Monday Morning Links

by | Nov 18, 2024 | Daily Links | 209 comments

The Stillers beat the Ravens (as usual). The Niners lost another tough one. The Lions are a steamroller. The Vikings got a nice win. And the Bungles made it interesting before inevitably folding. Lots of good, old-fashioned fun yesterday in the league. Across the pond ridiculousness is the rule of the day. And F1 is headed back to Vegas this coming weekend. But of course the race isn’t for American eyes, unless you want to be up all freaking night. And that’s it for sports.

This is a home run. Cue the Project 2025 cries from the left. Never mind the fact that the dude has been an FCC commissioner for 7 years already.

Well…good. The government doesn’t need to be picking winners and losers. But of they wanted to give everybody who bought any car at all the credit, I’d be for it.

“It’s donor money. Who gives a shit?” The profligacy of this campaign should be studied for years. But I suspect they’ll just dupe people into giving even more next time around.

Frontier needs to start beefing up security. Those customers who made Spirit flights so eventful will be looking for a new home in the skies.

He’s kind of got a point here. Although I think he should just mock her and move on. The humiliation alone has caused her to retire. Let that be her legacy.

These dummies have no sense of humor whatsoever. And they’ll never realize that’s part of the reason Trump won twice.

“Only our side should be able to do this!” Methinks these people should have thought twice before themselves engaging in such actions. But now they might have to learn the hard way.

When in doubt, double down. ::sigh:: They’ll never learn.

This is gross. Not surprising at all, but still gross.

Wait, these people are surprised the state screwed them over? But that’s what governments do. And always have done.

Good for this guy. Keep killing Chevron, please. Its death by a thousand cuts has been fun to watch so far.

I haven’t played these guys in forever. So I know that will make some of you happy. They were pretty solid. Enjoy the tracks.

And enjoy this lovely Monday, dear friends.

About The Author

sloopyinca

sloopyinca

209 Comments

  1. cavalier973

    “Harris paid Oprah $1 million.”

    Oprah: “That’s a lie! It was $2.5 million! Get it right!”

    • Nephilium

      No. She didn’t get any money, it just went to her production company, which I’m sure she doesn’t profit from at all.

      • SDF-7

        Nobody ever pays attention to Harpo when it comes to Marxists.

      • cavalier973

        SDF-7:

        No Duck Soup for you!

      • R.J.

        Horsefeathers to the both of you, I say!

      • Not Adahn

        She spent that money at a night at the opera.

      • Ted S.

        She didn’t just fall from the cocoanut tree.

      • juris imprudent

        Ya’ll are gonna spend all day racing around this?

      • The Last American Hero

        Her statement that it covered lights, sets, and production costs is laughable. First, it’s Oprah, not Iron Maiden or Kiss. Second, I’m pretty sure they already had the chairs, lights, sound system and other things rented and just paid her to show up. She wasn’t the only celeb to show up and endorse her. Third, if the endorsement would prevent the end of democracy, why aren’t you donating the time and materials?

      • Swiss Servator

        *mass narrowed gaze*

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      One of my greatest hopes for the outcome of all this Harris kween Booolshit is that Orca herself takes a giant fall in the ratings.

      Come at the king, and you best not miss.

      • AlexinCT

        Oprah was not the only “entertainer” that took loads of cash to then tell the public to vote for her…

        I would surmise that sort of shit would be illegal if you didn’t disclose that connection, but team blue is above the law it seems.

  2. cavalier973

    Matt Gaetz on Biden trying to do the WW3:

    ”I think that the reason we are as involved in Ukraine as we are is because Afghanistan wound down. If we still had Afghanistan to launder money through, there probably wouldn’t be the need for this type of excessive involvement in Ukraine. But I think we can look at Afghanistan and we can look at what’s going on here and say, what a lot of these defense contractors are pushing toward is how to have an extended kind of low yield war.

    Like if there’s a way to stretch this thing out, turn it into a 20, 30 year kind of thing where there’s a whole lot of money moving around and unaccountable pots and a lot of weapons getting bought and then all man the stockpiles well we got to spend more money to reload those.”

    https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/1858268817874735264

    • Suthenboy

      Wow, there is a guy who Gaetz it. Is there hope for getting rid of these endless fake wars? I just became a huge fan of the guy.

      • cavalier973

        Talking point: the GOP doesn’t oppose Gaetz because of corruption and controversy on Gaetz’s part, but because he threatens to end their money laundering operation.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, the corruption and controversy exist for a reason.

      • Drake

        If we hit Moscow hard enough, the wars won’t be fake any longer.

      • juris imprudent

        If we don’t fight the corruption in Russia, we could end up having to fight it here!

  3. SDF-7

    The Stillers beat the Ravens (as usual).

    An entire team of Ben Stillers… that’s an interesting image. And they won! (I guess anger helps….)

    Morning, all. Morning, Sloopy — I can’t blame F1 for doing a night race in Vegas… it is Vegas after all, and they love showing off the strip lighting and hiding the hookers and everything.

      • LCDR_Fish

        This time of year – seems it would work pretty well.

        Here in Norfolk, it’s sunset before 5 PM, but it’s still around 60 degrees. Great clear weather for a night race from 7-10 or something.

    • Nephilium

      /slaps a stack of “business cards” into his hand and pushes one into your hand

      • Ownbestenemy

        Hey the porn slappers have all but disappeared!

      • Nephilium

        OBE:

        The site has long gone dormant and dead (but appears to have potentially migrated to Facebook), but there was an old gaming webzine called Critical Miss. They created a Pokeman style card game using the UK version of the porn cards. From memory, digit x was strength, digit y was defense, and digit z was power.

        There are times I lament the ephemeral nature of the old internet… and many times I’m quite glad that the evidence is likely gone.

      • SDF-7

        “John uses Penicillin…

        Escort uses Resistant Bug — Penicillin is not very effective!”

  4. Fourscore

    So, 419 million people are like a bear in the woods.

    I’m guessing most of those would prefer a nice, clean and maintained facility (who wouldn’t?) but for reasons known only to their corrupt government(s) the peasants live a 18th century lifestyle.

    • Nephilium

      Wait… I thought it was Popes in the woods.

      You mean bears aren’t Catholics?

      • DrOtto

        Is the Pope a Cadillac?

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      I read something to the effect that, in India there are more cell phones than toilets. Now, I think that speaks volumes to the importance of western values about what crap is good, and what crap isn’t.

  5. Suthenboy

    Yep. Humanity is still a troop of monkeys shitting the place up.

    Toilets are a cultural thing.
    Friend of mine worked in Iran. His company put in a bathroom for the workers. They would not sit on the toilet so they stood over it instead. Someone missed. The next guy didnt want to stand over the shit so he just moved over. Next guy the same. The same day the toilet was put in there was a trail of shit leading from the toilet outside into the ditch where they used to shit anyway.

  6. Grummun

    This is gross

    And there’s the bright red end of Hispaniola, home of cholera.

    • Suthenboy

      I think Hispaniola is one of the places were you get cholera just by looking at it on a map.

  7. rhywun

    Across the pond ridiculousness is the rule of the day

    Complete with struggle sessions because of course.

    Five days later, Son, Tottenham’s captain, said that he had accepted his teammate’s apology.

    How about, “This is bullshit, why is he being punished?”

    Anyway, fuck Tottenham.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Anyway, fuck Tottenham.

      If you’re going to be charged with racism you should also bite people too.

      • rhywun

        This stupid shit just encourages more “kneeling” and endless cries of END HATE! that infects the game in that lousy place.

        Also… imagine your job is trawling social media looking for rAcIsM.

  8. rhywun

    Trump has suggested he wanted to bring it under tighter White House control, in part to use the agency to punish TV networks that cover him in a way he doesn’t like

    Oh for fuck’s sake. These “journalists” are shameless.

    • juris imprudent

      No one ever reads what Thomas Jefferson had to say about the press in his day, so, yeah, nothing’s changed.

      • slumbrew

        “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.”

    • Suthenboy

      “Why did we lose? ”

      We may never know.

      • juris imprudent

        “Clearly voters need MORE of what we’ve been telling them!”

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        @juris

        Pretty sure they actually believe that if only they’d DIE’d harder, the electorate would finally not disappoint them.

  9. rhywun

    I’m not buying that Tesla is profiting from EVs. Or… if it is, it won’t last long since we already see the market is saturated.

    But by all means, the left, please keep advocating for tax breaks for the rich (your base).

    • The Gunslinger

      I just read an article this morning from MSN regarding EVs. Can’t recall the actual publication but the bottom line is, people aren’t buying EVs because there are not any good EVs that have a 3rd row seat.

      SUVs like the VW ID.BUZZ are going to fix that problem and demand for EVs will skyrocket.

      • juris imprudent

        3rd row seat? Like for large families (that aren’t socially or environmentally conscious/sustainable)?

        #Do you even HEAR yourself?

      • juris imprudent

        Only drive and park where it is permitted and always stay on provided roads and paths. See owner’s manual for important information regarding off pavement use.

        LMAO

      • The Last American Hero

        Kia EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 7, Tesla Y (most popular Tesla by sales), or if money is no object there are offerings from Mercedes, Rivian, and the Tesla X.

    • Suthenboy

      EV’s are not profitable and never will be.
      “We have a genius idea for a money sink. We will give you money to drive this ridiculously inefficient car.”

      I cant say it enough. Dumbest idea since the square wheel.

      • rhywun

        Someone tell Canada.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Can’t remember who, maybe you rhywun, but the comment that Tesla isn’t a vehicle company, but rather a battery company makes the most sense.

      • rhywun

        Not me. I haven’t given them that much thought.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        May have been me but I was just parroting someone else: Tesla is not a car company but a tech company.

    • Fourscore

      How quickly they turn. I’m sure ratings/management had nothing to do with the kiss-up.

      • sloopyinca

        They know Trump can’t say no to somebody sucking up to him. Of course he was gonna take the meeting.

        It’s probably his greatest flaw.

      • juris imprudent

        You don’t even have to stroke his ego, just a little tickle will get you in the door.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Tundra:

        My worst fear is that the Dems will figure this out. If they kiss his ass enough, he will give them whatever they want. Especially on subjects that Trump doesn’t care about personnaly. Like gun control.

      • juris imprudent

        Pope, I don’t think you need worry. Pelosi is out of the Dem leadership and she knew how to play Trump.

      • Grummun

        My worst fear is that the Dems will figure this out. If they kiss his ass enough, he will give them whatever they want.

        The Dems could have done this in 2016, but they chose to go completely ape shit instead. I expect more ape-shittery this time around, given the reactions to T-dog’s cabinet picks. Worst case, we’ll have to hope that those same picks moderate Trump’s worst wheeler-dealer instincts.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        From what I heard, his new COS had a condition that SHE would have a pretty firm grip on who would and who wouldn’t see Trump in his role as president.

    • Suthenboy

      Meh, it’s all political theater and all three of them know it. I doubt any of them take it personally or seriously.

      • juris imprudent

        “All the world is a stage…”

    • Drake

      Athletes doing Trump victory dances instead of kneeling during the anthem, now this?

      • sloopyinca

        People aren’t sure if it’s real or fake. And I don’t have an account on that platform.

  10. Old Man With Candy

    Date this evening with a Proggie lawyer who was astonished and horrified that I thought Gorsuch was the best SCJ of my lifetime.

    So my questions to her tonight will be about defending Chevron deference.

      • SDF-7

        She might be hoping he’ll come to order properly, though.

      • Old Man With Candy

        As long as she shows me her tits.

      • rhywun

        We’re not even doing euphemisms anymore, are we?

    • Suthenboy

      “…best SCJ of my lifetime…”
      That is a pretty low bar.

    • pistoffnick (370HSSV)

      She ain’t gonna show you her briefs on the first date. Best you’ll get is friend of the court.

    • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

      The Chevron defense? That will be a gas.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      Is this how Glibs neg?

  11. Fourscore

    “Rodrigo Bentancur banned 7 games for offensive Son Heung-Min remark”

    So every high school kid gets banned from school? I would not be surprised if Heung-Min and friends don’t say the same thing.

    At least no one said “And he plays like a girl”, that would require a lifetime suspension

    • juris imprudent

      The perpetually offended had to reach for that – a remark from a Uruguayan media appearance? Earth-shattering news indeed.

    • Nephilium

      Wait… “They all look the same” was the offensive comment?

      I remember several black coworkers who wondered how us whities could tell that someone was Irish, German, etc. by looking at them.

      • Fourscore

        As a little kid I couldn’t understand how my Mom would know nationalities by looking at names. Now I get it but names/nationalities have mostly disappeared in modern America.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        It’s funny, I can tell Asian groups apart with ease, but I have never thought about Euro groups, let along south of the border.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        I had a Korean roommate in college who said all us roundeyes look the same. He also said that Asians were more highly evolved because they had less body hair. I’m pretty sure he was mostly joking.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      I would not be surprised if Heung-Min and friends don’t say the same thing.

      This. Son is not a humorless cunt, so I can see him saying “oh, so we all look the same?” in a teasing locker room situation. My God.

      As part of the decision, he also has to attend face-to-face education sessions which have to be completed by March 2025.

      This is the worst part though. Just suspend me 7 games!

      • Nephilium

        Face to face sessions? Are they going to have him meet a different person for each session and to pass he has to identify them?

  12. rhywun

    “Trump’s selection of [Gaetz] shows a contempt for the department that is sure to lead those within it, particularly in the DC area, to think hard about whether they can bear to stay,”

    lol One of those idiots gets it.

      • EvilSheldon

        Door’s to your left…

    • R C Dean

      Not discussed: Why people might hold the DOJ in contempt.

      • Suthenboy

        This.

        To make a list of people to be fired simply look and see who is screaming the loudest. They know fucking well what they have done and are doing. Threaten to clean the place up and the cockroaches start complaining.

      • juris imprudent

        Not up for discussion. They are the glorious bureaucrats doing battle to save us from all the evils that assail our fragile little minds! How dumb are you to not understand that?

      • AlexinCT

        Because they are Nazis and domestic terrorists, unwilling to shut up and sit down and let the state keep screwing them over?

    • Social Justice is Neither

      I’ve been noncommittal about Gaetz as AG (not sure how effective he might be excusing the rot) but if he can get an appreciable number of the rats to flee voluntarily then I’m all in.

  13. rhywun

    However, the carnage at legal pot farms has left some people in the industry asking whether the state’s plan all along included putting the small farms of the Emerald Triangle out of business.

    Many small farms were going to die from legalization. That is kind of what happens. The state need not have anything to do with it.

    And it is not the state’s responsibility to prop up inefficient businesses.

    • SDF-7

      California has zero experience with billion dollar corporations working hand in hand with those who regulate them to shut out competitors, maximize profits through rates and kick back bribes to said regulators, after all. Not any at all.

    • Nephilium

      If you can’t sell artisanal, organic, all natural, marijuana to hippies, then I’m pretty sure you’re just bad at sales.

      • Suthenboy

        Was it New Jersey that had state owned casinos go bankrupt?

      • juris imprudent

        I thought that Trump bankrupted his casinos there?

    • Cunctator

      Re; California and general pot lunacy.

      For years, California spent millions trying to wipe out marijuana farms. Now it subsidizes them.

      During the years of “medical marijuana”, there were several dispensaries in a smaller city in SoCal. The county would rotate between them, busting them and seizing assets, computers, cash etc. The dispensaries even had security footage showing the cops randomly breaking stuff in the store. Nothing ever happened.

      The legal weed shop where I buy was one of the stores affected. They now give a 20% to retired LEO.

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        Shit, one of the scariest moments of my life was stumbling onto a pot farm on the coast south of Big Sur.

    • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

      I’m old enough to remember when legalized weed was supposed to solve all of California’s budget problems.

      • juris imprudent

        Tax the dopers – they’ll never notice!

      • SDF-7

        I’m a fan of cats as well as dogs — but I do have to say, as a species they seem to rely on the tolerance of larger animals a lot more than is wise (the bear, the seal, the tiger!, the various times I’ve seen them play with large dogs over the years…) They seem to not care that most of the things they’re giving the paw swipe to could literally put them entirely in their mouth in one gulp…. I know for humans it is the cuteness — I have to wonder for other species if they’re just stunned by the audacity. (Ok, maybe the tiger thinks “This is the dumbest youngster I ever met… and why isn’t it growing properly?” Who knows…)

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        It is not.

        We had to put our 20 year old cat to sleep this morning.

        Today fucking sucks.

      • slumbrew

        🙁

        So sorry to hear, MW.

        They break your hearts every time.

      • Sean

        Awww. Sorry dude. 🙁

    • Fourscore

      It takes two cats, one to hold the dog down and the other to lick him.

    • pistoffnick (370HSSV)

      My Siamese likes to jump on my keyboard for attention.

      Last night, I finally figured out how to turn the sound back on for my browser (only Brave, not anything else) after a week.

      Settings…Sound…Advanced settings…Unmute Brave.

    • The Other Kevin

      George Carlin did a bit about how in Catholic school, occasionally the priest would visit class and kids would ask convoluted questions that ended with “Would that then be a sin then, Father?”

      Maybe this AI will help with the priest shortage.

      • Rat on a train

        Who needs a priest when you can have your own personal Jesus?

      • The Other Kevin

        Now don’t be starting any blasphemous rumors.

    • AlexinCT

      Phantom shitters are a thing..

      • Fourscore

        “At the last base I was on there was this one guy….”

  14. The Artist Formerly Known as Lackadaisical

    “The Stillers beat the Ravens (as usual). The Niners lost another tough one. The Lions are a steamroller. The Vikings got a nice win. ”

    No mention of the face off between two of the best teams in the league?

    My Bills were looking sharp yesterday.

    • rhywun

      My Bills were looking sharp yesterday.

      😆

      I noticed our host had nothing to say about that.

      • slumbrew

        As I texted my cousin, the majority of the country was rooting for the Bills on that one.

        Chiefs are deep into “everybody hates you territory”

        /Pats fan

      • juris imprudent

        Dear Pats fan(s), you only inherited that mantle when Dallas ceased to be worth hating.

      • rhywun

        Chiefs are deep into “everybody hates you territory”

        At least the Bills will probably never get there… I think you have to win a Super Bowl first.

      • The Artist Formerly Known as Lackadaisical

        Very true Juris.

        Still, whenever I see a cowboys fan I feel the hate rising within me. 😉

      • ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

        “Dear Pats fan(s), you only inherited that mantle when Dallas ceased to be worth hating.”

        What, the (spits) Niners are chopped liver?

      • juris imprudent

        the (spits) Niners

        I believe the true San Francisco formulation of that is “the (shits [on sidewalk]) Niners” TYVM.

        Also when the Bay Bridge was balanced by the yin/yang of the Raiders on the other end of it.

  15. The Artist Formerly Known as Lackadaisical

    “The profligacy of this campaign should be studied for years. ”

    Being somewhat politically aware and knowing how much cash they had, and yet still seeing more of Harris just asking for cash in ads rather than actually campaigning was honestly sickening.

    • Nephilium

      Well, considering the campaign ended in debt, she apparently needed that money. Maybe if you had given just a little more, she could have beaten Trump!

      • Ownbestenemy

        I bet about $100,000 in ads from Russia China on Facebook would have put her over the top.

      • The Artist Formerly Known as Lackadaisical

        Turns out the campaign was just about laundering money to a set of political insiders. You may think Harris lost, but that portion of the system made out just fine.

        I especially liked Oprah’s defense… I want paid for my endorsement, my privately held company was!

    • Suthenboy

      For some reason I keep thinking of Sideshow Bob this morning.

    • The Artist Formerly Known as Lackadaisical

      Can every member of parliament (or whatever they call themselves) who signed it be banned for being an idiot?

    • rhywun

      We joke here about the lack of a distinction between the D’s and R’s but there it’s pretty accurate when discussing their two biggest parties.

      Some are also worried that the ban will backfire and make the AfD more popular than ever.

      lol No shit.

    • Ted S.

      I wish they’d actually link to the ARD and ZDF reports they cite in the intro rather than just embedhald a dozen tweets from one outrage porn site. We’re mature enough to see original sources.

  16. Pope Jimbo

    Things keep breaking King Walz’s way!

    So after completely humiliating himself on the national stage, King Walz returns home just as huge property tax increases are being announced.

    Cities, school boards, and counties have proposed large increases in their levies. Rising labor costs are a significant driver.
     
    The city of Minneapolis has proposed an 8.1% hike — the largest in at least 16 years — and the school board passed a maximum hike of 4.5%. Plus, Minneapolis voters approved a new $20 million school technology levy that will add nearly $100 a year in taxes on a median-priced home ($350,000).
     
    The city of St. Paul and the school board set maximum levy increases of 7.9%.
     
    Some suburban cities and counties are proposing even higher maximum increases: Lakeville approved a 12% increase, Edina’s is set at 13.1%, and Bloomington’s is at 11.5%.
     
    Tax levies could rise by 16.9% in Anoka County, 10% in Dakota County, and 8.9% in Carver County.

    We just had a $17B budget surplus 2 years ago. Then the DFL got control of all three branches of govt and under King Walz’s leadership spent it all and then some. They actually raised taxes too.

    Now the taxpayers are really going to get it. I’m sure that they will still support Walz and his vision of a neighborly Minnesoda.

    • juris imprudent

      Minneapolis voters approved

      “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.” –HLM

    • juris imprudent

      Fake! Those eyebrows don’t match the hair – we need more… uh… information, yeah information to confirm that color.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I agree. Much more information needed.

    • rhywun

      and a biological woman

      That was going to be my first question.

      • AlexinCT

        they saying you can’t selfie yourself dropping a deuce?

        What kind of barbarity is that?

      • Fourscore

        Investigative journalism

      • Evan from Evansville

        Koreans (and weiguks) often need to take their own toilet paper to the restroom, as many aren’t stocked. Natives told me it often gets stolen, particularly by old people. I suppose the old joke of ‘Old People Steal Batteries’ comes with a Hanguk flavor.

        The toilets without seats are fascinating. I’ve used them, but I don’t think to take a shit in. (Piss, vomit? Sure. Shit? My hips don’t work that way.) Legit, the Asian style seems to make more sense for human biology. It does lack the comfort and Newspaper Stance we’re keen on. What do I know? Dad taught me the public Piss-and-Walk technique as a kid. Friend didn’t believe that fuckery was possible. I made $5 from his Lack of Faith. I did not find it disturbing.

  17. Drake

    Three weeks after the election and Democrats are still counting votes. Just took the lead in the NC Supreme Court election and Bucks County is ignoring the PA court and continues to find votes in the Senate election.

  18. Pope Jimbo

    It just isn’t fair that Power Lesbians get the spotlight and flyover Minnesodans get ignored.

    DULUTH — The man suspected of killing four people and himself last week had previously threatened his wife with a knife and said he wanted his family killed if Donald Trump became president.
     
    Search warrants filed this week in the West Duluth murder-suicide investigation also reveal that Anthony “Tony” Nephew applied for and received a gun permit in September, two months after being hospitalized following a domestic assault call.

    Fucking sick bastard. Hope he rots in hell. And who the fuck gave this nut a gun permit.

    • R C Dean

      I was thinking more “There shouldn’t even be such a thing as a gun permit that some bureaucrat has the power to grant or deny”.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I agree. I wasn’t sure exactly what they were talking about. Looks like a background check form.

        What struck me was these instructions:

        Once complete, you can email your application it to gunpermits@duluthmn.gov along with the following:
         
        — A color copy/photo of your valid government-issued ID, front and back
         
        — The address on your application and your ID must match, and that address must be within the City of Duluth. If you need to change your address prior to sending your application, please send a copy of the address change along with a copy of your ID.

        WTF? You want people to use one of the least secure methods on the internet to send you a picture of their ID? And there doesn’t seem to be any other way. Just email.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I also see on the actual form that you must attest that:

        I am not an alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States.

        How long before the “Give driver’s licenses to anyone regardless of immigration status” crowd demand that they also be allowed to get gun permits?

        Every stupid argument that they used to give everyone a driver’s license applies to guns at least as well.

      • Nephilium

        Pope Jimbo:

        But they have a right to vote! There’s no right to own a gun!

        /progs actually believe this

      • Ownbestenemy

        Neph: Amazingly backwardly taught and purposefully so.

    • Suthenboy

      Of course the problem is not guns, it is people. We have not worked out an efficient, sane civilized way to weed out dangerous people. Probably. because there isn’t one.
      Guns or no guns we will always have crazed killers and suicides.

      • AlexinCT

        I tell people all the time that if I flipped my lid and went homicidal, I would not be using firearms to do that evil. There are other far simpler options that would allow an evil asshat to kill scores if not hundreds of people and never need a firearm to do it.

        The boner about firearms is to give government a monopoly on that violence. They can suck my dick.

      • Suthenboy

        That is right and it doesnt take much imagination to come up with ways to do that.
        No one ever wanted you to be helpless for your own good. I dont know why more people dont understand that.

    • Ownbestenemy

      The rockets out of the crotch is a nice touch.

      • Drake

        I like the idea of the deportation catapults.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        I don’t see the need for cruelty. I do believe most of these people just want a better life. But we get to decide who, how many, and when, not them. Put them on a bus or plane and wave goodbye.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    Into the lion’s den

    Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” said Monday they had traveled to the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate late last week to talk to Donald Trump about unifying the country and toning down political rhetoric.

    Brzezinski told the program’s audience it was the first time the two hosts, who are married, had met with Trump face-to-face in seven years.

    “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so,” Scarborough said, reading from a script in the teleprompter.

    ——-

    Scarborough and Brzezinski for years have been among Trump’s most vocal critics on cable news. They host a program Trump has clearly watched, and that counts President Biden as a viewer.

    The network has experienced a double-digit percentage drop in viewership since Election Day, the New York Times reported last week, citing Nielsen Media Research data.

    “Don’t be mistaken, we’re not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump,” Scarborough told his audience Monday. “We’re here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights and better equip all of us to understand these deeply unsettling times.”

    I’m sure they gave him a stern talking-to.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Elbows out

    Musk has been so aggressive in pushing his views about Trump’s second term that he’s stepping on the toes of Trump’s transition team and may be overstaying his welcome at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s home in Palm Beach, Florida, according to two people familiar with the transition who have spent time at the resort over the past week.

    The sources said Musk’s near-constant presence at Mar-a-Lago in the week since Election Day had begun to wear on people who’ve been in Trump’s inner circle longer than he has and who see him as overstepping his role in the transition. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly.

    “He’s behaving as if he’s a co-president and making sure everyone knows it,” one of the people said.

    “And he’s sure taking lots of credit for the president’s victory. Bragging about America PAC and X to anyone who will listen. He’s trying to make President Trump feel indebted to him. And the president is indebted to no one,” this person added.

    Anonymous envious bitching. How totally unsurprising.

    • The Last American Hero

      I’m sure the Soros visits that would have accompanied a Harris win would be received in a similar way. Or Bill Gates weighing in on NIH director or HHS secretary.

  21. juris imprudent

    Bad battle-space prep

    “We expect mass reductions,” said during an appearance on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo. “We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright. We expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated.”

    Building up expectations, and everyone is going to be let down. JFC, Trump signed off on the trillion dollar EXPANSION of the govt in ’20.

    • The Last American Hero

      Even Keynes said stimulus had to be temporary, targeted and timely. So doing a blanket spending orgy during an economy coming out of a lockdown with some payouts lasting a decade was totally gonna be awesome.

    • juris imprudent

      “That’s a problem for 30 days from now,” the political adviser responded.

      What is people that pay no penalty for being wrong?

      I mean, if this political adviser’s carcass was hanging from a lamppost, there might be something to be learned from that.

  22. Common Tater

    “But that’s not what’s happening right now. What’s happening is that vulnerable people are being exploited for political purposes, and people are saying things that are just not true.”

    But enough about the Left.

    • Common Tater

      ” Only a tiny sliver of trans teenagers undergo surgery, and then only after extensive counseling, screening, and other interventions.”

      Bullshit.

      • creech

        If “tiny sliver” then there is no need at all for taxpayers’ money to pay for those over 18 to get the surgery. There should be plenty of folks, who support this nonsense, contributing all the funds necessary to snip and tuck the sexual organs.

    • Rat on a train

      How else can I have blue hair and blonde eyes?

    • Suthenboy

      “Patients say it’s worth the risks.”

      I assume those are the patients that did not suffer damage or blindness. The patients that do probably have a different take on it.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    Thumb on the scale

    In the nearly four years that Joe Biden has been president, the National Labor Relations Board has taken an assertive — some say overly aggressive — approach to protecting workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain.

    Now, SpaceX and Amazon are at the forefront of a corporate-led effort to monumentally change the labor agency. On Monday, attorneys for the two companies will try to convince a panel of judges at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the labor agency, created by Congress in 1935, is unconstitutional.

    Their lawsuits are among more than two dozen challenges brought by companies who say the NLRB’s structure gives it unchecked power to shape and enforce labor law.

    A ruling in favor of the companies could make it much harder for workers to form unions and take collective action in pursuit of better wages and working conditions.

    All they want is their god given right to lobby for better safer working conditions. Unchecked capitalism is just slavery by another name. The NLRB just wants a fair playing field.

    • R C Dean

      I was talking to a labor lawyer after Biden took office and appointed Abruzzo. He was saying she is, of course, a radical pro-union tool, to the point that many experienced NLRB people were leaving the agency due to her abuse of the process and rules.

      Funny how that didn’t make the news, no?

      • Sensei

        Trade rags only. Same in my business.

      • Sensei

        That’s free riding off the union! We can’t have that!

  24. SarumanTheGreat

    Liked the morning link picture. In two weeks scenes like that will be taking place across thousands upon thousands of high school wrestling mats.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    ,EM.Both companies argue that the labor agency’s structure violates the separation of powers.

    “The NLRB routinely exercises authority to prosecute alleged violators of federal labor law, define the legal standards that govern the prosecutions, and weigh the facts necessary to find a violation — with only limited judicial review by Article III courts,” attorneys for SpaceX wrote in a court filing.

    The companies also find fault with the president’s inability to fire NLRB board members, who serve five-year terms, and in SpaceX’s case, its administrative law judges.

    Additionally, they argue the NLRB’s system for adjudicating cases denies them the right to a trial by jury.

    NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, a Biden appointee, calls the lawsuits a distraction, pointing to the agency’s 90-year history of governing labor-management relations.

    “We are trying to hold violators of our statute accountable,” she said at the National Press Club in October. “It would be chaos if the agency was not allowed to perform its functions and do it properly.”

    Presumption of innocence? Equality under the law? That would be hopelessly inefficient and make it harder to impose our will on those rat bastard corporate oppressors.

    • Suthenboy

      “It would be chaos if the agency was not allowed to perform its functions and do it properly.”

      Has any tyrannical government ever not used this as justification for anything they ever did? It would be disaster if you dont do as I say. Right.
      That statement alone should be grounds for her firing.

    • Rat on a train

      If only Harris had won the government could have increased the cost of ICE vehicles making EVs more competitive.

      • Sensei

        Also in today’s headlines.

        https://finance.yahoo.com/news/haven-t-car-shopping-while-150822316.html

        Americans paid a whopping $47,612 on average for a new car in October, according to data from Edmunds. That’s a jump of almost $10,000 from October 2019, ahead of the pandemic. That means new car prices have risen much faster than most goods and services.

      • Suthenboy

        We let people who want to control us by limiting our freedom of movement regulate the automobile industry. What could possibly go wrong?

      • Evan from Evansville

        Cash for Clunkers and the $7,500* for EVs in college further cemented my ‘libertarian’ philosophy that they directly, purposefully affected the poor while enriching those who could already fucking afford it. (*Assuredly more than that, IIRC.)

        I bought my first cars in high school, both with $1,800 of my own money. (Parents picked up insurance, but the cars were *mine.* I could have used that to my advantage much more than I did. I was one of few to not have a loaner from rich parents. Comparatively poor me particularly relished that. My current car is a ’13 Chevy Malibu. It was the cheapest, non-lemon car to be had, all for $7,500 (extra parent-money for dealership warranty). It isn’t shocking, though remains deeply disturbing, the scandal isn’t more published/ ‘popularized’ as it should be. I suppose all the Really Poor got their shake of handouts as well, again leaving the distinctly ‘middle-class’ youth and upstarts in the gutter.

        Perhaps that’s where ‘we’ belong. And perhaps it’s a shocker folk voted against The Establishment, again backing Trump. Full disclosure: I purposefully didn’t vote in IN, partly cuz ‘our’ EC votes were only going towards the Orange Man. I also wanted to truthfully tell my family I didn’t vote for him if it comes up. I told Mom it would be safer for the family that way. I’ve been formally banned by Dad from talking politics. Of all stereotypical ‘Man’s Man,’ who autistically doesn’t understand women OR people, and isn’t a bright political voter, natch went with Harris. Huh.

        It’s not tremendously fun being Ostracized Lite by your family. I bite my tongue and keenly observe. I only allow highly-focused pinpricks out.

  26. JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

    I suspect the Iowa pollster lady was planning to retire anyway and thought she would do her part for Our Democracy on the way out. She’ll probably get a book deal out of it.

    • The Other Kevin

      The suspicion is she had planned on retiring, and someone offered her a golden parachute so she had some money for the future.

  27. The Late P Brooks

    Welcome to your glorious future

    It would have been much easier to shrink the displacement of the current 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder by simply lopping off a cylinder. But the company found that the three-banger did not meet Mercedes levels of refinement, being both too rough and too noisy.

    So the company designed a new four-cylinder that is smaller in every dimension. The 75.0-mm bore and 84.5-mm stroke, down from 83 and 92 mm, respectively, make the new unit shorter in both length and height. The shorter stroke and smaller, lighter pistons also eliminated the need for balance shafts.

    A 12:1 compression ratio and a maximum boost pressure of 26.1 psi seems like a lot for the engine’s modest output of 188 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. But in keeping with new European emissions rules, the engine operates at Lambda 1, which means no full-power fuel enrichment. And the engine uses the efficient Miller cycle, which employs a late intake-valve closing, so the 12:1 compression ratio is really more like a 9:1 compression combined with a 1:12 expansion ratio.

    The engine is coupled to a new version of the Mercedes 8F-DCT twin-clutch automatic transmission that incorporates a 27-hp electric motor. This motor is more directly coupled to the powertrain than the belt-driven starter/generator uses on other 48-volt Mercedes hybrids. It can add power or provide regenerative braking through all eight gears. And in addition to its twin clutches, there’s a third clutch that can completely decouple the engine from this transmission, now dubbed 8F-eDCT.

    Completely decoupling the engine not only allows more efficient coasting without any engine drag, but also allows the car to run on electric power alone under some conditions. It won’t go far because, in usual hybrid fashion, the battery is only 1.3 kWh. But at least it’s a light and compact unit, mounted under the driver’s floor and weighing only 44.5 pounds. All told, this powertrain weighs 17 percent less than the 2.0-liter version with the belt-driven 48-volt starter/generator.

    It comes with Mexican Overdrive. How innovative.

    Back in ye olden tymes, you didn’t “need” balance shafts until displacement exceeded about 2.4 liters, as I recall. I wonder what changed. I have been noticing balance shafts on 2 liter engines and possibly smaller on the I Do Cars teardowns.

    • Suthenboy

      Back in the hay day of muscle cars I read a sci-fi short story about a dystopian future where cars were not only rare but very small, cheap and feeble as hell.
      These fucking sci-fi writers need to cut that shit out. Stop accurately predicting the future and writing instruction manuals for future tyrants.

    • The Other Kevin

      They really need to work on building safety in Russia.

      • Suthenboy

        Their dissidents are clumsy as hell.

    • Evan from Evansville

      Were I to terminate a graceful and highly athletic figure, I’d like to think I’d address it with more poise.

      What is it? ‘ Another girl in bed or a boy in the closet’ type of scandal. Why make things so messy? (Ah. To prove a point. Uh. Messaging, not even doin’ it, eh?

  28. The Late P Brooks

    “That market is notorious because you get into mass manufacture—terrible, low margins,” he said of the low-price EVs. “To install the manufacturing base for millions of these units makes little sense to me.”

    The same thing can be said about houses. Nobody wants to build Levittown when they could be building McMansionland.

    • Sean

      Have you seen the prices of Levittown houses these days?

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