Thursday Morning Links

by | Jan 9, 2025 | Daily Links | 297 comments

The CFP semifinals are finally here. The NFL might move the Rams-Vikings game to Phoenix. And across the pond, Liverpool lost their first leg to Spurs 1-0 after a Spurs player scored who should have been ejected a few minutes before. Having said that, the result was still fair as Spurs outplayed them. Let’s see how the second leg goes. And that’s it for sports.

What an interesting use of the phrase “survivor.” I’d have opted for “crook.” But the AP has different rules for identifying strongmen who run crooked elections than I do.

This was a perfect answer. In fact, I’d say it would have been a perfect answer to any question he’s been asked the last 4 years.

“I dindu nuffin.” I’m not so sure the guy is gonna smooth-talk his way out of this one. He failed. The mayor failed. And it is right to point that out. And the time to do so is now, not to wait until the situation is no longer the subject of the day.

It’s just part of living in the vibrant city. Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. And I don’t like to say that, but now that she’s all but forcing more and more people into those tunnels, she should be the first to experience the results of her actions.

This seems like it might be preferential treatment. I don’t understand why they DA would have not just gone to trial without reaching an agreement on the sentence. There’s no way in hell he should have feared losing the case.

I have no doubt he is going to sign this. Not that he even knows what the hell he’d be signing at this point. And in case you were unaware, he became a great grandfather. A fact which he opted to share at the least politically opportune time imaginable.

You gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers in this racket. Seriously, though, they really do need to come up with a new plan. I don’t know if this is it, but it can’t go as catastrophically bad as their hands-off policy.

They need to shut this government down. Or at least keep them from continually trying to annex my town. Also, dude’s name is Duke Coon, and I find that hilarious.

I barely made it a week into the year before I played these guys. I couldn’t wait any longer. But I know it’ll make some of you happy. So enjoy!

And enjoy this lovely cold Thursday. We’ll be headed up to Dallas for tomorrow’s game Hopefully it’s a good one.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

297 Comments

  1. SDF-7

    In fact, I’d say it would have been a perfect answer to any question he’s been asked the last 4 years.

    I would have also accepted this. Sure what it has felt like over the years (not just from him).

    Morning, all.

  2. SDF-7

    “I dindu nuffin.”

    If he’d said that he’d be closer to right.

    Billions in explicit bond measures / voter initiatives to build some water storage over the last 20 years? Newsom and Brown… did nuffin.

    Forestry management practices? Newsom and Biden’s admin… did nuffin….

    Setting aside desalination (which I think is more the Coastal Commission shooting down than Sacramento last time around) — I can’t be the only one wondering just why LA and other coastal cities can’t in an emergency pump ocean water into the system solely for fire purposes, right? I mean, yeah — there will be more salt in the soil afterwards… but at least you’d have water…. :shrug:

    • Tonio

      Priorities, SDF-7, priorities. This way they get to have good feels about their support for the environment, which is defined as wildfire destruction totes okay, but a couple of minnows getting the sardine treatment is an unalloyed disaster. This is a perfect example of enviros refusing to accept reality and make the tough choice between two varyingly imperfect options. It’s almost as if they deliberately choose the option which fucks with humanity the most.

      • SDF-7

        Since I think there’s more than a little Malthusian in their mindset — that’s not a surprise. I wasn’t entirely kidding below when I think their plan is “let it all burn down and refuse to rebuild”.

      • rhywun

        It’s almost as if they deliberately choose the option which fucks with humanity the most.

        Eco-nuts hate humanity so yeah. That is the principle that informs their every decision.

      • juris imprudent

        Eco-nuts hate humanity

        Infidels immune to the One True Religion (Oh holy Gaia) most of all.

      • invisible finger

        They deliberately choose policies that line their pockets, fucking over large swaths of humanity is just the ancillary benefit.

    • Cunctator

      –“I dindu nuffin”–

      Newsom’s office also dismissed claims there is a water shortage. While California does have water issues, I don’t think Trump did himself any favors with his comments. It doesn’t matter how much water you have stored, when you open all of the hydrants at the same time, the pressure is going to crash. There was no way to avoid it.

      But, I am still happy Trump won.

    • Cunctator

      –“I can’t be the only one wondering just why LA and other coastal cities can’t in an emergency pump ocean water into the system solely for fire purposes, right?”–

      Fire hydrants are connected to the fresh water piping system serving homes. It would be a disaster to pump salt water into that system.

      • WTF

        Good thing they canceled those desalination plants and prevented any reservoirs from being built.

      • R C Dean

        So if they have no water for the fire hydrants, that would mean there is no water for any purpose, right?

      • rhywun

        My understanding is they ran out of water fighting multiple fires.

      • Cunctator

        –“So if they have no water for the fire hydrants, that would mean there is no water for any purpose, right?”–

        Precisely right in the areas that were hardest hit. Water, like electricity, is designed as a grid, with separate pump stations for each area. There is cross-connecting piping for use as needed. The problem was that with so many assets drawing water at the same time, the system pressure collapsed. Los Angeles did not run out of water due to one day of massive drawdown.

        I am not defending California’s water policy, it is REALLY bad. This was a “perfect storm” of extremely high winds and fire breaking out in a heavily built area.

    • R C Dean

      “can’t in an emergency pump ocean water into the system solely for fire purposes”

      I seriously doubt that there is any of the infrastructure (pumping stations, valves, etc.) to do that. As to why they weren’t built, well, they obviously didn’t think they needed any more water than half-filled historic reservoirs, so why do it?

  3. SDF-7

    It’s just part of living in the vibrant city.

    Times like this I’m so glad urban areas give me nothing but an increasing urge to get out of there. Sorry for those of you who can tolerate them but want them actually functional — it sure seems like the corruption and idiocracy self-selects for incompetent platitude spewers and you’re stuck with them. (On reflection — of course that’s true at all levels… I suppose outside of urban areas they can just do less harm through their incompetence?)

    • LCDR_Fish

      So many amazing quotes in that article:

      Police said Timothy Elliot, 45, was nabbbed at the station and charged with assault and harassment. He was released on a desk appearance ticket, cops said.

      Critics, including the head of the Transport Workers Union, has complained that the city subway system is too dangerous for New Yorkers to be forced to use the underground.

      • SDF-7

        I honestly thought Sloopy’s link was going to be this story based on the “Toughen up — that’s the price you pay to live in NYC!”

      • sloopyinca

        Damn, I wish I’d have found that.

        What a cesspool.

      • Sensei

        What a cesspool.

        Yes, yes it is.

        My walk from Penn Station to my office I must have passed 20 plus homeless.

    • WTF

      Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. And I don’t like to say that, but now that she’s all but forcing more and more people into those tunnels, she should be the first to experience the results of her actions.

      Sadly, the left is incapable of drawing the connection between the policies they vote for and the results of those policies.

      • DrOtto

        I was just impressed the she used the subway. At a bare minimum, at least she’s not a “rules for thee, not for me” type. She’s the “we all need to do this for everybody’s own good” cunte.

  4. Tonio

    So, surge pricing is *BAD* when evil corporations do it, but *GOOD* when government does it.

    • SDF-7

      Government is the mafia we’re all in together, Tonio.

  5. SDF-7

    they really do need to come up with a new plan.

    Letting the state burn down and then refusing redevelopment isn’t a plan?

    • slumbrew

      You forgot “maintain tax assessment value of burned out lots”.

      I’ll bet $20 they won’t budge on the tax assessment.

      • juris imprudent

        Oh this is a new structure? Well then, we get a new valuation!

  6. SDF-7

    So enjoy!

    Went right for two of the biggest no less… no obscure b-sides today!

    And yes — always good. Thanks, Sloopy.

    • sloopyinca

      I’ve been avoiding those two tracks for when I had a day when I couldn’t decide what to play and I needed something easy to come up with.

  7. Drake

    I hope this clusterfuck of malicious incompetence sticks to Newsome forever. He systematically destroyed their ability to prevent and fight wildfires, while also removing residents’ ability to acquire fire insurance.

    • SDF-7

      Yeah… I wouldn’t be at all surprised if all the insurers ditched the state at this point (I know a lot have moved to “no new policies” but they [fortunately] still renew existing ones… for now…).

      Since the state “replacement” (aka market takeover ala “The Affordable Care Act”) FAIR as I understand it just charges *all* operating insurers to cover their costs, that’s going to end up being the only sane answer. So we’ll be left with Sacramento as the sole insurer… with a billion dollar deficit already. No chance they’ll jack rates, taxes, etc. to “cover”, blow all the money and then seek Fed bailouts / refuse to pay there… no siree bob….

      • Drake

        Insurance companies tried to raise rates last year. The state Dept of insurance denied the request so many of the left. Lots of those houses and businesses were not insured as a result.

      • WTF

        Cue legacy media and politicians blaming the evil insurances companies corporate greed in 3, 2, …

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      The incompetence predates Newsom. He’s just carrying the torch.

  8. LCDR_Fish

    College football is up to the semifinals??? I thought the Rose Bowl on New Years was the final… These seasons are just getting longer every year.

    • SDF-7

      The incoming freshman orientation will include rooting for the national championship!

    • sloopyinca

      They’re too long. The final should have been last weekend. Or this weekend at the latest.

      • juris imprudent

        The conference championships are as much to blame as anything. Utterly worthless games.

      • Swiss Servator

        Oh no, JI…they are quite valuable! *cuts to B1G and SEC bosses dancing and showering the room in $100’s*

    • Nephilium

      How do you think you get six or seven year college players?

      • LCDR_Fish

        Medical School students?

    • Not Adahn

      My answer:

      Smaller conferences.

      Each conference should only be as large as will permit every team to play every other member of the conference over the course of a single season.

      Conference champions only go to the postseason playoffs.

      Unfortunately this will be inconvenient for marketers and therefore will never happen.

      • Shpip

        Conference champions only go to the postseason playoffs.

        If the NCAA were still doing that for basketball, the list of champions this century would look a lot different.

      • Jarflax

        We had that. We killed it in favor of everyone joining the SEC and Big10.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Fuck payoffs. The old anointed “national” winner was better than this crap. Fuck the fans and schools that pushed for this abomination.

  9. Sean

    But I know it’ll make some of you happy.

    🙂

    • The Other Kevin

      * Points to Sean’s avatar *

  10. Not Adahn

    I have never been a fan of Conroe. Undoubtedly having two Conroe PD as coworkers had something to do with that.

  11. rhywun

    His driver’s license will also be revoked for three years.

    If he’s not jailed for the rest of his life, could they not at least make him ride the bus for the rest of his life? The six victims deserve better.

    • EvilSheldon

      12 years is about what a murderer with no prior record gets these days. *shrug*

      • juris imprudent

        Considering he’s been raised as a princeling, it’s better justice than he would’ve gotten otherwise. That said, can’t help but note how a young, rich, white male gets away with killing older, black, women.

      • rhywun

        If I were more diligent I would try to research what other people got in similar cases, so I could bitch about his punishment with certainty.

        As it is, I can only complain that it seems unfair on its face that he will ever again be allowed to be a menace to society.

      • EvilSheldon

        I suppose that fining him the victims’ total lifetime earnings, and a lifetime ban on driving, would be a more just punishment from that standpoint. Maybe fifty lashes or so, if you’re a believer in pain and public humiliation as a method of behavior modification (ETA: I absolutely am, myself.) But none of that would allow the Criminal Justice System to get it’s beak wet.

        As for rich people getting away with shit, show me a system where it’s otherwise…

      • juris imprudent

        As for rich people getting away with shit

        My point exactly – there is some tiny accountability here. Go back a couple of hundred years and let him be a “noble” and there is absolutely zero.

  12. Suthenboy

    Hawaii, Helene, now California. The incompetence of our ‘leadership’ really does look like late stage aristocracy. Unrestrained and unaccountable is not a good strategy. What I find most telling is any suggestions of term limits or restrictions on insider trading (getting rid of the trough) has pols losing their shit.
    Hint: They behave exactly the way criminals behave when suggestions to crack down on crime are made.

    • Ownbestenemy

      The kicker is they will be voted back in or someone in the same vein will be.

    • juris imprudent

      California is perfectly capable of inter-generational incompetence. It’s silly to blame Newsom for everything, he’s just the latest moron sitting atop a giant pile of stupid.

      • Drake

        The environmental idiocy has been happening for decades but he jumped in and accelerated it.

        Then he blames the fires on ‘climate change’.

        If you believe in climate change so hard, wouldn’t you prepare for fires even harder? Instead of not at all?

      • Suthenboy

        The climate scammers are fully aware of the scam, thus their behavior. Someone yesterday posted ‘Climate – The Movie’.
        Basically the climate scammers admitting it is a scam and they are making a mint off of it.

      • juris imprudent

        Gaia is a vengeful God – you can’t prepare for that.

      • invisible finger

        The Los Angeles area had barely enough water for 8 million people in 1970. The population is 13 million now and the only source of water to handle that sort of growth is desalination plants which they deny every time. On top of that they seem to brag about their “urban density “ which means the house next door is closer and is more susceptible to burning down when the neighbors house catches fire. All of which makes clearing dead flora even more important as population density increases but they deny controlled burns as much as they deny desalination facilities – even when they claim they are in a drought. On top of that they fuck with insurance markets to the point where even the wealthy can’t get policies.

        Yep, the stupid just compounds year after year.

  13. Cunctator

    Test-Test

    Three of my comments were eaten by squirrels, or something else.

    • Cunctator

      Yeah, that gets through, but no my on topic comments.

      • Cunctator

        I must be doing some thing wrong as I can’t get comments to post (maybe except for the ones that say I can’t get a comment to post.

      • Nephilium

        They got caught in the spam filter. I released one and killed the others (so it didn’t look like you triple replied).

      • Cunctator

        Thanks Neph. Any idea what my “offense” was.

      • Nephilium

        Cuncator:

        Other than the exact same text multiple times (which would enforce a spam rating), there’s no note as to what caused it. I saw the fourth attempt went to pending, so it’s possible me allowing one of the others through corrected whatever bias was there in the spam filter.

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        Effing WP; what can you do?

      • slumbrew

        You know what you did.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Nice to see you finally, or at all!

      • Cunctator

        Thanks TOG

  14. juris imprudent

    it can’t go as catastrophically bad as their hands-off policy

    You should know better than to offer a challenge like that.

  15. Suthenboy

    I hear a lot of outrage over the fires getting out of control because no water/minnows. When this shit was being passed people did realize that it was never about minnows, right? No water for people was the whole point. They did see that, didnt they?
    I have a hard time working up sympathy for CA residents.

    Someone recently correctly said that traditions are solutions to problems we have forgotten. Toss out those traditions and the problems come back. It turns out that evil and insanity are traditionally viewed as undesirable for reasons.

    • Homple

      “Tradition is a set of solutions for which we have forgotten the problems. Throw away the solution and you get the problem back. Sometimes the problem has mutated or disappeared. Often it is still there as strong as it ever was.”

      …Donald Kingsbury in “Courtship Rite”

  16. rhywun

    it can’t go as catastrophically bad as their hands-off policy

    Exactly – the streets are a mess because we have deliberately chosen to make them so.

    Nobody would have tolerated this shit in Bad Old Days.

    • Suthenboy

      I remember the debate over the hands off policies back in the late ’70s and through the ’80s as it got progressively worse. The people advocating for it were the usual suspects – the looney left – and I remember the minority warning it would lead to…exactly what it has led to. Again, it is hard for me to work up sympathy for people who decide throwing away reason, logic and facts is a good idea.

      Once upon a time the west coast was near heaven on earth. They shit in their bed. Why would they do that? I dont want to clean up the mess they made. Fuck ’em. Also, stay the fuck out of louisiana.

  17. Jerms

    No water for the Hawaii fires and no water here again. Surely a coinkydink.

    • Drake

      And just like Maui, none of those single family houses will ever get rebuilt. They’ll be high rise apartments instead after FEMA buys them out of pennies on the dollar.

      • R C Dean

        Either that, or the Coastal Commission wet dream of no houses at all, just a big public beach.

        Because nothing protects the coastal environment like public use.

      • UnCivilServant

        Public use? No, it’ll be a no-human zone, except for a handful of people with spacial access passes.

      • juris imprudent

        I seem to recall, many years ago, that the Coastal Commission was rife with conflict of interest – Commissioners (and those close to them) with beachfront property exempt from the rules governing others.

      • Gustave Lytton

        *Wake Island enters the chat*

      • Gustave Lytton

        Whoops. Was thinking of Midway that is now a NWR and off limits except to federal employees. Although I see Wake is a wildlife refuge designee also but with some DOD folks still there.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Nope. The cognitive dissonance will let them
        rant and still pull the lever for D. The psychic shock otherwise will be too much for most of them.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Left version of government keep out of Medicare.

      • dbleagle

        Maui fire was over 17 months ago and the clearing of debris isn’t finished nor a “plan” for rebuilding done. The site of former Lahaina is just sitting there.

        The former biz area (Front Street) is too close to the water for current regulations, so it’ll probably never come back as it was. Most of the houses were pre zoning or non-compliant so same for them.

        The destroyed parts of Lahaina were primarily workers neighborhoods with a one block waterfront strip of money. The town as it was is dead since it was convenient for those who lusted after an eco-dream to kill it after the fire.

  18. rhywun

    Net Neutrality May Finally Be Dead—Good Riddance

    Well sure, but….

    A telephone is the classic example of a “dumb pipe” telecommunications service that transmits raw information (a voice). Broadband, by contrast, enables users to retrieve, store, process, and publish information via email, websites, cloud storage, streaming services, social media, and more.

    Am I missing something or is this distinction nonsense? “Broadband” is just a means to move bits around. I think people know this instinctively which is why the issue won’t go away. Why not remove the heavy regulation on “common carriers” so we can dispense with this issue once and for all?

    • Nephilium

      It’s more than nonsense. A telephone can still be used to do everything they say “broadband” can do, just a lot slower (I know you know this). The only difference is the speed of transmission. But that all is using a technical definition of broadband, not a government one.

      • rhywun

        A telephone can still be used to do everything they say “broadband” can do

        Yah my original screed made that exact point but it was edited out to satisfy my usual urge for brevity.

        I was afraid to even raise the issue because I don’t want to jinx it and watch the government regulate the shit out of more of the things.

  19. Shpip

    Noah Galle, now 20, was driving at the breakneck speed of 151mph on January 27, 2022, when he plowed his $100,000 BMW M5 into the back of an SUV in Palm Beach County, causing it to roll over and send three of its passengers flying from the car.

    Given the totality of the circumstances (HTH – Dunphy), the sentence is about what you’d expect. The kid probably would’ve been looking at thirty years if he’d been drunk, but he wasn’t.

  20. Not Adahn

    Local NPR station is very proud of their local news department. Yesterday was the first day of the NYS legislative session so it was full of fellatio interviews of (D) politicians. Just nauseating.

    Sample: “Hochul proposes giving back the $2.5B one-time surplus as a checks to help with affordability.”

    Asst SSenate leader: “Well, giving people checks, especially one time checks doesn’t make living in NY affordable. What makes living affordable is providing services. Instead of a one-time thing it would be better to have a dedicated $2.5B ongoing program to subsidize childcare and school lunches. I just became a new father myself, so I know how expensive childcare is.”

    “Thank you for the interview, and we really appreciate everything you’re doing for the people of NY.”

    • WTF

      The idea that the government (really taxpayers) is responsible for providing daycare and lunches for your kids really pisses me off.
      If you can’t afford to take care of your own kids, then fuck you, don’t have them.

      • juris imprudent

        WTF has no desire to win an election.

    • rhywun

      What makes living affordable is providing services.

      LOL. That is just chefs-kiss perfect.

      • Sensei

        If the government doesn’t bake the bread how will the people eat?

      • Suthenboy

        It is really just a straight out plug for communism. Imagine my surprise.

    • Nephilium

      Wait… a one time surplus won’t fund a dedicated ongoing program.

      • rhywun

        Clearly you are not wise to how things work in New York.

      • slumbrew

        You’re right! We’ll need an annual appropriation…

      • Spartacus

        That was precisely my first thought. Clearly neither of us is suited for politics.

  21. Sensei

    America Gets a Taste of Glasnost

    The exhilaration of seeing the forbidden truth about rulers’ abuses publicly revealed makes the present moment in the U.S. feel like 1988. Americans are reading that their president has been mentally impaired throughout his term. Only months ago his aides, as well as many in the media, proclaimed he was sharp as a tack. It turns out that Hunter Biden’s laptop was his, despite the claims by dozens of former intelligence functionaries. We can now openly discuss the campaign by the secret police to frame Donald Trump as a Russian agent.

    https://www.wsj.com/opinion/america-gets-a-taste-of-glasnost-soviet-union-free-speech-d581ef8a?st=72TEPn&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

    • rhywun

      We can now openly discuss the campaign by the secret police to frame Donald Trump as a Russian agent.

      I don’t think we’re quite there yet.

  22. Common Tater

    Anthony Hopkins house burned down. He should eat Gavin Newsome.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      Too greasy.

  23. The Gunslinger

    I have a dog named Duke. But he’s no coon hound.

    Also, I woke up in Key West.

    Good morning to all.

      • Sean

        LOL.

        Lost points for shaky camera work.

  24. Mojeaux

    I AM GOING TO WRITE THIS MOTHERFUCKING CUNT OF A PCP INTO A BOOK WITH HIS REAL NAME!!!11!1

    • ron73440

      That bad?

      Sorry Mo, I read your rant and that sounds like a nightmare.

      Last thing you need in a horrible situation is an asshole making it worse.

      • Mojeaux

        I haven’t felt like eviscerating someone this badly in a long time, but this guy is an idiot and can’t take a lick of questioning.

        PCUNTP: How are we feeling today?

        Mama Mojeaux: How do you think I’m feeling?

        PCUNTP: I don’t know. You tell me.

        So that was how the convo started. Progressed to pain medication…

        PCUNTP: So your daughter thinks you want comfort care—

        ME: I want her comfortable.

        That’s where the fight started.

        He wouldn’t stop interrupting me. Threw up his hands and stomped out to get a nurse. I told him I was speaking through the nurse, and I start relaying the backstory to HER.

        PCUNTP: You can talk directly to me!

        ME: You keep interrupting me!

        We further argued over:

        1. home insulin that the hospital doesn’t have
        2. the fact that I “want” her in comfort care
        3. his sudden conversion to the gospel of comfort care
        4. pain meds (she gets violently ill with opioids)

        He quit the room abruptly.

        He doesn’t listen, doesn’t know his patient, doesn’t want to deal with questions or objections without getting mad, doesn’t want to talk to family, wants to badger an old lady, won’t stop interrupting, has no plan but a half-assed agenda, and his ego is so fragile it should say Wedgwood.

      • Mojeaux

        Oh, AND he accused her of not doing her PT yesterday. PT WASN’T FUCKING HERE!!!

    • Mojeaux

      AND MAKE HIM SUFFER IN THE MOST INHUMANE WAY I CAN THINK OF!!!!111

      • Jarflax

        Flashbacks to dealing with my Dad’s doctors. I’m sorry you have to go through this.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Is he going to have to eat something moister than an oyster?

    • R C Dean

      It may have been late in the initial thread, but why not fire him? What purpose does he serve at this point?

      • Mojeaux

        How do I do this?

      • R C Dean

        Tell him (technically, it needs to come from your mother, but as long as she’s on board) “You’re not helping. You are no longer our PCP.” Inform the hospital and have them tell the specialists. The hospital has assigned her an attending physician who has overall responsibility for her care in the hospital. If she goes to a nursing facility, they will also assign an attending.

        If you feel the need, you can also ask her current attending for PCPs that he would be willing to recommend. Hospitals hook up patients with PCPs all the time on discharge from their EDs and inpatient units, after all. Honestly, I’m not sure your mother needs a PCP for anything at this point.

      • Mojeaux

        Okay, I just talked to a nurse to find out how to do this. Mom has to sign off, of course, but she’s doing PT right now.

      • Mojeaux

        Thank you.

        He needed to sign off on bringing her special insulin from home because the hospital doesn’t have it, and order pain meds.

      • Mojeaux

        Well, shit. Mom doesn’t want to rock the boat.

      • R C Dean

        Good to hear.

        I don’t need to tell you to follow up to make the last round of orders are actually taken care of.

      • R C Dean

        Oops. Didn’t see your 9:14. Sorry to hear it.

    • slumbrew

      So sorry to hear you’re getting extra, unneeded aggravation from that a-hole.

    • The Other Kevin

      Just what you need right now. I’m sorry this is happening. There are a lot of nurses in my family, and my sister in law is an NP. She’s the advocate anytime someone has a big medical issue. When my father in law had cancer last year, she had to assert herself many times. We often think about people who don’t have someone like that on their side.

    • Lazer

      Sending good vibes your way from SWMO.

    • Gender Traitor

      Write his name into a complaint form, found here.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      I am really sorry about this Moj.

    • rhywun

      LOL that’s so 2022.

      Fingers crossed America is finally sick of that shit.

      • invisible finger

        America is but California isn’t.

      • WTF

        America is but California isn’t.

        They voted for it, and they’re getting it, good and hard.
        Fuck ’em.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Cali fucked with its voting system so badly, I am not really sure if they voted for this, or if anyone really knows what was actually voted for, and not pushed on them.

    • WTF

      I am shocked to discover that when you select for things other than competence, competence suffers!

      • R C Dean

        Razorfist has a rant up on the LA fires. He calls the fire chief an LGBBQ hire.

      • WTF

        He calls the fire chief an LGBBQ hire.

        Legit LOL!

      • rhywun

        LGBBQ hire

        Wow. See, not thinking of these things first is why I don’t make the big bucks.

    • Suthenboy

      What we are seeing is the intended result of all of the demoralization efforts. It happens over and over and people never get it until they are personally subjected to it. That is why all of the ex-pats from commie countries are shaking their heads at us.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Fortunately enough of us had enough with the purposeful demoralization.

  25. Fourscore

    “Americans are reading that their president has been mentally impaired throughout his term”

    We didn’t need to read about it, a 2 minute observation was enough. This isn’t something new, it’s sort of like buying car that’s a lemon, you keep on telling yourself it wasn’t a mistake because you didn’t want to publicly admit your own stupidity. At some point you have to bite the bullet, that’s what the 25th amendment was for.

    You can be sure the Pelosis and the Schumers knew, in all likelihood they discussed amongst themselves and hoped that they could keep it hidden. They did a great job.

    “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”

    • Ownbestenemy

      Spot on Fourscore.

    • Common Tater

      He was both too senile to run for President and sharp enough to be President at the same time.

    • juris imprudent

      Trump was clearly competent his first term and yet the 25th was routinely cited as reason to remove him. Why, it is almost like there is no principle involved at all – just raw power politics. I’m pretty fed up with that; you want raw power, then fuck you and die in that kind of war.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        There has been a paradigm shift in world politics, and everyone is behind the 8-ball.

      • Ted S.

        I suggested the Senate needed to vote on expelling McCain once his brain tumor made him incapable of doing his job.

        As you can imagine, no one talking about 25A seemed to like the idea.

      • The Other Kevin

        The keep pretending we don’t see exactly what they’re doing.

      • Suthenboy

        What TOK said. They also keep waking up everyday thinking they have a clean slate regarding credibility. The courts, the medical community, the science community – their all shit on their credibility. If they told me the sky is blue I would assume they are lying.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      Nobody younger than 40 or so will understand that because we no longer read the classics. I’m amazed at how my oldest son, a smart, capable student at a demanding private school, just doesn’t get even the most used Shakespeare quotes. Makes me want to lock him in his room with a Complete Works and tell him not to come out until he can tell me his favorite play from each of the 3 categories (Histories, Tragedies, Comedies), and why.

  26. Ownbestenemy

    FEMA officials are staged up north in Sacramento

    Uh…there are plenty of other areas to stage so you know…be close to provide your ‘assistance’.

  27. KK, Plump & Unfiltered

    We’ll be headed up to Dallas for tomorrow’s game

    Good luck with the weather!

  28. PieInTheSky

    I mean one should consider the possibility fire prone hills are not the best place to build… Just like deserts and hurricane areas.

    • rhywun

      Yup.

      But California has long been the land of magical thinking.

    • Suthenboy

      Correct. We should build on a beach instead. Dont worry, we have insurance.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      It’s the risk we take. That said, we should be allowed to manage that risk and insurance companies should be allowed to price appropriately so people are incentivized to manage the risk.

  29. Derpetologist

    satire idea – State Home to Dozens of Noble Prize Winners Catches on Fire Again

    Today is day 20 and counting of no booze. Yay me. Haven’t had a streak this long since 2020. I’m tempted to drink a can or 2 of Monte Carlo bock this evening.

    • Ted S.

      And get yourself arrested only to post here that it’s somehow not really your fault?

      • Derpetologist

        Meh, you’re too much of a pussy to do anything I’ve done.

      • Not Adahn

        Eh.

        It’s rude, but it’s not wrong.

      • Derpetologist

        I never said or even implied I was wrongfully arrested, jailed, or charged. That’s what stuck in my craw. Since the case is still open, I am keeping mum about it. Mostly.

        There’s more to the story which I didn’t share here. Suffice it to say there was a method to my madness.

        It’s been a rough year for me – fired from 3 jobs including one where I got punched in the face.

        Ask yourself what you would do if several randos in a small town tried to run you over while you were crossing the street. This is Florida after all.

        Whatever. In a few weeks, I’ll be giving blood in this town again for the 12th time. It’s the most useful thing I’ve been doing these past few months.

      • Not Adahn

        Derpy, we love you. You have been a valued member since before the Great Englibbening.

        But you have made some holy-fuck bad choices, and then resisted changing the underlying causal attitude or tried to justify them.

        Like telling a class of kiddies that one of them was masturbating in the bathroom.

      • Derpetologist

        Yeah, again, not a fair characterization of what happened.

        Dealing with unruly high school students is not easy. They’re not little kids.

    • Suthenboy

      Here is how it works Derp: Streak of not drinking. “What was I thinking”. That thought fades away. “Just one or two cant hurt”. Wake up with awful hangover. “What was I thinking”.

      Dont have the two, you and I both know it wont be two. Best strategy is to get physical exercise so you are tired in the evening then lay down and sleep. If you cant sleep try using the time to think. Personally I am fond of designing things in my head, things as in buildings, furniture, earthworks (particularly swales for me), etc.

      Here is an example: Manifest, Louisiana was once a major stop along the only highway from the gulf states to Mexico. It was a major stop because there was a particularly good spring there. The Wild West Show overwintered across the Ouachita at a place now called Wildsville.
      As a matter of fact my name is the same as my grandfather’s name which is the name of one of the prominent members of the Wild West show….for reasons I will not speculate about. In any case I remember swimming in that spring when I was very young. The spring is dried up now to nothing because of the intense timber growing in the basin that fed the spring. My family owns land adjacent to the property where the spring was. I have often thought about trying to acquire the land in that basin and constructing swales to try and replenish the water table and get that spring flowing again.
      I know it is silly bullshit but I occupy my mind that way when I am bored or cant sleep. The one bottle of vodka I keep in the house to remind me still has the seal on it after 2 years.

      • Fourscore

        I was fortunate not to get a DWI or have an accident. I was lucky enough to fold ’em before I hurt anyone. Good things began to happen after I parted ways with Jim, Jack and friends.

  30. KK, Plump & Unfiltered

    13 degrees and I still have running water! I love my little tenement on wheels

      • PieInTheSky

        an coincidentally the temperature today in Bucharest. Sunny too.

    • Suthenboy

      KK, you realize we all envy you, right? Also, it make us happy and hopeful to see you happy and free. You are living the life chick, keep it up. Life really is short.

  31. Certified Public Asshat

    And across the pond, Liverpool lost their first leg to Spurs 1-0 after a Spurs player scored who should have been ejected a few minutes before.

    The past

    Yesterday

  32. UnCivilServant

    Random irrelevant survey – Generally, how much spare cothing do you lot bring on trips?

    I tend to start at one complete spare outfit, then add more socks and underwear as they’re easy to put extras in. (Though on a long enough trip, I schedule days to visit a laundromat.)

    • slumbrew

      1 pair of underwear, t-shirt & socks per day and, usually, 1 extra of each – up to 5 days. Will do laundry after that.

      Up to two pairs of pants.

      After that it’s specialty stuff – e.g., nice pants/shirt if I’ll be headed out, etc.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Ya that is probably standard.

        On my OKC training trip we were at day 5 and it was laundry time.

      • R C Dean

        Sounds like me.

        If I’m flying, I’ll put the extra round of underwear, etc. in my carry-on (a mid-large briefcase type bag). I can’t really carry on my luggage because the C-Pap takes up too much room.

      • LCDR_Fish

        If I have to check a bag – ALWAYS include t-shirt, socks, underpants, and minor shave kit in the backpack as well.

      • creech

        Slumbrew is clearly all man with frugal packing (maybe not quite Rick Steves level, but adequate.) Now, if he was female, there would be three or four bags packed for an trip with 2 overnights. Shoes for every outfit, three sweaters in case Aruba is chilly, a choice of evening clothes to impress the women at the next table, a few lingerie items in case things get sparky, several bathing suits, and etc. etc.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        A pair of underwear can last up to four days. Go back to front and inside out.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        I generally take fewer outfits than the number of days I’ll be gone, unless I know it’s bound to be a particularly sweaty trip. I give zero shits about wearing the same shirt 2 days in a row. I’ll wear the same pants weeks in a row.

    • The Other Kevin

      I’m packing for a hockey weekend. I plan for each game, and going to dinner, and one extra shirt, socks, etc. I try to pack as light as possible for hockey trips.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Back before the terrorist won, when we’d go to tournaments we’d pack our skates and gloves as carryon.

        You can replace everything else without significant breaking in.

      • slumbrew

        TBF, hockey gloves are rightfully classified as a biological weapon.

    • EvilSheldon

      Very much like you. I wear Merino wool underwear and socks, so I don’t need to launder them as often. 3 sets will see me through two weeks, no problem. Then one extra outfit, and one extra shirt on top of that. Then outerwear and trip-specific stuff (rashguards, swimsuit, hiking boots…depends on the purpose of the trip…)

      • slumbrew

        Since I bought a bunch of Smartwool socks I could probably reuse them once or twice.

        I still have a pile of Ex Officio boxer briefs which are so lightweight that packing one per day barely takes up any room or space. Great purchase, still going strong years later.

      • Tundra

        Second the Ex Officio. I have a bunch that I bought more than 5 years ago and they are still like new. Amazing product worth every penny.

        I’ve also had great luck with Darn Tough socks. They hold up much longer than any other brand I’ve tried.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        You can wear Smartwool socks for several days, even in heat, without them flunking up too badly.

        Ex Oficio are good. Duluth are better.

    • J. Frank Parnell

      Usually 1 extra pair of underpants, socks, and a t-shirt for every 2 days, but kind of depends on where I’m going and if I think I’ll get sweaty or dirty during the day and need a shower in the afternoon.

  33. Gustave Lytton

    Fuck whiny ass kids whining about “boomers”. Every time one of those acne riddled gutter punks uses it as a pejorative, I want to shove my boot through the back of their empty heads.

    • Not Adahn

      Just be sure not to break a hip doing that.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      They should be grateful that they still get to live in the basement.

    • Translucent Chum

      Can you retype that in all caps?

    • PieInTheSky

      to be fair, boomers are trash

    • Suthenboy

      Every generation does that. It’s like watching the movie Dune on endless loop.
      “God will this never end? Please let everyone die and just get it over with. Oh fuck, it is starting over again?” *face in hands and begins crying*

    • creech

      Just wait until all that Boomer savings comes cascading down on the kids and grandkids. Suddenly, ol’ grandpa and grandma are going to be praised for their frugality.

    • Jarflax

      I’d always thought the Grauniad was pro-fairy porn.

    • rhywun

      As a person who uses a fake Welsh handle, I am OUTRAGED!

      OK, no I’m not.

    • Suthenboy

      Fairy porn? The illustration has no prurient content. It’s just straight pre-Raphaelite knock-off.

  34. Sensei

    Markets are closed and CNBC is struggling for content. Therefore I’m forced to watch the entirety of Jimmy’s funeral.

    • Jarflax

      Carter fucks up commerce one last time.

    • R C Dean

      Or not. I’ll get through the day, as I usually do, with zero news channels on my TV or devices.

      • Sensei

        I’m at work. No choice. Fortunately, no sound.

      • Sensei

        Yes, other financial services we work with are.

        US Bond markets are open until 2pm.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Shit, it’s not Friday yet.

      • dbleagle

        They won’t be working tomorrow.

    • rhywun

      I would have thought it was still all L.A., all the time.

      • Sensei

        That was before the funeral.

        Jimmy’s kid’s kid is now speaking at the service.

      • rhywun

        I’m watching Charmed.

  35. sloopyinca

    I want predictions for the two CFP semifinal games. Mine are:
    ND 24-17 PSU
    TOSU 31-21 UT-Austin

    • juris imprudent

      I really couldn’t care less about the outcome. There are four mostly-insufferable fan bases left (though thankfully the Clemson and Alabama ones are excluded).

      • R C Dean

        I’m hoping the Irish beat Pedo State. Texas v OSU is one of those “can’t they both lose” games for me.

      • Jarflax

        At the risk of getting banned by Sloopy, tOSU’s fans are insufferable enough to make up for the lack. I’m from Ohio, I generally root for the Buckeyes, but the cult is annoying.

      • sloopyinca

        I don’t ban people.

      • Jarflax

        You’d ban the 13th letter of the alphabet if you could

      • sloopyinca

        That’s different. Letters ain’t people.

    • PieInTheSky

      Texas 24–21Ohio
      Notre Dame 20-9 Penn State

    • Red Pill Matt

      Penn State 17 Notre Dame 10

      If Ewers play the whole game: Ohio State 31 Texas 20

      If Ewers exits in the first half: Texas 31 Ohio State 27

      • PieInTheSky

        I think I have the most scientific score prediction but we shall see.

    • Lazer

      ND 28 – 14 PS
      tOSU 34 – 17 bevos

      And PSU is not a pedo university. Listen to the podcast of “With the benefit of hindsight “ (long but you could also find some articles) by John Ziegler, was our “justice”/political system doing what it does

    • creech

      Please, it is The Pennsylvania State University. And, as long as James Franklin is coaching, the ghosts of Knute and the Gipper, with an assist from Jesus and St. Mary, Notre Dame should eke out a victory. But, having financed two degrees at tPSU, I’ll still be wearing my Nit sweatshirt.

  36. PieInTheSky

    Ireland’s EU Commissioner @EUCssrMcGrath
    has said the European Commission has strong powers available to act if this evening’s interview between @elonmusk
    and the head of the German far-right @AfD
    breaches EU law.

    https://x.com/tconnellyRTE/status/1877323427758956858

    One fucking guy got all the EU spooked I swear

    • Jarflax

      Talking to the bad people is a crime.

    • WTF

      Ireland’s EU Commissioner

      How many divisions does he have?

    • Suthenboy

      And these powers are….what exactly?
      I keep seeing these totalitarian midgets in bumfuck, nowhere stomping their feet and demanding Trump and associates shutup shutup shutup! or else!

    • rhywun

      One fucking guy got all the EU spooked I swear

      The elites are fucking terrified and it’s glorious to behold.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      Imagine Ann online interview “breaking law.”

      Yeah, I can’t either. JFC, these people are totalitarians who need to get fucked.

    • PieInTheSky

      why not 21 Penny? Are you a certified namer of things? Where is your naming degree?

      • UnCivilServant

        No, Pie – JC21, it’s short and meaningless, in other words, perfect.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Just call it Taco Bell already.

    • Fourscore

      It’s gonna take JC and a miracle to make the retail clothing thing work. Penney’s stand alone stores just couldn’t bring in enough back to school kids’ Moms often enough.

    • PieInTheSky

      than would work well as a wedding dance in Romania

  37. Sensei

    Apparently, some extension authors figured out that the Chrome Web Store search index is shared across all languages. If you wanted to show up in the search when people look for your competitors for example, you could add their names to your extension’s description—but that might come across as spammy. So what you do instead is sacrificing some of the “less popular” languages and stuff the descriptions there full of relevant keywords. And then your extension starts showing up for these keywords even when they are entered in the English version of the Chrome Web Store.

    Genius.

    https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/01/googles-chrome-web-store-has-a-serious-spam-problem-promoting-shady-extensions/

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        I mean, I know that they’re watching all of the browsers, but there’s no way that I’m giving the NSA a click by click view of everything I do in the internet. Chrome is like a direct portal to everything bad about the internet.

  38. PieInTheSky

    Thousands of civil servants are to strike “indefinitely” following an order to return to the office for three days a week, a move described by a trade union as “Victorian”.

    https://x.com/toadmeister/status/1877313417976930363

    If they no longer get paid, I am ok with bureaucrats striking indefinitely

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      And that is how you identify where to start lay-offs. Er, redundancies, as they say over there.

    • ron73440

      All they have to do is strike long enough to get a union friendly boss.

      Then they will get back pay for any missed paychecks.

    • creech

      “During Victorian England, typical working hours in factories were around 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, with many workers, including children, often working even longer hours depending on the industry and employer;”

    • R C Dean

      Ah, yes, Victorian England. When a small island succeeded way beyond its weight class in almost every dimension. Wouldn’t want to go back to that.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    Help, Mister Wizard!

    California and other states receive most federal wildfire aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including direct payments and services to homeowners and renters whose properties were damaged, and public assistance for things such as search-and-rescue teams, debris removal and infrastructure repair.

    States need to show that an incident is of such a severity and magnitude that a response is beyond the state’s capability in order to qualify. The governor must request, and the president must declare, a major disaster and then approve any aid the governor requests.

    FEMA decides whether a federal disaster declaration is warranted and issues a recommendation to the president. In the past, presidents have followed that recommendation, but there’s nothing in the law that requires them to do so.

    But California is like the eighth largest economy on the planet, or so I have heard. What do they need us for? They just need to make some choices.

    • Suthenboy

      Eighth? I remember when they were second. I wonder how that happened? The course they are on and hell bent to stay on will put them at a solid Eightieth in a few years.
      Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.

  40. LCDR_Fish

    Listening to Robert Barnes on Michael Malice’ podcast complaining about his hospital stay and issues with doctors/nurses.

  41. Suthenboy

    Fuck. The Carter eulogy: “He was a proggy’s prog, a real commie useful idiot. He had all of the talking points and correct positions down pat.”

    Excuse me while I go puke.

    • PieInTheSky

      TW: demonic images

      • Ted S.

        Meghan Markle *is* a demon, of course.

    • Suthenboy

      Wow. I have seen narcissistic personality disorders lot of times but that is a real doozie there.

      • Fourscore

        I scared myself, and started thinking I’d rather watch Carter’s funeral. Then I found the off button and life was good again.

  42. The Late P Brooks

    Trump also took shots at Biden.

    “NO WATER IN THE FIRE HYDRANTS, NO MONEY IN FEMA,” he posted. “THIS IS WHAT JOE BIDEN IS LEAVING ME. THANKS JOE!”

    Peter Gleick, a hydroclimatologist and senior fellow of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, said Trump’s comments attempting to link California water policy with the water-supply problems facing firefighters in Southern California were “blatantly false, irresponsible and politically self-serving.”

    “There is no water shortage in Southern California — the state’s reservoirs are all at, or above, levels normally expected for this time of year. The problem with water supply for the fires is entirely the result of the massive immediate demands for firefighting water, broken or damaged pipes and pumps, and homeowners leaving hoses and sprinklers running in hopes of saving property.”

    That sounds like poor maintenance and a lack of capacity. And those home owners should all be jailed for diverting water from society to their own puny selfish personal interests.

    • rhywun

      Where are the additional reservoirs the voters paid for? Where is the infrastructure that one would expect in a semi-arid climate that is prone to windstorms and wildfires every year?

      “politically self-serving”

      LOL ok then.

      • Suthenboy

        Well, they aren’t going to step up and say “Darn, we stole all of the money and now you are fucked”
        Someone yesterday said there is no way they can lay this on Trump. Warning: Never underestimate a professional liar and thief.

        People were advised by state?city? officials to leave their sprinklers on.

        Life imitating art…in this case ‘The Fiddler’.

  43. Sensei

    Achilees Siperko. Ok…

    Man Who Built A Go-Kart Track With No Permits Still Seems Surprised His Neighbors Are Mad At Him

    https://www.theautopian.com/man-who-built-a-go-kart-track-with-no-permits-still-seems-surprised-his-neighbors-are-mad-at-him/

    Where to start? I know this has been mentioned here before. As the story “evolves”.

    Perhaps speak with your neighbor before you put this what appears to be just feet away from the property line?

    Or perhaps just go:

    “My neighbors suck,” Siperko said. “My family is a mixed-race family. Highland is 1% Black — they treat us differently.”

    That should definitely smooth things over.

    • Sean

      Can I just hate everyone in the story?

      • ron73440

        Can I just hate everyone in the story?

        Somehow, that’s usually the correct response.

      • PieInTheSky

        Just don’t let the EU find put you are hateful

      • Sensei

        That’s where I am, but I’m somewhat sympathetic to the neighbors.

        My neighbors built a big addition that cut down on a fair amount of light into my yard. They talked to me and they needed like five variances. I like them and we get along well. I knew I had the choice of raising a stink having them possibly move or I could have screamed about the variances.

        The town would have likely given them most of the variances, but not all if I screamed and now my neighbor is unhappy with me. And now the light reduction in my yard is maybe 10% brighter.

        I chose to have a dark yard and neighbors I like. So far it was the right choice, but I wish I didn’t have to make it.

      • Jarflax

        Just don’t let the EU find put you are hateful

        Nuke Brussels.

    • Suthenboy

      The race card? Really? Fuck that guy.

      • Jarflax

        I mean I am not sure how you defend your Go-Kart track without talking about racing.

  44. The Late P Brooks

    This is Newsom’s big chance to show leadership and strength. He should tell Trump to buzz off. Declare a state of emergency, mobilize the National Guard, impose martial law and suspend the state legislature “temporarily”.

    • PieInTheSky

      And petition to secede and join Canada.

      • Nephilium

        What would be the point? Trump’s going to buy Canada, remember?

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      Don’t forget to seize bank accounts of Trump supporters.

  45. The Late P Brooks

    Failed state

    “The key for the Liberals will be choosing a leader who can rebuild the party’s image and reconnect with disillusioned voters,” she adds. “The party’s future hinges on selecting a leader quickly and recalibrating its platform.”

    Liberals aren’t the only ones needing to connect with voters.

    “We’re in a unique situation in Canadian politics at the moment,” Kurl says. “Because traditionally when one leader is really unpopular, there is another leader who by contrast is very popular. What we’re dealing with in 2025 in Canada is a situation wherein [among] the three leaders of the three major national parties… their unfavorability ratings are higher than their favorability ratings.”

    Their unpopularity signals a deep disconnect between voters and the political establishment, Sevi says, “indicating widespread dissatisfaction and frustration with the status quo, potentially leading to volatile election results.”

    Sounds like the Canuckistanis have bigger problems than soon-to-be President Cartoon Villain.

    What if they dredge up some sort of right wing populist nationalist?

  46. The Other Kevin

    Notice the complete lack of leadership on California fires. Not answering questions, saying “the local people will handle it”, etc. Nobody is taking charge and saying “there were mistakes made but we’re going to set this right”.

    We are a far cry from “the buck stops here”. As usual, there will be no accountability, and all the blame will conveniently go to people driving SUV’s in Texas who are causing climate change.

    • ron73440

      But “conservatives” cut the FD budget!!!

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