About The Author

Banjos

Banjos

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

304 Comments

  1. AlexinCT

    FBI documents associate internet slang like ‘based’ and ‘red pill’ with ‘extremism’

    Anything that opposes the attempt from the credentialed elite moron class to keep and grow their power in a system they are destroying because of their ineptitude, is extremism.

    • R.J.

      I should spend some tome making up new slang just so the FBI has to repeat it as extremist.
      Remember, the dildo of consequence is never lubricated.

    • SDF-7

      “FBI documents anyone thinking for themselves as extremist” Let’s just skip to the end here.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Mostly agreed but it’s not ineptitude, they’re doing it on purpose.

      • UnCivilServant

        How about a feature where they go into depth about the history and design of a sign somewhere. They could call it Sign of the Times.

  2. Not Adahn

    If someone wants to be the opposite gender, give tax dollars to the shrinks affirming those poor children!

    If someone wants to be straight, don’t you DARE counsel them that such a thing is possible!

  3. AlexinCT

    Pentagon Officials Are Realizing US Munitions Stockpiles Aren’t Nearly Big Enough To Take On China

    This should show you how idiotically stupid the current crop of high rank officers in the military are. No military commander worth their salt ever would forget the most important lesson about fighting: your logistic line is what wins you the war.

    These morons have been fighting – and because of their never win so we can keep sucking up money strategy, in the end losing – low level conflicts and completely lost their ability to understand real near peer conflicts. The rot is everywhere at the top, because the people at the top are nothing but an idiotic version of a high school clique that looks down on everyone else, and it is why western culture is flaming out.

    The mendacious are fighting to keep us all distracted from the fact they are looting the sinking the ship because they have no clue what else to do.

    • Bobarian LMD

      All according to plan. The MIC is lining the fuck out of their pockets and the senior leadership is lining up their next job.

  4. AlexinCT

    Macron Says Europe Should Reduce Dependence on US Dollar After Meeting With China’s Xi

    I wonder what Xi promised him for this. Will he be the knew provincial CCP mandarin for Europe?

    • Drake

      I thought Macron was supposed to convince Xi to drop Russia and support various western projects? That backfired.

      Unless they should depend on the Euro, which is in even worse shape than the dollar.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        I think Macron was looking for a lifeline and Xi politely told him to pound sand.

      • AlexinCT

        When you dance with the devil, the devil changes you…

  5. Scruffyy Nerfherder

    The U.S. has devoted millions of rounds of munitions to Ukraine since Russia invaded more than a year ago, draining U.S. stockpiles and setting off alarm bells in Congress and the White House on the state of America’s arsenal in light of higher-than-expected consumption rates in Ukraine. Senior leaders in the Department of Defense and military service branches, in statements to justify the Pentagon’s budget request for the coming year, warned that the U.S. has massive hurdles to overcome to rebuild to the level necessary to counter China, and remains vulnerable in the meantime.

    I’ve got a crazy idea. Maybe we could seek peace in Ukraine and not go to war with China.

    Then perhaps we could even get rid of a lot of that capital drain on the economy known as the DOD, that’s eating the opportunity cost of the entire country.

    • AlexinCT

      I’ve got a crazy idea. Maybe we could seek peace in Ukraine and not go to war with China.

      I think we had the opportunity to do the first, but chose not to. The later seems unavoidable based on historic evidence. See Thucydides writings about Athens’ rise in the time of the Peloponnesian empire and the unavoidable conflict. The only time in history that a new rising world power didn’t lead to conflict between the two to see who would become the new order top dog, was after WWII, when the British empire voluntarily seceded its supremacy to the US. It did that because it thought doing so would allow it to avoid a conflict at a time it was depleted while still keeping status because the new power was pretty much aligned with similar goals. China’s goals are so different that there is no chance there is a peaceful transition.

      And yes, I know our leaders love the CCP’s power ads many like to remind us here. But what the corruptocracy wants is for them to have and wield that power from the top. Not as second banana (a status the CCP would never afford them anyway, since they would remain the greatest threat to CCP power that way) beholden to the CCP. That war is gonna happen. Unfortunately we made it inevitable by giving the CCP the means to come at us.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        How, pray tell, is the CCP going to come at us?

        Are they going to invade? Are they going to form a “defensive” military alliance on our border?

      • SDF-7

        Are they going to steal all our IP, gut our manufacturing, secure all the mineral rights they can to lock them into their industry and liberally bribe our universities and political sectors to let them do what they want until we’re broke, have a ruined economy and pose no threat to their hegemony?

        Oh wait….

      • AlexinCT

        See my comments about us actually allowing them to do this to us because the greedy fucks that should have cock blocked this shit let it happen because they thought they would always get to keep the upper hand while raking in cash…

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        We sold our IP, we gutted our manufacturing, we sold our mineral rights, etc…

        Like it or not, that’s not on China. That’s the reality of having the dollar be the global reserve currency. We bought manufactured goods and gave people paper for it. That predates the rise of China.

        The proper response would be to reform our own politics and economy and not try to burn down the world because our actions had foreseeable consequences. By going to war with China what exactly are we trying to save? The status quo? Lockheed’s bottom line? DC’s continued hegemony?

      • Fourscore

        It’s coming from inside the house…

      • SDF-7

        I don’t want to go to war with China. I want us not to do business with countries using slave labor and forcing our companies into handing over everything that makes their companies valuable in order to enter their markets.

        I’d say I also want a pony — but let’s be honest, I don’t have the space or money to handle pony upkeep. Could use a sheep in the back yard so I don’t have to mow it, I suppose…

        (In other words — yes, of course the idiots did this to themselves [sorry, I do not concede “we” did it. I’ve been saying this is a stupid, terrible idea for at least 20 years now… but it isn’t like anyone is in a position to give a shit what I say.] — that doesn’t mean China didn’t know damned well what they were doing and foster it).

      • AlexinCT

        This is all on us. Our fucking corruptocracy and Wall Street saw all the bad, from the IP theft and how the game was rigged to the fact the CCP used everything to strengthen its hold on power and military at our detriment, but because they were making money anyway, just accepted the ass fuck with a reach around as if the long game wouldn’t kick them in the teeth.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        ^ It makes no sense to go to war with China. Let them have Taiwan or whatever else they want in Asia. Not worth spending American blood or treasure over. Certainly not worth the widespread bloodshed here at home when the inevitable draft occurs. The quickest way to destroy America from the inside out would be to declare war on a nuclear power and reintroduce conscription.

        The rot inside in American isn’t from China. It’s from DC. Cut spending, cut entitlements, cut barriers to starting businesses (including EPA and wage barriers), and open energy back up. Watch the economy roar back.

      • AlexinCT

        The rot inside in American isn’t from China. It’s from DC. Cut spending, cut entitlements, cut barriers to starting businesses (including EPA and wage barriers), and open energy back up. Watch the economy roar back.

        It’s going to be a lot harder to make that happen in a world where Beijing dictates economic reality. While we definitely need to change things at home, we will also need to deal with the China problem. The CCP has moved up their timetable and become far more belligerent because their demographic and economic time bomb will hurt them in another 20 years in a way that will cripple them. They need to secure energy, raw materials, and markets, and to do so they have to overtake the US now. Taking Taiwan is key to that strategy because they need the Taiwanese chip industry and taking Taiwan will put South Korea and Japan on notice they are on their own (which means they will start taking direction from Beijing).

        Our strategy needs to be to make it so unpalatable for Beijing to engage in the military and economic adventurism it has now adopted to stave off the coming problems that we avoid a full blown conflict. It will require us to the things you mentioned to bring our economy back (which puts the people in power’s hold on power at risk, so it might be more difficult to accomplish than anyone can think), but it will also require us to make sure we do not just act as if we can avoid dealing with the repercussions of China’s ambitions, It is insane to want to pretend we can just let China be and not have to pay a price we can’t afford if we do so.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        So what. Let them take Taiwan. Let them have Japan. That’s not America’s problem. We shouldn’t be calling the shots over what other countries can and can’t do. Otherwise, fuck it, let’s call it what it is. An American Empire that dictates to its vassal states. Which does appear to be currently the case with ~750 foreign military bases and current American military actions in 80+ countries. Maybe China isn’t keen on being another vassal to the American Empire.

        America shouldn’t even have a military large enough to project force in Asia. That fact that the American military-industrial complex has grown so powerful is a far worse problem and threat to the long-term existence of America, as envisioned by the founders and the Constitution, than anything China could possibly come up with.

      • Grummun

        If China goes for Taiwan, are Japan and Korea just going to sit and wait their turn? Particularly if the US lets Taiwan twist, perhaps we’d see some regional solidarity against China.

      • AlexinCT

        Wishful thinking that S. Korea and Japan can face China alone. And even more wishful thinking that we can ignore what happens in the Pacific without consequences.

      • AlexinCT

        Your assumption that they need to invade us to win is where you err. All they need to do is defeat us militarily in the Pacific to then change the dynamic of power/economics and box us in. They will force all current allies of convenience into their sphere, leaving us to slowly (and I believe it will be rather fast because of the ineptitude of our leadership class) wither away. It won’t take them more than a couple of decades after that to tell us how things will be, and we will gladly accept it because we are going to be in the same situation as the Russians are now: a nuclear power with no serious global capability.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        You presume that the rest of the world trusts China any more than they trust us.

        And you’re presenting a false choice, just like Graham, the neocons, and their ilk do. We either go to war and win through superior bloodshed (in their backyard as you just admitted) or we wither away.

        No thanks.

      • AlexinCT

        You presume that the rest of the world trusts China any more than they trust us.

        Trust is not necessary in this game. You join the winning team because not doing so is far more costly. When the US is no longer the winning team leader, you will see what we have today: the rats abandoning the ship. And as things go now, there will not even be a bipolar world because the rats are all about keeping themselves on top.

        Again, see Thucydides writings put together some 3 millennia ago about the inevitability of conflict when the current power faces a new rising one. You can ignore reality all you want, so it makes you feel better about not understanding what’s coming, but that’s on you.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        You can ignore reality all you want, so it makes you feel better about not understanding what’s coming, but that’s on you.

        Shove your condescending attitude up your ass Alex.

      • The Last American Hero

        And prior to George Washington no king had ever voluntarily given up the crown. But we’ve done it for 250 years.

        Arm SK and Japan with nukes and stop China in their tracks.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Trust has absolutely nothing to do with anything in real world international relations. Everyone is playing a game of Psychological Egoism; what actions benefit me the most.

        We get “good” relations specifically because it benefits those countries to stay in out good graces. They all know that if we see some way to better benefit ourselves, that we’ll fuck them right up the ole pooper.

      • Drake

        Much of the rest of the world does trust China, and Russia, and India more than trust us. They know damn well you better read the fine print when dealing with them, but they keep their agreements.

        They don’t trust American diplomats at all any longer. We break agreements and sponsor color revolutions whenever it suits our mood.

      • AlexinCT

        Ostrich is as ostrich does…

        You are welcome to your opinion that you don’t war, but you can’t dictate reality follow that.

      • Drake

        https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/business/economy/ukraine-seize-russian-assets.html

        Exhibit 1 on why the rest of the world has no trust in the U.S. or EU. Right now our leadership is furious with Saudi Arabia for reopening diplomatic relations with Iran and Syria while selling oil in non-dollar currencies. I bet the Saudis are busy unwinding their investments in Europe and America so they can’t be stolen.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        I don’t disagree with that assessment. I just don’t see the yuan replacing the dollar as the global reserve currency. We’ll see if BRICS is able to come up with a commodity backed reference that they can all price against or not.

        I remain more concerned with how far the US is willing to go to keep the global reserve dollar in place now that they have jeopardized the system by weaponizing it. They appear to be in burn it all down mode.

      • AlexinCT

        I don’t disagree with that assessment. I just don’t see the yuan replacing the dollar as the global reserve currency.

        Agreed. I don’t see any country not wanting to make sure they are not beholden to some other country’s monetary system like they were w/ the dollar. They would still end up beholden to said country (and the whole devil you know thing).

        And everyone should know that the CCPs monetary policy makes the idiocy in D.C. look tame. China repeatedly engages in MMT economic practices that would give our money wizards cringe, and then lies about that shit.

    • Brawndo

      We can, and should, be friends with Russia. Putin wanted for many years to be friends with the West, but the CFR needs them to be an enemy for some reason.

  6. AlexinCT

    Americans vote with their feet, flee big cities

    If you look at what has been playing out on the ground, it would come across like the ruler class has spent the last decade trying to herd cattle into urban areas, through legislation and regulation, and then also decided to turn these urban areas into lawless shitholes. The Kung Flu then showed even those that thought government was something more than an unreliable necessary evil the futility of letting these assholes determine the trajectory our lives.

    • The Last American Hero

      Nope.

      The laptop class figured out they can work remotely, so they don’t need to pay sky high rents to live and work close to downtown. Even a long commute for hybrid work is tolerable if it’s 1-2 days a week and not 5.

      Believe me, I’ve seen downtown go quiet but my good neighbors are full on bootlickers and mask wearers even today. There is no love of freedom or hatred of government.

  7. Scruffyy Nerfherder

    Part of the document refers specifically to “incels,” or those “involuntary celibate,” whom the “threat overview” describes as possibly seeking to “commit violence in support of their beliefs that society unjustly denies them sexual or romantic attention, to which they believe they are entitled.” The assessment notes, “While most incels do not engage in violence,” some have been involved in “at least five lethal attacks in the United States and Canada.”

    Nobody expected the Incel Revolution.

    More seriously, this is feminist ideology bleeding through into FBI policy, and it’s exactly as stupid as one would expect.

    • rhywun

      “While most incels do not engage in violence,” some have been involved in “at least five lethal attacks in the United States and Canada.”

      Now do transgenders.

      • SDF-7

        I expect if the incels were willing to do transgenders there’d be less of the incels these days, sure.

    • Ted S.

      Only male incels are evil. The female cat lady incels are totally the victims of The Patriarchy.

    • Fourscore

      Continuing education for me.

      /Things I learned on the internet today

  8. db

    Pentagon Officials Are Realizing US Munitions Stockpiles Aren’t Nearly Big Enough To Take On China

    This couldn’t possibly have been planned or coordinated in advance between our adversaries, right?

    • Ownbestenemy

      Given what we have seen of our military leadership and the $$ signs in their eyes over Ukraine….maybe.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      If it’s true, and it could just be disinformation in advance of a military effort, I tend to think it’s because they thought Russia was just going to roll over.

      Hubris defines DC. It’s their religion.

      • Zwak tastes the soup, but never counts the beans.

        Hubris clobbered by Nemesis.

    • robodruid

      This war has been going on for a year now. DOD weapons acquisition has not exactly been acting in a panic.

    • SDF-7

      Adversaries? More likely this was planned by our suppliers to drive up purchasing rates.

      • db

        Difference without a distinction

      • SDF-7

        Fair point.

  9. Drake

    Americans vote with their feet, flee big cities

    Marky Mark and his funky bunch fled LA and seem really happy about it. I don’t know what their politics are, but rich people can always flee the destruction they caused.

    • Not Adahn

      +1 whatever Ted Turner’s ranch is named.

    • AlexinCT

      Walberg is a Boston conservative Irish catholic. Which makes him anathema in the left despite the fact he holds most opinions is common with them.

      • SDF-7

        How do ya like them apples?

      • Brawndo

        That was Matt Damon, not Mark Wahlberg.

      • SDF-7

        Yes, yes… well aware of that. Look, just how many famous Southie moments do you think I have stocked up, anyway? 😉

      • Michael Malaise

        Did you not see The Fightah?

    • Gustave Lytton

      It’s not like he relocated them to South Dakota or Mississippi. Less than an hour’s flight away if he desires/needs to hang out there.

      For that kind of dough, I’d want more than just 2.5 acres.

  10. Certified Public Asshat

    “Based” is defined by the FBI as a word used to “refer to someone who has been converted to racist ideology, or as a way of indicating ideological agreement.”

    It’s the latter you fucking morons.

  11. Scruffyy Nerfherder

    Because it was the students who held Gaines hostage and made violent threats who were harmed.

    Dear SF State community,

    Today, San Francisco State finds itself again at the center of a national discussion regarding freedom of speech and expression. Let me begin by saying clearly: the trans community is welcome and belongs at San Francisco State University. Further, our community fiercely believes in unity, connection, care and compassion, and we value different ideas, even when they are not our own. SF State is regularly noted as one of the most diverse campuses in the United States—this is what makes us Gators, and this is what makes us great. Diversity promotes critical discussions, new understandings and enriches the academic experience. But we may also find ourselves exposed to divergent views and even views we find personally abhorrent. These encounters have sometimes led to discord, anger, confrontation and fear. We must meet this moment and unite with a shared value of learning.

    Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event. It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space. I am proud of the moments where we listened and asked insightful questions. I am also proud of the moments when our students demonstrated the value of free speech and the right to protest peacefully. These issues do not go away, and these values are very much at our core.

    This feels difficult because it is difficult. As you reflect, process, and begin to heal, please remember that there are people, resources and services available and ready to receive our Gator community, including faculty, staff members, coaches and mentors who are here to support you.

    Campus resources are also available:

    Equity and Community Inclusion
    Counseling and Psychological Services
    Dean of Students Office
    The well-being of the SF State campus community remains our priority.

    Sincerely,

    Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.

    Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/sfsu-responds-alleged-assault-riley-gaines-praising-protesters

    They’re telling you what they’re willing to do and how far they will go. You should be listening.

    • Not Adahn

      our community fiercely believes in unity, connection, care and compassion, and we value different ideas, even when they are not our own.

      Pick one plz. Kthxbai.

      • AlexinCT

        Freedom of speech means freedom to say things they agree with and approve off. The rest is labeled hate speech for a reason. And that allows them to pretend there is no conflict between their demand for unity and their pretense to support free speech of any kind.

    • WTF

      Gaines was also physically assaulted. “protested peacefully” my ass.

      • DEG

        “Mostly peaceful”

    • R.J.

      Wait, that are known as “The Gators?” In San Francisco?

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        It took me a long time to figure it out, but it’s a play on Golden Gate.

  12. Gustave Lytton

    “There is no ‘there’ there because the justices have received gifts of hospitality from friends forever,” Severino said. “And many of the justices have taken far more trips than Justice Thomas on somebody else’s dime, including Justice Breyer, who we know has taken at least 233 trips when he was on the bench.”

    Severino explained that justices are permitted to accept invites to properties of friends for dinner or vacations without paying for it or disclosing it.

    I have no doubt that Thomas is being targeted. And yet this is a downright stupid situation that he put himself in.

    • AlexinCT

      The left is always about accusing their enemy of the things they do to take them down, while counting on a corrupt media to hide from the people that the target of their smear is the one doing the least – if any – of what they accuse em off.

      • Gustave Lytton

        All the more reason to take the Caesar’s wife path than Abe Fortas.

  13. Certified Public Asshat

    YouTube star MrBeast’s side kick Chris Tyson reveals he started ‘life-saving’ hormone replacement therapy two months ago and shows how his appearance has already started to change

    The star, who has appeared in scores of videos alongside YouTube’s biggest star MrBeast, tweeted: ‘Informed consent HRT saved my and many others’ lives. The hurdles gender non-conforming people have to jump through to get life-saving gender-affirming healthcare in a first world country is wild to me.

    ‘Just let people make informed decisions about their own bodies.’

    Tyson, who revealed he has struggled with gender dysphoria for years, said he decided to start HRT two months ago and that becoming a parent to his son helped with his decision to start the treatment.

    I learned that if I wanted to abandon my family to continue riding Mr. Beast’s coattail, I needed a socially acceptable reason.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      life-saving gender-affirming healthcare

      As a species we went millions of years without altering our hormonal chemistry to reflect our mental outlook and did just fine.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        And, why was TRT not tried first?

      • rhywun

        That phrase sure grinds my gears. Five little words packing so much bullshit and manipulation.

      • The Other Kevin

        Me too. They completely own the language.

      • robc

        Although last century, the UK tried it with Alan Turing and it didnt work so well.

    • AlexinCT

      Life saving? me thinks these marxist clowns really lack perspective and understanding of reality..

      We need to go back to a state where people have to struggle to get even a single meal a day so we can toughen up some of these cuntes showcasing how badass they are for fighting their first world problems.

    • Drake

      How did becoming a parent help? I doubt his pretty young wife signed up to be married to whatever sterile thing he’s turning into, so his son will be raised in a broken home.

      Attention seeking narcissism and selfishness disguised as virtue.

      • AlexinCT

        If she is a good lib women she prolly gets serious credit in that community of people suffering from mental disorders…

      • Certified Public Asshat

        I’m not sure why the Daily Mail was unsure of this, but they are divorcing.

    • Gustave Lytton

      YouTube’s biggest star MrBeast

      Who?

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        How you know you’re old.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MrBeast

        In January 2022, Forbes ranked Donaldson as YouTube’s highest-earning creator, earning an estimated $54 million in 2021. Forbes stated that his income in 2021 would have placed him 40th in the 2020 Forbes Celebrity 100, earning as much money as Vin Diesel and Lewis Hamilton did in 2020.[59][60]

        On July 28, 2022, Donaldson surpassed 100 million subscribers on his main channel, making him the fifth channel and the second individual YouTuber to achieve the milestone.[61][62] On November 17, 2022, Donaldson achieved the Guinness World Record of “Most Subscribers for an Individual Male on YouTube” with his MrBeast channel at 112,193,139 subscribers.

      • Gustave Lytton

        The white hairs were already telling me my age.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Is that $54M his personal income or the revenue for essentially his business?

      • UnCivilServant

        I’m guessing business revenue.

      • rhywun

        I don’t get it either.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Isn’t he the guy that gives away shit and then gets lambasted for the left for doing so? That’s the government’s job afterall.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Yes, which at least we are getting some memes out of it:

        make it happen jimmy🙏 pic.twitter.com/gCpqKJ94aV— Chase (54-28) (@Chase8D) April 8, 2023

      • Not Adahn

        Whatever happened to PewDeePie or whoever that was?

    • Ted S.

      Never heard of any of these people.

      • Fourscore

        “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

      • Certified Public Asshat

        I get it, you barely made it here.

  14. SDF-7

    ‘Orning ‘orldes: Meh.
    Daily Duotrigordle #404
    Guesses: 35/37
    Time: 04:15.84
    https://duotrigordle.com/

    Daily Quordle 441
    7️⃣5️⃣
    8️⃣2️⃣
    m-w.com/games/quordle

    • Sean

      Daily Quordle 441
      7️⃣3️⃣
      5️⃣6️⃣
      m-w.com/games/quordle

      Blossom Puzzle, April 10
      Letters: A E F R I L W
      My score: 229 points
      My longest word: 8 letters
      🌸 🌹 🌼 💮 🏵 🌻 🌺 💐

      Play Blossom:
      https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/blossom-word-game

      • UnCivilServant

        airflow
        feeler
        reefer
        freer
        lawfare
        refiler
        referrer

      • Sean

        It wouldn’t take lawfare.

      • UnCivilServant

        Boo!

        It probably wouldn’t take some of the Saxon names I could make from those letter either.

      • SDF-7

        They were afraid of frivolous lawsuits.

    • rhywun

      Hmph copy doesn’t work

      3 4
      6 5

    • Tundra

      Daily Quordle 441
      4️⃣5️⃣
      7️⃣6️⃣

      • kinnath

        Daily Quordle 441
        7️⃣6️⃣
        4️⃣5️⃣

        counter clockwise

    • Fourscore

      Purple Heart Time

  15. UnCivilServant

    Any news about Iran lately? Are the people still fighting, or have the Mullahs crushed the uprising?

    • AlexinCT

      I read something recently where the mullahs told women they would punish them harshly if they didn’t go back to covering their hair since not doing so would entice men into doing the devil’s work….

      • UnCivilServant

        😕 I was hoping they’d free themselves this time, but it looks like it’s just going to peter out.

    • Drake

      Filed next to all the Epstein evidence and the Ark of the Covenant.

    • SDF-7

      She was angry about how the casinos treated her.

      • AlexinCT

        Oh damn…..

        I see what you did there…

  16. waffles

    The reasons to leave big cities did not end when the pandemic ended. And the promise that pandemic restrictions can be brought back at any moment makes staying in the urban core seems worse than ever. Cities had a great run from 2000-2020, lots of urban revitalization that has been dashed by a sudden injection of the worst policies.

    Ah, well. So it goes.

    • The Last American Hero

      BS – people loved themselves some COVID compliance. They didn’t get to the end of COVID and say “Never again, I want to be free.” What’s in the water this morning?

    • Fourscore

      It’s how kids learn. I’m unsure how the oldest child learns, from the parents?

      “I learned it from you, Dad”

      Thanks, somehow our kids recover from their childhood

      • UnCivilServant

        If I recall correctly, a lot of child knowledge was peer-circulated, so information would filter along in age bands of its own accord.

      • robc

        It is also why Montessori and other “multi-age” classroom methods work well.

        Montessori uses 3 year bands. So my daughter, for example, is in 1st grade in a 1st-3rd classroom.

      • AlexinCT

        You learn from people that know things. While anyone can give you basics, you need people with knowledge to get beyond the basics. That’s why real learning encourages people to go outside their comfort zones…

      • robc

        You also learn a lot by explaining something to someone else.

      • AlexinCT

        You would have to know things to explain them, yes. Unless you work for government…

      • UnCivilServant

        What I say becomes true.

        /Minitruth

  17. robc

    The World Chess Championship* started yesterday.

    In Match 1, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren played to a draw.
    In Match 2 this morning, Nepo (I am not spelling that again) got a win.

    It is a best of 14 series.

    In the last WCC, Nepo lost to Carlsen after falling apart after a long match loss mid-series.

    *Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title, so it is world #2 vs #3**, which takes some of the luster off of it.

    **With the loss this morning, Ding has fallen to #4 in the live ratings. But FIDE only updates at end of month. Also in live ratings, the win moved Nepo to 2799.8. Another win and he will become the 15th player all-time to break 2800. Carlsen is at 2853, FYI.

    • robc

      Bonus chess content (its 17 seconds and funny) from the top American and #5 in the world. And that is why I will never be #5 in the world.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkBNgYmdjRw

    • PieInTheSky

      is this edition with or without anal beads?

      • robc

        Russia vs China, so just about anything is possible.

        After Carlsen dropped out, they struggled to find a venue, so it is being played in Kazakhstan.

        Which fits with the list here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgc_LRjlbTU

    • The Last American Hero

      Meh, needs more quirky ginger chicks.

      • SDF-7

        On that note — saw the new D&D movie over the weekend (if my son was going to make me drag my butt to the Mario movie [about what you’d expect… frankly, it seemed more like a pretty bad and choppy video game playthrough to me… a lot of “X happens because Plot Requires It” moments]), and enjoyed it. Not High Art or anything, but entertaining.

        And if you’re wondering on context — druid member of the party was, in fact, a quirky ginger (at least in the film.. not like they showed if the carpet matched) chick.

  18. Grummun

    Single action 9mm saga, concluded: the winner is secret option C, the CZ Shadow 2 SA. Wasn’t aware of it because it didn’t show up in the web searches I’d done. I think I had even looked at CZ’s website and didn’t see it.

    Sean, I did look at a 226 SAO. Didn’t fit my hand well. RC, I didn’t look at the HK because I was expressly looking for a single action. I decided against the Springfield prodigy because 1) grip was less comfortable for me, compared to the CZ, and 2) some online reviewers complaining about the Springfield being finicky about ammo or mags, no one complains about the CZ. Two downsides to the CZ: not cut for optics (the Springfield was), but these guys make a solution for that, and the garish blue grips (at least not the even more garish orange grips of the SA/DA model).

    Fun fact, CZ uses the same mags for 9mm and .40S&W, the mags are marked for both.

    The place I got the CZ had a 5″ compensated Staccato (bargain at $4300). I had a chance to fondle it, but the guy after me bought it. He brought the whole family to check it out.

    • Sean

      Fine choice. 🙂

    • Gustave Lytton

      I think there’s a CZ Shadow fan around here.

    • PieInTheSky

      CZ Shadow 2 SA – is that a big dick gun or a small dick gun>?

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s inadvisable to attach guns to your dick.

      • Not Adahn

        The barrel is shorter than a CZ Tactical Sport 2.

    • Not Adahn

      Fun fact, CZ uses the same mags for 9mm and .40S&W, the mags are marked for both.

      The factory nickeled ones, yes. The Mec-Gar unbranded (and much cheaper) ones no.

      One thing you are going to love about that gun (other than absolutely everything) is that it eats every kind of ammo out there.

      Re: the grips, I replaced the aluminum factory ones with Lok grip bogies and it became much easier to keep the gun steady. The grippiness meant less effort form the hand muscles.

      But that is literally the only “modification” I’ve made to it.

    • Not Adahn

      Question: What is the manual safety like on this model? The baseline has a “we’re required to have one, but since nobody is ever going to use it, it ain’t exactly the most manipulatable thing”

      • Grummun

        Safety moves easily and cleanly, positive stop in both positions. Safety control is plenty wide on the left for your thumb to catch, I could actually do with a little less. On the right, the lever is pretty much flush with the frame, not useful as an ambidextrous safety.

        Strangely, they included an extra safety lever that looks to be identical to the installed part.

        Also, there is a plastic/nylon buffer on the recoil spring. The included a handful of replacements for that, in two different thicknesses. That part is not mentioned in the manual.

      • Not Adahn

        That handful of replacements will last you approximately forever. I forget what the service life is supposed to be, but they either aren’t necessary or last in the several-thousands-of-rounds range.

    • EvilSheldon

      Spiffy. I too like the CZ platform, although I go for the TDA version for my game guns.

      One caution – the Shadow 2 is not drop safe in Condition 1. I wouldn’t carry it. I mean, I wouldn’t carry it anyway because it weighs about as much as two SIG P365s and conceals about as well as a live armadillo…

      • Sean

        conceals about as well as a live armadillo…

        😂🤣

  19. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Anyone have any good links to a comprehensive summary of the maybe real maybe not latest Pentagon documents leaks? I can’t find much that’s worth a damn.

    • UnCivilServant

      Nice try, Fed.

      /I wouldn’t know anyway.

    • AlexinCT

      All the stuff I have seen feels like people pulling shit out of their ass. You are supposed to believe the content is horribly damaging to US national security and the Five Eyes intel efforts, but there is nothing anywhere giving examples of why, or specifics of any kind, other than we say it is.

      Apparently there are revelations that the west has been lying about the conflict in the Ukraine and the geopolitics in Europe and the Pacific, but again, nothing specific.

      The whole thing reads like your usual psyops from our government so they can justify taking away more freedoms.

  20. PieInTheSky

    So who is excited about the NBA playoff? Knick Cavs should be an interesting one

    • Grummun

      That is a really odd way to spell “Stanley Cup Playoffs.”

      • rhywun

        *tap tap tap*

        Mostly ignored the season. Looks like an interesting battle between the Islanders and Penguins for a spot. And the Sabres aren’t out yet. 😮

      • Tundra

        Central is stacked. It’s gonna be an interesting playoff.

    • robc

      Did the Bullets make the playoffs?

    • Grumbletarian

      It would be great if the Celtics can earn banner 18, but they’re stuck with either Al “Old as the Hills” Horford or Robert “Is it Tuesday? I’m Hurt Again” William at the five.

      • PieInTheSky

        Lakers celtics final

    • The Gunslinger

      Dwayne Casey is out as Pistons coach, so I can assume that the Pistons missed the playoffs?

      • PieInTheSky

        Indeed you cand but they get their shot at wembayama

    • Michael Malaise

      They should move the NBA to Europe, where it belongs.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      There’s actually a Tibetan tongue greeting, doesn’t involve tongue sucking though as far as I can tell.

      • Gender Traitor

        What’s French for “cultural appropriation”?

  21. PieInTheSky

    One of the most illuminating papers you can read on The Great Depression is Martha Olney’s

    “Avoiding Default: The Role of Credit in the Consumption Collapse of 1930”

    By putting yourself in the shoes of then-consumers, things start to make sense…

    https://twitter.com/brandonjcarl/status/1645217236385165313

  22. Count Potato

    “Joe Biden is planning to recruit an army of TikTok influencers to win over Gen Z voters during his 2024 reelection run.

    The president’s digital strategy team is connecting with social media celebrities and offering them their own briefing room in the White House, Axios reports.

    Among those recruited is Henry Sisson, a 20-year-old NYU student who runs a TikTok page with more than 600,000 followers. He offers commentary on US politics and regularly promotes the power of Gen Z to boost support for the Democrats.

    Others recruits include Vivian Tu, 29, another TikTok influencer, and Heather Cox Richardson, 61, who writes a popular newsletter on the blogging platform Substack.

    It comes as the Biden administration has endorsed the Restrict Act, a bill which proposes a total ban or severe restrictions to the reach and power of Chinese-owned TikTok.

    As tensions with China have grown, an increasing number of Democrats have joined the Republicans in calling for such a law.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11955695/Biden-planning-recruit-army-TikTok-influencers-help-burnish-2024-election-hopes.html

    • rhywun

      All he has to do is tweet “Free shit” and watch the votes roll in. But I guess that war chest doesn’t spend itself.

      • Count Potato

        Tik Tok reaches people Twitter doesn’t.

      • rhywun

        Fine, whatever the verb for TikTok is. I didn’t mean to specify Twitter.

  23. Swiss Servator

    Publishing Note for next week – first couple of days are going to be featured authors….Animal Monday, CPRM Tuesday. SF already generally has Wednesday.

    Keep that content coming in, plz.

  24. Shirley Knott

    Something worse than pineapple on pizza? gatito bueno brings it.
    I may never eat again

    • AlexinCT

      Where is the pic showing the peeps being used as a buttplug?

      • R.J.

        Or hearing protection at the range?

      • Fourscore

        “Hey buddy, what’s up with the peeps in your ears?”

        Buddy points to his ears, “Can’t hear you, got peeps in my ears”

  25. Rebel Scum

    FBI documents associate internet slang like ‘based’ and ‘red pill’ with ‘extremism’

    Anything conceivably right-wing or insufficiently woke/left is domestic extremism, obviously.

    The one term in the glossary is “Red Pill,” which comes from the 1999 film “The Matrix” and has been used a metaphor for seeing hidden or politically incorrect truths about the modern world, particularly when it comes to politics or dating. The FBI list of key terms defines it as “a belief shared by many online communities that society is corrupt, and that the believer is a victim of this corruption.”

    And the Federal Bureau of Insurrection proves them correct.

    • The Other Kevin

      Once again the problem isn’t the problem, it’s people pointing out the problem.

      • Count Potato

        Republicans pounce!

    • AlexinCT

      Yeah, the problem is citations. To bullshit papers. Not the fact that many of these papers, in addition to fucking around with data or methodology invalidating the crap they are doing, also keep building on the same bullshit sources doing more of the same to peddle falsehoods & agendas.

  26. Rebel Scum

    In a whirlwind of hearings in March, Pentagon leaders revealed how much the Ukraine war has cut into American munitions stockpiles.

    Seems that the US gov’t created this problem by funding and supplying a Slavic civil war in which we have no vested interest.

  27. Certified Public Asshat

    Dylan Mulvaney is the new face of OLAY WOMEN! pic.twitter.com/XffQ3ZmtKK— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 10, 2023

    There is no one else who can move product.

    • The Other Kevin

      So wait, grown up adult women DON’T want to be just like Dylan?

    • Gustave Lytton

      “Use our product and look like this!”

    • rhywun

      “O-SLAY”

      O-FFS 🙄

      • AlexinCT

        It takes a dude to show women how to women correctly….

    • Fatty Bolger

      The patriarchy wins again! This stuff really cracks me up. His Tampax sponsorship especially, that’s just wonderful.

      • rhywun

        His Tampax sponsorship

        GTFO

      • Zwak tastes the soup, but never counts the beans.

        JHTFC.

  28. PieInTheSky

    This remarkable cloud spotted from the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire on February 24, 2021 was a hybrid combination of two rare cloud species: the lenticular, and the Kelvin-Helmholtz wave cloud

    https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1645416338976915456

    • rhywun

      Whoa, tubular!

  29. Rebel Scum

    Americans vote with their feet, flee big cities

    White-flight 2.0.

    • Rat on a train

      It is bad when whites leave or enter a neighborhood. Whites must stay where they are.

      • Zwak tastes the soup, but never counts the beans.

        Needed as tax cattle.

  30. Tundra

    Good morning, Banjos.

    And good morning fellow extremists.

    Americans vote with their feet, flee big cities

    Drug addicts, tent cities, unbelievable property crime, daily shootings and fabulous infrastructure. Hard to believe people are bailing out.

    • creech

      Thereby turning the nearby suburbs blue. Major disconnect between “who I vote for” and “why did the city become such a shitty place to live.”

      • Ownbestenemy

        Yep. Last election cycle saw huge influx of Californians complaining about Californian policies while voting for those same policies.

      • Shirley Knott

        “They weren’t doing it right!”

  31. Stinky Wizzleteats

    -Companies like Nike and Anheuser-Busch use trans star Dylan Mulvaney to push products, increasing their ‘Corporate Equality Index’ scores with influential LGBTQ lobbying group
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11952127/Big-brands-use-trans-star-Dylan-Mulvaney-increase-Corporate-Equality-Index-scores.html

    It’s the Daily Fail but good article that fills in the blanks on why so many companies are betraying their customer base and why it’ll only get worse.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Is this really all it is?

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street have been using those metrics in determining who gets access to capital.

        After all, you’ve got those 401k funds which are supposed to be invested in ESG corporations.

        It’s retarded incentives from top to bottom and back.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Why only Dylan though?

      • Count Potato

        It’s not. It’s all kinds of BLM and rainbow shit everywhere.

      • Not Adahn

        You two need to decide on which one of you gets the top-hatted and mustachioed oblong thing avatar.

      • UnCivilServant

        All you tophats and monocles look alike.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        For individuals getting these sponsorships, it seems to be just Dylan. I agree in general it is beating us over the head everywhere.

  32. Gustave Lytton

    Percolator coffee is not good to the last drop.

    • rhywun

      Yeah, I bought one once and threw it away the next day.

      Maybe the worst coffee I ever tasted.

      • Not Adahn

        It is one of the most bizarre technologies out there.

  33. Rebel Scum

    Macron Says Europe Should Reduce Dependence on US Dollar After Meeting With China’s Xi

    Nothing to see here. Move along.

  34. Rebel Scum

    Report on Clarence Thomas’ travel habits is ‘politics plain and simple’

    Dems are still trying to lynch this man.

  35. Scruffyy Nerfherder

    The French continue to riot, but it appears that they know who their enemy is.

    https://twitter.com/peruvian_bull/status/1644862413559459840/photo/1

    Blackrock runs the French pension system. Blackrock is losing its ass on commercial real estate (a process that is about to accelerate). Blackrock is apparently moving those failing assets into French pensioner accounts. Macron is facilitating the process and raised the retirement age to help compensate in the near term.

    The French are pissed, and rightly so. The French government is allowing Blackrock to launder its losses onto the pension system.

    • kinnath

      They should keep their pensions in a lockbox. That way they’ll be safe.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Seems like the French heads of state would be especially cognizant of the consequences of not heeding public outcries.

      • PieInTheSky

        At some point you run out of money to heed public outcries.

    • PieInTheSky

      Seeing that a significan portion is pay as you go, i dont see how that is the case.

      Also the system was designed with 65 retirement age until it was lowered to 60 in the 80s to buy votes.

    • PieInTheSky

      France is already spending 15% of gdp or therabouts on pensions through current taxes – 16% of wage for current workers – i wonder why so many libertarians think that is sustainable.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        I don’t. The French system is destined for collapse. The question is whether or not they’re using that as an opportunity to socialize some corporate losses while they’re at it.

      • PieInTheSky

        If so that is a minor thing in the pile of crap that is french government finance

    • AlexinCT

      Her lurned from Faucci?

  36. The Late P Brooks

    In a whirlwind of hearings in March, Pentagon leaders revealed how much the Ukraine war has cut into American munitions stockpiles.

    Unexpectedly.

    • The Other Kevin

      Those were old munitions that were past their expiration date.

      • robodruid

        The DOD has labs that recertify these things.

      • UnCivilServant

        “Process to determine if ammunition is still good is to test fire 11 rounds of each 10 round set,”

      • robodruid

        Hey UCS:
        That’s not how it works. I did 4 years shelf life testing expired materials (not firearms) but there is a formal process

      • UnCivilServant

        Of course it’s not. I get that asking people to fire more shots than exist, or using up all the material to see if it’s still good isn’t outrageous with regards to how the DoD operates normally, but it was meant as snark.

  37. AlexinCT

    I say again that the claim “Most Americans no longer think that college is worth the cost” is absolutely misleading.

    The problem isn’t that college is not worth the cost, but that colleges criminally charge idiots top dollar to spend time there and leave with a degree that leaves you unprepared to do anything of value to an employer. Some degrees allow you to get a job that pays enough to make them worth the steep investment cost. But the majority of the “pursue your dreams” kids end up paying premium dollars to do “studies” studies.

    The solution is to either hold colleges that jib these kids into paying premium dollar for useless degrees financially liable. Or to force them to lower the costs of these dumb degrees since their value is but a small percentage of what they charge to give them.

    • UnCivilServant

      My preference is to make the college the lender. Take everyone else out of the transaction.

      • robc

        Or just get rid of the federal guarantee of loans and let a new equilibrium form.

        It may be colleges being the lender or it may go back to the old system where a parent has to co-sign the loan and guarantee it.

      • UnCivilServant

        Since the feds are the lender right now, dropping their guarantees were part of shifting it back where it belongs.

        Ideally we’d dissolve the universities in acid and let something else grow organically in their place, but the ideal never comes to pass.

      • creech

        While a bank won’t give you a $20,000 car loan for a 15 yr. old Chevy beater, that bank will give a kid with mediocre grades a student loan to pursue a liberal arts degree, major in art history, at the local university. But then again, banks aren’t really known for their “risk management” policies these days.

      • Bobarian LMD

        There is no risk to manage. What part of “Federally Guaranteed” don’t you understand.

      • creech

        Maybe no risk for depositors but plenty of bank officers and clerks lost their jobs. But, as I was told by a Chase employee, the c-level guys don’t want to hear some newly-minted MBA telling them the risk is climbing and time to rein in some profitable (at least on paper for now) lending, and watch what assets are being accumulated as reserves.

      • R.J.

        This is a good idea. Lack of accountability drives these useless studies programs.

    • kinnath

      Make college free, duh.

      Problem solved.

      • UnCivilServant

        By forbidding payments to professors and faculty, right?

      • Not Adahn

        Meh, faculty should get paid. If faculty needs administrators, they should pay for it themselves.

      • kinnath

        Colleges can pay the staff. It will be covered by advertising revenue.

        Free college will be like free TV.

      • UnCivilServant

        Does anyone watch Free TV anymore?

      • kinnath

        Via Roku. Sure, there is lots of advertising-supported content on streaming services that are “free” to the public.

        Gives you an idea of what colleges might devolve into.

      • Rat on a train

        Are we allowed? Attempts to carry/stream free TV for free have been blocked by broadcasters.

    • invisible finger

      High School guidance counselors push college for the same reason doctors push COVID jabs.

      • AlexinCT

        A good place to have kids get brainwashed into marxism…

    • EvilSheldon

      It’s worth noting that college has always been like this – a procurer of hobby degrees to rich kids, to kill some time and fill out their address book before they go into the family biz/marry a rich husband.

  38. Rebel Scum

    This is the most Finland thing ever.

    Finland crowned its reindeer racing king on Sunday when 14 reindeer and jockeys competed for the title in the season’s final match of the increasingly popular Arctic sport.

    Wearing skis, helmets and ski goggles and pulled by harnesses attached to the reindeer, Finland’s top 14 competitors raced one kilometre around an oval against the clock in the northern town of Inari.

    Reindeer Verneri and jockey Janne Alatalo came out on top in one minute and 35.26 seconds, in mild six-degree Celsius (43 Fahrenheit) weather that made for slushy snow conditions at times.

    Reindeer races have been organised in Finland since the 1950s, according to Seppo Koivisto, president of the country’s reindeer racers’ association Suomen Porokilpailijat, which organises competitions.

    “This is a hobby for those involved in reindeer herding. The animals are usually reindeer herders’ reindeer,” Koivisto said.

      • EvilSheldon

        Jinx! You can send the beer to my dead drop address.

    • PieInTheSky

      Given budweiser is like making love in a cannoe you probably cannot get the volume of liquid in to get alcohool poisoning

      • PieInTheSky

        Also European budweiser >>> US one

      • AlexinCT

        ^^^THIS^^^

        You are more likely to die from renal failure for drinking that piss anyway…

        Bourbon, whiskey, and gin, or bust!

  39. Rebel Scum

    That’s some mighty fine police work.

    Shortly before midnight Wednesday, police officers responded to the wrong house during an investigation of a reported domestic abuse. They were called to 5308 Valley View Ave., but ended up at 5305 Valley View Ave., where Dotson lived with his family.

    When Dotson answered the door with a firearm in hand, “officers fired at least one round from their duty weapon(s), striking Mr. Dotson,” according to a New Mexico State Police investigation. Dotson died at the scene.

    The Dotsons moved into their home at 5305 Valley View about five years ago and quickly became friends with everyone on the block, according to several neighbors.

    • Bob Boberson

      One wonders why we get so worked about 2A when “armed at home” is already subject to summary execution on the spot.

      • Sean

        I think, statistically, you’re more likely to be assaulted by non-uniformed goons.

      • Bob Boberson

        My point being that the cops can come kill you in your home and suffer zero consequences so functionally we aren’t operating on all that different a paradigm than if guns were banned.

    • EvilSheldon

      Don’t answer the door with a gun in your hand. Don’t answer the door at all, unless you know for certain who is on the other side of it.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Or…and it sounds weird…demand a countability from state actors who can roll up kill you and shrug saying “our bad” all because you are investigating who is creeping around your house at midnight.

      • EvilSheldon

        You can try that, for sure, but as my homie Tom Servo says, “Wish in one hand, shit in the other, and see which fills up first.”

        Cops exist. Act accordingly.

      • Bob Boberson

        They’ll kick it in for you.

    • Ownbestenemy

      So opposite sides of street and straight up execution. Pretty sure they will mark this up as a good shoot.

  40. Not Adahn

    Hmmmm.

    Two of my clubs are having their first matches of the season on the same day. Seeing who has registered for which one is… interesting.

  41. DEG

    The FBI list for terms associated with “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism” (RMVE) has a mix of extreme terms and innocuous ones.

    “Red Pill” also appears in this list, but with a different description: “In the context of RMVE ideology, taking the red pill or becoming ‘redpilled’ indicates the adoption of racist, anti-Semitic, or fascist beliefs.”

    The FBI is offended on behalf of Injuns, but only the non-white Injuns. Such based.

  42. Count Potato

    “An academic at the publicly-funded New College of Florida has announced his very public resignation and declared he would burn its buildings “to the ground” in response to conservative trustees appointing a new president.

    Aaron Hillegass, founder of the Big Nerd Ranch technology company, served as New College’s interim director of data science before taking to social media to tell over 350,000 people that he will not be renewing his contract when it expires in August. He claims conservative officials in Florida putting refusing to allow the college to teach far-left curriculum is “fascism”.

    “If I were more patriotic, I would burn the college’s buildings to the ground,” he threatened in a statement, adding that only the “soft spot in my heart for the students and faculty who remain prevents this.””

    https://thenationalpulse.com/2023/04/10/academic-declares-wish-burn-his-college-to-the-ground-conservatives-take-over/

  43. Rebel Scum

    Seems legit.

    President Biden’s not-yet-official bid for re-election will lean on hundreds of social media “influencers” who will tout Biden’s record — and soon may have their own briefing room at the White House, Axios has learned. …

    Biden’s digital strategy team will connect with influencers across the nation to target those who may not follow the White House or Democratic Party on social media — or who have tuned out mainstream media altogether.

    Four Biden digital staffers are focused on influencers and independent content creators. The staffers officially work for the White House, not Biden’s campaign — but reaching young and suburban voters is clearly a priority.

  44. PieInTheSky

    Freezing Cold Takes Retweeted
    Upton Bell
    @uptonbell
    Is there a weaker or less informed Owner in Boston than Charlie Jacobs? Is there a worst combination of President and GM than Cam Neely and Don Sweeney. Right now the Bruins have a bleak future

    https://mobile.twitter.com/uptonbell/status/1534526854249562116

  45. The Late P Brooks

    Cult of Trump

    Legally, the most important words former President Donald Trump said after he was charged with 34 felonies by the Manhattan District Attorney last week were “not guilty.” But, politically, the most significant may be “election interference.”

    Trump’s repetition of those words, which have been taken up by other top Republicans, show how he is trying to turn his historic position as the first former president charged with crimes to his advantage. It’s another example of what’s been a consistent refrain throughout his political career — claiming without evidence that an election is being rigged against him.

    After his initial court appearance in the New York case, the first of several in which he is in legal jeopardy, Trump ticked through the varied investigations he was facing and branded them as “massive” attempts to interfere with the 2024 election.

    “Our justice system has become lawless,” Trump said as he appeared before supporters at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. “They’re using it now, in addition to everything else, to win elections.”

    Where would we be without him?

  46. Count Potato

    “SHOCK: DOJ admits that of the 13 Proud Boys involved with J6, eight or more of them were paid by the FBI to provide the government information about the group. The FBI was the majority of Proud Boys – only 5 are being prosecuted.

    SHOCK: The DoJ now admits that another 40 undercover agents were with the Proud Boys on J6 – from HSI – Homeland Security Investigations. The vast majority of the group was paid by the government as either W2 employees or CHS.

    SHOCK: The Proud Boys were outnumbered 10-1 by undercover gov’t agents and informants at the Capitol. More than 50 gov’t assets goaded, cheered, and incited the five Proud Boys on trial. The gov’t wasn’t worried they would take over the Capitol.”

    https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1643909722792239104

    • Sean

      …and nothing else happened…

    • The Other Kevin

      If it turned out all the Proud Boys were undercover agents and they still put all the Proud Boys in jail I’d be ok with that.

    • Not Adahn

      What fraction of “Patriot Fron” are feds?

      • Count Potato

        100%?

    • kinnath

      She has a career waiting for her at Disney.

      • Fourscore

        Canning jars (Kerr largemouth) at Walmart were 14.95 plus MN tax on Sat. We’re good for the season.

      • kinnath

        Good news.

      • rhywun

        LOL knew it. Classic.

    • rhywun

      Newsflash: Those people you hate still exist, and still buy beer.

      What a maroon.

  47. PieInTheSky

    ASMR 💈 18 yrs old Lady Barber shows you the traditional Sicilian shave

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrvuBLigyVY

    i don’t think I’d want an 18 year old with a razor at my throat.

    • UnCivilServant

      I don’t want a Sicilian with a razor at my throat.

  48. Not Adahn

    Four victims were killed and eight others were injured following a mass shooting at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky

    “This is awful. I have a very close friend that didn’t make it today. And I have another close friend who didn’t, either, and one who is at the hospital that I hope is gonna make it through,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference.

    Exactly what kind of bank is this there the Gov is personal friends so many employees?

    The gunman opened fire in the Old National Bank’s first-floor conference room at about 8:30 a.m. local time, according to officials.

    Eyewitnesses said the shooter appeared to have been armed with a long gun.

    48 hour rule, but that seems…. insecure.

    • R.J.

      Yeah, unless this person just ran over there before anyone could say anything, long gun a’ flappin’. Maybe the conference room was right next to the front door?

      • UnCivilServant

        But the article says it was on the first floor

        /UK numbering.

      • Not Adahn

        Now I’m wondering how they deal with split-level buildings.

    • UnCivilServant

      Exactly what kind of bank is this there the Gov is personal friends so many employees?

      The Medici Bank?

    • DEG

      Bashear’s campaign office is in the same building. The building houses more than the bank.

    • Not Adahn

      ZOMG such antisemitism!

    • UnCivilServant

      Given the number of Ex-Employees who say that it is pretty much run from their chinese parent company, I’m going to doubt that it’s independant. We can argue potential disgruntlement versus Taylor’s own monetary interest in matter, but my biases say it’s an arm of the CCP.

    • Count Potato

      Taylor Lorenz lies.