Good morning one and all to another fabulous day!
Trump Says US Will Sign Ukraine Minerals Deal ‘Very Shortly’
DOGE Reportedly Gets New Power Over USAID
USAID, ‘censorship nerve center’ collaboration with U.K., disinfo cops
Judge Who Blocked Trump Deportations Played Key Role in Russia Collusion Hoax
Trump rescinds order targeting Paul, Weiss law firm after securing commitments
Trump Urges Supreme Court to Stop Injunctions Blocking Enforcement of His Orders
Venezuela Made over $8 Billion on Drug Trafficking in 2024
Director Indicted On Money Laundering Charges For Allegedly Defrauding Netflix Out Of Millions
That’s all I got for today. I’ll leave you with a song and move along with my day.
“Venezuela Made over $8 Billion on Drug Trafficking in 2024”
Those are rookie numbers.
The word of the day children… is “Quagmire”. Can you say “quagmire”? Gooood!
I can see where it appeals to his business sense to get *something* for the billions of graft sent their way (although at least half of that was sloshed into local troughs I bet).
I can see where he views it as needed for a ceasefire and whatnot to get Zelensky assured enough to come to the table.
I just also think it locks us into that region, risks nuclear conflict with Russia in the longer term and is not worth the effort on our part versus deregulating and mining on our own continent. Let Europe do this stupid shit if they want to.
Ah well. Morning anyway, Banjos… funny to see Sloopy’s dating process videos before he courted you.
Trump would be much better off just calling it “Biden’s War” and walking away.
Either you sit down and negotiate in good faith Zelensky or the funding is truly cut off ought to do it. That way if the Euroscum throw a wrench in the gears, which it looks like they’re intent on doing, it’s not our damn problem.
Better: “Your funding is going to be completely cut off on X date, so you damn well better start negotiating to get a deal in place before then.”
That makes too much sense, that’s why we won’t do it.
That’s the problem with being a ‘dealmaker’.
Fortunately, Ukraine has no history at all of corrupt dealings in their extraction industries, especially if Americans are involved.
He should have put Barron or Kai on the board of Burisma, just for the LOL’s.
Gee… I gosh golly wonder why I’m more and more wanting us out of the UN, out of NATO, especially out of “Five Eyes” and want to shut down all “foreign aid”… not like our government is riddled with infrastructure expressly designed to circumvent the Constitution using “allies” or anything… nah…. that’s just crazy talk….
Cutting the funding off good; holding accountable those who PUT THE MONEY THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE – much, much better.
Since I’m sure a lot of the framework was put in place post Patriot Act (I’m sure they wanted to before — I’m just assuming they couldn’t until then)… how many of these apparatchiks have passed? That’s part of why I’m like “Just stop it all… then worry about accountability if possible”.
Yeah… and who was it who re-affirmed the FISA courts in the last couple of years? Oh right… the GOP bleaters in Congress… don’t come crying about what this judge did or how he’s biased now, assholes… you knew he rubber stamped everything and gave him a pat on the head and re-affirmed his power anyway. I don’t want to hear it.
The only person that ever existed that didn’t exercise situational ethics was Jesus Christ and even He lost it at with the money changers. Best get used to it.
The woman clutching his robe says hi.
I really hate the tic of “Obama appointed”. This fucker was on the bench courtesy of W, then he was bumped up by Obama. But some people just can’t help themselves with the Obama-obsession.
*slides Obama voodoo doll into drawer*
*slides Obama voodoo doll into ….*
Huh, for a moment I thought your were going in a completely different direction with that…
I’m sure all the other politicians’ relatives and cronies just made sure their paperwork looked better.
I mean, great… one tiny bit of graft was found…. but we know full well that’s a minor ice crystal atop an iceberg of corruption when it comes to the “COVID relief”.
Well, locally this has been getting press. But mainly because he was a big name in the local restaurant scene.
Where’s the link to the judge injuncting the dismantline of the Dept of Education? Surprised it hasn’t happened yet but it’s got to be incoming.
Waiting for the check from the NEA and/or AFT to clear?
Given that the DOE was created by an act of Congress, I’m not sure that an EO is enough to dismantle it.
“USAID, ‘censorship nerve center’ collaboration with U.K.”
What, you mean the nutbars who kept saying that the Brits still secretly rule the earth have been right all along? It’s a crazy (and stupid) world.
Religious leaders in DC say ‘God is not pleased’ with Trump’s dismantling of federal government
Trump has lost the religious vote …
Huh, I wonder where those guys were during the last round of layoffs at my company.
Sounds like you work for immoral capitalists.
Well, God isn’t a citizen, so he doesn’t get a vote.
That is only a New York state court ruling.
Great to know that God is following current events and let this guy know how He feels about it. Otherwise it would just sound like someone cynically wrapping his secular concerns in the trappings of religion.
What’s God say about who’s coming out on top at The Masters? My bank account could use a boost.
What an absolute bunch of tools…
-Rev. George Gilbert Jr., with the Center for Racial Equity and Justice
Surprised they could afford the venue what with the USAID money cut off and all.
I’m sure the Catholic Bishops are disappointed their “cash for illegals” deal with the Feds is being shut down too.
And I also must have missed the part of the Gospels where Jesus berates Pilate for not hiring bookkeepers for Section 3, Subsection A-Prime per Paragraph 42, Clause 6. Because God is all about micromanaging your hiring practices.
A bunch of grifters who wrap themselves under the guise of being religious. I wonder what they would say if they were confronted with the evidence that federal money was being used to fund things that goes against their supposed belief system.
I don’t pretend to know the mind of God, but I’ve never read about the Sermon on the Potomac where Jesus preaches against the evils of canning government workers.
It’s all covered in the “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s” bit, didn’t you know that?
Canning them is wasteful. They are not fit food for man or beast, caning them I could support wholeheartedly.
the evils of canning government workers.
I think you misspelled ‘benefit’ and added an extra ‘n’ to caning…
Am I allowed to narrow my gaze at Putrid here? Or is that right limited to Swissy’s ambiguphobia?
Canning? I thought most of us want them caned?
Again, learn to code motherfuckers.
““This Administration is going to treat this urgent crisis in American health as the national security emergency that it is,” Kennedy said in a Tuesday press release. “Renewing the Opioid Public Health Emergency Declaration affirms the Administration’s commitment to addressing the opioid overdose crisis and is one of many critical steps we will take to Make America Healthy Again.””
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/rfk-extends-opioid-public-health-emergency-protecting-medicares-role
If it’s been happening for thirty years, then it’s not a “crisis”. The only way to get rid of illegal fentanyl is to make drugs legal.
I generally take the position that banning things is ineffective, creates perverse incentives, and tyrannical, but what if we just ban Narcan? There’d be a brief uptick in overdose deaths, but I think long term it reduces the problem.
No idea how that would reduce the problem long term.
I think having recreational opioids would be safer long term, but I am a bit tired of the constant ads that I should be carrying Narcan around with me everywhere.
No idea how that would reduce the problem long term.
If you don’t shield people from the consequences of their actions, they will learn? People who don’t, or can’t control themselves, die. Others observe and learn and will, in the long term at the population level, reduce the harmful behavior.
Dead addicts don’t keep causing problems. With Narcan you get high overdose numbers, because the same people overdose repeatedly. Without Narcan ods are one to a customer.
If one of my family members accidentally ODd, and some moral busybody had made it so I couldn’t, hopefully, save their life with a simple and effective medication, I would probably rip that busybody’s guts out and strangle him with them.
@Jarflax – I can confirm this. I came upon an OD in the wild several years ago. An older woman appeared to be struggling with someone in her front yard so I stopped to help. It was a junkie starting to OD. He had just wandered into her yard and she came out to see what was going on. He ended up passed out and choking on his own vomit. I had her call 911 while I helped him. When the 2nd responders got there, they immediately said “Oh, that’s so and so, get the Narcan.” He then looked at me and said “He’s one our frequent fliers.”
There were opioid addicts long before narcan was invented. So dead addicts are constantly replaced with new addicts. This has been happening for over a century. Junkies rarely overdose unless they are trying to kick, or get bad junk. Fentanyl dramatically increases the latter.
Mr. Otto: Thank you for the term “2nd responders”.
All the cool kids are doing tranq now anyway, which does not respond to that stuff.
I don’t know the percentages but I’d bet a lot of fentanyl addicts began with doctors prescribing opioids and then the docs cutting them off.
Are opioids really killing hundreds of Americans every day? That would come out to well over 2% of all deaths.
Look at Ted trying to use science! I bet he didn’t even go to a science school!
Hundreds? It must be in the thousands. After all, every time the Feds manage to make a fentanyl bust the amount seized is apparently capable of killing millions of Americans. So the shit getting through must be killing multiple millions, right?
I had to go in for a minor outpatient procedure at a surgical center last week. The office had notifications on the wall that a new state law had been passed restricting physicians from prescribing more than a 5 day supply of painkillers for acute or post-op pain. It wasn’t on the notice, but I assume chronic pain will have to be addressed through a pain clinic which is a miserable place and designed to not give pain killers.
It’s just pure evil.
It is evil. Assholes in power have decided that people have to suffer in miserable pain because otherwise somebody somewhere might be getting high. I hope every one of them who voted for these restrictive laws dies of ass cancer in excruciating pain with nothing but Tylenol available to them.
It’s just pure evil.
It is evil.
Up front disclaimer – there shouldn’t be laws and the use of pain meds should be based on individual decisions with informed consent.
That said, we have over-medicalized pain. Pain is useful feedback from our bodies and every instance of pain should not require a drug. Post surgery in the short term, sure. But also be aware that the pain is informing you of trauma and deadening it consistently can be a problem for healing. To say nothing of the potential of short term gain – relief from pain – vs. potential dependence and the consequences of that or other long term effects of the drug that we are not aware of. Hence individual choice WITH informed consent. With surgical procedures and trauma, have at it. But the reaction to any pain in our modern society is get rid of it, take this drug. Not “what is the root cause of the pain?”
That ties into chronic pain – yes you have to treat it so a person doesn’t suffer day in and day out, regardless of whether or not the system that allows that use results in a bunch of wastrels frying their brains. However, the pain treatment is NOT the solution, it’s a mitigation while you figure out root cause. It’s not normal for humans to be in constant pain and, if they are, there is some underlying cause that needs to be addressed. It might turn out that, in some cases, things have been so broken for so long, the person will need to be on pain meds the rest of their life – so be it. But the default too often seems – “you have pain? Here, take this pill (goes to cash check from drug prescription)” rather than “Huh, why are you always in pain? That’s not normal. Here, take this pill if the pain gets too bad, being aware of all the potential side effects, and lets try to figure out what in your life is causing this abnormal condition of chronic pain”
Absolutely this. This shit I’ve had to go through to get *necessary* pain killers is absurd, predictably evil with the moral sanctity that comes with it, and has profoundly fucking sucked for me.
Dad is a shitty patient. Big problem: He doesn’t take nearly enough meds cuz he’s *convinced* opioids are evil and will magically turn him into an addict.
The WoD propaganda machine was, and remains, stubbornly effective. Fuckers.
I had some oral surgery last year, the doc prescribed antibiotics, 30 days of 800mg Motrin (aka 4 advils) and 30 days of Vicodin. I told him “just the antibiotic, thanks”. I wound up taking 1 advil 3 times the first day, two times the second day, 1 the third day snd that was it. I probably wouldn’t have taken any at all if I didn’t have a job.
These prescriptions are probably SOP with oral surgeons now. I assume this is how the docs are trained thanks to pharma donating to med schools.
Putrid, I don’t disagree with underlying point. Making prescriptions essentially required as permission to purchase drugs has brought about this conflict in the role of physicians.
I’d much prefer to go back to how it used to be with anyone being able to purchase any drug from a pharmacy with no prescription needed. Doctors should certainly write prescriptions, but that would be guidance as to what is needed and not as a permission slip to purchase. Then their role would better align with providing health guidance.
Insurance companies could of course choose to only reimburse medication prescribed by a physician. Add it to the libertopia wish list.
“A major patron for The People’s Forum is wealthy communist businessman Neville Roy Singham.
“For months we’ve been the target of a campaign that alleges our funding comes from ‘dark money.’ A few years ago we met Roy Singham, a Marxist comrade who sold his company & donated most of his wealth to non-profits that focus on political education, culture, & internationalism,” The People’s Forum tweeted in December 2021.
Singham married Jodie Evans, the co-founder of the radical left-wing group Code Pink, in 2017. Her group touts itself as antiwar and has become increasingly pro-China in recent years.”
https://justthenews.com/nation/extremism/meet-pro-ccp-marxist-revolutionary-group-behind-mahmoud-khalil-protests
Who could have guessed The People’s Forum is communist and hates Jews?
Anyway, I prefer The People’s Cube
https://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/
“The People’s [ x ]” is by definition not of the people.
There used to b e a People’s Grocery in Natchitoches, LA.
I was cussing about shitbird commies and mentioned that store and the habit of People’s this and that when someone corrected me. Apparently the family that owned the store was the People family. Ok then.
“wealthy communist businessman”
Geez. Pick a team already, Neville.
Communists are con artists. All of them. Without looking I am going to guess this Neville guy is crooked as shit.
🤯
Imagine trying to reason with people whose brains are so broken.
And yet again, news cycles are being driven a tiny handful of radical nutjobs. But talk to some random chicks at a Columbia protest, odds are good they don’t even know why they’re there.
These Judges are really getting out of hand.
https://x.com/htownrocket78/status/1902832947721539976
“he same Oregon high school that came under fire last year for allowing a transgender athlete to compete against girls continues to blow away the competition one year later.
Ada Gallagher, running as a 10th-grader at McDaniel High School in Portland, finished in first place in 200M and 400M races during the 6A-1 Portland Interscholastic League Championship in 2024.
Now an 11th-grader, Gallagher was back on the track for a Portland Interscholastic League meet at her home track, where she was spotted blowing out the competition, especially in the 400M, where she finished more than seven seconds better than the rest of the field.”
https://nypost.com/2025/03/20/us-news/transgender-runner-blows-out-competition-sets-season-records-in-girls-races-at-oregon-high-school-track-meet/
Could only find a couple pictures out there, but like many of these asshole athletes, this person doesn’t even look trans:
https://www.cf.org/news/biological-male-wins-girls-track-championship-in-portland/
No one on estrogen could be that ripped.
At this point you have to wonder what percentage of ‘trans’ people are suffering a dysphoria vs. engaging in rational reward seeking behavior.
Teenagers wanting to be part of the latest fad and even as nutty as this one is, be cheered and loved for doing it? Nah, never would happen
I don’t wonder. In the U.S. transtrenders and fakers vastly outnumber actual trans people.
Wait, why are WE being lined up against the wall
Its the new “we support BLM” posters…rabid lefties dont care
Someone is trying to coordinate “protests” at 500 Tesla dealerships this weekend. Sounds like Bongino’s Boys are going to be busy. At least we’ve seen a few of them arrested and they’re being very public about it.
And these ‘Dogequest’ people, we have their names and addresses?
Sorry folks, no Stoic today.
Wound up drinking with my step dad last night and we are tearing apart his rotting deck today.
I will return to your regular scheduled programming next week.
I will remain stoic in its absence.
Good luck with the deck! Hope it’s fun. I can see part of it being *very* fun.
“Rotting Deck” was the name of my __________.
You fill in the name/noun
“…boat, prior to that terrible accident.”
Better than “Rotting Dick”.
No worries, a stoic open post will fill the slot.
Your non-post is, itself, a lesson for us in Stoicism.
Well, that’s not something I can control, so I won’t try.
Morning, again.
Finished my morning errands. I took the day off for a doctor’s appointment (Numbers are all better than December, 🤗 ).
I’m going to wander off again later.
How’s everyone doing?
Not bad, yourself?
Started lunch at 9:14. Been a chill shift, but it’s a chill gig. Trying to schedule a deep injection procedure for my right (and hopefully left?) hip, hypothesized to have tendonitis. Hasn’t bothered me too much today, mostly cuz sitting for long stretches is uncomfortable. It hasn’t barked yet, thankfully. Hopefully this nips it in the bud?
Best news from doc- Apparently hip replacements post-2001 last ~25 yrs. Hey, they’ve been thru extra wear and tear. Damn Good work.
I’m doing okay, I’m in a better mood than I’ve been in in a while.
I had my lab work done recently, my numbers are looking better too. * fist bumps *
My youngest called me in the middle of the night. Her sailor is shipping off and she’s not handling it very well. This will be a long deployment, and as of right now they don’t even know where he’s going. Could be SE Asia, could be the ME. Hopefully not Iran.
Fingers crossed.
🤞
Probably every bartender at bars around the base already knows exactly what the orders are. I once worked with a reserve Captain of a Destroyer; he said it was “Loose Lips and Big Tips” in every bar near the Phila. Naval Base.
Usually we know ahead of time, I try to be respectful and only post stuff that’s public information. My kid said one time they delayed their arrival because one of the wives posted too many details on Facebook.
This time they know where they were supposed to go, but the whole Yemen thing has everything up in the air. So they haven’t even told the sailors yet.
Being on a carrier is the best protection there is in a war zone. Being on a smaller “missile magnet” destroyer with a carrier is less than a great deal.
Doing very well, thanks – enjoying MY day off work, so far indulging in indolence and sloth, almost done with first mug of chai latte and pondering – wheat toast or key lime Greek yogurt with slivered almonds? (The latter, with the flavor of the yogurt varying, is my usual go-to at work.)
I had wandered through the baking section of the grocery store this morning to make sure I had everything I might need for my experimental almond flour cookies. I ended up with a bunch of different mix-ins due to indecision. I’m debating making a batch of dough, separating it out and mixing in different mix-ins to the various smaller batches, and baking up a variety pack to test the viability of the flavors.
I’m also debating vacuum sealing half of each and mailing them to you for additional opinions (not from the cats though)
😋👍
The TSC store 2 miles from my apartment is selling live chicks. I’d like to try my hand at chicken farming, but not sure where I could put a coop. Maybe if I ask around, I can get some sort of co-op going. I’d have to sell a lot of chickens and eggs to have enough income.
I have capital and want to turn it into income rather than slowly eat it.
I have nowhere to put a coop, but I know my city code permits for upto four chickens. You may want to see if there is some sort of government intrusion into what you can raise and in what quantity before committing your capital.
You should build in the shape of a two door car, so you have co-op coop coupe.
“city code permits for upto four chickens”
You need to get the fuck out of that state.
Oh, that is a fine pun there.
Some of my neighbors raise cows and chickens. Not sure if my landlord would let me put a coop in the backyard.
I built a coop once in Africa but never got around to buying chickens. Sawed all the rough planks myself.
https://platedlizard.blogspot.com/2023/11/my-old-house-in-tanzania.html
Ooh, well-played. Believe I’ll be co-opting that.
I’m guessing Mrs. TOK and I will do the same in the coming weeks. We live in a subdivision, but the back of the property is against an “unincorporated” area so we’re just going to build back there. We will have to run electricity to it though.
One of the glibs mentioned that chickens are not a moneymaking proposition.
Meh, probably depends on many factors.
***
Chicken farming can be profitable, with an average return on investment (ROI) ranging from 10% to 20% annually. Startup costs for a small-scale operation are around $10,000-$15,000, with ongoing costs of $1,500-$2,000 per month. Revenue depends on market prices and farm size, with small farms earning $1,000-$5,000 monthly, yielding a 5-12% profit margin.
***
We each eat 3-4 eggs a day, and we like them fresh. I doubt we’ll break even, but if we do, that’s a bonus. It will probably be like our garden, we give away 50% of what we grow to friends and family. But it’s one more step toward being self sufficient.
It’s amusing that “farm” is garbled Latin for “rent”.
***
The word “farm” comes from the Anglo-French “fermer,” which means “to rent.” It is based on Medieval Latin “firma,” meaning “fixed payment,” and the Latin verb “firmare,” meaning “to make firm”. The agricultural sense of the word emerged in the 18th century. The Middle English term “ferme” originally referred to leased or rented land.
***
Derp, are those numbers for eggs or meat chickens?
Either case it’s difficult to make the numbers work for a small scale operation. A homesteader can possibly pad out their income a bit if there’s a local market willing to pay extra. That’s harder the more rural you get.
For meat chickens, you get Cornish-Rocs, which have been engineered to maximize feed:growth in a 8 week time span. Buy feed in bulk and rinse and repeat every 8 weeks. It’s done in big chicken grow houses and often the farmers are heavily indebted.
The best approach is to integrate meat and egg chickens into the pasture lifecycle, like Joel Salatin and Polyface Farms. Chicken tractors (both egg/meat) follow cattle in the pasture. They sift through the dung and pasture, eating insects and grass. Longer time to market and more labor, but sells more per egg/pound, minimal feed costs, and can work on a smaller scale. Also, helps rebuild pastures and keeps the cattle healthier.
Not sure if meat/egg numbers there.
I don’t think I can go full Dick Proenneke even if I wanted to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG3fUIoXQ5A
I pondered this in a short story:
https://platedlizard.blogspot.com/2024/01/hermit-crap.html
They are not. It can only tally work in very high volume, which then becomes a job in itself.
I’d be careful with Tractor Supply.
A few months ago, I built my own coop after months of research. I was able to get some chicks from Rural King, and finally bought a fifty pound bag of grain from TSC.
The very next day, Tractor Supply sent me an email asking for my feed back.
Sigh.
“Man, Shpip sure has led an interesting life, such engaging tales of adventure and experience, and on top of it looks like the Shat, must be…. ah, crap, he got me again.”
So I did look up this Neville Roy Singham character. He is worse than I thought.
So if he gets shot down Brian Thompson style I am guessing the Mangione supporters will lose their shit.
https://www.courthousenews.com/ninth-circuit-upholds-californias-large-capacity-magazine-ban/#:~:text=In%20a%20big%20win%20for,constitutional%20by%20the%20Ninth%20Circuit.
Every single gun law, prohibition, permit requirement, restriction etc are not laws but crimes being committed by the state.
Do they unteach people to read in law school?
They don’t teach the constitution, they teach case law.
A friend took a con-law class and was unaware of the phrase “shall not be infringed” until we got into a heated discussion about it and she looked it up. And this was at a pretty well regarded law school.
So no, it’s basically a class on how different cases have completely removed all meaning from the constitution and how you too can use those precedents to logic your way to a desired outcome.
Too big for their britches
The Justice Department maintains that the restrictions established by Humphrey’s Executor don’t apply to today’s FTC or other multimember regulatory bodies, given the power those agencies now wield.
In February, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in a letter to Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, that those commissions, in their present form, exercise substantial executive power, including through rulemaking and issuing unilateral decisions.
“An independent agency of that kind has ‘no basis in history and no place in our constitutional structure,'” Harris wrote, quoting a more recent Supreme Court decision that established that the president could remove the single director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for reasons other than cause. “To the extent that Humphrey’s Executor requires otherwise, the Department intends to urge the Supreme Court to overrule that decision, which prevents the President from adequately supervising principal officers in the Executive Branch who execute the laws on the President’s behalf.”
We could always pare these agencies back to the level of power and authority they had in 1935.
It’s amazing how the Dems have suddenly got religion and discovered limiting the power of the president. Will miracles never cease!
Yeah, this is reminding me of the periodic flip-flop on the Senate filibuster.
Allofasudden, Repubs hate the courts and Dems love them. Allofasudden, Dems hate executive authority and Repubs love it. In an astounding coincidence, the flip-flop happened when the Presidency changed hands.
“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone” was different, you see.
Now if only the R’s would discover it. I blame them for the state of things.
eah, this is reminding me of the periodic flip-flop on the Senate filibuster.
It’s also states’ rights season.
Independent agencies work for the public good
Though the independent agencies are not all household names, their work touches the lives of everyday Americans in numerous ways.
The FTC, for example, investigates unfair or deceptive business practices such as price-fixing and the use of noncompete agreements by employers. It reviews mergers to make sure they don’t limit consumer choice.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reviews complaints from workers about discrimination on the job. The National Labor Relations Board hears disputes between employers and workers who band together to seek better wages and working conditions. The Merit Systems Protection Board hears cases involving federal employees who believe they were wronged by the government.
“These agencies need to be able to operate with a level of independence so that they can do the work for the American people and not be puppet masters” serving the president’s allies, says Jared Davidson, counsel for the nonpartisan, nonprofit legal advocacy group Protect Democracy, which works to counter authoritarianism.
That’s not editorializing; them’s the plain facts.
That would be the elected by the people president’s allies, wouldn’t it?
An “independent” agency sounds like a good thing, right?
Oddly, an “unaccountable” agency does not. Just two words that describe the same thing.
Kind of like “public” school v “government” school.
AIEEE! PANIC!
… Why?
^was supposed to be a response to the “no stoic” announcement.
I see.
Panic?!? What!?! Where?!?
on the streets of London?
When in danger or in doubt
Run in circles, scream and shout
Panic?!? What!?! Where?!?
At the Disco?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpvF7Qq9svk
Beat me to it! I’m kind of partial to this one. Fun video, 5/5 for creativity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUChk0lxF44
I’ve honestly never heard them that I’m aware of, just familiar with the name.
Please don’t take away my METAL card, I’ve honestly never listened to them!!
(Clicks link) – Not really my cup of tea. Or coffee. Or adult beverage.
Chaos and confusion
President Donald Trump’s purge of the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission could permanently reshape the 110-year-old agency in ways that could confuse many of the nation’s biggest businesses, trigger blowback at other agencies and even hobble Republicans’ cherished goals of rolling back regulations.
By firing commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Tuesday night, Trump overturned decades of precedent at a key consumer protection and competition regulator.
——-
Even among those challenges, the FTC firings hit the business and political world as a particular shock. Since its founding in the 1920s, it has run as a bipartisan commission with nominees from both parties drafting rules, conducting investigations and bringing enforcement cases — a structure that created stability and predictability for the companies subject to its oversight.
How will they know whose palms to grease?
“You find contracts that are 10, 20, 30, $50 million and you just ask like, why are we doing this? And everyone’s just like, meh, I don’t know. And then you cancel it and then nothing happens. It’s just inertia, has just taken over.”
Behold the epic size of waste at the IRS.
https://x.com/overton_news/status/1902908276662210592
How about a budget of zero dollars for the IRS?
Kill the income tax and disband the IRS entirely.
A long time ago a Catholic priest looked me dead in the eye and said:
“Wherever you find a whore you’ll find a whore monger”
Not sure what he meant exactly. A seller will find a buyer?. Production precedes consumption?
He didn’t seem like an economist…
It’s a weird phrase. A fishmonger sells fish.
A whoremonger usually refers to a guy buying services – not a pimp.
DOGE has confirmed all my biases that FedGov is just a huge money laundering operation.
This administration has far surpassed my expectations. Let’s see how much of it takes.
But what about the adorable IRS parodies of Gilligan’s Island and Star Trek?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jW04WmOw7s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxU6n4pAnrU
Almost as adorable as Joe Stack’s kamikaze attack:
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The 2010 Austin suicide attack occurred on February 18, 2010, when Andrew Joseph Stack III deliberately crashed his single-engine Piper Dakota light aircraft into Building I of the Echelon office complex in Austin, Texas, United States,[5] killing himself and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) manager Vernon Hunter.[6] Thirteen others were injured, two severely. The four-story[7][8] office building housed an IRS field office occupying the top three floors, along with a couple of private businesses on the first floor. Prior to the crash, Stack had posted a suicide note to his website, expressing his disillusionment with corporations and government agencies such as the IRS.[
***
Because the White House position on independent agencies calls back to legal precedent of the 1920s and ‘30s, there’s the chance for a huge reversion in the agency’s role if the FTC firings go to the Supreme Court.
If the justices agree with Trump’s legal argument, the FTC could be forced to return to its 1935 responsibilities to guarantee it a measure of independence, Ohlhausen said.
The commissioners then primarily issued reports and used its in-house administrative process instead of going to court.
Oh, HORROR.
It’s perfect! We just need one or two small changes.
The Warship That Shows Why the U.S. Navy Is Falling Behind China
https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/warship-shows-why-u-s-navy-is-falling-behind-china-94cb9a87?st=xWYCcN&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Because the USN has learned just about nothing from the littoral combat ship debacle. DOGE has its work cut out.
Mussolini’s ship designs were beautiful. But except for a few submarine captains and surface vessel commanders, the Italian Navy couldn’t fight worth shit in WWII. One guesses the USN didn’t want to be accused of offering “a fascist salute” by incorporating too much Italian design.
What do the Italians know about shipbuilding!
(From memory they do a good chunk of the mega yachts for the wealthy.)
I dont remember the circumstances but I remember that Eisenhower answered a question about some debacle and why he couldn’t fix it with “Have you ever had to deal with the fucking Navy?”. He said it in a sneering tone.
I also remember that getting the English navy to replace bronze cannons with iron cannons was like pulling teeth.
Chilling
A pipeline company’s victory in court over Greenpeace, and the huge damages it now faces, will encourage other oil and gas companies to legally pursue environmental protesters at a time when Donald Trump’s energy agenda is in ascendancy, experts have warned.
On Wednesday a North Dakota jury ruled that three Greenpeace entities collectively must pay Energy Transfer, which was co-founded by a prominent Trump donor, more than $660m, deciding that the organizations were liable for defamation and other claims after a five-week trial in Mandan, near where the Dakota Access pipeline protests occurred in 2016 and 2017.
“This verdict will embolden other energy companies to take legal action against protesters who physically block their projects,” said Michael Gerrard, the founder and faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.
“It will chill those kinds of protests; whether the chilling goes beyond that remains to be seen. It won’t inhibit litigation against fossil fuel projects; we will surely see more of those as the Trump administration advances its ‘drill, baby, drill’ agenda.”
Energy companies might get equal treatment in court? Terrifying.
“experts have warned”
I’m not going to even bother to look up who these “experts” work for.
“Sabin Center for Climate Change Law”
Oh wait there it is. Who could have predicted it.
You can do whatever you want as long as you call it ‘protest’. If the commies cant set things on fire and beat people up how will they ever get their message across?
Gun-Handling Judge Posts a Novel YouTube Dissent in Second Amendment Case
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/gun-handling-judge-posts-a-novel-youtube-dissent-in-second-amendment-case-b1dd2759?st=xceeBE&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
We can’t have people understand how these things work!
It has aggravated all the right people.
That was actually recommended to me by youtube.
Again, just to be clear, government is strictly forbidden to infringe on citizen’s inalienable right to arm themselves in any way whatsoever. All such infringements are crimes being committed by the state.
Brian Hauss, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said that the lawsuit serves as a “tax on speech,” one that makes it too expensive to go against “litigious, deep-pocketed corporations”.
“If companies can sue critics, advocates and protesters into oblivion for their speech and the unlawful acts of third parties, then no one will feel safe protesting corporate malfeasance,” Hauss said.
Those litigious deep-pocketed corporations should not be allowed to defend themselves in court against our charges. Somebody might believe them.
I thought the ACLU swore off defending First Amendment rights? Oh, that was when the wrong people were having their say.
Free speech was just demoted in their values hierarchy to below DEI.
Electoral fraud, possibly:
https://midhudsonnews.com/2025/03/21/mayoral-race-headed-to-court-after-82-votes-vanish/
“Director Indicted On Money Laundering Charges For Allegedly Defrauding Netflix Out Of Millions”
Meanwhile, one of the auxiliary purposes of Netflix seems to be to launder money for distribution to folks like the Obamas.
Workers of the world, unite
Liberal youth groups are piling onto Chuck Schumer, urging the Senate minority leader in a new letter to fight more aggressively against President Donald Trump or resign as leader.
“Chuck Schumer, your leadership is failing to meet the moment,” reads the memo, which was first shared with POLITICO. “Gen Z voters want leaders with a backbone who will stand up to billionaires and fight for working people. But it’s not just us. You have lost the trust of millions of voters and many of your colleagues in Congress.”
——-
The letter by youth organizations demanded that Schumer “Obstruct the MAGA agenda with every tool you have” and “Stand beside us at protests.” It was signed by the Sunrise Movement, College Democrats of America, United We Dream Action and Voters of Tomorrow.
These groups are all well known for their deep understanding of the Working Man, I’m sure.
Front groups for the WEF crowd.
Last factory I worked in had a distinct lack of diversity. It was a bunch of black people in the south building golf carts.
Shh, nobody tell MSNBC or they’ll try to shut down the place.
How I hate golf carts. They’re toys for lazy rich people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1-axqBZdNk
Modernization
Debt-averse Germany has had strict limits, currently only allowing for borrowing equal to .35% of its GDP. This new amendment cleared the two-thirds vote required in the Bundestag and would exempt any defense spending or foreign aid for countries “attacked in violation of international law” from borrowing restrictions.
In addition to loosening borrowing limits for defense spending and foreign aid, €500 billion will be earmarked for infrastructure borrowing, as stipulated by the Greens, whose votes were needed for the two-thirds majority.
“This historic breach of Germany’s accustomed dread of incurring public debt is risky in terms of domestic politics,” said university lecturer and research scholar Molly O’Neal, who is also a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute. “It was rushed through the outgoing parliament in order to frustrate the strong opposition of the AfD on the right and Die Linke on the left. These parties together will have a blocking minority in the new parliament. Viewed objectively and without panic, the relaxing of the debt brake allows Germany to meet the expectations of the U.S. and NATO on defense spending. The Germans are not likely to deploy peacekeepers in post-conflict Ukraine without a U.S. backstop guarantee.”
Finally, the Germans will discard their antiquated aversion to unconstrained borrowing.
Heh. Y’all have fun with that.
Think of the ROI on that 500 billion of green spending!