Friday Morning Links

by | Jun 21, 2024 | Daily Links | 227 comments

The Orioles thrashed the Yankees. Argentina beat Canada 2-0 to get the Copa America underway. England drew Denmark and the questions are being asked that should be asked. And Spain beat Italy 1-0 but in all reality, the game was a humiliation and should have been 3 or 4-0. The NHL back in Edmonton today in a game Florida would really like to win to avoid a game 7 in a series they looked poised to sweep. And the Lakers have fallen so far they hired a guy who’s literally never coached a game of basketball in his life. I’m sure there’s somebody in this comments section that cares, even if I don’t. Right, now on to…the links!

I am completely shocked by this news. Oh wait, I’m not shocked. I’m wholly unsurprised. I remember when I was told I should apply and I just laughed and said I wanted no part of it whatsoever. Now everybody who took it, legitimately or otherwise, is gonna be scrutinized so the Biden admin can try to carve back some of that budget shortfall from the unconstitutional student loan giveaway fiasco.

This will be a circus. No mater what she decides, and the appointment is questionable at best, everybody is gonna freak out.

Oh, this is nothing. Wait until he drops the charges on the people who actually occupied a building and held employees inside. Then it’ll get fun. Or until the next illegal alien he let out without bond four times kills a kid.

How the fuck?!?!?!?! When people record their own crime spree and gloat about it, I’d expect them to actually go to prison. But these are retarded times, and Philly is a retarded place. Which, I guess, explains this retarded sentence.

They’re testing the waters. Waiting to see how statements like this resonate with voters and donors so they can decide whether to run the vegetable or put somebody else on the ticket. That’s my take.

Give the people what they want. That’s what I always say. And both those foods are delicious, so I see no problem whatsoever.

“He’s coming right for us!” What a dumbass. Here, see the video for yourself.

Good luck enforcing this. Also, you’re not their parents. And this is their parents’ decision and job, not yours.

This one doesn’t get much play. Too bad, it should. This one gets a good bit. And it deserves it. Enjoy them both.

And enjoy this lovely Friday and weekend, dear friends.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

227 Comments

  1. Evan from Evansville

    The Cubs were also up 6-5 and miraculously gave up a grand slam in the 8th and held on despite themselves. Time to see the chimps at the Indy zoo with my 8 and 9 year-old nephews.

    This season is becoming an expose in how to remain loyal to your

    partner

    team.

    • Evan from Evansville

      *Bows*

      I manage to be the first? And it’s time to leave? Pity.

    • Evan from Evansville

      And I really really fucked up the tags.

      This season is becoming an expose in how to remain loyal to your partner team.

    • cavalier973

      The Cubs are back!

      I was so disappointed in them in 2016

      • Evan from Evansville

        *Firmly, though not turgidly, narrows gaze*

    • Nephilium

      Browns fans everywhere looks at your devotion to a team that won in your lifetime and scoff.

      • Evan from Evansville

        Cupcake, the Browns won in 1950, 1954–55 and 1964. Cubs won in 2016!… 1908 AND…1907. My Chicago grandpa was born in 1924. I’m the first in generations to see us win it all. AND, it was perhaps legit the most exciting 7-game MLB series ever.

        Winning Game 7 in extras is a helluva capper.

      • Nephilium

        Yes, well aware about the win in 2016. I was watching too, remember who they beat? The team that hasn’t won since 1948. While 1964 is in the lifetime for most of the commenters here, neither of us have reached that age yet.

        Plus, the Cubs were never stolen away to another city to win for that city multiple times. There’s a reason that Modell is the most hated man in Cleveland to this day.

      • cavalier973

        I don’t watch baseball, but I watched that game 7.

        I wondered why t he coach kept switching out pitchers, and thought maybe he was giving each pitcher a chance to say that he pitched in the first World Series won by the Cubs in over a century.

      • cavalier973

        I was going to reply to Evan that I had to switch my loyalty to the Browns, but then I second-guessed myself on which team was next in line, and tried to do a quick Internets search, but nobody would tell me who the “next losingest baseball team” was (with regard to World Series wins).

      • sloopyinca

        While 1964 is in the lifetime for most of the commenters here

        You think so? I’d think you’re off by a few years. That would make most of the people here boomers, and I think there’s more Gen-X Glibs.

      • Nephilium

        cavalier973:

        The managers were going for the best matchups they could, and didn’t need to worry about saving pitchers for the next game, so they swapped them out with abandon.

      • cavalier973

        The managers were going for the best matchups they could, and didn’t need to worry about saving pitchers for the next game, so they swapped them out with abandon.

        That makes sense, too, but is less romantic.

      • Rat on a train

        Chargers fans cry.

      • juris imprudent

        next losingest baseball team

        I would think the San Diego Padres. True, not a team with as long a history, but I don’t recall them EVER winning it all.

      • Pope Jimbo

        A real fan would know that the proper name for the NL Chicago team is The Orphans

        Chicago’s NL franchise was originally known as the White Stockings, but it went through an assortment of monikers before and after player-manager Cap Anson’s time with the team. The club was called Anson’s Colts for a while, and was then dubbed the “Orphans” after the team cut ties with Anson (their “Pop”) after 1897.

        They had to play against such teams as The Boston Beaneaters and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms

      • AlexinCT

        A real fan would know that the proper name for the NL Chicago team is The Orphans

        Wait…

        The only Orphans I know was that gang that fought the Warriors in the movie called The Warriors.

        You know….

        Warriors.. Come out to play-ey-aye…

  2. cavalier973

    If Judge Cannon says that Smith’s appointment is invalid, will Smith appeal to the Supreme Court?

    • AlexinCT

      They are already trying to make it like Cannon is an inexperienced partisan hack. That’s because they KNOW that the Smith appointment is an illegal political thing and she will not be dissuaded from finding that. and no, Smith will not go to the SCOTUS because a couple of SCOTUS judges already pointed out in another ruling that there was a case to be made his assignment was not legal.

  3. juris imprudent

    And this is their parents’ decision and job, not yours.

    Ten bucks says she has gotten an earful from parents about there ought to be a law!!!

    • Rat on a train

      We’ve tried nothing and are all out of ideas.

    • Nephilium

      If you look at the text of the law, it’s laughably vague:

      SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

      This bill would prohibit social media platforms from providing an addic-
      tive feed to children younger than 18 without parental consent and
      prohibits social media platforms from withholding non-addictive feed
      products or services where that consent is not obtained.

      This bill would also require that social media platforms obtain parental
      consent before permitting notifications from such platform to children
      between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM.

      • AlexinCT

        That looks like a great excuse for them to censor Rumble and X.

      • juris imprudent

        Whoever doesn’t let them wet their beak.

      • slumbrew

        “addictive feed” is well defined, legally, right?

      • WTF

        “addictive feed” is well defined, legally, right?

        Of course, it’s anything the kids like a lot that the government nannies disapprove of.

      • R C Dean

        That is literally whatever is not prohibited is required.

      • Nephilium

        From the text of the law (caps lock all them):

        “ADDICTIVE FEED” SHALL MEAN A WEBSITE, ONLINE SERVICE, ONLINE
        APPLICATION, OR MOBILE APPLICATION, OR A PORTION THEREOF, IN WHICH
        MULTIPLE PIECES OF MEDIA GENERATED OR SHARED BY USERS OF A WEBSITE,
        ONLINE SERVICE, ONLINE APPLICATION, OR MOBILE APPLICATION, EITHER
        CONCURRENTLY OR SEQUENTIALLY, ARE RECOMMENDED, SELECTED, OR PRIORITIZED
        FOR DISPLAY TO A USER BASED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, ON INFORMATION ASSOCI-
        ATED WITH THE USER OR THE USER’S DEVICE, UNLESS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
        CONDITIONS ARE MET, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH ONE ANOTHER:

        There are 8 conditions listed after that in a brief (non-lawyer) read, looks to include the following: non-personalized, something sent due to privacy/accessibility options selected, a request/subscription, direct communications, recommendations based on search, the next part/episode/piece, it’s required to comply with the law. It’ll be interesting to watch trade secrets crash into discovery if this stands up to the suit the social/tech companies will file against it.

      • Ownbestenemy

        So Amazon/Netflix/Hulu/et al is also included right? RIGHT?! Cause that fits the defined terms.

    • Ted S.

      There are law firms running ads on TV in Albany about suing over “social media addiction”.

  4. WTF

    Song selections reminded me of this one.

    • slumbrew

      Fred was always the weak link.

  5. cavalier973

    Can Joe be replaced after the first debate?

    Will they demand a new debate with the replacement candidate, so that the replacement candidate can refuse to debate a felon?

    • creech

      Nah, the expectations are so low that all Joe has to do is remain standing and we’ll be told by the captive media that he “won the debate hands down.”

      • WTF

        Well, that and Trump will actually be debating against three people because the CNN ‘moderators’ will be doing their best to support Biden and undermine Trump.

      • juris imprudent

        Looking forward to the whole debate being dismissed as a cheap fake.

      • WTF

        Any Biden flubs hitting the internet afterwards will of course be dismissed as fakes, even though people had watched it happen live. Although it wouldn’t surprise me if CNN is set up to do quick cutaways to hide Biden’s mental deficits.

    • AlexinCT

      Replacing Joe is fraught with perils. They will not hand the baton to Koh-Moh-Loh. And by not doing that they will absolutely piss off all black female voters, and they know this demographic not showing up with so many men already going to Trump spells doom anyway. Some thought they could slide Big Mike into the spot, but this has it’s own issues, and Big Mike doesn’t want this one bit. Hillary would sacrifice a million babies to Bhaal to get the shot again, but this too would be problematic and potentially damaging to the black female turnout, while giving them the old problem that she can not break a 52% negative approval rating. Any guy they slide in, and that will be a honkey cause nobody else will get it, will cause enough damage to make it not worth while. Short of Joe dying, and I am not saying they wouldn’t resort to that because democrats are ruthless criminals, they have no out that’s graceful and without causing major strife and disaster for the party.

      • Pine_Tree

        Before he had the medical issues, I was big on “they’ll martyr Harris and replace her with Lloyd Austin”, but not feeling so good about it now. He’s a reliable Proggie, the right skin color, and being an ex-GOFO he’ll suck in a bunch of the idiots with Tom Clancy Syndrome.

      • R C Dean

        I think their original plan was probably for Joe to step aside by now (major miscalculation on Herr Doktor Jill, there), Kamala runs as an incumbent, and they go for the First Gay Dude on the ticket with Buttigieg, to make the AWFLs squeal with delight.

        The Buttigieg got exposed immediately as being devoid of any redeeming qualities. I agree Austin was probably Plan B. Even by Current Day standards, it’s shocking how shallow the talent pool for the Ruling Class is.

      • ZWAK came for the two-fisted tentacle-fighting, stayed for the crushing existential nihilism.

        Just how inept has been shocking, really. But, Alex is right, Kamalamadingdong is a major stumbling block for the left. She hits every woke talking point: black, multiracial, feminist, etc. but she has show to have zero political skills outside the knob-slob. But she is a symbol to the intersectional left, who do not care one whit about the one skill that a politician actually needs, namely, likeability.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Trump’s only hope is that Joe stays on the ticket.

      I don’t think he’d beat anyone else. Even Kamala would beat him. Sure she is super unlikeable, but she’d hide in her basement too. And tons of Dem voters would be “whew. I didn’t want to vote for a walking corpse, but sure I’ll pull the lever for her”

      • WTF

        I think you’re right, and it astounds me that so many people would willingly vote for 4 more years of what we’ve been subjected to during the last 4.

      • AlexinCT

        I am going to disagree with you here your holiness. They will not pick Koh-Moh-Loh. She is perhaps the only woman with a lower approval rating than Hillary, and they will have trouble controlling here because she will immediately resort to pulling out her various victim cards to get her way. She was picked, like Obama did with Biden, because nobody would kill the president with them as the successor.

      • juris imprudent

        Some Dem voters, but remember, she didn’t have even one single delegate to the Dem convention in ’20. Not ONE. I think that indicates a severe weakness with the base.

      • grrizzly

        Harris suspended her presidential campaign well before the primaries started. Unsurprisingly, she got no delegates: her name was not on the ballots.

      • juris imprudent

        grrizzly – understand that. Bernie was a more viable candidate. That’s why I can’t figure why anyone thinks she has a real constituency in the party.

      • Not Adahn

        She the individual may not, but she the intersection of multiple axes of oppression certainly does.

  6. SDF-7

    is gonna be scrutinized so the Biden admin can try to carve back some of that budget shortfall

    Sorry Sloopy, but citation very very much needed that the PPP Admin gives one solitary flea off of a Swamp Rat’s Ass about the budget shortfall — or the budget.

    Plus I’d bet much of that went as graft to their friendly hogs as they waddled to the pandemic trough.

    • sloopyinca

      You don’t think they’re gonna sic the IRS on people so they can politicize how hard they go after fraud? And those people will be white dudes instead of the overseas scammers who took the most money from the program. Same as the ones CA said scammed them out of all those Covid unemployment giveaways their state threw away with no oversight.

      • SDF-7

        They’ll probably do some targeted audits / prosecutions, yeah — but they’re looking to do those anyway. And it will be a very small fraction of what was sucked by the parasites.

      • AlexinCT

        I think your disconnect, SDF-7, is that you are not expecting active prosecutions/corrections, correctly, while the reality others see is that there will be some show prosecutions and then be followed by the claim they fixed it.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Why do they have to be foreign scammers overseas? Here in Minnesoda we have local foreigners who keep defrauding govt agencies.

        The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has charged five people in a pair of alleged fraud schemes investigators say cheated the Medicaid system out of more than $10 million.

        In the first of two separate cases, AG Keith Ellison says two defendants – Abdifatah Yusuf and Lul Ahmed – used an agency called Promise Health Services LLC to bilk Medicaid, claiming to provide home and community-based (waivered) services. Investigators from the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) say instead, Yusuf and Ahmed fraudulently obtained Medicaid funds by billing for services not provided, overbilling, using false documentation and providing kickbacks to induce clients to receive “services” from the agency.

        The charges allege that while Yusuf operated Promise, the agency stole more than $7.2 million in Medicaid funds, using the money to fuel a lavish lifestyle that included luxury cars, home furnishings and clothing.

        This is in addition to the $250M that was stolen from the slush fund to feed kids during the pandemic. Or maybe, I’m out of touch and the names of these defendants are a red herring. They may all be Swedes and I’m just a racist for thinking that they are our new Somali neighbors.

      • R C Dean

        “an agency called Promise Health Services LLC”

        Give them credit for truth in advertising, at least. It’s not called “Deliver Health Services”, after all.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Abdifatah Ole Yusuf and Lena Ahmed?

        I heard some stories about dem…. Uff da.

  7. creech

    I hope the Philly “influencer looter” didn’t mis-characterize a journal entry or she will be in real trouble.

  8. rhywun

    reportedly provided fried chicken and watermelon

    Or not.

    But it’s that time of the year again so sure, why not.

    • WTF

      From the comments: “the only real crime was that there was no hot sauce, corn bread and coleslaw”

      • Pope Jimbo

        They should have invited Hillary. She could have shared that hot sauce she always carries around in her purse.

      • rhywun

        She ain’t in no ways tahhrrd!

    • AlexinCT

      They need to manufacture this shit to justify their existence.

    • Rat on a train

      Then yakisoba and chili mac it is.

    • WTF

      Holy shit, that was hilarious! And really, WTF was he thinking?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        I like black Ali G too.

    • Drake

      Wow – very funny.

  9. AlexinCT

    The title of this piece is a nice way of saying too many amongst the people no longer buy the bullshit being peddled by the marxist controlled social justice movement’s attempts to make sure the only misinformation/disinformation/hate speech comes from the media to get the people to believe the shit the media wants.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      To paraphrase Woke Wars, the tighter they grip it the more their credibility will slip through their fingers. It’s something that’s earned, not imposed.

      • Nephilium

        “I demand respect!”

        If you have to demand it, you haven’t earned it and don’t deserve it.

      • AlexinCT

        Yup. Have you seen how cross they are that the people dare actually not just to ignore them, but to call them out as hacks? The disdain for the common man, whether the common man is still captured by them and eating up the shit they serve or otherwise, is palpable. The feeling in the corrupt legacy media is “How dare these unwashed deplorables not just believe and or do what they are told by their elite masters?”. They have made it about themselves. They are the good guys in their heads fighting a bunch of idiots that should just bend the knee.

    • Fourscore

      We’re always short on good news, thanks Jimbo.

      There are still some good people in this world.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Happy belated B-day to you too!

  10. Stinky Wizzleteats

    “Joe’s biggest problem is Joe”

    He’s always been an asshole, now he’s a senile asshole. Is the loathing of Trump enough to drag his ambulatory corpse over the finish line? God I hope not but we shall see.

    • WTF

      Never fear, they are preparing to fortify the shit out of the election. And they don’t care if everyone knows, because they know it won’t matter, and what are you gonna do about it?

      • cavalier973

        I’m gonna vote so much harder next election!

        *folded arms and frowny face*

      • juris imprudent

        So – you ready to hit the streets, guns a-blazin’? If the system truly is that corrupt, what are you going to do?

        Unless you’re going to emulate cav here?

      • WTF

        Sure JI, I’m a one-man army just like Rambo. The problem is that so many people are just willing to roll over and take it, a few people can’t make a difference. The weak acceptance of the Covid bullshit by the vast majority was telling. And I honestly don’t get your logic that if one man is unwilling to act alone in a futile gesture, that the system must not be very corrupt?
        Waiting to hear your solution to effectively address the problem.

      • juris imprudent

        That’s exactly my point. You can wail away here, all to no effect. It’s protest auto-erotica. There is no voting our way out, so words have what use?

        There is no solution, just enjoy the ride down. It won’t get better until it’s gotten worse. Not so much a worry for me, but it sucks for my son and grandson.

        The problem isn’t here, with us. It’s with the vast majority of LEGITIMATE votes cast for morons and losers. That’s what the American people want as leadership – President, Congress, the whole fucking shooting match.

      • Nephilium

        JI:

        See… that’s some nihilism. 🙂

        Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody’s gonna die. Come watch TV

      • Not Adahn

        So – you ready to hit the streets, guns a-blazin’? If the system truly is that corrupt, what are you going to do?

        Unless you’re going to emulate cav here?

        Could you stop doing this? It adds nothing and is not only hostile but glowie as fuck.

      • cavalier973

        There are two things one can do: ignore the bad rules (civil disobedience) and educate family, friends, and neighbors.

      • R C Dean

        I’m thinking on the What Is To Be Done front:

        (1) Sure, vote as a protest thing. Don’t expect it to change the larger course of events.

        (2) Not even really civil disobedience, more Irish democracy. Just ignore the metastasizing micromanagement as much as you can.

        (3) Cultivate stoicism (no, really). Don’t get too twisted up about the palace intrigue and antics of our ruling class.

        (4) Find or make what you need locally/civilly in terms of your life infrastructure.

      • juris imprudent

        Neph: that’s some nihilism

        Hell, I’ve got my hands full trying to help a volunteer fire company make it when volunteerism has all but died in this society. Fuck politics. Fuck Dems. Fuck Repubs. NONE OF THEM pay attention to me, or anyone else here. The problem isn’t the politicians – it’s the people that vote for them.

        Sure, vote for the lesser evil. What in the fuck are you getting for doing that?

      • juris imprudent

        NA – I’m hardly encouraging anyone. I made a comment elsewhere, that in all of my life I have not pointed a gun at another human being. I really, really want to get to the end of my life with that record intact.

        But, I do fear that the bastards will not let me do that. That at some point they’re going to do something like squeeze or outright seize my IRA. And at that point, words are no longer the language of dissent, mayhem and death are.

      • EvilSheldon

        You can also entertain yourself by fortune telling how the collapse will go down, and preparing your family and friends accordingly…

  11. cavalier973

    The current Supreme Court term is scheduled to conclude at the end of the month, which is next week. But even after the four that came out yersteday, there are still over 20 rulings left to be issued. According to Newsweek, 2024 is the ‘slowest’ rollout of orders since 1946. And the Supremes are hoarding some true whoppers, such as the paradigm-shifting, riot-starting, hopes-crushing Trump Immunity Decision.

    https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/yes-thou-shall-friday-june-21-2024?r=d0r3d&utm_medium=ios

  12. Pope Jimbo

    Finally. About time we get serious about using Indigenous Knowledge in vet science!

    The first Indigenous animal health and wellbeing gathering will be held in Walker June 14-16. It’s a partnership between the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and veterinary leaders from four states. A total of 11 tribes will be represented.

    The gathering will feature roundtable discussions to promote collaboration on animal welfare. Topics covered will include emergency care, disease control, and environmental health and justice, all through an Indigenous lens.

    I know the Dakotas used dogs, but other than that dogs did any of the tribes have other pets/animals? Horses don’t count. That was totes cultural appropriation.

    • juris imprudent

      Judging from Rez dogs, I can’t imagine that this indigenous knowledge is going to be very beneficial.

      • SDF-7

        That’s indigenous knowledge that’s been corrupted by the Colonizing Man, man! Like, they were all meditating druids before we darkened their shores! Noble savages, maaaaan!

      • AlexinCT

        Scalp this MoFo!

    • The Last American Hero

      That knowledge apparently included hunting the buffalo to extinction once they got guns and horses.

      • Tundra

        In fairness, they got some significant help from whitey.

  13. SDF-7

    I played https://squaredle.com/xp 06/21:
    *22/22 words
    🎯 Perfect accuracy

    I played https://squaredle.com 06/21:
    *58/58 words (+13 bonus words)
    🎯 In the top 9% by accuracy
    🔥 Solve streak: 439

    Bleah… but it is Friday. And I will never understand while some of these are fine with “Cuban” but “Asian” is right out. grumble bitch moan complain

    • Sean

      I played https://squaredle.com/xp 06/21:
      *22/22 words (+3 bonus words)
      📖 In the top 12% by bonus words

      I played https://squaredle.com 06/21:
      *58/58 words (+45 bonus words)
      📖 In the top 5% by bonus words
      🔥 Solve streak: 383

  14. SDF-7

    Legislating (via pretzel logic) from the Bench is the purest form of our Democracy.

    • PieInTheSky

      the sidewalks is sort of like the pavement?

  15. KK, Plump & Unfiltered

    The Argentina-Canada thing is hopefully a predictive metaphor

    • Rat on a train

      Justice Goodwin Liu, who authored the decision for the unanimous court, wrote that the changes proposed by the measure “would substantially alter our basic plan of government,” and could only be enacted through a revision to the state’s constitution.

      from the ballot text:

      Section 4. Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution is amended to read:

      Section 5. Section 1 of Article XIII C of the California Constitution is amended, to read:

      Section 6. Section 2 of Article XIII C of the California Constitution is amended to read:

      So a constitutional amendment ballot proposal isn’t a revision to the constitution?

      • juris imprudent

        Now you understand why government schools want illiterate end products.

    • PieInTheSky

      it is never about power to the people – the people are dumb and icky.

  16. Suthenboy

    Fried chicken and watermelon were on the menu? Or they were the menu?

    The fact that they put Joe up the first time tells me that they got nuttin’. They are only in the office now because of cheating their asses off. Replace him? With who? Buttigieg? He is all they have but I noticed he disappeared from the deluge of suggested videos on Utoob.

    I take it they dont have rodeos in ‘ol blighty.

  17. Drake

    Trump’s “No tax on tips” promise is brilliant and probably picks up a lot of votes.

    These tips matter a lot more to them than they do to government; maybe we should give the edge to leaving it in the hands of the earners so they can spend it.

    • juris imprudent

      “You didn’t earn that [tip]” /lefties

      • AlexinCT

        Progtards: Your tax cut is the reason we have so much debt!

        Everyone else: Erm, your spending keeps going up, why can’t you see that is the problem?

    • Pope Jimbo

      Wait until they decide to increase the tax rate for people working in jobs that get tips to 100%. The Just The Tip Act will teach those fuckers.

      • AlexinCT

        The proggies have already voiced their discontent with the tipping system and their want of the European system where people get “living wages” to replace it. More importantly, for anyone that has gotten service in Europe, it will make it so the workers don’t have any desire or need to hustle. Fuck the consumers in the name of social justice!

      • juris imprudent

        Psst – consumers have choice. Choosing is bad, you must simply stand in the line and take what is given to you!

      • trshmnstr

        The proggies have already voiced their discontent with the tipping system

        Fuck the tipping system. Tips should be optional add ons for when service is not the main product and is above average. They shouldn’t be a mandatory 20% supplement to the price of your meal. They certainly shouldn’t be something begged for by every business putting even a modicum of effort into providing you with something.

  18. Pope Jimbo

    Apologies to everyone. I committed a cardinal sin yesterday and put my work ahead of Glibs. I wasn’t able to respond to comments when my nooner was published.

    Appreciate all the kind words. I’m always amazed at how many Glibs have ties to Minnesoda. We may have to change our state motto from “The Brainpower State” to “The Glib Brainpower State” (with Tundra in CO, our average definitely improved on that).

    • PieInTheSky

      As a non American it interesting to read about what constitutes a petty bridge for you.

      • Nephilium

        It didn’t even have any statues that a team was named after (that were carved by someone who had some… questionable ideas about native Americans), like one of the ones here.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Can you blame the bridge for being petty when you Euro-weenies are always throwing shade at it?

      • Tundra

        I think he meant “pretty.”

      • PieInTheSky

        Gah stupid new format. I will put the comment where it belongs

        When did any Euro throw shade at your bridge? See this is why people hate Americans.

      • PieInTheSky

        I think he meant “pretty.” – who are you talking about?

      • Pope Jimbo

        You hate us Americans because you want to date us.

        Especially now that Joe will give you a green card if you just date an American.

      • PieInTheSky

        well i keep asking for eligible daughters here but the pickings is slim

      • Fourscore

        My daughter is currently available and I assure you she is not slim.

  19. PieInTheSky

    Sam Dumitriu
    @Sam_Dumitriu
    I was recently asked by a prospective landlord to share a link to my LinkedIn profile before my offer was accepted.

    If you make it harder to evict, people will be much more selective about who they rent to.

    https://x.com/Sam_Dumitriu/status/1804088608682389858

    • trshmnstr

      The comments are moronic

      • PieInTheSky

        they always are.

    • PieInTheSky

      When did any Euro throw shade at your bridge? See this is why people hate Americans.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    I recently discovered an entire season (3) of The Boys which I had not seen. It was probably a conscious decision to not watch it at the time, but I can’t remember. Anyway, I started watching. Well. I’m four or five episodes in, and I honest to Zod can’t decide if it’s a bizarrely clever parody or a thick bubbling stew of lefty Hollywood fears and fever dreams. I can’t even say now the exact circumstances, but I suddenly thought to myself, “Holy shit- Homelander is Trump!”

    No wonder they’re all so desperate to keep Trump out of the White House.

    • PieInTheSky

      the want to keep the parody tone but cannot keep their politics out of it?

      • Not Adahn

        ^this

        The showrunner claimed that he didn’t want to be producing content for “edgelords.” As if the material was ever anything else other than an attempt to go 3egdy5me.

      • Nephilium

        Season 4 has doubled down on the right bashing, with a conspiracy convention (that invokes Pizzagate and QAnon) and includes someone complaining about “Critical Supe Theory” being taught in schools.

      • Not Adahn

        The showrunner also gets very upset if you think there’s something different about Erin Moriarty’s face this season.

      • WTF

        Season 4 has doubled down on the right bashing

        So I wasn’t just being paranoid. I had to bail after the first 3 episodes because it just got so tiresome.
        The left ruins everything.
        And there is something odd about Erin Moriarty’s face this season.

      • slumbrew

        And there is something odd about Erin Moriarty’s face this season.

        *searchs*

        Gah!

      • slumbrew

        That’s a candidate for the Meg Ryan Award.

      • Sean

        Damn, she went from hot to looks like a cam whore. Shame.

      • WTF

        That’s a candidate for the Meg Ryan Award.

        Yeah, she used to be cute as Hell, now she looks like an alien trying to pass as human under a strange mask. She’s definitely entered the uncanny valley.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      And yet it’s Dark Brandon who has lasers coming out of his eyes.

  21. PieInTheSky

    Social Democratic Party
    @SDPhq
    Free markets are the best system for providing general goods and services.
    At the same time, successful nations depend on a strong and capable state to provide fundamentals.

    SDP candidate Peter Wheeler, outlines the SDP’s distinct social market position:

    https://x.com/SDPhq/status/1803800060896874731

    should have stopped at the first sentence

    • AlexinCT

      should have stopped at the first sentence

      not if you want to stress the point that without government picking winners & losers you get something the elite don’t want/like.

    • AlexinCT

      It’s all fun and games until someone spills their beer..

  22. Gender Traitor

    Watched a bunch of the Giants/Cards game at the Birmingham Black Barons’ old ballpark last night. (Cards won! 😁) Lots of interesting Negro League history (and tributes to Willie Mays, of course) without being overly “woke” or heavy-handed, I thought.

    Whatever you think of Ken Burns, I recommend the episode from his Baseball doc series called “Shadowball.” (I forget which “inning” it is.) Worth it for the interviews with Buck O’Neil, especially the story of why Satchel Paige called him “Nancy.” 😄

    • Nephilium

      In case you were unaware, there’s a Baseball Heritage Museum up here in Cleveland. I have yet to go, but then again, I’ve never gone to the Football HoF down in Canton, and have only gone to the Rock Hall when tickets were forced upon me (I’ve gone to the area several times for free concerts outside back in the day, including getting to see the Skatalites).

    • Pope Jimbo

      Was it this story?

      Mays (on facing Satchel Paige for the first time in 1949)
      “Satch would pitch to anyone that would pay him. I hit a double off the wall against him. The guy behind me, Jimmy Zapp, hit a home run. So later in the game, Satch told his third baseman, ‘Let me know when that little boy come back up.’ I thought he was talking about somebody else. So, in the third, I heard the third baseman say, ‘There he is.’ I didn’t know who they were talking about. The catcher said, ‘They’re talking about you.’ I said, ‘No way.’ So Satch walked halfway to home plate and said, ‘Little boy,’ and I said, ‘Yes sir.’ Satch was much older than I was. Satch said, ‘Little boy, I’m not going to trick you, I’m going three fastballs, then you’re going to go sit down.’ I said, No one way could he throw the same pitch three times and I don’t hit it. He threw me the three damnedest fastballs. I didn’t come close to hitting it. He said, ‘Little boy, now you can go sit down.'”

      • Gender Traitor

        That’s a great story – and was told last night – but it’s not the “Nancy” story. That one has it’s origin in one of Satch’s “post game activities.” 😉

      • Gender Traitor

        Can’t find video clip, but here’s audio clip. [TW: NPR.]

  23. Pine_Tree

    For something completely different: What drives the existence of social media posts with “historical” information that’s unimportant, but clearly not true? Is it just to swamp the spectrum with examples of plain BS so that (for example) things like Twitter-as-uncontrolled-news are discredited? In other words, since Twitter’s capable of spreading info the Cathedral doesn’t want spread, they spam the channel so that they can point to their planted lies as examples of reasons not to believe?

    Here’s what I mean: I have Instagram and Twitter accounts but never post. I just watch. To some degree it’s “family and my kids’ friends”, and to some degree it’s news or eyes on open-source intelligence. And some personal interest. I’m a history and architecture nerd, so I have looked at some of those. Well, in the past few weeks I’ve seen two examples of history channels with a posted picture that says something like “Sgt. Alvin York being greeted by his mother upon homecoming….” It clearly ain’t him; some Eastern European type. On one they even marked up the name of the town on the train station to be Pall Malk. (He was from Pall Mall). Well, I know it’s fake, but plenty of people wouldn’t.

    So, why? As I mention above my best guess is to seed the alternative media with examples of mistakes so the Cathedral can discredit it. Any other theories? Because this Sgt. York thing is an oddly specific thing.

    • PieInTheSky

      So, why? – or people (maybe using bots) wanting to get engagement and likes by posting anything than might get engagement? this has happened on social media for a long time, it is not necessarily as conspiracy. Random people are capable of generating near infinite bullshit. There may be purposeful Cathedral bullshit as well, but I think most is just praying on human gullibility

      • Plinker762

        Probably a mix of half assed bots and AI used to get clicks resulting in garage out. Plus add the algorithms that keep linking “related” content.

    • Nephilium

      Lots of garbage AI stuff being pushed out “for engagement”, then there’s just the general ignorance about history that covers most people. Then there’s the people repeating something they’ve heard before (or are just remembering incorrectly) that’s incorrect. Hell, how many times have you heard how us entering WW2 is what ended the Great Depression?

    • Pine_Tree

      So 2 of you said “engagement”. For a small history-focused Instagrammer, how on earth does that translate into an ROI?

      • Nephilium

        By selling the ad space associated with the site/profile and/or by selling the information about the accounts/profiles that viewed it. I’m not saying it’s a good ROI, but it can provide one.

      • PieInTheSky

        one small social media account not much. 25 run mostly by bots gets something.

        Also some may thing they will become big.

        As I said I don’t know each case. But I think most are just people with time looking for side hustle, a fashionable thing these days. Most people who pay money for get rich quick courses (which have proliferated) learn stuff along the lines of make money selling bullshit online.

    • R.J.

      Boy that will not go over well.

      • WTF

        Commie Pope don’t care.

      • Tundra

        You have to hand it to the commies, they know how to play a long game. I wonder how many of them have been through seminary over the last 50 years.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      “Can we stop it from happening? Yes, we can: by prayer, sacrifice, penance — and influence and pressure, of whatever sort we can manage to put forward. The enemy is strong, but Our Lord and Our Lady are mightier.“

      Sure, but is there anything you can do that will help?

      • juris imprudent

        Our Lord and Our Lady

        Love that duality.

  24. The Late P Brooks

    Journalism is saved

    The Washington Post said Friday that Robert Winnett, the British journalist who had been slated to take over as the newspaper’s top editor, will no longer join the publication that has been ensnared in a weeks-long crisis over ethics questions.

    “It is with regret that I share with you that Robert Winnett has withdrawn from the position of Editor at The Washington Post,” Will Lewis, The Post’s embattled publisher and chief executive, told staff in a Friday morning memo.

    Winnett, who had been tapped this month by Lewis to join The Post following the November election, will now remain deputy editor of London’s Telegraph newspaper. The decision comes after Winnett’s journalistic integrity was questioned in a 3,000-word front page expose published by The Post, which reported that Winnett had previously used materials from a self-described “thief” for reporting.

    “Editorial integrity” my ass. From the paper built on “according to sources familiar with the situation who were granted anonymity in order to speak freely”. We make shit up and say a little bird told us.

    • The Last American Hero

      Ah, so the history books will remember all this as “Bush’s fault”.

    • Suthenboy

      I may have mentioned before: When Fauci got his job I saw a bit on him in one of the then scientific periodicals and had to ask my micro Prof….is this real? Is it just me or is there something very wrong with this guy?

      His answer: “It isn’t just you.”

  25. The Late P Brooks

    I had to bail after the first 3 episodes because it just got so tiresome.

    At this point, I have developed a weird fascination with it. And so much edgy sexual preversion. I wonder how many of the producers squirmed in their seats and moaned a little bit at the sight of that stars and stripes strap-on.

  26. PieInTheSky

    NEW: In statement to @FoxNews
    , ICE confirms that the Ecuadorean illegal alien charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in NYC was caught by Border Patrol in Eagle Pass, TX in June 2021, then released into the U.S. w/ a future court date. A judge ordered him to be deported in February 2022, but he was never removed.

    That makes him part of ICEs non-detained docket, which we reported this week has exploded to 7.4 million cases – with each ICE officer currently having to manage an average of 7,000 cases each.

    https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1803906354626859335

    I mean just an oppressed minority trying to get by… mistakes happen. Maybe 13 year old should be armed?

    • PieInTheSky

      See I did not properly research this case, maybe true maybe not, but this sort of thing definitely gets engagement on the X

  27. PieInTheSky

    The final version of our first peer reviewed article on Independence Therapy is out!

    Mega doses of child independence were associated with lower child anxiety

    No firewall. No signup.

    https://x.com/DrCamiloOrtiz/status/1803474047960748379

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Psychological studies are generally trash even when the findings parallel my preconceptions. Seems valid but take with a grain of salt.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Inside The Post’s newsroom, morale has plunged as staffers express alarm over Lewis’ conduct and worries over the future direction of the newspaper under his leadership. Interviews with nearly a dozen Post staffers and others familiar with the internal dynamics of the newspaper this week revealed a workforce that has grown increasingly dismayed by the situation, with some searching for work elsewhere.

    Patience has also worn thin for owner Bezos, who has yet to address the crisis in a meaningful way. In a short memo to top newsroom leadership Tuesday, Bezos reiterated his commitment to “very high” standards, but has yet to take any meaningful action to quell his newsroom’s anger.

    A spokesperson for Bezos did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday when asked if the Amazon billionaire planned to take any additional steps to right the ship. Thus far, Bezos has tepidly signaled that he is supporting his controversy-plagued publisher, whom he installed into the top role at The Post in January.

    Not doing what we want equals doing nothing.

    • Not Adahn

      Patience has worn thin? What exacty do the plebs plan on doing when their patience is completely gone? Learn to code?

    • R C Dean

      You’d think somebody who built a megacorp wouldn’t be such a massive pussy.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    “This is a tragic meltdown of the conscience of American journalism bringing shame to the Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee, Marty Baron legacy of collaboration, courage and integrity,” Sonnenfeld said. “Bezos must recruit an accomplished, experienced editor whom journalists admire and trust.”

    Journalisming is a sacred trust. Go out and find a proven loser. Get back to business as usual.

    • R.J.

      I think UnCivil mentioned this before: Bezos should fire everyone but his new editor and hire new people from scratch, with hiring criteria designed to eliminate wokies.

      • AlexinCT

        Which non-wokeys go into journalism? Cause the problem is that sane people avoid journalism because they know it is bullshit.

      • The Last American Hero

        Why? He gets to shape the narrative at the measly cost of a few million a year in losses out of his pocket, and drive policy that buoys Amazon stock, which more than makes up the losses.

      • Drake

        Why? People like Bezos own and are willing to take the loss of owning a media outlet to get their messages out. Same for all the owners of mainstream outlets – they aren’t supposed to make money.

      • R.J.

        Alex: There are non-wokeys that go into journalism. I have met them. Most of them left and went on to much more profitable careers, or substack, etc.. and would not go back for the low level of pay and leftist abuse. And that is part of the problem, it just attracts lazy, do-nothing commies whp ut up with the low pay. Not sure how to solve the low pay/attracts commies part.
        To your point, might be better to go hire some ditch diggers and valet car parkers and let them write stories. At the very least the hot takes would be highly amusing. And no doubt more accurate.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    One dollar, one vote

    Former President Donald Trump’s huge May fundraising haul erased President Joe Biden’s longstanding cash advantage as the two gear up for a rematch.

    ——-

    Biden was counting on a cash advantage. Trump wiped it out.

    Get money out of politics!

    • Rat on a train

      All campaigns should be restricted to public funding … and public funding should only be available to approved candidates.

      • R C Dean

        Lemme guess – being a convicted felon makes you ineligible?

      • juris imprudent

        Lyndon LaRouche would have a sad.

    • B.P.

      Time to roll out another batch of worn-out celebrities that everyone’s tired of for another gala.

  31. The Late P Brooks

    I think UnCivil mentioned this before: Bezos should fire everyone but his new editor and hire new people from scratch, with hiring criteria designed to eliminate wokies.

    News reporting is totally a seller’s market, these days. Anybody who doesn’t approve of Bezos’ personnel decisions can just go across the street and get another job; at a higher wage.

  32. Common Tater

    “Never coming back to this place again,” Blackwell said on Instagram. “I just want to take the time to thank my lawyers and my supporters. If it wasn’t for ya’ll or my lawyer, I would probably be gone. And thanks to my mother for sticking by my side.”

    I remember her lawyer’s public statement was all about Meatball being black.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Is your confusion about the weirdness of the entire plot, or is it because they didn’t mention them adding any huge fake hooters to the victim?

      I’m guessing that it is the latter based on your proclivities.

    • Common Tater

      “A man in Uttar Pradesh claims a sex change surgery was performed on him without his consent. Mujahid, a 20-year-old from Muzaffarnagar, says he was sedated by one Omprakash and transported to a hospital where the surgery was performed as he lay unconscious.

      According to an NDTV report, Mujahid says the whole thing was orchestrated by Omprakash in collusion with doctors of a local medical college in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district.”

      “sex change surgery” takes quite a bit of preparation, and a very specialized surgeon. So this whole thing sounds nuts.

      • AlexinCT

        He acts like a bitch so let’s do the needful and make him one for some time?

      • Pope Jimbo

        Seems like any Tom, Dick or Harry can pull it off

        Mao Sugiyama, a Japanese artist, had his penis and testicles completely removed and served to the highest bidder a decade ago.

        He wrote on Twitter: “I am offering my male genitals (full penis, testes, scrotum) as a meal for 100,000 yen (£800). I’m Japanese.”

        “The organs were surgically removed at age 22. I was tested to be free of venereal diseases. The organs were of normal function.”

        Ultimately, the meal was split between five diners at a 70-person banquet in Suginami, Tokyo and guests were charged around £160 per person for the meal garnished with parsley.

        Sugiyama donned a traditional chef’s uniform while carefully frying his organs on a gas cooker.

        Is Nullo an approved gender?

  33. The Late P Brooks

    Decline and fall

    “Might be the downfall of western civilization,” Musk said in response to an X post by the Babylon Bee staffer Ashley St. Clair about French Gates’ endorsement of President Joe Biden.

    French Gates endorsed Biden in an X post published Thursday.

    “I’ve never endorsed a presidential candidate before,” she wrote. “But this year’s election stands to be so enormously consequential for women and families that, this time, I can’t stay quiet.”

    In March, Musk similarly criticized Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, for her charitable giving.

    “‘Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse’ should filed be listed among ‘Reasons that Western Civilization died,'” Musk said in a now deleted X post on March 6.

    Elon Musk, supervillain.

    • AlexinCT

      Batshit crazy bitches…

      In this case with money from some dumb geek that married them and lost half or more.

  34. Common Tater

    “he Supreme Court ruled Friday that a federal law barring Americans under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms does not violate the Second Amendment.

    Since the founding, our Nation’s firearm laws have included provisions preventing individuals who threaten physical harm to others from misusing firearms,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. ” As applied to the facts of this case, [the current law] fits comfortably within this tradition.””

    https://nypost.com/2024/06/21/us-news/supreme-court-upholds-gun-ban-for-those-under-domestic-violence-restraining-orders/

    CWAA

    • WTF

      So, the so-called conservative court ruled that you can be deprived of a constitutional right without due process.
      Why am I not surprised?

      • juris imprudent

        Let’s not get into details of when income is really income either. Just pay the tax.

    • Suthenboy

      Has the court ever been anything other than a guardian of state power?

      • juris imprudent

        Well the Dred Scott decision did show great deference to private property rights.

      • Tundra

        Maybe for the first couple months after the judiciary act.

        Otherwise, no.

  35. Common Tater

    In today’s most important stories,

    “Heidi Klum rips off shirt mid-interview, finishes ‘Hot Ones’ chat in just a red bra”

    https://pagesix.com/2024/06/20/celebrity-news/heidi-klum-rips-off-shirt-mid-interview-finishes-chat-in-just-a-red-bra/

    “‘Boobs are back’: Sales for the secret bra beloved by Sydney Sweeney, Scarlett Johansson for killer cleavage surge”

    https://nypost.com/2024/06/21/lifestyle/boobs-are-back-sales-for-the-secret-bra-beloved-by-sydney-sweeney-scarlett-johansson-for-killer-cleavage-surge/

    Did they ever go away?

    • Drake

      Q was hoarding them?

    • Not Adahn

      The people who made Twiggy’s career thought so.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    Climate Kabuki

    Hawaii officials have announced a “groundbreaking” legal settlement with a group of young climate activists, which they said will force the state’s department of transportation to move more aggressively towards a zero-emission transportation system.

    “You have a constitutional right to fight for life-sustaining climate policy and you have mobilized our people in this case,” Josh Green, the Hawaii governor, told the 13 young plantiffs in the case, saying he hoped the settlement would inspire similar action across the country.

    Under what legal experts called a “historic” settlement, announced on Thursday, Hawaii officials will release a roadmap “to fully decarbonize the state’s transportation systems, taking all actions necessary to achieve zero emissions no later than 2045 for ground transportation, sea and inter-island air transportation”, Andrea Rodgers, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case, said at a press conference with the governor.

    Professional wrestling spends a day in court. What a fucking put-up job.

    • juris imprudent

      So, lots of walking in Hawaii, and only sailing and swimming between the islands. Sounds idyllic.

      • Tundra

        They better plant a lot of gardens and import stock right now. Welcome to the 17th century, morons!

      • Common Tater

        Feral cow hunting is legal in Hawaii.

      • slumbrew

        Have fun on the Alenuihaha Channel – 6,000+ feet deep and 30 miles wide. 12′-15′ seas are common.

    • Common Tater

      So electric planes falling from the sky?

    • Suthenboy

      Worth keeping in mind that the global warming thing is a complete scam and the people falling for it are bone-crushingly ignorant, lying, or bark at the moon crazy….and that none of those are mutually exclusive.

  37. The Late P Brooks

    I may have mentioned before: When Fauci got his job I saw a bit on him in one of the then scientific periodicals and had to ask my micro Prof….is this real? Is it just me or is there something very wrong with this guy?

    His answer: “It isn’t just you.”

    I watched part of that PBS hagiography on Foochy. I tripped over it by accident, and couldn’t immediately tear myself away. It was like watching a train wreck. How could anybody, no matter what their political or philosophical inclinations, have watched five minutes of that and no come away with the certain knowledge that guy is as crazy as a shithouse rat?

    • juris imprudent

      Typical Karen: [huffs] Are YOU a doctor?

      • Suthenboy

        He hates science.

  38. JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

    That cop ramming the cow with his car should lose his job. I ride my bike by cattle all the time and if I feel threatened I just keep my distance.

    • PutridMeat

      Yeah, but you’re not a sadistic asshole attracted to job where you can be a sadistic asshole without the threat of any consequences.

      I think.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        You give me too much credit.

  39. Suthenboy

    Re: What to be done upthread.
    Mrs. Suthenboy got a bit tipsy last night while watching the news. She said we should stock up on food and since we will probably have to feed grandchildren we should really stock up with lots of Mac – n – Cheese.
    Seems like a solid plan to me.

    End of times? No problem, we have Mac-n-cheese.

  40. Derpetologist

    My interview at the Christian school went very well. They heavily implied they’d hire me, but said they still needed to interview the other candidate. So yay me.

    Hopefully I’ll have a job offer by Wednesday. This time, I combed pomade into my mad scientist hair to make it straight and flat. I dare say it looked good.

  41. slumbrew

    Pie, you’ll be pleased to hear that I watched as much as 25 minutes of basketball this month (my buddy had a hall-pass on Friday, so I met him out – granted, I was super drunk when I finally met up with him).

    That brings my total for the season to something like 32 minutes.

  42. The Late P Brooks

    You’d think somebody who built a megacorp wouldn’t be such a massive pussy.

    Bezos sent an internal memo to the WaPo newsroom, which of course was widely published. Maybe it’s just my prejudiced interpretation, but I read it as a veiled suggestion to STFU and get back to work or clean out your desks. Time will tell. Something tells me Bezos might not readily cede veto power to his circus fleas.

  43. Fatty Bolger

    Here’s some bad news from SCOTUS, though not unexpected:

    https://apnews.com/article/drug-smuggling-methamphetamine-supreme-court-expert-testimony-2358911c413d05e6b0472397070858a5

    In a ruling that crossed the court’s ideological lines, the 6-3 majority opinion dismissed arguments that an expert witness for the prosecution had gone too far in describing the woman’s mindset when he said that most larger scale drug couriers are aware of what they are transporting.

    The problem with this is that a lot of expert witnesses are cops, and cops aren’t held to a high bar like other experts are. They can say all kinds of nonsense without having anything to back it up. And they love to pass around just-so stories about things that point to a criminal’s guilt, that don’t have any basis in fact.