Wednesday Morning Links

by | Mar 6, 2024 | Daily Links | 238 comments

No sports…moving on to the links.

You’re not No. 1, asshole.

A path to victory? A PATH TO VICTORY?!?!?!?! They have no path to victory unless Iran drops a surprise nuke on Tel Aviv and the border fence somehow keeps the heat to the right of it.

There is no free market. Contracts and agreements between two parties no longer matter in this day and age.  This can’t possibly be legal, can it?

Good news, everybody! No, for real. This is awesome.

He seems sane.

PepsiCo might want to tighten up their hiring practices. Unless they actually wanted the freakshow to work for them and didn’t care.  I guess we’re about to find out if they’re gonna end up losing shelf space like Bud Light has.

Oh look: they’re leaning into the condescension again. I remember the last time they really pushed hard like this (in 2016). It ended with a bunch of them crying on-air in November.

This guy needs to be put in a mental hospital. He’s very obviously crazy.

Not laughing now, are you?

I’m shocked! Shocked that these dummies didn’t see this coming. But not so shocked that the NLRB has weighed in and will likely ignore the concept of free association and will force them to hire them back and then let them set their own terms of employment.

Maybe they’re finally waking up. But I doubt it. And even if this happens, the courts up there will find a way to strike them down as “inhumane” or some other retarded reason.

The start of this song always reminds me of the organists at MLB games from the 80s trying to get the fans excited. And that adds to it, in my opinion. And this song just reminds me of the 80s in general. Which is a good thing. Enjoy them both.

And enjoy this lovely Wednesday, dear friends!

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

238 Comments

  1. SDF-7

    This can’t possibly be legal, can it?

    It is through the CFPB — so in my humble opinion… hell no. That entire Warren-attempting-to-seize-control-of-the-economy-with-no-oversight part of the FedGov is entirely unconstitutional and should be dissolved with prejudice.

    A path to victory? A PATH TO VICTORY?!?!?!?!

    Heh… my first thought before I read further was that you were going to be slamming on Nikki… she’s supposed to be dropping out (maybe already, haven’t rechecked the articles) today at least. Surprised me… I thought she’d hang in through the convention praying for lawfare.

    • sloopyinca

      She is suspending her campaign, which means she’s still technically running. Same as DeSantis and the rest of them. I think that’s pretty commonplace so they can start it back up if something happens to the clear leader like death, injury, or lawfare.

      • SDF-7

        That and I swear I’ve read in the past that it is better for tax / finance purposes. If you formally end the campaign, suddenly outstanding campaign debts come due or something — whereas a suspended one can draw out repayments / shuffle money, etc. That part I entirely understand… just working the system as given.

      • Nephilium

        I believe it’s also a legal dodge so that they can continue loaning out money from the campaign and having the campaign accrue debts which they couldn’t do if the campaign was officially ended.

      • Tonio

        Speaking of technically running: DeSantis, Christie, Ramaswamy, and Binkley were still on the ballot for the Virginia primary and together received 2.1% of the votes cast in the Republican primary. Nutjob Marianne Williamson received 7.8 percent of the votes cast in the Democratic primary, and Dean Phillips 3.5%. FWIW, Virginia is an open primary state.

      • SDF-7

        Hey, not everyone can have the runaway momentum of a freight train like Jason Palmer!

      • robc

        Williamson is clearly a nutjob, but is she really more of a nut than Biden?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        She’s more of a hippie grandma reiki and healing crystals nut. I’d take her over Biden any day.

      • Fatty Bolger

        She’s a nut, but I find her to be genuinely likable. That’s why I’m glad she’ll never be cursed with being President.

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

        Heh. There is a Maryanne Williamson sign down the street from me.

        Of course, they also have a “In this house, we believe…” sign right next to it.

    • Ted S.

      That article on so-called “junk fees” steals more bases than Rickey Henderson.

  2. UnCivilServant

    As a PepsiCo shareholder, I’m annoyed at their poor marketting decisions.

    Okay, it’s a total of One share, but I’m still a shareholder!

    • Nephilium

      Unlike AB-InBev, it looks like PepsiCo immediately cut ties once the history came out. So unless they come out and start mocking their customer base, they should be fine.

      • Sensei

        That’s what I was going to say. It will blow over.

        Still love to know how and who in these large companies vets these campaigns. I can tell you my company spends forever vetting campaigns because of how much we value our reputation.

      • Nephilium

        What stands out to me in both cases (AB-InBev/PepsiCo) is that both were small social media campaigns. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they budgeted it to come just under whatever level would automatically trigger a review from higher ups. MillerCoors went in with a bigger ad campaign, dropped it, and avoided insulting their base (outside of the one series of commercials) and it blew over.

      • UnCivilServant

        You’re thinking rogue lower level marketeers of the newest school not expecting support from upper management?

      • Nephilium

        I wouldn’t say lower level marketeers, but I would say some lower level executive who thinks they’re about to make a name for themselves by getting around those stuffed shirt old white people above them is well within the realm of possibility.

      • The Last American Hero

        Given Inbev’s response after the fallout, I doubt it. This was approved by woke dipshits in a C Suite.

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

        Usually, they spend good money on outside advertising companies, and don’t have advertising in-house. Which, during normal times, isn’t a bad idea, as most internal groups become pretty stale and not very effective at this. But, like most artistic endeavors these days, those ad companies have been overrun with DEI/Wolk beliefs, and are showing how utter useless when it is when they aren’t in tune with Joe Average. Of course, the parts of the companies who are in charge of advertising come from much of the same background, and that is why you see some of this get through, even post AB meltdown.

    • SDF-7

      So you’re the Pepsi One?

    • sloopyinca

      If they’re incorporated in Delaware, that would entitle you to sue them and having their chief executive’s compensation package changed.

      But only if that chief executive is hostile to the current regime. So PepsiCo will be fine.

      • Drake

        Delaware won’t be.

  3. SDF-7

    Unless they actually wanted the freakshow to work for them and didn’t care.

    I suspect they didn’t think stupid crap in the Euro market would get noticed back here, honestly.

    And Euros are weird.

    Except Pie, of course (checks for garlic and a crucifix at the door….)

  4. SDF-7

    Oh look: they’re leaning into the condescension again.

    Their veins are full of the kool-aid. I don’t think they’re capable of not acting with derision, condescension or outright hatred for anything outside of their coastal enclave bubbles at this point, personally.

    It wasn’t much of a jump from “Reality has a liberal bias” to “(Almost) all college grads believe as I do… therefore we’re smahrt and deserve respect!” to “Those idiots don’t know what’s good for them… I’LL MAKE THEM SEE!”, after all.

    • juris imprudent

      In other words all the oldest and lowest human motives and behavior.

      • juris imprudent

        And speaking of traditionally despicable behavior, the bitter, vituperative crones.

        It’s obvious that Crystal has never really been the target – manufacturing stories about a young lady making her way through the early stages of professional life is just a convenient way to get at the other “big fish” with whom the detractors disagree. For Marcus and Mayer, two journalists whose highly talented and ideologically driven daughters frequently brush with prominent people and institutions themselves, you would think they would understand the recklessness and injustice of this kind of behavior.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Why did Turning Point leave her twisting in the wind for years, when they knew the truth? Pretty shitty behavior on their part.

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

        Ah, yes. The Mean Girls version of US politics. God as my witness, I despise this shit.

  5. Rat on a train

    Google and the contracting company, Cognizant, told SFGATE that the terminations were due to preplanned contract expirations. But two laid-off workers told SFGATE they’d been taken by surprise, as their contracts had been routinely renewed for years.
    Just like government contracts.

  6. SDF-7

    This guy needs to be put in a mental hospital. He’s very obviously crazy.

    Flag on the play! Like some of OMWC’s birthdays…. there’s no way we could guess that one! — too many possibilities!

    But yeah… not only is that Herr nuts… I’d be looking at how he was able to obtain them and the strong reek of medical malpractice shooting him up like that.

    • sloopyinca

      I’d venture to say he’s been lying to all the providers. But still…he’d have more needle marks than a smack addict. Wouldn’t some of them notice?

      • SDF-7

        “Ve thought he was just into die smack, Ja? Oops, mein Fehler!”

    • R.J.

      Yeah. That came up early this morning. When she gives the speech I will believe it. Also isn’t Ronna supposed to GTFO today?

      • SDF-7

        The Ronna virus just seems to keep hanging around making lives miserable.

      • R.J.

        The grift that keeps on grifting!

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

        All three of you deserve a cake for that. Bravo.

        (and they always want cake

  7. Suthenboy

    Awesome. Finally a governor of Louisiana I can actually support.

  8. Shpip

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new regulations will set a ceiling of $8 for most credit card late fees, or require banks to show why they should charge more than $8 for such a fee. The effort will save Americans up to $10 billion a year, the agency estimates.

    In a shocking and totally unrelated move, banks begin to cancel credit cards issued to people who don’t pay on time.

    • SDF-7

      One article I read commented that APR increases across the board to cover the costs of those not paying instead of late fees were also likely (kind of like the old “Everyone pays out the ass for medical stuff now because ERs have to treat everyone and people use them instead when they lack insurance and/or documentation”, really…)

    • sloopyinca

      I bought a car yesterday. My interest rate is more than double what it was for the last car I bought in 2021. And my credit rating is higher.

      But there’s no inflation.

      • R C Dean

        Why are you borrowing money to buy a car?

        I confess, I borrowed to buy the Highlander in 2022, but that was more of a timing issue with my last bonus check. The loan was out there for all of two months. It was the first car I had a payment on in probably 20 years.

      • SDF-7

        Cars seem to cost as much as my second house did when I bought in 2010? I can see where building up that much cash (so the Feds could decide you’re a drug dealer!) might be difficult….

        Like much else these days — I can’t help but think that the relative cost of housing and cars relative to average wages (which have held relatively flat) means they’re both bubbles waiting to burst badly.

        But I’m not even a $20 economist downtown waiting to disparage Krugman….

      • sloopyinca

        It’ll be paid off in 4-5 months. So no biggie. I don’t mind borrowing short-term. It’s kind of necessary as a small business owner to have that track record on the off chance we decide to take out a line of credit at some point (when rates drop) to buy equipment to flip that’s too good of a deal to pass on.

      • R C Dean

        That makes sense.

        Carry on.

      • sloopyinca

        Also, I wasn’t necessarily planning on buying one. But the CPO warranty just expired on the one I was driving and since I go about 35k miles a year and I bought a demo that I get the balance of the new warranty (3.5 years left unlimited miles) and then get the CPO 2 year unlimited mileage warranty tacked on the back end made it a deal I couldn’t pass up.
        That thing will have 175k miles on it before I pay for any repairs.

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

        I’m borrowing for my last auto purchase, as the interest on that loan was lower than the interest being paid on the account it would come from if I paid cash.

        Some things about getting older are nice, and rock solid credit is one.

    • Sean

      Totally unforeseen consequences. And really small limits.

    • Nephilium

      or require banks to show why they should charge more than $8 for such a fee

      This seems a fairly large loophole. Of course, I assume the CFPB (how is that even still around?) is the sole arbiter of “reasons”?

      • R C Dean

        If I was the decider on that, I’d probably have my own private island in a year.

  9. Not Adahn

    You’re not No. 1, asshole.

    A path to victory? A PATH TO VICTORY?!?!?!?! They have no path to victory unless Iran drops a surprise nuke on Tel Aviv and the border fence somehow keeps the heat to the right of it.

    The Hamas apologists have been claiming from the very beginning of the most recent war that if a single Hamas member survives, that means they won.

    • UnCivilServant

      When your victory condition is “Don’t be completely Annihilated” you’ve set a low bar.

      • cyto

        Their victory condition is “get the Arab world angry at Israel and dampen support for them by the west”.

        Of course, they may not know this since the goals are determined by Iran.

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

        So, status quo is the victory condition?

        Seems pretty stupid reason to get your people annihilated. Well, I guess the virgins might make up for that.

  10. Drake

    I’m in the break room leafing through a WSJ from a few days ago. Peggy Noonan wrote an opinion piece titles “We’ll Miss Mitch McConnell”. Had to start reading it just to see if she was serious.

    • juris imprudent

      Maybe Peggy will miss him, the rest of us – not so much.

      • SDF-7

        I thought Miss Peggy was more into frogs than turtles… but whatever.

    • Sensei

      It’s Peggy “Country Club Republican” Noonan.

      Plus isn’t she like 100 now?

      • R C Dean

        Yeah, I would have to flip a coin on “alive or dead” for her.

      • Sensei

        Google says 73!

      • UnCivilServant

        Google says…

        Can’t trust a single thing that comes from those folk.

      • Social Justice is Neither

        Google also says 1940’s German soldiers are Black so take their pronouncements with a grain of salt.

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

        I just assume that anything via Google is a lie. It seems… easier.

      • juris imprudent

        Well that virile young McConnell must really warm her up.

    • Fourscore

      So Ol’ Mitch is retired on active duty but sill collecting the paycheck. Oh well, it’s a small price to pay. He could have left yesterday, started a GoFundMe and been financially ahead. Lots of donor class folks would have approved.

      • SDF-7

        As long as he didn’t set up an OnlyFans…. shudder….

      • DrOtto

        You don’t want to see ‘Little Mitch’ come out of his shell?

  11. sloopyinca

    Seeing chatter on Twitter that Barry Alvarez has died. That would be sad. He’s always been a good dude.

    • Pine_Tree

      Agreed it’s worth the read, but the 2ndAm absolutist in me can’t stomach her.

      If both were smart and forward-looking and strategic (yeah, I know), I think it’d be funny to see Trump and DeSantis publicly and deliberately bury the hatchet and make an alliance. “Yeah, we’ve fought in the past, and still have our differences but (invasion, inflation, etc.)….” You know, actually be a skilled politician.

      • The Other Kevin

        As soon as DeSantis dropped out, Trump announced he retired the “DeScanctimonious” name. So not that far off.

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

        This. I know a lot of people (here, there, everywhere) want Trump to be stupid, but he keeps showing that he is very canny about these things.

    • The Last American Hero

      Bullshit. Gun Grabber Gabbard can jump in a volcano.

      • cyto

        She is an extremely effective advocate though. Se is very charming and can sell any position. She might be a smart political choice.

        Vivek is the obvious ideological choice.

        DeSantis would be effective once in office if you turned him loose on dismantling the illegal security state.

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

        DeSantis would be a totes effective AG.

      • juris imprudent

        Why do people keep expecting the President to unilaterally deconstruct the modern [National Security!!!!] state? It ain’t going to happen unless Congress is on board and enacts the laws necessary (both to directly address the abuses and stop FUNDING it).

      • cyto

        Even absent that…. they have to root out those who have used the cia and fbi to censor and attack political enemies. They are the dominant political force in the nation right now, and they should have zero political power.

      • juris imprudent

        There is no absent that. It is the core of the rot. And it can’t be fixed unless Congress is part of the implementation.

    • The Other Kevin

      I do like her, but she doesn’t really align with Trump as well as she should. Look at how that worked out for Trump last time.

    • robc

      The biggest problem with Gabbard, for Trump, is that you want a VP that is assassination insurance.

      • R C Dean

        The idea that the second in line should be as odious and repellent as possible has always struck me as misguided.

        I also don’t think anybody setting out to assassinate a President gives a crap who the VP is.

      • WTF

        Unless the anybody doing the assassinating is the deep state.
        Which a few years ago I would have thought to be a ridiculous premise, but not so much anymore.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Obviously a conspiracy with WTF.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Deep state assassination insurance, not lone gunman.

      • cyto

        That leaves Vivek.

        Is anyone else capable?

      • juris imprudent

        Hahahahaha – capable of being vice president, the job once described as not worth a bucket of warm spit?

      • robc

        It was mostly a joke, but you could also call it impeachment insurance. How hard is the GOP going to push to out Biden if it results in President Harris.

        And, yes, it is totally misguided. But there are lots of choices that can’t be explained any other way.

  12. Shpip

    An interesting, unusual dish (well, bowl) to try, either making it yourself or visiting NOLA. Someone should tell OMWC about this restaurant in the Quarter.

    Don’t click on this, Pie.

    • Aloysious

      Yum. I’m going to give that one a shot.

    • R C Dean

      The GPOe/RINO wing of the party is being driven out. These are the guys who tried to impeach Paxton and torpedoed border security and charter school bills. Too bad their leader (Phelan) didn’t lose his primary outright, but even if he wins out, I think his power is broken.

    • R.J.

      I hadn’t seen any solid results yet myself. Good news. I went to vote with a cheat sheet to make sure I supported the “insurgency.” Clearly I have been radicalized.

    • sloopyinca

      I’m waiting to see what shenanigans are pulled by the establishment before getting too excited. The Harris County stuff I’ve seen since last night alone has given me pause. They’re just openly committing fraud to the point a candidate went to vote and her ballot had already been cast.

      • WTF

        Soooooo….you’re an election denier?

      • juris imprudent

        Please tell me it was a Democrat.

  13. Sensei

    It would be really nice if manufacturing was able to learn some things the way that knowledge companies did during COVID.

    At Land O’Lakes, those days are over. They ended last year, when the member-owned cooperative began hiring for a handful of roles in its Melrose plant, along with a few of its animal-feed factories, that let employees choose their own start times and shift lengths. It worked: Those positions proved easier to fill than full-time openings, and had the knock-on benefit of boosting retention.

    An actual win-win.

    https://www.wsj.com/business/flexible-working-hours-manufacturing-8af49530?st=mei5my1xoyimkq6&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

    • WTF

      My huge130 pound GSD (He’s my avatar) would play with my chihuahua/dachshund mix like that, and eventually he would let the chiweenie “catch” him and lay on the ground while the chiweenie climbed on him and “wrestled” with him.

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

      Heh. Yesterday my 18# terrier mutt was scaring the piss out of a Rottweiler three times her size.

      • Nephilium

        There’s a dwarfish saying: ‘All trees are felled at ground-level’ – although this is said to be an excessively bowdlerized translation for a saw which more literally means, ‘When his hands are higher than your head, his groin is level with your teeth.’

        Terry Pratchett, Feet of Clay

      • Gustave Lytton

        North Face has been owned by VF Corp for a while.

      • robc

        The funniest thing about VF Corp is that the Vanity Fair brand name is owned by Fruit of the Loom.

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

        My favorite pack of all time was a North Face
        rucksack.. Man, I loved that thing. Took it all over the world.

    • R.J.

      I am so glad I don’t own any of their overpriced stuff.

      • The Last American Hero

        Pricey but good. I have a fleece from them that looks like new 15 years and a lot of outdoor adventures later.

      • Common Tater

        I have a couple sleeping bags. Not sure what else.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      When asked about the portion on “White privilege,” a spokesperson said there was “no further comment.”

      Lol, the magic phrase was said.

    • WTF

      Black people face barriers to the outdoors?
      How the Hell does anyone think this makes any sense?

      • UnCivilServant

        The outdoors has a mystic barrier that keeps them in urban areas.

      • Shpip

        Have you seen what Hate Bird clothing is going for?

        You can’t visit The Outdoors unless properly attired, and black people ain’t spending their money on that stuff.

      • Nephilium

        They’ve been claiming that whites are monopolizing outdoor space for a while. Note that they’re specifically talking about the Cleveland area in the beginning. Allow me to provide a map of just ONE park system through (and around) the city.

        Or you could just go down to the breakwalls and downtown parks during any nice summer weekend.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        There seems to be a fear that some redneck will attack them. My brother took a black friend fishing in the Sierra foothills and noticed that the guy was all kinds of jumpy. The guy grew up in East St. Louis and had done time in prison for manslaughter, so he’s no stranger to danger. My brother asked what he was nervous about and he said he feels about the countryside the way white suburban people feel about the inner city.

    • Common Tater

      Do the Germans have a word for when an erection knocks over your desk?

      • SDF-7

        Ouchenichknockuberschreibtischmitweiner?

      • Fatty Bolger

        Überpeckersteigendtischwerfen.

      • Drake

        Also what they called a Private in the Waffen SS.

    • slumbrew

      Haven’t seen a story on her in a bit – I guess her checks finally cleared.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Q, I’m assuming you have taken Dublin off your list of travel destinations?

      Dublin city council is considering steps to protect Molly Malone’s statue after so many tourists have rubbed her breasts that they have become discoloured.

      Tourists traditionally touch the iconic artwork, which represents a fictional street seller who died of a fever, for good luck.

      But so many people have copped a feel that her bronze bust has now become discoloured, leading to a campaign to stop the “disrespectful” and “misogynistic” practice.

      Student Tilly Cripwell, who busks in the area for about 10 hours each week, has launched a campaign calling on people to “leave Molly mAlone”.

      The 22-year-old singer said: “The majority of people will touch her boobs for good luck, that’s a misogynistic tradition.

      “A lot of people clamour around her, kiss her on the cheek, kiss her boobs, it’s all inappropriate. It’s reducing her to this derision and not giving her the status of being a national treasure.”

      “This tradition is notorious to those within and without Dublin, with the discoloration of Molly’s breasts being the visual representation of such harassment,” she told the Irish Independent.

  14. Sean

    I played https://squaredle.com/xp 03/06:
    *19/19 words (+8 bonus words)
    📖 In the top 1% by bonus words

    I played https://squaredle.com 03/06:
    *38/38 words (+9 bonus words)
    📖 In the top 7% by bonus words
    🔥 Solve streak: 164

    • SDF-7

      I played https://squaredle.com/xp 03/06:
      *19/19 words (+3 bonus words)
      🎯 Perfect accuracy

      I played https://squaredle.com 03/06:
      *38/38 words
      🎯 Perfect accuracy
      🔥 Solve streak: 273

      No way I’m submitting poetry.

    • whiz

      I played https://squaredle.com/xp 03/06:
      19/19 words (+5 bonus words)
      🎯 Perfect accuracy

      I played https://squaredle.com 03/06:
      38/38 words (+2 bonus words)
      🎯 Perfect accuracy
      🔥 Solve streak: 132

      I’ve been playing this for a while now (132 days, obviously), and I still don’t understand how they decide a word is part of the regular puzzle or a bonus word. Some words seem fairly common but are called bonus, and others seem more obscure and are in the puzzle.

  15. robc

    No sports?

    There was a whole slate of English Championship games. Sheffield Wednesday won, they are still in 23rd, but are even on points with 20th place. They have a chance to survive and then the two Sheffield’s can be in the same league next year, which has been a rarity this century.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Unfortunately, Bayern and PSG advance in CL.

      • juris imprudent

        They’re just reaching their highest level of incompetence, it isn’t like either is a threat to win it.

  16. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Doritos actually canned that freak so the harm should be limited. I’d switch to Cheetos but don’t even get me started on what Chester the Cheetah is into.

    • UnCivilServant

      Is the fact that they’re both PepsiCo brands part of the joke?

  17. rhywun

    The whole point of working for an outfit like Google or Apple or Microsoft is to become a rockstar and collect hot chicks a d such.

    That doesn’t happen when you tote that bale with millions of ambitionless cogs like these.

  18. Certified Public Asshat

    Despite the MSNBC’s crew’s snide remarks, voters cited immigration as the most important problem facing the US in a recent poll.

    The monthly Gallup survey released in late February found 28% of Americans were most concerned about immigration, up from 20% in January.

    It marked the first time in nearly five years that immigration topped the list of concerns among surveyed US adults.

    The government was cited as the second biggest problem and the economy as the third.

    Well now that I know “The Government” was an option, it seems silly that it was not number one over immigration.

    • WTF

      Well yeah, all of the other problems can basically be traced to the government.

      • Nephilium

        Government is just the self abuse we all do together!

      • WTF

        Government is just the bodies we stack together!
        Why won’t you heathens get on board?

  19. The Late P Brooks

    How fucking dumb do you have to be to not even know you’re working for a subcontractor?

    • Gender Traitor

      “I’m paid by direct deposit, so I have no way of knowing where the money comes from.”

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Gang war

    I was speaking to a senior United Nations official in Haiti Monday, a very sober and calculated person not prone to hyperbole. In discussing the situation, I used the word “gangs” and he cut me off.

    “I would stop using that term if I were you,” he said, arguing that gangs are what you find in American cities. In Haiti, there are multiple large criminal groups with enormous firepower, now unified with the stated goal of toppling the sitting government.

    “They are armed rebel groups and this is civil war,” the source said.

    His point is striking. This isn’t just more gang violence. This is an attempted rebellion.

    They just want to overthrow the current gang of criminals, I guess.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      I’m rooting for the group that doesn’t burn their enemies alive if there is one like that.

    • The Last American Hero

      Haiti apparently made a pact with the devil centuries ago. The odd part is their great great great grandchildren continue to uphold their end of the bargain.

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

      Make Haiti Great Again?

  21. cavalier973

    “King for a Day” by Thompson Twins is a great song. I also like “Lay Your Hands”, but not the version with the choir. Rounding out the trio is “Doctor, Doctor”.

    To say I like a band, I need to like at least three of their songs

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Lies, If You Were Here, In the Name of Love on Your Side 😉

  22. Common Tater

    I remember when people said that boat scene in that movie was racist.

    • R.J.

      Creature from the Black Lagoon?

  23. Pope Jimbo

    You know what is worse than NoDaks? Sodaks!

    I have no idea what is going on in this story. All I know is putting syrup on someone’s desk is ban worthy in South Dakota.

    We live in great times when racism is so bad that you can’t figure out who the baddie in any given story is. It isn’t like the old days when police dogs were turned loose on people or racial epithets were used to someone’s face.

    • WTF

      They wanted to commemorate Nancy Green, whose likeness was used to create the Aunt Jemima advertising character. One of the bill’s co-sponsors put a bottle of syrup on the desk of the legislator who killed the bill.
      Because NOT wanting to erase POCs from advertising and media is what makes you racist these days.

      • Fourscore

        Last fall I put several bottles of maple syrup, courtesy of Richard from Vermont, on the table at HH. There were no complaints except from those that didn’t get any.

    • R.J.

      Huh… Two white republicans in a slap fight….

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Yes, the sacred decorum of the SoDak statehouse. Give me a break.

      • juris imprudent

        I prefer the old days, when politics wasn’t religion.

  24. The Late P Brooks

    I’m rooting for the group that doesn’t burn their enemies alive if there is one like that.

    I’m rooting for anybody who wants to establish the conditions necessary for a functioning economy and freedom. That would require evicting the UN parasite ecosystem.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      In Haiti? Don’t hold your breath.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    Beginning of the end of democracy

    According to the Times, Trump met with Musk – one of the world’s richest people – and a number of wealthy Republican donors on Sunday and hopes to have a one-on-one discussion soon with Musk, the CEO of both Tesla Inc and SpaceX, and the owner-executive chairman of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

    ——-

    Musk has not said whether he plans to back Trump financially, but the South African-born billionaire entrepreneur has suggested in social media posts that he is opposed to incumbent Joe Biden – who defeated Trump in 2020 – winning a second term in November.

    Musk has long sought to cast himself as politically independent but has previously stated that he voted for Biden in 2020. Since then however, he has criticised the president and clashed with his administration

    In November, the White House labelled as “abhorrent” a tweet sent by Musk that was said to show indifference antisemitism. In December, Musk’s mother accused the president of standing in the way of the billionaire’s plans to make the world a better place.

    Last year Musk said that he would not vote for Biden again and – according to the Times report – he has made clear that defeating the president is a priority.

    Pernicious plotting plutocrats.

    • The Last American Hero

      Wanna get rid of Zuckbucks? Just have one election where Muskbucks tilt the results the other way.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I thought Muskbucks were the singles you found in the g-string of a sweaty stripper?

      • juris imprudent

        Were you trying to make change?

      • Pope Jimbo

        If you weren’t supposed to get change, why did they put a coin slot there?

      • Compelled Speechless

        🤢

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Maybe they can manage to charge him with something. Get Garland on the case.

    • SDF-7

      Maybe Biden shafting Elon because Tesla wasn’t pro-union enough and then over the Twitter thing was a bad idea there, Dems? Just maybe?

  26. The Other Kevin

    King for a Day was one of those songs I memory holed for a few decades. Then a year or two ago I rediscovered it, and I still like it so much.

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

      That has been one of the great things about streaming music. I can go on to Spotify, find an album that I had forgotten about, and then follow the links to about a dozen others like it.

  27. The Late P Brooks

    With a net worth that Forbes magazine has put at around $200bn, Musk has the resources to almost single-handedly offset the huge financial advantage that Biden and his supporters are otherwise expected to wield over Trump in the 2024 general election campaign.

    He’s going to buy the Presidency. Next stop, apartheid.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Next stop, apartheid

      He’s homesick?

    • Seguin

      Worse, he might put in a competitive bid when they thought they had the deal all sewn up.

  28. Pope Jimbo

    Good on her I’m surprised there weren’t a bunch of boys fierce girlz who used to be boys she could have wrestled in the girl’s tourney.

    As a freshman last year, Graber won a state title in the girls wrestling tournament, which has only been in existence through the Minnesota State High School League since 2021-22.

    Instead of pursuing an encore performance on the girls side, though, Graber decided to switch things up as a sophomore.

    “I wanted to challenge myself against the boys,” Graber said. “I decided to go for it, and it turned out pretty well.”

    That’s an understatement.

    After qualifying for state on the boys side, Graber advanced to the semifinals this past weekend at Xcel Energy Center and, in the process, became the first female wrestler in Minnesota history to win a match against a boy during the state high school tournament. Over the course of two days, Graber actually won three total matches and finished in fifth place.

    • Fourscore

      I lost a few of those matches in the back seat of a ’46 Ford.

      • SDF-7

        “Oh no… don’t pin me down…. oh, I’m so helpless…. you’ll be able to have your way with me, you vixen! Oh no…..”

    • whiz

      Good for her.

      You might remember my article last spring on Reanah Utterback, who wrestled with the boys because her small school didn’t have a girl’s team. She finished 8th in her weight class (108 lbs). This year the school had enough interest that they were able to field (mat?) a girl’s team — she won the state championship in her weight class (110 lbs), was undefeated for the season, and pinned all but two opponents (those were technical falls). Apparently wrestling with the boys honed her skills pretty well.

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

      All joking aside, I wonder how many boys were too scared that they might Badtouch her, and didn’t go full bore in the match?

      • juris imprudent

        Didn’t think crotch-grabbing was legal anyway.

      • Mojeaux

        I’m torn on this.

        One hand: Good on her for out-wrestling a dude.

        Other hand: There is no honor for a boy to either win or lose against a girl.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    Hard numbers

    Not far from the Pacific Ocean, where just to the south, oil platforms dot the horizon, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted into space Monday with dozens of satellites on board.

    Four miles away from the launch site, a crowd including scientists, engineers, and their families erupted into celebration. They were applauding largely for one satellite on board: MethaneSAT, which is built to detect methane. That’s a gas that in the short term packs an even bigger planet-warming punch than carbon dioxide.

    MethaneSAT – led by the Environmental Defense Fund – will have a targeted focus: to spot methane from the oil and gas industry, which leaks at various parts of the fossil fuel production process. Sometimes oil companies deliberately burn methane gas if they can’t pipe it somewhere.

    Reducing methane pollution can help the world meet its climate targets, but for years researchers had little understanding of where exactly methane leaks were coming from. Recent projects have helped give a clearer picture, but the data hasn’t always been public, or precise – especially from oil fields, says Steven Hamburg, chief scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) who led the MethaneSAT project.

    Sure, whatever. They’ll find exactly what they’re looking for. That’s how science works.

    • WTF

      Cow farts.

    • Not Adahn

      Odds they’ll find any emissions in China?

      • Fatty Bolger

        Can’t find what you’re not looking for.

  30. The Other Kevin

    A while back there was an article on The Federalist where they did the math, and determined last year the average family was paying an extra $900 every month for things they normally buy. And here comes our hero Biden, saving us from $8 fees and small bags of potato chips.

  31. The Late P Brooks

    But focusing on the oil and gas sector was strategic, Hamburg says. Oil and gas has a concentrated number of players, with bigger budgets to clean up their operations. “The ability to remediate is much greater and it’s cost-effective,” he says.

    In the past six years EDF put together a team – including scientists from Harvard University and other groups – to build a satellite to get a better picture of the oil industry. The satellite has sensors specifically designed to pick up the fingerprint of the methane molecule. The sensors now orbiting in space will then send data back to Earth in the coming months.

    The hope is that regulators will use this data, Hamburg says. “There’s interest. There’s conversations, not just with the U.S. EPA, but in other governments and other regulators,” he says.

    Deep-pocketed villains are the best.

    • UnCivilServant

      I’m still waiting for his 15,000 counts of depraved inddiference homicide being filed.

  32. WTF

    News from the People’s Republic of New Jersey: Murphy eyes new fee on warehouse truck traffic

    As communities across the state continue to battle over the booming warehouse industry, the Murphy administration has stepped in cautiously and is calling for a new tax on the movement of trucks to and from the warehouses.

    Gov. Phil Murphy proposed a $1 tax for every truck movement and projected that the revenue would amount to $10 million for the state’s general fund.

    That won’t drive the cost of goods even higher! WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!

    • The Other Kevin

      Come on, it’s only $1! I’m sure they promised not to raise that in the future.

      • cyto

        Wait…. he thinks there are 10 million truck visits to warehouses in NJ every year?

        I don’t have the context to know if this is reasonable, but it sounds like a big number.

      • Sensei

        NJ is a big transit hub on the east coast.

    • Sensei

      But NYC’s congestion pricing is totes evil for NJ residents.

      • WTF

        It’s evil assholes all the way down.

      • Sensei

        The hypocrisy is amazing even by political standards.

    • whiz

      NSFW? Fortunately, I no longer work.

  33. The Late P Brooks

    That won’t drive the cost of goods even higher! WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!

    Those trucking companies are raking it in. We’ll pass a law making it illegal to pass that fee on to the customer.

  34. The Late P Brooks

    Late last year the EPA made a new rule that for the first time requires oil and gas operators to monitor, detect, and fix methane leaks.

    A spokesperson for the EPA said in an emailed statement that the EPA’s new rule “has a mechanism for third-party notifiers using approved remote sensing technologies to be certified – enabling them to notify EPA of methane super-emitter events.” Super-emitter events happen when large amounts of methane are released. “EDF, along with other owners of remote sensing technologies, may apply to be certified,” the EPA said.

    [insert exclamation of surprise]

    You don’t suppose those third party monitors are also empowered to sue and receive a bounty on any fines collected, do you?

  35. Sensei

    Funny thing is this is the GSP close to me. I had no idea until I stopped the video. Let’s count the idiots.

    1. CUV in the right lane with hazard lights on. Makes sense. It’s snowing and people are going slowly. Need to put the hazards on so that now the turns signals no longer function. Very helpful!

    2. Nissan driver (naturally) in the far left lane driving what looks to be a 350/370Z. Odds of having summer tires on the car – high!

    3. Yet another generic CUV right on the the left lane bandit’s tail in the middle of a snowstorm. Check!

    https://www.reddit.com/r/IdiotsInCars/comments/1b76ywb/unfortunate_incident_oc/

    • Sean

      Like many NJ drivers, that person had no business being on the road.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    Whistling past the graveyard

    Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said the latest poll numbers are concerning, and he decried a separate decision by the Supreme Court to postpone ruling on Trump’s legal immunity claims to the summer as “outrageous.”

    “We’re concerned. This is going to be a tough race, but it hasn’t really begun yet, so a lot of the coverage is just about Biden’s age, not about his policies,” he said. “The president is going to get out on the stump and he’s going to have an opportunity to show he’s got the energy as well as the intellect and the acuity to do the job.”

    Just keep telling yourself that.

    • cyto

      They are going with the old gaslighting strategy. Just keep saying it until everyone believes it.

      • The Other Kevin

        So much gaslighting. The economy, the border, Biden’s age. Many will go for it, but when you’re asking people to ignore what they see with their own eyes, it’s still a hard sell.

  37. cyto

    Starts about halfway in

    Massive money laundering by political candidates, including Leticia James and fani Willis.

    Hundreds and hundreds of small donors making small daily donations to pacs that then transfer millions to candidates. The donors are uniformly extremely old and have no online presence. O’Keefe checked some and they confirmed they had not donated.

    The donations are daily for years… and then end exactly on the day these people die. So clearly an automated process.

    Candidates then spend on luxury lifestyle and “consulting” that might go to an address that is just an empty apartment.

    They have filed a huge number of complaints with the FEC and thusfar no action as been taken. Obviously, this is so blatant that everyone knows it is happening and agrees to look the other way.

    https://rumble.com/v4heemr-independent-journalist-uncovers-massive-letitia-james-financial-fraud-viva-.html

    • cyto

      On the consulting front, she points out that Chuck Schumer spent $34 million on website consulting in 1 year. Sounds like an easy way to launder illegal contributions into your pocket via a fake vendor.

    • cyto

      Oh, and “small” donations are really small. Like 60 cents every day to each of a dozen candidates…. out of state.

      Impossible to miss if you are the FEC auditor.

      • Pine_Tree

        Don’t you mean “impossible to miss UNLESS you are the FEC auditor”.

    • cyto

      This is probably illegal foreign donations being laundered.

  38. The Late P Brooks

    Nissan driver (naturally) in the far left lane driving what looks to be a 350/370Z. Odds of having summer tires on the car – high!

    Jumps on the brakes for no apparent reason.

    • Sensei

      You are driving in the snow. You always want to firmly stomp at random times with people on your bumper to be sure the brakes to be sure they are working.

      My guess is the back end got a bit loose and the driver panicked and nailed the brakes. That’s when they did the endo.

    • R.J.

      If Nest can sell it I will be amazed. Seems like a $100 gadget at best, not a $1,000 gadget.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    Welch acknowledged that “in retrospect” it was a mistake for Biden to pass up doing an interview with CBS news ahead of the Super Bowl, which would have allowed him to reach a huge national audience.

    “In retrospect, it would have been good to do the Super Bowl interview, throw a few deep passes into the end zone,” he said.

    *outright prolonged laughter*

    • The Other Kevin

      Or fumble the ball, or get knocked down on his rear when they throw him a pass.

  40. The Late P Brooks

    You always want to firmly stomp at random times with people on your bumper to be sure the brakes to be sure they are working.

    “Check this out: it’s got ABS.”