Thursday Afternoon Links: Self-Rolling Vehicle Edition

by | Sep 7, 2023 | Daily Links | 258 comments

Link-reading music (NSFW, yo).

 

JAPAN NAILS 2-for-1 LAUNCH INCLUDING UNIQUE LUNAR LANDER AND ROVERS: The most exciting thing about the SLIM mission is the two mini probes that will be ejected from the main lander before touchdown and free fall to the surface. Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 weighs 250g and transforms from a sphere to a cylinder. LEV-2 will take photos and attempt to roll around, then relay the photos to Earth via SLIM. The SLIM lander also plans to demonstrate “hop” capability – taking off from the lunar surface using its thrusters and moving horizontally before touching down again. That would be two firsts for Japan and a successful landing would make Japan the fifth member of the Lunar soft-lander club. This mission also launched an x-ray observatory which will stay in Earth orbit.

THE MOVIE THEY LOVE TO HATE: Anti-Trafficking film Sound of Freedom is number one at the box office in 18 countries, does well in US, yet is strangely ignored, if not reviled, by the US press.

ANTI-BREXIT REMAINERS’ CLAIMS REFUTED BY GDP NUMBERS: The economic case against Brexit has now totally collapsed. Hopefully, this will pave the way for other countries to consider leaving the EU, and give hope to US citizens exploring a national divorce.

SPEAKING OF SELF-ROLLING VEHICLES: Florida man arrested by Coast Guard for trying to cross Atlantic in human-sized hamster wheel.

BIDEN-BURISMA CONNECTIONS DEEPEN: “[Then-VP]Joe Biden never built an ‘absolute wall’ between his family’s business dealings and his official government work – his office doors were wide open to Hunter Biden’s associates.

LAWYER FOR CANADIAN FREEDOM TRUCKERS SPEAKS OUT: “It is the government and the police authorities that should be answering questions about why they chose to stand against citizens rather than with citizens.” –Edmonton attorney Eva Chipiuk

WHAT, YOU WANT MORE SELF-ROLLING VEHICLE? We got your self-rolling vehicle right here! Presenting the Kafon, a landmine-clearing, wind-powered, self-rolling vehicle. And while we’re on the topic, is there an established name for the class of vehicle which would include the LEV-2, Florida Man’s “hamster wheel,” and the kafon?

About The Author

Tonio

Tonio

Tonio is a Glibs shitposter, linkstar (Thursday PM, yo), author, and editor. He is also a GlibZoom personality and prankster. Tonio is a big fan of pic-a-nic baskets. His hobbies include salmon fishing, territorial displays, dumpster diving, and posing for wildlife photographers.

258 Comments

  1. Common Tater

    Welcome back 🙂

  2. Common Tater

    What, no giant robots?

    • SDF-7

      First they have to find Rita and Zed on the Moon. Then she can help out the Japanese men.

  3. Common Tater

    “yet is strangely ignored, if not reviled, by the US press”

    That’s because the U.S. press works for the DNC, who many on the Right believe are involved in child trafficking.

    • Drake

      They quelled those rumors by actively trying to suppress a movie about child trafficking.

      • Common Tater

        Also all the knee-jerk reactions from Lefties on social media.

        I never thought not molesting kids would be a partisan issue.

      • SDF-7

        At least not for any party besides the big-L Libertarian one in their collective madness, anyway.

    • SDF-7

      That’s because the U.S. press works for the DNCUniparty, who many on the Right believe are involved in child trafficking.

      FTFY.

    • Suthenboy

      those conspiracy theorists are nuts. Just because someone talks, walks and quacks like a pedo creep doesn’t mean they are one.

  4. Robonerfherder

    I assume that the US press despises Sound of Freedom simply because the unclean like it. They’re really very simple people that way, at least if my retired journalist neighbor is any indication.

    • Tonio

      “The unclean,” for the win.

      • SDF-7

        Thomas Covenant mutters… “Well, eventually. Hellfire and Damnation!”

    • Timeloose

      The documentary the Hoi Polloi liked.

      Similar to the dirt bags that made the nearly 20 year movie about the telemarketers. It skewers the police unions and eventually the PACs, but the guys doing it were a junkie and a jackass tagger.

      • Common Tater

        Which movie was that?

      • Timeloose

        Correct. That’s the movie.

  5. Common Tater

    “The economic case against Brexit has now totally collapsed.”

    Was it based on sugar futures?

    • Sensei

      No, but the link itself most certainly has!

      Help edit fairy.

      • Tonio

        LINK HAS BEEN FIXED. Thanks.

      • SDF-7

        Princess Zelda has a sad.

  6. Pat

    Link-reading music (NSFW, yo).

    Every bad thing ever said about Limp Bizkit in general, and Fred Durst in particular, is completely and totally accurate, but that song is still, and always will be, a certified jam.

    • EvilSheldon

      I’ve always had a soft spot for Limp Bizkit because, say what you will about them and their music, they have always been completely in on the joke.

      And Limp Bizkit Still Sucks is a great album.

  7. KK, Non-Man

    Thursday p.m. links are the best links!!

    What’s the difference between Richard Branson and Florida Hamster Wheel Man? Coupla billion and some top lawyers is pretty much it AFAICT

    • SDF-7

      I’m still wondering exactly what the Coast Guard arrested hamster man for. You can be arrested for doing something dumb on the high seas now? Seems like an injustice… tell him he’s on his own and he’s being stupid, sure… but if he’s an adult — that should be his right.

      Going to arrest all the mountain climbers next? Long distance runners if they don’t hydrate properly? Make everyone eat their broccoli (hi there, Justice Roberts, you ass….)?

      • Lackadaisical

        You getting hurt impacts demand for healthcare, since doctors move cross country frequently, that is interstate commerce you’re engaging in when you do dumb stuff.

  8. Common Tater

    I’m more shocked there is an NR article that isn’t paywalled.

  9. pistoffnick

    I’m baaaaack!

    …in the saddle again?

    • Ownbestenemy

      …in the saddle swing again?

      • Lackadaisical

        The swinger saddle?

    • Tundra

      Yes.

      Wasted Aerosmith was better Aerosmith.

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        Toys in the Attic era Aerosmith is damn good.

  10. Ownbestenemy

    One more week to go in Vegas and off to new horizons. Anxiety is finally hitting me. Had a little party at work and I got this nice big wood plaque with the airport diagram etched on it from my guys. New house is moving along, just hoping the VA appraiser isn’t a lazy bastard and waits the full 14 days to get around to it.

    I am ready for the rest of my life. Woods to the west of me, creek to the east. I envision many a weekend evenings sittin down by that creek with Mrs. OBE and the dogs.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Rand Paul will be your senator!

      • Ownbestenemy

        And Massie as Congresscritter.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Ooh, so in that corner.

      • Robonerfherder

        Even better

    • Pat

      Congrats! The guy that bought my mom’s place in probate used a VA loan. I now understand why so many listings ask for cash or conventional only…

    • Drake

      Where did you land on as a destination?

      • Ownbestenemy

        NKY outside of Hebron.

      • Drake

        Good luck – hope you enjoy it!

    • Tundra

      Nice.

      Happy for y’all!

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      I am ready for the rest of my life. Woods to the west of me, creek to the east. I envision many a weekend evenings sittin down by that creek with Mrs. OBE and the dogs.

      Congrats on making the move. That’s a great new chapter.

    • Tonio

      Congratulations. I wish you an easy move.

    • KK, Non-Man

      I’m-a be parking my RV in your yard. I’ll bring booze.

      • Timeloose

        Just don’t set off his CO detectors

      • Fourscore

        How does the open bottle law apply in a RV?

      • Ownbestenemy

        Its a long driveway welcome to park up when needed!

    • Common Tater

      Congrats!

    • rhywun

      🎉 I’m moving in 11 days myself.

      Sadly, I still get Moobs and Hochum and it’s not a “rest of my life” thing but it’s out of NYC which was the goal.

      • R.J.

        I celebrate your move as well. Tell me when you move to OKLATX and I will bring you a cake.

    • R.J.

      This is wonderful news. I am pleased for you.

    • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

      Winning!

  11. Aloysious

    Limp Bizkit?

    Bold move. I always liked ‘Break Stuff’ when in a mood.

  12. Pat

    ANTI-BREXIT REMAINERS’ CLAIMS REFUTED BY GDP NUMBERS

    Link is busted. If it was the one from spiked-online, it’s a good piece.

    • R.J.

      Link has been fixed.

  13. Tundra

    is there an established name for the class of vehicle which would include the LEV-2, Florida Man’s “hamster wheel,” and the kafon?

    Yes. “EPIC”

    • Tonio

      This, right here, is why I love you ppl.

  14. Common Tater

    “The global statistics on land mines and their effects make sobering reading. According to the United Nations, up to 110 million mines have been laid across more than 70 countries since the 1960s and that between 15,000 and 20,000 people die each year because of them.

    Many of the victims are civilians – children, women and the elderly – not soldiers. Thousands more are maimed. Moreover, mines are cheap. The UN estimates that some cost as little as $3 to make and lay in the ground. Yet, removing them can cost more than 50 times that amount. And the removal is not without human cost either. The UN says that one mine clearance specialist is killed, and two injured, for every 5,000 mines cleared.”

    Damn.

    • Lackadaisical

      110 million at $150 a pop, thats only 16.5 billion to get rid of all the mines laid since 1960. meh.

      • Pat

        Or 3.5 days worth of our current Ukraine+ subscription.

  15. mikey

    Coast Guard used not try and stop idiots. “”Go ahead with your stupid plan but don’t expect us rescue you “
    The proper libertarian approach.

    • R.J.

      Agreed. Why waste money on the guy? Let him go.

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘required registration for his water vehicle ‘

      ?

      I didn’t realize i was living in North Korea.

      • Robonerfherder

        They’re pricks about it, even in international waters.

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        JUST WHOSE OCEAN IS IT ANYWAY!!!

      • R.J.

        I knew what it was before I clicked.

  16. Lackadaisical

    RE: DFL Lady who got what she asked for:

    “Four very young men”

    I love how she describes them. If they got shot by the cops they’d be poor widdle baaaabies.

  17. JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

    “ANTI-BREXIT REMAINERS’ CLAIMS REFUTED BY GDP NUMBERS”

    That’s only because so many people died of starvation. It’s like how the cost of labor went up after the plague.

    • Fourscore

      There you go again. Trying to confuse me with facts.

  18. Not Adahn

    Is there any limit on how far away from the US coast you can be without the USCG deciding they can arrest you?

    • Nephilium

      Isn’t it 200 miles inland and about the same to get to international waters?

    • pistoffnick

      The Coast Guard has law enforcement powers within U.S. waters, which covers more than 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and extends 200 miles from shore, and on international waters. Coast Guard authority supersedes that of the U.S. Navy in terms of law enforcement. A Coast Guard captain can halt, board and even seize any vessel without a warrant, court order or direct orders from a superior, including U.S. Navy vessels, although the latter is a very rare occurrence.

      from: https://science.howstuffworks.com/coast-guard.htm#:~:text=The%20Coast%20Guard%20has%20law,in%20terms%20of%20law%20enforcement.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        Law enforcement power on international waters? Am I understanding that correctly?

      • rhywun

        It sure reads like someone needs to be taken down a peg or twelve.

      • Pat

        Who do they think they are, the capitol police or something?

  19. Robonerfherder

    The Coast Guard makes a habit of checking any seafaring small ship leaving US territorial waters. Of the couple of times I’ve crossed that area, every time I’ve been stopped on the way out.

    Imagine being stopped by a state trooper, but with less cheer and more assholishness.

    • Sean

      Never met a NJ trooper?

      • Common Tater

        Yes, he was trying to give me a hard time because my rental car wasn’t registered in my name. He also told me he would take a bullet for the Governor of NJ.

      • Pat

        He also told me he would take a bullet for the Governor of NJ.

        You should have told him you happened to have one on you.

      • Not Adahn

        BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!BLAM!

        “Good shoot.”

      • Sensei

        My experience with the ones in PA is identical.

        The uniform is less SS like, however.

    • Nephilium

      They didn’t use to care about the border in the lake. That changed in 2020.

    • Pat

      Purely coincidentally, the same day the Proud Boys guy who wasn’t in D.C. on January 6th got sentenced to 22 years in federal PMITA prison. ‘Bout as subtle as a horse head in your bed.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      “Educator and childcare professional”

      WTF is going on with teachers? I guess its a case of pervs going where the kids are.

    • Fourscore

      It’s beyond a joke. It’s certifiably mental illness or a sham, make a choice.

      “Today I identify as an elephant and you have nothing in my size. I’m calling my attorney”

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        LOL

    • rhywun

      identifies as neither a man nor a woman

      Oh fuck off.

    • Grumbletarian

      “What bathroom am I supposed to use, then?” Day replied, pointing out the lack of gender-neutral facilities. “What about my comfort as a client?”

      Our gender neutral bathroom is out back, and just happens to look and smell exactly like a dumpster.

  20. Evan from Evansville

    OT: Well outpatient is underway. Next week and beyond I’ve got 8-hours/week. That’s a good step. I mostly just need scheduled tasks and accountability. Today is going quite well. The last few days have.

    I took a tumble down the stairs on Friday and remember eeevery bit of that one. Which is good, cuz I don’t think I structurally damaged the bone further. I tweaked a few muscles, but nothing outrageous. I am out of pain meds and am fighting to get a refill, but the WoD Warriors claimed my pain Rx refill was “unnecessary.” Hrm. I heal remarkably well, but w/o pain meds I am fully aware of how fucking painful a goddamn broken femur is.

    Pure, undiluted evil.

    Still feeling remarkably chipper and positive. It would be nice if I could get my brain to remember that.

    That would be nice.

    • pistoffnick

      *raises hand*
      Maybe you should avoid the stairs for awhile?

      • Fourscore

        We have a stair climber, a different one but looks the same. Mrs F uses it all the time, I never do ’cause I need the exercise. I’m glad that we have it but it’s very slow and safe (seatbelt if you need one). I tease my wife about putting a quarter in the bowl, every time she uses it. She ignores me as usual.

      • Evan from Evansville

        #1 *Narrows gaze* at all those smiling fucks. I want to know how much money they got or which relation called in a favor.

        #2 *Narrows gaze* at Teddy. None of that situation resembles me. Being charitable, I am the criminal violently throwing crippling disability down the chasm.

        My Wolverine abilities remain virile, potent. They wink but never sleep. I shockingly remain long past most. Is an interesting long-term talent.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        (meant affectionately)

      • Ted S.

        Ah, but it’s a great movie.

    • Tonio

      I’m happy for the good things in your life. Wishing you the best.

    • Pat

      I am out of pain meds and am fighting to get a refill, but the WoD Warriors claimed my pain Rx refill was “unnecessary.”

      I sincerely hope every fucking politician who ever supported this shit dies slowly of stomach cancer and gets told the exact same thing. But of course, it’s different for the king’s men.

      Godspeed, Ev.

      • Evan from Evansville

        YEP. They SHOULD get what they deserve, but obviously they get treated with silkier gloves.

        I did a fun search of “what bones are most painful to break.” All polls, so whatever. I knew the first was femur. Biggest, most blood, kinda duh. Ranked two was your tail bone followed by ribs.

        Well. I’ve fractured BOTH femurs now, both around my titanium stems. (Am curious as if that prevented more breakage/made it more painful etc. Certainly more complicated, sure. I also want to know if I’ve lost or gained weight with my titanium hips and wired up skull.)

        I’ve also broken my tail bone! And I broke four ribs, one of which punctured a lung! I can add about 30 more. Breaking one of the tiny bones inside your ear is the rarest/weirdest on my resume. Yes, I am silly, but it’s why I don’t trust people’s Pain CV if they’ve never broken a bone.

        With injuries and odd illnesses (shingles and gout come to mind), I’ve got a remarkably good boots-on-the-ground knowledge of How Shit Feels. I’m sure there’s a way to turn this into a financial advantage…

        *The Thinker pose and visage ensues*

      • R.J.

        Haha. Fractured my tailbone as a kid. Went down a loading ramp at a converted roller disco. Awfully painful.

      • Pat

        I’m sure there’s a way to turn this into a financial advantage…

        Professional sadist? CIA blacksite operator?

      • Evan from Evansville

        I’m (more-or-less) a NAP absolutist. And I can’t do it to myself, or rather, I wouldn’t. I never have intentionally!

        I pretty much should be like The Truman Show, just…renamed. Just film my entire life! Most of it is incredibly boring, but interspersed are enough interesting injuries, not to mention the places I’ve been and people I’ve met.

        A good editor could put it all together into something remarkable.

        VV I’m not sure if Toxeth’s Space Camp idea pitch is to keep me ‘perfectly’ safe, but it would fit in nicely with my above bigger Pitch(er) Idea.

        Narrator: Put Ev in space. What can go wrong…THIS TIME!

        Now, a word from our sponsors!

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Eh, your bones would weaken. Parasailing?

    • Evan from Evansville

      My side-gig at Kroger is on hold as I certainly can’t/shouldn’t be on the floor for hours at a time. It’s a tremendously bad idea.

      @Nick: As for stairs…I’m living my ‘rents in a three floor condo. As long as I’m not stupid, they aren’t that big of a deal. Can’t avoid stairs in the real world either.

      Narrator: Ev’s frequently stupid. Will the lessons stick?

      Find out, after these messages.

      • R.J.

        Stairs, inclines and ditches do appear to be kryptonite for you. Hoping for the best.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        I’d send you to space camp if I could.

  21. Suthenboy

    “It is the government and the police authorities that should be answering questions about why they chose to stand against citizens rather than with citizens.”

    I will answer that. It is the nature of governments always and everywhere to view their own citizens as enemies in their endless efforts to satiate their hunger for power. It seems the more power they get the. more they crave.

    Our founders understood this very well and the form of government they created was designed to foil that urge as much as humanly possible. Unfortunately, over time we have crept further and further from those ideas until we are suffering under a heavier boot than the Brits could muster.
    Should we give it another go I would hope that we would take a serious lesson from the state of things now, but I am not optimistic.

    • B.P.

      In the long run, I suppose the architects of constitutional republics aren’t much better at routing around human nature than the communists.

      • Pat

        The unfortunate reality is that the Enlightenment liberals were every bit as deluded and utopian.

      • Brochettaward

        I’m going to be hyperbole for a moment here. The American experiment was pretty successful for a few centuries here producing more prosperity and general freedom than at any other point in known human history.

        No piece of paper or government is going to survive as founded for centuries. The founders did know this. One even has a pretty famous quote about it and the tree of liberty needing to be watered from time to time.

        A constitution is only a piece of paper and it only has as much power as the people of a country are willing to give it. It’s actually remarkable it’s survived as well as it has given the complete social upheaval we’ve seen over the last few centuries.

      • Pat

        No piece of paper or government is going to survive as founded for centuries. The founders did know this. One even has a pretty famous quote about it and the tree of liberty needing to be watered from time to time.

        Mostly fair, although it’s still emblematic of their year zero type of thinking that they presumed the revolutionary vanguard would eventually reemerge to restore the utopian order they believed themselves to be establishing. Then again, that may have been mostly Jefferson, who never met a violent coup he didn’t like, as long as the blood in the streets never spoiled the carpet in his salon. I have about as much respect for Jefferson as for Marx.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        I finally watched The Killing Fields all the way through recently. Shudder…

        (RIP to too much of the cast)

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Errr, many. Sorry, Moj.

      • Tundra

        Here’s your next book.

        I’m fascinated with Cambodia, so this one really got to me.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Yikes, Tundra. Seems like the sort of book I might reject at a wee free library for being difficult to finish.

      • Tundra

        I get it. But it’s actually uplifting. Most people survive and it’s important to hear their stories

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Grazie, Tees.

  22. Common Tater

    “Masterson’s attorney, Philip Cohen, challenged ‘inconsistencies’ in the womens’ testimony and statements to police, accusing them of ‘blatant fabrications.’

    And he asserted that the three had ‘colluded,’ choreographing and ‘tweaking’ their rape stories to help get Masterson convicted – which in turn could help them win a big cash payout in the civil lawsuit they have brought against him and the Church of Scientology.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12492141/Danny-Masterson-sentenced-30-years-prison-raping-two-women.html

    There needs to be a statute of limitations, as there is no way to prove anything one way or another after 20 years.

    • rhywun

      Yeah I don’t even know how this result happens. I mean, I know, but… it flies in the face of the way “justice” is supposed to work.

  23. Common Tater

    “US quietly shuts down $125million USAID project to find novel viruses in Asia and Africa due to fears it could ignite a pandemic

    DEEP VZN – pronounced deep vision – was launched in October 2021 with the aim of finding and studying novel pathogens in wildlife in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

    The project was meant to run until 2026, but DEEP VZN was shut down without a formal public announcement in July 2023.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-12491751/USAID-125million-project-pandemic.html

    • Pat

      It’s not happening, and it’s a good thing it is.

      • Lackadaisical

        Yup, I’ll believe it when I see it.

        They probably shut it down because they started DEEPER VZN with $125 Billion of funding.

  24. Brochettaward

    The Biden article from this morning on how his administration really works is a doozy. He comes off like a 90’s era Democrat, an old man, being led around by the nose by 20 something year old aides. They want him as a figurehead to rubber stamp shit and Biden wants to really be president.

    It’s kind of the caricature painted by the right when he took office, in fact.

    He was more conservative than his administration on immigration and covid.

    Strangely, the only thing he seemed to get his way on was Afghanistan. Or no one in his administration wants to own that blunder so its easier to pin it on the senile old man. The guy couldn’t even set his own immigration policy, but he could unilaterally end the forever war in Afghanistan?

    • The Other Kevin

      He could end it, so long as the stage was set for Ukraine and they could trade a slow drip for a nice new hot war.

      • Brochettaward

        This is my hunch. They were willing to cave to placate him on Afghanistan because they didn’t give a shit and had a new war that would be an even bigger grift on the horizon.

    • R.J.

      I saw that. Made me angry when I read he was against the open border shit, but let it happen anyway. Senile old pussy. Fuck him.

    • Robonerfherder

      Biden isn’t running anything. The twats are fully in charge.

      That should scare the shit out of everyone, at least Biden has a survival instinct, those idiots don’t.

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        This. The old fuck wasn’t even in charge of his diaper changes, let alone AFPAK/the border/COIVIDIACY. He is just a convient figurehead to place blame on or use to “direct” the executive.

    • grrizzly
    • Pat

      I’m inclined to suspect it’s all true, but I think it’s wise to be skeptical of salacious tell-all books, regardless of whether or not they confirm one’s bias.

      Also, completely off-topic, but this line stood out:

      Despite his status as the nation’s oldest president in history, Biden feels he is “babied” by staff — often setting off his infamous Irish temper.

      Could you imagine anyone writing a piece on Obama and, say, making reference to “colored people time” with regard to his punctuality? I don’t give a shit about the stereotype, mind you, but as usual, the double standard is galling. Secondarily to that, I love how this also tries to absolve the miserable old cunt from any personal responsibility for his cuntish behavior. “Heehee, he can’t help himself, he’s got an Irish temper!” Yeah, no, he’s a just a cunt.

  25. Mojeaux

    Chiefs game tonight. Yanno, I don’t want to tailgate, but I DO want BBQ, which I can’t go get myself right now and Dude can’t go for me (as he’s going to Minsky’s to watch with his dudebropals). Also, I will be working during the game. Dammit.

    • Common Tater

      Maybe someone delivers?

    • KK, Non-Man

      If you weren’t working, I’d suggest an Opening Day Zoom

      • Nephilium

        The open meeting is always open.

  26. Mojeaux

    If you get mauled by a bear while in its habitat (e.g., Yellowstone) and doing stupid things, the bear should not have to die.

    • Brochettaward

      LONG LIVE HARAMBE

    • grrizzly

      Bear Lives Matter.

    • rhywun

      Agreed.

    • Suthenboy

      While I agree with the sentiment, it isn’t quite that simple.
      I have spent a lifetime cultivating large swaths of land more for wildlife than for timber. The bear population in louisiana has bloomed and while I prefer bears on our land I still carry a rifle while I am out there.
      Bears are odd creatures. They are completely unpredictable. They can go from ‘not interested to murderously violent in the blink of an eye and you will never have a clue why they did that.

      I have created the bears habitat and there are at least two living on our land, but I have no intention of becoming a chew-toy for them.

    • Robonerfherder

      She’s kind of manly

      • The Other Kevin

        That was my thought. You never can tell these days.

      • B.P.

        She looks like she’s off to rob a bank, considering the shiny plastic mask she’s wearing.

    • R.J.

      The dollars shown didn’t really add up to diddly squat. That might get a low-level government functionary in trouble, but that guy WAS the company. Who cares?

      • Robonerfherder

        The CIA and FBI moles on the board care.

      • Brochettaward

        Has Project Veritas done shit since firing him?

        Everyone instantly thought the organization was yet another skinsuited outfit. Like the Drudge Report.

      • R.J.

        “He called global warming the “greatest scam in history”[11] and made numerous false or misleading claims about climate science.”
        Editorial bias detected.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Forget it, RJ: it’s Wikipedia.

      • Suthenboy

        I have been saying that since way back in TOS days. Shit, I think I even got dark looks in university. for saying that. I believe my words then were “This makes the Piltdown man look like a mild practical joke. You are going to destroy the already fragile credibility of science if we get on board with this nonsense.”

        Do I get to say “I toldja so!” If they didn’t finish off their creds with AGW the Covid debacle was the coup de gras.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        I encountered some similar CC skepticism in college in yeee oldey tymes. I probably should have kept hanging out with those eccentrics.

      • rhywun

        Do I get to say “I toldja so!”

        Not yet; not while every elite establishment is still firmly in control of the climate grifters.

      • The Bearded Hobbit

        Do I get to say “I toldja so!”

        I’m going to guess that it will be worse than that. In a few years or so things are going to cool off with the solar cycle and the greenies will say, “See! Our policies worked! Now we just have to do them longer and harder!”

    • Brochettaward

      O’Keefe was Project Veritas. He should have felt untouchable and the people who forced him out are fucking retards.

    • Pat

      with whom he had a romantic relationship with.

      I kinda miss when news outlets had editors and proofreaders.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        …we will not put!

      • Mojeaux

        *snicker*

      • Pat

        Oh God, my Michael Hihn PTSD…

      • Mojeaux

        What’d I do to get Hihn thrown at me?!?!?

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        ¡BULLY!!1!!

      • Pat

        *snickers* and *smirks* were a couple of his punctuation lines.

      • Pat

        While I absolutely am that pedantic ass, it’s more the attempt to avoid ending the sentence with a preposition, and then doing so anyway.

    • Grumbletarian

      I presume they mean she is leading by more than the margin for error.

      At any rate, it can’t be true since conservatives are a bunch of misogynists who would never vote for a female President.

    • Nephilium

      Just make your ramen with Water Joe!

      • Pat

        Or just take one of these with your regular ramen.

      • R.J.

        That’s no fun!

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Jet-Alerts split more easily. Or there are caffeinated mints.

      • Mojeaux

        I split em in 3.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        I probably thanked you for the Bronkaid tip, but thanks again. I don’t get the aspirin part though.

    • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

      Can’t well all just get a cup of coffee?

  27. DEG

    When asked if a guilty verdict for Lich and Barber would produce a chill on protests in Canada, Chipiuk responded, “It already has. I hear all the time that people are afraid to stand up because they don’t want to be made an example of like Tamara and Chris. This is not good or healthy in a free and democratic society.”

    The government sees that as a feature, not a bug.

  28. JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

    Housing in the Bay Area is too damn expensive because supply is constricted. Now someone is complaining that the developer for a large project has some undefined link with Saudi and Qatari sovereign wealth funds. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/09/07/records-reveal-concord-naval-weapons-station-developer-has-ties-to-saudi-qatari-money/ And there’s a Trump connection via Jared Kushner. I have to wonder who pushed this story. Environmentalists who don’t want the land developed? A competing developer? Anti-Trumpers who want to punish anyone who has ever done business with anyone close to him?

    • Pat

      I have to wonder who pushed this story. Environmentalists who don’t want the land developed? A competing developer? Anti-Trumpers who want to punish anyone who has ever done business with anyone close to him?

      NIMBYs who spent $3.7 million on a 1 bedroom apartment and are shitting their pants that property values might fall?

    • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

      Porque no los trios?

    • R.J.

      I pointed this out after Fauci. That was so blatant.

      https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fauci

      There is a special place in Hell for those so-called critics.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Jeez, that hard up?

      • R.J.

        Most movie critics live in their mothers’ basements. They jerk off when they write up a bad review for a good movie or vice versa. Makes them feel important.

      • Brochettaward

        Do you think the real journalist at the NYT’s is selling themselves for anything higher?

      • R.J.

        They sell themselves for a chance to suck Barack’s dick.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        I met one who was definitely not rich, but seemed like a nice enough guy. Politics never came up, but this was a while ago.

      • R.J.

        Few things set me off. Movie critics are one of them.

    • Not Adahn

      You just hate women in video games.

      • UnCivilServant

        Only when their character models look like men.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    Never enough

    More than 80 Democrats are calling on the Biden administration to set emissions restrictions on heavy-duty vehicles that are more stringent than what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing.

    In a Tuesday letter to the agency, the senators and House members said the EPA’s proposed regulations are not strict enough.

    “We encourage EPA to finalize standards that go beyond the current proposal,” the lawmakers wrote.

    They particularly cited an agreement between California and major engine manufacturers to reach zero-emission truck sales in the state by 2036.

    “EPA’s proposed standards assume only 25% clean truck sales in the mid-2030s, which is now less than what the manufacturers have committed to supply, even when averaged across the nation,” the lawmakers wrote.

    Reached for comment, an EPA spokesperson said the agency has “received the letter and will review and respond accordingly.”

    The EPA in April proposed a climate rule for heavy-duty vehicles, like trucks and buses, alongside a new rule for electric cars that sets limits for tailpipe emissions from fleets of such vehicles.

    The standards are expected to push manufacturers to make a greater share of their vehicles electric to comply.

    We’ll bring the economy down whatever it takes.

    • B.P.

      “…alongside a new rule for electric cars that sets limits for tailpipe emissions from fleets of such vehicles.”

      Tell me more about these electric vehicle tailpipes. Or maybe they’re addressing emissions on the pipe at the coal-fired plant that provides electricity to the vehicles.

      • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

        Once again, editors and fact checkers needed.

  30. Ownbestenemy

    Line up ladies! KJP is single and the news wants you to know she is the first working mom to ever be so and it’s brave!

  31. Sensei

    Well, Sensei just got his Omega Seamaster back from it regular service.

    My philosophy for a watch that has currently available parts is to run them until they basically stop keeping any kind of time. The service costs are essentially fixed so unless you broke a crystal or something it doesn’t matter if it is just gaskets or includes all kinds of things like bridges and wheels (aka gears in anything but a watch). In my case this time they actually replaced the balance too which surprised me! I assume the pivots were worn because of my let ’em run philosophy.

    In my case I managed to squeak out a bit over 10 years, but that includes COVID working at home where I wasn’t wearing it much for 2.5 years.

    Last service was $450 this one was $700 (thanks Joe!) + another $200 as the clasp has worn out after 24 years of use. So $900. Kids, remember this the next time someone says you should own a “fine” timepiece.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      I got a similar white elephant as a graduation present. I’m sure it was well-intentioned. The fragile watchbands alone… (I dislike metal ones.)

    • R.J.

      Ouch.

    • Tundra

      *Holds up Garmin watch*

      • rhywun

        *holds up empty wrist, shakes damn head*

      • Tundra

        How do you track your hikes, HR, sleep and prowess in the sack?

      • Animal

        I ask my wife.

      • Pat

        A Swiss moon phase watch is still less complicated than a woman.

      • Animal

        That’s a big part of her appeal. Never a dull moment, really.

      • Tundra

        RPE doesn’t cut it.. You owe it to her to maximize your effort.

      • The Other Kevin

        Holds up Garmin Vivo Active 4+

      • Tundra

        That’s what I have. You are a man of refinement and class.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      I keep meaning to buy myself a Timex.

      • R.J.

        I have a lovely solar Timex Expedition. It’s a fine thing. Only $99. I upgraded to a Jack Mason solar, which is more water resistant. Still spent less than $300.

      • Tundra

        I have a solar G-Shock that I got in 2011. I’ve beat the living shit out of it and it still looks new.

        I have no business having a high end watch.

    • Pat

      Pics!

      I assume the pivots were worn because of my let ’em run philosophy.

      I keep my autos on a winder most of the time. Since I don’t wear them anywhere close to every day, it’s either they sit in my watch box not running until the lubrication dries up, or you risk some additional wear keeping them wound and running. I go by the “ships in the harbor are safe, but that’s not why ships are built” philosophy. But then again, the best watch I own runs an ETA 2893-2 that I could replace for 300 bucks, so it’s not a major concern like it would be with a real luxury piece.

    • The Gunslinger

      My wife got me a Citizen Eco-drive as a gift about 15 years ago. I’m sure she got it from Kohl’s for less than $200. I’ve spent exactly $0 on it this entire time. It just works.

      • Tundra

        I had one for 20+ years. They are completely bomb-proof.

      • Sensei

        Bingo! One is a tool the other a piece of approved male jewelry.

      • Sensei

        I forgot to mention I have a Citizen Eco-drive as well.

        It’s as old as the Omega and since it’s solar it been great. It did have one issue. I kept in a drawer and the non-replaceable battery or capacitor wouldn’t take a charge after it drained and was exposed to light again.

        I sent it back to Citizen and they fixed it and I’ve left it out in the light ever since and it has worked perfectly and kept great time.

      • Animal

        Hrm. No pocket watches.

      • Sensei

        I’ve got 5!

      • Animal

        I have an old clunker that lives in my overalls watch pocket, but my good one for going to town and the like is an Invicta I picked up in a New Jersey watch store in 2018. A neat little piece, a watch and a stopwatch both, which I suppose could be handy for something sometime. It was market at $750 or so but I got it for less than half that after listening to the store manager bitch about how nobody even looks at pocket watches anymore and thinking, “Hah, I gotcha now.”

    • Mojeaux

      Dude, a $12 watch from Walmart is good enough for me.

      • Pat

        One of my favorite watches in my modest collection is an Oris manual-wind beater from the 1980s that I bought on eBay for $25 from a watchmaking school where it was serviced and restored by one of the students. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy the hobby, as long as your standards are low and your curiosity is high.

      • Mojeaux

        I just wanna tell time … 🤔

      • Pat

        Well I never…

        The joy of watches for me is that wee little precision machine ticking away on my wrist all of its own mechanical power. The fact that it keeps time is just an excuse for the wee little precision machine to exist.

      • Sensei

        That right here.

        And something reserved for the very wealthy that is now dirt cheap and better.

        And now partially eliminated by the cell phone.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        “Siri, what time is it?”

        No answer. Good.

      • Suthenboy

        Was it Rand that spoke of the things we create being monuments to human ingenuity and industry? I like that.
        You buy a watch and I will buy a gun with equal fit and finish. Both are finely made, useful ‘monuments’.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      As a kid a buddy of mine told his dad that for his birthday he wanted a watch, so he let him.

      • R.J.

        *Golf clap

      • rhywun

        lol

    • Suthenboy

      *Stares at Sensei and blinks a couple of times*

      I tend to look at the sun. I can nearly always get within a quarter hour of the time. Mostly I get within five minutes. How much did you say you paid for an overhaul? That is a new rifle Sir.
      I just now guessed about 6pm…..holy shit, right on the money.

      • rhywun

        Except it’s 7pm.

        Oh shit, I have to do some work in a couple hours. I need to moderate myself so I can carry on a conversation with a couple coworkers.

    • Zwak , “There is infinite amount of hope in the universe… just not for us.”

      $90 to replace the mainspring and crystal in my Hamilton H3. So, I will take that over the “better” Rolex.

      I do need a new band, though. Maybe one of the custom single piece lether ones, as it is an ex-military.