Monday Morning Links

by | Mar 24, 2025 | Daily Links | 193 comments

The Sweet 16 is here. And there were some fun games yesterday, although I don’t understand the NCAA’s decision to pack the schedule with games starting at 7 or later on a Sunday night. The SEC, after a rough opening round, got it together and put 7 teams into the regionals. The Big Ten is holding its own with 4 teams left. Meanwhile, in China, the F! race was a boring affair…until they started going through post-race tech. Then both Ferraris and an Alpine were disqualified. But still…boring. And that’s it for sports.

This is hardly an argument to keep them around. “If you fire a bunch of us, we’ll give state secrets to foreign countries.” Who thought this was a good idea to try and sell to the American people?

This is peculiar. Especially when you see the cases she’d worked on.

Popcorn! Get your popcorn! The Supreme Court needs to get on the stick and start putting an end to this crap.

I actually agree with the California government. Mark this one down, because it doesn’t happen very often.

This position has the worst job security in the world. Maybe they should look at their organizations positions and reevaluate what they’re doing.

Mia Love has passed away. Cancer sucks.

Again so soon? Has it ever dawned on any of these officials to cut spending?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!! They’re getting what they deserve..

When “I can fix her” goes wrong. I’d imagine the gamble was not worth it.

Wait, they’ve owed her this money for 20 years? Damn, I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten the Biggie Smalls treatment by now.

Here’s a lovely track. I know sometimes I say that controversially, but this is not one of those times. And here’s a rollicking tune to follow it up with. Enjoy them both.

And enjoy this lovely Monday, dear friends.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

193 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    “If you fire a bunch of us, we’ll give state secrets to foreign countries.”

    Then clearly they need to be arrested for espionage and their links to foreign powers investigated.

    • SDF-7

      Yup… “So….. you’re saying we should just lock you up now?” was my reaction. Close enough. Morning all… thanks for the F1 update, Sloopy… I don’t follow the “racing news” sites and don’t watch the aftershows anymore… so wouldn’t have known about it until they mentioned it before the next race (as they typically do).

    • Ownbestenemy

      Even in jest or frustration means they were not of sound mind to their jobs.

      Ive never once thought of sabotaging anything I handle if RIF came down.

      • UnCivilServant

        I did indulge in thought exercises about how one might maximize the damage, but I think of a lot of potentialities I have no plans of executing.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Thats security minded IMO. Ive gone through those thought exercises on wondering and identifying vulnerability in my system. Not ‘hey I can run to China with this’

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        I think everyone who has been canned, for one reason or another, thinks about ways to throw a wrench in the works.

        But they just think about it, and rarely if ever do anything about it.

      • Fourscore

        I feel kind of let down because no beautiful adversarial girls tried to compromise me during or after I left Sam’s Finest.

      • Ted S.

        How do you know Mrs. Fourscore isn’t a deep mole?

      • Fourscore

        Oh-oh!

      • Fourscore

        Tomorrow marks 51 years she’s been waiting to spring it on me but I’ve been too clever for her

      • R C Dean

        I was fired three times in my career. I never once thought of fucking over the law firms (and their clients), or the hospital system, that fired me.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I’ve been run out of several jobs by incompetents who were better at playing office politics than solving technical problems.

        Never even considered anything except leaving in a professional manner. “Here are all the passwords, here is a link to the documentation you’ve never read, etc., etc.”

        Anyone who sabotages shit on their way out the door is a real piece of crap. The ones who suffer won’t be the shit heels who made bad managerial decisions. It is the schlubs who were assigned “support” duties.

      • Pope Jimbo

        UCS:

        I did indulge in thought exercises about how one might maximize the damage, but I think of a lot of potentialities I have no plans of executing.

        At one point, I was run out of a company that had bought our start up. Ended up having a rack in a data center that was a row away from our former rack (now operated by the old owners). Many times I was tempted to bring a coat hanger in because I knew that our old cables were so ratty that most of the ethernet cables had had the little tab broken off them. A quick swipe through the cage door would have dislodged a good deal of the cables.

        Somehow, I managed to ignore those urges. Go figure that adults can not act on crazy revenge fantasies.

    • AlexinCT

      Then clearly they need to be arrested for espionage and their links to foreign powers investigated.

      Their point is basically that unless they get to do whatever they want, the people and whatever these unwashed people want be damned, they will betray their country. This is the shit the little asshole that owns the ball will threaten to do if they don’t let him get his way in some pickup game. You know you are dealing with an entitled loser that doesn’t give a fuck about anything but getting their way.

      Those are the people pissed the American people have had enough of their shit and have told them that shit stops right now.

      • Pope Jimbo

        THAT IS LT. COLONEL VINDEMAN TO YOU!!!

        Trump’s first impeachment was 100% “He didn’t listen to us on what our policy should be for the Ukraine!!!”

    • The Other Kevin

      This feels a lot like “You need to give trans people what they want or they’ll commit suicide.”

      • UnCivilServant

        “So what you’re saying is we need to reopen the asylums for all of the suicidal people to work through their ideations until they are no longer a danger to themselves and others?”

    • invisible finger

      Sounds like theyd rather be fired upon than fired. The Rosenbergs are their heroes apparently.

      Once they give away state secrets to an enemy, they become more harm than good to the enemy. Even Hamas wouldn’t want them.

  2. SDF-7

    The Supreme Court needs to get on the stick and start putting an end to this crap.

    That would be nice. Also nice would be firm consensus across the three branches on just what is required for “asylum seeking” (and it better be more than “I like your welfare benefits more than my home country”), a rejection of any global consensus that tries to mandate a different “asylum standard” and clear guidance that outside of immigration through the proper legal process and that narrow view of asylum… the government has every right to kick any foreign national out for any reason.

    In other words — if you’re not following the legal immigration practice one way or another, there is no reason you can’t be immediately ejected if you are discovered. Short, simple and to the point.

    I say this because I have to assume this District Nazgul-wannabe is basing his position off of “asylum seeking”. Even the PPP Admin wouldn’t have been nutty enough as to process actual green cards for Venezuela gangs — so it is likely some stupid, nonsensical and extra-legal mass “All immigrants from this country get asylum” bullcrap — and he’s saying once given it can’t be revoked or some stupidity (similar to the JackAss EO’s are Holy Writ, OMB EOs can be overturned by the 5th grade Student Council Treasurer…).

    So yes — slap this guy down… set a clear guidance that District courts can’t do national injunctions (an article I read this morning correctly pointed out that it used to be only the Supreme Court had national jurisdiction to keep crap like this to a minimum, and I tend to agree) — but also work this “asylum” issue and get it crystal clear so we don’t have every left leaning judge claiming the autopen made it so we had to take the entire population of Random Country X.

    • slumbrew

      I’m no geographer, but I’m fairly certain there there other countries between Venezuela and the US.

      If one is fleeing and needs to claim asylum, skipping over those countries makes me think you’re not really in need of political asylum

      • SDF-7

        I would not complain if that were part of the documented constraints, certainly. Europe might benefit from such a clarification as well — though we know the current EU won’t care to enforce it.

      • Cunctator

        –“If one is fleeing and needs to claim asylum, skipping over those countries makes me think you’re not really in need of political asylum”–

        It is my understanding that the various treaties and agreements on refugees is that they are “supposed” to stop at the first country they enter and claim asylum there. None of this crossing half the world bullshit. I may be wrong.

      • The Last American Hero

        There are other treaties that exist so that one country doesn’t suffer an invasion from refugees and have its resources overwhelmed when half of Venezuela turns up in Trinidad and Tobago.

      • Cunctator

        It may apply to asylum seekers, re: the first country they reach. I can see how massive upsets (political, economic collapse natural disasters, etc.) could result in huge influxes of refugees in a short time.

        Refugees and asylum seekers are different cases, but the asylum seeking is being used as a ruse.

    • Common Tater

      “In other words — if you’re not following the legal immigration practice one way or another, there is no reason you can’t be immediately ejected if you are discovered. Short, simple and to the point.”

      Except no one knows what the legal immigration practice is, or can maintain any consistent policy for more than a couple of years. It’s been forty years of mystery and chaos.

      • UnCivilServant

        I think we should close the gates for at least a century or two while we calmly discuss proper immigration policy and how to make sure any arrivals are properly assimilated before arrival.

      • R.J.

        Very true. It’s a maze of conflicting regulations and bullshit.

      • juris imprudent

        properly assimilated

        Look at the white-supremacist, patriarchal, cis-shitlord here!

    • Pope Jimbo

      I think that immigration is like child welfare services.

      They don’t want to tangle with the crazy shit heels. It is a no-win situation. Those fuckers don’t play and you might end up getting stabbed (in the immigration world, it would be a legal stabbing by some NGO).

      So you go after the rubes who are trying to follow the rules. Those fuckers won’t cause you any worries. And you can fucking ruin their lives, so they will grovel at anything you say.

  3. cavalier973

    The article didn’t say what cases Jessica Aber worked on.

    They also didn’t mention her name until the third paragraph. I wonder why.

    Jessica Aber, a career federal prosecutor, was found dead at her home in Alexandria, Virginia, Saturday morning – but the circumstances of her death remain unclear.

    Aber, 43, rose to prominence as a top U.S. attorney in Virginia, overseeing important legal cases for the Justice Department, including those securing convictions for an MS-13 gang leader, the former governor of Virginia and more.

    She also helped in investigations against Russians accused of conspiracy and fraud. Aber also oversaw the prosecution of man who helped Israeli citizens enter the U.S. without proper visas.

    She was appointed to oversee the Virginia district by then-president Joe Biden. Aber resigned from her position as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia as President Donald Trump took office.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jessica-aber-death-us-attorney-b2720115.html

    • Chafed

      She didn’t fall out of a seventh story window so I guess the Russians aren’t responsible.

      • dbleagle

        no oopski?

  4. SDF-7

    I actually agree with the California government.

    I agree with them in concept — I seriously doubt any request to delete your data will be acted upon. That’s one of the flailing companies primary assets to be scooped up in bankruptcy after all.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      What happens in the cloud, stays in the cloud.

  5. SDF-7

    This position has the worst job security in the world.

    But apparently a high demand since people are just dying to take up the position.

      • UnCivilServant

        Oops, replied to the wrong comment.

        😅

      • SDF-7

        I assume that was meant for the bankruptcy comment.

        If there’s a market for ex-Hamas PM parts… I don’t want to know, man.

    • Fourscore

      Probably not a good career move

  6. SDF-7

    Has it ever dawned on any of these officials to cut spending?

    They’d rather resolve to continue the spending apparently.

      • Rat on a train

        “I like money.”

      • slumbrew

        I can’t believe you like money, too; we should hang out!

  7. ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

    Man, and I thought VOX was written at a 6th grade level, Axios makes that look like a dissertation in physics.

    • AlexinCT

      It is written at a studies degrees college level. Meaning it is word salad for idiots that then claim to be highly educated and can only get jobs that pay them well in the whole DEI racket because otherwise they would only be able to work as baristas or at fast food joints taking orders.

      • juris imprudent

        From just about this time last year.

        Initially, this program in technical writing terminated as a minor; the monstrosity that it is today (a mere 50 years later) grants baccalaureate and graduate degrees – though precisely what discipline that is, is a bit murky, as you will see the further down the hole we go.

  8. Rat on a train

    The U.S. is most likely to default on its $36 trillion national debt sometime between mid-July and early October if Congress doesn’t act, the Bipartisan Policy Center predicted Monday.
    There is more than enough revenue to pay the interest on the debt. Default would be a political decision.

    • Fourscore

      “It’s my money and I want it now”

      /Social Security recipient

    • Pope Jimbo

      Aren’t we paying more than $1T in interest on the debt now?

      So even if we balanced the budget this year, we’d still add another trillion to the national debt.

      If the internal shit boiling over in China leads to a new govt, can we basically say “Sorry, all that money we owed to the CCP is null and void. You new guys ain’t them.”?

      • AlexinCT

        At this point it should be obvious to everyone that after Obama’s weaponization of the government bureaucracy, Trump somehow winning the rigged 2016 election and keeping Hillary from being there for the global reset scandemic, resulted in the marxist globalist machine’s effort to plunder America into overdrive after they “fortified” the 2020 election and gave us Obama 3.0. The whole Kung Flu global reset shit failed because Hillary was not in charge to shut down all dissent. Once they rigged the next election and got Trump out, they went into overdrive to restore the agenda, which included the invasion and massive looting.

        At least $3 trillion was stolen by this cabal every year since the Obama 3.0 admin, and the absolute shit flinging tirade by the usual suspects right now, is because their plan to keep doing that for at least 4 more years, is now being blocked. We truly have evil people supposedly there to serve the people. They hate us.

    • R C Dean

      Err, hitting the debt limit isn’t a default on debt, any more than hitting your credit card limit is. A default is when you don’t make payments on existing debt, not when you don’t take on more debt.

  9. Not Adahn

    For the “UnCiv race gun recommendations”:

    If you want to be different, this gun gets rave reviews from everyone I’ve known to shoot one, including the anti-Beretta crowd and dedicated fanbois of other makers.

    https://langdontactical.com/products/guns/px4-series/

    You can probably find a non-Langdon version in a gun store to check the ergos before ordering from LTT.

    • UnCivilServant

      🤔

      I’ll have to remember to look when I get back to the house later. (Darn office proxy)

      • Not Adahn

        To build off of what ES mentioned in the earlier thread:

        If you want to keep USPSA or Steel Challenge as a possibility, do NOT buy a gun with a compensator or a ported barrel. That will put you into their “open” division.

        You’re going to want to start out in CO (carry optics) or LO (limited optics), there is very little distinction between those divisions, and it’s very much “shooter, not equipment.” I will mention that anything legal in CO is fine in LO, but not the reverse. The two biggies that will put you in LO are a) magwell and b) SAO. Having shot in the iron sight versions of those divisions, my relative ranking is unchanged switching between the two even though I have supposedly slower equipment.

      • UnCivilServant

        a) magwell and b) SAO.

        Could you elaborate? I’m not sure exactly what that means in trms of landing in one categoery over the other.

      • EvilSheldon

        If you’re running a single-action-only gun (i.e. a 1911/2011) you’re automatically in Staccato…er, Limited Optics. If you have an extended/oversized magwell on your pistol, you’re automatically in Limited Optics.

        If you have barrel ports or a compensator on your gun, you’re in Open regardless of anything else you do to it.

        If you run a DA/SA or a striker-fired gun, with no extended magwell and no ports or comp, you’re in Carry Optics.

      • Not Adahn

        There are a non-trivial amounts of Shadow 2s out there that have been converted to SAO running in LO.

        I honestly don’t get it. It took me one box of ammo and some dry fire to figure out the initial trigger pull. The one time I was worried about the first shot (a Virginia Count tuxedo* at 25 yards) I just thumbed back the hammer.

        *Virginia Count = no makeup shots. Tuxedo = scoring zone is only 6″ wide. Smaller than the front sight post at 75′

      • Grummun

        There are a non-trivial amounts of Shadow 2s out there that have been converted to SAO

        Shadow 2 is also available SA from the factory.

        I honestly don’t get it.

        Perhaps one trains and shoots exclusively with SA guns, regardless of the context.

      • EvilSheldon

        I don’t get it either. The Shadow 2 must have about the easiest DA trigger in Christendom (especially after you have Cajun Gun Works or CZ Custom breathe on it…)

    • EvilSheldon

      LTT PX4s are really, really nice. They shoot really soft for a polymer frame. I’m not in love with the optics mounting plate though.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Are you kidding? This is why he is beloved by people who don’t follow politics.

      • juris imprudent

        Politics as entertainment. Just mash down the accelerator, we’ll get to the end faster!

      • Ed Wuncler

        That’s one of the few things I like about the whole Trump Presidency. Everyone believed that politics was this prestigious gentlemanly like sort of thing when in reality it’s a mashup of VEEP and a high school Student council election. It’s a bunch of venal incompetent pieces of shit running for office to make money and gain power.

        AOC is the prime example of someone who doesn’t have a lot of intellectual heft and a messed-up philosophy but will eventually someday either be some powerful leader in the House or even President. I would still like to respectfully motorboat her tho.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Ed:

        I won’t condemn you for your desires because I think that you wouldn’t be able to hear any of her drivel while motorboating her. (can’t believe motorboating is an approved spell checker word).

        How bad it would it be if you were laying some pipe on AOC and in the heat of the moment she yelled out “Give it to me Bernie!!!!”?

      • Ted S.

        How do we know Ed isn’t into threesomes?

      • Common Tater

        It’s an acting job hired by their donors. Just like Hollywood, the two most popular actresses AOC and Jasmine Crockett are both good looking.

      • Ed Wuncler

        That’s the key pope. She would have to stay quiet the whole time because commie talk is a boner killer.

      • Grummun

        “Give it to me Bernie!!!!”

        “From each according to their ability, baby! Who needs it!?”

        I feel dirty having written that.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Grumman:

        You know that Bernie – the guy who was kicked out of a hippie commune for being too lazy – is 100% GAY-RON-TEED to be on the bottom making her do all the work.

        I doubt he’d even go to the effort of dirty talking. Everything is going to be up to her to provide.

      • slumbrew

        Give it to me, Bernie!

        I defer to P.J.:

        No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal

        It would most definitely be “Give it to me, Elon!”

      • slumbrew

        Nice tag work… oy.

      • Mojeaux

        Dude, mind your slashes.

    • Not Adahn

      Since I will never have a politico that acts as I wish they would, I will settle for someone who pisses off the right people and brings the career of politics into further disrepute.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Also, having one that actually says what they are thinking, no matter how lame is better than someone who only reads off of script of approved messages.

  10. R C Dean

    “The hospital strike killed two people, included a 16-year-old boy who had underwent surgery two days ago, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said.”

    Entirely possible, but I don’t believe anything the health ministry says.

    “Wait, they’ve owed her this money for 20 years?”

    There’s a lot in that story that makes no sense. Collecting on a judgment (including a default judgment that was reinstated) shouldn’t be that complicated.

    • Ed Wuncler

      So tired of the daily Palestinian- Gaza War outrage. Are the Israelis supposed to sit back while Hamas violates every ceasefire, and you know kill their people?

      • Ownbestenemy

        How else we supposed to rid the world of our overlords duh! /someone, somewhere

      • Nephilium

        I notice that all the articles talking about Israel violating the latest cease fire don’t mention that Hamas refused to release the rest of the hostages, and that there was no plans for the cease fire to continue.

      • Ed Wuncler

        That’s why they tout the whole colonialist BS because it’s their way to excuse poor behavior and even atrocities by those who they perceive as oppressed.

        I mean when October 7th happened Progressives were basically saying that yeah, it’s a tragedy what happened but they had it coming because they are the oppressors and Hamas are freedom fighters.

      • Fourscore

        LMAO, Jimbo. Wish I’d have thought of that. Great joke. Also like the straw switch on the little kid.

        No internet 60 years ago…

    • kinnath

      2nd version of this gag that I have seen.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I pulled a bunch of silly “tricks” like this on my kids. I’d always reveal the trick to them. It helps inure them to the idea of “magic”.

        Maybe a more Glib trick is this. I recently pulled it on Mrs. Holiness, her sister and the niece. They were appalled. I wish I had someone to video their reactions.

        * Especially effective since they all have that crazy flaky ear wax instead of good old American waxy shit.

      • bacon-magic

        “I’d always reveal the trick to them.”
        How dare you, magic is real mofo. *turns Pope Jimbo into a heterosexual

    • The Other Kevin

      Those are brutal. But so funny.

      Dan Bongino used to always ask, “Is it bad enough yet?”

      Has Disney shit on Walt’s grave enough, or do things have to get even worse before they figure this out?

      • kinnath

        https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/23/snow-white-review-disney-toe-curlingly-terrible-live-action-remake-rachel-zegler-gal-gadot

        Starring a simpering Rachel Zegler in the title role and Gal Gadot as a cardboard cutout of the Evil Queen, this is a bamboo-splinters-under-the-fingernails viewing experience. It’s not so much the clumsy attempts to defuse the political insensitivity of the original cartoon that sinks the movie. The problems are more fundamental, starting with the fact that this is one of the ugliest things I have ever seen: it has the look of an AI-created migraine and is awash with sentiments so sappy that you rather wish the huntsman would just get over his moral scruples and put us all out of our collective misery. A film made by people with cartoon dollar signs for eyes and not even the tiniest glimmer of art in their souls.

      • The Last American Hero

        If you think they’re done, think again. What’s in the pipeline for the next year?

        Only one film that could be a potential change in direction (don’t get your hopes up). It’s a boy abducted by aliens who is thrust into the role of ambassador for Earth. Of course, it could also be that he saves the planet by convincing the aliens we can be woke like they are.

        It’s the only original property they are releasing this year – the other 10 films are all existing IP. Including another Avatar – this one has fire instead of water!

      • Nephilium

        We still have Ironheart, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts* in the pipeline for disappointment. I’m frankly surprised by the love that Born Again is getting.

      • UnCivilServant

        Ironheart

        🤣

        This is a character who, in her comic book debut, wouldn’t accept a positive message from her teacher and badgered the poor woman until she said there was something she couldn’t do, just so there was something she could later assert “they said I couldn’t so it”.

        “Oppress me!”
        “You’re not oppressed.”
        “Oppress me harder”

        🙄

      • Chafed

        I can’t believe Stacy Abrams didn’t get the role.

      • PutridMeat

        defuse the political insensitivity of the original cartoon

        I’ve searched high and low, but have been unable to find anything like ‘political insensitivity’ in the original film. Granted, I’ve also never heard an objective definition of said term, so that might be part of the problem..

      • Mojeaux

        “Political insensitivity” == everything that was charming about the original film.

      • juris imprudent

        I don’t even think Prince (were he alive) could be a Prince Charming these days.

      • Grummun

        “Political insensitivity” == everything that was charming about the original film.

        If you want a cute, amusing live action Snow White, try Mirror Mirror starring the amply-eyebrowed Lily Collins. There’s some re-interpretation of the Seven Dwarves, but at least Dinklage didn’t ruin it.

    • Chafed

      That’s fantastic. Someone alert Critical Drinker.

  11. Beau Knott

    Hi all!
    For the sake of those who missed my comment in yesterday’s IFLA, herewith doxxing myself with the link to my GoFundMe.
    The Thanksgiving through New Year’s battle with atrial fibrillation nearly depleted my (limited) reserves. Now I’m facing hernia surgery and some unexpected, and expensive dental work. Getting old sucks, especially when you’re poor 🙁
    The link
    Thank you all for this gathering place and being the type of kind people who have raised this much in under 24 hours!

    • Ted S.

      What about the rats in miso soup? Are they dyed too?

    • Ownbestenemy

      I mean…why? They are already green or is it to mask rotting food on shelves?

      • UnCivilServant

        They’re not naturally green.

        The innards of a cucumber are white, and the pickling liquid, sans dies, does not change that significantly.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I meant outside of cucumbers. I know what color the inside is and my homemade range from clear brine to apple-cider vinegar brine and then natually take on the color of whatever I used to pickle.

        I get food manufacturers want consistency, but dying the pickling liquid is just weird.

      • UnCivilServant

        Apple cider vinegar color pickles create an unappealing mental image.

      • Chafed

        That’s because Bubbie loves you.

      • Sensei

        I remember those abominations.

    • rhywun

      Even the one they’re successfully banning is not actually proven dangerous to humans.

      I guess if people are willing to pay more for everything… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      • Chafed

        Willing has nothing to do with it.

    • AlexinCT

      I am not dying my pickle.

  12. Common Tater

    “Voters would be forced to cast a ballot every election if Illinois House Bill 2718 becomes law, according to an election integrity advocate….

    “This bill doesn’t say that. It says a blank ballot,” said Davis. “It doesn’t say who casts a ballot with the, ‘I’m not voting for anyone’ box checked. It says blank. So to me, I have to take these people literally, and that means they’re going to be sending out and getting back blank ballots, which, of course, we all know nefarious actors are going to be using to nefarious ends.”

    The bill, currently, does not impose penalties but says the General Assembly by law shall define permanent residence for voting purposes. Davis said the General Assembly defining “permanent residence” makes her nervous.”

    https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/measure-seeks-have-illinois-join-australia-compulsory-voting-practices

    Frankly, I’m impressed they can make Chicago voting even worse.

    • R.J.

      That really wins the dumb idea award for March. Imagine the chaos. And remember the power of write-in campaigns? You could end up with somebody’s dog winning the election. Which might be an improvement there.

      • Common Tater

        They should elect O’Leary’s cow.

      • Fourscore

        Bill the Cat for President!

    • Pope Jimbo

      I don’t know. One of my dreams is for more people to cast blank ballots. It would be the ultimate Fuck You to the machine. If the blank ballot count was higher than the “winner” it should be an effective deterrent to anyone trying to claim a “mandate”.

      With the rise in mail in balloting though, I’m not sure that shenanigans wouldn’t abound.

      Maybe the way to go is to create an app called BallotStub. It would allow you to sell your ballot to the highest bidder. Sure the country would be going to hell, but at least you’d have some scratch to soften the blow.

      • Nephilium

        Until you realize that votes are probably worth less than a dollar each.

      • The Last American Hero

        Swing votes are worth more. So yes, your ballot in California is worth less than the paper it’s printed on. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ballot….

      • AlexinCT

        anyone trying to claim a “mandate.

        Why you busting on what two consenting adult males want to do, huh?

  13. Sensei

    Wow. Is there really this much margin in a 3 series?

    The 3 Series until recently has only been subject to a 2.5% duty when imported into the U.S. BMW BMW -0.76%decrease; red down pointing triangle told its dealers that the car, with a sticker price of around $47,000, is now subject to a 27.5% tariff, potentially adding more than $10,000 to the price tag.

    For now, BMW won’t stick customers with the added cost. The carmaker will fully absorb the extra 25% duty until May 1, BMW’s North American division told dealers.

    https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/the-biggest-auto-losers-in-trumps-trade-war-so-far-luxury-brands-e8647ca8?st=mXxjBC&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

    • Drake

      Probably that much inventory already here.

    • kinnath

      I’m OK with punishing politicians for using false and inflammatory language when describing opponents.

      • Common Tater

        So all of them?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        All he had to do was add “in my opinion” or “I think” but he didn’t as far as I know so fuck that guy.

      • Swiss Servator

        I would hate to see remarks like my favorite one by a politician about his opponent (“He is a direct, lineal descendent of the impenitent thief on the Cross.”) get smothered.

      • Ted S.

        So if I said “Anyone who doesn’t like puns is a literal Nazi”, that would be OK?

    • R C Dean

      The icing on the lawsuit cake is that, after the fake fire alarm kerfuffle, Bowman’s “staff” recommended going on the attack and calling Repubs Nazis. When this came out, Bowman disavowed it by saying that you should never call someone a Nazi as a generic political attack, and should only do so if they really are a Nazi.

      This is solid gold in a defamation case, even under the Sullivan standard. Sure, Musk is likely to lose, but he’s not suing because he needs the money. He’s suing to torment Bowman, who will now have to explain away why he called Musk a Nazi after saying you should never do that unless someone actually is a Nazi.

      • Chafed

        Let’s hope the deposition transcript/video gets released.

    • Ozymandias

      So you would have no problem with the local paper – or politician – calling you a pedophile in print? It’s just “name-calling”?
      There’s a reason libel and slander exist.
      I get what you’re saying, but you let that go on for too long and now you’ve acceded to it.
      There’s a very powerful idea in the public mind that if you’re accused of something heinous and fail to respond/deny it that it can be deemed an admission.
      If I claim publicly you’re a wife-beater and you say nothing what conclusions could a third-party reasonably infer?

  14. Q Continuum

    Mammary Monday fun fact: approx 3% of women can orgasm from breast stimulation alone. Therefore, at least 2 of these babes could potentially cum from your clumsy fumbling.

    https://archive.is/bFWH0

    • Chafed

      *sigh* It’s true. I am a clumsy fumbler.

      • Sean

        🤌🤌

      • AlexinCT

        Learn to lick the Greek and/or Cyrillic alphabets. You will always have great success.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Alex, how many licks does it take to get to the center of the Greek world?

      • AlexinCT

        That will depend on the construction of the little man in the boat…

  15. The Other Kevin

    I have an additional Daily Ray of Sunshine. My youngest was adopted via open adoption, and we are still very close with Birth Mom. Birth Mom now has two wonderful young kids (6 and 2). My youngest is having a rough go of her sailor being deployed. So Birth Mom bought her a flight home for this Friday. She’ll be here a week, spending most of her time with her half siblings but she’ll spend some time here too. She’ll be back in May but this was an awesome surprise.

    A lot of us Glibs are having issues with family members, just thought this a reminder that we all have good moments too.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Sweet and comforting.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      That is nice to hear, TOK.

    • Beau Knott

      Most excellent in all respects!

      • Chafed

        +1

  16. Common Tater

    “The Trump administration has asked a federal judge to step aside from a case involving the president’s executive order against law firm Perkins Coie, arguing that the judge has shown a clear bias against Trump.

    On Friday, Justice Department lawyers filed a motion claiming that US District Judge Beryl Howell has demonstrated a “pattern of hostility” toward the president. They argued that her impartiality could “reasonably be questioned” due to past rulings and comments she has made in cases related to Trump and his supporters.

    “This Court has not kept its disdain for President Trump secret,” the filing states, according to Reuters. “It has voiced its thoughts loudly—both inside and outside the courtroom.”

    https://thepostmillennial.com/trump-doj-seeks-to-remove-judge-who-ruled-against-admin-in-case-of-lawfirm

    That’s one unattractive judge.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Wait, they filed it with the same court? “You’re a biased sack of shit and a terrible judge, Your Honor.” Doubt it’ll work.

      • Sean

        o.O

  17. Q Continuum

    “Something is wrong in the Democratic Party.”

    Something’s been wrong for decades, it just took removing the governor on their insanity under Biden for normies to finally realize it. Leftist governance *always* fails, you just have to give it a chance.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      Left governance always pushes to far, and thus fail. Right governance always holds back to much and thus fails.

      That is the dichotomy of a political continuum.

      • The Other Kevin

        Well said. The left always pushes things too far, and this time they’ve outdone themselves.

      • The Last American Hero

        Bullshit. They are like 5 seats short of a house majority, 2 seats short of a senate majority, hold half the governorships, and still control Hollywood, most of the TV news media, all the social media not named X, and the Narrative.

        We are one semi-recession away from full lefty rule.

      • R C Dean

        What Hero said. After the last time their popularity was this bad, they went on to win the Presidency several times (Clinton, Clinton, Obama, Obama, and Biden) and hold at least one house of Congress almost the entire time, and even controlled both houses of Congress a few times.

      • Gustave Lytton

        And the indoctrination factories (preK-grad school).

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        And how long after Bush the Lessor left in shame did the R’s retake the house with historic majorities, RC? Likewise, Regan, Regan, Bush Fils, Bush II, Bush II, Trump, *, Trump.

        What really matters is the, for lack of a better word, zeitgeist of an era.. How is the electorate moving, in a liberal direction such or conservative. Post WWII was fairly conservative, while post Regan was liberal. Who was president has to operate within that paradigm.

      • juris imprudent

        Clinton, Clinton, Obama, Obama, and Biden

        Um, Bush, Bush, Trump all interceding in that list. It isn’t like the Dems running Congress for 3+ decades.

      • R C Dean

        My point wasn’t that the Dems ran the entire show the whole time. My point was that the Repub triumphalism is badly misplaced, and we shouldn’t expect the Dems to just wither up in a corner and die. They’ve been this far down before, and came back from it just fine.

  18. The Late P Brooks

    Sosnik said the 2024 election was at least as much a repudiation of Democrats as it was a victory for Trump.

    No shit, Shirley?

    Don’t worry. Rahm Emanuel is coming to rescue you.

    • Pope Jimbo

      Rahm might be a grade-A asshole, but at least he is actually a masculine dude. Unlike King Walz.

      Rahm is the one guy I think who might actually have a chance in the next election.

      • Ed Wuncler

        I’m not a fan of Rahm but his stint as Mayor of Chicago was probably the last time Chicago was a semi decent city before the descent into the hell that we are now experiencing due to Lightfoot’s arrogance and Johnson’s incompetence. He saw that the pensions would become a huge issue and was one of the few Illinois politicians who saw the teacher unions as extortion artists and was willing to fight them.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    “Democrats are losing working-class voters,” Klein, co-author with Derek Thompson of the new liberal blueprint “Abundance,” said last week. “They’re seeing their margins among nonwhite voters erode and vanish. They’re losing young voters. Something is wrong in the Democratic Party.”

    Nonsense. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. The hard core lunatic fringe is where the votes are.

    • The Other Kevin

      “Are losing”? Remember when Hillary declined to campaign in the rust belt, and told all those blue collar workers voting for Trump they were “deplorable”?

    • rhywun

      the new liberal blueprint “Abundance,”

      lolwut

      Their entire worldview is based on achieving the opposite of that.

      • Chafed

        I think Klein believes what he wrote. He also seems unable to recognize his suggested policies are unattractive to current Democrat voters.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Are they unattractive to your average Dem, or just unattractive to the far left Dems running the party?

      • juris imprudent

        ZWAK nails it. The lunatics on the left won’t really care about losing – except their own offices. The people that see a bigger picture are an entirely different story.

  20. Mojeaux

    So, I’ve got a bit of a caretaker/daughter/indulgent mom conundrum thing going on. As you know, my mom is home with me now. However, she’s sleeping a lot and not doing her therapy and whatnot. She’s TRYING to “get things done” (sort out her shit) and is impatient with herself for not doing more.

    CaretakerMe wants to be firm about her therapies and practicing and conditioning.

    DaughterMe is hesitant to boss my mom around.

    IndulgentMomMe thinks she’s just fine because she’s old and doesn’t feel well and has been recovering.

    I don’t know where this line is of “Look, she’s still sick and she needs to rest” (this is true, tho) versus “pUt In ThE wOrK” tough love (this is ALSO true) should be crossed.

    • slumbrew

      Hrm, tough one.

      Is she on an actual schedule for doing her therapies? That may help – “2 to 3 every day is therapy time” vs. “you need to do your therapy today, at some point”. Even if it slides, the target helps.

    • Common Tater

      In my own experience, and based on speaking about this with a bunch of physical and occupational therapists, parents often don’t listen to their children when it comes to doing therapy. The upside is that Medicare is very good at approving at home therapy. First it’s Part A, then it’s Part B, and the clock gets reset every time she is hospitalized.

    • R C Dean

      Split the baby. Take a look at what she is “supposed” to be doing, prioritize, and lean on her to do some of it, at least. Slum’s idea of setting a structure for it is a good one.

    • The Other Kevin

      Right there with you, sister. Mrs. TOK is out of town and it’s just me and the oldest. Yesterday she slept in, and in church was nodding off so I told her to take a nap. She ended up sleeping 16 hours in a 24 hour period. I know she has sleep apnea and depression, but I’m cleaning the house while she’s sleeping and it’s pushing me toward that line as well.

      She does have an appointment with a new doctor late next week, my SIL is going with and told her to come up with a list of concerns. Sleeping is at the top of the list.

      • Mojeaux

        I feel that because a) I don’t sleep well [not apnea, just whirring mind, nightmares], b) I’m a slug and will doze all damn day long if I don’t have stimulants [not depression] [done this since I was a small child] [doesn’t matter what state of health I’m in], but c) the long sleep marathons don’t help anyway and then I’ve gotten nothing accomplished so I feel even worse. The only thing I had going for me pre-stimulants was having to earn a paycheck.

        Is she anemic, perchance?

        Will she follow a list you make of chires needing done or will she make her own list with your guidance?

      • PutridMeat

        I hate to be that guy – well, lets by honest, no I don’t – with a one note response, cure-all, but – diet, diet, diet. Fix the metabolic disorders and that depression, sleep issues etc. will, if not resolve, get much better. Even to 0th order, just severely limiting sugar intake will probably get her most of the way there. I understand the difficulty is in the implementation, to put it mildly. But sometimes the choices are stark and no-one is going to come in and rescue you and fix you with no effort on your part – they can, as you have obviously done for her, provide the means and environment for you to take action – but it always comes back to what you are willing to do for yourself.

      • The Other Kevin

        Mojeaux, this will be her first doctor visit since she moved back. My gut is telling me she’ll have no less than 6 things that need intervention (anemia, depression, diabetes, sleep apnea are my guesses). We do have that list, she wrote it, but she’s picking and choosing which ones to do. “Go for a walk” is there, she hasn’t done that in over a week. Now we have to decide how much of an asshole we want to be about it.

        PM, you are preaching to the choir. Every one of those health issues can be controlled by diet an exercise. We have a dispute with my SIL about this. She’s got my daughter on a budget, they bought groceries for her this weekend and my SIL told her she needs to control her serving sizes to make that food last. My SIL says if we push on the health issue it will destroy our relationship with her. But Mrs. TOK and I see this way: If it were drugs or alcohol, we wouldn’t just watch and say “Oh well it’s her choice.”

        It is frustrating, but my wife, in her wisdom also says “You can’t force someone to care more than you do.”

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        TOK, have you tried doing things with her? Like taking a walk together, as opposed to sending her out on a walk, for example?

      • The Other Kevin

        ZWAK that has mixed success. Mrs. TOK offers to walk with her, and I’ve taken her to the gym with me but she works out for 15 minutes and says something hurts her. But we don’t do enough of that, you’re right.

      • R C Dean

        What Putrid said. Controlling her diet may not be sufficient to resolve her problems, but I think it is unquestionably necessary. I hate to say it, but she may be a GLP-1 candidate.

      • The Other Kevin

        @RC I hate that stuff, but this is an extreme case.

      • PutridMeat

        @RC I hate that stuff, but this is an extreme case.

        There are dietary interventions that can increase GLP-1 activity; but probably not at the level necessary here. With the caveat the GLP-1 agonists shouldn’t be relied on absent lifestyle interventions, especially at the doses prescribed for weight loss (which tend to induce those nasty side effects), with knowledge of the implications (e.g. lean mass loss, potential for worse weight issues if discontinued without having made the lifestyle choices, etc), they might be useful for long term resolution at the more therapeutic doses. I’ve not seen a better, more even handed review than this one

  21. The Late P Brooks

    Judge wants judges to be in control

    Luttig, who was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush and served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1991 to 2006, criticized the president in an op-ed published Sunday in The New York Times.

    “President Trump has wasted no time in his second term in declaring war on the nation’s federal judiciary, the country’s legal profession and the rule of law,” Luttig wrote.

    ——-

    “It’s no secret that he reserves special fury for the justice system because it oversaw his entirely legitimate prosecution for what the government charged were the crimes of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and purloining classified documents from the White House, secreting them at Mar-a-Lago and obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim them,” Luttig wrote.

    Luttig argued that Trump is going to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis if he does not reverse course, and will likely become very unpopular with the American people.

    We must let judges appointed to lifetime terms run the country. Otherwise, democracy is doomed.

    • R C Dean

      “President Trump has wasted no time in his second term in declaring war on the nation’s federal judiciary, the country’s legal profession . . .”

      To be fair, they started it.

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