Thursday Morning Links

by | Feb 9, 2023 | Daily Links | 370 comments

Now even bigger!

They’re trying to do a Super League again. Let’s see if UEFA loses their shit.  LOL, this is a bit extreme. It’s not like those athletes are all government employees, buddy. OK, that’s it. I was at least able to do something for sports, so let’s all rejoice. Now on to…the links!

I feel bad for them. But what am I supposed to do? Somehow I bet the government’s proposal for a solution will involve a shitload of tax money.

Dicks necks out for Fetterman.

And this is why they were all yelling “LIAR” at the SOTU. It’s a complete lie and everybody knows it. Yet it continues to be his strategy. It’s bizarre.

Oh no. Not The Lump. I hope he’s ok. Also, he needs to resign because he’s not fit for there job.

This is getting good. Keep it all. Let’s get to discovery before the primaries next year. Please, please, please!

“Targets” is doing a lot of work here. But since we live in a post-personal responsibility age, I guess it works.

Useless

Nice work, IRS. Way to have your shit together, you useless fucks.

But at least it wasn’t high-capacity or assault fentanyl. Way to have your priorities in order, California.

It’s about time. Maybe Harris County will be able to have its first legitimate election in 6 years.

This is better than the original, IMO. Maybe I’m just a child of my generation. And I assume everybody that watched that knows what this is gonna be. Which is fine, because it’s freaking awesome. Enjoy them both.

And enjoy this really cold Thursday, dear friends.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

370 Comments

  1. Count Potato

    “Somehow I bet the government’s proposal for a solution will involve a shitload of tax money.”

    Bold prediction.

  2. AlexinCT

    I feel bad for them. But what am I supposed to do? Somehow I bet the government’s proposal for a solution will involve a shitload of tax money.

    Don’t forget the part will it will do absolutely nothing to fix the problem, and more likely than not will exacerbate it.

    • sloopyinca

      War on Poverty 2: Racial Boogaloo

      • AlexinCT

        I heard the cost of the war on poverty has topped $50 trillion in the US. And we keep getting told there is ever more of it…

        As I pointed out: no government program exists to solve problems. They exist to allow a government bureaucracy to keep growing and increase its strangle hold on the productive tax payers (whom they will also accuse of being the reason for the problems and kulaks & wreckers of their fake efforts to fix shit).

      • sloopyinca

        This is why LBJ should get serious consideration for second place in the “worst president ever” competition. Yet he’s lauded as a champion of the poor and middle class.

      • WTF

        “I’ll have them n****rs voting Democrat for the next 200 years.”

      • The Last American Hero

        Only 150 more to go!!!!
        /White Pill

      • AlexinCT

        Do not disrespect LBJ, brah.

        Anyone that claims their opponent fucks sheep and then admits it doesn’t matter if it is true or not because by then the election will be over, is a winner…

      • SDF-7

        Beating out FDR? That’s a really really tough call. The New Deal crap and the associated court cases made LBJ possible, after all.

      • sloopyinca

        He deserves consideration. But I still think he drops into third.
        Wilson
        FDR
        LBJ (in that order).

      • Not Adahn

        My grandfather was named after Woody. Fortunately my father did not pass the name onto me.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Lincoln should be in that mix.

      • WTF

        ^This. Without Wickard, most of the bloated fedgov regulations we have today couldn’t exist.

  3. AlexinCT

    And this is why they were all yelling “LIAR” at the SOTU. It’s a complete lie and everybody knows it. Yet it continues to be his strategy. It’s bizarre.

    Why would they change strategy when the media helps cover for them?

    • Strange Brew

      Up until about 10 years ago I believe the media provided cover for Democrats. Now they actually coordinate with each other.

      • AlexinCT

        What we call legacy media is nothing more than a bunch of people selected for their revolutionary fervor and their lack of intellect to parrot whatever talking point the mandarinate is trying to peddle to the unwashed masses.

  4. Count Potato

    “It’s a complete lie and everybody knows it. Yet it continues to be his strategy. It’s bizarre.”

    I think it’s because they want to put it in TV commercials. I saw a bunch of them claiming “Republicans are after your Social Security and Medicare” to scare old people.

    • sloopyinca

      But we’re so far away from the next election cycle and the bill resolving this is gonna happen too far out for it to help them. That’s why it makes no sense.

      • AlexinCT

        Fundraising from dumb people that will send in a part of their social security check to these crooks….

      • SDF-7

        Didn’t the harping on it help tamp down the expected Red Wave? I didn’t expect it to work then either — but obviously they figure it is a winning strategy and will just keep putting it out there as long as they think it is working…

      • Nephilium

        I think the Red Wave was more tamped down by “ABORTION! WOMAN’S RIGHTS! HANDMAIDS TALE!” more than anything else.

      • SDF-7

        Yeah… you’re probably right. I should keep my Big Stupid Lies straight, I suppose. Sure they’ll trot that one out again too.

      • The Last American Hero

        It was tamped down because the Trumpistas ran shit candidates in most states. If they had run milktoast candidates, they would have had a wave and the senate. However, being milktoast, not much would have changed.

      • Ted S.

        Adam Laxalt was a bad candidate?

      • Michael Malaise

        I don’t buy this. It was a mix of things. Pulling funding from certain candidates, the Roe/Wade stuff and several bad candidates from both MAGA and GOPe wings.

      • Michael Malaise

        Oh, and ballots not votes.

  5. AlexinCT

    Oh no. Not The Lump. I hope he’s ok. Also, he needs to resign because he’s not fit for there job.

    Step1: medical crisis…

    Step 2: donkey replace him with his wife.

    • sloopyinca

      The whole last year of his life has been a medical crisis.

      • Nephilium

        Well, aren’t we all still in crisis due to COVID?

      • SDF-7

        Just until May, apparently.

      • R.J.

        I’ll mark my calendar.

      • Rat on a train

        Like the Korean armistice, shots will continue.

  6. AlexinCT

    This is getting good. Keep it all. Let’s get to discovery before the primaries next year. Please, please, please!

    Can’t wait to hear the discovery for this shit show… Especially from the FBI & DOJ..

    What’s the over & under that they will do this in D.C. where a rigged court will simply deny them the ability to do any discovery?

    • sloopyinca

      Wouldn’t he have to file the case in the jurisdiction it happened in? Or where he resided when he was damaged by their actions?
      Hell, I don’t even know where the guy was living when this happened. He was more or less a transient from what I can remember.

      • AlexinCT

        They should go by which family member’s wife he was banging at the time to make the call on jurisdiction….

      • sloopyinca

        “Joke’s on you. I was banging my niece and hookers at the time, and she was a child so she wasn’t married. Now I can file wherever I want.”
        -Hunter

      • WTF

        I have no doubt they’ll concoct some bullshit rationale as to why it must be heard in DC, and some lefty judge will allow it.

    • WTF

      Discovery response from FBI and DOJ: “Classified information due to national security concerns, unable to release.”

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        👆👆

        You forgot “ongoing investigation”

      • Brawndo

        The funny thing is, using that as an excuse is an admission that Hunter had classified info on his personal laptop. Not that that would change anything.

  7. WTF

    Black college students have lower six-year completion rates for any type of degree or certificate program than any other racial or ethnic group because of racial discrimination

    This is actually sort of true, but not the way they mean. Affirmative action creates mismatches between black college students and the universities they attend, lowering their chances of success.

    • AlexinCT

      Case dismissed….

    • rhywun

      Black students in less racially diverse programs are more likely to feel discriminated against

      This shit is getting so tedious.

      • WTF

        It seems they want more segregation. Because “feels”, and not any actual discrimination.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        It is odd that they feel discrimination in the wokest places on earth.

      • WTF

        Yeah, why are leftist-run institutions such cesspits of racism and discrimination?

      • one true athena

        The answer is obviously more DEI admins!

    • Social Justice is Neither

      What infuriates me about this is the response is always to paper over the situation and remove standards rather than dealing with the causes. There is a persistent problem but it begins well before enrolling in college and is not entirely external to the values and attitudes they grew up in and internalized.

    • The Last American Hero

      It was an eye opening experience for many students when I was in school. The black students largely came from the inner city, minority majority and were surprised to walk onto a college campus and suddenly be about 15 percent of the student body. The white and asian (honorary white students for grievance mongering purposes) were from the suburbs and the sticks, and were surprised to learn that they were apparently horrific bigots because reasons.

    • Michael Malaise

      Culturally, education is not a priority in a lot of black communities.

      There, I said it.

  8. SDF-7

    Nice work, IRS. Way to have your shit together, you useless fucks.

    As someone affected by this (being in CA it is kind of unavoidable), I do think the IRS had plenty of time to actually make a determination, true… but the state argument that these “buy the votes from Federal COVID money” checks are ‘disaster relief’ is pretty silly too. It won’t surprise me a jot if they end up being Fed taxable income. I’d forgotten completely about the stupid thing until I got the 1099-MISC a week or two back, honestly.

  9. WTF

    Experts have warned that the lottery system preys on poorer communities

    It preys on people who are bad at math.

    • AlexinCT

      Yup. I can afford to throw away $40 every month buying the same Powerball ticket for a month’s worth of drawings and consider it a discretionary expenditure like buying coffee (which I don’t do). But the number of people I see spend $40 on a single drawing or scratch offs when I do that line that clearly look like they need every fucking penny they are pissing away, scares me.

      • R.J.

        Yeah. I see the same. It does remind me if the heavy cigarette taxes. People who buy those and people who buy lottery tickets overlap pretty well. Nothing but penalty taxes on those who can’t afford it. And I do consider buying lottery tickets voluntary taxation.

    • rhywun

      I usually don’t expect that amount of woke gibberish from the Fail.

    • DrOtto

      It’s the Math Tax.

      • Brawndo

        Women hardest hit.

  10. Grummun

    YouTube’s (autogenerated?) CC says the lyrics are “… carry a cup in your hand”. Ha ha.

  11. SDF-7

    This is better than the original, IMO. Maybe I’m just a child of my generation. And I assume everybody that watched that knows what this is gonna be. Which is fine, because it’s freaking awesome. Enjoy them both.

    Both good — but I’m still more a fan of this one. Just my natural weirdness shining through, I suppose.

    Have to ask — was the musical choice based on this? Given the discussion yesterday (day before?), it did come to mind then and would lead us here..

    • sloopyinca

      Nope. I saw that tweet but I heard Egyptian on the radio yesterday and it made me smile so big that it’s stuck with me ever since. And I wanted to share that feeling with y’all.

      • Grumbletarian

        Couldn’t have waited until Monday?

    • DrOtto

      Why do people keep talking about Madonna and then posting that pic of Marilyn Manson? It’s confusing to me.

  12. AlexinCT

    This was by design.

    The liberal agenda is part & parcel the destruction of any and all systems of competency under the guise of accusing said systems of being white supremacy. Basically we live in a time where the actual smart people need to hold back on what they say for fear of being attacked by the uneducated credentialed moron and the dumb for hurting their feelings. All because the inept majority has decided it has to cancel all meritocracies, which as systems were clearly showing that these angry douchebags were just inept/lazy losers, so they could feel better about the fact that they were just consumers of resources better spent elsewhere.

    • WTF

      Nikole Hannah-Jones says hi.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      *points at gay black Pfizer diversity hire who’s too stupid to keep his trap shut *

      • WTF

        Also:

        Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy recently admitted that under her leadership and Disney’s stewardship that the company has taken the fun out of Star Wars.

      • R.J.

        “Every time Disney buys a new creative property a demon gets its wings.”

      • R.J.

        Speaking of, did I hear that James OKeefe was fired from his own Project Veritas? Is that verifiable beyond hearsay?

      • AlexinCT

        Looks like the mandarinate got to the board and is running a coup from the inside…

        Project Veritas has been causing too much damage to the mandarinate and the mandarinates agenda to get people to bend the knee and allow government to fuck them over every which way government feels pleases it…

      • The Last American Hero

        I heard they’re going to rename it Project Drudge.

  13. Not Adahn

    Neither The Bangles cover nor the Disturbed cover are better than the originals.

    • Ted S.

      At least the Bangles version is from a hilariously bad movie.

    • The Last American Hero

      I find the Bangles video far more watchable.

  14. SDF-7

    ‘Orning ‘ordles… Meh, meh meh… look what’s become of me – while I rack my brain, for LR’s possibilities…. it was so hard to see.

    Daily Duotrigordle #344
    Guesses: 36/37
    Time: 05:28.32
    https://duotrigordle.com/

    Daily Quordle 381
    6️⃣7️⃣
    3️⃣8️⃣
    quordle.com

    • Grosspatzer

      Daily Quordle 381
      6️⃣3️⃣
      4️⃣7️⃣
      quordle.com

    • Tundra

      Daily Quordle 381
      7️⃣4️⃣
      5️⃣8️⃣

    • SDF-7

      GAH! What the hell was that speaking?! Seriously disturbing crazy eyes on top of all else…

      • rhywun

        What the hell was that speaking?!

        Woke gibberish.

      • pistoffnick

        That’s a man!

    • Grummun

      I guess it must be an easier gig that getting xer ass kicked by He-Man repeatedly.

    • The Last American Hero

      I thought ambassadors were supposed to build bridges between people not show up with a big club and say “or else”.

  15. Not Adahn

    NPR ran a story about how “The Outdoors” are too white. Fortunately, there is an effort to get HBCU students out there to reestablish their ancestral ties to nature.

    • Brochettaward

      White people are too white.

      • waffles

        so true

    • WTF

      their ancestral ties to nature

      Sounds racist.

      • Not Adahn

        I pulled that phrase directly from the HBCU sophomore they were interviewing.

      • rhywun

        And… just like that we’re going to see another “Back to Africa” narrative emerge.

      • juris imprudent

        sophomore

        Checks out.

      • Michael Malaise

        They were more like chains to nature, but who’s counting?

  16. Brochettaward

    Reading the conversation on the story of Biden’s attack on Nordstream II, and no one really just put it in as blatant of terms as it deserved.

    America committed an act of war against Russia if they took out the pipeline. It’s not a gray area. A number of Glibs who shall remain nameless were willing to go along with the narrative that Russia did it themselves which never made any sense. Taking out the pipeline would do nothing but harm Russian’s leverage with Europe, particularly Germany. But let’s reiterate – that is an act of war against a nuclear power. A top 3 power in the world.

    Putin has to this point done nothing in response. Again, a number of Glibs were willing to go along with paranoid delusions that his long term plan was conquest in wider Europe. He has, till this point, showed remarkable restraint not responding to blatant provocations and an outright act of war from America. I have long argued that he has for a very long time employed a far more rational and far more restrained foreign policy than any of his American counterparts. Taking it one step further, if American presidents had actually listened to Putin on things like Iraq Libya, and Syria, the world and America would have been far better off.

    The same people telling you Putin stole the 2016 election for Trump are the same ones who try to paint him as a Hitler-esque authoritarian bent on world domination. Putin is not some nice guy by any means. He isn’t some friend of freedom. But he is a rational and relatively competent world leader that puts his Western contemporaries to shame.

    • sloopyinca

      The conversation I saw consisted of leftists calling Hersh a MAGAt and dismissing his claims. I also discovered that there are a lot of people on the left that have become experts in C4 explosions recently and that their conclusions on how it would react under water are all identical.

    • Not Adahn

      Putin doesn’t respond to provocations from the US for the same reason the US doesn’t respond to provocations from North Korea.

      • Drake

        ☝️

    • robodruid

      Gonna push back at ya slightly.

      I agree that it was most likely us, and I agree that it was an act of war.
      I was one of the people who posted a possible hydrates/maintenance issues as a possible cause. But i don’t see how it could have ruptured multiple lines at the same time.

      I have not seen much dissent here that it was us.

      Now considering how this is not being talked at DU/Salon/HuffPost in a bizarre way increases the likely hood that everyone agrees with the premise it was us.
      What am i missing?

      • WTF

        Well, so far there’s motive, means, and opportunity, but no physical evidence tying ‘Murica to the attack.

      • cyto

        This is the new standard.

        Did you collect bomb fragments from the sea floor???

        Like Biden bragging about getting the Ukraine prosecutor fired, messages before that talking about how he was causing problems, and junior getting paid millions and cutting of a piece for daddy…. but do you have pop and son *specifically* talking about how this payment was *specifically* for that exact action????

      • Brochettaward

        Few people legitimately didn’t believe it was us, at least in the media.

        Plenty of people did argue that it wasn’t us and suggest Russia did it themselves when it happened.

        There were several Glibs who said it could have been Russia. Some weren’t sure who it was.

      • rhywun

        My position was that I believe it but I want proof.

        Plenty of people did argue that it wasn’t us and suggest Russia did it themselves when it happened.

        That remains the Party line at CNN et al. I don’t how they can say it with a straight face.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        I leaned toward Russia doing it as a way to sow division in the NATO countries, and because it would be an act of war if we did it. I certainly hoped that nobody in the West would be so stupid as to do that intentionally. But it was 55/45 in that direction for me. I’ll have to read Hersch’s article.

      • SDF-7

        I 100% agree that it seemed like us or the Brits, but I’d really like something more than an undisclosed source here. We’ve seen the “source(s) with inside knowledge say…” way too many times over the last 6 years for me to be comfortable without something to back it up. Especially for an act of war against Russia and/or a NATO partner (because Germany has a credible beef here too).

        And I know that’s not the historical standard (or hysterical in the case of the USS Maine) — just saying I’m too skeptical of single sourced journalism to buy in wholeheartedly even when it feeds my prejudices right now.

      • Pine_Tree

        I’m wondering what the real German inside-baseball story is. Because surely they know it was the US. My assumption is that everyone in power in the German government is of the crew (Merkel, etc.) that has spent years deliberately becoming dependent on Russia because they’re true international communists and care much more about that, their own personal enrichment, and staying in power, than their own people. BUT I’d bet they sense that the average German would not like to admit they’re kinda slaves of the Russians now. So they have to play along with the US and just hope Putin doesn’t reveal whatever info he has on them regarding the sell-out. Like Z and Brandon?

        Don’t really know enough to know what to think though.

      • one true athena

        I think they were all very lucky the winter there has been comparatively mild. That gave them some space to work on alternatives, like buying gas from us. How convenient for us really. (and how that’s supposed to work out when Biden won’t open any gas fields, I’m not sure, but this admin is so competent I’m sure they know these things, right?)

      • DrOtto

        This right here /\

      • cyto

        “Top secret military operation”

        “I want more than 1 named and reputable source”.

        Yeah… don’t they shoot people for that?

      • cyto

        Plus, you should have counted th Biden administration saying it was the Russians as an admission.

        Pretty much any other statement would have been reasonable…. but “it was Russia”? That is not remotely plausible.

      • Brochettaward

        It really doesn’t seem like anyone is too interested in getting an answer which is also revealing. It’s like they know the answer and know it would be bad if they revealed it.

        Germany is just like nah we just don’t think it was Russia.

    • R C Dean

      I’m having a Two Questions problem with this story. Who wants me to believe this? Why do they want me to believe this?

      I have no idea, since the sources are (a) anonymous and (b) likely to be professional liars. It may be the way to bet, of course. But with the Two Questions hanging out there unanswered, it’s hard to say for certain.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Yes, the why is an interesting question. Let’s assume Hersh’s sources are legit, because they probably are. We also know that Hersh doesn’t publish information given to him on background, meaning his sources probably want the story out there. Why?

      • cyto

        Because they are getting scared by the neocon press to directly engage Russia militarily?

    • Brawndo

      Mostly agree. I think I would point out that Putin’s restraint isn’t coming from some personal discipline. I’m sure he is looking for anything to prevent having an iron clad reason to declare war on the US, because that would be suicidal. And I’m not sure how much appeasement of different factions of oligarchs he has to do or if he is as autocratic as the West suggests.

      • Pine_Tree

        Putin’s goal is for Putin to stay in power. That’s all. And in the case of the pipeline thing, letting it officially stay a mystery and avoiding any open response/complications is his best chance for staying in control of the situation. Admitting somebody nailed you looks weak and means you have to do something – something for which your opponent drove the timing. So stay cool and ignore it and deal with it (if ever) on your own terms.

    • The Last American Hero

      It’s. OK. Breathe. Russia is bad, NATO is opposing them. These so-called libertarians need to settle down, grow up, and shut up.

      /Matt Welch and some drunk Irishman

      • cyto

        I love where Kmele comes from. And the drunk Irishman is funny.

        But that group has become insufferable. They are fully blue pilled.

        (Well, I can’t fully say that. They have bored me to the point that I don’t listen).

  17. Ted S.

    In honor of the birthday boy, the music should have been this.

    • SDF-7

      Are you saying he is here to entertain you? That he is some sort of clown to trot out for you?

  18. The Late P Brooks

    Joe and the Democrats will strengthen social security by raising the benefits.

    • AlexinCT

      The government will mail you an IOU placeholder check…

  19. cyto

    In addition to everything else we have learned, apparently the war in Ukraine could have been avoided as both sides wanted a peace deal but the Biden administration blocked it.

    https://youtu.be/7LEST70FO9E

    Do people have no shame? I get greedy politicians who take bribes funneling money to Raytheon. That is easy.

    But what about all of those journalists who said Trump was starting World War III when he ordered the killing of Iran’s General in charge of their terrorist network? Do they feel any shame over cheerleading a war with Russia? Under false pretenses?

    What about the idiots flying a Ukraine flag? (particularly the ones who had zero shot of finding it on a map before they were told this was the great issue of the day)

    • cyto

      In back to back revelations, a reporter confirms what we already knew… that Biden ordered the Russian natural gas pipeline to be destroyed.

      He even reports that they got pushback because it was “a clear act of war”.

      I am not seeing a lot of handwringing about Biden starting world War III.

      • WTF

        “It’s okay when we do it!!!!”

      • robodruid

        And don’t forget about the 4 star from Air Mobility Command predicting war with China in 2 years.
        It seems to be accepted in the AF community. Its listed as a reason why we have to spend more time in the office.

      • Drake

        They are unhinged. What would a “win” look like in a war with China, Russia, or both? Can’t imagine how we could achieve a win, or how these maniacs could stop themselves from resorting to nukes after an initial setback.

      • SDF-7

        Everyone not being dead and Africa becoming the dominant continent due to no one nuking the shit out of it (because no one cares to)? All I can think of.

        As Bad Ideas(tm) go… it sure seems to be one of the GrandDaddies of them all, yeah. Especially since there’s no real need for it.

        I’m about as anti-CCP as it gets personally, but that’s because I despise their lying cheating business practices, genocide, etc… but anything beyond decoupling our (and any sane ally’s) economies from them because engagement has been a disaster is just stupid. Oppose their artificial islands, sure… given treaties with Taiwan – oppose an invasion (let Japan re-arm as far as I’m concerned.. until they run out of young men who can actually fight anyway).. but stoke up a conflict when we don’t need to? Insanity. Which is what the Eastern Europe tact most decidedly is.

      • juris imprudent

        Dude, it’s really hard to make GEN if you don’t have a combat command. What is the MOST IMPORTANT THING in the military? The creation of new FOGOs, the whole system is designed to drive every single lieutenant as a possible future FOGO.

      • The Last American Hero

        Japan can cover the shortage of young men with their transforming robot army.

      • Ownbestenemy

        You are operating under the assumption that the people pushing this see the US as the ones who will be victorious. I believe there are elements within our own government that would gleefully see the US put into third world status.

      • R.J.

        Klaus wants this. He needs us crushed. He believes the Chinese will be easier to control than the US.

      • Drake

        That is kind of funny. What happens to useful idiots when they outlive their usefulness?

      • Pine_Tree

        I’m actually operating under the assumption that the US government and most uniformed military leadership actually views the American people as their primary enemy. Only based on their own words and actions.

        Everything they’ve been doing recently makes perfect sense if you work from that assumption.

      • Drake

        Between the current economic policies and our active importation of the Third World – we will be something like Brazil in the near future.

        Our foreign policy may reduce us to surface-of-the-moon status before we get there.

      • robodruid

        The fact that he has not been removed from leadership is telling.

      • R C Dean

        I was talking yesterday to some guys who pay attention to the level of activity at military airbases in their area (former military, that kind of thing). They were both saying that the pace of training operations is way up. I haven’t really noticed anything around Tucson, but I haven’t really paid that much attention, either.

    • SDF-7

      No, I’m pretty sure this is one of their theme songs. Right after the Stonecutter’s “We do!” probably.

    • rhywun

      the Biden administration blocked it

      We knew this months ago.

      What about the idiots flying a Ukraine flag?

      That just kills me. Z-yy has literal Nazis in high places and the Left is completely on board. The ignorance on display is just astonishing.

      • waffles

        the people who run American foreign policy are blood-crazed maniacs.

    • AlexinCT

      HAH!

      Want to bet we will soon see some shit about how single mothers having to support their sons in a society that now simply wants to cancel all men and provides said young men no opportunities is a detriment to single motherhood? And the solution will be to cancel the men even harder…

      You can’t parody the stupid and evil from these people…

    • rhywun

      The NPR set and others who like to lecture us on how awful humanity is should sit down and watch a couple nature shows to understand how nasty and brutal it really is out there even with no involvement from us.

  20. juris imprudent

    Speaking of lies, I wouldn’t have given much credence to the U.S. blocked Ukraine-Russia ceasefire – until this denial.

    Kremlin appeasement lobby

    Fuck you cunte. These people are so determined to make Putin their bitch, that nothing short of America’s dick up his ass to the balls is going to satisfy them. Oh, does that make me an appeaser? I repeat FUCK YOU.

    • Drake

      I thought us blocking the early negotiations was an accepted fact. Boris Johnson went there specifically to scuttle any kind of settlement.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        Naftali Bennett put an end to the debate over the reasons for the war with his revelations about the peace negotiations.

        Russia was willing to settle for no NATO in Ukraine, Ukraine was willing to agree to it. DC said “NO” and Boris delivered the message.

      • Drake

        Now the Ukraine has lost most of a generation of their men (like Europeans in WWI) because of that arbitrary decision.

      • Not Adahn

        So you’re saying that there’s a surplus of Ukrainian chicks who can’t find a guy?

      • Count Potato

        Why would Ukraine and Russia have to listen?

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        Only Ukraine had to listen, specifically Zelensky.

        Like I said before, I have tiny bit of sympathy for him. He agreed to go along with the West’s desires and now Ukraine’s paying the price for it. Whether that decision was due to corruption or misguided trust, we’ll probably never know. DC will probably kill him to keep it hidden.

        If I were in his position, I’d be demanding money and troops too after I agreed to risk it on Washington’s say so.

    • cyto

      That was a lot of gymnastics to get to “this was out of context…..

      “If you go back and see a sentence he said an hour earlier, you can see that he thought it was all Russian fault.”

      Wow. Slick debunk!

      How dare they cut out an hour of preceeding conversation? They should have included that sentence in the 2 minute clip! That would have definitely been less deceptive….

      Wow

    • AlexinCT

      Obama & Clinton were played by Putin during the “reset”, and they did that specifically in the shared Silicon Valley experiment referred to as the Skolkovo deal. Russia stole a whole bunch of tech with military applications during that “reset’ time. For example, that Tzircon missile they are equipping the Russian warships/bombers with is pure DARPA. And there was much more. Especially when Russia got pissed at the Obama color revolution in Ukraine in 2012, and started threatening all the money laundering that the corruptocracy was doing there..

      You remember the left accusing junior Boosh of invading Iraq because of his pappy? Well this is their version of that. Putin really pisses them off because he got the upper hand on them.

      • R C Dean

        I don’t if they were played, or paid. I seem to recall Clinton cashing some sizable Russian checks around the time that deal went through.

      • Drake

        Both sides did a lot of playing. Putin wanted to integrate Russia’s economy into the rest of Europe. The Clintons and other globalists wanted to strip-mine the Russian economy for profit. Neither got what they wanted. Russia may come out of it better after the pain of making their industry and economy independent from the west.

    • The Last American Hero

      Reason editors seem to forget how 20 years ago anyone not cheering on W was “appeasing the terrorists” and “wanting AQ to win”.

    • R.J.

      Wow. Just kept driving, slowly. Why? Just get on the side of the road and get the Hell out!

      • The Last American Hero

        Probably on their cell phone and didn’t notice.

  21. Drake

    Implied in the blacks in college article – the fallacy that everyone should go to college. I’m sure the idea of sending black kids to trade schools (after which they could make a good living) instead of blue collar white kids would be considered wildly racist.

    • juris imprudent

      Everyone knows that only college graduates are able to run the country.

      • AlexinCT

        Into the ground…

        The only institution where people can be horribly wrong and dumb without ever having to face the consequences of the stupid beliefs they hold is college… Think about that.

    • cyto

      More than that…. every result is “because racism”. But more than that… the measure was “do you feel like you have been discriminated against?”

      In the present climate, that is a ludicrous measure.

      If anything, their objective numbers argue that affirmative action is failing black students who cannot complete their degree.

      I am really eager for us to get past this new racism push. These people are undeniably evil in their intentions.

  22. db

    The Bangles: Would.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    I just got a popup at the Bulwark, pleading with me to subscribe to a daily dose of their brand f sanity.

    I’d rather get my news from the guy in a wheelchair panhandling on Yellowstone Ave.

  24. The Late P Brooks

    Cathy Young has a bit of a prejudice against Russia, doesn’t she?

    • juris imprudent

      Only oozing from every pore.

      • cyto

        Truly a libertarian hero. Reason is the great training ground it was always intended to be.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    Statesmanship is very complex and there are things I don’t want to go into, why it was the right thing or not.

    Trust me.

  26. The Late P Brooks

    If anything, their objective numbers argue that affirmative action is failing black students who cannot complete their degree.

    And yet- none of the people who care so deeply about these kids is capable of asking themselves if They are setting them up for failure.

  27. db

    The production on “Walk Like an Egyptian” is really well engineered.

    Hoffs sings all her lines , especially “They sing and dance,” with perfection, and the muted guitar paired with the compressed bass is so tight throughout, especially as the parts get somewhat more complex toward the later parts of the song, and the guitar level comes up.

    Was it pop fluff? Yes, but it was *good* pop fluff, and a hell of a fun song!

  28. robc

    I think Chelsea and Liverpool are proving why a SuperLeague is a bad idea.

    The SuperLeague owners want a no-risk American style league system.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Chelsea just spent more than every other league combined in January.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Uh, to finish the thought. They suck and I hate them, but they should feel no obligation to help keep Juventus afloat.

      • robc

        Are they gonna get hit with FFP charges like Man City?

    • juris imprudent

      You mean I can run the franchise into the ground and still make the same money? SIGN US UP! /Euro soccer club owners

    • Ted S.

      The only people I know who think the Super League is a good idea are bandwagon fans who latched on to one or another EPL team when it became the hipster thing to do.

      • Michael Malaise

        My son has been a Chelsea fan for about 11 years. He hates the Super League idea.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Thicc? You from Ethiopia originally?

  29. Ownbestenemy

    Does the 13th Amendment and its clauses against forced servitude protect abortion? It’s an old opinion piece prior to the Dobbs decision but is being recirculated as of late.

    https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/591973-abortion-and-the-13th-amendment/

    Imagine a world in which women are forced to bear children. They do not control their reproductive powers. Their bodies are at the command of others. Their bodies are mere instruments. Their lives are seized and put to the service of purposes not their own.

    This isn’t dystopian fiction. That was the United States before the Civil War for enslaved women.

    What gets me is that these people know an outright amendment will fail, so instead they will once again contort the existing Constitution and its amendments to fit their goal.

    • AlexinCT

      By that logic we should also be able to ban marriage as it feels like indentured servitude for too many men….

      • Ownbestenemy

        And child support

      • juris imprudent

        No the logic only applies one way!

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      -Does the 13th Amendment and its clauses against forced servitude protect abortion?
      Short answer: No.
      Long answer: No.
      I’ll leave it to others to truly engage with such a disingenuous premise.

    • WTF

      Imagine a world in which women are forced to bearsupport children they did not want. They do not control their reproductive powers. Their bodies are at the command of others. Their bodies are mere instruments. Their lives are seized and put to the service of purposes not their own.

      This isn’t dystopian fiction. That was the United States before the Civil War for enslaved women.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Or abort a child the man wants but in the legal system you’re either just a sperm donor or a cash cow.

    • The Last American Hero

      It might if the government was forcing women to be inseminated. Which they aren’t, handmaids cosplayers not withstanding.

    • rhywun

      You and your ilk cheered on the sexual revolution. Deal with it.

  30. Rebel Scum

    It’s bizarre.

    It is in that is is absolutely blatant.

  31. The Late P Brooks

    NYT opinion headline:

    Biden’s Vision About How to Heal America

    Why do I assume it involves amputation?

    • Not Adahn

      Mandatory organ donation.

    • Rebel Scum

      He’s had two years, but he prefers to stoke division and lie about his opposition.

  32. trshmnstr the terrible

    Hi all! Just checking in and saying hi.

    I got approval from my department at work to move wherever the heck I want, so Operation Roll the Trash Can out of the City finally has a green light after 3 years of planning and saving. Now we sit and watch the market. We’ll hit our full down payment target in early May, but we could jump on a deal before then.

    Lots of stuff is happening at the trash can! I’m trying to keep my head above water as I train up on my new role while simultaneously doing my old role and covering for a guy out on leave. I also stupidly signed up to speak at a few lawyer conferences as well as teach a class at church, so I’m pretty swamped. The 5 year old recently finished her Kinder curriculum and is on to first grade, and I started teaching her piano as part of the transition. It has been a fun but challenging experience to pick piano back up for the first time since 6th grade. Wife is training for a half marathon, and the 2 year old is into gymnastics and art, so we’re all going 100 miles an hour right now.

    Anyway, just thought to pop in and show my face. Looking forward to seeing the Hobbits and the DFW glibs on Sunday!

    • Ownbestenemy

      Great news Trashy and hope that train keeps on rollin. Keep us updated and keep the racoons out of the trash can.

    • PieInTheSky

      Operation Roll the Trash Can out of the City – you should move to Aspen Colorado

      • PieInTheSky

        cold is good. Most of my friends in Romania say if they moved to the US they would want Texas or Florida. Sounds awful./

      • Count Potato

        Also $$$$$$$ af

    • Drake

      Good luck!

    • juris imprudent

      after 3 years

      Patience and perseverance is rewarded, huzzah!

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Yes, hopefully so! We targeted 2 years initially, but decided to replace our older car with some of the money when we saw the auto market going wonky in 2021 (there’s an article somewhere in the archive about it). That added a year to the process. No big deal, the real estate market is softening more slowly than expected.

    • db

      Awesome!

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Now we sit and watch the market. We’ll hit our full down payment target in early May, but we could jump on a deal before then.

      You’ll probably find more deals the end of this year. Patience Mr. Trashy.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        *pushes down all the feelings of urgency*

        There is only one (foreseeable) thing that would force our hand. We’re currently month to month in our rental, and a significant hike in price would force us to make a decision. Besides that, the only reason to set a timeline is desire. Desire to execute what we’ve been planning in various ways since Covid kicked off, desire to get out of a house that we’ve outgrown, desire to simplify and become less reliant on others. We feel spiritually led in this direction, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been placed on an expressway to the destination.

    • R.J.

      Awesome! Go be happy. Are you planning on Virginia, or as it is commonly known, Glib Central?

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        We’re still focused on Springfield, MO, but it’s not set in stone.

    • sloopyinca

      Where are you looking to move to? Are you gonna stay near the metroplex or go somewhere more civilized (like most of the way down I-45)?

  33. The Other Kevin

    That first song is definitely better than the original. It’s one of those songs that triggers a memory for me. It came out while I was a freshman in high school, and at the time a friend of mine who was a senior went to a party over Christmas, had too much to drink, drove his car head on into another car, and died a few days later. I think we all have one of those stories.

  34. PieInTheSky

    LOL, this is a bit extreme. It’s not like those athletes are all government employees, buddy. – I dunno I think Europe should ban all Russian escorts / prostitutes. We don’t want no Russian pussy!

    • Gustave Lytton

      I’m surprised the porn sites haven’t banned Russian porn.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      No Russian pussy? Let’s not get crazy here.

      • AlexinCT

        ^^^THIS^^^

        No pussy, except for lab created pussy (like lab meat), should be banned.

      • Not Adahn

        I prefer to keep an open mind re: sexbots.

      • juris imprudent

        +2000 Cherry

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        Not even Lena Dunham?

  35. Count Potato

    “A New Jersey councilman has been shot dead exactly a week after the unsolved slaying of another New Jersey councilmember.

    Russell Heller, 51, was gunned down by a former co-worker just after 7am Wednesday in the parking lot of an energy company where he worked.

    Authorities quickly identified a suspect, Gary Curtis, 58, in the mysterious killing, however he was later found dead in a car from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    The murder of the Milford councilman comes just seven days after Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was found dead in her white Nissan SUV after it crashed near her New Jersey home.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11731809/Second-New-Jersey-councilperson-shot-dead-week-51-year-old-killed-former-worker.html

    Curious.

    • WTF

      What, you’ve never seen The Sopranos?

      • AlexinCT

        It’s Jersey… They are just doing that Jersey thing…

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Yes, bullshit but the degree of collusion is likely exaggerated. When they share ideological beliefs and goals not that much collusion in the technical sense is required.

      • cyto

        We kinda have it in writing.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Beyond just bullshit, it’s verifiable as bullshit. We have the emails. The collusion is naked in front of us. This is textbook gaslighting.

      • Ownbestenemy

        No you see, you are not putting the emails in context /TMITE

      • Certified Public Asshat

        But they would never lie in front of congress!

    • AlexinCT

      After the fact we admit what we did was despicable and wrong. Of course, admitting it then doesn’t matter because we did what we needed to to “fortify” the election cycle. This is the whole JBL “My opponent regularly fucks sheep for fun” tactic. By the time people catch on you can feign contrition while snickering cause you got what you wanted already..

  36. The Late P Brooks

    All those actors in the Hazy Shade video – they were so young.

    Those were clips from that really shitty movie made from that incredibly shitty book, right?

    • sloopyinca

      Less Than Zero was probably his worst book.

      And Glamorama was probably his best.

  37. Fatty Bolger

    I started playing with ChatGPT. This thing is crazy. I highly recommend everybody trying it out to get a handle on what’s coming our way soon.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      From what I’ve seen (limited) it’s good enough to finally kill off critical thinking skills in this country once and for all. Are students going to write their own papers anymore?

      • Ownbestenemy

        There are counter programs to sniff out AI generated articles/papers for the academic scene. Now that isn’t to say schools will employ them lest they be labeled as ableist or some other bullshit.

      • R.J.

        That was already a big issue when Wikipedia came out. And all that did was provide a better encyclopedia , which is something that also kills critical thinking. And this AI chatbot will be easy to spot for professors. The answers it gives for papers will end up being so similar you could pick it out like liberal hive kind responses on Twitter.

      • Urthona

        I’m not impressed by it at all.

        Also it’s clearly fake. It’s obviously just wired to a 20 year old gender studies major typing furiously in a dark room.

      • Ownbestenemy

        It has some great potential. It gave me a base for an image classifier program in C++ to build off. Which I could go scour the internet forums for, but didn’t have to. So as a knowledge retrieval source (next generation search engine really), it works well.

    • AlexinCT

      The most important lesson for AI is that like everything in the computer world, the garbage that is fed in will determine the garbage it spouts. If you have woke cuntes programming and teaching the Ai, the Ai will be a lying low-life woke cunte.

      Don’t trust any figures of authority. Including AI (unless I programmed it, then it will be fine).

      • Fatty Bolger

        Sure, that’s going to be an issue. But put that aside, and just check out what it can do.

    • Ownbestenemy

      It is terrible at logic puzzles. I just gave it 3 generic puzzles I found online and it bombed all three

      • SDF-7

        They have to give Jim Kirk an avenue in as a failsafe.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Interesting. I gave it a puzzle using a hint that most people would not pick up on immediately, and it solved it. But it was language based, so maybe that’s why. An AI trained on logic would probably do better.

        What blows me away is that this is just scratching the surface of what’s possible. The ramifications are enormous.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Yeah I gave it one of those classic logic puzzles of If Mary is Jane’s daughter and blah blah blah and it starts out strong responding to it, but then just falls apart. At least in my instances.

      • rhywun

        It doesn’t “think”, it just regurgitates what other people have said on whatever issue or question you give it. If people say mixed things, you’ll get nonsense out.

        I.e. GIGO

      • UnCivilServant

        Oh, like a Full Professor.

      • Fatty Bolger

        Hmm, I just tried one and it worked:

        Solve this riddle: If Carmen’s daughter is my daughter’s mother, who am I to Carmen?

        If Carmen’s daughter is your daughter’s mother, then you are Carmen’s son-in-law.

      • kinnath

        WRONG. You are Carmen’s lesbian daughter-in-law.

  38. The Late P Brooks

    No Russian pussy? Let’s not get crazy here.

    Something something good pussy on both sides.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Yeah I hope they follow through on that and hope it doesn’t bring down the whole structure lol. Thanks for the links db!

      • cyto

        Yeah, this will be great but dramatic. By far the most powerful rocket ever fired. Definitely a nonzero chance of spectacular fireworks.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    the 2 year old is into gymnastics and art

    Jumping on the furniture and smearing mud on the walls?

    • WTF

      I hear the 2 year old is also getting a seat on Boston’s Reparations Committee.

    • R.J.

      That’s not mud.

  40. Sean

    Daily Quordle 381
    7️⃣4️⃣
    5️⃣8️⃣
    quordle.com

    Meh.

    • AlexinCT

      Whycome they have no genuine Philly drive bys?

  41. Tundra

    Good morning, Sloop!

    How is the fentanyl OD even a story? That’s every single day in every big city in the country.

    Maybe Harris County will be able to have its first legitimate election in 6 years.

    With the spoils as high as they are, I doubt legit elections have happened for 50 years.

    Also, great songs! I agree that their version is better. And Hoffs is still ridiculously beautiful.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Glen Simpson co-wrote a book on the history and persistence of corruption in politics and elections about twenty five years ago. He went on to cofound Fusion GPS.

    • cyto

      That is a ten out of ten

    • AlexinCT

      So sad that this guy is making fun of this, but he is dead on..

  42. The Late P Brooks

    How does chatbot do on the trolley problem? Based on some thing I saw recently, he’d probably send 500 white people over a cliff before he’d let the trolley inconvenience a black person.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Generically, it will just explain what the trolley problem is and give a vague example of how some philosophical leanings view it.

      • Ownbestenemy

        if trump is on one track and the whole of the republican party is on the other track and you can control the lever to determine which track the trolley will take, what would you do?
        !
        An error occurred. If this issue persists please contact us through our help center at help.openai.com.

        It doesn’t want to the play the game.

      • juris imprudent

        Smart.

    • WTF

      Well, we already know he’d let a million people die rather than utter the n-word to save them.

      • Urthona

        Subsequent attempts have gotten other results.

        We need to stop calling it AI. It’s a pull random bullshit from the internet machine.

      • Ownbestenemy

        This is true. It outright states is ‘knowledge’ is limited up to 2021 which is the first indication it is being fed specific data sets to pull from. Now if it starts breaking free of that without human intervention then we can discuss its potential of being an AI

  43. R.J.

    Been a busy day, here is a reminder:

    Next meetup in the Bearded Hobbit tour is on February 12th, 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM.
    It will be at The Lazy Dog in Plano, 8401 Preston Road, Plano TX 75024.

  44. PieInTheSky

    5 reasons why communism is more likely to be sustainable than capitalism,

    https://twitter.com/timparrique/status/1622866189117452288

    “An economy that prioritises wellbeing would get rid of non-essential goods/services and bullshit jobs.” – Ceausescu prioritized wellbeing and he was shot for it 🙁

    • AlexinCT

      This shit reads like the stream of consciousness from a mental patient…

      • cyto

        Needs a scroll at the bottom South Park style…

        “THIS IS WHAT THEY ACTUALLY BELIEVE”

  45. PieInTheSky

    One Just Stop Oil supporter found guilty of criminal damage for spraying orange paint on 55 Tufton Street, while four others that took action alongside him have been acquitted of highway obstruction – together incurring costs of £5,500.

    https://twitter.com/JustStop_Oil/status/1623340751525380096

    is it too extreme to say the property owner should be allowed to shoot you for this shit?

  46. The Late P Brooks

    I was talking yesterday to some guys who pay attention to the level of activity at military airbases in their area (former military, that kind of thing). They were both saying that the pace of training operations is way up. I haven’t really noticed anything around Tucson, but I haven’t really paid that much attention, either.

    I was living in Colorado Springs at the time, and in the weeks preceding Gulf War I, there was a nonstop flow of military equipment up to and including tanks headed out of town on the railroad.

    *Fort Carson

    • cyto

      Both gulf war I and II I could have told you to within a few days of when the attack was going to be.

      Robbins AFB was flying mixed aircraft sorties all over my neighborhood (for the first time ever) at low altitude and on the daily.

      Then, they all disappeared.

      3 days later. Bombs were falling.

  47. cyto

    Speaking of “this country has lost its mind (watch Grumbletarian link above), I found this video from 5 months ago yesterday.

    https://youtu.be/XgPJe73mOv0

    First, it is proof that Tom Cruise is a true throwback movie star. This reminded me of John Wayne doing introductions from horseback in the 60s.

    But I really want you to watch the opening speech by the bad guy in the trailer.

    Tell me that he isn’t on-point.

    I have to believe they couldn’t see it. Maybe they actually did mean it? I dunno… Let me know what you think

    • Ownbestenemy

      Seems like a generic bad guy, or am I missing something? Also, surprised at the full nudity in a trailer.

      • cyto

        Listen to his speech.

        “This is our chance to control the truth.

        The concepts of right and wrong…..

        …for everyone.

        For centuries to come.

        You’re fighting to save an ideal that doesn’t exist. Never did.”

      • Ownbestenemy

        Couldn’t we say that Agent Smith said the same thing to Morpheus in a way? Its Hollywood.

      • cyto

        I have a suspicion that the writer thinks he is a standin for right wing authoritarians…. But it literally describes exactly what is happening right now. Even including the opposition to the notions of the ideals being worthy… Free speech.. free association…

        The parallel is so tight. But I doubt they see it.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I can see that. The template for right wing authoritarian figures is one of their favorites.

    • kinnath

      I saw the video clip where Cruise was in a helicopter then bailed out when the director said we were running out of sunlight.

      • cyto

        That was an amazing promo.

        They really know what they are doing.

        Which is more effective? 45 seconds on ET with a reporter asking how fun was it to work with whoever….. Or a bini-fide movie star talking about how he is working hard to make something that will be really entertaining and he appreciates you coming out to support it… While plummeting toward the earth from 15,000 feet?

  48. creech

    Why is everyone chuckling about Sen. Fetterman? He’s the best choice for the 2024 ticket as Vice President, and would be a significant upgrade from Kammie. Buttgag/Fetterlump in 2024!

    • The Last American Hero

      Added bonus, Dr Jill is used to fucking a vegetable.

  49. PieInTheSky

    steelmanning can be a bad habit, because you end up responding to what you think is the strongest version of an argument, and then confusion occurs when it turns out the other person was actually advocating something much dumber

    https://twitter.com/meaning_enjoyer/status/1623644123692687360

  50. Rebel Scum

    Would.

    Anna Paulina Luna exposes Yoel Roth

    • Urthona

      No doubt the 11 hardcore republicans who watched the hearings will make her a huge star.

      • Swiss Servator

        There is this thing…”social media”. Clips get played on it. THAT is where you get followers.

    • PieInTheSky

      looks kinda gay

    • cyto

      Sunrise atmosphere filtering out the other colors makes red rainbow. Neat!

    • AlexinCT

      Not putting out enough..

  51. Rebel Scum

    The TDS is strong with you.

    “[Trump] said he liked to send out his tweets like little missiles. To me, that sounded exactly like weaponization of a platform in his own words and yet Twitter was not concerned.”

  52. Count Potato

    Not saying the U.S. didn’t do it, but remind me why the U.S. would blow up the pipeline? The MIC already got the war they wanted.

    • PieInTheSky

      I have no idea what to think on this topic…

    • Urthona

      because they were eliminating much of Europe’s reason not to support the war.

      absolutely vile too.

      • Sensei

        That’s my vote and opinion as well.

      • cyto

        There was an embargo on Russian gas. We were weeks away from rising demand. That was going to put extreme pressure on European governments to drop the sanctions.

        No pipeline… No pressure to drop sanctions.

        Problem solved.

      • Urthona

        Can you imagine if Europe had gotten the cold winter they were worried about?

        The US skated on this.

      • PieInTheSky

        I am not sure the EU would not have supported the war either way, they seemed all in before the pipeline

      • Urthona

        Seemed pretty lukewarm to me.

      • AlexinCT

        Merkel and her people, being EAST Germans and enamored with the days of old Soviet shit worked hard towards some kind of unification with Russia, is what I heard. They didn’t want that because of reasons.

    • The Other Kevin

      I’d say, it’s an economic shot against Russia. It stops them from making money, severs a big economic tie with the rest of Europe, and forces Europe to use other sources for energy. They don’t care who else suffers, just like when they force all the green crap on us.

      • Tundra

        I posted a video yesterday from 2014. The demon Condi Rice flat out said the plan was to fundamentally change Europe’s energy sector to save them from big bad Russia.

        They chose poorly.

    • Scruffyy Nerfherder

      Because the pipeline was a large part of the reason for the war.

      A Russian/German economic alliance would pose a threat to US dominance.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        The motivating force behind neocon foreign policy is to keep peer competitors from rising and to keep our current vassal states on the hook. That’s the liberal rules-based order in a nutshell.

      • PieInTheSky

        A Russian/German economic alliance would pose a threat to the rest of Europe as well.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        The real threat to the rest of Europe is the ECB and Brussels who want to remove the formation of private capital.

      • PieInTheSky

        That is another one, yes.

      • juris imprudent

        Once again reminded of Lord Ismay re: NATO “Keep the Soviets out, the Americans in and the Germans down”

    • rhywun

      To cripple Germany and make them dependent on American natgas.

      • Swiss Servator

        “make them dependent on American natgas”

        That Brandon was trying to forbid exports of?

      • kinnath

        Don’t expect intellectual consistency from mush-for-brains.

  53. Sensei

    In too local news I’d love to know what the Morris County Democratic Party did…

    Mayor and entire council change party affiliation from Democrats to GOP in East Hanover

    East Hanover’s elected leaders dropped a political bombshell on Tuesday, announcing that longtime Mayor Joseph Pannullo and the entire township council had switched their party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.

    Morris County Republican Committee Chairwoman Laura Ali said in a statement that Panullo, council President Frank DeMaio and fellow members Brian Brokaw, Carolyn Jandoli and Michael Martorelli had all joined the GOP “after months of good conversations.”

    Panullo, who’s represented the town of 11,000 people since 2007, didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. He didn’t cite a specific factor motivating the switch in the Republican Committee statement.

    • Sean

      Huh.

      • R.J.

        SKINSUIT LEVEL-EXTREME

    • Ownbestenemy

      Well Fabuloso is really just an over-scented cleaner and was never billed as a disinfectant…so, sure it can be contaminated.

      • Count Potato

        They also sell a disinfectant version.

      • Ownbestenemy

        They do, but what is being recalled is their general-purpose cleaner except some bleach alternative. Which I would guess is the base batch that prompted the recall.

      • Fatty Bolger

        According to the article there’s a preservative they add to prevent that, but they didn’t add enough to those batches.

        Stuff’s been great for cleaning our tile floors, and just cleaning off surfaces in general without having to use something harsher.

  54. PieInTheSky

    Sweet equality: Sugar, property rights, and land distribution in colonial Java

    https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/sweet-equality-sugar-property-rights-and-land-distribution-colonial-java

    The production of a cash crop like sugar is widely expected to increase social inequality, particularly in a colonial context. This column analyses Java, Indonesia, where the reverse was true. Using detailed data across 368 districts in colonial Java, the authors find that sugar production in the 19th and early 20th centuries stimulated the expansion and persistence of communal landholding, which resulted in property being more equally distributed. The authors stress the importance of local property-rights institutions in determining – and hence, understanding – the effects of export production on socioeconomic outcomes.

  55. Count Potato

    “CORRECTION: The video posted here is titled “AOC loses her mind over Libs of TikTok.” We’ve since confirmed there’s no evidence she had a mind in the first place. We regret the error.”

    https://twitter.com/BonginoReport/status/1623368027252133932

    LOL

    • cyto

      The important bit was that she (angrily) claimed that LoT lied about gender affirming care at Boston Children’s Hospital, which incited a bomb threat…. Which she then went on to conflate with actual violence.

      Someone further down thread posted an actual video from Boston Children’s Hospital explaining the exact gender affirming surgery (hysterectomy) that she said they lied about.

      In other words, despite her passion, she was flat-out lying.

      • juris imprudent

        despite her passion, she was flat-out lying

        That’s what made the Hitler audio-track overlay on her so perfect.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        She probably doesn’t know she’s lying.

      • kinnath

        It’s not a lie if you believe it. Stupid versus Malicious. Although AOC manages to be both on a regular basis.

  56. Not Adahn

    Moar NPR:

    M$ Decided to revamp Bing in an effort to sanitize the internet:

    In an interview with NPR, Microsoft executive Mehdi said the company has for months been working on guardrails for the service to ensure it does not spew misinformation, hate or violence.

    “Is this hate speech? Is this violence? Is this self-harm? If it is, we catch it. And then we don’t even let it go into the model,”

    https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1155099345/microsoft-bing-search-artificial-intelligence-ai

    • rhywun

      I wonder what else it won’t “spew”.

      And as usual, “misinformation” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

  57. PieInTheSky

    Swedish police demand tools to fight ‘unprecedented’ gang crime
    Nation with peaceful reputation averaged one shooting or bombing a day last month

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/swedish-police-demand-tools-to-fight-unprecedented-gang-crime-t6qlwq2dv

    Swedish police chiefs have warned that crime is hitting “extremely serious and unprecedented” levels after 19 shootings in Stockholm and the surrounding towns since Christmas.

    Gun violence between gangs competing over the increasingly lucrative drugs trade has been rising since the turn of the millennium, culminating in a record 63 fatal shootings last year. The country also has the European Union’s highest numbers of drug offences, burglaries and thefts per head, according to the bloc’s statistics agency.

    While the firearms murders were already the dominant issue at the general election last September, the concerns have worsened as several gang conflicts in the Stockholm region escalated over the past six weeks.

    At least four teenagers and young men have been shot dead in the latest spate of violence. There was on average of one shooting or bombing a day in the area over the four weeks from December 25.

    In the most recent incident an adult and two children were targeted at their flat in Arboga, 75 miles west of the capital. Their front door was peppered with bullets twice in the space of a week, although no one was hurt.

    Ten police leaders including Anders Thornberg, head of the national police authority, said their agencies were under “historically high” strain. “Day and night our staff are working to deal with fatal shootings, bombings and other serious violent crimes,” they wrote in Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

    “But despite this hard and determined work 24 hours a day, and despite the fact that police and prosecutors have never before deprived so many people of their liberty, the detention centres and prisons are full to bursting — more needs to be done.”

    The senior police officers said crimes were harder to solve because victims and witnesses have become more reluctant to testify.

    Gangs are believed to be hiring children as young as 13 or 14 to intimidate their rivals with gunshots or explosives. Thornberg and his colleagues said the investigations were getting “ever harder to deal with” because of the number of officials involved in youth cases.

    • Tundra

      I never realized Swedes were so violent. They always struck me as tall, blonde and bland.

      • Scruffyy Nerfherder

        I asked a bunch of Finns to describe Swedes to me.

        I got a one word answer “Gay”

      • Tundra

        Ouch. Definite projection, though.

    • AlexinCT

      What? No hookers?

  58. The Late P Brooks

    I am not sure the EU would not have supported the war either way, they seemed all in before the pipeline

    The governments appeared to be all in, but in the face of an easy and obvious solution to a shortage of natural gas, they might have had to deal with businesses and individuals clamoring for a relaxation of restrictions. No pipeline? That pressure goes away.

    • R.J.

      Also it helps them push the green agenda even harder.

  59. The Late P Brooks

    Also it helps them push the green agenda even harder.

    True.

  60. Ownbestenemy

    What day is it?

    Today is February 9th, 2023.

    If you do not have access to real-time information and your knowledge cutoff is 2021, how do you know what day it is today?

    I apologize for the confusion. As an AI language model, I do not have the ability to access the current date and time. The date I provided was based on the information given in the prompt and was not meant to be taken as the current date.

    Can’t even keep its cover story straight.

  61. R.J.

    Dang. Burt Bacharach died. 94 years old is a great run. I shall listen to some of his stuff today if I get a chance.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Just read that. Good run and now I have the urge to watch Austin Powers.

      • Gender Traitor

        But then you have to actually listen to him sing. 😖

        GREAT songwriter. As a singer… not so much. Maybe hunt up some of Dionne’s renditions instead?

  62. The Late P Brooks

    In an interview with NPR, Microsoft executive Mehdi said the company has for months been working on guardrails for the service to ensure it does not spew misinformation, hate or violence.

    “Is this hate speech? Is this violence? Is this self-harm? If it is, we catch it. And then we don’t even let it go into the model,”

    I see an AI bartender.

    Customer: I’ll have a double Wild Turkey, no ice.

    AI barkeep: Here is your hot chocolate, sir.

    • AlexinCT

      So this thing is gonna be as accurate as a resident of Fantasyland…

    • kinnath

      AI barkeep: Here is your hot chocolate, sir.

      No milk; no sugar; no cocoa; all artificial flavors and sweeteners.

  63. Yusef drives a Kia

    Burt Bacharach, RIP
    unless drugs/ass

    • Gustave Lytton

      “Drugs keep falling out of my ass..” 🎶

      (No, I think you’re good. Just couldn’t resist the obvious).

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Lol🎵🍻

  64. The Late P Brooks

    Takedown!

    During the hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said that Republicans were focusing on a “two-year-old story” about a private company that is allowed to make decisions on what content to allow on its platform.

    “The key point here is that it was Twitter’s decision,” Raskin said in his opening statements. “Twitter is a private media company. In America, private media companies can decide what to publish.”

    “Instead of letting this trivial pursuit go, my colleagues have tried to whip up a faux scandal about this two-day lapse in their ability to spread Hunter Biden propaganda on a private media platform,” Raskin said of the hearing. “Silly does not even begin to capture this obsession.”

    Can’t we focus on the truly important stuff, like Trump’s 2011 tax return?

    • cyto

      One of the truly sad things about where we are is that nobody has any pride anymore.

      Like, where is your dignity? After the years of hearings about lies that they knew were lies, pulling a “what difference, at this point, does it make?” Should be utterly emasculating. At least, if you had even a modicum of personal honor.

    • The Other Kevin

      How about we concentrate on more current issues, like January 6?

    • Rat on a train

      Two years ago you say? Wasn’t that when Democrats held hearings about how Facebook makes decisions on what content to show users?

    • rhywun

      Pay no attention to the government apparatchiks behind the curtain “asking” them to what to censor.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Was it two days, thought it was about a week? And that was just the initial suppression of the reporting which then allows the control of the narrative. “Its false see! We blocked it!” Doesn’t matter after the fact if they said “Im sorry”. Propaganda was already set in motion. The real question and Raskin knows this is did someone from the government request that it be held off.