296 Comments

  1. cavalier973

    I just checked my Google maps, and it still says the gulf is Messican. Apple Maps does, as well.

    Apple Maps has a cool feature that allows you to pull all the way back until all you see is the earth, floating in space. I don’t know enough about astronomy to tell if the stars are properly aligned, or if it is a generic collection of stars.

    • cavalier973

      What Apple Maps should do on April 1 is allow the viewer to pull all the way back to see a flat earth, surrounded by a giant ice wall.

      • R.J.

        Heh.

        I heard Google has some steps to make it official. Might take some time. We shall see.

      • Nephilium

        Here there be frost giants?

      • SDF-7

        Heh… on my recommended Youtube feed the last couple of nights I’ve seen a thumbnail for a video marked something along the lines of “How Flat Earthers think the asteroid killed the dinosaurs”. I haven’t felt like clicking on it — but it looks like the Flat Earth in question is being rotated… so my imagination immediately went to the Flat Earth being spun like a coin by the asteroid impact — and all the poor dinosaurs soaring off into the void of space by the rotation. (Not that that makes sense, mind you — why would so many other species not be flung off, why would the flinging overcome gravity, etc… but just the mental image of all the surprised T-rexes, Troodons, etc suddenly flying away into orbit with a very, very surprised look on their faces made me chuckle).

      • WTF

        If the earth was really flat cats would have pushed everything over the edge by now.

      • UnCivilServant

        SDF – The dinosaurs only got so big because the sun was always shining. After the asteroid hit, the earth started spinning and we got the day/night cycle.

      • Jarflax

        The dinosaurs only got so big because the sun was always shining. After the asteroid hit, the earth started spinning and we got the day/night cycle.

        How does a spinning Flat Earth produce the day night cycle? I think you’d have to get it flipping to do it, but the idea intrigues me.

      • UnCivilServant

        “flipping” is spinning, just around an axis parallel to the major face.

    • Rat on a train

      It says they will update once the US BGN releases an official update.

    • rhywun

      I gathered from the article that the change is still in progress.

  2. AlexinCT

    Justice Department fires more than a dozen key officials on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team

    Investigate the. And then prosecute them when we find they were engaged in lawfare as we all suspected.

    • cavalier973

      Charge them with sedition, and throw them in prison when they are convicted.

      • juris imprudent

        What law outlaws lawfare? It is unethical, sure – but illegal?

        I refuse to support the use of Wilson’s bastard law, even in this case.

      • R C Dean

        I think it comes down to intent and the fine points of sedition and/or election interference law. If they did it in order to undermine the legitimate government or prevent a candidate from running or winning, rather than to enforce the law, yeah, it could be criminal.

        Only one way to find out!

        If they do get in trouble, it will probably be from all the evidence they have destroyed or are destroying.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Conspiracy to deny civil rights, JI. Treat them like the Klan was treated.

      • juris imprudent

        The Klan wasn’t destroyed by law, but by the moral disapproval of the common folk.

      • R C Dean

        If moral disapproval was sufficient to end a federal agency, there’d be a lot fewer of them than there are.

      • AlexinCT

        ^^^^THIS^^^^

      • juris imprudent

        There are federal agencies even all of us support, and we are a small, politically homogenous group. Far too many people are content with good intentions. If you can’t move them, you won’t change a thing.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        I didn’t say the Klan was destroyed, only that it was treated differently.

      • juris imprudent

        So ZWAK some lawfare is good after all? As long as the intentions are right and the target villainous enough?

      • juris imprudent

        Damn tag fail. I also recall the Klan got their own special federal law to attack them.

  3. R.J.

    “Microsoft to acquire TikTok.”

    What an improvement!

    *Gets towel to wipe up sarcasm

    • Sean

      What if they brought back Clippy? Would that change your mind?

      • R.J.

        Only if he was in a Sugar Free story…

      • rhywun

        “It looks like you’re trying to send all your private information to the Chinese Communist Party. Would you like help with that?”

    • Not Adahn

      If anyone can run it into the ground, they can!

    • Nephilium

      I’ll believe that when I start seeing numbers. I’ve seen stories that Bezos, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, and others were all “in discussions to acquire TikTok”.

    • Rat on a train

      and then integrate with Teams to make that an even worse experience

      • Not Adahn

        TikTeams?

        TeamTok?

      • R.J.

        Oh, you are a prophet, sir!

    • SDF-7

      At least it would be the surest way to neutralize it. If they don’t outright kill social platforms (and then replace them a year later), they’ll be “uncool” enough all the TikTokers will continue to migrate to RedNote (because apparently Xinnie the Pooh’s hand up their ass is what they really really want or something… I don’t get it).

      • Not Adahn

        They can make TikTiok the Zune of Myspaces.

      • rhywun

        Better than Apple buying it and making it “cool”.

    • Drake

      Exactly – this way the Chinese can still mine the data on your phone, and eventually a virus will brick it.

  4. UnCivilServant

    Trump says Microsoft in talks to acquire TikTok

    No,no,no,no. Just kill it! Kill it now!

    • R.J.

      Too easy! Four years in purgatory with Microsoft first!

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Well, that has got to be better than Apple buying it

      “Now for sale, the new TikTok i32, only $500 per month, and you have to go to a cult storefront to get it fixed.”

  5. Shpip

    “The United States military has a clear mission to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force,” read the order released by the White House late Monday night. “Success in this existential mission requires a singular focus on developing the requisite warrior ethos, and the pursuit of military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.”

    C’mon, now. Killing people and breaking their stuff is so 1980s. This is the new, modern military, where we’re one big happy family employer of last resort.

    • Sean

      My Big Yellow Mama pepper sprouted. 🙂

      • Fourscore

        The little apple trees in the window are happy to see the sun these days. 2-3 inches tall. In a few weeks they’ll need to be culled,
        take out the smaller ones, keep about 18. They can go outside when it gets warmer, then to their final planting about mid-May
        or early June.

        7-8 years from now I’ll be up to my elbows in apples.

      • UnCivilServant

        I hear you can make some good food from apple and honey.

    • Dano en barrel

      That reminds me, thanks. I was determined to start my peppers in Jan this year but I’ve been gone since Nov and won’t be home for another couple weeks. Didn’t bother germinating pepper seeds last season b/c I started in April in Colorado– so many disappointing autumns with frost killing my (finally) producing pepper plants

      • Nephilium

        I’ve got seedlings that I brought back inside after starting them last year. One started to show a flower at the beginning of fall, but then the temperatures dropped. They’ve been holding out so far, I hope to be able to set them on the patio when it starts warming up.

  6. Not Adahn

    James Comer: ‘We Have Evidence Banks Are De-Banking Conservatives’

    It’s like Operation Chokepoint never existed.

    • AlexinCT

      This shit started under Obama..

      • R.J.

        2013

      • Not Adahn

        Gibson Guitar was 2011.

      • AlexinCT

        As usual, there are deeper roots involved.

        The amount of stupid laws passed by previous administrations, that were quicky bastardized and abused, to target political enemies of the left in the Obama admin’s weaponized unelected and unaccountable bureaucratic machine, is staggering. This was just one of them. But the fact remains the abuses went into overdrive during the Obama tenure.

      • Dr. Fronkensteen

        The $10,000 reporting limit has never been changed since 1970. $10000.00 then would be $83,493.39 today according to CPI numbers

      • juris imprudent

        abuses went into overdrive during the Obama tenure

        Agree. He accomplished what Nixon only dreamed of.

      • AlexinCT

        Without Obama’s 3 tenures, we would not need a Trump.

  7. Shpip

    Chairman Barry Loudermilk’s committee first approached the DOD’s IG Robert Storch to request an unredacted version of the agency’s review of the Pentagon’s role and responsibilities as it related to security failures on January 6. The report was widely criticized by several D.C. National Guardsmen-turned-whistleblowers, who excoriated Pentagon leadership for whitewashing their failures. Storch also declined to furnish the witness interview transcripts that Loudermilk had requested.

    Well, sure. After all, the IG’s job is to protect an agency (and its funding) from prying Congressional eyes.

    • Not Adahn

      Dafuq does the DoD have anything to do with J6? Isn’t there some sort of posse comitatus thingy?

      • R C Dean

        Insurrection is exception from Posse Comitatus. Seriously.

        So if J6 was an insurrection, as I am told, then yes, the military would have a legal/legitimate role.

      • Not Adahn

        Prior to the insurrectioning?

  8. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Sitting in a waiting room with CNN playing, featuring scintillating analysis from Andrew McCabe. They are off the damn rails.

  9. Not Adahn

    I am not an East Asian, but…

    Work is celebrating Lunar New Year with spring rolls. Isn’t Moon Cake more appropriate?

    • Not Adahn

      Admittedly, this is the place that celebrated St. Paddy’s with corned beef and red cabbage (with vinegar and caraway seeds).

      • UnCivilServant

        St. Paddy’s with corned beef and red cabbage (with vinegar and caraway seeds)

        u w0t m8?

      • Not Adahn

        Aaay! The kitchen is-a run by Mazzone! You no like-a the chicken marsala?

      • Drake

        I’ll celebrate free food on any occasion.

      • Jarflax

        I’ll celebrate free food on any occasion.

        Come right in, have a seat, your durian and surstromming pie will be along in just a minute.

      • Dano en barrel

        I have it on good authority that corned beef was adopted by Irish immigrants in the US, introduced by Jewish delis. Crushing blow to my heritage

      • Jarflax

        Irish traditional cuisine was starvation, that’s why they came here, to get away from their traditional cuisine.

    • Not Adahn

      Republicans can’t be gay, by definition.

      At most they can be “men who have sex with men.”

      • Rat on a train

        He’s not truly gay unless he is willing to have sex with women who pretend to be men.

      • AlexinCT

        Oh my God, Scott is too funny..

    • SDF-7

      As long as he doesn’t fuck the country – I don’t care what occurs in his bedroom.

      • Suthenboy

        Is nudie protesters a thing there? This is not the first story like this I have seen coming out of there. What does that mean? “I have boobies, do as I say!” ? How does that work?

      • R C Dean

        “I have boobies, do as I say!” ? How does that work?“

        All too often, quite well indeed.

      • pistoffnick (370HSSV)

        “I have boobies, do as I say!” ? How does that work?

        Works pretty well, I’d say.

      • SDF-7

        Given I work in the tech industry and grew up being and knowing nerds — I can confidently say “It very much depends on the type of boobies.”

        Man-boobs don’t work, gentlemen.

      • Jarflax

        Man-boobs don’t work, gentlemen.

        Depends, mine don’t, Blaire White’s probably do.

    • Tonio

      I got some applauding Bears for you, JI. Will that do? [grin]

      • AlexinCT

        Grand slam!

    • Suthenboy

      They are still on with the ‘he’s gonna round up the gays! Put trannies in camps! Kill all homosexuals!’. Really?
      *sigh* Ok.

      • rhywun

        I do expect the military’s tranny ban to garner about 90% of their rage for the next few news cycles.

      • juris imprudent

        A wildly successful gay man doesn’t fit with their preconceptions of the oppressed gay – so he is simply erased from their consciousness. It’s really the same mechanism that they accuse others of – dehumanizing, denying the existence.

  10. R C Dean

    It’s still Gulf of Mexico on Google Earth.

    • R C Dean

      Dammit.

      Read before commenting.

      Read before commenting.

      • R.J.

        Heh. I think some government office of official places has to update their database before it rolls down to map services. Right now if I hear correctly all the reporting analysts are busy de-wokifying stuff first.

      • rhywun

        I’m kind of surprised Google isn’t rEsIsTiNg.

      • UnCivilServant

        You have to get behind someone before you can stab them in the back.

    • Nephilium

      One thing that has entertained me about Google Maps is that if you have turn by turn direction enabled when you cross between state/country lines, it’ll say a nice little, “Welcome to %location%”. My first time heading to upstate New York, and passing through the Seneca reservation, I noticed the lack of “Welcome to the Seneca Nation”.

      For years, I’ve considered putting it in as a bug report.

      • UnCivilServant

        Screw the Seneca. Litigious assholes, always grifting.

      • Suthenboy

        So…Injuns.

      • Rat on a train

        Does it say it with the local accent and style?

      • UnCivilServant

        @RoaT – The Seneca sound like any other upstater.

      • Nephilium

        Rat on a train:

        Based on my limited experience, no. Of course, it can’t even say things like Mentor, Akron, or Brookpark correctly.

      • Not Adahn

        I am extremely disappointed with the quality of Seneca truckstops.

      • The Last American Hero

        When you cross the city line into LA, does it say “You know where you are? You’re in the Jungle Baby, you’re gonna die!”

  11. Tonio

    ICYMI, check out Mythical Libertarian Woman’s article from last night. I am truly amazed by her tenacity at reading all those derp posts, and in herr perspicacious analysis of same. Well-done.

    • Ted S.

      Frau Perspicacious Analysis, not Herr.

      Unless you enjoy misgendering her.

      • slumbrew

        *golf clap*

    • rhywun

      It must be rough to be in a profession that practically requires sinking in that muck.

    • The Other Kevin

      She is constantly throwing herself in front of a bus for us. She should be on the Glibertarian Mount Rushmore.

  12. Suthenboy

    The key is to be right more than you are wrong…everyone does make mistakes….but in this case it is nice for someone to come along and say “Enough with the crazy. It stops today.”
    The old strategy of playing whack-a-mole with problem solving was never going anywhere. It was the favorite approach of the Republicans as it gave them pretense for ‘trying to do something!’ while never accomplishing anything.
    They key is to kill the root of the problems. Trump seems to get that. That is what has everyone in such a fluster.

    • juris imprudent

      His EO is only pausing the grant, et al, process; it will still depend on Congress NOT funding this shit in the future.

      • R C Dean

        One of the first things I learned as a lawyer was “Revenues delayed are revenues denied”.

      • juris imprudent

        That sounds more bean-counterly than lawyerly!

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Lawyers are rhetorical bean counters.

  13. juris imprudent

    How about a little love for JD this morning?

    The subsequent crescendo launched a thousand memes and highlight reels on the right that one giddy conservative pundit compared to the coverage Michael Jordan got on ESPN during his prime.

    • Drake

      He is a judo master with the crazy lib interviewers.

    • rhywun

      Another exchange between Vance and Brennan, this one on birthright citizenship, had Republicans applauding. He said that no other country has the practice.

      I don’t think that’s true, JD.

      • R C Dean

        It’s not. Most of Central and South America has pretty unrestricted birthright citizenship. You’ll hear about other countries that supposedly do, but it’s really not as most other countries require one parent to be a citizen for the spawn to qualify.

      • UnCivilServant

        Most places where the record keeping is poor don’t know if you’re a citizen or not, so papwerowk can be had for a small fee to the right official.

        Usually, it’s not a citizenship worth having though.

      • creech

        Just another thing that JD Vance got wrong?

      • WTF

        Okay, no other CIVILIZED country.

    • AlexinCT

      I like the idea of using blue haired fatties for cannon fodder…

      • WTF

        Air drop a battalion of Trigglypuffs behind enemy lines.

    • rhywun

      How many gringos are we talking about? I can’t imagine there are very many.

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s probably the same Gringos over and over. We all look alike.

      • AlexinCT

        There are far more gringos in Mexico these days than one would think. Retirees are moving to Central American communities where their limited income goes a long, long way compared to the US. In fact, the Mexicans are really miffed at all the gringos that have come to their big cities, and with their gringo dollars, have made the cost of living for the locals brutal, to say the least. Payback is a bitch, I tell ya.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, I hear claims that parts of Mexico are “OK” (I won’t be going there myself) but Columbia?

      • AlexinCT

        The Yucatan peninsula in Mexico seems to experience far less of the cartel warfare than the rest of the nation. And while the Colombian government had the FARC on its death bed just a 5 years ago, this new government has basically given that marxist terror organization new life. Wild wild west for sure.

    • Ownbestenemy

      The best part is she thinks she made some political waves with that statement.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      We’ll take the shopping carts, but not the Blink 182!

  14. UnCivilServant

    The change management meeting is slow enough as it, but now there’s technical difficulties delaying things further.

    They won’t let us just leave either.

    😭

    • AlexinCT

      The painful process is the punishment…

    • UnCivilServant

      It’s finally over.

      I walked away and scrubbed my toilet out of boredom, and it hadn’t finished. Now it’s finally over.

      (I could still hear the meeting while I was cleaning, my talking was done)

    • Suthenboy

      someone please make that girl a sandwich or two.

      • Mojeaux

        Also, a haircut. The beachy waves were awful when they were “new.”

      • trshmnstr

        Also, a haircut. The beachy waves were awful when they were “new.”

        Trashy’s trash take – most girls don’t look good in a baseball cap. She is not the exception.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    Flooding the streets with dangerous violent lunatics

    An Indiana man who was recently pardoned for his participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a sheriff’s deputy Sunday.

    Matthew Huttle, 42, was involved in a traffic stop at 4:15 p.m. by a Jasper County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said in a news release. It alleged that Huttle resisted arrest and was found to have a firearm on him.

    “An altercation took place between the suspect and the officer, which resulted in the officer firing his weapon and fatally wounding the suspect,” the release said.

    Obviously a domestic terrorist.

      • Not Adahn

        Indiana guns on those Indiana nights?

    • WTF

      Looking forward to the dashcam/bodycam footage. Unless of course it’s conveniently “lost” or “malfunctioned”.

    • Not Adahn

      I have two priors here:

      -Cops are assholes more likely to resort to lethal force than is necessary.

      -J6 probably attracted a disproportionate number of people likely to give a cop an excuse to go shooty.

      • WTF

        Also having been mistreated for years in violation of the constitution and his civil rights might have made him think the same thing was happening again when the cop decided a traffic violation was a reason to arrest him.

      • juris imprudent

        Court records show Huttle entered into an agreement with federal prosecutors in August 2023, pleading guilty to a charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. He was sentenced in November 2023 to six months in federal prison, followed by 12 months of supervised release.

        So he wasn’t even charged with any violent act for his participation. But he was a dangerous thug. Fuck.

      • EvilSheldon

        Until proven otherwise, I assume that all police shootings during traffic stops go – Cop sees gun, panics, empties the magazine with his/her eyes closed.

    • Jarflax

      It’s interesting to watch the people who usually riot when a cop kills a felon suddenly blame the felon.

      • Ownbestenemy

        This one will be cheered and paraded around as “SEE WE TOLD YOU THEY WERE DANGEROUS!”

      • SDF-7

        I assume that’s why NBC is reporting it, OBE… most certainly.

    • Suthenboy

      Not enough info there to make a judgement.
      Most of these cases, after digging into them, turn out to be two bumbling idiots acting like assholes…a perfect recipe for disaster.
      cop pulls y ou over. Keep your hands on the steering wheel. Dont speak. Produce license. Do the minimum of what he asks. Dont speak. Dont reach for anything or put your hands out of sight. Dont speak.
      Oh, and dont move around unless told to and keep your fucking mouth shut. Did I mention ‘Dont speak’?

      • Ownbestenemy

        Which is correct but as WTF points out…guy is probably thinking “Just the government who screwed me for the past 5 years coming at me again”.

      • pistoffnick (370HSSV)

        “I had the right to remain silent…but not the ability.” – Ron White

      • juris imprudent

        I don’t know about you, but to produce my license, I have to reach to pull my wallet from my back pants pocket, and for my registration and proof of insurance to the glove box. Very furtive moves if the cop wants to say so.

      • DrOtto

        I always pull off the immediate roadway into a parking lot and turn off the radio, roll down the window with hands at 10 &2 and state that my license/insurance is in my wallet and is in my front left pocket/center console/glove box and ask permission to get it and wait for his response to do so slowly. This seems appreciated and frequently results in a warning.

      • AlexinCT

        ^^^THIS^^^

        Never had a problem with police when you don’t act up and create the problem yourself.

      • juris imprudent

        Daniel Shaver has entered the chat.

      • Rat on a train

        The NHTSA says it’s 9 and 3 now. Sir, step out of the car.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        I do what Dr Otto does, with the exception of having my paperwork in hand as they get to the window.

        Pulled over 4-5 times in the last dozen or so years, no tickets.

      • trshmnstr

        I, uh, haven’t been pulled over in almost 15 years. Good thing, too. I was driving on a suspended license for 3 years without knowing it. 🤷

    • Ownbestenemy

      My guess is Lindsay has been shut out and this is temper tantrum

      • AlexinCT

        He got new orders from his CCP handlers.

    • WTF

      I’m sure the Moustache of War can fend for himself.

      • juris imprudent

        Actually he’s probably as big a bitch as Graham.

      • WTF

        I’m sure he is, that’s my point about him being eager to send OTHER people off to some shithole to fight senseless wars.

      • EvilSheldon

        If SugarFree doesn’t do a bit soon with John and Lindsey fear-cuddling under Lindsey’s canopy bed, I’ll be terribly disappointed…

    • Jarflax

      The Stache makes Lindsey swoon because Lindsey is a warboner size queen.

    • Drake

      He’s got a primary next year to get ready for. If Trump endorses one of his rivals, it’s over.

      • WTF

        Trump should probably remind him of that.

      • R.J.

        He should just do it. Free us of another war monger dirt bag.

    • Suthenboy

      I am under the impression that the president grants or reminds security status at his pleasure. I could be wrong.

      • Suthenboy

        Ugh. Spell check.
        Rescinds.

      • juris imprudent

        No, the almighty bureaucracy is supposed to thwart the President when [Orange] Bad Man presides. And then do whatever bidding, legitimate or not, when a glorious messiah commands them.

  16. Shpip

    With apologies to America’s Greatest Musical Genius:

    All right, stop
    Investigate and get them
    Trump is back giving ICE new missions
    Catch them, daily or nightly
    South American gangs bust garage RFIDs
    Did they bribe the cops? I don’t know
    Turn off your lights, see where the cars go
    What have you seen? A spray-tagging vandal
    Dollar Tree abuela buying Guadalupe candles
    Glance – at those construction crews
    Whole blocks chillin’ where the reggaeton booms
    Directly, when they commit a felony
    Send ‘em home by air or by sea
    Love it or leave it, stay home and wait;
    You gotta follow laws, come here the right way
    Better have papers to justify your stay
    If there are more problems, yo we’ll wall it
    Be a few weeks ‘til Trump installs it

    • Nephilium

      Local news is all on top of the raids in the Coventry neighborhood (not the village down Akron way, but the neighborhood in Cleveland Heights).

      “I can say the city was not informed ahead of time or provided any information from the federal government prior to or after,” he [Cleveland Heights Mayor] said. “When we reached out to Homeland Security today, we were told we were not going to receive information from them.”

      • UnCivilServant

        Good. Too many sanctuaries were tipping off the raid targets.

      • Ed Wuncler

        I live a couple of minutes from the Coventry neighborhood in Heights. I heard it about it yesterday through Nextdoor and wailing and gnashing of teeth was something to behold.

      • Ed Wuncler

        And the Mayor is an incompetent progressive asshole so he’ll surely use this as a political opportunity.

      • WTF

        Since the current raids are rounding up and deporting illegals who have committed additional crimes while in the US, I really don’t get the wailing and gnashing of teeth over their removal. Do these people actually want illegal aliens committing further crimes in their neighborhoods?

      • UnCivilServant

        I do not understand why anyone would want to keep violent criminals nearby, regardless of national origin.

      • Nephilium

        Ed Wuncler:

        The modern gentrified Coventry is still confusing to me. I remember bums, panhandlers, cheap bars, and questionable decisions being the flavor of Coventry nights (generally culminating in a show at the Grog Shop’s old location).

      • Ed Wuncler

        @ Neph:

        They had to keep Coventry weird but not too weird to the point that it scared off the white liberal women from bringing their children to that area.

        Now I want a meat pie from Tommy’s.

      • Nephilium

        Ed:

        I was just mentioning Tommy’s the other day, for their “Homos”. Which I just learned is a dead joke, as they’ve corrected the spelling to hummus.

        If you’re a fan of whisk(e)y and/or whisk(e)y based cocktails, I highly recommend the Whiskey Bar right past the old theater that became a church.

  17. PudPaisley

    It’s nice to see the California legislature wants to hold people accountable for the wildfire disasters in LA.

    Scott Weiner introduced a bill that would allow fire victims and insurance companies to sue oil companies for causing all the recent devastation.

    Aside from just the blame shifting, I’m guessing the main reason is to try and bail out the FAIR plan on the backs of oil companies. The state-run FAIR plan is on the hook for a lot of the burned houses, and they don’t have close to enough money to cover all the incoming claims. They are proper fucked at this point.

    https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2025/01/16/808564.htm

    • WTF

      Who knew the oil companies were the ones preventing brush clearing, preventing controlled burns, failing to build reservoirs, failing to fill reservoirs, failing to keep hydrants in working order and failing to allow desalination plants while requiring that LAFD be run by incompetent DEI hires?

      • R.J.

        Boy that is not going to end well. Oil companies started shuttering refineries in CA two years ago. The state will be left with nothing but burnt ash and dead batteries.

      • WTF

        The state will be left with nothing but burnt ash and dead batteries.

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

      • Nephilium

        R.J.:

        They’re on top of the battery issue.

      • rhywun

        There are without a doubt hundreds of judges in California salivating at the thought of destroying Big Oil.

    • juris imprudent

      If Weiner’s head was bashed in with an anvil – a la Wiley Coyote – would he just keep walking and doing the same shit he does now?

    • SDF-7

      I could repeat myself — but I’ll just quote myself (since no one cared to comment then):

      SDF-7
      SDF-7 on January 27, 2025 at 3:39 pm

      Of course that embarassment to humanity is co-sponsoring this… In between bills to make it easier for the state to take children away from their parents, no doubt.

    • Suthenboy

      They never know when to quit. They keep pushing incrementally until it is too far and too late.
      At some point the insurance companies, oil companies, etc are going to realize the extortion racket is more expensive than leaving and they will leave.

      • R.J.

        Oh they have. Most insurance companies have left, and oil companies started pulling out two years ago. The only ones left are really big players, who are getting tired of it too. Reminds me of a particular northeastern state that chased off all but one individual insurance company, and then complained about lack of competition. And threatened the remaining company to keep it in the state.

  18. Ownbestenemy

    Can we go back to calling it Kiev now? Or does that make me a Russian bot?

    • pistoffnick (370HSSV)

      Only if you precede it with the word “chicken”.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    This fixes everything

    Oil and gas companies would be liable for damages caused by climate change -related disasters in California under legislation introduced Monday by two Democratic lawmakers.

    The proposal claims that the oil industry intentionally deceived the public about the risks of fossil fuels on climate change that now have intensified storms and wildfires and caused billions of dollars in damage in California. Such disasters have also driven the state insurance market to a crisis where companies are raising rates, limiting coverage or pulling out completely from regions susceptible to wildfires and other natural disasters, supporters of the bill said.

    Under state law, utility companies are liable for damages if their equipment starts a wildfire. The same idea should apply to oil and gas companies, said Robert Herrell, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California, “for their massive contribution to these fires driven by climate change.”

    The bill aims to alleviate the financial burdens on victims of such disasters and insurance companies by allowing them to sue the oil industry to recoup their losses. It would also allow the Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan, created by the state as a last resort for homeowners who couldn’t find insurance, to do the same so it doesn’t become insolvent.

    What could possibly go wrong?

    • WTF

      Too bad actual data doesn’t support the manmade CO2 causing warming hypothesis. Not that facts will stop a lefty judge from helping such a suit along.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Its a grasp at a changing political scene where they still think a large majority of people will agree to go after greedy oil companies instead of actually trying to fix things. I am not too sure they have the numbers they think they do anymore.

  20. Not Adahn

    Q for lawglibs:

    How far can Indian reservations go in disregarding state/federal laws?

    I know we see them with untaxed tobacco, untaxed gasoline, gambling, and marijuana. Wherefore do we not see “Seneca Recreation Stop – Gaming, Smoking, Coffee and Handjobs?”

    • R.J.

      Oklahoma has that. Seneca is behind the times.

      • Not Adahn

        Huh. I drove through Choctaw, Creek/Muskogee and Cherokee lands on the way to scatter Dad’s ashes and just saw the typical casinos — and not even that in the Cherokee areas.

      • R.J.

        They put gambling machines in the gas stops now. True, the formal rest stops don’t have them yet.

      • UnCivilServant

        Ooo… Slot machine gas pumps. each pull determines how much gas that fiver bought you.

    • SDF-7

      They don’t want to put up with the squawling.

      • Not Adahn

        The Choctaw chicks I knew in college were not prudes.

      • EvilSheldon

        Did they wear those cut-off britches with them skinny little halters?

      • Not Adahn

        Those were not fashionable at the time.

      • EvilSheldon

        Must have been a southeastern Kansas thing…

    • Jarflax

      It looks to me (this is very much not my area of practice) as though a tribe could legalize it if they chose to.

    • DEG

      It probably depends on the terms of the treaty between the tribe and the Federal government. Substitute state government for those with only state government recognition. There’s a tribe in western Connecticut that has state but not Federal recognition.

      I have a vague memory that when a tribe in Massachusetts got recognition in the early 00s, the terms of the treaty include that the tribe wasn’t allowed to put a casino on tribal land on Martha’s Vineyard and was required to obey municipal zoning laws for tribal lands on both Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod.

      • DEG

        I think my memory is not quite right. I remember reading a news article in the 00s about a tribe in Massachusetts getting Federal recognition that mentioned the zoning requirement and casino prohibition, but what I’m finding in a quick search before a work meeting doesn’t line up with my recollection of the news article.

        There are two tribes with Federal recognition in MA. The Wampanoag, recognized in 1987, and the Mashpee Wampanoag, recognized in 2007. The Wampanoag have land on Martha’s Vineyard, and are now trying to get state approval to build a casino there. The Mashpee Wampanoag do not have land on Martha’s Vineyard, they are in the bit of southeastern Massachusetts between Boston and the Cape Cod Canal, so not on Cape Cod.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Handjobs enact the poll tax.

  21. The Late P Brooks

    Supporters said the measure will also help stabilize the state’s insurance market by allowing insurers to recover some of the costs after a natural disaster from oil companies, which will prevent increased rates from being passed onto policyholders. The bill is supported by several environmental and consumer protection groups.

    Of course.

    “It’s a goose, and it lays golden eggs!”

    “Let’s eat it.”

  22. The Late P Brooks

    California reminds me of that kid in high school who goes around pissing everybody off because he thinks he’s untouchable for some reason. And when he finally gets the shit kicked out of him, he can’t fathom why.

  23. KK, Plump & Unfiltered

    Shit’s gettin dramatic up in here. A few Fed bureaucrats at the management level were just put on “administrative leave” for not complying with the EOs, or actively working to subvert the EOs.

    • The Other Kevin

      We appreciate these dispatches from the front line.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Well this makes me sad…there have been none of this in my agency!!!!

      • juris imprudent

        Your agency has more of a real job to do?

      • Ted S.

        That’s only because the Tuskegee Airmen weren’t commercial pilots.

    • KK, Plump & Unfiltered

      I don’t think these people understand that this is a far cry from Trump 1.0. Dude is out for revenge and has put people in place to enact it.

    • The Other Kevin

      “I figured it was bad, but that’s insane.”

      Seems to be a theme. I’m pretty cynical and I’ve read a lot of what would be considered “conspiracy theories”, but I’m still surprised at what’s coming out from the Biden years.

      • juris imprudent

        EcoHealth Alliance dates back at least to Obama, probably longer.

  24. The Late P Brooks

    Scientists overwhelmingly agree the world needs to drastically cut the burning of coal, oil and gas to limit global warming. That’s because when fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide forms and is released, which accounts for over three quarters of all human-caused greenhouse gases.

    Which begs the question.

    • WTF

      Thank you for the correct use of “begging the question”.

      • PieInTheSky

        don’t do that it will only go to his head

  25. The Late P Brooks

    And the sky was black with vultures

    Tens of thousands of people impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires have similar worries. To help, nonprofits across the region are readying what they say will be a record number of disaster case managers and advocates to support survivors through their recovery, connecting them with resources and fighting on their behalf.

    “What people really need when at the lowest point in their lives is someone on their team that is helping support and guide them through their recovery,” said Claire Balsley, director of disaster assistance programs at the New Orleans-based disaster recovery organization SBP.

    Given the scale of destruction, the nonprofits expect a dire need for these services.

    “The term ‘unprecedented’ couldn’t be more accurate,” said Jenni Campbell, executive director of the Los Angeles Region Community Recovery Organization, or LARCRO. “The number of agencies and organizations that have come forward to participate in disaster case management is also unprecedented.”

    A complex interdependent ecosystem of “advocates” and “facilitators”. They do it out of the goodness of their hearts.

    • juris imprudent

      In terms of number of houses lost, does this really exceed the San Diego fires from 20 years or so ago? Sure, dollar value is greater because those Palisade homes were high ticket, but in terms of number of people?

  26. The Other Kevin

    I’d buy TikTok and rebrand it as TikTOK, but my assets are all tied up in my other business. Maybe I’ll find enough to buy it under the couch cushions.

      • The Other Kevin

        We had another exchange with her last night. Yesterday she was still wishy-washy about leaving, but last night she said she’s decided to leave for sure. They were giving her a hard time about totaling her car and needing rides to work. Of course she’d be able to buy another car if those assholes weren’t taking her entire paycheck.

        All that’s left now is for her to pick a day and time for us to get her.

      • The Other Kevin

        Just got another text, they are yelling at her about when she gets paid. She’s getting really angry, which is going to make this easier for us.

      • UnCivilServant

        Extract her as soon as you can.

  27. PieInTheSky

    This thread reviewing a book on marriage is making the rounds on the tweets…

    i agree with @yacineMTB
    : “fairness does not exist in marriage”

    the media ruined marriages by programming women to think they should be ‘fair’

    tldr it’s bad code:

    https://x.com/melissa/status/1883821342354768109

    so married glibs should marriage be ‘fair’?

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s a seasonal market where artisans and merchants come from some distance to trade with both each other and the locals.

      • Ted S.

        The woman gets her way all the time.

      • PieInTheSky

        well it is a long twit thread 🙂

      • Tundra

        I thought that was “faire.”

      • UnCivilServant

        Tundra, what a bazaar assessment. Ye olde E was dropped but the word still meant the same thing.

    • Mojeaux

      No, marriage is not fair. RELATIONSHIPS aren’t fair. They can’t possibly be, even if you attempted to reduce them to transactions, at which point, you might as well just hire a wife, friend, buddy, pal, girlfriend, boyfriend, and those transactions probably aren’t fair, either (as in, you aren’t going to get what you really want from them).

      • UnCivilServant

        Rental relationships are waay too expensive. They charge by the hour.

      • The Other Kevin

        Years ago I went to a therapist when we were going through a rough patch. She told me marriage is never 50/50. It’s always changing. Sometimes it’s 60/40, sometimes 40/60, sometimes it’s 90/10. But at that extreme you need to evaluate if you want to keep it going.

    • PieInTheSky

      the gist seems to be something about the marriage itself being prioritized over the partners as individuals or something… Two paths become one

      I am still not convinced I believe in the concept of love language. Alas I am not currently in love so cannot say for certain.

      • Mojeaux

        Yes. You do what you must for the strength of the unit. Some people, scorekeeping is inevitable, like for me. My husband is an angel. He puts more into this than I do, but he doesn’t agree.

      • UnCivilServant

        Mo – From where I sit, I think the disagreement with your husband on contribution is based on a difference in valuation of contributions. You two sound like you each value the other’s contributions more than your own, which is a good thing since you’re both getting a deal and it is less likely to be a source of friction.

      • Mojeaux

        Thanks, UCS. That’s kind of you, and probably accurate.

  28. PieInTheSky

    Deirdre Nansen McCloskey
    @DeirdreMcClosk
    So what to call the liberalism of Adam Smith and Mary Wollstonecraft and early J. S, Mill, and then people like Milton Friedman?

    What is often called “classical” liberalism, or in the U.S. “libertarianism,” both have their own problems.

    https://x.com/DeirdreMcClosk/status/1878173539452273035

    tl;dr sufficient liberalism. Sounds stupid.

  29. UnCivilServant

    Has USB-C become the defacto standard charging port for consumer electronics?

    I just got my new beard trimmer and it’s got a USB-C port for the charging cable. Why? You need two pins to charge a battery – power and ground.

    • Nephilium

      Yes. USB-C has become the standard for charging.

    • PieInTheSky

      I have two Phillips trimmers and they do not have the same charging port size which is mildly annoying. Neither is usb, just two pins of different size

      • UnCivilServant

        Working through the question of “why USB-C?” I get a few rationalizations.

        First, barrel jacks had too many standard sizes and a myriad of voltages, so consumers ended up with drawers full of mismatched charging bricks.

        Second, being directionally agnostic for most purposes, USB-C became common as a data/charge cable in phones and gaming components which might also do data updates over the cable.

        Third, Knowing they were common, standard, and directionally agnostic, with with the ability to handle several standard voltages, manufacturers went with the “we’re compatable” approach, meaning they could get cheap commodity parts for the ports, cables, and wall bricks without as much need for negotiation.

        While it has too many features to be the ideal charging interface for batteries, it is a market stable choice.

    • trshmnstr

      Why?

      It’s easy to implement and then the consumer doesn’t need to remember to bring 15 proprietary chargers when they travel.

      I’m all for the shift to USB-C. I have way too many proprietary cables as it is.

      • Rat on a train

        I am with you on the USB C standardization. Unfortunately many companies don’t providing USB-C chargers but provide cables that require them. The worst provide proprietary to USB-C cables.

  30. PieInTheSky

    amazing…in 2016, the California Legislature passed a bill to update its Y2K-era campaign finance portal, estimating development costs at $11.6 million w/a completion date of February 2019.

    The latest cost estimate is now $92.3 million w/a completion date of February 2027.

    https://x.com/rpyers/status/1884077270790525378

    See I never get sums like 92.3 why not make it and even 100 million

    • Drake

      92.3 makes it look like a number a very precise analyst calculated – not a random number somebody pulled out of his ass.

      • Not Adahn

        Well, when you get piecemeal overruns and amounts approved over a decade, you’ll get a baroque number.

    • juris imprudent

      I believe the organizing committee isn’t tied to the government; what a spectacular mess it would be if it was.

    • Rat on a train

      Get that rush order for HSR in. Need to complete in time for all the people coming from Fresno.

  31. PieInTheSky

    Having empathy for “strangers,”—a random, indeterminate, undifferentiable mass that can only exist as superficial abstraction—is the same thing as saying “my mind is leaking into the void.”

    Which is what that chart ultimately shows: the death urge.

    https://x.com/realhumanschwab/status/1883967347888906298

    Regarding that chart if you know what it or are willing to click the tweet, I would say it show not empathy towards strangers but to abstract concepts to the detriment of people nearby.

    I have no idea how accurate it is.

    • EvilSheldon

      I often say, “Empathy is too valuable a thing to waste on randos.”

    • Not Adahn

      Treating abstract concepts like concrete entities is one of the behaviors that fires up my “you’re an idiot” engines.

  32. PieInTheSky

    So random question: In the place you currently live, how well off would one be with 250k + healthcare per year income?

    • PieInTheSky

      I know there are few glibs in Manhattan or San Francisco or such so I assume in most places it would be decent…

    • Drake

      That would make you comfortably upper middle class here in SC.

    • EvilSheldon

      Median household income in my county is right around $150k, so $250k + healthcare would be pretty well off. Probably not top 1%, but extremely comfortable.

    • Jarflax

      Here in southwest Ohio you would be quite well to do. The average house here costs less than $250k, and the average household income is around $50k.

    • Not Adahn

      You could buy a house in my neighborhood after saving for two years.

    • Nephilium

      That should be enough to put you into lower upper class here in the CLE suburbs.

    • R.J.

      Upper middle class in Texas.

    • juris imprudent

      Across the country as a whole that puts you easily into the top 10%, but maybe not quite the top 5%.

    • Rat on a train

      Median county household income is about $88k. I could live well on that.

    • The Other Kevin

      Upper, upper middle class here in Indiana.

  33. The Late P Brooks

    Uncertainty on a stick

    General Motors beat Wall Street’s top- and bottom-line expectations for the fourth quarter, while forecasting continued strong results for 2025.

    The Detroit automaker believes it can have another solid year despite industry sales slowing, a restructuring of its operations in China, and increased geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. as President Donald Trump begins his second term.

    Shares fell roughly 9% in early trading despite meeting or exceeding many investor expectations. Analysts on the company’s conference call asked about the automaker’s preparation for changes under the Trump administration, including the impacts of potential tariffs on vehicle production and policy changes on electric vehicle sales and pricing, signaling an overhang on the auto industry.

    Wall Street analysts have said there’s a lack of enthusiasm by investors for the U.S. automotive industry amid a slowdown in electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles, as well as regulatory volatility.

    Who knows- maybe there’s money to be made on volatility, but you couldn’t give me auto stocks.

    • Drake

      Honda and Toyota were right to bet on hybrids instead of electrics.

      • Sensei

        Partly because their home government supports that.

      • Tundra

        It would be interesting to see what the market would look like absent government regulations.

        I know I would be able to buy my manual, 6cyl, turbodiesel hilux.

  34. The Late P Brooks

    …and the madness of crowds

    Nvidia lost close to $600 billion in market cap on Monday, the biggest drop for any company on a single day in U.S. history.

    The chipmaker’s stock price plummeted 17% to close at $118.58. It was Nvidia’s worst day on the market since March 16, 2020, which was early in the Covid pandemic. After Nvidia surpassed Apple last week to become the most valuable publicly traded company, the stock’s drop Monday led a 3.1% slide in the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

    The sell-off was sparked by concerns that Chinese artificial intelligence lab DeepSeek is presenting increased competition in the global AI battle. In late December, DeepSeek unveiled a free, open-source large language model that it said took only two months and less than $6 million to build, using reduced-capability chips from Nvidia called H800s.

    Wall Street professionals, veering off course en masse like a flock of birds.

  35. Muzzled Woodchipper

    On a particularly left leaning site I frequent, there is much gnashing of teeth about the End Of The World with Trump, and trying to find a new social media home. Most left X when Elon bought it. The new exodus is from IG, since Zuck has fired the fact checkers and will no longer sensor.

    They all flee to echo chambers, then claim to not understand why Americans are pissed.

Submit a Comment