Friday Morning Links

by | Sep 22, 2023 | Daily Links | 310 comments

“Act like you’re not from Oakland!”

The 49ers pummeled the Giants.  And their fans are picking up the slack after the Raiders bolted for Vegas. France almost hung a hundred on Namibia. Ohio State heads to South Bend with some unanswered questions, in my opinion, to take on Notre Dame. And the last week and change of the MLB regular season is gonna be wild. I wish there was more to discuss, but that’s it. Moving on…

This whole thing is fucking ridiculous. Struggle sessions can’t be too far off at this point. At least when it comes to retards who pretend for a living.All us normies who deal in reality will be sitting back laughing.

One of these two fucked Harvey Weinstein. Twice.

How very gracious of them! Letting a private industry set their own terms of business and letting them do their own risk assessment is quite a benevolent thing to do. Unfortunately, the strings attached to the deal should be a non-starter to any business with an ounce of self-respect. Or anybody who hates fascism.

This should cost hundreds of people their jobs. Namely the idiots who pushed and pushed for this plane to get funded and built in lieu of other options. And that includes a bunch of elected officials.  But since they’re all government people they’ll end up getting promoted and/or get a fat taxpayer-funded pension.

Hoisted!

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, Brooks. No, not our Brooks. The dickhead one from the NYT. Anyway, he’s getting pummeled and I wouldn’t be shocked if he claims to have received death threats soon, and then just deletes his twitter (I ain’t calling it X, sorry) account.

MORE! MORE! MORE! We really need to figure out how to charter a passenger train. These buses aren’t nearly as efficient in helping these people as trains would be. Plus they’re using green energy!

Did they contract school lunches to Chipotle? I feel bad for those kids. But I ate a questionable country fried steak last night in Kingsville, TX and I think I’m starting to share some of their symptoms.  So yes, I’m pretty sure I will stand, or rather sit on the toilet, in solidarity with them shortly.

This is fucking stupid. Wait till these plaintiffs find out that that B-52 shots contain no airplane components. Or that a baked Alaska contains no pieces of the 49th state. Scummy bastards.

I’m sure some of this is racially motivated. I would not be surprised at all.  However, and I say that as someone who is not a knee-jerk fan of the cops, the rates of arrest being 7x higher show that the people they’re pulling over are much, much more likely to have an outstanding warrant or some legally justifiable reason to be arrested. Otherwise…they wouldn’t be arrested. The rest of the piece is just bullshit soft bigotry of low expectations by saying the city taxpayers should pay for minor safety repairs because minorities are somehow too poor or too stupid to manage them own their own.

You could changer a couple words and this would still be accurate. Either way, it’s still a rocking song. The same could be said for this one. Enjoy them both.

And enjoy this lovely Friday and weekend, dear friends.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

310 Comments

  1. SDF-7

    But companies will only get to do this if they agree to write more policies for homeowners who live in areas with the most risk — including communities threatened by wildfires.

    Uh huh… that reads to me like “We’re facing a housing market apocalypse if all the insurers keep ditching our state… so here, we’ll give you cover to raise rates using our favorite political bugaboo — but you have to stick around and write policies in areas that we let catch on fire.”

    The rate increases are going to have to be substantial, I expect. Yay. So glad the state is busy micromanaging markets (and doing such a bang up job! Everything is so much more affordable in California, after all!) instead of doing their basic functions and everything.

    • UnCivilServant

      Insurers should just keep walking out the door and leave Commiefornia hanging.

      • SDF-7

        Even after I move, not selling the house for a while most likely (after all — I tried getting out once (Johnny.. ONCE!) and had to come back). So I’d prefer some sort of insurance stick around. Selfish of me, I know… But aren’t we all a little selfish on such matters sometimes?

    • juris imprudent

      areas that we let catch on fire

      Or, as in some cases, actively set on fire (NG helicopter doing drug war surveillance).

    • R.J.

      California has distorted the market for years. I don;t understand why any property or casualty insurers hang around.

  2. SDF-7

    Re: F-35 — at this point I’m firmly of the opinion that similar to the Pentagon having no idea how to fight a war anymore (because they haven’t really had to in forever), the remaining aircraft consortium only knows how to fleece the taxpayers with the most bloated programs they can come up with… giving us the equivalent of flying Maus tanks that are too complex and need to much maintenance and are so few (because they’re so expensive) that they won’t matter. The F-22 was the last decent program (and even it was iffy), I think we would be better served to slightly modernize F-16s and F-15s (Israel still gutting and rebuilding them?) if we can find a company that will just produce the shit out of them.

    Of course, I also think over-reliance on drones is a mistake since EMP, jamming and hacking are more likely than not going to knock them out of the battlespace.

    I say “We’ll see”… but I rather hope not — because that level of full on war won’t be pretty.

    Should have set it on the first reply — but “Morning, Sloopy!” And good morning to the rest of ya as well.

    • UnCivilServant

      Some time between 2000 and now, I saw an article about a private company that had designed and built a $20million fighter jet that they were offering to whatever military was willing to buy them, using entirely off the shelf existing tech. It was years ago, so I don’t know if anyone bought any. But I bet those six or seven jets are easier to maintain than that one F-35 for the same dollars. And if the F-35s are only 55% flightworthy, that points to a 10:1ish ratio in the air. Is the F-35 really going to have a 10:1 kill ratio with the current militaries running them?

      • Drake

        That pretty much describes the F-16 program. Take 1 engine and some of the avionics off the F-15 to make a fighter half as big and half as expensive.

        The Saab Gripen is similar.

      • Chafed

        You may be thinking of the F-20 Tigershark

      • UnCivilServant

        No, that’s too old, it was something new after I’d started at the state, so 2008-2010ish

    • Drake

      The “one plane that will do everything” requirement they used for the F-35 was idiotic. Like many predicted, it resulted in an overly complex, unreliable aircraft that doesn’t do anything really well – except transfer taxpayer money to defense contractors and defense contractor campaign funds to politicians.

      • UnCivilServant

        The longevity of the A-10 and the B-52 is due to their utility in a single role. (Killing Tanks, and heavy bomb payload). Tools need to be suited to their task.

        In a punch, a swiss army knife can be pressed into service, but if given the choice, I’d rather use a dedicated knife, a purpose built screwdriver, a dedicated canopener, etc. They simply get the job they were designed for done better than something that had to compromise to fit the extra features in.

      • SDF-7

        That’s why a modernized F-15 (air superiority) and F-16 (cheap as hell, fighter/bomber role) is my first thought. As long as “modernize” doesn’t turn into the same stupid bloat we’re trying to avoid in the first place (hah!).

      • AlexinCT

        The latest variant of the F-15 (the EX) and the F-16 (The new Viper block IV) both cost upwards of $80 million per unit….

      • Drake

        Isn’t the F-35 almost twice that? Probably depends if you are including the development cost versus the just the incremental unit cost to produce.

        That’s why Obama shutting down the F-22 production line was such a waste. The cost of producing a few more was nothing compared to the cost of designing a new aircraft then standing up a production line.

      • AlexinCT

        The numbers I posted are the per unit cost. The research and pipelines already exist (but would need to be reappropriated since they now are just manufacturing for export). Shutting down the F-22 was all politics and dumb.

    • R C Dean

      “EMP, jamming and hacking are more likely than not going to knock them out of the battlespace.”

      Is there any way to get an area-effect EMP that doesn’t require a nuke? Serious question – I have no idea.

      • Old Man With Candy

        Ask Hayek.

      • Chafed

        I think she’s busy with her boyfriend.

      • The Bearded Hobbit

        Ask Hayek.

        Or Hobbit. I did EMP testing on military air and ground systems.

        Short answer: Yes BUT. ..

        Everything nowadays has been hardened against EMP thanks to the testing we did back in the 80’s.

      • juris imprudent

        There is, but the trick is it will damage your own stuff in you are in the effects zone, so for close combat – not such a great idea. Unless of course you aren’t relying on high-tech-toys to fight.

    • The Last American Hero

      EMP – Good thing we don’t have all the planes using fly by wire, and that EMP only impacts enemy targets and not friendlies.

      • AlexinCT

        One of the reasons the F-35 is so expensive is the shielding of the electronics (done w/ gold) since every F-35 A & C variant is a de facto multi-domain jammer too.

  3. SDF-7

    Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, Brooks.

    I’d say he should pick up a deal to endorse whatever $30 a pop whiskey he was drinking: “The alcoholic reporter’s snort of choice!” — but apparently you need to be obnoxiously trans to advertise booze these days and all.

    • Shpip

      apparently you need to be obnoxiously trans to advertise booze these days and all.

      That was always the case.

    • R C Dean

      Would Brooks even need to take estrogen supplements to pass as a woman?

    • EvilSheldon

      I’m still curious what $30/pop whisky he’s drowning in ice.

      I always suspected that what taste Brooksie has is his ass, but this really confirmed it.

      • Not Adahn

        It’s at an airport, so… Old Crow?

      • R.J.

        Johnny Walker Black. It’s everywhere, and gets marked up hard at airports.

      • EvilSheldon

        Heh. Johnny Walker Black isn’t bad, honestly. It’s what I switch to if I’m still drinking after my third single malt.

        Paying $30 a shot is bad, even at an airport.

  4. Nephilium

    I’m not sure there’s always room for Jello, but I still love their music.

    • Chafed

      👍

  5. SDF-7

    MORE! MORE! MORE! We really need to figure out how to charter a passenger train. These buses aren’t nearly as efficient in helping these people as trains would be. Plus they’re using green energy!

    The Bad Person(tm) part of my brain keeps going from “Finish the Wall” to “Those chain gun auto turrets in Aliens are looking better and better….” Cruel of me to even think — but this is a full on invasion at this point and really should be treated as such.

    • UnCivilServant

      Defense in depth, walls, turrets, minefields, and active kill teams hunting coyotes.

    • sloopyinca

      I drove about 200 miles along the border yesterday. Saw people casually walking across the river in Laredo and literally hundreds of them standing around the federal and county courthouse as I was heading southeast from there. It’s bad. It’s really, really bad. And my biggest fear is that if the Feds don’t get their arms around it soon, locals are gonna start taking it upon themselves and they’ll start shooting people just coming across.
      We’re getting close to a very messy, bloody situation here.

      • R C Dean

        There’s a rancher going to trial here in Tucson for shooting a couple of illegals who rolled up on his house. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

      • WTF

        Look for the Biden admin to sue Texas to stop them from taking action. And for a federal judge to ignore the constitution and side with Biden.

      • Lackadaisical

        Hard to believe it hasn’t already happened.

      • Swiss Servator

        If their ROE is the same as before (set up wire fence, stand aside as Feds cut wire fence and drag it away) then this is just a PR move.

      • R C Dean

        It’s a PR move. No way Abbot is going to issue shoot on sight orders, as one would if one was serious about repelling an invasion.

        There’s a Rubicon, and Abbot won’t cross it. That Rubicon is pointing a gun in a fed’s face and telling him to fuck off. As long as the feds are facilitating the invasion, and they are, that’s what it will take to stop it.

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s past time to arrest anyone cutting the wire.

  6. AlexinCT

    How very gracious of them! Letting a private industry set their own terms of business and letting them do their own risk assessment is quite a benevolent thing to do. Unfortunately, the strings attached to the deal should be a non-starter to any business with an ounce of self-respect. Or anybody who hates fascism.

    We are from the government, and as good socialists we are here to help!

    • Chafed

      That’s beautiful.

  7. AlexinCT

    So, this article quoting angry ex employees of Anheuser-Bush let go after the Mulvaney fiasco has a title leading you to believe these employees thought the whole debacle was to be avoided, except when you read the article, you find that the quotes from employees reflect not remorse that the Mulvaney idiocy was done, but anger that the company had not been even more antagonistic towards its ex clients and their recoiling at this idiocy.

    • SDF-7

      I just assumed (like others commented here yesterday) that said ex employees are the marketing geniuses that thought that shit up in the first place. Of course they’re pissed the company didn’t double down…..

    • juris imprudent

      So you’re saying A-B was able to weed out some real idiot employees?

    • prolefeed

      I’d think employees who are still employed might have a better handle on the wisdom of doing something that was, in retrospect, an incredibly bad idea, much less doubling down.

  8. Shpip

    “We do advocate for the vouchers because we want to reiterate if police are really there to promote public safety, then they would issue vouchers instead of citations,” he said. “[The data] affects Black, Brown drivers but also low-income, and when you look at immigrant families, it caused over 2,000 family separation issues because a lot of times police use non-safety traffic stops to deport people that are undocumented.”

    Still not seeing the downside here.

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘ “[The data] affects Black, Brown drivers but also low-income, ‘

      The real common denominator- people driving jalopies getting pulled over because they are driving erratically.

      • Lackadaisical

        You’d think I would have gotten the tags right, since it is quoted right there, but no.

        *EDIT FAIRY HELPS*

  9. SDF-7

    Did they contract school lunches to Chipotle? I feel bad for those kids. But I ate a questionable country fried steak last night in Kingsville, TX and I think I’m starting to share some of their symptoms. So yes, I’m pretty sure I will stand, or rather sit on the toilet, in solidarity with them shortly.

    “Bobby Jo? Smell this… does it smell off to you?”

    “RAYMOND! I told you not to bother me when I’m texting my boyfriends! I ain’t ordering another batch of meat until Saturday night! Just smother it in breading and some pepper, cook the shit out of it in the fryer and call it ‘Country Fried Steak’. My momma said no one would taste a damned thing if you bread it enough… and given all the fellas she hooked up with after my Pa, she’d damned well know!”

    • SDF-7

      Sigh… well, *I* thought I was being funny. Pbbbbpt!

  10. SDF-7

    This is fucking stupid. Wait till these plaintiffs find out that that B-52 shots contain no airplane components. Or that a baked Alaska contains no pieces of the 49th state. Scummy bastards.

    Probably no gay dudes from Athens or their redheaded sister (? I think that was the relationship…) either in those shots.

    Too much static in the attic for those folks.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Channel Z! Underrated track from that album.

      The blonde is the sister of the guitarist who died of AIDS.

    • pistoffnick

      Anytime “Love Shack” comes on the radio, I rage quit. I’d rather listen to the whine of my differential than THAT shit.

  11. Sensei

    This is fucking stupid. Wait till these plaintiffs find out that that B-52 shots contain no airplane components. Or that a baked Alaska contains no pieces of the 49th state. Scummy bastards.

    As somebody that works in a business that gets sued for a living I’ve seen far dumber and outrageous lawsuits. I need more information WTF the drinks were, how they were sold and how the were marketed.

    If somebody says “do you want a lemon flavored water” I assume the drink contains lemon and water.

    • Nephilium

      I’d assume lemon flavoring instead of actual lemon. But I’m cynical that way.

      • SDF-7

        Beats “raspberry” flavoring… My wife heckles anything raspberry these days that doesn’t have visible berries as containing “beaver butt.

    • PieInTheSky

      grape drink vs purple drink

      • DrOtto

        Purple drank

    • DrOtto

      Anytime I see/hear “flavored” I assume no actual juice.

  12. SDF-7

    However, and I say that as someone who is not a knee-jerk fan of the cops, the rates of arrest being 7x higher show that the people they’re pulling over are much, much more likely to have an outstanding warrant or some legally justifiable reason to be arrested.

    Maybe. Probably watched too many Lackluster Channel / Audit the Audit videos — but way way way WAAAAY too many “Arrested for obstruction” / “Arrested for resisting arrest” occasions that really boil down to “Annoyed the cop” or “No probable cause, but dammit — you look like you fit the profile!” Raw arrest rates versus arrest rates for what charge, how often does that charge stick, etc. is what I’m getting at.

    (Insert obligatory BLM rant that those race grifting commie bastards fucked the country hard in many ways, but one of them being fucking the opportunity for taking a solid look at actual police reforms…. Still pisses me off.)

    • Suthenboy

      Actual police reforms? What’s there in that for anyone?

  13. Not Adahn

    more likely to have an outstanding warrant or some legally justifiable reason to be arrested. Otherwise…they wouldn’t be arrested.

    This is the same town that has detectives inventing CIs so they can get warrants to kick down doors and start blasting at the inhabitants, right?

    • Not Adahn

      From personal experience I had coworker who was Dallas PD that literally bragged about inventing excuses to arrest people he didn’t like. He’d go up to protestors, if they didn’t back away, he’s arrest them for assault. If they stepped back into the street, he’s arrest them for obstructing traffic or some such thing. Then he’s release them without charges when the even that they were protesting was over.

      • UnCivilServant

        How was he not killed? I thought Texans were better than that. What happened to the vigilante spirit?

      • Not Adahn

        TX Baptists consider it rude to murder a cop, even if he’s breaking up your protest at a Pride parade.

      • UnCivilServant

        Tyrannicide isn’t murder.

      • Not Adahn

        There’s a lot of variation in Baptist theology.

  14. PieInTheSky

    This is fucking stupid. Wait till these plaintiffs find out that that B-52 shots contain no airplane components. Or that a baked Alaska contains no pieces of the 49th state. Scummy bastards.

    Why are you shilling for Big Shitty Coffee?

    • UnCivilServant

      Even the Devil deserves the defence of law.

      These frivolous lawsuits need to stop.

    • SDF-7

      Because he likes a little coffee and pie after his Shitty Mongolian Plate from Shitty Wok?

    • sloopyinca

      I’m not. I just think these suits are frivolous. Go back and demand a refund for the $6 you spent, don’t sue for millions.

      • PieInTheSky

        but what about the children.

      • Suthenboy

        Everyone wants to win the lottery.

  15. Sensei

    Sorry for the early OT – I have an 8:30am meeting. This 911 call is awesome.

    “We got a pilot in the house, and I guess he landed in my backyard, and we’re trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house, please,” the resident said.

    “Ma’am, a military jet crashed. I’m the pilot. We need to get rescue rolling,” the pilot said. “I’m not sure where the airplane is. It would have crash landed somewhere. I ejected.”

    “Ma’am, I’m a pilot in a military aircraft, and I ejected. So I just rode a parachute down to the ground. Can you please send an ambulance?” the pilot said.

    • R C Dean

      You can tell he’s a Marine, what with all the ma’ams.

    • The Other Kevin

      This is almost a scene from the new Top Gun movie.

    • blighted_non_millenial

      So the pilot is 47, that would make him what LtC? So maybe the squadron commander?

  16. AlexinCT

    This should cost hundreds of people their jobs. Namely the idiots who pushed and pushed for this plane to get funded and built in lieu of other options. And that includes a bunch of elected officials. But since they’re all government people they’ll end up getting promoted and/or get a fat taxpayer-funded pension.

    Every new platform, especially the really complex ones, and yes this one is one of the most complex ones, will suffer from growing pains. People today act as if our more mature platforms never had any growing pains and were instantly successful, but that is not so. The F-16, F-15, F/A-18, the Osprey, the AH-64, the Burke class DDGs, the Permit, LA, and Virginia class subs, and even the damned horrible Berretta side arm all had massive problems, and time allowed them to mature. Well, everything but that piece of shit Berretta which had to be replaced. New tech has new tech hurdles, and they can unfortunately only be seen and fixed in real time.

    However, the problem with the F-35’s availability is not one of just technological hurdles, but of parts procurement and the system being in transition from the old standard procurement one to a new one using on the spot printed parts. For some fucking insane reason the US military machine has a major problem with key components for this platform, and they originally actually set up a pipeline where too many of these critical parts were coming straight from our most likely current and future adversary: CCP’s China. The Pentagon thought this was a good deal for them. Now they are scrambling to decouple by going to on the spot part printing, but again relying on external vendors because the US has no capability that exists to meet these requirements.

    If allowed to, the problems facing the F-35 all are solvable (and yes, will cost money), but the big unknown is if the corrupt bureaucracy that is mismanaging this shit will get out of the way to let that happened in our current age where ineptitude is baked into the system because of the idiocy permeating society (the anti-meritocratic pseudo marxist shit).

    • juris imprudent

      There was some Army 3-star a year or two ago touting how great the Bradley procurement was. Maybe the Bradley is a good vehicle NOW – that’s a different debate, but the fucking Bradley was the subject of Pentagon Wars (a book all about DoD acquisition failures). It was conceived early in the Viet Nam era with first units delivered in 1981 and production ended in the mid-90s. The Army has been trying to replace it since then and still can’t get a design nailed down let alone built.

    • SDF-7

      Yeah… just look at the success the F-111 turned into the LAST time we tried a “one plane for everything (TFX program)”. Not like Bob McNamara’s name is synonymous with fucked up procurement now or anything.

      Sometimes a shitty program is still a shitty program.

      And if they don’t get the Ford class working (they’re only what… 3? 4? years past having her in full operation now, right?), I’m going to lump that design in. Right up there with the Littoral Combat Ships and all.

      I’m not entirely sold on Osprey yet — but I give more slack on that because it was one hell of a design challenge, after all. F-35 doesn’t have that excuse.

      • UnCivilServant

        I thought we’d abandoned the Osprey. Are we still using that deathtrap?

      • AlexinCT

        We stopped procuring them and are looking for a replacement. The damned thing is super complex, but it provides a capability no other platform has been able to do.

      • AlexinCT

        And if they don’t get the Ford class working (they’re only what… 3? 4? years past having her in full operation now, right?), I’m going to lump that design in.

        Yeah, too much of what is wrong with the Ford class is the fact that the NAVY kept changing specs and reqs and the vendor suffers from the same lack of capability permeating every high tech industry in this country these days. This was a problem that was/is self inflicted. And fixing it all, while possible, also requires the bureaucracy to be buckled.

        Right up there with the Littoral Combat Ships and all.

        This is definitely the worst military program ever. The fucking idiot admiral that saw the Danish Navy’s hot swap capability and brought this idiocy back to America, to then have congress turn it into a pork project for the states involved, needs to be made an example of what stupid fucking looks like.

      • blighted_non_millenial

        Magnetic catapult for the win.

    • Lackadaisical

      Subs are exactly what I started thinking about regarding availability rates, you gotta do all the maintenance and shakedowns, etc…

      I’m thinking most complex weapons are only actually operable about half the time, less if you are using it frequently.

      • AlexinCT

        The NAVY’s stats on availability are around 33-45% for carriers, submarines & destroyers (and the old cruisers are all being sent to the chopping block now). You make of that what you want. Most people don’t understand platform availability numbers.

  17. Tres Cool

    whaddup doh’
    yo whats goody

    • AlexinCT

      According to many people eating ass.

  18. PieInTheSky

    NEW: a recent study found a fascinating pattern

    People are becoming more zero-sum in their thinking, and weaker economic growth may explain why

    Older generations grew up with high growth and formed aspirational attitudes; younger ones have faced low growth and are more zero-sum

    https://twitter.com/jburnmurdoch/status/1705177762305114599

    • AlexinCT

      No mention that the low growth shit is directly tied to the adoption of all the socialists government bureaucracy that keeps getting demanded by the younger generations? Or that these younger people balk at the idea of working for 20, 30, or even 40 years to get to the standard of living of their parents? People have gone soft.

    • UnCivilServant

      I’d blame the educational socialists and leaving teaching up to unionized government employees.

      • AlexinCT

        Our public school system, and most of the private school system as well it seems, are dominated by neo marxists that have taken it upon themselves to destroy prosperity by indoctrinating the young into being nihilists.

  19. Rebel Scum

    Emma Roberts apologized to Angelica Ross after allegedly misgendering her

    For implying that a male is a male?

    Ross, who is transgender

    I.e. not the gender he claims to be.

    “Thank you @RobertsEmma for calling and apologizing, recognizing your behavior was not that of an ally,”

    Go fuck yourself and die in a ditch.

    • rhywun

      I appreciate the support but please do not joke about violence towards Emma.

      I love how the article kind of glosses over the threatening tranny brigade angle. That’s the only interesting part of the stupid story.

  20. Rebel Scum

    Wildfire-prone California to consider new rules for property insurance pricing

    Penalize the government for not doing things known to help prevent the severity of forest fires.

    • juris imprudent

      California has eco-systems that depend on periodic fires. Blame Ma Nature for that.

    • Dr. Fronkensteen

      So if an Irishman leaves a car in Romania, will it be stripped before it explodes?

    • Not Adahn

      It’s not really the Ohio of Romania?

      • PieInTheSky

        who the fuck knows what goes on in Ohio

      • Nephilium

        /cautiously raises hand

      • The Gunslinger

        What typically happens in Ohio is the Maize & Blue head South to kick some ass.

      • The Last American Hero

        UM has won that game 5 times this century. I guess that counts as an “ass-kicking”.

    • AlexinCT

      I now get Romania perfectly…

      I need to visit that place with the Samurai Jack shit going on…

  21. Fourscore

    Despite being 23 percent of the Houston population, Black drivers made up 42 percent of the stops. The report states that Latino drivers made up 30 percent, and white drivers made up 25 percent. According to the census, white people make up 46 percent of the Houston population, while Latino residents make up nearly 44 percent.

    • Fourscore

      So 113 percent of Houston ‘s population is either black, latino or white. Asians don’t have a chance

      • SDF-7

        “This survey brought to you by management consultants that demand 110%!”

      • Old Man With Candy

        SW Houston would like to have a word.

    • UnCivilServant

      23 percent… 46 percent… 44 percent

      We need to stop counting “Hispanic” as a census category. We don’t do that for other cultural groups.

      When I did the math, the ethnic breakdown of the “Hispanic” contingingent ended up looking like the ethnic breakdown of the country at large.

      • Q Continuum

        Do you even Balkanize bro?

      • UnCivilServant

        You mean North Byzantium?

  22. juris imprudent

    Sloopy omits mention of the massive RWC match tomorrow between Ireland and South Africa?

  23. Rebel Scum

    F-35 fighter jets are only ‘mission capable’ 55% of the time, new report says

    Someone better fix my fucking plane. I’m the taxpayer. I own it. Fix it, motherfucker.

    • Fourscore

      /Remembers the hydramatic 2 1/2 ton Army trucks, circa 1955

  24. PieInTheSky

    #RaceWarz2022 – #BikiniContest – 20220820

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYwKNwHj9Gk

    strange name for a bikini contest… I did not know canadian women own bikinis on account of the cold

  25. Nephilium

    For those who like DEVO, this weekend is the DEVOtional which is going to be live streamed.

  26. PieInTheSky

    Suppressing negative thoughts may be good for mental health after all

    “Researchers trained 120 volunteers to suppress thoughts about negative events… not only did these become less vivid, but the participants’ mental health also improved.”

    https://twitter.com/SteveStuWill/status/1704996356119744606

    • PieInTheSky

      Self-esteem is correlated with income – but does a higher income lead to higher self-esteem, or does higher self-esteem lead to a higher income? New research suggests it’s a bit of both, but more the former than the latter.

      https://twitter.com/SteveStuWill/status/1705106885337296942

    • R C Dean

      No kidding. Modern day “therapy” culture (like flooding schools with grief and trauma counselors after a kid dies) has always struck me as endless picking at a scab.

      It does set up perpetual grievance culture well, though.

    • slumbrew

      Cognitive Behavioral Therapy waves “hi”.

  27. Rebel Scum

    I’m starting to share some of their symptoms.

    I had an upset stomach last night as well.

    • R C Dean

      IT’S A PANDEMIC! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!

      Oh, wait. These masks will totally stop a food-borne illness. Carry on.

    • juris imprudent

      Who needs proof when you have the power to command? It’s like you think there is some silly thing like rule of law or rights.

    • UnCivilServant

      They should respond with the text of the Declaration of Independence.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      She addresses him (presumably a stranger) by his first name! Bloody cheek.

    • Suthenboy

      I see Britain in the same class as any other run of the mill totalitarian govt.
      They have been that way for a very long time.

    • Mojeaux

      Rumble told them to fuck off ansd to be ashamed of themselves.

  28. juris imprudent

    Voters – what do they know anyway!

    This doesn’t surprise me given that Trump only has a plurality (in NH) for the nomination. Maybe as others drop out he picks up those votes, or maybe they coalesce around the last non-Trump candidate.

    • DrOtto

      Kind of like when they threw Ben Carson in to steal the evangelical vote from Trump in 2016. I remember my in-laws going from we’ll never vote Trump to putting the Trump sticker over Carson’s on the minivan and the John Deere cap getting replaced with a MAGA cap on FIL’s head.

    • UnCivilServant

      That apartment block is indeed way too close.

  29. PieInTheSky

    여자보디빌더의 은밀한 알바 Underwear shoot at the gym fitness motivation 헬스장촬영 속옷촬영 정왕동헬스 부부짐 헬스장알바

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNpiClLOmaA

    for those who like thicc female bodybuilders of the type who write in squiggly lines instead of proper letters. I don’t speak Aramaic myself

    • UnCivilServant

      That’s Hangul, which means it’s Korean, not Aramaic.

      • PieInTheSky

        everyone’s a linguist these days

      • AlexinCT

        I would still want to work her out.

      • pistoffnick

        everyone’s a linguist these days

        Some more cunning than others.

    • Lackadaisical

      She’s not so visibly muscly, at the start. I skipped ahead a little and may have to pass.

    • Suthenboy

      Good for them but I dont want to see them fuckin’. Yikes.

    • AlexinCT

      What kinky do they do off camera? They get their pets involved?

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘Then in June 2017, they tied the knot before having a son, now nine, and bringing up Jess’ daughter, 13, from a previous relationship. ‘

      2023-2017… Did they adopt?

    • Sensei

      I read that. I also tried to get some more photos. It does look it was possible to not see that there was no bridge.

      Google makes money off of its mapping. It was notified multiple times over a period of years (from memory of the articles) about this bridge not existing. I don’t think it’s out of bounds to sue Google here.

      • juris imprudent

        OK, what proof do they have that he was using GoogleMaps? If it was in-car navigation system, it probably wasn’t Google. Either way, Google wasn’t responsible for the lack of barricading a missing bridge – that falls (rather literally) on some govt entity within NC.

      • Sensei

        That’s why you bring it to trial to determine what app he was using. Phone records, etc. Let’s just assume the plaintiff has proof that he was using Waze or Goggle Maps which are both Google properties. (OT – my in car Tesla is Google sourced,)

        It’s a private road. Land owner most certainly has liability.

      • juris imprudent

        Wait – he was TRESPASSING?

      • Sensei

        Likely one of those land deals. Bankrupt developer is responsible for roads for a certain period of time.

      • juris imprudent

        BTW, I’ve seen phantom roads on Google maps – nice little squiggles where there is no road (as demonstrated by looking at the sat image). Anyone who blindly trusts that deserves to run off a bridge or get stranded at high tide or bottomed out on some desert/mountain jeep trail.

      • Nephilium

        Some of those false roads and the like are an old tradition for catching people violating copyright restrictions on maps. Now… why you can copyright what should be general topographical and state owned information is another story.

  30. Sensei

    Enjoy!

    The Selling of America’s Most Controversial Gun

    In December 2005, five groups of Wall Street investors flew in private jets to Portland, Maine, where they took waiting limousines to a warren of metal buildings that resembled a midsize lumberyard. They had come to Bushmaster Firearms in pursuit of a highly profitable product whose market was growing faster than any other in America’s stagnant gun industry. The product was the AR-15, and red-hot Bushmaster, the nation’s leading manufacturer of the rifle, had decided to auction itself to the highest bidder.

    • Not Adahn

      And now they’re closing again.

      I did notice that the Polenar Tactical guy has a WW AR, which frankly surprised the heck out of me.

    • juris imprudent

      America’s stagnant gun industry

      So much for being a vaunted Merchant of Death!

    • DrOtto

      I’m convinced gun store owners vote for democrats. Nothing rings cash registers like the threats to ban something and sales go down when republicans are in charge.

    • Old Man With Candy

      Car wreck and Asian in the same sentence. Perfect.

      • AlexinCT

        Wait until the pope sees you making fun of this…

    • Suthenboy

      Lots of furriners will not use banks to avoid paying taxes, thus they have large amounts of cash lying about. This makes them targets. I have seen lots of stories about that from all over.

  31. PieInTheSky

    Catherine D. Tan
    @Catherineoscopy
    We are all doing the same job. We teach the same number of classes. I don’t think my labor is worth $20,000 LESS than that of my econ colleagues. More money please.

    https://twitter.com/Catherineoscopy/status/1704878327918465468

    • UnCivilServant

      Sorry, but if you studied economics, you’d understand that your classes are not as valuable, in fact, your 93K is too much, you should be making half that.

      • AlexinCT

        This sort of resentment from this sort of idiot is why we have evil shit like marxism. People with a massively overinflated sense of worth that actually provide far less value than they should, get pissed society doesn’t value them as much as they value themselves They then concoct idiotic shit like Marx, Hegel, and Marcuse did to give themselves worth under the new feudal lordship they want to sick upon those of us they see as lesser beings.

      • Suthenboy

        Naked envy. Yeppers.

    • juris imprudent

      Notice that she doesn’t demand econ be cut down to the others, but that they be raised. I know which I would do if I was in charge of salary setting for that university (get a cheaper/dumber econ prof).

    • Lackadaisical

      “We are all doing the same job.”
      Nope, you teach different subjects.

      “We teach the same number of classes.”
      Assuming this is true, is that the only job of professors? Aren’t they supposed to do, I dunno, research, mentorship, etc. as well?

      “I don’t think my labor is worth $20,000 LESS than that of my econ colleagues.”
      Everyone else does

      “More money please.”
      Request denied.

    • Not Adahn

      My Sunday column produces more useful research than a sociology prof does.

      • Lackadaisical

        At least yours is accurate by accident sometimes, and usually not damaging to society.

        Hard to argue with it sir, you deserve a 20k raise.

    • EvilSheldon

      Some jobs are more valuable than others. People who can actually teach things that are actually important don’t have any trouble making ends meet…

  32. The Late P Brooks

    It is a cold and rainy Friday.

    • PieInTheSky

      no it is not. 34 fucking degrees Celsius and its almost October.

    • Fourscore

      Thanks Brooks, we’re getting that tomorrow but we need rain so we’ll take it.

    • Nephilium

      Warm and sunny weekend here, which I’ll spend the first two days playing games in the IX Center, skipping Sunday to go to the Browns game.

    • Tundra

      Absolutely perfect here. Low 50s in the morning, sunny and high 70s later.

    • Animal

      38 and sunny in the Valley. Actually supposed to have nice weather for a week or so.

  33. Suthenboy

    1. “Struggle sessions can’t be too far off at this point. ”
    I think we are past that point already. To quote Nancy Reagan “Just say no.”

    2. My insurance man: “govt is full of idiots. Insurance companies are full of very, very smart people. In the end the companies get what they want.”

    3. I think the F35 has been a boondoggle from the jump. I remember people complaining about that before the ink was dry on the designs.

    4. Tell me again…how do private companies calculate consumer prices? What are the factors that go into that?

    5. I have zero sympathy for Sanctuary cities/states etc. Fuck ’em. The shitbirds asked for it, they just didn’t expect to get it. I have zero sympathy anymore for the invaders. Get the fuck out, go back home and fix the messes you made. I dont want your collectivist cultures of shit here.
    *How many of the thousands of Venezuelans that swarmed over the border yesterday were supporters of Chavez or Maduro? Go home motherfuckers.

    6. Got nuthin’. Wash y our hands, keep your fingers out of your mouth and nose, try to only eat well cooked and fresh foods.

    7. We have become far too litigious. In this case “… the plaintiffs had adequately argued that “a significant portion of the general consuming public could be misled by the names.”
    I thought outlets were required to supply ingredients lists these days. And calorie counts. Or some such shit. Were they misleading also? If not, file this suit in the round file.

    Last: “Report finds Houston police pull over Black drivers at much higher rates” DNRFA. Does report say why? Does report include race of officers who do the pulling over? Politics of officers doing the pulling over? Do they include rates for cops pulling over other races? Illegals vs. Legal residents?
    I am guessing the writer goes straight for the ‘the cops are wearing white hoods! assumption.

    • Sensei

      2. My insurance man: “govt is full of idiots. Insurance companies are full of very, very smart people. In the end the companies get what they want.”

      Swiss and I may disagree with intelligence of insurers. That said when compared to government…

      • juris imprudent

        The difference is that one is somewhat subject to punishment for stupidity, and the other is rewarded for it.

      • Suthenboy

        ^This^

    • R C Dean

      Insurance companies have some of the biggest pools of private capital in the world, and have for decades. That doesn’t happen without a sufficient supply of smart people.

      • Sensei

        The attraction is the risk is generally uncorrelated to the risk of markets.

        That doesn’t change the risk itself or the standard deviation of the return.

  34. The Other Kevin

    “A New York City councilwoman has predicted that the surge of asylum seekers flooding into Texas this week will reach NYC in just days, as she warned the migrants won’t be deported even if they commit crimes.”

    “Paladino also took aim at the Biden administration in her message, writing: ‘This is a failure purely of the Biden Administration. They did this. They wanted this. It’s deliberate. And they don’t care what it’s doing to our city, our neighborhoods, or our quality of life.'”

    Are people getting some kind of pilled (red or black?) over this issue?

    • Sensei

      Palididon is one of the last remaining Team Red in NYC. That said all of NYC Team Blue was all in on the posturing until it affected NYC directly.

      The amount of illegals in Manhattan alone is staggering. Best part was this Tuesday watching one mother with walking out of the hotel she and her family were staying out, child #1 playing with her iPhone 14 Pro, getting on the NYC provided school bus.

      I’m sure this is sustainable…

  35. The Late P Brooks

    We might need those F16s back from the Ukrainians.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    Watching that game last night and listening to those guys yammering about how Purdy(?) was the last guy picked in the draft, this occurred to me; that says a whole lot more about NFL scouting and player evaluation than anything. They just need more AWS artificial intelligence.

  37. Not Adahn

    My date with Polo Lady has been called off because she got an invite to a party in the Hamptons AND there’s a Manolo Blahnik sale at someplace she likes to shop at in Manhattan.

    Pity. I was curious about how the other half fucked.

    • PieInTheSky

      rich pussy and poor pussy taste the same if properly washed.

      • Not Adahn

        I was hoping for some sort of upgrade a la Altered Carbon.

      • Nephilium

        I’m in a meeting, otherwise I’d be looking for the Archer bit about Lana finding Katya’s… unmentionable in the sink.

    • Sensei

      Is she taking a helicopter to Manhattan and the Hamptons?

      Weather forecast for Saturday is going to suck so it is a question mark for such a flight.

    • Seguin

      Kinda reminds me of the Ukrainian tachanka, albeit horseless.

    • Lackadaisical

      The OG Toyota with 50 Cal.

  38. The Late P Brooks

    Did they sweep the streets clean of Displaced Persons in honor of the big UN hootenanny? We wouldn’t want those foreign dignitaries to be inconvenienced.

  39. Grumbletarian

    They all look alike.

    President Biden complimented the merits of the “Congressional Black Caucus” during a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Thursday, his third public speaking gaffe in just two days.

    Biden, 80, made the mishap during a speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 46th Annual Gala in Washington, D.C., as he celebrated gala award recipient Sister Norma Pimental, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.

    He said: “I know Sister Norma lives the lessons nuns taught me growing up. Lessons based on the Gospel of Matthew: feed the hungry, care for the sick, welcome strangers. They echo what my dad taught me, and I mean this sincerely, my dad used to say, ‘Everyone, everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect.’ The Congressional Black Caucus embodies all those values.”

    The incident took place the day after he forgot to shake the hand of Brazilian President Luiz InĂĄcio Lula da Silva, known as “Lula,” before leaving a joint press conference and, later that night, repeated the same story at a fundraiser just minutes apart.

    • Fatty Bolger

      I know Sister Norma lives the lessons nuns taught me growing up.

      The nuns in the synagogues where he was raised.

  40. Tundra

    Good morning, Sloop!

    I watched a good chunk of the game last night. Al Michaels is still so damn good. Almost 80. Does there seem to be a lot more fights at events? Or am I just noticing now?

    The DKs are always a good choice. Even though Jello went full retard.

  41. Sensei

    How corrupt do have to be on Team Blue for the current DOJ to get an indictment?

    Sen. Bob Menendez Indicted on Federal Bribery Charges

    Federal prosecutors in Manhattan alleged that Menendez, a Democrat, and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using the senator’s influence to benefit the businessmen and the Egyptian government.

    The bribes included cash, gold, a luxury vehicle and payments toward a home mortgage, according to the indictment.

    • AlexinCT

      It’s not about guilt. It’s about some more relevant/higher up team blue person profiting from taking you down. Blue on blue conflict & casualties.

    • Not Adahn

      He’s already been acquitted on bribery charges once. Amazingly enough, NPR declined to cover that trial but they ran TONS of stories about him being acquitted.

      He admitted to taking the bribe. He admitted to doing the favor. But he claimed that he didn’t do the favor because he took the bribe, but rather that the briber was such a good friend of his he’d have done the favor for free.

      The jury bought it.

      • blighted_non_millenial

        Was he acquitted or was it a hung jury and they didn’t bother to retrial?

      • Not Adahn

        Mistrial.

  42. Lackadaisical

    By the time people wake up to address my aspie mating strategy I was having to run off to school/work.

    As always one must consider the whole kettle of fish, since we’re not likely to get the chance to design our perfect mate.

    from my personal point of view… get an ugly girl to marry you. (I always assumed that song was just the singer trying to clear out the dating pool for himself)

    “Bob Boberson on September 22, 2023 at 5:27 am
    All I know is she bangs other otherkins….genders remain a assumed because I don’t give a shit”

    That is already way too much to know.

    • Lackadaisical

      Also, you can’t cite China and India as examples where reasoned mating choices are not successful… if anything that backs me up.

      People still don’t marry for love in India (more often now, but not always, maybe not even a majority of the time). China I am less educated on.

    • UnCivilServant

      Not only that, but a swarm of mink devastates the local animal population before the die-off.

    • Tundra

      “They face a 100 percent death rate if they stayed on the farm,” Buddenberg said.

      Who wants to tell him?

    • R.J.

      I hope whoever did that catches rabies or something from all the bites.

    • Contrarian P

      It’s actually pretty hard to kill someone that isn’t dying already.

      You could argue that a chunk of what we are taught in medical school does actually kill people, but it’s a lot slower than what these people want to do. A lot of that is controversial with murky evidence though.

      • Not Adahn

        You mean Flatliners lied to me?

      • Contrarian P

        Sadly, yes. I mean when you can’t trust Hollywood to give you accurate medical information, we’ve surely reached the end times.

      • Sensei

        I’ve been assured by politicians that mere nanograms of fentanyl will instantly kill!

      • Not Adahn

        The rooskies took out a bunch of hostages with it

        In October 2002 a group of Chechen militants seized a Moscow theatre and took nearly 700 spectators and performers hostage. In the ensuing rescue operation, some 130 hostages died—mostly as the result of inhaling a narcotic gas released by security forces that was meant to incapacitate the Chechens. Following the incident, Russia stepped up military operations in Chechnya.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Symantecs?

      • The Other Kevin

        They may be “doing their job”, but they’re definitely not doing the mission they signed up for.

      • Seguin

        They’re all named Norton.

    • The Other Kevin

      I don’t know. That guy isn’t too far up the chain and he’s drunk the Flavor-Aid. Any rebellion is going to be squashed pretty quick.

      We have a close friend in BP, he’s more of a quiet guy but he’s frustrated as hell too. It’s really, really bad.

  43. The Late P Brooks

    vicious

    Zelensky got an abrupt preview of how Donald Trump’s possible return to power after the 2024 election and how the ex-president’s current sway over the ungovernable Republican-led House of Representatives could rupture the multi-billion dollar lifeline on which Ukraine’s survival depends. And far from clearing a new $24 billion administration request to sustain Ukraine’s war effort, the chaotic House failed again Thursday to even fund the defense of the United States, as a new attempt to pass a military appropriations bill foundered against hard-right opposition.

    For their part, Americans glimpsed the sapping impact of a brutal war on a leader who rallied stunning resistance to a Russian invasion but also shoulders the burden of months of death and sacrifice forced upon his people. At times, the comic actor turned wartime hero looked exhausted and unsmiling. In a CNN interview, he confessed the personal strain of his furtive life as Russia’s top target.

    And in public appearances, Zelensky’s patience sometimes frayed – especially when berating the United Nations for failing to protect its members from aggression. In a US capital that has undergone an ideological shift since he was last here just before Christmas 2022, it now takes more than quoting President Franklin Roosevelt and drawing allusions to 9/11, to woo lawmakers.

    There’s also a question of whether Zelensky’s relentless efforts to shame the world into action might be reaching the point of diminishing returns. The pugnacious president might think so too judging by his multiple and poignant expressions of gratitude for previous help as polls show more Americans are skeptical of aid to Ukraine. He may need to develop new political skills to adapt to a vicious phase in American politics when Ukraine is being dragged into an impeachment saga for the second time and is a central general election issue.

    Maybe he’s just not very bright.

    • AlexinCT

      Math is difficult, yo…

    • Sean

      Oopsie!

  44. The Late P Brooks

    Biden unveiled yet another US aid package for Ukraine worth $325 million that was expected to include more cluster munitions and air defense equipment, according to two US officials, marking the second time the US has provided the controversial weapon to Kyiv.

    But there was also disappointment for Ukraine as national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US will not be providing long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) – at least for now. The decision is the latest sign of the limitations of help even from Biden, who has led the Western alliance more effectively than any other US president since the end of the Cold War.

    Wheeeeee!

    • The Other Kevin

      This is the best economy ever, and with Biden’s amazing leadership Ukraine is just days away from destroying the entire country of Russia. Why can’t you idiots in flyover country see that?

  45. Rebel Scum

    I assume these include facilitating an invasion of the states.

    Up to 800 additional US military members are being sent to the Mexico border — but won’t play any role in stemming the latest surge of illegal migration into America, the Biden administration has announced.

    The active-duty personnel will focus on “logistics and other functions at the border to allow more Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers to return to their core mission and responsibilities,” the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday night.

    In practice, that means the troops will help with migrant processing and paperwork that would otherwise bog down CBP agents who are needed in the field — and won’t engage directly with the new arrivals.

    • blighted_non_millenial

      Didn’t a few casinos get hit w/ malware/ransomware lately.

      • Nephilium

        MGM and Caesars from memory. The interesting bit to me is around that same time there were also AWS disturbances, and issues with a couple of other cloud providers (who may have been downstream from the AWS issues).

      • blighted_non_millenial

        Didn’t realize they were down this hard, but that’s what the job listing says to me. Standing up a crew to run 24/7 doing as UCS says below until they get everything running again.

        Didn’t realize AWS had issues at the same time.

    • UnCivilServant

      Says Ransomware attack in the listing.

      Looks like they got infected, locked out, and need to rip out and replace with a bunch of clean, patched servers to replace a whole infrastructure. Even if they paid the ransom (which I don’t agree with), the vulnerabilities need to be addressed. And you’ll never be assured that you’re clean.

    • Rebel Scum

      What happens there stays there.

    • Ownbestenemy

      MGM was hit with malware and seems their public facing systems interact with their gambling systems?

      • blighted_non_millenial

        Most of that stuff comes from inside the house as a result of someone falling for phishing/social engineering/etc. via email. User ends up giving an attacker login credentials or directly downloading malware. Hilarity and $$$$$ ensue.

  46. The Late P Brooks

    It’s actually pretty hard to kill someone that isn’t dying already.

    Back when the term “death squads” was in vogue, I envisioned teams of black-robed reapers roaming the halls of hospitals, clubbing frail old grannies like baby seals.

  47. Lachowsky

    “highlights ongoing maintenance delays showing F-35 fighter jets are “mission capable” only 55% of the time.”

    Over the past 3 years, My department in the mill I work in has an average of 1.9% maintenance delays. That’s on a meltshop/caster/ rolling mill that runs 24/7. If we were even near 55%, our whole department would be looking for other jobs and our plant would be closed. I would be ashamed to show numbers like that.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Even on the other government end with air traffic systems we operate at a 98.0% uptime. It pays to be in the military industrial complex

    • pistoffnick

      My first job out of college was at a place that fabricated flexible circuit boards for Jeep. It was my job to test every circuit board. We had about a 50% pass rate.

      I quickly found a better company.

  48. Sean

    Daily Quordle 606
    7️⃣6️⃣
    8️⃣9️⃣
    m-w.com/games/quordle/

    Eek.

    https://squaredle.com 09/22:
    66/66 words (+27 bonus words)
    📖 In the top 12% by bonus words
    🔥 Solve streak: 4

    • kinnath

      Daily Quordle 606
      8️⃣4️⃣
      6️⃣9️⃣
      m-w.com/games/quordle/

      back to back errors on 50/50 guesses and I almost ran out of guesses for the last word.

  49. Rebel Scum

    The US government’s priority is not the United States.

    President Biden announced a new $325 million aid package for Ukraine during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit Thursday.

    Why it matters: Zelensky’s visit comes at a crucial moment for Ukraine, as it seeks to shore up support and secure additional funding for its counteroffensive against Russia.

    What they’re saying: “Today I approved the next tranche of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine including more artillery, more ammunition, more anti-tank weapons and next week, the first U.S. Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine,” Biden said.

    • Not Adahn

      What’s the Mean Time To Kablooie of a Ukraine-based Abrams?

      • UnCivilServant

        Before it even rolls off the truck.

      • Not Adahn

        Imma see if I can get MTTF changed to MTTK here.

      • UnCivilServant

        How often do your products actually go Kablooie when they fail?

    • PieInTheSky

      this is why everyone in the world should get to vote on US president

    • Ownbestenemy

      Why did he even want to speak to Congress when Biden will just write a check anyway?

    • blighted_non_millenial

      Vic was a retired police chief. Kid drew snake eyes. Some victims gonna get more justice than others.

    • R C Dean

      Execute them both. A stone cold killer at 17 isn’t going to change, or at least chances are so low I see no reason to bet on it.

      • juris imprudent

        I’m still against the death penalty – as imposed by the state, but I’d have zero problem putting both of those animals down (and anyone that wanted to defend them).

  50. The Late P Brooks

    If we were even near 55%, our whole department would be looking for other jobs and our plant would be closed. I would be ashamed to show numbers like that.

    “I’ve been in the private sector. They expect results.”

  51. Evan from Evansville

    Much more sports to discuss! Cubs are fucking gripping onto a berth. My goal is they get to the playoffs and come short pretty quick. Give them a taste of that feel. And then take it away! Next year, hopefully sans Ross and plus Craig Counsell, who was a goofy fucking player, somehow crucially valuable in two championships. Man knows ball.

    Evan wanty. Me getty.

    • Evan from Evansville

      As is, the Cubs are still stumbling down the steps after a couple bad falls. (Hrm. Mirror. This is why it’s fun to have a culturally historic record of utter failure.) The North Siders hit a wall, at pace, at the perfectly wrong time. Sports ‘ll do that to ya. I get what I want regardless.

      Unless they somehow win the Series. That’d be somethin’.

      *Whisle-walks away, head up, hands in pockets*

      *…kicks pebble*

  52. Sensei

    But it was a cleansing fire!

    I’ve not followed this case. I’m assuming they didn’t intend to burn the place down, but they were absolutely stupid about putting a fire in some mega greased out oven. What are you going to gain by jailing them?

    Outrage Grows as Rabbis Who Admitted to Recklessly Starting Deadly Nursing Home Fire Avoid Jail Time: ‘Horrendous Act’

    Also I’m sure if this done by some other religion or native population for religious reasons the streets would be filled with supporters.

    • PieInTheSky

      What are you going to gain by jailing them? – retributive justice?

      • Suthenboy

        Saving lives of future victims…of which there surely would be.
        22 right behind the ears and voila….the world is a much better place.

    • Tundra

      Wow. Very nice.

  53. The Late P Brooks

    McCarthy leads a conference that includes many pro-Trump members who are mirroring the ex-president’s hostility to sending more aid to Ukraine. Trump has vowed to end the war within 24 hours if he is the Republican nominee and wins the 2024 presidential election – a pledge likely to prove favorable to Putin, whom he has often tried to impress.

    ——-

    The divides underscore the Republican Party’s struggle for its own soul, between traditional conservatives and foreign policy hawks who back global democracy and the isolationist “America First” approach that saw Trump cozy up to dictators like Putin while lambasting the Western alliance that Biden has reinvigorated to meet a new challenge from Moscow.

    Subtle, nuanced analysis.

  54. PieInTheSky

    In the 1965 World Pentathlon Championships’ shooting competition, Herbert Polzhuber consumed 10 beers and a bottle of cognac. He then went to the shooting range, fired all his bullets into the ground, and passed out on the ground.

    This incident led to the prohibition of alcohol in shooting events soon after.

    https://twitter.com/fasc1nate/status/1704590959164735950

    • blighted_non_millenial

      A Finn or Russian shooter would have been good to go.

  55. PieInTheSky

    Confessions of an English teacher abroad
    I didn’t expect to stay in Poland

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/confessions-of-an-english-teacher-abroad/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1695376390

    The English teacher abroad is a generally peripatetic animal. He moves somewhere for a year or two and then gets bored, runs out of money or fathers an illegitimate child before moving along. Meet him and he has a thousand stories about Mexican border guards, Thai prostitutes and Russian oligarchs. Enjoy the conversation. He won’t be there for long.

    Not me, though. This weekend marks ten years since I moved to Tarnowskie Góry in Poland.Tarnowskie Góry is an hour from Katowice, in Upper Silesia. It’s a charming town of about 60,000 people, built round a historic silver mine and ringed by forests. The centre, with its time-worn churches and its bustling coffee bars, is surrounded by enormous housing estates. One of them was called Manhattan, because of its tower blocks, and one was inexplicably nicknamed Ohio. The latter name stuck, perhaps because it is so odd.

    I never meant to come here. I wanted to go to Japan. Somehow, though, the good Japanese schools didn’t want a random English kid with no experience. So, a generous invitation to teach English in a town I’d never heard of, in a country I knew almost nothing about, was my only option.

  56. Tres Cool

    Umm…I have a question about the migrants crossing from Eagle Pass.

    In this picture they all seem to be walking in an orderly single line. Who does that?

    • UnCivilServant

      If there’s a bottleneck just out of frame, they could have ended up single file and not yet re-sorted into clumps.

    • AlexinCT

      Military recruits…

  57. PieInTheSky

    ASMR CHIROPRACTIC, BACK AND NECK CRACKING | CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS | STRETCHING POSES FOR RELAX

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYF2AQCroOE

    interesting attire the young lady has for a adjustment…

    I remember when chiropractic channels were about chiropractic stuff… no I don;t it has always been like this

    • Mojeaux

      ASMR noises don’t work for me. I watch junk-journaling/scrapbooking videos that are ASMR and it just doesn’t do it for me. Now, get someone to play with my hair (I don’t even care who) and then we’re in business.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I don’t understand the food eating ASMR videos. I don’t want to hear slumps and crunches.

    • The Other Kevin

      Sex sells, Pie. Just take a look at any cooking videos.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Your lady doesn’t cook just in a apron?

      • Mojeaux

        2 words: bacon grease

      • AlexinCT

        Say WUT??

      • slumbrew

        Not an issue when cooking your bacon in the oven.

      • Mojeaux

        Doesn’t get crispy that way. I like mine singed and crispy.

      • slumbrew

        I prefer it chewier, but I’m told in the oven, on a rack, gets very crispy.

      • UnCivilServant

        It depends on the cook time.

      • The Other Kevin

        Like UCS said, it will get crispy in the oven if you leave it long enough.

  58. The Late P Brooks

    Nation of laws

    The Biden administration said Thursday it was giving temporary legal status to Afghan migrants who have already been living in the country for a little over a year.

    The Department of Homeland Security said in the announcement that the decision to give Temporary Protected Status to Afghans who arrived after March 15, 2022, and before Sept. 20, 2023, would affect roughly 14,600 Afghans.

    This status doesn’t give affected Afghans a long-term right to stay in the country or a path to citizenship. It’s good until 2025, when it would have to be renewed again. But it does protect them from deportation and give them the ability to work in the country.

    A relatively small number of people are affected. On Wednesday the administration announced it was giving Temporary Protected Status to nearly 500,000 Venezuelans in the country.

    Hail Biden.

    • B.P.

      “This status doesn’t give affected Afghans a long-term right to stay in the country or a path to citizenship.”

      Some Salvadoran refugees who fled after an earthquake are still under temporary protected status in the U.S. The earthquake was in…. 2001.

      • slumbrew

        As Uncle Milton said, “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program”

  59. Animal

    So, last night, woke up about 1:30 AM and got up to take care of some “necessary.” From our bedroom you can look right down onto our deck, which I do by habit; this time I saw something black moving, so I did a double-take.

    About a half-grown black bear, hanging out on the deck right by Mrs. Animal’s potted tomatoes (she had already picked all the good ones.”

    He ran off as soon as he heard me moving. Didn’t have time to go for a gun.

    • PieInTheSky

      say no to gun violence

    • The Other Kevin

      Sorry, that pelt and meat would have been nice as you prepare for winter.