how much dissonance the author had while writing it.

    • PieInTheSky

      I need to see if there are any left outlets calling it fake before I believe

  19. The Late P Brooks

    A true moral heavyweight steps into the ring

    New Zealand’s government said on Monday it will introduce legislation to allow it to impose sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

    When passed, it will be the first time New Zealand would have levied sanctions individually on a country.

    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the sanctions will give the country the ability to freeze Russian assets in New Zealand, prevent people and companies from moving their money and assets here to escape sanctions imposed by other countries, and stop super yachts, ships and aircraft from entering the country’s waters or airspace.

    It has also released a list banning 100 individuals from travelling to New Zealand.

    When Jacinda Ardern says you’re an asshole, it means something.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      Let Arden grandstand while she can. New Zealand is is going to have its hands full with China soon enough.

    • kbolino

      If you do whatever the U.S. wants you to do, you’re not an independent nation, just a province with pretenses of grandeur.

  20. Sean

    Nice socks?

    What is going on here?

  21. Rebel Scum

    The prices at the pump will continue to rise.

    I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

    We’re negotiating with Iran so that we won’t have to buy any more oil from Russia. Oh, and we’re working on a deal with Venezuela as well.

    Domestic production is overrated. And while we are at it, let’s keep depleting the strategic reserve because that it completely rational.

    • Grumbletarian

      The Brandon administration’s priority list seems to be as follows:

      Support two dictators.
      Support one dictator.
      Become a net exporter of oil.

      • UnCivilServant

        No chance item #3 is on there. You also left off “Destroy the United States”

    • Rat on a train

      Foreign oil is more cultured than domestic. Only rednecks and hillbillies prefer domestic.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Only a philistine palate would prefer sweet!

  22. Rebel Scum

    Philippines raises age of sexual consent from 12 to 16

    Pedophile island archipelago.

  23. Rebel Scum

    Kamala Harris joins civil rights leaders in Selma for 57th anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ and pushes Biden’s demands for reform to 1965 Voting Rights Act,

    To put y’all back in chains?

  24. Mustang

    In good news, we closed on our new house Friday. We’ve now got nearly three acres of beautiful wooded property in upstate South Carolina. Wife is staying there while I finish out my service commitment.

    Speaking of wooded property (not a euphemism ya filthy animals), how is Suthen doing? I always enjoyed reading his description of the forest on his property.

    • Lackadaisical

      That makes me jealous. My move had involved downgrading my lot size, which has me a bit perturbed.

      • Mustang

        We got extremely lucky. The current owner is a vet who lives with his two sons and his dad, who are also vets. We offered exactly what they asked for and they gave it to us because we are vets. They probably could have gotten $50k more. I nearly cried because it’s almost exactly what we wanted. I’ve been saying a prayer of thanks ever since.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      Congratulations! SC is pretty good on the freedom index, especially upstate.

      • Mustang

        It almost immediately felt like home and nearly everyone involved in the buying process actually said “welcome to freedom.”

    • Count Potato

      Go you!

      I haven’t seen him lately.

      • Mustang

        Thanks! Me either. I’m concerned.

    • juris imprudent

      Congrats!

    • Mojeaux

      w00 h00!!!! *Snoopy dance*

    • PieInTheSky

      Seems a bit hot in the summer for my taste. How are the specialty coffee shops in the area? the wine bars?

    • DEG

      Congratulations!

    • Animal

      Good news! Welcome to the wonderful world of rural living.

  25. Pope Jimbo

    This weekend there was a link to a story about how the IRS was going to be way more customer friendly. I didn’t read the story.

    Did the new customer friendly policies include standing behind the advice that they gave to taxpayers on their help line? Because currently doing what the IRS told you to do is no defense if you get audited.

    • UnCivilServant

      Jimbo, poor Jimbo, the Taxpayer isn’t the IRS’ customer. You’re the livestock.

  26. The Other Kevin

    Paralympics Update: On the rink USA went 2-0 in preliminary play, beating the crap out of Canada and Korea. Looks like they are going to run away with this one. They get a few days off because their game with Russia was cancelled.

    In the B pool, Slovakia is 0-2 and China is 2-0 with one more preliminary game. In the name of national pride China built a good team quickly, so hopefully they will play USA and get humbled.

    • robc

      Scary thought…did China find great athletes and then cripple them to make them into para-athletes? Because, you know, I wouldn’t be surprised.

      • UnCivilServant

        Naw, I’m sure they have plenty of people maimed by industrial accidents to sift through for candidates.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I might subscribe to your newsletter if that #MeToo tennis player showed up on the paralympics team because of injuries. I’d think she’d be one of the first to be “converted”.

      • The Other Kevin

        There are a few stories out there about how well China treats their disabled athletes, but regular disabled people are treated like shit. Not surprising, but just another reason to hate that government.

  27. The Late P Brooks

    What part of “show trial” don’t you understand?

    Prosecutors also didn’t have a victim who lost money from Trump’s misstatements, people familiar said, a matter that might give a jury pause. Still some attorneys believed strongly that Trump should be held accountable and that the case was worth bringing even if they might lose, the people said.

    We should put him in the stocks and pelt him with shit and rotten produce, just because we can. Otherwise, what is the point of this grand apparatus of State Judiciary Might?

  28. wdalasio

    Forgive the rant.

    If progressives want to turn conservatives into drooling retards who’ll support their idiocy without question, all they need to do is make it about war. They’ve got (Brendan) O’Neill basically parroting the administration and globalist line and saying “F**k off” if you don’t buy it hook line and sinker. They’ve got conservatives nodding along like bobble heads to a Never-Trumper who actually named her site “Cosmopolitan Globalist”. They got conservatives celebrating unlawful confiscations, something they were rightly up in arms about them the authorities doing to the Freedom Convoy just a couple weeks ago, because now the guys they’re stealing from are Russian. Hell, tomorrow they’ll get conservatives backing nationalized healthcare and the Green New Deal, just as long as they tell them it’s to get Vladimir Putin.

    • Mojeaux

      This tribe went way too long without a common enemy.

      • Fourscore

        I’m waiting for the geezers to say, “Ya know, Fourscore, you were right about the covid”

        I don’t have a lot of time to wait but it ain’t gonna happen anyway. They’ll be singing the praises of Fauci and the Miracle.

    • kbolino

      Trump gave us 5 years of forgetting how terrible most Republicans really are.

      • juris imprudent

        The good news for the country is the Democrats are on the path to getting pummeled in the mid-terms.

        The bad news for the country is that the Republicans will in all cases replace them.

      • Fourscore

        JI speaks truth.

      • kbolino

        Without any populist/outsider energy this time around, the Republicans are just Democrats in redface.

  29. Count Potato

    ” And obviously better than none, since we could very easily just renew the federal land leases that were pulled by executive order in the beginning of 2021″

    How does buying foreign over domestic reduce climate change?

    • The Other Kevin

      It doesn’t. It just makes their rabid base happy. Environmentalism is all about THEIR environment. No problem buying batteries made with minerals that were strip mined in China or Afghanistan using processes that ruin the ecosystem and give the workers cancer. As long as they can drive around their neighborhood feeling smug in an electric car.

  30. Evan from Evansville

    Well. I’m alive. I am not being arrested. I am booking a flight home today. I have been paid for Feb. I’ll take the $2k, thanks.

    I am falling into my bad habits. I need routine and structure. When I don’t have one, I do the same shit to myself. Constantly.

    I’m staying in a dormitory, pretty much. And that’s just fine. I got my own fridge and a microwave! Private place to just exist. No one here cares at all. And that’s exactly what I need. But it is also what I need to avoid. Time off from work is time on for foul-play.

    Hopefully exist for now. Plan on coming home the 21st or so. The police have stopped badgering me. I want to escape. And right now, I have my place to do so. But I want more than a dorm room. But I am whole. This shall pass. It will be a fun memory years from now. Now, I just want some food. Get on your saddle, soldier. Put up or shut up.

    • Mojeaux

      I’m glad almost everything worked out. I was hoping for an update.

      I don’t have any advice on what to do with idle hands and mind. Read? Write? I dunno. Writing is what I used to do when I was bored. I’d tell myself stories to keep myself entertained.

      The 21st will be here before you know it.

      • Evan from Evansville

        Thank you all. What my brain always wants is just Escapism. I just want things to disappear. This has long-been a thread in my life, but especially post Incident.

        That doesn’t sound healthy. It isn’t. I drink my way through it. Dumb, but it works. I am afraid I am going to make a stupid mistake. I’ve been doing this for over a decade and am not stupid enough to make such a mistake, but we all make mistakes.

        I am applying for interesting jobs and have had interviews. Promising. Going back to the US is going to be a huge advancement and I will be thrilled with all the nuance of coming back to my land of birth. There are many upsides. The future is on the rise. Onward. Upward. Always.

      • UnCivilServant

        Is it still ethanol? Or is it some other chemical?

    • UnCivilServant

      I’m glad you’re still unincarcerated.

      Find some interim plan to tide you over while putting together a long term fix.

      • Evan from Evansville

        Not at all now, but I’d really like to get in touch with you.

        Mostly resume info and feedback. I hope you are as well as you can be.

    • Count Potato

      Good to hear.

  31. The Late P Brooks

    To those of you who have succeeded in your real estate searches, congratulations.

    • Pope Jimbo

      #LeanInTo

      Not everyone who persisted in their real estate search ended up with what they wanted.

    • Mojeaux

      This is a really bad time to be looking for houses. Getting tired of ye olde Airstreame?

      • Lackadaisical

        As someone on both sides of team estate deals I’m conflicted. Unfortunately all transactions have friction, so I feel like I lost a lot of money.

      • robc

        I came out of it “okay”. Charleston market was slightly hotter than Fort Collins market.

      • robc

        Net gain: one finished basement (impossibility in coastal SC).

      • UnCivilServant

        What? You don’t want an indoor basement pool?

      • robc

        It was also a rarity (not quite impossible) in Bowling Green. Too much rock and the danger of ending up with a basement connecting to an undiscovered branch of Mammoth Cave.

        “I didnt want 3 levels of basement.”

    • Mad Scientist

      My wife and I have finally closed on our shop/house/building/whatever this place is. Now we own the whole joint instead of just renting some shop space in it. Woohoo! After months and months of remodeling we’ve moved in. And we’ve got renters in the old house as of this month. Now I just need to find some productive work for my CNC machine.

      • pistoffnick the refusnik

        …productive work for my CNC machine…

        black thingies that go up?

    • Fourscore

      Spring sees a lot of moving going on, good that everyone involved has been successful. Brooks will find his Shangri-la or make what he finds into his shangr-la. (Is that a word?).

      Anyway, don’t be late, Mr Brooks, you’ll find the right place.

    • Sean

      I was expecting two mice. 🙁

      • Ownbestenemy

        Thanks for the laugh

      • TARDis

        Are you pondering what I’m pondering?

      • juris imprudent

        Putin and the Biden? [yes, I know that is backwards]

    • Lackadaisical

      That’s a very strange Kickstarter.

      Do people typically do that for books?

      • UnCivilServant

        Prose? No.

        Comic books? Yes.

      • Mojeaux

        I would love to do graphic novels of my books.

      • UnCivilServant

        At the fundimental level, the medium is diffent in how you tell stories. When I thought about doing a promotional comic book to tie in with the Tarnished Sterling Series, I realized there was no easy way to translate directly between the prose and the visual when doing such things s estimating the size of the project. (This was before I realized the amount of art required was beyond my budget)

      • Mojeaux

        The art budget is a problem. I don’t know if I have enough fans to be able to raise that much money.

        However, if you know how to structure a script (1 page of dialog per edited minute of film), you can structure dialog/art in a graphic novel. It helps if you see the story in your head like an edited movie. Then you can decide what can be a short visual (e.g., a look across a room by two characters—you don’t have to write what they’re thinking) and you can pare down dialog to its bare bones. The example I gave—one panel would cut out a good 5 pages of narrative from my book.

        You might also have to restructure the story. For instance, I started a script of The Proviso in an entirely different place than I did the book. It also depends on whether you’re writing a movie script, a miniseries, or a series, and plan accordingly.

      • UnCivilServant

        I figured I’d write a new story rather than remodel an existing one if I went forward with the idea (even came up with the basic plot).

        I think it’s because I don’t want to write the same thing again.

      • Mojeaux

        I’ve rehabbed several of my old books and they are much better, much more mature and fully rounded. I also cannibalized concepts and themes here and there. It really was never rewriting an old book but writing a new one with the same beloved characters and basic plot.

        I’m fiddling with one now I said I’d never rehab, but I love the characters too much not to publish it.

    • EvilSheldon

      Well, that takes care of my birthday and Christmas shopping for this year.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    This is a really bad time to be looking for houses. Getting tired of ye olde Airstreame?

    Honest answer- yes. Mine is not exactly fully functional. Despite my limited enthusiasm for cooking, a kitchen would be nice.

    I’m thinking prices are likely to take a meaningful hit in the near term, particularly for out-of-town properties. Four dollar gas is going to make it hard to swallow for people with a regular commute.

    • Mojeaux

      I’ve been watching a lot of vanlife vids. It is at once tempting and totally impractical, especially for more than one person. If it were just me, I’d be lonely and then I’d get a pet and then I’d have to clean up after it (where do you put a litterbox in a tricked-out Sprinter?). I’m a road warrior, so stopping places to view the scenery or be in nature or hike isn’t my bag. I always have some place to get, and I’m going to get there asap. If I have nowhere to go, I don’t go anywhere.

      But boy are those vans clever. I could see having one for an office space if Mr. Mojeaux and I are so unfortunate as to be stuck with a one-bedroom apartment after the kids leave.

    • Mustang

      It isn’t a good time, but it’s probably going to get a lot worse. I’m terrified they’re going to nationalize the industry when the bubble bursts and home rationing will be a thing via one or two private corporations in the name of equity and climate change. It may not be a good time, but I’m worried it’ll be the last time.

  33. Rebel Scum

    Everyone that disagrees with me is a white-supremacist.

    Republican Arizona state senators voted to censure fellow GOP Senator Wendy Rogers for speaking at the America First Political Action Conference, an event organized by a white nationalist.

    In her speech at the conference, Rogers called for gallows to be built to hang “high-level criminals” and “traitors who have betrayed our country.” She also expressed respect for the conference’s organizer, Nick Fuentes, calling him “the most persecuted man in America.”

    Fuentes is a right-wing media figure whom the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has labeled a white supremacist. He has spoken favorably of Adolf Hitler, believes people of color are conducting a “white genocide” and has been banned from most social media platforms for violating their hate speech policies.

    On Tuesday, the Arizona Senate voted to censure Rogers by a vote of 24 to three. All of the chamber’s Democrats and most of its Republicans voted in support of her censure. Rogers herself was one of the three Republicans who voted against it.

    • kbolino

      Fuentes glows.

  34. The Late P Brooks

    I’ve been watching a lot of vanlife vids. It is at once tempting and totally impractical, especially for more than one person.

    I’m not exactly a “place for everything and everything in its place” kind of guy. Living in a van/trailer, especially on the road, would be like living in a boat. A cluttered, messy boat.

    • Mad Scientist

      Having lived aboard, I can tell you it’s the best way to ensure you almost never go sailing.

      • Mojeaux

        I think l0b0t grew up on a sailboat with his family.

    • Mojeaux

      It took me years to figure out that “a place for everything” is kind of important if you want to put everything in its place. By that I mean, things like junk drawers and bits’n’bobs that have no home and can’t have a home for whatever reason. My brother puts them in decorative baskets in a bookcase, but I’d never be able to find that stuff. Finding a place for everything is damned hard work, and I cull possessions regularly. The bad part of culling regularly is that you’re gonna need that thing next week, even though you haven’t needed it for the past 5 years.

  35. Count Potato

    “No second amendment here! American passenger is arrested after allegedly trying to take a loaded pistol through an airport in his hand luggage – and faces 22 years in jail”

    The man was stopped from boarding a flight to the US and questioned about the weapon.

    AFP Sydney Airport Police Commander, Detective Acting Superintendent Scott Sykes said officers had found a bullet in the chamber of the handgun, which meant it was ready to be fired.

    ‘The man claimed he had forgotten the weapon was in his luggage but this situation could have had deadly consequences for other travellers, even if it had discharged accidentally during the flight,’ Det Act/Supt Sykes said.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10584555/American-man-arrested-allegedly-trying-loaded-gun-airport.html

    To the U.S.?

    • The Hyperbole

      22 years is nuts, but hiow do you forget you have a gun in your carryon?

      • kbolino

        If you were Hunter S. Thompson, that would be among the more mundane contents of your luggage.

      • EvilSheldon

        Easy, you use your gun bag as your carry-on and forget to sanitize it before your flight.

        The really interesting question is – how did he get the gun into Oz in the first place?

      • UnCivilServant

        The TSA was busy fondling someone else.

  36. Rebel Scum

    Traitors.

    Oil major Shell has sought to defend its decision to buy a heavily-discounted consignment of oil from Russia, saying it would commit the profits to a fund dedicated to humanitarian aid for Ukraine. …

    Shell said in a statement late Saturday that it had been in “intense talks with governments and continue to follow their guidance around this issue of security of supply, and are acutely aware we have to navigate this dilemma with the utmost care.”

    “We didn’t take this decision lightly and we understand the strength of feeling around it,” the statement read.

    The company has faced heavy criticism from Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who wants companies to cut all business ties with Russia.

    “One question to Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell Ukrainian blood for you?” Kuleba said in a tweet Saturday.

    Speaking to CNBC Monday, Kuleba launched a scathing attack on firms still doing business with Russia, saying that some major oil companies could find themselves on the wrong side of history.

    “The world will judge them accordingly. And history will judge them accordingly,” he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.

    I, for one, will continue to use almost exclusively Shell gasoline.

    • kbolino

      The Ukrainian people are, by and large, not nearly as obnoxious as their leaders. It’s almost like a coup happened in that country, and the current government is about as “legitimate” as a puppet state.

      • juris imprudent

        Now that’s an interesting thought – is there any country in the world where the people are more obnoxious than their leaders?

      • kbolino

        France

      • juris imprudent

        That’s what you get for only going to Paris.

  37. Rebel Scum

    That’ll show ’em.

    The Haas Formula One team has terminated its contract with Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali.

    The decision was taken in the wake of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and means no Russians are signed up to drive in F1 ahead of the new season.

    “Haas F1 Team has elected to terminate, with immediate effect, the title partnership of Uralkali, and the driver contract of Nikita Mazepin,” the team said in a statement. “As with the rest of the Formula One community, the team is shocked and saddened by the invasion of Ukraine and wishes for a swift and peaceful end to the conflict.”

    This has gotten retarded. Next there will be calls to cancel The Nutcracker.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Pull Solzhenitsyn from the bookshelves.

      Things I no longer wonder how they happened
      the cultural revolution
      Rise of the Nazis
      Stasi
      WWI

      and now
      Wholesale elimination of German language or culture in the US during WWI

      • Gustave Lytton

        Twitter is fun. Historically illiterate idiots are demanding that soda and fast food companies pull out of Russia.

      • juris imprudent

        I wonder when social media will go the way of cigarettes – socially undesirable even if still legal.

    • PieInTheSky

      guy looks like a douchebag. not that this has any relevance.

      Mazepin joined Haas at the start of 2021 as part of a sponsorship deal with Russian fertilizer company Uralkali, which is part-owned by his father Dmitry via his company Uralchem. – nepotism. I don’t like it.

      “Dmitry Mazepin was one of the business leaders who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow last week to discuss sanctions placed on the country following the invasion of Ukraine.

      The Uralkali deal helped Haas secure its finances ahead of the 2021 season and resulted in a title sponsorship agreement that saw the car painted in the colours of the Russian flag.”

      I mean this is clearly empty signaling, they were well aware what money they were accepting way before any invasion.

      • ron73440

        this is clearly empty signaling

        Just like everything else.

        Should the NHL cut its Russian players now?

        Ovechkin, Malkin, Panarin, Kucherov, and many more.

      • rhywun

        Every game is three-on-three for the rest of the season. The goal may or may not be guarded.

      • hayeksplosives

        I have a beautiful Team Russia Anisimov jersey. I ain’t gonna wear it anytime soon, but I ain’t getting rid of it either.

        The Russian people in general aren’t the problem. The madmen “in charge” are.

        May Michael Angelo protect and comfort the people.

    • slumbrew

      Nikita’s dad, Dmitry, is an oligarch and the Uralkali sponsorship money is the only reason Nikita had the job.

      It’s the cutting ties (and money) with Uralkali that’s causing him to lose the driver’s job, not the fact he’s Russian.

      • KSuellington

        I saw that yesterday and wondered if he was somehow tied to Uralkali in some way. Makes more sense now. He also didn’t help them to even get to midfield at all last year.

      • slumbrew

        Dmitry’s Uralchem owns a big chunk of Uralkali. The sponsorship is purely Dmitry’s doing, to get his son a F1 seat.

    • Swiss Servator

      She will circle back to facts….someday. Maybe.

  38. hayeksplosives

    GAH!

    I was already in a morose mood last night and leaking through dreams into this morning.

    And now I read the links, and it didn’t help.
    Yes, Kamala is a moron; not a clever witch like Hildog, just a moron.

    Soccer is stupid.

    Western civilization is falling on its sword. We’re done.

    Whoever is really running the “Biden Administration” is either really bad at math or is in too deep to let the North American pipelines flow without being suicided. My guess is the latter. Why else would we beg our enemies for oil?o

    I hate our elites.

    Grumble, shake fist @ clouds, etc.

    Peace out.

    • Tundra

      I hate our elites.

      Save some hate for the idiots who do their bidding.

      All kinds of nasty shit is happening behind the scenes right now and these same tribal fuckwits are gonna scream the loudest when their worlds are destroyed.

  39. Count Potato

    “First U.S. Spanish-language conservative network launches, opening a new front in the political information wars targeting Latinos.”

    ‘Defcon 1 moment’: New Spanish-language conservative network fuels fresh Dem fears over disinfo, Latino outreach

    More Latino voters show signs of drifting right, and analysts warn of a new wave of disinformation ahead of elections.

    MIAMI — The nation’s first Spanish-language conservative network launches Tuesday morning on satellite radio, opening a new front in the political information wars targeting Latinos in the United States and beyond.

    The network, called Americano, arrives during a crucial inflection point in U.S. politics, as more Hispanic voters show signs of drifting right and Democrats continue to sound the alarm about Spanish-language right-wing disinformation on social media and local radio, particularly in Miami, which is also Americano’s home base.”

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/defcon-1-moment-new-spanish-language-conservative-network-fuels-fresh-rcna18704?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

    https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1500796427592679427

    • juris imprudent

      Anything not of The Narrative is disinformation!

      You know guys, that’s just not a very catchy slogan.

  40. Rebel Scum

    Unity, healing, etc.

    I voted for Joe Biden in 2020. He was the best option available for defeating Donald Trump and buying time to organize a defense of American democracy against the neofascist assault. More than a year into Biden’s first term in office, I have no regrets. I’d make that same decision again.

    Despite tremendous obstruction from the Republican fascists (and their “centrist” allies embedded within the Democratic Party) — a group of sadists determined to cause maximum harm to the American people as a way of obtaining, keeping and expanding political power — Biden has accomplished a great deal as president. This includes slowing down the coronavirus plague, resuscitating the economy, taking long-overdue steps to fix the country’s infrastructure and restoring America’s leadership role in the world.

    In a moment of great crisis when Vladimir Putin and Russia are waging war on Ukraine, to know that America has a leader who, unlike his predecessor, is intelligent, experienced and patriotic, as well as mentally and emotionally stable, brings no small amount of relief. Moreover, one does not have to ask the obvious questions that circled around Trump like flies around manure on a summer’s day: “Is the president of the United States merely a useful idiot and stooge for Russia, or is he actually an agent and saboteur?” That too brings considerable peace of mind.

    This person is not sane.

    • Count Potato

      “neofascist assault”

      OFFS!

    • juris imprudent

      This person is not sane.

      Were you expecting otherwise, given Salon?

    • kbolino

      Tales from Bizarro World

    • Grumbletarian

      :hovers over link:

      Oh, Salon.

      Nope.

  41. Rebel Scum

    School is no place for nuance and critical thinking.

    A 65-year-old substitute teacher and journalist has been suspended from teaching in Arlington, Virginia for giving his students a balanced perspective on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Mainstream media says he “spread Russian propaganda.” So much for freedom of speech.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      Suspended is a bit of a strong term for a substitute teacher. You’re just a contractor who gets gigs by the day, unless it’s temporary-permanent type position for a teacher out on extended leave. The job really consists of passing out worksheets and not letting students rape one another or burn the school down. I’m guessing he deviated from the pre-mentioned job duties in lecturing about his perspective, balanced or not.

  42. The Late P Brooks

    Mazepin joined Haas at the start of 2021 as part of a sponsorship deal with Russian fertilizer company Uralkali, which is part-owned by his father Dmitry via his company Uralchem. – nepotism. I don’t like it.

    You probably wouldn’t approve of Lance Stroll, either.

    • slumbrew

      Stroll is actually a pretty decent driver. Mazespin wouldn’t have a shot at F1 w/o his sponsorship money.

      That Telmex money (via his parent’s links to Carlos Slim) got Sergio Perez into F1, but he’s a very good driver.

  43. DEG

    Davison quickly realized that schools were measuring themselves wrong. They commonly reported performance was based on the percentage of students who passed state exams. This led to schools in wealthy areas looking good, and schools in poor neighborhoods looking bad. But those numbers were reflecting the economic status and parental involvement of the students in the school, not the quality of the school itself. Teachers liked it that way, because they could point out that poor numbers were not their fault, and pivot to laments about class and race.

    So in the teachers’ minds, they are measuring themselves correctly. The teachers’ unions will of course think and lobby this way. This is why I say if parents want control over their kids’ education, those parents have to support abolishing the public schools.

    • ron73440

      When my son was in the 3rd grade, he was already reading at a 5th grade level.

      The teacher marked him as deficient, “so that they could show improvement”.

      That is a direct quote.

      Have I mentioned how much I hate teachers?

  44. KSuellington

    Abacab is probably the best song by Genesis. Top notch keyboard work and nice changes. Land of Confusion is good, and the video is kinda 80’s fun, but as Lack said above it’s politics are kinda silly. I dig some of Phil’s solo stuff, Sussudio has a frigging awesome horn line that stands up to some of the Tower of Power stuff. I’m really partial to Take Me Home as I loved the video as a kid when we finally got cable TV. Solid tune too.

    • ron73440

      I never paid attention to the lyrics for Land of Confusion, I remember the video being stupid, but don’t worry they are right this time.

      For Mike Rutherford, the video seemed particularly relevant when Donald Trump took office as president of the United States. “Ever since Trump got in I hark back to that video,” he told Songfacts in 2017. “The final scene is Reagan looking towards the wall behind his bed and there’s two buttons, one saying ‘nurse’ and one saying ‘nuke.’ It’s just kind of a strange time, isn’t it? Some of it seemed very relevant.”

      • rhywun

        OFFS.

        Thank God we got Joe in there now, right?

    • rhywun

      -1 In the Air Tonight

      Geez, man.

      • KSuellington

        I can appreciate that one, and I dig the Miami Vice connection, but it isn’t my fav.

        Yeah Ron, I think I saw that quote a few years back and had to roll my eyes at the stupidity of it. It has aged especially bad as Mr Frigging Washington DC and his inept cast has truly drug us much closer to actual nukes being used.

      • ron73440

        Have the nuclear scientists moved the atomic clock up, like the so dramatically did when Trump was elected?

      • ron73440

        I got curious and looked it up, apparently they did, but I don’t remember any coverage.

        Failure of world leaders to deal with the increased threats of nuclear war, such as the end of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) between the United States and Russia as well as increased tensions between the US and Iran, along with the continued neglect of climate change. Announced in units of seconds, instead of minutes; this is the clock’s closest approach to midnight, exceeding that of 1953 and 2018.[41] The Bulletin concluded by stating that the current issues causing the adjustment are “the most dangerous situation that humanity has ever faced.” In 2021 and 2022, the Bulletin reaffirmed the “100 seconds to midnight” time setting.[42]

        Is there a more useless act of political theater?

      • KSuellington

        Heheh, you made me go check Ron as I have to wait on my first appointment being late to arrive. Last time the doomsday clock was moved was 2020 from 2 minutes to midnight (to kill the unborn in the womb!!!) to 100 seconds. Frigging typical that it doesn’t budge a second when there is a war in Europe with Russia and nukes are actually being threatened. I’d be surprised if I wasn’t already thoroughly cynical about this shite.

      • rhywun

        I loathe Sussudio so I guess there’s no accounting for taste 🙂

      • Mojeaux

        You and me both.

        Can’t stand Phil Collins’s voice at. all.

      • Mad Scientist

        The best thing about Phil Collins voice is that it’s not Geddy Lee’s voice.

      • Mojeaux

        *hiss*

      • KSuellington

        I’ve seen that tune dissed here a few times. I’m a huge fan of a well oiled horn section and that song delivers. Plus I dig the video where Phil is leading the band in a small London pub in front of a bunch of bored people who don’t get going till they play Sussudio.

        I think some of it is how overplayed you think a tune is (though it may not just be your or my cuppa tea). Air Tonight is vastly overplayed to my ears. Sucks how radio does that, and I still listen to a lot of radio driving around for work as I’m too cheap to pay for Sirius and don’t bother putting my phone on my Bluetooth speaker while driving usually.

      • Mojeaux

        If I am on my way to a doctor’s office, I listen to chill music so my BP isn’t sky high.

        If I am on my way anywhere else, I listen to pretty hard stuff, loudly.

      • ron73440

        Don’t listen to a podcast about the COVID regime or you will have high blood pressure.

        Ask me how I know.

  45. Tundra

    Good morning, Sloop!

    Stephens faxed 62 pages of information to the agency, which has the power to take children away from their parents. They consisted almost entirely of Davison’s comments on school policies or officials’ apparent violations of them. Tacked on the end were two claims that purportedly showed child abuse: One day, his daughter could not play kickball because she was “sent to school in rain boots.” Another day, a teacher said she saw Davison’s children with him and “both of the kids had straight faces.”

    Ah, straight from the proggie playbook: anyone who has a better argument must be attacked as racist, transphobe or child abuser.

    Losers.

    • ron73440

      Tundra, I think you are underestimating the severity of the situation.

      The girl had RAIN BOOTS!

      The kids with Dad had STRAI

      • ron73440

        GHT FACES!

        Don’t know why I hit reply before I finished typing.

      • Tundra

        Gosh, you’re right.

        He should be waterboarded!

        As the father of a daughter, I would be willing to bet every dime I have that she insisted on the rain boots and dad finally gave up.

      • robc

        “But rain boots work in snow too!”

        Pretty much a direct quote from this weekend.

      • ron73440

        They’re not wrong.

  46. Shpip

    So there’s a big-ass bridge that spans Tampa Bay. Since the bridge is about 6.7 miles long, every so often, joggers pay a sum to have traffic closed on the bridge so they can get sweaty and enjoy the view.

    Enter Florida Woman.

    • ron73440

      From the bridge article:

      several news bureaus reported paint discolorations on the bridge’s cables. These paint splotches and patches were a result of touch-ups that were performed sometime in 1998 but began to show through as a result of using newer, environmentally-safe paint. The change in the paint’s composition caused it to fade faster than expected.

      I am shocked that environmentally-safe paint faded faster than expected.

      I am sure it keeps someone employed to repaint it.

      Maintenance on those bridges is usually a never ending cycle, why not shorten the effectiveness of the paint?