333 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    Morning Banjos.

    Where can I get one of those do-nothing jobs? I’m still expected to work at the one I’ve got.

    • Not Adahn

      Be the live-in GF of the Governor of MA?

      • R.J.

        Cabana Boy!

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      The USSR?

      • UnCivilServant

        No good, they would only pretend to pay me.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Well, the USD only pretends to buy things lately.

    • Nephilium

      Have you considered joining the Mafia?

      • Not Adahn

        I’m pretty sure those guys expect results.

      • Fatty Bolger

        And they have some unique motivational techniques.

      • Not Adahn

        Very effective at eliminating the deadwood.

    • hayeksplosives

      Michelle Obama only got $300,000 per year for her made-up job at a Chicago hospital while Barry was Senator.

      She should have demanded equal pay for equal non-work!!!

      • R C Dean

        As I recall, she got a big promotion and raise right around the time a big chunk of federal money landed on her employer.

        And that’s $300,000 in 2005 money. Probably half a million now.

      • Fatty Bolger

        And job was completely eliminated after she quit. Totally legit.

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

        But, in all fairness, it was a non-profit!

    • Brawndo

      Don’t you work for the government?

      • UnCivilServant

        But I don’t have one of those jobs.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        I’m not a bad driver, it’s everyone else.

      • UnCivilServant

        If I had one of those jobs, they’d pay me more.

    • Rat on a train

      I’m sorry you weren’t born into a corrupt political family.

    • Aloysious

      Well, whatever you choose to do, avoid any offer from Vince McMahon. I hear it is a really crappy experience.

    • Bobarian LMD

      Well you just need an IT supervisory role in the government. I have never, in my 40 years of experience, seen one of those guys actually provide an actual use.

      Federal IT seems to be one guy at the bottom who knows what he is doing, busy turning the crank, with three layers of supervisors who tell you why you can’t ask him to do something without meetings and formal documentation.

      • juris imprudent

        who knows what he is doing, busy turning the crank

        In his spare time between mandatory training in stuff with zero relevance to what he does or will ever do.

      • The Last American Hero

        And given that it is a government computer, it literally involves turning an actual crank to keep it running.

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s called a Difference Engine. And those are highly-paid union workers operating those turnhandles.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Are you spying on me?

      • Nephilium

        I thought turning the crank at work was still something government employees could get fired for?

      • Rat on a train

        “non-supervisory GS-15” is the holy grail of positions

      • Bobarian LMD

        As a “non-supervisory GS-13”, I can attest, Brother.

        The Majors in the office have taken to calling me the “Shadow Governor” because I refuse to take the recently vacated supervisory position (no pay raise, managing personnel ass-pain) but I still am involved in “advising leadership”.

  2. Common Tater

    “Rep. James Clyburn (D., S.C.) on Sunday downplayed concerns about President Joe Biden losing support among black Americans, noting that “[Biden] got 96 percent of the vote in this primary, but its largest percentage—over 97 percent—was in the town of Orangeburg where there are two HBCUs [historically black colleges and universities] and a community college.”

    “So that demonstrates to me what I’ve been saying all the time and that Joe Biden has not lost any support among African Americans,” Clyburn said.”

    No, it doesn’t.

    • Not Adahn

      Was “none of these candidates” on that ballot?

      • Suthenboy

        Was anyone else on the ballot?
        The other 4% were probably write-ins

      • juris imprudent

        And risk an increase in turnout?

    • rhywun

      Oh well, there goes the college-town vote the GOP was relying upon. 🙄

    • SDF-7

      Wasn’t that the primary with a 4% voter turn out rate? I think that would qualify any conclusions based on that limited set of data as “in the statistical noise”….

    • Suthenboy

      What is that old saying about pride?

  3. juris imprudent

    File this under they were expendable.

    Officials in the intelligence agencies and at the Pentagon issued those warnings both internally and in briefings on Capitol Hill starting in late October, when Israel invaded Gaza and Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria ramped up their attacks on American forces in response.

  4. juris imprudent

    Be a real shame if we were to lose a bunch of these folks. Oops.

    The White House on Thursday announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will soon be “forced” to reduce operations at the southern border due to lack of funds.

    • rhywun

      Yet somehow, spraying billions of dollars across Ukraine will magically pay for border patrols to do their job at the Mexican border.

      Seems legit.

      • Not Adahn

        When their “job” is to welcome in immigrants, evaluate their claims of asylum in a “non-adversarial manner” (i.e. – don’t you dare question their story) and then hand them their new ID and EBT cards… maybe?

    • Ownbestenemy

      We’ve seen this tactic before…by the same party in power. The party that claims its for the people and Democracy!

    • SDF-7

      Let Texas pick up the slack and expand to neighboring states if need be. No additional federal funds needed.

  5. Derpetologist

    Silly Americans. We are so unworthy of The Big Guy’s leadership. Let us cleanse ourselves with a patriotic song:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQEgjWWjed4

    Did you know the Big Guy likes Irish poetry? How cultured and literate he is!

    Poetry-loving Biden heads to Ireland, home of the ‘best poets in the world’

    https://www.npr.org/2023/04/09/1168697899/poetry-loving-biden-heads-to-ireland-home-of-the-best-poets-in-the-world

    ***
    So while Biden is expected to talk diplomacy and economics, there’s a very good chance he also cites the great Irish poets William Butler Yeats and Seamus Heaney along the way. After all, Biden quotes Irish poets so often, he has a joke about it.

    “They always used to kid me because I am always quoting Irish poets on the floor of the Senate,” Biden said at a White House event in honor of the singer Elton John. “They think I did it because I’m Irish. That’s not the reason. I do it because they’re the best poets in the world.”
    ***

    Well, he plagiarized JFK and his brother for sure, so maybe he’s quoted Irish poets too.

    Also, Elton John is not Irish. But of course Biden knew that.

    • Not Adahn

      Shall I compare thy hair to a summer’s day? / Thou are silkier and more fragrant.

    • Nephilium

      Everyone just assumed his rambling was part of Ulysses.

      • Derpetologist

        Now I want to do a Joe Biden or James Joyce game in the style of Spot the Not.

        ASUFUTIMAEHAEHFUTBW

        BULLOCKBEFRIENDING

        DONTMESSWITHTHEWOMANOFAMERICANUNLESSYOUWANNAGETTHEBENEFIT

        bababadalghara-ghtakamminarron-nkonnbronnto-nnerronntuo-nnthunntrovarr-hounawnsk-awntoohooho-ordenenthurnuk

      • Ownbestenemy

        At this point he is doing a real life depiction of Steve Carrels character in Bruce Almighty.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Finnegan’s Wake?

    • WTF

      Elton John is not Irish.

      I thought he was a leprechaun.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      There once was a senile old fool
      Who sat on an upside down stool
      etc

    • Certified Public Asshat

      His speeches make more sense if you think of them as poems.

  6. Common Tater

    ““At the same time, demand for food — particularly meat, nuts and fresh produce — has remained elevated, as Americans splurge on higher-quality specialty goods and organic items, according to Thilmany, of Colorado State University.”

    Bullshit. All the cheap things are way more expensive.

    • R.J.

      They are right. We should just eat ramen and be glad we have it. Fresh produce and meat are for losers.

      • prolefeed

        For starters, the ice cream is $8 a pint. Aka four times as expensive per pint as Blue Bell in the half gallon size.

        But, hey, funneling money to a campaign donor is totes worth it!

      • Not Adahn

        There was some article showing how the RNC was vastly outspending the DNC on things like catering and flower arrangements, but vastly underspending on things like advertising and GOTV.

      • WTF

        Because the goal of the RNC isn’t to win, it’s to maintain the grift as the controlled opposition.

      • juris imprudent

        Look, when you win, you are expected to govern and it is no fun doing that.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Nancy probably gets it delivered for free.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Luxury food items?

        Like this?

    • Ownbestenemy

      In some ways, I could agree that supermarkets are retaining elevated prices because of the additional services they are providing with their shipping to home programs. My guess is that all the extra money to pay for the people to pull items off the shelves, the drivers, etc outstrip the delivery fees they attach to that service.

      • rhywun

        I’ve seen those fees first hand. I suspect the opposite is true & they’re making a tidy profit off that service. OTOH most of it is offloaded to Instacart and the like. The only participation I see from my supermarket is adding website support for it, which probably wasn’t that costly.

      • R C Dean

        From what I can tell (and somewhat to my surprise), home and even curbside delivery were not very “sticky” at all as the pandemic panic receded. My anecdata is that I see very little of it these days.

      • Nephilium

        As a couterpoint, I don’t see much in the way of curbside, but I see a lot of people ordering delivery. My thought on it is if the people are already going to the store, they’ll just pick out their own stuff rather than deal with random substitutions and questionable produce. But for those who don’t want to leave their house and have everything delivered, they stick with delivery.

        I can’t remember the last bar/restaurant I went to that didn’t have a dedicated pick up area for DoorDash/UberEats.

      • rhywun

        Yet I have done “delivery” once and it was much more constly and less convenient than I expected.

        I don’t know what is driving so many people to do that but it’s a pass from me until I’m incapacitated or something.

      • Nephilium

        Same here, did it once, and was not a fan.

        I do however know people who order everything delivery, groceries, meals, etc. It seems a stupid waste to me, but if that’s how they want to spend their money…

      • UnCivilServant

        The delivery service the local grocery store used was garbage. It was the middleman, because when I do pickup, the issues go away. But if I’m driving all the way to the store anyway – why not do my own shopping and not rely on the unreliable substituion options available for missing items?

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

        I do pickup for most of my grocery shopping, as I don’t walk too well anymore and I would rather spend my energy doing things I enjoy, and shopping is not one of those things. But, I will still stop and pick up a couple things if that is all I need. ‘

        The wife only shops when it is fun, so a regular grocery store is a no, but an Asian store, farmers market, or anything else in that vein is a yes.

      • trshmnstr

        I don’t know what is driving so many people to do that

        Try taking 3 kids to a grocery store and then get back to me.

      • trshmnstr

        To be clear, we don’t do delivery (they won’t even do it for us despite the fact that I could see the Walmart from my roof) and rarely do pickup. In our view, part of being a parent is training the kid to actually behave in public, and that involves putting them in situations where they have to learn self control. Unfortunately, most parents don’t seem to share in such a belief.

      • Pope Jimbo

        The best thing about the second Altar Kid was the fact that I no longer had to go to the supermarket with Mrs. Holiness. Instead, I’d stay home and watch the kids.

      • Ownbestenemy

        This is true. It wasn’t always avoidable for me when they were tots.

      • Ownbestenemy

        @Pope. This drove me crazy with my first wife. She insisted we all go to the market as a family. Why? We have a 4 year old and a baby. Why pack up the car with everything you need when one of use could handle the duty while the other watches the kids for 30-40 minutes. Nope, it was all of us. Like trashy points out, its an opportunity to teach your children how to behave in public, but man..what a monumental pain.

      • trshmnstr

        To be clear on my clarification, we certainly don’t take the kids every time. I’m at home all day, so wife can jump over to the store while I’m working and I can watch the kids. However, we aren’t going to pay for grocery delivery just to avoid the pain of teaching them to not be entitled brats in the store.

      • R.J.

        Me and the wife work our butts off. We get groceries delivered so we can have some quiet time. It’s worth it.

      • R C Dean

        Sure, but what’s the volume of stuff being delivered? Delivery of stuff like groceries, etc. is still around, but my point was that I think there was a lot more of it for awhile and then it (rather abruptly?) faded.

      • trshmnstr

        Yep. It used to be a maze of store associates packing carts for pickup and delivery. Now it’s 1 or 2 of them and the store is filled with normal people again.

      • Ownbestenemy

        See my comment below. I guess it depends on the area. I have also suspected that inventory is being held back for ship/pickup cause things I can only order via online and pickup are not on the shelves. That frustrates me the most.

      • Nephilium

        I’ve also noticed it varies based on grocery store.

        Aldi’s – Rarely see anyone gathering for pickup/delivery
        Heinen’s (local chain, heavy on organic) – Very few people pickers walking the isles
        Trader Joe’s – Moot, no pickers
        Giant Eagle (the big local chain, and the general “default”) – Probably at least one picker every aisle or every other aisle.

      • Cunctator

        @ Neph—

        What is the “Giant Eagle” to which you refer? I only know of Jine Iggle

      • Nephilium

        @Cuncator:

        That sounds like you were in Yinzer country, which is a dark and terrible place (also where Giant Eagle is headquartered).

      • Cunctator

        My mother’s family is actually like 110% Yinzer. I have spent a lot of time visiting. I love the area. Almost retired there, but would have been too far from my kids/grandkids to make it bearable.

      • Nephilium

        Cunctator:

        I’ve got extended family down in the Wershington area, me and my sister were sent there to work on the farms most summers when we were yutes. Last time I was out there was for a wedding, and me and my sister were joking back and forth if it would be my girlfriend or her boys that wound up hitting an electric fence first.

      • ron73440

        I’ve got extended family down in the Wershington area

        It’s “Warshington” you know, like “warshcloth”

        I still have trouble saying “washcloth”.

        I grew up about 45 minutes from that city.

      • Cunctator

        Neph:

        My family is about the same distance from Pixburg, but in the opposite direction. “Wershington”, do you still warsh your clothes?

      • Nephilium

        ron73340:

        I’m going based on how my family said it back when I was there, I always heard it as wersh, not warsh.

        Cunctator:

        I never followed the Yinzer way. Born and raised here in the CLE (East Side). You know, the place with no accent.

        /hides all information about pronunciation shibboleths that we use to identify locals, visitors, and where people grew up

      • ron73440

        My family definitely emphasized the “a” in warsh.

        The younger generation doesn’t add an “r” to words like that.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Its all the rage here in NKY. To the point where I have to fight through aisle past the pickers.

      • prolefeed

        The prices of groceries are way up because the dollar has been massively devalued due to Biden’s administration spending trillions beyond tax collections.

        Anything else reported is either economic ignorance or TMITE carrying water for Biden and the other Dems.

      • Derpetologist

        Federal budget 2000: $2 trillion (nominal), 20% of GDP
        Federal budget 2023: $6 trillion (nominal), 23% of GDP

        blah blah blah nothing left to cut
        blah blah blah the cupboard is bare

      • dbleagle

        The horror. The horror.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Ok crab rangoon dip but no crab dip out of 19 dips? *faints*

      • R.J.

        I don’t think I saw the Frank’s Red Hot buffalo chicken dip either.

      • B.P.

        There’s a buffalo chicken dip at the link, and it includes…. refried beans?

      • Certified Public Asshat

        straight to prison

    • R C Dean

      “The richest city in the country”

      I believe (metro) DC is the richest city in the US. As is fitting for an imperial capitol.

      • Not Adahn

        I thought the Stock Exchange and related banking concerns were the driver.

        Also, Wouldn’t almost all of DC be tax-exempt? Albany has that,,, er… “problem.”

      • R C Dean

        “Also, Wouldn’t almost all of DC be tax-exempt?”

        Well, not paying taxes is a big step toward being wealthy. Also, being completely recession-proof.

      • Not Adahn

        Hmmm.

        Now we get into the question of “does legal imposition eliminate value?” Not being an economist, I don’t know. But if something would ordinarily have value (like Elephant Ivory or DC real estate) but can’t be exchanged for anything else, does it become worthless?

      • prolefeed

        It’s worth what someone will pay for it. DC real estate isn’t worthless because people pay for it.

        Elephant ivory is worth less, but isn’t worthless, because while it is hard to exchange legally, black markets and barter are a thing.

        Had a chat with the guy who owns a consignment store about the ostensibly Not For Sale ivory displayed. Pretty sure if I handed him enough cash when no customers were around, he’d suffer a tragic boating accident.

      • Not Adahn

        It’s one thing to black market ivory, but it’s another to black market something as public as real estate. At some point you can’t get way with illegality.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        The elephant is killed again each time money is exchanged!

      • prolefeed

        I must have missed the link where you can’t rent out or sell privately owned DC real estate. Why is selling it illegal?

      • Not Adahn

        I was under the impression that NPS and Federally owned property was not salable.

      • R C Dean

        You lost me, NA, on “tax-exempt” = “can’t be exchanged for anything else”.

        Sure, the government buildings are tax exempt and aren’t on the market, but it’s not because they’re tax-exempt. It’s because of the dead hand of government ownership. The non-profit owned or rented real estate is part of the real estate market, though.

      • Not Adahn

        I was being lazy and conflating things, since in places like Albany they’re linked. Like there’s this big elaborate building, but it’s the state capitol. Does it have a value? Not for the purposes of sale, since nobody can buy it. Neither for the purpose of taxation, since it’s tax-exempt.

        Obviously if there was a city that was made up mostly of church property, that would be different since they go on the market with at least some regularity.

      • Not Adahn

        Relatedly, up in my part of the woods, there are city/county-owned properties that are sold for vastly less than what would be considered market value. Supposedly it’s because the buyer is promising that their development plan will return some amount of tax revenue to the body selling it off. However, the fact that the government is deciding on a buyer based NOT on the price offered but their future plans again makes me wonder what that says about the ability of a government to arbitrarily determine value.

      • Not Adahn

        Actually, the methodology in that article is crap. I withdraw the link.

      • robc

        You made me click, yup, insanely stupid method.

      • rhywun

        I didn’t read the article but having lived there for 25 years I can concur that the conclusion is crap.

      • Not Adahn

        Doesn’t it give you nostalgic warm fuzzies to think about supporting your former home with tax monies?

      • rhywun

        I’m already supporting that city with state taxes. Why do you think they’re so high?

        But OTOH…

        NYC is wealthy in ways I’m sure they don’t mean – ways that are a direct result of high taxation and are visible if you look only at the public sector.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        The answer should be San Francisco? DC would only qualify if you count the suburbs.

      • R C Dean

        Which is why I said metro DC.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        My monocle needed polished, I see that now.

      • Ownbestenemy

        We have the greatest euphemisms

      • kinnath

        And then the dragons arrived.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Has DC received any buses? Or is sending immigrants to DC too cruel for even Texas.

      • kinnath

        I seem to recall several of the early buses went to DC and dropped the immigrants in close proximity to government buildings.

    • juris imprudent

      You must pay for the privilege of having the great city.

      • UnCivilServant

        You can repossess it. Just cut off downstate at the tappen zee.

      • WTF

        You mean the Mario Cuomo Memorial Bridge?

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Shibbolethist!

      • WTF

        Yeah, everyone still calls it the Tappan Zee despite its official name.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Just cut off downstate at the tappen zee.

        Need scissors?

    • rhywun

      the city’s historic role as a global place of refuge

      Horseshit.

      The folks streaming out of Ellis Island were not “refugees”. And they were not handed free room and board for months or years on end.

      Many of the asylum seekers have streamed into the five boroughs after fleeing political and economic upheaval in Central and South America

      Good for them. But that does not constitute “asylum”.

      In 1981, the city and state signed a landmark consent decree requiring the city to provide shelter to the homeless

      That was intended to cover up the large increase in vagrancy caused by Dem policies in the late 60s and throughout the 70s. It was never intended as an invitation for the world to come here and be homeless.

      • prolefeed

        Asylum means protecting criminals from prosecution by the jurisdiction defining them as criminals. So, helping illegal immigrants from getting deported is technically offering asylum.

  7. Sensei

    That’s some rich spin from Biden on immigration.

    “That’s what the Chamber of Commerce and Wall Street are pushing for … [but] Americans [prefer migrants] that won’t directly compete with them but will complement them,” he said.

    • R C Dean

      Well, I guess “illiterate peasant with little or no English” is complementary to a typical American, for some values of “complementary”.

      • Sensei

        Or compete for transfer payments.

  8. Pope Jimbo

    The remote vs. in office debate is over. My fellow Glibs I present you irrefutable proof that in office work is better.

    “Come experience the greatness of downtown,” said the mayor. “Come back to work.”

    Moving to remote work, Mayor Frey joked about the downside of spending too much time at home. “I don’t know if you saw this study the other day, what this study clearly showed… is that when people who have the ability to come downtown but don’t. When they stay home, sitting on their couch with their nasty cat blanket, fiddling on their laptop. If they do that for a few months, you become a loser. It’s a study. We’re not losers, are we?”

    • Pope Jimbo

      The council reports that 65 percent of the downtown workforce has come back in some capacity on a weekly basis, with Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday leading the way.

      This is the stat that is terrifying them. Downtown property taxes are a very big chunk of the city budget. If those go away, the citizens will have to be taxed more to pay for all those bike paths and other important city things.

      If that happens it will be like that ObamaCare supporter who whined “I didn’t think I’d have to pay for it”.

      It isn’t just that only half the workers (I think 65% is on the high side) aren’t downtown. If the vacancy rates stay this high much longer you will see a lot of defaults on properties and that will trigger even more businesses leaving downtown.

      • The Last American Hero

        65 percent came back in some capacity. In my office it’s 20 percent (1 day).

        So 12 people in the team x 5 days was 60 office days. Also, 60 parking garage or bus tickets, and probably 40 lunches bought at local restaurants each week for the team.

        Now, 2 people are full remote and 10 come in one day a week. So 10 garage/bus tix and 10 lunches.

        Downtown is fucked.

    • Nephilium

      Well damn. Calling those who aren’t coming back in the office losers, that’s a winning strategy you fucking putz.

      • R.J.

        Downtown crime is down because there are far less victims. Gotta get those office workers to come back and get those stats up!

    • trshmnstr

      Call me what you want, mayor bumblebuss, I’ll enjoy my cat blanket on my couch with my laptop fiddle.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Believe it or not, the Boy Mayor is the best politician in the city. He is head and shoulders better than anyone in the city council.

      • juris imprudent

        So Detroit will soon have some competition?

    • Rat on a train

      We hate people that live in suburbs but we need them to fund our city.

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

      Setting aside my thoughts on WFH, the whole plan to kill and gut Trump is really starting to screw the Dems. Covid, DEI, #Metoo, all are having repercussions on the left. From throwing their finances out of whack, while burning their cities, to finding half of their supporters are rapists and discrediting all of the institutions they love and rely on.

      And yet, Trump is still standing.

      • The Last American Hero

        Trump has a ceiling of about 40 percent of the voting electorate. He’s going to get his ass handed to him in November.

      • juris imprudent

        If it does go that way – and largely attributable to mail-in votes (of dubious validity), that will be the break. And if we doubted Biden would live thru one term, it is all but certain he won’t make it through a second – welcome President Harris.

    • R.J.

      He is a solid guy. I like him a lot.

      • WTF

        I loved the Blackadder series.

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

        He did a cop comedy that was funny, The Fat Blue Line or something like that.

        Oh, and to all of you CS/EE guys: whoever made a computer that can delete without pressing at least three keys at the same time needs to go Die In A Fire!

      • kinnath

        The first word processor I ever used was on a DEC machine in college. The idiots that designed the HMI used the functions keys for basic tasks like “save” and “exit without saving” and put those two keys side by side. One of the admins used her nail file to pop off the function key for “exit without saving”.

      • UnCivilServant

        Sounds like someone didn’t keep sufficient backups.

      • Not Adahn

        Insufficient shelf space.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I like him too, but I giggled at the Aussie talking heads stating that he is extra credible because “He’s got a degree in engineering”.

        I have a degree in engineering, but that was 30 years ago and when the youngest Altar Boy was getting his EE, I couldn’t remember shit about the math and concepts he was learning.

      • Derpetologist

        QUIET, YOU!

        Only highly-educated people know that cold weather causes batteries to go dead and that it takes a long time to charge a big battery.

        Such information is hidden away in secret folders in locked filing cabinet stashed in the disused lavatory of an abandoned building with a sign on the door that says BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Hold on now. If you are bringing real world knowledge into the equation, most engineers are going to get filtered out.

        You’d learn far more about things talking to an electrician than a EE. When I was going to college I was terrified to be in the lab with the EE students. None of them had learned anything about actually working with electricity. I had been a electronics repairman in the Marines and had learned some basic safety measures.

      • Derpetologist

        When I compared the amount of math I learned in school to the amount I actually used as an engineer, it put my college experience into perspective. At least I graduated debt free.

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

        I know Mr. Bean used to race a Ford Falcon at Goodwood every year, and was rather competitive.

  9. Not Adahn

    SLD: I’m not your supervisor, and I drink little beer these days, none of it AB INBev.

    I do think if you want to influence behavior, you do need to reward the prodigal brand. This might be doubly true if it’s a culture war thingy, since it would show exactly which side is worth pandering to. Like Target. When they started to backtrack on the trans kiddy clothes, the tumblr lobby went apeshit and started calling in bomb threats. Unless there is an offsetting surge of returning antiwokists, why would Target abandon the strategy of pandering to people who will cause them grief if crossed?

    • PieInTheSky

      I drink little beer these days – I think it is called small beer

    • prolefeed

      The behavior I want to reward is producing good quality beer at reasonable prices. The tranny / trash talking customers didn’t affect the zero Bud Light I wasn’t buying.

      • robc

        This.

        And I will still buy the occassional Hoegaarden despite AB/Inbev owning them.

        RIP Pierre Celis (I realize its been nearly 15 years now).

    • Nephilium

      There’s more reasons to avoid AB InBev beyond the culture war thing (which is why I’ve been avoiding them for quite a while). I’d also like to point out that the QUILTBAG movement turned on AB InBev once AB InBev started trying to backpeddle from the Dylan controversy (remember the stores about gay bars dumping the brands?). There’s enough good beers out there that I’m passing over due to too many options. When you’re in a cutthroat market with thin margins, you don’t mock/belittle your customers.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Has AB INBev really apologized yet?

      They won’t even come clean on whether they axed the marketing geniuses behind the tranny campaign or not.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        They have not. You are supposed to forgive because they made Dana White and Shane Gillis rich.

    • trshmnstr

      I do think if you want to influence behavior, you do need to reward the prodigal brand.

      I lean in the other direction for a few reasons. First is a question of genuineness. A begrudging apology and counter marketing strategy doesn’t mean they’ve actually learned anything. Second is that companies are going to very quickly learn how to thread the needle if people are quick to forgive and forget. Third is that small blips of pain are easily forgotten and then the problem happens again.

      I’m for salting the earth in this scenario. Make it clear that there is a lasting price to be paid for insulting your customer and culture warring on the side of the left.

      Beyond all of that, I’ll point out that using buying power as a virtue signal is the least productive way to approach this. I’m much more in the mindset of finding good products sold by good companies and spending my money there. Leaving AB in the dust (or Target or Dick’s or Starbucks) isn’t a boycott, it’s me spending my money on good products being sold by better companies.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Yeah it’s pretty simple, we do not need to be loyal to giant international beverage companies.

      • Not Adahn

        It’s not a matter of loyalty. When you abandon a brand with no hope of returning, there’s no incentive for said brand to ever market to you again.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Bud Light is the gay beer now. Forever and always.

      • R C Dean

        If we’re talking incentives, what’s the stronger incentive?

        Step over the woke line, and see a good chunk of market share permanently disappear, or step over the woke line, issue a press release and a couple of new ads, and suffer no loss of market share?

        I think the former, myself.

      • Common Tater

        Lack of forgiveness is the main problem with cancel culture.

      • Nephilium

        I would say it’s more going back to items said/done 20+ years in the past and holding people accountable for it NOW.

      • R C Dean

        Forgiveness has prerequisites, starting with contrition, an apology, making amends, that kind of thing.

        AB hasn’t done any of that. Pretending nothing ever happened doesn’t merit forgiveness.

      • ron73440

        But they gave Dana White a lot of money!

      • Certified Public Asshat

        The giant corporation is really sorry, even if they never said so.

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

      I never had a AB problem, and, often, I would rather drink Bud than a lot of the specialty beers. It tastes better, and is less filling!

      (yes, I know that is Miller lite, but, whateves)

    • The Last American Hero

      Careful guys, we’re supposed to be an echo chamber. Get on the same page.

  10. Common Tater

    “The first female mayor of a tiny Illinois village slammed her critics at a public meeting after she caused outrage by taking a $300,000 salary.

    Glamorous Tiffany Henyard was elected leader of Dolton, a village of 20,000, in 2021, but has since come under fire for what many see as her excessive spending.

    ‘You all should be ashamed of yourselves because you all are black. You all are black! And you all sitting up here beating and attacking a black woman that’s in power,’ she said at a Monday meeting trying to point to her status as the first female mayor. ‘You all should be ashamed of yourselves…

    ‘You all forget I’m the leader. They want to hear from the mayor. You all ain’t learned that yet,’ she said. ‘The mayor, not the trustees that don’t do nothing. They only run their mouth. You all don’t do no work, no work!’ ”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13058511/Tiffany-Henyard-mayor-Dolton-Illinois-corruption.html

    CWAC

    • Ownbestenemy

      Petty authoritarian says the quiet part out loud /news at 11

    • Nephilium

      Well what do you expect from a bunch of Dolts?

      • Pope Jimbo

        I bet they could fix the village finances by robbing banks. The Dolton gang is pretty good at that I hear.

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

        A bunch? Seems to be a full Ton!

    • PieInTheSky

      20,000 is not a tiny village. In Romania we have a village of 60 which has a mayor and a 8 member council.

    • juris imprudent

      She’s almost the female version of the black race-hustler pastor in Bonfire of the Vanities. Except of course she isn’t fictional.

    • PieInTheSky

      in 1986 banging 14 year old was still ok as long as it was hetero

      • Not Adahn

        I thought it was legal as long as it was in the butt and you gave her sufficient quaaludes that it didn’t hurt?

      • prolefeed

        Banging a 14 year old was legal in Hawaii until 2001. I had a ring side seat to that clusterfuck of a debate at the legislature.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Is the statue of limitations carved in stone though?

    • trshmnstr

      This sparks an internal conflict in my mind. I do think that serious crimes should have a long statute of limitations to allow for criminals who have been successful in hiding their tracks to be brought to justice. On the other hand, if the evidence is stale, it is stale and the case shouldn’t be brought.

      What really bothers me is the victim bringing a complaint decades later. It’s one thing for the prosecutors to wait and hope for some more evidence to come in. It’s another thing for a “victim” to walk into the precinct 25 years later and report a crime. The concept of laches should apply in that situation.

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

        I am telling you, all of this crap being pulled in the name of #metoo, DEI, and so on is destroying the things that the people who love those movements rely on.

    • juris imprudent

      In 2015, he described his work as ‘pushing an actress to pass a threshold’.

      ‘The best way to do all that is to be in the same bed,’ he said.

      Nice work, when you can get it.

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

        Thresh hold, or thread count?

  11. PieInTheSky

    Congressional Budget Office Predicts $1.6T Federal Budget Deficit for 2024

    can I have 100 million?

    • Ownbestenemy

      Meh, don’t worry they will extract those tax earnings from the single moms crocheting napkins and selling them on eBay.

  12. Pope Jimbo

    Looks like pot farmers are just like every other farmer. Overproduce and then demand the govt subsidize their stupidity. To be fair the reason they can’t sell their pot is mostly because of govt licensing.

    Three years after New York approved recreational cannabis use for adults 21 and older, the rollout of the Empire State’s legal-cannabis program has created a bottleneck of product with limited options to get it to market, people directly involved in the business told MarketWatch.

    New York state has only opened about 50 legal stores, yet state-legal cannabis farmers grew enough product this past summer and fall to supply up to 1,500 stores, a consultant who works in the industry said.

    “I have clients that have spend $1 million on their cannabis cultivation and only sold a fraction of it,” said Jonah Helmer, a co-founder of the cannabis-agriculture consultant Fresh Alternative Farms LLC. “We haven’t seen anything to help the farmers.”

    The next step is NY State paying farmers not to grow pot.

    • PieInTheSky

      I am willing to not grow pot if the money is good

    • Nephilium

      There were some scare stories here in Ohio before the recreational vote about the terrible glut facing the Michigan dispensaries. Some of them were needing to sell ounces below cost just to clear inventory.

      I don’t think that had the effect that the authors thought it did.

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

        Where is Creosote Achilles with tales of the Oregon pot glut when we need him?

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        He’s tied up at the moment.

      • Mojeaux

        I don’t think he’s the one who gets tied up.

    • R.J.

      Distribute it everywhere. Why have a special store? It should be at 7-11 right with the cigarettes and Swisher Sweets. Then you have an economy of scale.

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

        But not economy of squirls!

        But, you have it exactly right. I want to be able to run into the Sev’ and buy a sixer of Bud light, an ounce of Carolina Fog, and a five pack of heroin syringes.

      • slumbrew

        “Would you like a machine gun with that?”

    • R.J.

      Distribute it everywhere. Why have a special store? It should be at 7-11 right with the cigarettes and Swisher Sweets. Then you have an economy of scale.

  13. Nephilium

    OT: But the girlfriend and I watched the Marvels yesterday. Holy shit is that move garbage. It retcons the stinger of Ms. Marvel (which already wasn’t good), gives new powers as the plot demands, invokes Magic Black Girl power, seriously uses the plot from Spaceballs, includes pointless energy line sacrifice, and ends with the power being in you the entire time.

    They go to a planet where they say, “Their language is song, they won’t understand you if you just talk.” But the language also appears to include duets, costume changes, and dance numbers. Then in less then 10 minutes:

    “Doesn’t he need to sing?”

    “No. He’s bilingual.”

  14. Derpetologist

    ***
    The five U.S. Marines who were aboard a military helicopter that went down in the mountains near San Diego were found dead, authorities said on Thursday.

    The Marines flying a heavy-lift helicopter were conducting a “routine training flight” from Creech Air Force Base, northwest of Las Vegas, to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, when the aircraft was reported overdue on Tuesday, according to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
    ***

    RIP

    • Ownbestenemy

      Damn.

  15. Suthenboy

    Impeachment inquiry? Who do they think they are fooling?
    They could not impeach a guy who refuses, on direction from the president, to do his job and is actively facilitating an invasion by foreign scum.
    Impeachment inquiry my ass. It is kabuki theater by the most worthless scum on the earth.
    Trump should sail into office on this one issue alone.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      In an honest election, sure; In an election where they can be super shady and no one will criticize or challenge because they fear getting tossed in the clink, not so much.

      • R C Dean

        Remember, the junk mail balloting that allows for massive fraud at all levels is still in place just about everywhere. There can be no honest election until it is eliminated.

        And you can’t eliminate it in any state without complete Republican control of the state government, including the Secretary of State and (likely) the AG. And maybe not even then, as AZ has demonstrated.

      • trshmnstr

        ^^. If you think social security reform is the third rail of politics, try taking away the let’s best mechanism for “getting out the vote”

    • prolefeed

      It would still be kabuki theater if the Repubs had dragged the impeachment vote across the finish line. Not like the Senate is gonna convict.

  16. PieInTheSky

    Tests work.
    Dartmouth’s new report on standardized testing has lots of the findings everyone else has found, including:
    SAT scores still predict performance in college for people who don’t report them:
    SAT scores predict performance in college for the rich and the poor:
    When schools go test-optional, the high-performers tend to continue sending their scores and it’s obvious who doesn’t:

    Going “test optional” leads to disadvantaged kids getting shafted, but only if they don’t submit scores. It has no effect on advantaged applicants, whose resumes look more impressive for other reasons:

    https://twitter.com/cremieuxrecueil/status/1754562707766804582

  17. Suthenboy

    Looking at the rest of the links all I can say is ‘Banana Republic’.
    The corruption, incompetence and outright contempt for the American people that this government is showing with impunity is breathtaking.
    I remember when I believed the lie “It could never happen here.”
    Ah, the good ol’ days when ignorance was bliss.

    Mornin’ Riven and all.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Ah, a revolutionary new approach that just might work.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      It wasn’t the Mark Rober glitter bombs?

  18. PieInTheSky

    The Hawaii Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of charges for carrying without a permit today, saying that Heller and Bruen were wrongly decided and the state’s right to bear arms isn’t an individual right: https://

    “The spirit of Aloha clashes with a federally-mandated lifestyle that lets citizens walk around with deadly weapons during day-to-day activities.”

    https://twitter.com/gunpolicy/status/1755361521461244384

    In your face Supreme Court. Not so Supreme now are we?

    • trshmnstr

      “we tipped Guam over, do you want that to happen to you, too?”

    • Derpetologist

      Hawaiians, like all Polynesians, were strict pacifists.

      ***
      The leiomano is a shark-toothed club used by various Polynesian cultures, but mostly by the native Hawaiians.[1]

      Leiomano is a word in the Hawaiian language and may have been derived from lei o manō, which means “a shark’s lei.”[2]

      The weapon resembles a thick ping-pong paddle inset with shark teeth. The tiger shark is the preferred source. These teeth are placed into grooves in the club and sewn into place. The tip of the handle also may utilize a marlin bill as a dagger. The weapon functions as a bladed club similar to the obsidian-studded macuahuitl of the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures.
      ***

      ***
      The Battle of Nuʻuanu (Hawaiian: Kalelekaʻanae; literally the leaping mullet), fought in May 1795 on the southern part of the island of Oʻahu, was a key battle in the final days of King Kamehameha I’s wars to conquer the Hawaiian Islands. It is known in the Hawaiian language as Kalelekaʻanae, which means “the leaping mullet”, and refers to a number of Oʻahu warriors driven off the cliff in the final phase of the battle.[2] There are “varied and sometimes conflicting histories of the Battle of Nuʻuanu.”[3]
      ***

      blah blah blah sing with all the colors of the wind…

      • Pope Jimbo

        I’ve visited that battle site. The drop that the warriors faced was impressive

      • Atanarjuat

        Brutal.

      • R.J.

        “The Leaping Mullet” is a great Glib handle.

      • PieInTheSky

        I am sure the first amendment protects leiomano , just not icky gunz

    • prolefeed

      Soo, now that the Hawaii Supreme Court says they can ignore SCOTUS, how will SCOTUS enforce their ruling? If they can’t, what’s keeping red states from ignoring SCOTUS too when convenient?

      • Ownbestenemy

        The inevitable theater of it all really. Once States do this its either the Federal Government sues or uses force. Since this issue is in align with the current administration, they’ll probably just cheer it on.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Oh shit. On a side note, it’d be interesting to hear what these judges think about the kerfluffle in Texas.

      • R.J.

        They would think Texas must be sealed off from the rest of the nation to prevent contamination from our dangerous ideas.

    • Suthenboy

      If the SC can be ignored, so can the HSC.
      I swear these arrogant fucks have lost sight of the only thing they have: credibility.

      • prolefeed

        The HSC is backed up by a near Uniparty state that will jail people and make the process the punishment. Don’t think they HSC is worrying much about loss of credibility.

        Unless they are punished for ignoring SCOTUS. By the feds. Where the guns are currently controlled by Dem loyalists.

      • R.J.

        Well, everything has to be shipped there, so…

      • Ownbestenemy

        Will be interesting if Colorado SoS ignores the SCOTUS outcome if they do say Trump is barred via the 14th…that seems to be the point we will be heading to.

    • Ownbestenemy

      It is anger and sadness to watch in real time.

    • Drake

      Maybe Karine will announce that Joe is a medium.

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

        She doesn’t want to go down that rabbit hole, not while she is getting to use the presidential shitter!

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Well, he’s been in Congress for so long that he vaguely remembers all those names

    • WTF

      And yet the Dems will put him in office for another term.

      • The Last American Hero

        Correction: The US Citizenry will put him in office for another term, because Team Dumbfuck nominated Trump.

      • Sensei

        Hey now, Nikki did come in second in Nevada.

      • Not Adahn

        Second to none!

      • juris imprudent

        And who else from Team Dumbfuck would you support (and that had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the nomination)?

      • R C Dean

        Your faith in the security of our electoral system is touching. I would agree with you if you had said the ballot counters will put him in office for another term. But as long as we have junk mail voting (and leftists control key counting infrastructure), I’m not willing to say the US Citizenry is really picking who wins and who loses.

  19. kinnath

    A win/win proposition.

    Viagra may help to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, study finds

    “We can’t say that the drugs are responsible, but this does give us food for thought on how we move into the future,” said the lead author Dr Ruth Brauer at University College London. “We now need a proper clinical trial to look at the effects of these drugs on Alzheimer’s in women as well as men.”

    Brauer and her colleagues analysed medical records for more than 260,000 men who were diagnosed with erectile dysfunction but had no evidence of memory or thinking problems.

    Just over half were taking PDE5 inhibitor drugs, including sildenafil (sold as Viagra), avanafil, vardenafil and tadalafil. The men were followed for an average of five years to record any new cases of Alzheimer’s.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Just what we need. Biden running around with a boner.

      • Grosspatzer, Superstar

        Paging SugarFree. Sugarfree to the courtesy desk, please.

    • robc

      Is the patent about to run out?

      • kinnath

        These are all available as generics I think.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Just spitballing here but maybe men who need Viagra et al to fuck actually have a reason to maintain their physical appearance and, therefore, tend to be in better physical condition which also bestows antisenility in general effects.

      • trshmnstr

        Shush you. Correlation means causation. Causation means publication. Publication means more grant money.

      • Nephilium

        I’ll take the stand that federal money should only be used for replication studies.

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

        And that is how you get a replicant army!

      • kinnath

        PDE5 inhibitors are similar in structure to cGMP; they competitively bind to PDE5 and inhibit cGMP hydrolysis, thus enhancing the effects of NO.

        During sexual arousal, nitric oxide (NO) is released from nerve terminals and endothelial cells in the corpus cavernosum. NO activates guanylate cyclase to convert guanosine triphosphate (GTP) into cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), triggering a cGMP-dependent cascade of events. The accumulation of cGMP leads to smooth-muscle relaxation in the corpus cavernosum and increased blood flow to the penis.

        PDE5 is an enzyme found primarily in the smooth muscle of the corpus cavernosum that selectively cleaves and degrades cGMP to 5′-GMP. PDE5 inhibitors are similar in structure to cGMP; they competitively bind to PDE5 and inhibit cGMP hydrolysis, thus enhancing the effects of NO. This increase in cGMP in the smooth muscle cells is responsible for prolonging an erection.

        PDE5 inhibitors lack a direct effect on corpus cavernosum smooth-muscle relaxation. Therefore, after administration, adequate sexual stimulation is necessary for an erection to occur.

        Net result: increased blood flow, everywhere actually, and reduced blood pressure. But, the interesting question will be whether NO itself has an effect on the brain and aging.

    • The Last American Hero

      It’s just pharma trying to recoup the money now that the 18th booster isn’t selling well.

  20. Sean

    I played https://squaredle.com/xp 02/08:
    *24/24 words (+7 bonus words)
    📖 In the top 1% by bonus words

    I played https://squaredle.com 02/08:
    *55/55 words (+18 bonus words)
    📖 In the top 7% by bonus words
    🔥 Solve streak: 137

    • SDF-7

      I played https://squaredle.com/xp 02/08:
      *24/24 words (+3 bonus words)
      🎯 In the top 10% by accuracy

      I played https://squaredle.com 02/08:
      *55/55 words (+6 bonus words)
      🎯 In the top 12% by accuracy
      🔥 Solve streak: 233

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      He’s absolutely right about that. Part of the contributor to that good time was the fact that you were hanging out in public looking to score something illegal though. It was a bit of a thrill in and of itself, you know?

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

        Counter argument; dorks using drugs made them uncool. Dorks making drugs easy to get further made them uncool.

        Dorks are uncool.

  21. Bobarian LMD

    Joe Biden’s Brother Had No Clear Role

    BULLSHIT. His role was 100% clear.

    Bag-man is an easily defined role.

    • Derpetologist

      How five members of Joe Biden’s family got rich through his connections
      https://nypost.com/2020/01/18/how-five-members-of-joe-bidens-family-got-rich-through-his-connections/

      ***
      When Joe became vice president, James was a welcomed guest at the White House, securing invitations to such important functions as a state dinner in 2011 and the visit of Pope Francis in 2015. Sometimes, James’ White House visits dovetailed with his overseas business dealings, and his commercial opportunities flourished during his brother’s tenure as vice president.

      Consider the case of HillStone International, a subsidiary of the huge construction management firm Hill International. The president of HillStone International was Kevin Justice, who grew up in Delaware and was a longtime Biden family friend. On Nov. 4, 2010, according to White House visitors’ logs, Justice visited the White House and met with Biden adviser Michele Smith in the Office of the Vice President.

      Less than three weeks later, HillStone announced that James Biden would be joining the firm as an executive vice president. James appeared to have little or no background in housing construction, but that did not seem to matter to HillStone. His bio on the company’s website noted his “40 years of experience dealing with principals in business, political, legal and financial circles across the nation and internationally…”

      James Biden was joining HillStone just as the firm was starting negotiations to win a massive contract in war-torn Iraq. Six months later, the firm announced a contract to build 100,000 homes. It was part of a $35 billion, 500,000-unit project deal won by TRAC Development, a South Korean company. HillStone also received a $22 million US federal government contract to manage a construction project for the State Department.
      ***

      fake scandal! nothing to see here!

  22. The Late P Brooks

    Inexplicably ineffectual

    Biden already has flexed his unilateral powers to address the border in multiple ways.

    The Biden administration has taken more than 500 executive actions on immigration since he took office, according to the Migration Policy Institute, more than Trump did in four years as president. Some policies have been successful, but the number of crossings has continued to rise to record numbers.

    His administration’s approach has been to pair new humanitarian pathways for migrants with a crackdown at the border to try to discourage migrants from making the dangerous journey to the U.S.-Mexico border on foot. He also has tried to make the issue more global, using his foreign policy experience to broker agreements with other nations.

    And the administration has worked to restrict asylum through a proposed federal rule. But that policy is currently tied up in litigation, much like what stymied Trump during his tenure. A law change by Congress would make those lawsuits less frequent and less successful, and an infusion of cash would make it possible to hire more employees to dig out from the backlog.

    He’s done everything possible to discourage the flood of migrants, but those darn Republicans thwart him at every turn.

    • juris imprudent

      Hmm, figured it was NPR to handle the propaganda so smoothly.

    • Derpetologist

      Yes, Biden is name on every American’s lips when it comes to foreign policy experience. Biden, the guy who mixed up Iran and Ukraine, Colombia and Cambodia, forgot the name of Australia’s prime minister, and all the other stuff mentioned here:

      https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/biden-afghanistan-record/619799/

      ***
      In 1975, Biden opposed giving aid to the South Vietnamese government during its war against the North, ensuring the victory of a brutal regime and causing a mass exodus of refugees.
      In 1991, Biden opposed the Gulf War, one of the most successful military campaigns in American history. Not only did he later regret his congressional vote, but in 1998, he criticized George H. W. Bush for not deposing Saddam Hussein, calling that decision a “fundamental mistake.”
      In 2003, Biden supported the Iraq War—another congressional vote he later regretted.
      In 2007, he opposed President George W. Bush’s new counterinsurgency strategy and surge in troops in Iraq, calling it a “tragic mistake.” In fact, the surge led to stunning progress, including dramatic drops in civilian deaths and sectarian violence.
      In December 2011, President Barack Obama and Vice President Biden withdrew America’s much-scaled-down troop presence in Iraq; the former had declared Iraq to be “sovereign, stable, and self-reliant,” and the latter had predicted that Iraq “could be one of the great achievements of this administration.” Their decision sent Iraq spiraling into sectarian violence and civil war, allowing Iran to expand its influence and opening the way for the rise of the jihadist group ISIS.
      According to Obama’s memoir A Promised Land, Biden had advised the former president to take more time before launching the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
      Ten years ago, Biden said in an interview that “the Taliban per se is not our enemy.” He added, “If, in fact, the Taliban is able to collapse the existing government, which is cooperating with us in keeping the bad guys from being able to do damage to us, then that becomes a problem for us.” Indeed.
      ***

      • Atanarjuat

        Outside of the groupthink at the Atlantic, Biden was right about the first two.

    • Cunctator

      —“An angry President Joe Biden said he would make immigration a central issue in his 2024 campaign if Senate Republicans do not back his more-migration bill on Wednesday.”—

      DO IT!!!!!

    • Suthenboy

      Blah blah blah fuckin’ blah. Save your breath. We know exactly what you lying oikophobes are up to. My Grandaddy had some good advice for you: “Hell is having your dreams come true.”

  23. The Late P Brooks

    Slander and libel

    Alina Habba, an attorney for former President Trump, went after the judge of a New York defamation case that ruled against the former president last month, arguing he was politically biased and leading the jury against her client.

    “It was like being in an epic ‘Twilight Zone’ where no rules were allowed, but for the other side,” Habba said in a Newsmax interview Tuesday.

    ——-

    Habba claimed Carroll was only after money.

    “[Carroll] goes out there and gloats and so she’s gonna buy France and a wardrobe and a motorcycle,” she said. “Listen, that I want everyone to remember — and I said this in my closing argument to the jury — she’s here to get a check.”

    “And after this, she will continue,” Habba added. “She didn’t care about defamation. She only cared about the publicity.”

    The attorney also alleged the judge disallowed notable evidence from the case and prevented the jury from making a fair opinion, adding that she thinks they suffered from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

    Off with her head.

    • R.J.

      That would be fascinating. I have to bust a move since I am out tomorrow. Hopefully someplace has a good write up by tomorrow.

    • prolefeed

      Ten second sound bite summary?

      • Ownbestenemy

        Its on going. Trump’s (or GOP) lawyer is really focused on officer versus office and IMO is doing terrible.

      • kinnath

        fucking up a winning hand . . . .

      • Ownbestenemy

        He kinda brought it back pointing out appointments clause versus elected officials. It just took a while.

      • Cunctator

        I posted a few days ago that congress members and senators take an Oath to support the Constitution, but the president does not. How is the difficult when the 14th specifically says “having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution.

      • kinnath

        Roberts defends the nation against the onslaught of bad orange men.

  24. The Late P Brooks

    A blight and a nuisance

    Police Chief Michel Moore on Wednesday called the buildings and their condition “a visual blight.”

    “It has become a worldwide issue, where we now have people traveling here in an effort make their mark,” Moore, who is retiring at the end of the month, said at a news conference naming an interim chief.

    The project stalled in 2019 over funding problems. Last week, after video was shared showing graffiti tags on the windows of many floors of the high-rise, police vowed to crack down.

    ——-

    Moore said that where the stalled project is located is “an iconic location that unfortunately has been taken off track and now been taken advantage by these vandals.”

    Where are our civil society advocates? What should be done? Turn it into a homeless shelter?

    • R C Dean

      “Turn it into a homeless shelter?”

      Sounds like it already is.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    aka democracy

    Members of the “squad” — a group of liberals in the House — are being singled out by pro-Israel PACs like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC. The groups have pledged or plan to spend tens of millions of dollars to try to defeat them in Democratic primaries and the general election this year, turning the otherwise safely Democratic districts into election battlegrounds.

    The cohort of Black and brown lawmakers is facing what they see as an “existential threat” to their political careers. It’s a struggle that raises significant questions about who can be a Democrat in Congress, what positions are permissible about Israel and the Palestinians, and what role outside groups should have in determining both.

    Unlike in previous cycles, progressives are being bolstered more and more by Arab American and Muslim groups who are organizing in record numbers to ensure their voices are heard on Capitol Hill.

    ——-

    Bowman, who is among a group of 19 Democrats who have called for a cease-fire in Gaza, is facing a Democratic challenger backed by AIPAC. The group, which has historically yielded immense clout in Washington, has shifted strategy in the last several years, transitioning from strictly a lobbying organization to helping elect centrist, pro-Israel Democrats. In 2022, it began challenging Democratic incumbents in primaries.

    Ahead of November, the group and PACs connected to its ethos have once again begun contributing to candidates running against members of the squad. In addition to Bowman, the Democrats facing challengers include Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Cori Bush of Missouri, all of whom have not only called for a cease-fire but have demanded an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

    An existential threat; they might get kicked off the gravy train and be forced to get a real job.

    • R.J.

      Where are the news articles about people like Ted Cruz who get targeted every election? Oh yeah, right. Wrong team.

    • R C Dean

      “Liberals”

  26. The Late P Brooks

    Trump’s (or GOP) lawyer is really focused on officer versus office and IMO is doing terrible.

    That strikes me as an incredibly weak argument.

  27. Sensei

    Answering a question about hostage negotiations on Tuesday, a frail President Biden was plainly confused and disoriented, mumbling and pausing, even unable to recall Hamas’ name: “There is some movement, and I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna … Let me choose my words: There’s some movement, there’s been a response from the, uh … There’s been a response from the opposition, but, um … ”

    Then a reporter helped out: “Hamas?” Biden grabbed on: “Yes, I’m sorry, from Hamas.”

    I’m going to be real curious how the MSM continues to run cover for him has his reelection campaign ramps up. I’ve no doubt they will do it, but I wonder how they prevent the vast majority of the US who don’t follow this stuff closely from figuring out the guy has dementia.

    https://nypost.com/2024/02/07/opinion/joe-bidens-mental-decline-cannot-be-ignored/

    • Ownbestenemy

      Like they have in the past. Ignore all that, present the lucid moments on prime time and continue to manipulate economic data as if its the roaring twenties and everyone is swimming in gold.

      • R C Dean

        And you can count on the Repubs to not present a counternarrative.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Savvy


    President Joe Biden on Wednesday gave his clearest sign yet that his reelection strategy will hinge on making this fall’s vote a referendum on Donald Trump.

    As he traversed New York City for a series of fundraisers, Biden labeled his predecessor — and likeliest rival this year — an “existential threat” who has wrestled the Republican Party into a stranglehold, intensifying his direct criticisms of the former president and offering one of the starkest windows yet into how he regards the stakes of November’s contest.

    “There is one existential threat, it’s Donald Trump,” Biden told Democratic donors in New York, where he was on a three-stop fundraising swing.

    “It’s not about me,” Biden said, “it’s about Trump.”

    Heaven knows we don’t want a close inspection of Biden’s performance.

    • Suthenboy

      Has the “I’m not the other guy” strategy ever worked? Oh, 2016, I forgot.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    After spending the last year working to promote his own record – and seeing little improvement in his approval ratings – Biden is now increasingly going after Trump, the Republican front-runner, as a threat to democracy, a danger to personal freedoms and, lately, as a Svengali-like leader of the GOP.

    Not Svengali- RASPUTIN. C’mon, man.

    • kinnath

      Calling back . . . .

      Rasputin

  30. Cunctator

    RE; todays music selection.

    Speaking of having a friend call ramblin’ Bob, has anybody heard from Yusef?

    • Nephilium

      He posted in the Tuesday afternoon links.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      You have revealed your favorite commentator.

      • kinnath

        Saving it for the end of season cliffhanger.

      • Cunctator

        Nope

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        It’s as plain as day.

      • Mojeaux

        Yeup. Knew it yesterday.

      • Suthenboy

        Funny that should come up again.
        I dont have a favorite commenter. Everyone here has something to contribute. Everyone has some insight I haven’t had before and as far as I can tell, save one, all good people.

        “I never met a man I could not learn at least one thing from. Some men you watch to see what to do, others you watch to see what not to do.” – Sam Clemens

      • Cunctator

        Man, that little throw off comment has sure touched a nerve I guess. I agree with Southen regarding everybody having something to contribute, and I don’t have anything against any commenters, I can learn things from anybody that has something to offer.

        Re: Yusef—I interacted with him on TDS years ago and followed his story while lurking. If Neph or OBE or Derpy (or any other Glib) had posted the comment that Yusef that posted I would be concerned. Expressing my concern was trying to find out if there was any help available. I should hope that most Glibs share concern about other Glibs.

        I remember many of the people from the other site who now post here and some who don’t. jsubd (RIP) and Doc Groovus (hopefully not RIP).

    • trshmnstr

      Yep, I talked with him yesterday. He sounded like he was doing well.

    • Sean

      Aliens on meth.

      • R.J.

        I didn’t do it.

      • Common Tater

        That’s just the meth talking.

    • PieInTheSky

      stealing things for scrap metal is an ancient art form, a young nation like the USA cannot truly understand it.

      In the early 90 people died trying to steal metal warehouses for scrap, by cutting the support beams first as they were easy to reach

      • Common Tater

        Mungo is totally a thing the U.S.

    • Sensei

      It’s unclear from the article if it was in use. They note they got authority to broadcast by other means, but nothing else.

      It speaks to the wide audience of AM radio in the US that MUST be mandated in cars.

  31. PieInTheSky

    Hasan Piker explains Taiwan as if the Confederacy ruled America, the Union took it over, but Texas (Taiwan) still remained a Confederate state, and that the world still gives them weapons to use as a stronghold against the Union.

    https://twitter.com/PostLeftWatch/status/1755433293779206540

  32. The Late P Brooks

    I posted a few days ago that congress members and senators take an Oath to support the Constitution, but the president does not.

    Oh?

    Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:— “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

  33. The Late P Brooks

    We’re saved

    The Biden administration on Wednesday named a top White House aide as the director of the newly established safety institute for artificial intelligence.

    Elizabeth Kelly will lead the AI Safety Institute at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, which is part of the Commerce Department. Currently an economic policy adviser for President Joe Biden, Kelly played an integral role in drafting the executive order signed at the end of October that established the institute, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

    In the announcement, Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, said that Kelly “shaped the president’s agenda on tech and financial regulation and worked to build broad coalitions of stakeholders.”

    AI will only be used for good.

    • Suthenboy

      Do no evil.

    • Suthenboy

      He’s still breathing’? What a shame.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      🧤 🩸

  34. The Late P Brooks

    Building a legacy

    The National Labor Relations Board’s top lawyer plans to aggressively target several legal precedents before the presidential election, such as overturning case law that prohibits the agency from seeking monetary damages tied to an employer’s unlawful refusal to bargain.

    In a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg News on Wednesday, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo also said she plans to push the board for rulings to ban noncompete agreements that restrain worker mobility and mandatory “captive audience” meetings for companies to express anti-union opinions.

    It’s a goose. It lays golden eggs. Let’s eat it.