344 Comments

  1. Common Tater

    Can I get three fitty?

    • SDF-7

      Only if the Loch Ness monster pays up.

    • Ted S.

      Same as downtown?

      Prices really have gone up.

  2. Yusef drives a Kia

    Hello out there!

    • SDF-7

      Morning, Yusef. Hope it is going well for you.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Other than my back pain, things couldn’t be better,

  3. PieInTheSky

    Auto union calls for 32-hour work week and double-digit raises – I would like this myself please

    • PieInTheSky

      “Record profits mean record contracts,”
      “”Significantly increasing” pay for retirees”

      – thing is that record profits can be very temporary these other things permanent

    • WTF

      They really are determined to kill off auto manufacturing in the US.

      • Sean

        They really are determined to kill off auto manufacturing in the US.

        Fucking commies.

      • Bobarian LMD

        When they bankrupt the Car Companies, the government will just step in to bail them out.

        When I say “them”, I mean the UAW.

  4. UnCivilServant

    Auto union calls for 32-hour work week and double-digit raises Increased unemployment and corporate bankruptsies

    • WTF

      They’ve learned nothing from the Yellow Corp. shutdown.

    • Shpip

      Indeed. What we’ll see is double-digit increase in the use of robots to assemble cars.

      This couldn’t come at a worse time for the “Big 3.” You have the unions screaming for raises to keep up with the inflation that their membership voted for, while at the same time you have government pressuring them to sink big bucks into electric cars that hardly anybody wants to buy.

      • Nephilium

        Living in an old car manufacturing town, most of the union rank and file were Trump supporters. There’s plenty of houses around that still have UAW signs/flags up next to Trump ones.

      • juris imprudent

        Labor isn’t the most significant cost of building a new car. Paying benefits to retired workers is number one.

      • Fatty Bolger

        I remember reading about a study showing that US manufacturers would actually be very competitive on both price and quality, if not for the pensions dragging them down.

      • Brawndo

        Too bad the only new car company that isn’t bogged down by decades of pension entitlements is Tesla who only wants to make luxury EV cars. We need an auto maker that makes quality cars without all the feature bloat that’s pricing people out of even the used car market.

      • juris imprudent

        Can you imagine the chaos if the car market refragmented to what it was like in the early days? It would probably only take a couple of new players – unburdened by their past. Naturally, federal regulation prevents this from ever happening.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Probably explains the hard push into EV’s by the traditional manufacturers, even though the cars aren’t selling. They don’t want to get crushed by upstarts without those burdens if a transition does happen.

      • The Last American Hero

        With the tax credit a model 3 is high 30’s out the door, not much more than a nicely equipped Mazda.

    • Rat on a train

      Taxpayers bailed them out before.

      • UnCivilServant

        Bad gamble, as they could very easily be politically unfavored or not of value .

      • DrOtto

        What’s funny is that the auto manufacturers used to fight the gov’t tooth and nail on mandates and always pushed for a “let the market decide” approach. Now they’ve all been co-opted by the gov’t and have decide “fuck the customer”.

  5. Common Tater

    “Under the initiative, most people will be able to submit everything but their tax returns digitally in 2024. And as the IRS pilots its new electronic free file tax return system starting in 2024, the agency will be able to process everything, including tax returns, digitally by 2025.”

    As long as it isn’t mandatory. How long before the whole thing gets hacked?

    • UnCivilServant

      It’s already been hacked.

      • Sean

        ^^ This

    • Not Adahn

      Honestly, universal free file is decades overdue.

      I should not have to pay in order to file my taxes. Fuck you NYS.

      • Nephilium

        Ohio does the same thing, with the added FU of no direct deposit unless you pay to e-file. So I dutifully print them out, and wait a bit to get my refund every year.

      • UnCivilServant

        In New York if you make enough to no longer qualify for free efiling, you can’t file by paper.

      • Brawndo

        One year my state refund was 72 cents. Of course I made them mail me the check.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      As long as it isn’t mandatory.

      What do you think they do with a paper filed return?

      • Sean

        Leak it to the press?

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Yes, but first someone with a high school education manually transcribes it into their system.

      • Common Tater

        Well, I’m not the one doing that.

  6. SDF-7

    Auto union calls for 32-hour work week and double-digit raises

    I thought the Southern states were right-to-work (if not all, for the most part). Don’t understand why the Big Three haven’t moved domestic production entirely there and told UAW to fuck off and die already. Of course with the Fed actually setting their production, there’s probably back stage coercion on that.

    And gee… more union contract money equals more dues… equals more PAC money from the unions… not like that’s a vicious cycle akin to public sector unions or anything. Thanks again, Obama era buyout of the auto companies and you current leftover Marxists running things for the PPP administration…

    Morning, Banjos — you should probably change your usual line to “get some coffee and scream your frustration to the heavens”… but I know you don’t like to feed the black pills. Bleah.

    Cute mouse (?) or whatever rodent that was on the front page, though.

    • rhywun

      there’s probably back stage coercion on that

      This. Nothing gets created when a Dem is in charge until a union flack gets his cut first.

    • Drake

      After the Obama bailout, I think the UAW has a major ownership stake and Board Membership in the domestic car manufacturers.

      • Bobarian LMD

        GM was snatched from the stock and bond holders and gifted to the UAW.

      • Drake

        Which makes the threat of a strike sound silly.

    • DrOtto

      The big 3 do move production south – all the way to Mexico. The remaining US production is just old contracts playing out till the union negotiatiates the plant closure at the next round of negotiations.

      • The Last American Hero

        Yep. None of the top 10 cars made in the us are from the big 3.

    • Animal

      Of course with the Fed actually setting their production…

      I seem to remember an economic system, one where the means of production was technically privately owned but all goals and outputs were dictated by government. I have a mental image of something like a bunch of sticks, all bound together… Anyone remember what that was called?

      • Common Tater

        “Faggot” A fasces has an axe in it.

      • Nephilium

        According to the socialists/communists: “Free Market Capitalism”.

  7. Common Tater

    “In April 2022, the New York Times delved into the priorities of Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Biden administration, the latter of which had been hoping Garland would be more aggressive and take more decisive action to target Trump for January 6. According to the Times’ report, Biden had “confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments.””

    So it could be made up bullshit.

    • SDF-7

      If there’s anything we learned from the Trump era it was that random unnamed sources “close to the White House” are always accurate and should be trusted.

      (sarcasm off)

      :eyeroll:

    • Not Adahn

      Meh. If the NYT says it, then it’s absolute fact as far as Wikipedia and the Congressional Record are concerned.

      Isn’t that right, Ghost of Murdered Hero Cop Brian Sicknick?

      I would giggle if congress sent the NYT a bill for Sicknick’s state funeral.

    • Ted S.

      U don’t think Dementia Joe is longing for*anything*.

      • Ted S.

        *I*.

        The Burmese have other things on their minds than Joe Biden.

      • Not Adahn

        Not even pudding cups?

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Young-girl smell?

      • R.J.

        One last erection?

        *That’s Chinese for ‘election.’

  8. SDF-7

    IRS Aims to Go Paperless by 2025

    If it only came with a massive pruning of the tax code (say a flat tax)…

    And if I were a member of Congress I’d look to troll them by passing a bill requiring an audit of their data security. After all, seems like they lose key email and documents off of hard drives a lot more than they should. Can’t go paperless until you prove you can archive and restore data properly, assholes.

    • UnCivilServant

      0% sounds like a good flat rate.

      • pistoffnick

        I like the way you think, UCS!

    • R.J.

      Those a-holes want to go paperless, but the feds insist that health insurance companies keep sending giant reams of paper every time you have a medical visit. The government can fuck right off.

  9. SDF-7

    Zillow quits home-flipping business, cites inability to forecast prices

    Well… that’s vintage news apparently…

    Real Estate
    Published November 2, 2021 11:05pm EDT

    • Banjos

      Oops

    • Nephilium

      We provide only the most curated, and carefully selected links for your perusal. If you find that one too mature for your liking, I’m sure we can exchange it for something fresher.

    • Brawndo

      Cosmically speaking, it was incredibly recent news.

  10. PieInTheSky

    So what is the Official Glibertarian position on El Salvador?

    On the one hand not much due process.. On the other the situation was drastic…

    • UnCivilServant

      what is the Official Glibertarian position on El Salvador?

      Most of us are North of it.

    • Not Adahn

      Official Glibertarian position on El Salvador?

      I think we have Christians, Jooz, and atheists here.

      • Nephilium

        Don’t forget the Buddhists and Agnostics!

        (And depending on the Christian, the Catholics and LDS).

    • R.J.

      Put three Glibs on a Zoom, get eight opinions on El Salvador. Assume the position!

    • juris imprudent

      Tell me how much rule of law has traditionally prevailed in ES?

      • PieInTheSky

        But you should get there the right way…

      • juris imprudent

        Unlike so many libertarians (and progressives), I don’t presume to know what is best for someone else.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      The worst people (the press) are against him, so naturally I support him.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Well them, but also HIM.

    • Ted S.

      Let’s ask Bro and Derp about that.

    • Nephilium

      I had a friend who was convinced that the hospital she worked for hacked her e-mails. The proof was an e-mail from HR letting her know that a job she had applied for with another company had a potential conflict of interest. The concept that the company she applied for saw the previous employers on the CV and reached out was not even considered.

      • UnCivilServant

        Did she communicate with the potential new job using her work email?

      • Nephilium

        Nope. Private e-mail on a work machine (web based client, so it’s possible it was recorded that way as well).

      • UnCivilServant

        on a work machine

        So, still subject to monitoring.

      • R C Dean

        It’s been years since I was allowed to access private email on a work computer. I could still use the Proton app on the work cellphone, but after a couple of pretty alarming security breaches from people getting phished on their private email, we blocked email. I’m surprised any security-conscious company allows it.

      • R.J.

        Even if a company allowed it, I wouldn’t do it. All your shit belongs to that company. You check your email on a company computer, some IT wonk can look at it. There is no expectation of privacy on a work device. I use personal PCs for personal, and work PCs for work only. In emergencies I can download company software and use my personal phone for work but I certainly don;t keep it on there all the time.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        Private e-mail on a work machine

        I’m not the most IT savvy, but I’m fairly certain there is no such thing.

      • UnCivilServant

        Private as in “Non-work” not as in secret from the machine owner.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        Right, I don’t see how that could be kept secret from the machine owner. Every time I log in, I have to click okay on an acknowledgement that anything I do may be monitored by my employer. And I’ve been on the other end of that where I’ve had IT monitor computer activity for a problem employee.

      • Nephilium

        SSD:

        Depends on the level of monitoring, as well as the company policies. Regardless, I stand behind my belief that a massive health care company would be very unlikely to “hack” an employees e-mail to tell them about a conflict of interest, when it’s much more likely that the company that she applied to reached out to confirm employment/check for conflicts themselves.

    • John Nerfherder

      Army Training and Doctrine Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Maria Gervais and Army Maj. Jessica Dawson — who is also an “information warfare research scientist” at the Army Cyber Institute — used their official authority and access to government resources to track down the whistleblower and get him identified publicly and punished by his chain of command.

      I’m certainly noticing something about these twats.

      Dawson’s bio – “My research interests focus on nationalism, white supremacy and extremism, religion and what binds people together, guns and the role of American civil religion as well as the digital disruption of technology on aspects of society.”

      That has fuck all to do with waging war, unless that war is going to be on American citizens.

      • WTF

        unless that war is going to be on American citizens

        There’s the reason right there for the restructuring of the upper level command.

      • rhywun

        It is kind of terrifying that the military is employing obvious haters of their country such as the woman attached to that bio.

      • John Nerfherder

        Yes

        One might begin to think that the real intent is to tear the country apart and that woman is a useful idiot.

      • juris imprudent

        The general officers mentioned proved exactly how rotten the officer development regime has become. But this has been going on a long time.

        It is interesting to read exactly how social media effects military discipline – seems to ruin it. Just not sure if it is top-down or across the board.

      • R C Dean

        I see no reason not to believe she is a troo bleever in tearing the country apart.

      • Pine_Tree

        There’s no “unless” about it.

        This. Is. The. War. That. They. Are. Fighting.

        Actively, and aggressively, the kulturkrieg is 100% of the DOD’s goal now.

      • Ownbestenemy

        “American civil religion” WTFIT? The Bald Eagle?

      • Night Watchman

        “American civil religion” WTFIT? The Bald Eagle?

        That, and the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem, the reverence for the flag, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and probably more.

    • blighted_non_millenial

      The henchwoman’s biography is about what one would expect.

    • SDF-7

      That should most certainly trigger a court martial and a big chicken dinner for all involved. Whistleblower laws and all. And if it doesn’t, Congress should step in.

      • juris imprudent

        There is a bigger picture than the specifics of this incident, and that is what is more worrisome.

      • R C Dean

        “Congress should step in”

        What, and hold hearings on UFOs hacking whistleblower emails?

    • Sensei

      The whole thing is amazing. Like Mr. Brooks had no fucking clue about any of this until just this second…

      https://archive.fo/a6qc2

      Like all elites, we use language and mores as tools to recognize one another and exclude others. Using words like problematic, cisgender, Latinx and intersectional is a sure sign that you’ve got cultural capital coming out of your ears. Meanwhile, members of the less-educated classes have to walk on eggshells, because they never know when we’ve changed the usage rules, so that something that was sayable five years ago now gets you fired.

      It’s easy to understand why people in less-educated classes would conclude that they are under economic, political, cultural and moral assault — and why they’ve rallied around Trump as their best warrior against the educated class. Trump understood that it’s not the entrepreneurs who seem most threatening to workers; it’s the professional class. Trump understood that there was great demand for a leader who would stick his thumb in our eyes on a daily basis and reject the whole epistemic regime that we rode in on.

      Those poor rubes just don’t understand. We will just keep telling them shut up, obey and trust us and it will all work out.

      • Brawndo

        This was obvious to anyone with a brain by the time Trump clenched the R nomination in 2016

      • juris imprudent

        Brooks sailed right up to the edge and decided to tack to safer waters.

        Does this mean that I think the people in my class are vicious and evil? No, most of us are earnest, kind and public spirited.

        As Warby puts it, the capacity for self-deception in humans operates until some reality-test gets in the way (and imposes a serious cost for being wrong).

      • John Nerfherder

        Thank you for reading that tripe and reporting back on the one sentence that negates the whole thesis. I wasn’t going to bother, but I knew it was there.

      • Rebel Scum

        people in my class are vicious and evil

        You are evil even if it is out of sheer ignorance.

      • Rebel Scum

        people in less-educated classes

        Education =/= intelligence.

        would conclude that they are under economic, political, cultural and moral assault

        They are.

    • PieInTheSky

      only works if you are a virgin

      • R.J.

        Paging Sugar Free to the reddish-brown courtesy phone…

      • WTF

        Of course you would know.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Don’t believe him. He read that in some rag somewhere. He has no idea if it is true.

      • PieInTheSky

        oh boooo

      • Seguin

        Girl like that would be pretty hy mentenance.

    • Not Adahn

      ISTR that you can get harvestable stem cells from period blood.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        We don’t have to sacrifice babies anymore?

      • DrOtto

        Just because we don’t have to, doesn’t mean we can’t!

    • Brawndo

      Are they low on foreskin supplies?

    • kinnath

      Sign him up!

    • Tundra

      Excellent!

      Thanks, Jimbo!

    • slumbrew

      Adorbs.

    • R C Dean

      She was squawking about it, but maybe that’s just her cover?

    • WTF

      While the BLM and Antifa rioters were quickly cut loose without charges.

      • Drake

        By the fat fink Trump picked.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    At the end of Fain’s presentation, a virtual audience member appears to query about a mandatory maximum work week of 40 hours. Fain responded by saying he thinks it should go “a step further. I think we should push a 32-hour work week.”

    “There are other countries in this world that work 30-hour work weeks,” Fain continued. “So I have no issue at all that we’re proposing a shorter work week… These are quality of life issues.”

    Calls for fewer work hours are nothing new. In fact, Congressman Mark Takano (D-Ca) reintroduced his 2021 “Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act” this past March, a bill that would reduce “the standard workweek under federal law from 40 hours to 32 hours over a three-year phase in period.”

    Why should they have to show up at all?

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Great, 20% less pay.

      • R.J.

        Exactly.

    • PieInTheSky

      I don’t know, when it comes to Italian beauty pageants, my contribution was linking at least 50 youtubz over the last year or so

    • Banjos

      Easier for them to pull it off with the facial hair.

    • R C Dean

      Well, which is it? Have they entered the pageant, or are they banned from entering the pageant? Can’t be both, you know.

      • UnCivilServant

        They banned men pretending to be women, so women pretending to be men signed up.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Are the trans-men making the own that they think they are?

      • UnCivilServant

        Women signing up for a women’s beauty contest?

        *shrug*

    • rhywun

      The left hates beauty, exhibit 74.

    • Not Adahn

      Grazi for the entrance fees! We’ll let you know if you advance to the next round.

  12. Pope Jimbo

    Why does the Coast Guard need ice breakers? Have they not heard of Climate Change?

    • PieInTheSky

      They go to a lot of parties?

  13. juris imprudent

    We must defend every last inch of our great empire.

    Known as “Nigerien Air Base 201,” the installation cost $110 million to build and it features a 6,200-foot runway for MQ-9 Reapers as well as manned aircraft. The U.S. military began conducting drone flights from the base in November 2019.

    About 1,100 U.S. troops are currently deployed to Niger, according to the Defense Department. The country is an important partner in the U.S. military’s efforts to counter the Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations in Africa.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      The country is an important partner in the U.S. military’s efforts to counter the Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations in Africa.

      I’m sure the DOD is perplexed why these stupid 3rd world nations can’t understand that America occupied them for their own good. Much better than some icky native warlord ruling.

    • Trigger Hippie

      ‘The country is an important partner in the U.S. military’s efforts to counter the Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations in Africa.’

      Yes, that’s why we’re so concerned about what’s happening there. Nothing to do with maintaining access to their uranium mines, I’m sure.

      • DrOtto

        Since we sold ours to Russia, seems prudent to have a back up.

    • John Nerfherder

      Something tells me that the new operators of Niger will handle the Islamic State just fine.

      If you buy the bullshit that the Islamic State is why we’re actually there.

  14. Pope Jimbo

    I’m not going to sugar coat this, but it doesn’t look good for riders on Minnesoda’s public transportation.

    As more passengers return to public transportation, Metro Transit said Wednesday that crime aboard its trains and buses increased 21% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. But, they insist, that’s not necessarily bad news.

    Despite the increase, Metro Transit officials say they’re making progress combating crime because more officers are actually riding on the system and documenting incidents.

    “We are getting police out of their cars and onto the system,” said Chief Ernest Morales III, a veteran of the New York City Police Department who assumed the Metro Transit Police Department’s top position in March.

    The ongoing push to improve safety aboard Metro Transit’s vast bus and light-rail system comes as ridership steadily climbs. Through April, ridership surged by nearly 20%, although the numbers aren’t close to pre-pandemic levels.

    Sounds like the ridership surge was driven mostly by criminals.

    • PieInTheSky

      Fun fact: After Romania entered the EU the crime on public transport dropped by a lot, all the pickpockets went to western countries cause that where the money was

    • UnCivilServant

      How many of those were low-level crimes like turnstyle jumping or public drunkenness versus death-penalty offences like pickpocketing or murder?

      • Pope Jimbo

        Our light rail has no turnstiles. It is on the honor system.

        There is a very small chance some transit cop will ask to see your ticket on the light rail. But even if you didn’t pay, you get like 3 chances before there is a fine.

    • John Nerfherder

      Not clicking

      • SDF-7

        Sometimes I really wonder why living through this crap is our Lot.

      • The Other Kevin

        We must have been real assholes in one of our past lives.

    • R.J.

      Staaaaaaahp…

    • Sean

      Yeah, imma pass on that one.

      • rhywun

        Have no fear, the goods are pixellated.

      • SDF-7

        Knew it before I clicked it. Even Bela wouldn’t want to pull that one, though.

  15. Rebel Scum

    Fitch Downgrades US Credit Rating, Citing Erosion of Confidence in Fiscal Management

    It only took us getting to 120% debt to gdp.

    • Homple

      A growing and incurable annual deficit didn’t help the credit rating either.

    • Rat on a train

      If you even think of limiting debt we will downgrade you again.

  16. db

    Fitch Downgrades US Credit Rating, Citing Erosion of Confidence in Fiscal Management

    It’s the Trump Downgrade now, didn’t you get the message?

  17. Fatty Bolger

    Trump Indictments Conveniently Follow Bad News Days for Joe Biden

    Could be a coincidence, seeing how there are so many bad news days for Joe.

  18. Rebel Scum

    Trump Lawyer: 3rd Indictment ‘Opens Door’ to More Scrutiny of 2020 Election

    As if they will allow anything close to a fair trial. I expect the full Alex Jones treatment. IOW he will not be allowed to defend himself.

    • juris imprudent

      Each additional lawyer defending him added as a co-conspirator?

      • Rebel Scum

        Conspiracy inception.

    • The Other Kevin

      We can’t reveal any evidence because of national security concerns. But trust us, we have plenty of evidence.

  19. John Nerfherder

    Your reminder that Marianne Williamson is an idiot.

    https://twitter.com/marwilliamson/status/1686541296544972800

    Covid is still a threat, and there are many long covid sufferers. We should reinstate mask mandates in healthcare settings; ensure free high quality masks and PCR tests; and mandate effective air filtration for all public transportation, buildings, and businesses.

  20. Rebel Scum

    In 2022, the New York Times reported Biden was frustrated his AG Merrick Garland hadn’t prosecuted his chief political rival Donald Trump yet for J6 and believed it had to happen. Today, he got what he asked his DOJ for via the New York Times.

    He is the (alleged) president. He can direct the justice department to do whatever he wants. I suspect he did, or didn’t have to because of what a corrupt cunte Garland is.

    • The Other Kevin

      We read recently that behind closed doors Biden is a mean POS, so this is not surprising.

  21. John Nerfherder

    The NYT has officially crossed back into Walter Duranty territory.

    Right-wing commenters claim that an old anti-apartheid chant is a call to anti-white violence, but historians and the left-wing politician who embraces it say it should not be taken literally.

    Bongani Ngqulunga, who teaches politics at the University of Johannesburg, recalled struggle songs from the apartheid days in which people proclaimed they were going to march to Pretoria, the capital city, or that Nelson Mandela would be released from prison the next morning. The people singing those songs were not actually planning to march to Pretoria, nor did they really think that Mr. Mandela was about to be released, he said.

    Similarly, he said, the phrase “kill the Boer” — the word means farmer in Dutch and Afrikaans — is not meant to promote violence against individual farmers. “It was a call to mobilize against an oppressive system,” Mr. Ngqulunga said.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/world/africa/south-africa-kill-boer-song.html

    • SDF-7

      “Sure we’re singing ‘Kill the Boer’.. and sure, several white farmers have been beaten to death and we’re taking their land and treating them as second class citizens and all….

      But let’s not quibble about who killed who….”

      • SDF-7

        Yeah, I knew about the Stalin fellatio back in the day. They’ve never deserved their supposed “paper of record” status… of course, may just be the tallest midget and all. (Back, Dinklage! Back!)

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      From the same people who believe that an OK hand signal is white supremacy.

  22. The Late P Brooks

    America

    For all the noise that is swirling now and will, in all likelihood, continue throughout the course of this case, Smith has presented a powerful case, fulfilling his obligation to enforce the law without fear or favor. Trump, like every other citizen, will have a chance to establish his innocence in the court of law. That should happen as soon as possible for the sake of our democracy.

    PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE.

    • Rebel Scum

      How soviet.

    • SDF-7

      I find myself in agreement with this. Get on with it already or step aside — stop playing their game.

    • Trigger Hippie

      ‘Trump, like every other citizen, will have a chance to establish his innocence in the court of law.’

      A defendant needing to establish their innocence in a criminal case is third world, tin-pot dictator bullshit. Either the MSNBC writer is woefully ignorant of how our justice system works (in theory) or is revealing their preferred preferences.

      • Sean

        They’re trying to establish this as the norm. Be very worried.

      • juris imprudent

        Ack-shu-ally, proving innocence goes with the Napoleonic code, and all of the countries that derive from it. The Anglo (to a lesser extent) and American concept of innocent until proven guilty is the exception. An exception I fully support mind you, but it sure ain’t the worldwide standard.

      • Trigger Hippie

        ‘…it sure ain’t the worldwide standard.’

        I did say third world, tin-pot dictator bullshit, didn’t I? 😉

      • juris imprudent

        France is a tin-pot 3rd world country? Macron can only wish he was a dictator.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Everything outside of the United States is the third world.

        /Arrogant, delusional American

      • rhywun

        Even the writers of Star Trek went out of their way to point out that totalitarian Kardassia was “guilty until proven innocent”.

        Of course it was a simpler age when that was understood to be a bad thing.

      • R C Dean

        You have to make a pretty convincing showing of how stupid you are these days, if you want to convince me you’re not evil. As impressively ignorant as that statement is, I’m not convinced it’s due to stupidity. Not even close.

    • Ownbestenemy

      If they had a way, they’d just jail first and worry about the conviction later. There is always Guantanamo Bay….

  23. Rebel Scum

    Tucker Carlson Interview Reveals Joe Biden Was Part of Devon Archer and Hunter Biden’s Business Partnership

    What difference, at this point, does it make? Trump is the real villain.

  24. SDF-7

    I know Joe could be flippin’ stupid (even before the apparent decline)… but does anyone else find themselves wondering if Beau was supposed to be his successor in the family until his early death? Hunter seems like such a colossal screw up it is hard to imagine Joe letting him set this crap up. Basically — we had Sonny die and only Fredo left… there’s no Michael in the family (and Vito is a bit of an idiot to begin with). Just can’t help but wonder.

    • R.J.

      I agree with this take.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      He’s no JFK or RFK, or even Teddy.

    • Sensei

      That was exactly the plan. Beau was supposed to take his senate seat. It was well known.

  25. juris imprudent

    This tends to affirm the Zeihan perspective on China. Aside from the demographics, when Xi inevitably croaks, the power struggle is going to rip the country apart.

    • John Nerfherder

      The problem with Zeihan isn’t necessarily his predictions, it’s his prescriptions. He tells the MIC and the US globalists what they want to hear, “the world needs The Global Cop.”

      • juris imprudent

        Weird, I recall him saying we Americans, the people that pay for that, are fed up with it and that’s part of why Trump won in ’16. Also, even though we underpin that system, we don’t rely on it.

      • John Nerfherder

        He was correct on that observation.

        It’s his predictions that the world will devolve into chaos unless we “secure trade routes” and other global cop bs that serve to justify DC’s wants and desires.

      • juris imprudent

        Again, we don’t rely on the trade routes being secured – lots of other countries do. I tend to believe we could do that, with the Navy, without all of the other bullshit military presence around the globe; so we could do it, cheaper, if we were smart about it. Dump NATO and every dollar we put in there as a start.

      • blighted_non_millenial

        He kind of says both things. He sure as hell is all in on Ukraine.

      • juris imprudent

        I gave up getting anything honest on Ukraine almost from the start. He must have “evolved” on that, because originally he presented a fair case for why Russia had semi-legit reasons based on history.

    • R C Dean

      They make the obvious error of taking Communist Party economic statistics at face value, too.

  26. Rebel Scum

    Auto union calls for 32-hour work week and double-digit raises

    Sounds like a non-starter, but it is stupid enough to gain traction.

    • Nephilium

      I’ve been hearing about the four day work week for 10-15 years now. Usually it was in the context of four 10-hour shifts.

      • R.J.

        I do 5 ten hour shifts now. Easy. Maybe more. Please do reduce it to 40 hours a week.

    • SDF-7

      Swiss is going to wonder if we will ever tire of these pun threads. Little does he know that his gazes fuel us — the spark of joy as he attempts to plug our ebullience outweighs any dampening of our spirits.

      • Rebel Scum

        I’m sure we really grind his gears.

  27. Certified Public Asshat

    Neil deGrasse Tyson under fire after declaring gender is a spectrum

    “Apparently, the XX/XY chromosomes are insufficient because when we wake up in the morning, we exaggerate whatever feature we want to portray the gender of our choice, either the one you’re assigned, the one you choose to be, whatever it is,” Tyson told sports television personality Stephen A. Smith in a May interview.

    Now that’s science.

    • Rebel Scum

      we exaggerate whatever feature we want

      You can put lipstick on a pig…

    • Certified Public Asshat

      “Why do you care?” he added.

      I’m a scientist after all.

    • R C Dean

      “when we wake up in the morning, we exaggerate whatever feature we want to portray the gender of our choice”

      I certainly don’t. I don’t think most men do. Women’s dress and presentation seems to emphasize their secondary sexual characteristics, but I don’t think ordinary men’s clothing does. “Exaggerate” is also an unfortunate choice of words for most normies, as well. That’s more a female impersonator/MTF thing.

      And no, my “gender” isn’t a “choice” that I make when I wake up in the morning, or at any time.

      • Nephilium

        T-shirts and sweatshorts exaggerate my masculinity? I mean, I suppose I could shave off my beard, but that’s not a day-to-day decision.

      • juris imprudent

        If it wasn’t for his hoodie, Fetterlump would be mistaken for a woman very easily.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Jackets with padded shoulders do.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        I have a beard because I don’t want to shave every day…or every week for that matter.

        *also because I am a manly man

    • juris imprudent

      either the one you’re assigned

      OK Tyson – who does that assigning?

    • Pope Jimbo

      Like I said earlier, I think this proves the opposite of what the trans movement is preaching.

      He’s admitting that your feelings can change over time. The trans zealots are telling everyone that these feelings are immutable and will never change. That is why it is so important to start hormones and surgery so early.

      Tyson’s ideas would suggest that lopping your breasts off on Tuesday because you feel extra butch might be a bad idea because you might be feeling extra femme on Thursday.

    • PieInTheSky

      the fun part is that clothes /makeup are cultural, so socially constructed… But those do not change the inherent biology. Because a man in Ethiopia dresses differently than one in Sweden does not make him a different sex.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Gender is a spectrum. Sex isn’t.

        No.

        I don’t see where he said that.

        The first thing he said “Apparently, the XX/XY chromosomes are insufficient”

      • Common Tater

        So which obviously stupid argument are you making? Gender isn’t a spectrum, or sex is a spectrum?

        “The first thing he said “Apparently, the XX/XY chromosomes are insufficient””

        Which is not saying each person’s male or female biology is subordinate to the gender they display.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Neil deGrasse Tyson, the science-splainer, is the one conflating sex and gender in his argument. Chromosomes are insufficient, also “Suppose no matter my chromosomes, today I feel 80 percent female, 20 male. I’m going to put on makeup. Tomorrow I might feel 80 percent male. I’ll remove the makeup and I’ll wear a muscle shirt. ” What is a male, what is a female, on what scientific basis can one be 80% female?

        I know you love making the distinction between sex and gender. If we are discussing science and physical realities, how is the idea that gender is a spectrum supported by science?

      • Common Tater

        He’s saying “feel 80 percent male”. Admittedly, it’s poor language, but he’s not saying someone can be 80% male.

        “If we are discussing science and physical realities, how is the idea that gender is a spectrum supported by science?”

        Why does it need to be? I would think it’s obvious to most people that Marilyn Monroe was more feminine than Janet Reno. No science needed. A person can be more feminine or less feminine, but a person can’t be more female or less female. Either they both produced large gametes, or they didn’t.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Didn’t Shakespeare settle this already?

  28. Rebel Scum

    CVS to lay off 5,000 employees as it seeks to cut costs

    Don’t do business in cities, especially in CA.

    • Drake

      In my last job search I saw numerous management jobs there that I would have been a fit . But, the were requiring everyone get the vax.

  29. Social Justice is Neither

    I’ve got two digits to raise for the auto union, is that good enough?

    • Pope Jimbo

      Why not? It didn’t even draw blood so I think claiming it almost swallowed her arm is a bit of exaggeration.

      • Tundra

        A boy would have landed it. Just sayin’

  30. Rebel Scum

    The Coast Guard continues to build new ships well before it has nailed down the required technology and design parameters, leading to a costly delay in construction for reworking the vessels, a watchdog warned in recent reports.

    There is nothing like sunk costs to make a program keel over.

  31. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of the UAW- I wonder if anybody has told them about our glorious electrified future, in which cars will be greatly simplified and require much less human labor to produce.

    • Nephilium

      Some of them have already learned.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    The Coast Guard continues to build new ships well before it has nailed down the required technology and design parameters, leading to a costly delay in construction for reworking the vessels, a watchdog warned in recent reports.

    We have to build it, to see if it will float.

  33. Rebel Scum

    That’s not why.

    Trump was just indicted by federal prosecutors for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

    We’re coming toward an inflection point— and a fraught moment in the history of our democracy.

    But frankly, considering the interests of justice and the rule of law, it’s about damn time.

    You need to take a long walk off a short pier, you perpetually and irredeemably dishonest cunte.

  34. Rebel Scum

    Speaking of turncoats…

    Donald Trump is an actual traitor. A Benedict Arnold. Stain on history.

    Look in the mirror, you lying cunte.

    • R.J.

      How is this coming up again when it was already fully explored? He did none of those things. He did not cling to power, he did not incite that riot.

      • juris imprudent

        You doubt the power of The Narrative?

  35. Rebel Scum

    There is a simple solution to this.

    The Roosevelt Hotel NYC
    100s of migrants are sleeping outside of the hotel due to no more rooms at the hotel. Some have been out here since 10 am . This is extremely dangerous, and NYC can’t handle this migrant crisis.

    • R.J.

      Boo hoo. Come to San Antonio.

    • PieInTheSky

      There is a simple solution – that sounds like what the Nazis said

    • R C Dean

      NYC’s proportional share of the illegals that have come to this country over the last few years is around 130,000. They have been bitching and crying about 90,000 actually showing up there (which number I am not inclined to take at face value – I bet it’s lower). They aren’t even a sanctuary city, since they are now actively discouraging illegals, and they haven’t even taken their “fair share”.

      Keep the busses coming, I say.

      • Sensei

        Hey now…

  36. John Nerfherder

    This guy summarizes my thoughts quite well.

    https://qpol.substack.com/p/this-time-is-different-qpol-issue

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Continues to make the rounds and has quickly become the punching bag of the deep state via libel and slander campaigns. Although criticisms of vaccine kookery, antisemitism, and his excellent take on the war in Ukraine are in fact NOT the main reasons why he’s hated. The Deep State hates RFK Jr. for the same reason they hate Trump. They’re both insurgency candidates whose policy aims to fix the Fed balance sheet and the US economy. The Davos trolls and traitors to America in Washington and abroad want the opposite.

    As I’ve said multiple times, they want to deficit spend the country into oblivion and force America to default, cause Capital to flee the US and into Europe (bailing out the ECB), and eventually manifest the WEF’s technological dystopia. RFK’s plan would do the exact opposite.

    If you back treasuries with sound money like RFK wants to do (and what Trump wanted to do if he succeeded in getting Judy Shelton in the Fed Board of Governors) would greatly increase the demand and value of US debt/treasuries. A percentage of the coupon of the treasuries would be paid out in gold bullion, Bitcoin, or whatever they come up with. This is how the Fed raises money and becomes profitable AND pays for all the unfunded liabilities for boomers etc.

    This move single handedly makes the US THE MOST desired place to park Capital because it shows they are actively working to get their fiscal ducks in a row and their economy fixed. This would drive MASSIVE foreign capital investment to the US. Talk about number go up…

    You don’t need to be the only country debt-free I’m the world, you just have to be slightly* better than everyone else… that is what this policy would do and then some. This is the opposite of what the globalist commies want. They wanna bankrupt the US and make them default so they can do the Great Reset. They’re traitors and their interests do not lie I. The health of the country. Powell’s monetary policy does the opposite and is in line with this RFK/Trump plan.

    • PieInTheSky

      debt will set you free. And allow graft / vote buying. It will be someone else’s problem in the future. I don;t think many politicos think beyond that

      • John Nerfherder

        Politicians are just actors, kayfabe for the masses.

        There’s always somebody else pulling their strings. If an American politician tries to buck that system, you see what happens.

      • juris imprudent

        Ah the unseen puppet masters. There must be SOMEONE there in charge – this shit just can’t happen by chance. What kind of world would that be?

      • John Nerfherder

        There’s multiple factions behind the scenes; whether it’s the agencies, the banks, the MIC, pharma, whomever. They’re not necessarily coordinated nor do they all get along.

        Hell, Biden is so beholden to so many people at this point he doesn’t know who owns him.

        And how many federal politicians stick their neck out without firm backing from someone else? Sure, the politicians have their own power, but it’s limited in scope. Trump found that out the hard way.

        I’d say Obama was just about the perfect frontman for the DC nomenklatura.

      • juris imprudent

        The masses demand to be led, by one means or another.

      • Nephilium

        I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be much worse if life *were* fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?’ So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.

        -Marcus Cole, B5

    • Tundra

      Very interesting. Thanks for the link!

    • Drake

      antisemitism?

      Are they just throwing all their usual slurs at him?

  37. Tundra

    Good morning, Banjos!

    So, I guess we won’t be making cars here, anymore. Watch, the next thing will be high tariffs on imports. They’ll get us riding cattle cars whatever it takes!

  38. The Late P Brooks

    Mano a mano

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday that he would be willing to debate Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom live on air.

    “Absolutely. I’m game. Let’s get it done. Just tell me when and where. We’ll do it,” DeSantis told Hannity.

    The idea came about in June, when Hannity interviewed Newsom and asked if he would be willing to debate DeSantis.

    “I’m all in. Count on it,” Newsom said at the time.

    “You would do a two-hour debate with Ron DeSantis?” Hannity asked.

    “Make it three,” Newsom said.

    On Wednesday, Hannity framed it as a “policy-based debate” between the leader of a red state and the leader of a blue state.

    “I floated the idea of a policy-based debate, you know, red vs. blue, red state vs. blue state, between Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,” he said, moments before DeSantis joined.

    No date has yet been set for the debate, but a spokesman for Newsom said he’s proposed Nov. 8 or Nov. 10 for the event.

    I hope the roof caves in and kills everyone.

    • creech

      Could set up a precedent – I’d watch: Sen. Fetterman vs. Sen. McConnell. AOC vs. Boebert. Palin vs. Harris.

  39. Rebel Scum

    May we rid ourselves of this warmongering twink from SC?

    Graham delivered his warning after former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would “have to” use nuclear weapons if Ukrainian forces threaten Russian territory.

    “To my Russian friends who talk about using nuclear weapons in Ukraine: You need to understand that would be an attack on NATO itself, given Ukraine’s proximity to NATO territory,” Graham tweeted.

    “Time to sober up, realize that your barbaric invasion of Ukraine is not working, withdraw and save many young Russians from pointless death,” Graham said.

    Unless I am mistaken, Ukraine is not a NATO country and nuclear fallout is to the northeast. So shut up, you lying cunte.

  40. PieInTheSky

    Francesca Gino has filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Harvard University and the Data Colada bloggers (@uri_sohn , Leif Nelson, @jpsimmon).

    We’ve updated our story on her 2012 paper from this morning:

    Small revelation: Harvard Business School had no policy to respond to allegations of research fraud before Gino

    https://twitter.com/ianhussey/status/1686983003719843840

    • PieInTheSky

      An Unsettling Hint at How Much Fraud Could Exist in Science

      Two experts on dishonesty are separately accused of tampering with data for the same research paper. Has this ever happened before?

      Two years ago, an influential 2012 study of dishonesty co-authored by the social psychologist and best-selling author Dan Ariely came under scrutiny. A group of scientists argued on their blog that some of the underlying data—describing the numbers of miles that a car-insurance company’s customers reported having driven—had been faked, “beyond any shadow of a doubt.”

      https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/08/gino-ariely-data-fraud-allegations/674891/

      right. “Science”

      • juris imprudent

        social psychologist

        So, it wasn’t science to begin with.

    • PieInTheSky

      Off course there was misogyny only questioned the numbers because she was a woman.

    • Drake

      👏

    • rhywun

      This is the good kind of bullying.

  41. The Late P Brooks

    Odd. The headlines seem to have a noticeable emphasis on the “randomly assigned” aspect of the judge in Trump’s J6 case. The DoJ would never have gone out of their way to find somebody with a well established “hangin’ judge” track record for a high profile show trial. It was just good old fashioned dumb luck.

    • cyto

      Funny… I noted that they emphasized the judge in the NBC today story about the indictment – gleefully noting the reputation for convicting Jan 6 defendants and handing down extra-long sentences.

      I don’t think I have noticed that sort of coverage before.

  42. KK, Non-Man

    Dr. Leo Spaceman (my Starlink) is performing well in the constant pouring rain. 👍

  43. PieInTheSky

    Britain’s frontier people
    The enduring legacy of the Border Reivers

    https://www.edwest.co.uk/p/britains-frontier-people

    “The border people are a unique subset of the English nation, being the last to undergo the pacification of government. Until the Union of Crowns in 1603, the region’s unusual position outside the orbit of either London and Edinburgh helped create a culture that was clannish and marked by violent feuds and cattle rustling.

    Among the notorious Borderer clans were the Scotts, Burns and Irvines north of the border, and Fenwicks, Millburns, Charltons and Musgraves on the English side, while some could be found on both, among them the Halls, Nixons and Grahams. Many of these clans were outlaws and some were lawmen; others were both or either, depending on circumstances.

    This proto-Wild West produced many characters, and among the famous border reivers of legend were men such as Archie Fire-the-Braes, Buggerback, Davy the Lady, Jok Pott the Bastard, Wynkyng Will, Nebless [noseless] Clem, Fingerless Well and Dog Dyntle [penis] Elliot.

    ‘Debatable Land’ most likely comes from batten, common land where livestock could be pastured, and it was this pastoral economy which shaped their psychology: the importance of honour, and a reputation for violence and revenge, as a deterrent against predators.

    Violence was so common on the border that there sprung a tradition whereby truces were arranged in return for ‘blackmail’, a tribute to border chiefs, from the Middle English male, tribute; only in the nineteenth century did this come to mean any sort of extortion.”

    I think Thomas Sowell had some things to say about these fellas

    • Not Adahn

      So did the US founding fathers, to wit: “the scum of two nations.”

  44. Derpetologist

    My book is up to 21,000 words. My new plan is to write 3,000 words a day or so for the next 20 days so I can finish it. Part of the reason I’m writing it is to prove to myself I can write a book with 80,000 words.

    • PieInTheSky

      I don’t wanna be a dick or nothing, but is the purpose to write a book with 80,000 words, or write a good book with 80,000 words.

      • Fatty Bolger

        For that you need to write 100K words, then cut it back to 80K.

      • Mojeaux

        Try double that.

        My snippets file is almost always 3/4 of the size of the finished book.

      • UnCivilServant

        I trim shockingly little. In fact, I more often have to add words to clarify scenes or better set up plot points.

        It depends on the author and the output from the drafting process.

      • UnCivilServant

        Not necessarily.

        It depends on a lot of factors. But do find an honest editor willing to apply the red pen.

      • Derpetologist

        The latter would be better, but even writing a bad book that’s 80,000 words long is still an accomplishment. For me at least.

        When it’s done, I’ll email it to anyone here who asks for it.

  45. The Late P Brooks

    Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?

    Whether or not former President Donald Trump is convicted for the recent charges of conspiracy and obstruction filed in Washington, DC, there will be Americans who condemn the verdict. That is not unprecedented or unexpected. Trump has rejected the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith as politically motivated and has been summoned to appear for a hearing on Thursday.

    What will matter most, going forward, is whether the American people see the trial as fair; as such, public perceptions of the judge will be enormously important. Fortunately, the judge assigned to the case, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, has the necessary experience and background to oversee a public trial that is fair and respectful, especially for this defendant.

    Given Trump’s past statements about judges overseeing cases in which he is involved, he will probably claim that Chutkan is biased against him because former President Barack Obama nominated her for the bench (even though she received a 95-0 confirmation in a divided Senate). She is, in fact, a judge with an ingrained commitment to defendants’ rights and one who recognizes the danger of overly aggressive prosecutors.

    Chutkan’s sentences for January 6 defendants have shown that she takes seriously what she’s described from the bench as the “violent occupation of the US Capitol” and “an assault on the American people.” She has given heavy sentences for those convicted of attacking the Capitol. She has also shown that she will not impose a particular sentence just because prosecutors recommend it. She has thus gone further than what prosecutors recommended on several occasions.

    This does not mean, however, that Chutkan has demonstrated any degree of bias or prejudice against those defendants or against Trump. In fact, Chutkan’s background shows that she is someone who will do everything she can to protect and respect the rights of every criminal defendant who comes before her.

    Never ever doubt that this person was delivered to us as if from Heaven to oversee this trial. When he is unable to prove his innocence, she will smite him a mighty blow. Democracy will be vndicated.

    • cyto

      Hilarious….. her demonstrated bias does not mean she is biased…..

      Literally cribbing from Orwell.

  46. PieInTheSky

    A very British reaction

    • cyto

      Remember 3 months ago when the party line was “this doesn’t exist, is a right wing conspiracy theory and only a crazy person would claim otherwise..”?

  47. The Late P Brooks

    her demonstrated bias does not mean she is biased…..

    Her judgement is so clear and unclouded she will impose a harsher penalty than the prosecution has recommended!

    • cyto

      What really keeps me awake is the huge numbers of people who are either blue pilled or who are just blissfully asleep.

      5 years ago we were worried about where this might lead.

      Now?

      It is far worse than I ever thought possible.

  48. cyto

    Did you guys see that the backpage defendant finally killed himself?

      • cyto

        Congratulations go out to Kamala Harris

      • PieInTheSky

        sad but he did not really need to do it… but maybe they fucked with him too much

      • R.J.

        That’s what I thought. Who knows what horrible harassment and threats he endured. And now, the newspapers will have a field day with his reputation.

    • Common Tater

      I knew the byline before I clicked.

      “The aforementioned memos, which were accidentally shared with the defendants as part of the discovery process, were ruled off-limits for defense use and placed under seal….

      Meanwhile, prosecutors kept showing that they weren’t willing to fight fair. Motions filed in June sought to stop the defendants “from referencing the First Amendment and ‘free speech’ at any time in the presence of the jury,” from bringing up “the legality or illegality of any advertisement” that ran on Backpage.com, or from referencing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, among other things.

      In late July, Humetewa partially rejected the First Amendment motion but granted most of the government’s other motions seeking to limit how Larkin and the others could defend themselves.”

      So we all Alex Jones now.

      • juris imprudent

        You will only defend yourself in a way the prosecution deems suitable.

    • cyto

      Not if my church is anything to go by.

      We have several families who drive full sized vans. 12 seaters, even.

    • Sensei

      I had a discussion in a Tesla forum abut this. A non U.S. member asked how to disable the front passenger airbag. Unsurprisingly, the first eight or so responses proceeded to explain the poster was a moron and a monster.

      I wrote that in some markets Tesla has this feature because in some parts of the world people need to put children in the front seat and not everyone drives passenger vehicles larger than small commercial delivery vehicles.

      To one of the poster’s credit he admitted there was a reason to both ask and disable the airbag.

      • Common Tater

        Airbag laws are stupid.

      • R.J.

        Kids cling to those airbag laws. They are terrified to ride in older cars, call them ‘Death traps.’ It’s sad. Fuckers don’t know how to enjoy themselves without a full safety net.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Nature abhors a vacuum. We got our third kid not long after upgrading from the Corolla to a minivan.

      • Common Tater

        That’s because you had sex in the minivan!

    • Rat on a train

      Every car should be an 8 seater.

      • UnCivilServant

        With the right welding equipment, they can.

        Hope you like the wind in your hair.

  49. Fatty Bolger

    LK-99 update: Sample synthesized by Southeast University in China, measured near 0 (possibly actual 0 due to equipment limitations) resistivity in sample at 110K and below, at normal atmosphere. (Obviously not room temperature, but would still be a pretty big deal if confirmed.) No observed Meissner effect.

    A new theoretical study from India theorizes a mechanism for superconductivity in LK-99.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Bwahahaha…still feel bad for the lady.

    • Fatty Bolger

      Hah, love it.

    • kinnath

      I never followed that meme. I recognize the woman but I have no idea what she did to become infamous.

      • UnCivilServant

        I saw that it was a video and that it had a tiktok watermark, so I didn’t watch it.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Sprung a screw loose on a plane is what she did

      • Tundra

        She freaked out on a plane and insisted that the guy next to here wasn’t real. Hence the characters in the painting.

        I actually feel bad for her. She had a psychotic break that happened to be filmed and will now live in meme infamy forever.

  50. Derpetologist

    The NSA building I worked in had a kind of free speech wall near the entrance where people could air grievances. The first note I put on it was “happiness is a belt-fed weapon”, which was removed along with some others after about a day. After that, all I posted on that board was WW2-style “Kilroy was here” doodles.

    I also had a Bible verse (Psalm 18:37) taped to my work computer that got removed by a butt-hurt coworker. The verse said: I pursue my enemies and I catch them. I do not stop until I destroy them. My SIGINT work supported combat operations.

    So yes, there are various forms of official and unofficial censorship in the military and IC.

    On a side note, it seems many Americans cannot understand that in many parts of the world, monarchies or dictatorships are the most stable form of government, and that is preferable to chaos. Pluralistic, multiparty, democracies and republics have a long list of prerequisites, the most fundamental of which is a basic level of prosperity.

    • Rat on a train

      I had a plushie hanging in a noose in my barracks room. I’m sure that would not be allowed today.

      • Derpetologist

        I had a dream of giving a PowerPoint presentation on WW2 airplane art during a SHARP brief. SHARP is the name of the Army’s sexual harassment prevention program. The brainwashing sessions reminded me of Demolition Man.

        https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/best-wwii-nose-art/

        I saw an A-10 at the USAF museum. The nose art was a pin-up gal and the caption was “Strawberry Bitch”.

      • Nephilium

        You’d think the Army may be a bit more aware when selecting names for things.

    • Fatty Bolger

      I don’t think prosperity is a requirement. It might be a requirement to embrace principles that lead to prosperity.

      • Derpetologist

        Good point

  51. The Late P Brooks

    I’m not hyperpartisan, you’re hyperpartisan

    Psychologists tell us that bad players engage in projection in order to shift blame for their own misdeeds onto others. That was certainly the case in the Badger State this week, when a spokesperson for the beleaguered Republican Party of Wisconsin tried to suggest that the ascendance of a liberal majority on the state’s Supreme Court— which was completed on Tuesday with the swearing-in of newly elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz—would lead to “an era of hyper-partisanship brought on by Protasiewicz and her allies as they use the courts to implement their partisan policy agenda.”

    In fact, the new 4-3 bloc on the highest court of the nation’s most contentious battleground state is in a position to finally bring an end to the era of extremism that kicked off more than a decade ago, when a conservative majority made the court an extension of rigidly right-wing Republican Governor Scott Walker. Throughout Walker’s eight-year tenure as a fiercely anti-union and pro-corporate governor, the court upheld even his most radical and lawless moves. And after Walker’s defeat in 2018, the court continued to do the bidding of the Republicans who control the state legislature—most recently by maintaining radically gerrymandered legislative district lines that tip the balance in favor of GOP candidates, and by regularly sustaining Republican assaults on voting rights and democracy itself.

    Yes, yes of course, the long shadow of right wing authoritarianism has for the moment been brushed aside. For the moment, anyway, but we must be ever vigilant and stamp out any possibility of Republican electoral success, because that’s how democracy works.

  52. Pope Jimbo

    Cripple fight?

    I have no idea which group of bureaucrats is acting in bad faith (and it can be both), but I’m sure that the public is not being served. I’m also sure that green energy will never work because we will never allow any mining to get the materials needed for batteries and solar panels.

    The Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday to reverse a water permit for a proposed copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes was the latest in a string of setbacks for NewRange Copper Nickel, likely delaying further a long-running project that already faces hurdles.

    But the unanimous ruling was notable for another reason: its rebuke of state regulators at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, who courts say hid federal criticism of the strength of its permit for the NewRange mine and did not fully grapple with those concerns.

    The MPCA — which failed to keep certain records, deleted emails and shielded information from the public in part to avoid bad press that could have followed a negative assessment by the federal Environmental Protection Agency — broke from normal practice enough to undermine the Supreme Court’s faith in the permit.

    “We conclude there are danger signals suggesting that the MPCA did not take a hard look at whether the permit complies with the Clean Water Act (CWA) and that the MPCA did not genuinely engage in reasoned decision-making in dealing with concerns that were raised by the EPA,” the 68-page ruling says.

    Imagine the outrage if a private company did what the MPCA did (deleting emails, destroying records, etc.)

    • cyto

      Imagine the lack of outrage if federal officials did the same. Repeatedly.

  53. The Late P Brooks

    Pushing the boundaries of science

    Waves are getting bigger and surf at least 13 feet (about 4 meters) tall is becoming more common off California’s coast as the planet warms, according to innovative new research that tracked the increasing height from historical data gathered over the past 90 years.

    Oceanographer Peter Bromirski at Scripps Institution of Oceanography used the unusual method of analyzing seismic records dating back to 1931 to measure the change in wave height.

    When waves ricochet off the shore, they collide with incoming waves and cause a ripple of energy through the seafloor that can be picked up by seismographs designed to detect earthquakes. The greater the impact, the taller the wave is.

    ——-

    “Until I stumbled upon this data set, it was almost impossible to make that comparison with any kind of reliability,” Bromirski said.

    To go back further, Bromirski gathered a team of undergraduate students to analyze daily seismic readings covering decades of winters. It was a slow, painstaking process that took years and involved digitizing drums of paper records. But he said it was important in learning how things have changed over nearly a century along California’s coast.

    They found that average winter wave heights have grown by as much as a foot since 1970, when global warming is believed to have begun accelerating. Swells at least 13 feet tall (about 4 meters) are also happening a lot more often, occurring at least twice as often between 1996 to 2016 than from 1949 to 1969.

    Surf Nazis rejoice.

  54. Pope Jimbo

    Lighting the Neph Signal…

    All the new beers that will be on sale at the Great Minnesoda Get Together (aka the state fair)

    Cocabanana (Chocolate Banana Ale)

    A Caribbean cocktail-inspired tropical ale brewed with fresh pineapple juice, banana, coffee, chocolate, vanilla and sugarcane. Rimmed with chocolate just like your favorite tropical resort would do. 6.5% ABV. Brewed in Minneapolis by Modist Brewing.

    I remember that the best thing about the beer garden at the state fair was that they really didn’t care how old you were. If you had the cash and could hand it to the bar tender, they’d give you a cup of Haams, Grain Belt or Miller.

    • Nephilium

      Seems a bit too many conflicting flavors in there. I would probably drop the pineapple juice from that recipe. One local brewery does an amazingly delicious churro inspired beer for the holidays with caramelized brown sugar and cinnamon.

      I’m also anti rimming glasses.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I thought for a second you had had some major change in your lifestyle. Then I reread your statement and saw that “gl” and am relieved to see that you haven’t flip flopped.

      • PutridMeat

        HM and Sean have a sad. Oh, you said glasses; never mind, carry on.

  55. Derpetologist

    Oh, NPR. Tell me more.

    https://www.npr.org/2023/08/03/1191678009/climate-change-republicans-economy-natural-disasters-biden-trump-poll

    ***
    It’s hot. And some apparently don’t mind it that way.

    The latest heat wave is fueled by human-caused climate change from burning fossil fuels, but despite the settled science, the overwhelming evidence and the billions of dollars in increases for disaster preparation and recovery that climate change is costing the country, Republicans have grown more skeptical of the need to prioritize fixing it, according to the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.
    ***

    Is the evidence overwhelming enough for Al Gore to sell his beachfront property? How about Obama or Biden?

    • R.J.

      Fuck off NPR. Tired of the lying bullshit. Settle on my middle finger.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Its the new news cycle – write something, then claim it is conspiracy theory; see gas stoves, etc.

      • Derpetologist

        related: African mosquito burgers from the shores of Lake Victoria

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LItNFP7icUw

        Never got to eat one when I was over there, though I was a few hundred miles away from that lake.

        A joke I heard over there: Africa belongs to the mosquitoes and there are merely a few places where they allow humans to live.

    • Pope Jimbo

      The Obamas are trying to build a sea wall out of cooks and paddleboards, so they are taking it seriously.

    • rhywun

      I think it’s just AI writing that bullshit now.

      No sane person can repeat the same tired lies in article after article every day, right?

  56. The Late P Brooks

    Bromirski was also surprised to find extended periods of exceptionally low wave heights prior to about 1970 and none of those periods since.

    “Erosion, coastal flooding, damage to coastal infrastructure is, you know, something that we’re seeing more frequently than in the past,” Bromirski said. “And, you know, combined with sea level rise, bigger waves mean that is going to happen more often.”

    Changes in waves are showing up in other ways, too.

    “There’s about twice as many big wave events since 1970 as there was prior to 1970,” Bromirski said.

    The study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, adds to the evidence that climate change is causing massive shifts in the world’s oceans. Other studies have shown waves are not only getting taller but also more powerful.

    That’s it, then. Abandon hope and head for the hills.

  57. Sean

    Daily Quordle 556
    8️⃣7️⃣
    4️⃣5️⃣
    m-w.com/games/quordle/

    #waffle559 5/5

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    🔥 streak: 175
    🏆 #wafflemaster
    wafflegame.net

  58. Rat on a train

    VDOT strikes again. They messed up the timing of a local intersection. The primary route, US-17, gets 10 seconds of green and 45 seconds of red.