Friday Morning Links

by | Feb 14, 2025 | Daily Links | 218 comments

The US beat the shit out of Finland. Rodgers is gone from the Jets. And the Europa League started its knockouts yesterday. That’s about it. Moving on.

Good. This is what we want. And it better just be a start.

This is more bullshit. The Supreme Court needs to put a stop to this crap. I’ve actually taken the time to read the appropriations bill, and all it does is lay out lofty goals and then give the executive branch a ton of discretion in where the money is sent. This suit is ridiculous and this judge isn’t basing this decision on anything close to resembling the constitution.

This is the least surprising thing I’ve ever read. I doubt any of you will be shocked either.

I’m sure he’ll get sued soon. Once the venue shop it to somebody who’s already told them how he’d rule.

No way! In Hollywood, of all places? I’m shocked!

Some people are about to be relieved of duty. At least they better be.

Go ahead and sue them. We don’t care.

Go ahead and sue them. (Part 2). Nobody is stopping you from reporting. You’re not guaranteed some kind of special access. Also, we don’t care.

Not sure this was ever a viable business model. So another one bites the dust.

Neat! For no other reason than it’ll make perpetually angry leftists even more angry.

Music from Britain! Always a good choice. And so many to choose from. Enjoy these two.

And enjoy this lovely Friday and weekend, dear friends.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

218 Comments

  1. Drake

    Lee Zeldin – the sane Governor NY could have had.

    • WTF

      NYC says “Nah, it’ll be fine”.

    • UnCivilServant

      I still wonder what the results would have looked like without fraud and shenanigans.

      • AlexinCT

        Without fraud & shenanigans, democrats lose.

      • Jarflax

        The wouldn’t have looked like New York politics then, fraud and shenanigans are in your State’s DNA.

      • Not Adahn

        I’m afraid it’s worse than that. Ten generations of Tammany Hall have created a populace that legitimately thinks the true purpose of government is to reward those who voted for it and hurt those that didn’t.

      • rhywun

        The latest I just heard is Kathy wants to “remove” Eric Adams from office.

        Tell us this whole thing is about the mayor cozying up to ICE without telling us this whole thing is about the mayor cozying up to ICE.

        She is just sailing full speed ahead to totalitarianism.

  2. WTF

    Trump really needs to start ignoring these idiotic judges orders as being unconstitutional. It’s time for a little Jacksonian “let him enforce it” therapy.

    • AlexinCT

      I think their strategy is to take it to SCOTUS and then screw over team blue by setting the precident.

      • WTF

        It needs to restore the precedent that the Executive is a co-equal branch of government, not subordinate to the judiciary, and blatantly unconstitutional rulings by district judges are to be ignored for the garbage they are.

      • Tonio

        ^This.

      • AlexinCT

        Oh, I expect SCOTUS to do so by a 9-0 margin.

      • WTF

        Oh, I expect SCOTUS to do so by a 9-0 margin.

        Well aren’t you the optimist. I expect 6-3 at best.

      • AlexinCT

        Well aren’t you the optimist. I expect 6-3 at best.

        And then the SCOTUS will be having to resolve 10K+ of these a year…

        Nope. Out of pure expediency, even the leftists will go in to maintain the credibility of the court (but especially their workload).

      • Tonio

        “Out of pure expediency, even the leftists will go in to maintain the credibility of the court (but especially their workload).”

        We may well expect some vastly entertaining concurring opinions in which rabbits are pulled out of hats, and contortions worthy of a circus act are performed.

      • R C Dean

        I expect split decisions. The thing is, there are now, what over a dozen of these courts taking over various executive branch portfolios? Procedurally, it’s hard to see how a single SCOTUS decision resolves them all.

        And while disregarding court orders may be a bad precedent, is it any worse than judges taking over executive branch functions? Which is better adherence to the rule of law? If the law is whatever a random judge says it is, then what do we need a legislature and executive for, anyway?

      • UnCivilServant

        If the law is whatever a random judge says it is, then what do we need a legislature and executive for, anyway?

        To appoint the judges, obviously.

      • The Last American Hero

        The part that is weird for me is if the executive exceeds their mandate, say by using an appropriation for something that you have to twist into a pretzel to say it was related to the original purpose, then the courts should rightly chew him up.

        But if he is using his power to reduce the scope of the executive, it shouldn’t be that big a deal.

    • Drake

      Yep. Maybe make an announcement that he is asserting his rights as Chief Executive and will not comply with any of these judgements until they are reviewed by the Supreme Court.

    • Tonio

      No. We need to hew to the rule of law. Ignoring rulings, even very bad ones, simply plays into his critics who say he’s a lawless dictator.

      • WTF

        Because playing their game will remedy that issue? He’s already worse than Hitler. Why accept their unconstitutional premise? There is very little upside in doing so and a lot of downside.

      • Nephilium

        I did like Musk’s suggestion of impeaching some of the federal judges who grossly overstepped their authority.

      • Tonio

        I’ve been mulling over impeachment, but it takes 2/3 majority of the Senate to convict (remove from office, etc) once impeached by the House. I don’t see that happening. I don’t even know if it’s possible if Team Red ran the table in 2026 Senate elections.

      • sloopyinca

        Impeachment is the wrong way to go at this point. Get it swiftly to the SC, have them clearly lay down the law and state in their decision that their ruling is to be followed to the letter. If judges continue to defy them at that point, then it’s fair game.

      • AlexinCT

        ^^^THIS^^^

        And I guarantee you this was the plan from the Trump admin from the get go.

        This time they are really playing 5D chess against team blue, which has nothing left but tantrums now that they can’t control the narrative.

      • Nephilium

        There’s no reason that the legislature couldn’t be working on impeachment while the executive works on the appeals. Same as the cuts to departments, don’t just have a single attack going on at once.

      • Drake

        This needs to be nipped in the bud soon. If not, it will go on for 4 years. Election Reform will be blocked, the next election stolen, then we’ll have to shoot them.

      • UnCivilServant

        4? We need electoral reform before the midterms.

    • R C Dean

      I’m still thinking a malicious compliance approach might work, at least for the audits and payment freezes. For each of these judges who says “You can’t audit, you have to pay”, bury their dockets in requests for approvals for various actions. And I mean, bury them. While waiting for the judge to rule, of course, the actions won’t be taken, which for payments is the goal anyway.

      The Treasury Secretary could simply say he can’t approve the payments under the court’s ruling, because he can’t assure himself that the payment is compliant with law without access to the information the court is denying him. Start with some really egregious ones – payments to terrorist organizations, that kind of thing.

    • Shpip

      A rather interesting thread on why Trump won’t ignore a federal judge (even a rogue one).

      I don’t know enough about the subject to chime in, but maybe one of our lawya Glibs can assist.

    • rhywun

      I wholeheartedly agree.

      No more Mr. Nice Party.

  3. Ted S.

    How about places can have different names in different languages?

    • UnCivilServant

      Are you talking about the Gulf of Mexico, or Kiev?

      • sloopyinca

        Germany should sue to force everybody to say Deutschland.

      • UnCivilServant

        Don’t leave out the Osterreich.

      • Ted S.

        Åbo, or maybe Lago Lemano.

      • Rat on a train

        Don’t leave out Köln, München, …

      • DrOtto

        @Sloopy – I recently bought an auto part made in ‘Alemania’. Can’t remember the language that was in, but it wasn’t English.

      • AlexinCT

        Alemania is Spanish for Deutschland.

    • sloopyinca

      Maybe Argentina can simply sue the UK for the Falklands/Malvinas name and get the islands back.
      Based on the Mexican president’s logic, that would work.

      • Drake

        Given the trajectories of those 2 countries, the Falklands will be requesting Argentina to take them in a few years.

      • Jarflax

        Starmer is no Thatcher, Milei is no Galtieri. Falklands II might just be Argentine boogaloo.

    • AlexinCT

      Shitholes, they are all shitholes…

    • Not Adahn

      There was a meme showing that map labeled “Pfizer presents: The gulf of America, powered by the Home Depot.”

    • rhywun

      How about places can have different names in different languages?

      This.

      It’s just performative nonsense on every side.

  4. UnCivilServant

    I doubt any of you will be shocked either.

    You are correct, I am not shocked.

  5. SDF-7

    This suit is ridiculous and this judge isn’t basing this decision on anything close to resembling the constitution.

    Certainly the argument that “Because if you stop doing business with me it will harm me” is an interesting legal theory. I’m sure it won’t apply for private sector layoffs, of course… *those* economic exchanges the judge would find to be entirely “at-will”. But the Swill Must Flow!

    Morning, Sloopy — morning all… I’m actually a little surprised you did links this morning. Figured you and Banjos would be celebrating the weekend with torrid romance or something. Then I thought about Brett as a stand in… but he’s probably either keeping his little ones from rasslin’ gators or making more…. and obviously OMWC and his clan are busy with the new arrival… But happy Valentine’s Day to any and all who care and have fun ignoring it to those who don’t!

    (On a personal note — my wife is actually pretty adamant that she needs to get me something on Valentine’s Day too. I don’t know about the rest of y’all and if it is a generational thing or just a sub-set of culture where I was raised… but honestly while I won’t stop her or be offended… I never, ever expect anything from her on such a day. Probably my mental programming that it is the male role to woo (even when you’ve been married for decades… a little extra woo from time to time is nice) and her role to graciously accept the wooing even when it wasn’t what she had in mind…. Anyone else’s spouse feel this way?)

    • Ted S.

      Sloopy and Banjos have three kids. You think they have the energy for torrid romance?

      • SDF-7

        For some reason — yes… I’m afraid I do. Just the impression I get that they’re both still quite in love and would find the energy if they can find a babysitter, I suppose.

        I’m a romantic softie that way.

      • sloopyinca

        Our office is less than two miles from our house and the kids are all at school for a good part of the day every weekday.

        🎼Skyrockets in flight.
        Afternoon delight.
        A-, a-, afternoon delight.

      • Ted S.

        Sure you can get the 30 seconds for a quickie. I’m not sure if I’d call that “torrid”, however.

    • sloopyinca

      I’ve got work to do today. But I will provide Banjos with a nice steak dinner tonight and a little something for her efforts. She’s a wonderful wife and I’d be lost without her.

    • sloopyinca

      I first read that as Brett being a stand in for the torrid romance instead of links duty and chuckled.

      • sloopyinca

        Let me tell you
        About the torrid romance this weekend: Reason has her first softball game at 10 am tomorrow. Justice has a soccer game at 1. Liberty has a soccer game at 2:30. We will go eat dinner in some slop house around 5 then come home and probably go to bed at 8.

      • Rat on a train

        I’m happy my children aren’t interested in playing sports.

    • Nephilium

      Why would Brett be making more gators?

      • Jarflax

        Cause the little ones wore out the old gators rasslin’ them.

    • The Other Kevin

      Our anniversary was yesterday. We’re both very happy with that pick. We can make a big deal out of it and still get a dinner reservation. Today is an afterthought, we just exchange kids Valentine cards.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      I was supposed to go out for dinner with the wife tonight, but I didn’t realize it was V day, so I am gonna call her in a bit and see if we can just eat in.

      I hate BS holidays. I always tell my kid not to call me on fathers day also.

      • The Other Kevin

        Make a nice dinner. Steak, bacon wrapped asparagus, and twice baked potatoes with a nice glass of wine. Buy a nice cheese cake or something for dessert. Saves money, and it’s more thoughtful.

      • Gender Traitor

        Make that bacon-wrapped bacon and it’ll be perfect. 🥓🥓🥓🥓🥓

      • Sean

        LOL @ GT

    • The Last American Hero

      Who among us hasn’t put on our Galt/Taggart outfits and had a little role-playing session on Valentine’s Day?

  6. Shpip

    At least 39 were fired from the Education Department on Wednesday, according to a union that represents agency workers, including civil rights workers, special education specialists and student aid officials.

    So, deadweight then.

    But you gotta pump those numbers up. Those are rookie numbers around here.

    • AlexinCT

      There was an entire industry of credentialed morons being paid a fortune to destroy society that is now looking at unemployment lines…

      And THAT is what is freaking the crooks out.

    • Tonio

      “special education specialists”

      Enacting cruelty on the most vulnerable in our society. There, liberal media, I saved you the trouble.

      • AlexinCT

        My son has dyslexia. I had to deal with those special ed people when he was in middle & high school. They, like my ex-wife simply told me to have low expectations for my son because of that dyslexia. With help for a couple of good teachers, I sat down with him every school night and made him do his work with me watching (not doing it for him). I knew he could do this because when he was playing video games he had no trouble figuring out crazy shit and doing it. He got the lesson that he just had to work harder to make it work, and he has been able to make a life and is an experienced car mechanic. If I had listened to the woke shit, he would be bagging groceries or some such shit.

        That whole education industry is not just a racket, but they are evil as fuck.

      • sloopyinca

        Reason has the ’tism pretty good and needs a fair bit of help some days to make it through. And Libby has dysgraphia in a way that makes writing very difficult. Our special ed people here are actually fantastic and have ensure they both have the tools needed to get them through the day and/or assignments and maximize their learning. To be honest, Banjos and I were both initially shocked at the level of care they both get. But we moved to this area specifically because of the community and the reputation the school has for helping kids achieve.

        Certainly that’s not the norm. The school Reason and Libby were in (1st grand and K) before we moved out here was a fucking joke. And it only got worse the closer you got to Houston proper.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        He got the lesson that he just had to work harder to make it work

        I know the intent here is good, but also still crazy that we expect dyslexics to learn in the same outdated model of education that barely works for kids without any disabilities.

      • AlexinCT

        I thought him the way I was though, so he for sure didn’t follow the current idiot model.

        And Sloop, consider yourself freaking lucky as hell to be in a good school system. Mine was one of the top school systems too (I sure paid and continue to pay the taxes for that), but the people running it just believed you were a victim because of a disability, and that you shouldn’t be pushed to find your own way because of that. And to me that was a travesty and loser think.

      • DrOtto

        I don’t know that dyslexia is a disability so much as just a different model of thinking. Most dyslexics I know seem smarter than most other people I know and are very creative problem solvers. I think it’s just that the education system doesn’t know how to teach to them. Most teachers I know are the opposite of dyslexics. Tend to not be the smartest and not very creative problem solvers. But they can easily wedge into any conversation how little they are paid.

      • The Other Kevin

        Two of my three kids had an IEP (special ed plan). That followed state law and we had zero contact with anyone from the Fed Gov.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        I have some form of dysgraphia, and while it screwed up a couple things as a kid (I preferred to give the wrong answer a lot of the time as it involved less writing) I still read at a level way above my classmates, so it all balanced out.

        Still think math is boring though, not hard. Math nerds do not understand this.

      • SarumanTheGreat

        It started when Terman took Binet’s test and inverted it, from trying to determine which students needed extra help in the classroom (Binet’s original intent) into one determine who not to waste time with.

      • SarumanTheGreat

        It started when Terman took Binet’s test and inverted it, from trying to determine which students needed extra help in the classroom (Binet’s original intent) into one determining who not to waste time with.

    • Tonio

      Notice the slippery wording of the AP article. It doesn’t say if any civil rights workers, special education specialists, or student aid officials were actually fired, only that the union represents some of those people. Also, those USDoEd special education specialists do not directly work with special ed kids in their official capacities. They are paper-pushers, policy wonks, dead weight, as shpip wrote.

      Alex, thanks for sharing that. My supervisor for many years in my IT job was Les Dyxic. It led to some interesting typos, and laughs at team meetings, but he got by and did well.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, I kind of expect the entire FedEd is just dead-weight. What do they do other than throw money around? Education is a local – state at most – concern. There is zero reason for the Feds to have anything to do with it.

        The fact that this is pissing off all the right people just tells me it’s a jobs program like so much of the “civil service”.

      • juris imprudent

        As with all things progressive, the only answer is their own… enforced on all from on high. Any dissent is of course wrong.

    • kinnath

      The empowerment movement in corporate America in the 80s was based on the concept that people closest to the problem were best suited to solve the problem.

      The growth of FedGov in general, and Dept of Ed in particular, are based on the concept that all problems must be solved at the national level.

      One of those concepts has been shown to be false.

  7. SDF-7

    I doubt any of you will be shocked either.

    Actually —

    Liberal women between ages of 18-40

    I’d be really really surprised if it stopped there. Maybe they move into “Acceptance” after 40… I suppose I could see that.

    I do hope the science is solid on that — there’s a lot of idiot TikTok’ers if the various YouTube reaction to idiot TikTok’er videos I’ve seen over the last few years who are absolutely adamant that the opposite is true (“Single liberal women are happiest! You don’t need no man!”)

    • Jarflax

      Maybe they move into “Acceptance” after 40…

      Hahahaha, oh wait you’re serious? Nope, bitterness and insanity, they move on to bitterness and insanity.

      • DrOtto

        And cats, lots of cats…

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Hey! My wife is sane.

        But we do have a lot of cats.

    • The Last American Hero

      They could be so much happier if they chose to identify as 20 something dudebros.

  8. SDF-7

    Once the venue shop it to somebody who’s already told them how he’d rule.

    Well one obvious candidate has already established precedent for them… “Citibank has demonstrated they are likely to succeed in proving irreparable harm if the slush fund is stopped. Won’t someone think of the poor Citibank CEO and his children?”

    • cavalier973

      *injunctions, not injections.

      • SDF-7

        Yeah — different part of the FedGov complex passing out injections like they were candy over the last 5 years.

      • Tonio

        Canada would like to talk to you about permanent injections.

    • R C Dean

      Actually, TROs are supposed to be pretty hard to get, since they are issued ex parte, without the party getting the injunction slapped on them having any chance to say anything before it happens.

      With regard to the TRO pausing the resignations program, here’s what the court ruled when it was lifted:

      “First, Judge O’Toole said, hey, the unions aren’t facing the Fork Directive since they aren’t executive branch employees. So the policy doesn’t harm them. Second, federal employees enjoy elaborate, hideously complicated administrative procedures that must first be fully exhausted before a district court can hear the case.”

      Both of those were absolutely apparent and known to the judge when he issued the TRO. Now, you may have to think a minute about whether the union has standing, but the exhaustion of administrative remedies thing is administrative law 101 and has to be pled in whatever application you make for the court to act. I suspect he got a call from Someone Who Matters, who, I have no idea, pointing out a few facts of life (and the law).

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        If employees retire, who will pay union dues? Of course the union has standing. Think of all the money it will lose.

    • Tonio

      Oh, that’s a good ‘splainer, Cav. Thanks for sharing.

      The author doesn’t go into this but there is also the option of filing an interlocutory appeal.

    • AlexinCT

      The EU, especially the globalist cabal there (that’s a joke, cause they are all globalist fuckheads), consider free speech the most existential threat to the world they want to bring in. See, those dumb ass serfs might rebel when they grasp the idea their masters want to kill off at least 6 billion humans, and then making the rest of the survivors serfs in a marxist hellhole where the serfs own nothing, eat bugs, never can escape their social status, will be happy (or else), and the masters live like the aristocrats they think they are.

    • sloopyinca

      That’s on brand for every German leader for the last 90 years.

      • AlexinCT

        In order to avoid fascist nationalism, we will adopt full marxist globalism!

        I kid you not, I now am sure the worst thing that happened to West Germany was that reunification shit after the fall of the USSR.

    • WTF

      JD Vance in Munich right now ripping Brussels and the UK for violating citizens free speech.

    • Rat on a train

      They should stop debating and ban opposition parties. Then the people can vote for approved candidates.

      • rhywun

        They are already trying to ban Alternativ für Deutschland – which is going to get interesting as I think AdF is now running 2nd in the popularity contest.

      • rhywun

        I wonder if there is any meaningful difference between the SPD, Greens, and The Left.

        Looks like they could team up and beat everyone else.

      • Ted S.

        Really? Pretty much every poll has Union + AFD at at least 50% (not that Merz will work with the AFD), and that doesn’t include the votes from parties that won’t hit 5% and won’t get any seats (last election, those parties got something like 8% of the vote).

      • rhywun

        not that Merz will work with the AFD

        Well yeah, nobody will partner with them. They pinky-sweared.

        Until it counts. It could get interesting.

      • Ted S.

        Yeah, things are getting interesting in Austria, too, where talks between ÖVP and FPÖ fell through and ÖVP are back to trying to form a coalition with the Social Democrats.

    • The Other Kevin

      All those Musk haters out there need to be reminded that had Trump not banned censorship with an EO, and had instead taken over the existing censorship apparatus, it’s very likely they wouldn’t be able post their inane bullshit all over social media.

      • juris imprudent

        You really expect a modicum of self awareness?

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        See, TOK, they have “good” opinions, and those are always allowed, as they are “good”. Censorship is only for “bad” opinions.

  9. UnCivilServant

    Perception versus reality is a bit of a bitch at times.

    In a recent bout of going through backlogged media, I ran into a reference to choosy women insisting on potential husbands making at least six million yen per year. Looking up the conversion rate, that landed at just under $40k/yr. When compared to the stereotypical western standard which sees a requirement of six figures (in dollars), I began to dig for statistics.

    It was shockingly difficult to find easily parsed statistics on earnings by invidual for the japanese labor market, though I eventually found reference to the 2023 median for a full time individual was at 3.9 million yen ($27k). For the US in the same time frame the median individual income (not necessarily for employed individuals) was $42k. Which may be why it seemed like a really low number for picky people on the marriage market.

    • Not Adahn

      “American salaries” are in Asian cultures, stereotypically enormous.

      The joke we have about in “Heaven the cooks are French…” Has an Asian equivalent wherein in Heaven you make an American salary/in Hell you have an American wife.

      • Shpip

        For further edification:

        In heaven, the police are English, the cooks are French, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian, and it is all organized by the Swiss.

        In hell, the police are German, the cooks are English, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and it is all organized by the Italians.

        Asian version of the gag:

        Heaven: Chinese cook, American Salary, British house, Japanese wife.

        Hell: British cook, Chinese salary, Japanese house, American wife.

      • UnCivilServant

        That tells me they don’t know what the average British house is like.

      • Not Adahn

        Hogwarts.

      • SDF-7

        So you’re saying the Asian men want to slither in, NA?

      • DrOtto

        So, we can all agree English food is shit.

  10. AlexinCT

    Not sure if you have discussed this, but that merchie ship that collided with CVN 75, even though it is flagged as Panamanian, was crewed by CCP or CCP friendly forces. The US NAVY now operates with the bare minimum of surface platforms, and one assigned to the Pacific suddenly needing months if not years of drydock, would help Xi’s plans move forward.

    • Drake

      I thought a civilian ship would be stopped at all cost by a picket of destroyers before getting close to a carrier? Where was the rest of the fleet?

      • Pine_Tree

        1) There ain’t that much “rest of the fleet” any more. 2) Like Alex says, it seems SOP today is with a much lighter escort than would be typical in the past, and certainly much less than in a full-on battle group. 3) High-traffic places are high-traffic. There are some interesting Youtube videos from carrier bridges of things like transits at Malacca that show how much they’re dealing with.

      • Pine_Tree

        Oh, and Sal Mercogliano’s X account has a good summary of his first thoughts. May be updated since yesterday – dunno.

      • The Other Kevin

        I’m not sure where this happened, but like Piney said, near ports there’s a lot of ship traffic. If it was near a port, I doubt either ship was moving too quickly.

        I’m not sure how thin the carriers are spread, it seems each fleet still has a normal area of operation and they are cycling carriers on schedule.

      • Pine_Tree

        It was in the staging area at the northern end of the Suez Canal. Lots and lots and lots of ships. Watch Sal’s video on Youtube for detail. Merch was from a northbound convoy that had just got out and was moving through the anchorage that was staging for the next southbound. His guess is that Truman was supposed to be the first Southbound vessel and was moving into position.

  11. rhywun

    If yet another election goes Musk’s way

    LOL tell us how you really feel, The Houston Chronicle.

  12. Shpip

    Well, it’s still early-ish on the east coast, and I’m already in the doghouse.

    I was driving my wife to work today, and she asked “So where am I being taken tonight for Valentine’s Day?”

    Apparently, “From behind” is a wrong answer.

    • UnCivilServant

      You answered “Where?” with “How”, obviously that’s incorrect.

    • Drake

      Women just don’t appreciate romance.

      • Ted S.

        Maybe not *your* romance.

    • SDF-7

      Doggie style gets doggie house?

      Can’t be too surprised that your wife appreciates the “At least buy me dinner first!” meme.

    • The Other Kevin

      If she asks if you have reservations, don’t say “Yes I do but I’m going forward anyway.”

      • UnCivilServant

        “I’m not a tribal member.”

      • SDF-7

        “The front entrance might be closed — so I was thinking I’d just slip in the back way…”

  13. Pope Jimbo

    St. Valentime’s Day Double Ray of Sunshine!!!!!!!!

    Ray 1

    Ray 2

    • UnCivilServant

      Today’s forecast: partly cloudy

    • Ted S.

      That’s a nice second ray.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Must have been a brief cloud there.

      Ray 2 – Revisited

      • Pope Jimbo

        Doh! You fukkers are faster and have the same general snide remarks!

      • UnCivilServant

        Would you expect anything less?

      • Pope Jimbo

        UCS;

        From Glibs? Yes! A lot less.

        Underestimation is the core of what it takes to be a Glib.

    • The Other Kevin

      That kid handing the baseball to the girl has ulterior motives. Appropriate for today. 🙂

  14. Shpip

    Glibdudes: share this with your wife if you suddenly need to get out of buying a Valentine’s Day gift.

    • The Other Kevin

      I’m enjoying the most recent X account I’m following.

  15. Pope Jimbo

    Minnesoda cat grudge match

    MInnesoda’s most non-descript Senator (which is saying something when your competition is Special K – is hanging up her toga (isn’t that what Senators wear?)

    The knives are coming out in progressive circles.

    Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5th District, and even former Rep. Dean Phillips, who retired from Congress this year after a failed presidential run, are also considered possible candidates.
     
    “Congresswoman Omar will be talking with Minnesotans about the future of the Senate seat and the DFL party in Minnesota,” said her chief of staff, Connor McNutt.
     
    Meanwhile, Al Franken’s name trended on X as fans of the former Senator urged him to throw his hat into the ring.

    Abandon all hope that Minnesoda will elect a Republican. Maybe if Ilan Omar won, she might get beat in a statewide election, but I would bet heavily against it.

    Other DFL candidates who want in are: King Walz, Peggy Flannigan (self-described “light skinned Native American”), Angie Craig (lesbian), etc..

    Like Adam Schiff, I see Ilhan winning and moving on up to the east side.

    • WTF

      What in the everloving Hell is wrong with Minnesodans?

      • Ted S.

        Have you met Minnesodans?

      • Jarflax

        They were settled by socialist leaning Swedes, they kept the politics.

      • pistoffnick (370HSSV)

        What in the everloving Hell is wrong with Minnesodans?

        How much time have you got?

      • Pope Jimbo

        The urban centers (and the associated machine politics) now outweigh the rest of the state.

        No matter how much the jack pine savages out near Fourscore hate Omar, she can drum enough votes in the metro area to get herself elected.

        I don’t even think it takes that much cheating. A shit ton more people live in the metro area than the rest of the state. The city folx all want to fit in and will vote for the DFL no matter what.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Ted:

        No important people from the NYT or WashPost gets to meet us because they have to traverse Wisconsin to get to us.

        Those – normies – who don’t turn around in disgust (around Kenosha) succumb to brandy poisoning before they make it to the St. Croix river.

      • Fourscore

        Metro Minnesodans versus Real Minnesodans

      • rhywun

        What happened (most) everywhere is that everyone moved to the suburbs and then the suburbs went blue.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        “What in the everloving Hell is wrong with Minnesodans?”

        They are wannabe Canadians?

    • Rat on a train

      Maybe if Ilan Omar won, she might get beat in a statewide election, but I would bet heavily against it.
      Minnesota has plenty of trunk ballots to get a D over the line.

    • R C Dean

      Well, Harris beat Trump by about 4.5%. That would give Omar an edge, but I think much would turn on who the Repubs nominated.

    • UnCivilServant

      Oh come on stop baleen your eyes out, it didn’t krill you.

      • WTF

        He got himself into a dicey cetacean.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Your puns are krilling Swissy

      • UnCivilServant

        Stop reporpoising puns I just made!

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Oh, someone will be baleen him out.

      • ron73440

        Stop reporpoising puns I just made!

        But I have no other porpoise!

      • UnCivilServant

        Don’t feel Blue, you’ll find the Right one sooner or later, it’s despair that’s the real Killer.

      • ron73440

        Whale, that was a lot of them in one sentence, narwal have to think of another one

      • Aloysious

        Noah doubt about it, that was something to see.

    • WTF

      Holy shit!

    • Rat on a train

      I’ve heard of people recreating Jesus and the crucifixion but never Jonah and the whale.

  16. Shpip

    Re: pre-wall wokescold chicks being lonely and unhappy

    Almost certainly related to this phenomenon.

    • AlexinCT

      That is the problem with democrats. Even the raging cajun says so.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Daniel Cox: “Young men have not become much more conservative, at least according to Gallup, but they have become more Republican. They’re still well, to the left of their, dads and grandfathers when it comes to that stuff.

      My mom and dad were scandalized when my youngest uncle – a huge hippie – hugged him instead of shaking hands. THEY WERE BOTH DUDES!!!! I was right on the cusp of rugrat and kindergartener, so I picked up on the angst.

      Fast forward to my kids and I’m so happy that I didn’t face the same stigma for hugging and kissing my kids that my father grew up with. Till the day he died, The Old Guy and I could only hug if we also had a manly handshake going on at the same time.

      I agree that the Altar Kids and I probably rate higher on the sissy scale than my dad and I, but it isn’t all bad.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I have to stop trying to manually add html tags while half in the bag.

      • The Other Kevin

        Sounds a lot like my dad and I. We rarely hug. However, my in-laws are all huggers, and my father-in-law, a former biker and definitely not a sissy, hugs me all the time. He says “You never know when it will be your last one.”

      • ron73440

        I have a very short list of people that I hug.

        I made my niece cry when I mentioned this to her and she commented that I hug her.

        I replied that’s because she is on the list.

        I don’t like other people that close to me.

        Once again, I know I’m weird.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        My dad hugged me once, as he was from that generation. But I knew he loved me, as he took the time to raise me.

        And that sure wasn’t easy.

      • ron73440

        My dad hugged me once, as he was from that generation. But I knew he loved me, as he took the time to raise me.

        And that sure wasn’t easy.

        My kids are on the hugging list.

  17. WTF

    VP Vance speaks in Munich as Trump seeks end to Ukraine war.
    He’s giving the Euros and UK what-for over their retreat from liberty and their bending over backwards for Muslim immigrants’ sensibilities. And boy is he good: Clear, strong, and direct. “If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing that America can do for you. . . . You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opposition.”

    He’s also subtly warning the EU not to meddle in Germany’s election.

    • SDF-7

      I’m not watching a video right now — so I don’t know exactly what he’s saying. But I expect and hope that somewhere in there is something along the lines of “The United States has always, continues and will always stand up for freedom of conscience and freedom of speech. And if any government including our erstwhile allies believes it can threaten one of our citizens for speech made in the US, be advised that we will take immediate action to dissuade that government of its mistaken illusions.” Because they need to be told flat out that all their “Digital Security” wannabe censorship shit is not going to be allowed (anymore).

    • rhywun

      He’s also subtly warning the EU not to meddle in Germany’s election.

      I fully expect that any “wrong” result will be blamed on Putin.

      • juris imprudent

        Wonder what dime they will all turn on when Putin kicks the bucket?

  18. The Late P Brooks

    I watched Inserts last night. I hadn’t seen it since college. It’s a different sort of movie-about-making-a-movie, you might say.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    Decimation

    The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation’s largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection — potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.

    In addition, workers at some agencies were warned that large workplace cuts would be coming.

    The decision on probationary workers, who generally have less than a year on the job, came from the Office of Personnel Management, which serves as a human resources department for the federal government. The notification was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

    Even workers in the personnel office itself were not immune: Dozens of probationary employees at OPM were told on a Thursday afternoon group call that they were being dismissed and then instructed to leave the building within a half-hour, according to another person who likewise spoke on condition of anonymity.

    It’s expected to be the first step in sweeping layoffs. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that told agency leaders to plan for “large-scale reductions in force.”

    Government hiring has been a huge chunk of the employment numbers over the past few years.

    • AlexinCT

      From the revised new official numbers (funny how after the election the numbers all were revised, and revised drastically, down), it looks like it was ALL the real job growth in the last 4 years.

    • ron73440

      Government hiring has been a huge chunk of the employment numbers over the past few years.

      I expect many “THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS SKYROCKETING!” stories over the next few months.

    • rhywun

      Tell me about it!

      /NYC

      Deblasio ballooned the city government to unbelievable levels. I don’t know where it stands now – probably even higher.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees representing federal workers, said the administration “abused” the probation status of workers “to conduct a politically driven mass firing spree, targeting employees not because of performance, but because they were hired before Trump took office.”

    Muh lifetime job security!

  21. The Late P Brooks

    Layoffs are unlikely to yield significant deficit savings. When the Congressional Budget Office looked at the issue, it found the government spent $271 billion annually compensating civilian federal workers, with about 60% of that total going to workers employed by the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.

    The government could, in theory, cut all those workers and still run a deficit of over $1 trillion that would continue to grow as tax revenues are needed to keep up with the growing costs of Social Security and Medicare.

    Why bother? Besides, we pay all those people so they can pay taxes and fund the government so we can hire more people to pay more taxes.

    • Rat on a train

      spending multiplier activate

    • ron73440

      Looks like a nice beach.

      My wife and I stopped caring about Valentine’s day many, many years ago.

      According to my co-workers, that’s weird.

      With 30 years of marriage, it just seemed unnecessary.

      • Mojeaux

        Husband always takes the day off. I’m self-employed and otherwise busy with life’s housekeeping things, so no day is really a “day off” for me. I just go around doing what’s necessary. If nothing’s necessary, I sit in my chair and have a “day off.”

        But! We are going to Red Lobster today. Got my mom some gift cards for Christmas and her birthday, and she insisted we take one. So. Okay.

  22. The Late P Brooks

    Rule of law

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) weighed in on the recent extradition order in place for a New York doctor who allegedly sent abortion medication into Louisiana, calling it a “ripple effect of overturning Roe v. Wade.”

    “I will never, ever send this person into harm’s way to stand for 15 years of possible jail time for just being a doctor,” Hochul told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow during an interview Thursday evening, “And that’s what our country has come to.”

    “This is the ripple effect of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and the stacking of the Supreme Court under the last Trump administration,” she continued. “My mother’s generation fought for these rights. My generation was able to take them for granted.”

    Ignoring judicial orders is the highest form of patriotism.

    • Rat on a train

      constitutional crisis!!!

  23. The Late P Brooks

    I expect many “THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS SKYROCKETING!” stories over the next few months.

    Trump Recession!

  24. Mojeaux

    Doing business with Apple is just a constant round of catch-22s. Their processes are impenetrable, help is almost nonexistent, notifications of failure to comply don’t arrive, and forget about comprehensible instructions.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    Hochul has vowed to fight for Carpenter and others in similar situations at every turn.

    “My God, we’ve got to stand up and fight and let these women know. And I’m sorry for the sisters in these states where they’re being repressed, but we should not allow government-mandated pregnancies,” she said Thursday on the “Rachel Maddow Show.”

    “That’s what happens when women don’t have control of their own bodies. So, we’re always proud to stand up for women’s rights here in the state of New York,” the governor added.

    Right on, sister! Grrrrrl powuh!

    • rhywun

      “Sisters”? Really?

      My god she has really gone off the deep end.

    • WTF

      “That’s what happens when women don’t have control of their own bodies.”

      So, they got pregnant by immaculate conception? Magic, maybe? Or was it due to a choice they made?

      • ron73440

        I remember from yesterday, it is “mostly” women that can get pregnant.

  26. SDF-7

    Someone thought that stupid Alabama bill was a good legislative troll (I think it was Alabama.. maybe Mississippi…). Was obviously stupid and didn’t earn political points the first time, idiots… don’t think it will this time either.

    • The Other Kevin

      The problem is it’s not clear how it relates to abortion. In fact most of us here were like WTF? until someone pointed it out.

    • Gender Traitor

      So…mail or drop off your used condoms (and/or used tube socks or whatever) at the nearest sperm bank?

  27. Rat on a train

    Corporate has banned pronouns, and other things, in email signatures. Now only allows name, title, professional certifications, and contact information.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Corporate has banned pronouns, and other things, in email signatures.

    Erasure!

    • Rat on a train

      Give a little respect.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        Tell me why.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    If you’re not with us…

    While many social media users posted in support of the boycott, some Black founders whose brands are stocked by Target – and there are dozens of them – have been more conflicted. Tabitha Brown, whose products can be found in various aisles, from books to cooking appliances, asked customers to reconsider boycotting Target. Withholding their dollars, Brown insisted, will hurt Black businesses far more than the corporations that sell their products.

    This request for restraint garnered a mixed response on social media. Some Black consumers accused Black business owners of selling out the very racial community that contributed to their success.

    Toxic individualism is poisoning the plantation.

    • rhywun

      Fuck off, commies racists.

  30. UnCivilServant

    If it weren’t $200 🤔

    I was trying to research whale oil yields when I stumbled on references to that book. $40, I’d buy it instantly. $200 and I’m hesitant.

    • Gender Traitor

      “If you can afford only one book on oils and fats, their composition, processing and use, then this should probably be the one!”

      What if I can’t afford this one?

      • UnCivilServant

        🤷‍♂️

        I don’t know what to do then.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      whale oil beef hooked? 😉

    • rhywun

      And it’s by a Herr Professor Doktor so you know it’s legit brainy.

  31. JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

    I hope the Valentine’s Vulture brought everyone a nice treat today.

    • Aloysious

      I usually wish people happy VD.

  32. Toxteth O'Grady

    I’m a woman who’s always hated Valentine’s Day. “But Hennnry.” À bas!