Monday Morning Links

by | Feb 19, 2024 | Daily Links | 289 comments

Crazy weekend in sports. Ohio State upset Purdue after firing Holtmann. What the hell is going on at Red Bull? Liverpool and Arsenal rolled while Man City stumbled at home against Chelsea. So the three horse race is on in the EPL. Let’s see who cracks first. And that’s it for sports.

Uh-huh. Sure. Because street protests and angry public meetings are only done by right-wingers in Europe.  Riiiight.

This reminds me of whack-a-mole. Only there aren’t any tickets given based on the score you get. And no prizes either.

This is what happens in a civilized society. And yes, I’m serious.

There’s an option for these “terrified” people: They can simply not sell to him. Problem solved.

Fight! Fight! Fight! I’m with Charles on this one.

Shut the fuck up, loser. You don’t even know what a woman is.

Let me guess…they simply disappeared? Amazing that the media never seems able to track these people once they head home. Maybe their air tags don’t track to Langley.

“Neither rain, nor snow, nor 100 years of being lost in our system.” This is a neat story.

I love this song. I mean absolutely love it. It’s just magical. So is this one. I wish they were touring again in the US this year. I missed them last spring, sadly. Anyway, enjoy them.

And enjoy this Monday holiday, dear friends.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

289 Comments

  1. Suthenboy

    “French mayors face violence and intimidation from xenophobic far-right groups”
    Alternate headline: “French citizens pissed off about their leadership class’ attempts at destroying French culture and replacing the voting public with foreign barbarians; breaking point could be near”

    • SDF-7

      The Nazis would probably be very surprised that they’d end up just being the boogeymen for “whatever the government doesn’t like” to be raised at the rest of the populace to “booga booga!” scare them into supporting the current overlords.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        They would probably be more surprised to be compared to the government of Isreal.

        (Although TBF, some of the Isreali pro-settler factions do put off some Lebensraum vibes which is very not helpful to the situation.)

  2. Suthenboy

    “Mexico sets up checkpoint near San Judas Break after migrants cross into U.S. through border fence gap”
    A twofer – You get more of what you reward and less of what you punish. Foreseeable consequences are not unintended.

    • sloopyinca

      That checkpoint probably looks more like a turnstile.

  3. Suthenboy

    I am not sure I would kill someone over a petty theft but….when crime is out of control fostered by the state at some point someone has to change the rules. Extreme conditions sometimes require extreme measures.

    • sloopyinca

      I won’t be surprised if this turns out to be a lot more than a “petty theft.” There’s more than a few people around here with giant towable competition pits that cost tens of thousands of dollars.

      • SDF-7

        Yeah — that was my first thought (I mean… you say “BBQ pit” my first thought is a cinderblock box with a corrugated metal cover… old school… stealing that would be — interesting…). If it gets reported as “grill” and “pit” interchangeably, it probably is a trailer hitch smoker at the least… and that’s serious business.

        But in general the “Don’t want to get shot? Don’t try to steal property from others” is a better credo for society than “Play Price is Right to try to figure out how much you can get away with…” certainly.

      • Not Adahn

        My grandfather had a brick BBQ pit (lid was half a 55gal drum). Hearing freestanding smokers called “pits” still bugs me.

        They got their last pet when a stray GSD took shelter in the pit to whelp.

      • sloopyinca

        6am is still dark (nighttime) here. It was a crime in progress. Texas Penal Code 9.41 and 9.42 should protect the shooter. Although it is Harris County and not an entirely civilized government runs that circus.

        I’d say the odds he faces charges are just under 50/50.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      All he had to do to be fine was not steal someone’s shit.

      • Suthenboy

        Harris County has had an enormous influx of Eritreans over the last few years. Not sure who was involved here, the story doesnt say, but in many immigrant cultures stealing is considered normal or even expected. Telling them not to steal is like telling them not to breath.
        I know….I am a xenophobic ultra-super-mega-MAGA whatever thing. Enemy of the state and all that.

      • prolefeed

        Even a Harris County jury ought to get a hung jury, assuming it doesn’t get tossed by a grand jury first.

        In a place such as Elgin or Taylor known for BBQ, likely it’d be an acquittal.

      • cavalier973

        The family of the person killed would have to pay court costs.

  4. Tres Cool

    whaddup doh’

  5. SDF-7

    What the hell is going on at Red Bull?

    The one thing Mike Pence is dead on right about. Although if they keep up with the “20+ years old, no evidence.. guilty anyway” it won’t matter.

    Is it possible? Sure. Is the type of personality that goes into sports / CEO roles more likely? Probably.. sure seems that way (“I can… therefore I will!” types). Did it necessarily happen? Who knows…. unless there’s some actual evidence, none of this should have leaked out. But anyway… first I’d heard of it… there’s my reaction for ya.

    • sloopyinca

      The curious thing is that it supposedly happened in Austria. But the lady involved is saying she wants to make her complaint in England because their laws on this thing are more friendly to accusers.

      • SDF-7

        Well, that just increases my faith in her portrayal of events. :eyeroll:

        One would think Brexit would have complicated such jurisdiction shopping for the EU… but whatever. Don’t have to care… don’t choose to care.

  6. rhywun

    The French have traditionally revered state institutions.

    😂🤣

    • SDF-7

      Well at one point they were at the cutting edge of social reforms.

    • Not Adahn

      It’s state policy — in a secular state, only the state may be revered.

    • rhywun

      This story, supported by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, is part of an ongoing Associated Press series covering threats to democracy in Europe.

      Wow. They’re not even hiding their extreme bias anymore.

      • rhywun

        The violent views of the radical right in the U.S. have spread to Europe

        That article is a goldmine of derp.

    • R C Dean

      “A small-town mayor embodies the values of the French Republic, harking back to the revolution of 1789.”

      The revolution that saw institutions torn down and thousands executed? Sounds like its the townsfolk who are embodying those values, not the mayors?

  7. Suthenboy

    ” ‘people are terrified’ that they are ‘handing over our town to one person who’s doing what he wants to do.’ ”
    Commies bitch about property rights and free will. Fuck those people. I have to root for the frog on this one.

    • prolefeed

      They didn’t seem to have any quotes of WHY anyone would be ‘terrified’ by some real estate transactions. Who the hell is afraid someone might offer them above market prices for their property? Talk about burying the lede.

      • creech

        Maybe they don’t want Carmel turned into another Monaco, which Somerset Maugham characterized as a “sunny place for shady people.” But I’m sure there is already no shortage of shady folks in California.

  8. Shpip

    Texas man shot, killed after stealing BBQ pit from owner

    Texas: It’s not just the brisket that gets smoked

  9. Suthenboy

    I am wondering….dunno specifically about Charlie…but I see an awful lot of voters complaining about getting what they voted for.
    My cold black heart has zero sympathy.

  10. cavalier973

    They added: ‘What’s going to happen as he spends so much money on the building, the property tax goes up and the rents go up and the only people who can afford it are chain stores?

    ‘What’s going to happen to our mom-and-pop shops? What’s going to happen to our local feel?’

    It’s going to go away.

    • cavalier973

      We are seeing the results of an accumulation of regulation enacted by every level of government.

      I expect that these Mom’n’Pop stores are unable to pay the onerous fees and taxes to stay in business, and no amount of government largesse can replace profits.

      Profits are information. They tell you what you need to be selling, and what you need to stop putting on your shelves.

    • Beau Knott

      It’s called creative destruction. Also spelled ‘progress’.

    • rhywun

      I’m constantly amazed that Chain Stores are always willing to throw money out the window in ways the Good Guys can’t afford.

      • The Last American Hero

        Chain stores have a team at national that can focus on compliance. Mom and pop have mom, pop, and their attorney.

    • cavalier973

      People vote for politicians, whose livelihood depends on taxes, and then are surprised when politicians enact policies that increase taxes.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        But also tax breaks for rich developers.

  11. Gender Traitor

    Links to the Daily Fail keep triggering malware warnings for me. Is my copy of Malwarebytes just paranoid?

    • SDF-7

      Or mine is not sufficiently paranoid enough. :shrug:

  12. Stinky Wizzleteats

    “I hope, Mr. Mayor, that your wife will be raped, your daughter will be raped, and your grandchildren sodomized.”

    Pretty rough but of course lacking in context as presented is the fact that the native French are often the recepients of just that kind of thing when gropey immigrants who won’t take no for an answer reach a critical mass. A mayor screwing it up for everybody in order to show how humanitarian they are deserves the business-stick to getting the trash collected and the water running for Christ’s sake.

    • Not Adahn

      Verbal abuse is one thing, arson is something else entirely.

  13. SDF-7

    I love this song.

    Huh… I would have expected it more from OMWC. 😉

    • SDF-7

      Ok… hadn’t heard that one — now that I watched the video… it is okay. Not up to Technique tracks for me, but it may grow on me.

      At least half the video though I kept worrying seizure girl was going to pile it into the guardrails / walls / whatnot… kept picturing an involuntary wheel jerk as she spazzed out. May have kept me from properly enjoying the song….

      • SDF-7

        So is this one.

        Oh yeah — that’s one of my favorites. And unlike Fine Time — no sheep to make you wonder just what they’re on about. 😉

      • rhywun

        Not up to Technique tracks for me

        *falls out of chair*

        This is why I don’t comment on de gustibus stuff anymore – hurts my bum.

  14. R C Dean

    This is what happens in a civilized society.

    “The second person in the vehicle was not injured, the sheriff said, and has not been charged with a crime.”

    Sounds like felony murder should be on the table, to me.

    • Sean

      Could have been their kid and an unwilling participant. Details very much lacking here.

    • sloopyinca

      Felony murder? Texas Penal Code 9.41 and 9.42 will likely protect the property owner.

      • Not Adahn

        I think he was referring to the (potential) accomplice.

      • Sean

        That’s how I read it.

      • R C Dean

        You are correct.

      • sloopyinca

        Ah, ok. Makes sense now. I need to wake up.
        ::gets coffee pot brewing::

      • prolefeed

        Perhaps my sarcasm detector is broken, but if the perp getting shot is deemed self-defense, then the shooting isn’t a crime and thus you can’t charge felony murder for any bystanders / possible accomplices for that justified killing.

      • Not Adahn

        “Felony murder” is making people involved in a felony responsible for any deaths that occur during the commission of the crime, no matter who was holding the gun.

        It’s kinda bullshit.

      • The Hyperbole

        It’s kinda bullshit.

        FIFY

  15. Sean

    The post card story amuses me. It doesn’t take much, apparently.

  16. Suthenboy

    Nye? That fucking clown? Who listens to that creepy freak?
    Go fuck yourself Billy. You put all of your eggs in one rotten basket. I think the ‘sky is falling’ routine has run its course.

    • rhywun

      I’m pretty sure the “Greenland is melting” thing was disproved recently but he probably has his own models so *shrug*.

    • The Last American Hero

      Who listens to him? 2 generations of kids, one of which is now old enough to vote.

      • Gender Traitor

        And possibly the jury in Michael Mann’s lawsuit against Mark Steyn et al. IIIRC, Nye was there schmoozing with the jurors in the hallway, telling them what a swell guy Mann is. 🙄

      • Common Tater

        Isn’t that illegal?

      • kinnath

        A wee bit of jury tampering. No big deal.

      • Gender Traitor

        A more serious interference with the judicial process came from Mann’s longtime chum, the children’s telly personality and faintly creepy Bill Nye The Science Guy. Mr Nye turned up, rather oddly, while the court was closed to the public for voir dire. So instead he went and hung out among the jury pool, and after a moment or two some or other prospective juror said, “Hey, you came to my school when I was in Grade Five!” or some such and “The Science Guy” responded, “Yeah, I’m a good friend of Mike Mann’s!”

        (From Steyn’s site)

      • Common Tater

        What a shitshow.

      • Gender Traitor

        Well, it was a DC jury, so there you go.

    • Sean

      LOL

    • The Gunslinger

      Small rust flakes on the panels may be from brake residue that clings to the panels and then rusts. Not that uncommon on any vehicle. Some paint colors reveal it more easily than others.

      • Fourscore

        That’s all I need to know. MN salt would probably not help.

  17. Shpip

    Monaco real estate billionaire Patrice Pastor has bought another historic multi-million dollar property in Carmel-by-the-Sea, leaving locals ‘terrified’ for the future of the Californian town.

    Really rich guy dabbles in ultra-high-end real estate in quirky seaside town. Women and minorities hardest hit, or something.

  18. Rufus the Monocled

    So glad everyone is working.

  19. Rufus the Monocled

    Does anyone listen to David Knight around here?

    • Not Adahn

      Not since I was a kid in the ’80s.

    • SDF-7

      Never heard of him. I suppose he’s going on and on about how one man can make a difference and seeking donations for his Foundation for Law and Government?

      • Rufus the Monocled

        No. Far from it.

      • Rufus the Monocled

        That’s why I listen. I don’t know much about him other than he worked with Alex Jones at Informers but was fired for telling Jones he was a grifter and went off on his own. I like his general overall view on things. He pummels both sides including Tucker and Trump.

        He appears to be a Christian-Libertarian if I were to label him. Refers to Reason quite a bit.

    • Shpip

      Does anyone listen to David Knight around here?

      Not at work. We all have a Knight Rider in our contracts — standard part of the Kitt when we got hired.

      • SDF-7

        Nice. My attempt to be subtle with it just turbo boosted past Rufus, I think.

      • Rufus the Monocled

        I’m a little rusty.

      • The Gunslinger

        Are you a cyber truck?

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        [*Looks through fridge for expired produce*]

  20. Not Adahn

    If I hadn’t had my sense of shame removed in 1992, I’d probably feel some after learning my employer is getting $1.5G from the fed and an additional $0.6G from NY.

    I do however, want to take a shower. And I need to stay away from my celebrating coworkers.

    • sloopyinca

      They’re celebrating him getting $2,100 from the government?

      • Not Adahn

        G not g.

      • Sean

        A Gajillion? Wow!!

      • Not Adahn

        That’s the indium coin.

      • Not Adahn

        Oh FFS, they’re having a celebration tomorrow.

        Sweet, sweet tax dollars.

    • PieInTheSky

      You should start your own company and get in on the sweet sweet government teat

      • PieInTheSky

        Also if you can build a fab for a measly 1.5G why does whatshisface want to raise 7 trillion

      • Not Adahn

        It’s not a new one, it’s expanding the current one.

        Must be nice to be Mubadala — let other people pay for your infrastructure.

      • PieInTheSky

        will you be offering discounts to your customers?

      • Not Adahn

        D’awwwwwe!

  21. Rufus the Monocled

    Anyone listen to Tucker interview Michael Benz? This ‘threat’ of ‘right-wing extremism’ appears to be all orchestrated. This ‘disinformation complex’ is mighty deep and disturbing.

    • cavalier973

      I haven’t listened to it, but I read about it.

      It is stuff that anonymous conservative has been saying for years.

    • Suthenboy

      I thought Nancy warned of some great right wing conspiracy years ago. I forget what they called it exactly.

      • rhywun

        That was Hillary and her “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy”.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        Yes and she was talking about super duper scary 90’s extremists like…..

        Rush Limbaugh.

        Turns out characterizing anything not explicitly of the left as extreme is not a new phenomenon.

  22. Rufus the Monocled

    Speaking of ‘expert’ clowns like Nye, when I got in my Jeep the other day, I heard De Grasse Jr. High Tyson on a show on ComedyGreats where comedians were asking him questions. I listened for 20 seconds because I know what kind of a goofball that guy is. My point is these guys are still invited to all these shows and places and looked upon as wise experts. As Not Adahn says, ‘Morons. Morons everywhere.’

    Imagine being a person who reads and listens to those two daily. I wouldn’t even be able to recognize the person.

    • Tres Cool

      I like to think that in his very, very, narrow field, DeGrasse is average or slightly above.
      Its when they stray from their lane and start to opine on everything else that I get immediately annoyed.

      I used to deal with a Ph.D chemist that had his own lab, specializing in a very specific type of VOC analysis. Great guy. But on more than 1 occasion I cut him off by telling him, “Oh, I forgot Im speaking to an expert on every goddamn thing in the universe.”

      • Rufus the Monocled

        And did he give you a shocked look of ‘Why I never! I wish to speak to the manager!’

        Nye has 5.7 million followers.

        De Grasse. 14.7 million.

      • Tres Cool

        He was a good sport tho I suspect a bit of a megalomaniac. Im sure in his head he thought, “how cute- the non Ph.d is asserting himself.”

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        Maybe he was and expert in something, I would be curious to see his CV (not curious enough to acutally look, mind you), but now NDT is an expert in little besides getting booked for appearances on podcasts and the like.

    • rhywun

      De Grasse Jr. High Tyson

      🤣😂

  23. Sean

    So, I was gifted a “high power” blue laser pointer.

    Class IIIA – WL: 532nm/650nm and 100mw.

    Should I be worried about getting safety glasses or is this still fairly mild?

    I’m completely clueless about such things.

  24. SDF-7

    Bleah. I disagree on a couple bonus words, obviously. Ah well.

    I played https://squaredle.com/xp 02/19:
    *20/20 words
    🎯 In the top 11% by accuracy

    I played https://squaredle.com 02/19:
    *26/26 words (+3 bonus words)
    🎯 In the top 14% by accuracy
    🔥 Solve streak: 249

    • Sean

      I played https://squaredle.com/xp 02/19:
      *20/20 words
      ⏱️ In the top 6% by speed

      I played https://squaredle.com 02/19:
      *26/26 words (+8 bonus words)
      📖 In the top 4% by bonus words
      🔥 Solve streak: 148

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      As long as Germany doesn’t get too frisky they’ll be fine and why not, the dumbass US will be happy to pick up the slack.

    • rhywun

      “Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.”

      /some episode of South Park

      I know I’ve asked this before but western Europe is aware that Ukraine is not part of NATO, right?

      • Not Adahn

        Only because Drumpf kept them out!

  25. PieInTheSky

    2 waves of mass murder struck prehistoric Denmark, genetic study reveals

    https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2-waves-of-mass-murder-struck-prehistoric-denmark-genetic-study-reveals

    Hunter-gatherers in what’s now Denmark were wiped out within a few generations of the arrival of the first farmers in the region around 5,900 years ago, a new study finds. But these farmers were the new top dogs for only about a millennium — about 4,850 years ago, immigrants of Eastern Steppe ancestry largely wiped them out, according to a DNA analysis of prehistoric human remains.

    The research shows that there were two almost-complete population turnovers in Denmark in the past 7,300 years, according to one of four studies published together Jan. 10 in the journal Nature.

    “This transition has previously been presented as peaceful. However, our study indicates the opposite,” study co-researcher Anne Birgitte Nielsen, a geology researcher and head of the Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory at Lund University in Sweden, said in a statement. “In addition to violent death, it is likely that new pathogens from livestock finished off many gatherers.”

    • Not Adahn

      Those fucking Diggers.

    • R.J.

      Looks like it’s about to happen again, now that the Danish have started donating their military.

    • rhywun

      Narrator: It’s never “peaceful”.

    • Not Adahn

      Honestly, I think cricket is better than baseball.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        “Hello, House Committee on Un-American activities? I’d like to make a report….”

      • Not Adahn

        I used to attend Astros games. I have no memories of anything other than getting there early for the $4 admission, drinking beer and occasionally getting a free baseball during the batting practices. Actual game play? Nothing.

      • Ted S.

        Especially when India loses, right?

      • Not Adahn

        *nods*

  26. The Late P Brooks

    “These groups once relegated to the dark corners now feel empowered to spew their noxious ideology out in the open due to our state’s leadership REFUSING to condemn their speech and actions,” state Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, said on X.

    Okay, sure.

    That was a nice touch, getting a courtroom sketch artist’s depiction of the howling mob.

    • cavalier973

      “As a young man, Adolf Hitler had his application to art school rejected.
      One thing led to another, and the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on the sovereign nation of Japan.”

      ~Brian Regan

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      He was OK (not great but good enough) when painting buildings and the like but like AI his human forms left a bit to be desired.

      • cavalier973

        He couldn’t paint people without doing something weird with their hands.

      • Not Adahn

        The hand version of Rob Liefeld?

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        So, what you are saying is, Hitler was a time traveling android.

        Does Harry Turtledove know you are stealing his Schick?

      • cavalier973

        *Kung Fu

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        That was magnificent.

  27. Stinky Wizzleteats

    92 year old G Edward Griffin (The Creature from Jeckyl Island author) being interviewed by a YouTuber the other day:
    https://youtu.be/nY4gPJ1MusA?si=_rVoxkcJT0TRON9j

    Still as sharp as a tack.

  28. Shpip

    Why won’t the proles believe us when we tell them the warm stuff running down their leg is rain?

    There’s a striking disconnect between the widely shared pessimism among Americans and measures that show the economy is actually robust. Consumers are spending briskly—behavior that suggests optimism, not retrenchment. Inflation has tempered. Unemployment has been below 4% for 24 straight months, the longest such stretch since the 1960s.

    The disconnect has puzzled economists, investors and business owners. But press Americans harder, and the immediate economy emerges as only one factor in the gloomy outlook. Americans feel sour about the economy, many say, because their long-term financial security feels fragile and vulnerable to wide-ranging social and political threats.

    Gee, people get thrown out of work for months at a time due to panic over a virus, their purchasing power has been cut 20% in a few years due to Congress’ inflating the currency, millions of illiterate peasants are crossing the border for benefits, and the populace choose to believe their own lying eyes instead of the gamed statistics.

    • cavalier973

      As I understand it, if a fellow gives up in despair, and stops looking for a job, then the government says that he is no longer unemployed.

      • kinnath

        Yes, that’s how I understand it too.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Y’all understand it correctly.

      • kinnath

        If you take a part-time job flipping burgers at half your previous wage, you are also no longer unemployed. {welcome to the 80s}

      • rhywun

        In other words, “The numbers are bullshit” and Americans seem to be picking up on that.

        Especially the unemployment number. It also does not include people who happily spend all day on the couch because it pays better than finding a fucking job.

      • cavalier973

        I once explained to a coworker that when the FedGov spends $500 to buy a $20 hammer, that’s included in GDP.

    • rhywun

      I would watch that over 99% of the garbage on American television these days.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    French mayors face violence and intimidation from xenophobic far-right groups

    That’s about as deep as I need to go.

    • rhywun

      All I get is Biden barking “xenophobic!” in my head over and over.

    • Q Continuum

      Because only the Government is above G-d apparently.

    • cavalier973

      My initial guess—with no evidence at all— is that the woman’s baby daddy killed them out of jealousy.

    • Not Adahn

      A 24 year old and a 26 year old in a college dorm room?

    • Suthenboy

      How many times have I seen this?
      When someone loses a family member, especially a child, they also lose their minds. There is no good answer. They are desperate to make someone pay, it has to be someone’s fault.
      There is no point trying to reason with someone like that. I dont know what can be said or done. Attacking them is cruel, heeding what they have to say is a mistake.
      There is no good answer.

  30. Q Continuum

    Celebrate our two greatest presidents in history with the two greatest things in history!

    https://archive.is/eikYw

    Presidential Mammary Monday.

    • kinnath

      I hope that turns into something real.

      • R.J.

        I think ten to fifteen truckers constitutes a minor nuisance at best.

      • cavalier973

        It’s the kind of thing that can really shake up one’s worldview.

        “What do you mean, you’ve got no food for me to steal?”

        Another factor to consider for companies that are headquartered there. No places to eat. No places to fuel your car. No meeting at the high-rise bar after work.

      • Urthona

        That seems… unlikely.

      • cavalier973

        Well, smuggling is profitable, if risky.

  31. The Late P Brooks

    He couldn’t paint people without doing something weird with their hands.

    “Oh, they’re wearing mittens. They’re Eskimos.”

  32. Zwak says the real is not governable, but self-governing.

    I hate Santa Cruz, I hate Monterey, I hate San Luis Obispo, I hate Santa Barbara.

    And I really hate Carmel.

    • kinnath

      I’ve never been there.

      • Not Adahn

        The weather there is too sticky.

    • PieInTheSky

      if you hate all the places in that case you must be the problem

    • cavalier973

      What places do you like?

    • Urthona

      I do not hate any of those places.

  33. PieInTheSky

    We are now in the absurdist position in this country where standing with a sign that states the law will get you carted off by the police. The authorities should have protected his right to counter protest. Instead they aggressively removed him. Shocking.

    https://twitter.com/HeidiBachram/status/1759189581218332751

  34. The Late P Brooks

    Unintended and unforeseeable

    Russia is entering its third year of war in Ukraine with an unprecedented amount of cash in government coffers, bolstered by a record $37 billion of crude oil sales to India last year, according to new analysis, which concludes that some of the crude was refined by India and then exported to the United States as oil products worth more than $1 billion.

    This flow of payments, ultimately to Moscow’s benefit, comes from India increasing its purchases of Russian crude by over 13 times its pre-war amounts, according to the analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), exclusively shared with CNN. It amounts to US strategic partner New Delhi stepping in to replace crude purchases by Western buyers, reduced by sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the analysis said.

    While Russian crude sales to India are not subject to sanctions and are entirely legitimate, an examination of shipping routes by experts suggests this huge volume of shipments might involve the so-called “shadow fleet” of crude tankers, specially created by Moscow to try to disguise who it is trading with and how, and maximize the Kremlin’s profits.

    Merciful heavens.

  35. PieInTheSky

    154 members of the American Political Science Association release their latest Presidential Rankings. Ratings for the living Presidents:
    Carter 22nd
    Clinton 12th
    Bush 32nd
    Obama 7th
    Trump 45th
    Biden 14th

    https://twitter.com/nick_field90/status/1759280385010122941

    • cavalier973

      Trump was ranked 45th, AND he was the 45th President.

      Whoa.

      • R.J.

        Lincoln and FDR were #1 and 2. Tells me what I wanted to know.

      • prolefeed

        Trump was rated by far the worst. When he was followed by someone in the top half of the rankings who tanked a bustling economy and has obvious dementia. Clearly an aggregation of non-partisan minds putting these ranking together.

    • Pine_Tree

      They have Lincoln and FDR as #1 and #2, which tells you everything you need to know about the list.

      • R.J.

        Good Lord. Are we twinkies now?

    • Q Continuum

      154 members of the American Political Science Association overcredentialed lefty hacks.

      FIFY.

      Also: Biden in the top half? HAHAHAH! Talk about living on a different planet.

    • Not Adahn

      A highly intelligent person would notice this ignores the grower/shower dichotomy.

    • Urthona

      Haha.

      Did they measure all 100,000 men or did they just ask them?

      Is it possible more intelligent people were more honest?

      • PieInTheSky

        I mean if you believe in IQ, generally Chinese/Koreans are higher and Africans lower so I would assume this correlation without studies

      • Urthona

        I clicked on the study and at first glance it looked like it controlled for racial background among other things. That would indeed be really obvious though.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    I hate Santa Cruz, I hate Monterey, I hate San Luis Obispo, I hate Santa Barbara.

    And I really hate Carmel.

    What about L A?

  37. The Late P Brooks

    Trump 45th

    Who was worse? Calvin Coolidge and who else?

  38. Common Tater

    “Muslim Families Can Opt Out of School LGBTQ Propaganda — and That’s Bad News for Biden

    The propaganda specifically consisted of homosexual-themed books including “Our Subway Baby,” which features “two men who adopt a baby”; “My Shadow Is Pink,” which showcases “a boy who wears dresses,” and “Ho’onani: Hula Warrior,” which is a sly justification for men pretending to be women and dominating women’s sports, in the form of a story about “a young Hawaiian girl who wants to lead a boys hula team.” The Muslim families asked that their children be excused from reading this material, but school officials refused, claiming preposterously that this smut and indoctrination did not “constitute instructional materials,” and thus parents could not opt out. That’s when they got attorneys on the case.”

    https://pjmedia.com/robert-spencer/2024/02/18/muslim-families-can-opt-out-of-school-lgbtq-propaganda-and-thats-bad-news-for-biden-n4926544

    I don’t think it matters, as Republicans are generally pro-Israel.

    • Pope Jimbo

      St. Louis Park (the suburb where this happened) is also the home of the first elected Somali mayor. As wonderful as that is, it hasn’t led to Peace On Earth.

      MPR is too polite to point out that the “two groups of students” were the Somali immigrant students and the native black students.

      • Common Tater

        I don’t think the native black parents are all that crazy about the LGBTQ propaganda either, but they’ll still vote for the people pushing it.

    • rhywun

      Time to buy their votes in other ways. It worked for Xtians and Jews.

    • Not Adahn

      Has Randazza ever won a case?

      • PieInTheSky

        I would assume so but I did not check primary sources

  39. Not Adahn

    I was going to link an article about people losing their minds over DC merging a “white” and a “black” school. But this is DC, so the “White” school was 60% white.

    • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

      Reno High is the only H.S. I can think of in DC that has any white kids to speak of

      • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

        *public H.S.

      • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

        (looks like it’s called Jackson-Reed now)

    • Pine_Tree

      Also William Henry Harrison. All presidents should emulate him.

      • creech

        Harrison, the last president born before the U.S. was born, managed some patronage reforms during his 30 days in office. Even then, the swamp needed draining.

  40. PieInTheSky

    The unbelievable saga of PA Judge Sonya McKnight

    2015 – Wins judgeship unopposed after defeating incumbent in Democratic primary

    2019 – Shoots husband in the groin. Gets off on self-defense claim. Allowed to remain a judge

    2021 – Charged with interfering with her son’s arrest, but acquitted by a local jury

    2023 – Suspended from the bench for habitual absences, excessive vacations

    2024 – Charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting boyfriend in the eye while he slept

    https://twitter.com/NatCon2022/status/1759296424762614033

    Wow I did not know you had Romanian-style judges in the US

      • Not Adahn

        Completely not hot enough to justify that level of crazy.

    • Not Adahn

      If you can’t kill a sleeping person, you have no business being in any job requiring competence.

    • ron73440

      Quite the impressive resume.

      I wonder how valid the self defense shooting was.

    • creech

      You have to understand that there are districts in Pennsylvania where you can get 105% of the registered voters to vote for you if you have a D after your name on the ballot, no matter what transgressions you might have done.

      • Fatty Bolger

        The guy before her was crooked, too:

        Sonya McKnight was elected in 2015. She defeated a sitting district judge, Robert Jennings III, in the 2015 primary and captured the seat in the general election. Jennings sought re-election even while he was under investigation for misconduct; he later pleaded no contest to charges that he strong-armed constables for campaign cash.

    • Gustave Lytton

      “I’m not only the judge, I’m also a defendant!”

  41. The Other Kevin

    Excellent song choices. The second one, I always liked the ending of the album version. Trippy.

    Peter Hook is touring later this year, I’m still trying to work that into our budget.

  42. Not Adahn

    How TF is Nvidia worth more than Amazon?

    • PieInTheSky

      the market works in mysterious ways

    • Q Continuum

      More growth potential I would assume.

      Or investors are crazy.

    • Beau Knott

      Tulip bulbs / AI on GPUs

  43. The Late P Brooks

    From whom all bounty flows

    The Biden administration on Monday announced a preliminary agreement to provide $1.5 billion in funding through the CHIPS and Science Act to a New York-based company in an effort to bolster domestic production of semiconductor chips.

    The Commerce Department said it signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with GlobalFoundries to give funding through the bipartisan legislation signed into law in 2022. The money would be used for a new facility, expansion of production capacity and the modernization of GlobalFoundries’ semiconductor manufacturing sites in New York and Vermont.

    ——-

    “President Biden and I continue to be fully committed to growing our economy and creating opportunity in every part of America. Today’s announcement is another way in which we are delivering on that commitment in New York, Vermont, and communities throughout the country,” Vice President Harris said in a statement.

    Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GlobalFoundries, said the investments through the CHIPS and Science Act “will also play an important role in making the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem more globally competitive and resilient and cements the New York Capital Region as a global semiconductor hub.”

    Without the federal government we’d be scratching in the dirt with sticks.

    • Not Adahn

      Well, nobody would build manufacturing in NY unless they were getting paid to.

    • PieInTheSky

      Not Adahn was rubbing that in your face earlier in the comments

      • Not Adahn

        I’d better be getting a bigger bonus next year!

      • PieInTheSky

        don’t spend it all in one place

  44. PieInTheSky

    “Argentina Sees First Monthly Budget Surplus In 12 Years

    …as new President Javier Milei continues to push for strong spending cuts, the Economy Ministry announced.

    January was the first full month in office for Milei, a far-right libertarian who took office in December, and it ended with a positive balance for public-sector finances of $589 million at the official exchange rate…

    The figure includes payment of interest on the public debt.

    Milei has been negotiating with the International Monetary Fund over its $44 billion loan and has vowed to achieve balance in public finances this year.”

    https://twitter.com/ProdigalThe3rd/status/1759240388747895108

    • Not Adahn

      Everyone told me that austerity never works.

    • The Other Kevin

      They better watch out, “far-right libertarian” isn’t looking as bad as they want it to.

  45. The Late P Brooks

    Political suicide

    U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration intends to relax limits on tailpipe emissions that are designed to get Americans to move from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the plan.

    The administration would give car manufacturers more time instead of requiring them to rapidly ramp up sales of electric vehicles over the next few years, the report said, adding that the new rule could be published by early spring.

    The shift would mean that EV sales would not need to rise sharply until after 2030.

    ——-

    Reuters previously reported that the White House could enact proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulations as soon as March that would mandate dramatic reductions in tailpipe emissions. The administration proposal would require boosting U.S. EV market share to 67% by 2032 from less than 8% in 2023.

    General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis — the European parent of U.S.-based Ram and Jeep — have warned they cannot profitably transition their truck-heavy U.S. fleets that quickly, according to a Reuters analysis of automakers’ sales data and a review of comments to regulators.

    Automakers and the AAI have urged the Biden administration to slow the proposed ramp-up in EV sales. They have said EV technology is still too costly for many mainstream U.S. consumers, and more time is needed to develop the charging infrastructure.

    That will cost him the college eco-fanatic vote. He’s slitting his own throat. All that talk about cost and scarcity is just duplicitous Big Oil foot-dragging.

    • Urthona

      It will not, but it might suppress turnout a bit.

    • prolefeed

      Except, ramping up sales would mean people would have to BUY these vehicles. Kind of a sticking point in unilaterally deciding what car manufacturers must build.

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      Nah. Team blue has fully corralled the progressive wing of the party by framing themselves as the last line of defense from the “Far Right” (read: not leftist).

      They will pull the lever for the shambling corpse of PPP for fear of the greater evil.

  46. The Late P Brooks

    Well, nobody would build manufacturing in NY unless they were getting paid to.

    Is that even enough?

    • Not Adahn

      When the bribes get into the ten-figure range, apparently so.

  47. PieInTheSky

    Out of a ~$3.2MM total project budget (Cerca 2019), this Moongate cost us about $15k.

    It made the project. People take prom and wedding photos in front all the time. It anchors it in people’s mind.

    Where do you live? “I live by the Moongate” is a common refrain.

    This taught me something: beauty is powerful, and the moments that make a project, and capture peoples’ hearts, can be quite small.

    It’s the power of human scale, beauty and placemaking. I call these types of things Anchor Architecture now. Architecture that draws people in, that they remember, that anchors a place in people’s minds.

    Often, it’s a tiny fraction of a project budget, but it can change everything.

    https://twitter.com/AustinTunnell/status/1758893531886752044

  48. The Late P Brooks

    Stimulating

    LAX was awarded a $31 million grant from the federal government to improve surrounding roadways.

    “This award funds two areas of the Auxiliary Curbs at ITF West and ITF East, which includes a combination of new, extending, widening, and utility improvements of surrounding roadways. This also includes underground Low Impact Development (LID) stormwater containment systems,” a news release from The Federal Aviation Administration said.

    LAX was among 114 airports nationwide that received grants from the federal government as part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Investing in America agenda.

    About $970 million was awarded to the airports to help “rebuild our nation’s infrastructure while lowering costs for families, creating good jobs, and advancing opportunity for all Americans,” a news release said.

    Don’t worry, there’s plenty more where that came from. Just don’t forget who gave it to you.

  49. The Late P Brooks

    ramping up sales would mean people would have to BUY these vehicles.

    If you build it, they will buy. That’s just Econ 101.

    • Not Adahn

      Last time I heard, she claims that she was born a woman.

      • Common Tater

        I haven’t heard that, then again I don’t follow her at all. Although, you have to search fairly deeply to find out otherwise. There is no mention of her being trans on Wikipedia or any of the popular biography sites.

      • Urthona

        Isn’t that the gamer gate person or whatever? I can’t remember.

      • Common Tater

        Yes, Literally Wu.

      • Fatty Bolger

        She refused to say either way.

  50. KK, Plump & Unfiltered

    I got a text about a Nikki Haley rally and I replied “what will she be wearing?”

    Continuing in R.J.’s (?) grand tradition

    • creech

      I told her to get out of the race and stop e-mailing me. Since then, I’ve gotten at least three more e-mails. Too bad the NY D.A. isn’t after her for fraud in soliciting money in a political race she knows she can’t win.

  51. PieInTheSky

    bad regulation causes harm.

    perhaps regulations should be considered new technology, and the precautionary principle applied to the regulations themselves?

    prove to me your new rules can do no harm.

    https://twitter.com/MiTiBennett/status/1759428984109179192

    • R C Dean

      Ding ding ding.

      I’ve long argued that applying the precautionary principle would prevent the precautionary principle from being applied.

  52. creech

    CBS Sunday Morning had Sen. Angus King (I-ME) on and he stated it would be a huge geopolitical mistake for the U.S. not to keep sending billions to Ukraine and that failure would “haunt the U.S. for 50 years.” Polls seem to show the majority of Americans are itching to keep pitching arms to the Ukrainians in what looks like a losing effort, just to keep Russia from taking over the rest of Europe. Other than shouting at the tv screen (which never seems to work), I kept hoping for King to demonstrate just how vital this aid is to U.S. interests by saying “We in Congress think it so damned vital that we are going to take a pay deduction of 10% from our salaries, and 10% from the salaries of every other federal employee, and 10% from the social security checks and tax refunds of all Americans. That’s how committed we are to aiding Ukraine.” Of course he didn’t say that because we know his commitment rests solely on spending other people’s money.

    • Urthona

      So the billions Western Europe just gave them wasn’t enough?

      Can someone tell me the exact amount we need to give so that Ukraine will win the unwinnable war against Russia?

      • Gender Traitor

        All of the money.

  53. Common Tater

    “Utah Rep. Brian King (Dist. 23) who is running as a Democrat for Utah governor, as well as other Democrats in the Utah legislature, voted against a bill that criminalizes purposefully exposing children under 14 to sexualized performances at drag shows and in other venues. Specific acts banned in the bill for children include performances that act out simulated masturbation, intercourse, and erotic touching of fake or natural breasts, as well as involving any child in an act containing these actions.”

    https://thepostmillennial.com/dem-candidate-for-utah-governor-votes-against-bill-banning-sexualized-drag-performances-for-children

    CWAA

    • PieInTheSky

      I really don’t understand this insistence by elements on the left on getting kids in drag shows. I doubt it will increase “tolerance”

      • Common Tater

        It’s not about increasing tolerance.

      • Suthenboy

        The term is ‘demoralization’ for a reason.

    • Urthona

      Eh, not sure I would bother trying to “criminalize” such a thing. Not that any opinion on the role of government was a basis for this Democrat’s decision.

  54. Common Tater

    “On Friday, a drag queen who dresses like a nun with the Brew City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was arrested in connection with child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child. While formal charges have not yet been filed, officials with the sheriff’s office have recommended charges of four counts of possession of child pornography and four counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

    Jail records show that drag queen and Outagamie County, Wisconsin, human resource director Adam Westbrook was taken into custody around 3:40 am on Friday. This came after the Neenah Police Department and the State Department of Justice executed a search warrant on his home as part of a much larger investigation, according to FOX 11.”

    https://thepostmillennial.com/sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-drag-queen-arrested-over-child-porn-allegations-in-wisconsin

    This is my shocked face.

    • Not Adahn

      An HR Director? Never!

  55. The Late P Brooks

    What happened to an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay?

    On Sunday they voted to strike and on Saturday morning, members of Teamsters Local 997 hit the picket line outside the Molson Coors brewery in Fort Worth.

    The Teamsters say they are looking for a new three-year contract for the 420 workers who work at the only brewery that services the entire Western region of the United States with major Molson Coors products that include Topo Chico, Simply, Pabst, and Yuengling, among other major beverage brands.

    The 420 members of Local 997 say they are fighting for higher pay, health care and retirement benefit improvements in a new contract.

    All we are asking for is our fair share. It’s not even about being rewarded; it’s something owed to us. We all work hard and need to take care of our families. We’re just fighting for our just cause,” Jeff Pruitt, a member of Teamsters Local 997 said in a video post the Teamsters posted on X Friday.

    Just cause, indeed.

    • kinnath

      need to take care of our families.

      Find a better job.

    • Gustave Lytton

      the only brewery that services the entire Western region of the United States with major Molson Coors products

      Golden, what?

    • Urthona

      Is he headed to Queens to look for a wife?

    • PieInTheSky

      I don’t believe that I need hard evidence

  56. The Late P Brooks

    Upon further review

    Financial giants JPMorgan and State Street announced this week that they were leaving the Climate Action 100+ organization, an investors group that pushes ESG initiatives and controls about $68 trillion in assets.

    Black Rock, the world’s largest asset manager, also announced that it would be pulling some investment away from Climate Action, meaning that the total investment value lost by the group is around $14 trillion. The moves were praised by Republicans, who have said that companies engaging in ESG initiatives harm the economy and use customers’ money for political purposes.

    State Street said Climate Action 100+ requirements were no longer in line with company policy. “SSGA has concluded the enhanced Climate Action 100+ phase 2 requirements for signatories are not consistent with our independent approach to proxy voting and portfolio company engagement,” State Street told The Financial Times.

    JPMorgan said that it was making the move because it doesn’t have to rely on Climate Action 100+ anymore. “Given these strengths and the evolution of its own stewardship capabilities, JPMAM has determined that it will no longer participate in Climate Action 100+ engagements,” the group said.

    Climate Action, formed in 2017, says that it has over 700 investors who engage “companies on improving climate change governance, cutting emissions and strengthening climate-related financial disclosure” and pushing the world’s biggest companies “take necessary action on climate change.”

    Acting directly contrary to fiduciary responsibility is not a good long term model.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Wow. Well recommended.

    • Fatty Bolger

      In the preface of the 1991 edition you write that dissidents in prisons have kept the “virus of freedom” and it is important to prevent the KGB from inventing a vaccine against it. Alas, they have invented it. But in the current situation, it is not them who are to blame, but us, who naively thought that there was no going back to the old ways. And for the sake of good, it’s okay to rig elections a little bit here, or influence the courts a little bit there, and stifle the press a bit over here.

      These little things, and the belief that it is possible to modernize authoritarianism, are the ingredients of this vaccine.

      A little election fortification here, a little lawfare there, a little harmless censorship of “misinformation” on the side. What could go wrong? It’s all for a good cause.

    • Common Tater

      The big cross is to protect from Pie.

    • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

      Good golly miss Molly but ol’ buddy Blair takes forever to get to the point, doesn’t she?

      • Common Tater

        That seems to be YouTubers in general. As far as I know, the longer the video the more money they make.

      • Not Adahn

        something something algorithm something.

      • Suthenboy

        I see a lot of yewtewberz are enamored by the sound of their own voices.
        “Here let me show this one simple technique that takes 20 seconds but first I am going to flap my fucking gums for 30 minutes before showing it to. you. ”

        *click*

        Yeah? Fuck off.

      • cavalier973

        Completely this.

    • Not Adahn

      “I don’t know what ENM means. I’m not a whore.”

      • Common Tater

        I think he’s a rapper from Detroit.

    • Sean

      Eeew.

  57. Pope Jimbo

    Looks like those right wingers are rioting in Holland now.

    Jan van Zanen, mayor of The Hague, authorised police to use tear gas, a spokesman told the Netherlands Times.

    Mr Van Zanen also issued an emergency order for the area around Fruitweg, a spokesperson for the municipality of The Hague added.

    The paper also reported that the violence stemmed from “a brawl between two groups of Eritreans”.

    • PieInTheSky

      I thought these people leave their tribal affiliation behind and become Europeans

  58. The Late P Brooks

    Fighting the good fight against the greedy capitalist oppressors

    Ford, Farley said, decided to build all of its highly profitable big pickup trucks in the U.S., and by far has the most union members — 57,000 — of any Detroit automaker. This came at a higher cost than competitors, who went through bankruptcy and built truck plants in Mexico, he said. But Ford thought it was the “right kind of cost,” Farley said.

    “Our reliance on the UAW turned out to be we were the first truck plant to be shut down,” Farley told the conference. “Really our relationship has changed. It’s been a watershed moment for the company. Does this have business impact? Yes.”

    In a statement, union President Shawn Fain said Ford should stay focused on building the best auto industry, not on a race to lower wages.

    “Maybe Ford doesn’t need to move factories to find the cheapest labor on Earth,” he said. “Maybe it needs to recommit to American workers and find a CEO who’s interested in the future of this country’s auto industry,” Fain said.

    Asked about Farley’s comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden believes in making goods and creating jobs in the U.S. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that continues,” she said.

    Biden, she said, believes that workers have the right to collective bargaining to get better wages and benefits like the UAW did. “That is something that the president is always going to speak for and is going to stand up for” she said.

    Kill the rich.