About The Author

Banjos

Banjos

Wife of sloopy, mother to three bright, curious, and highly active young girls. Perpetually exhausted.

362 Comments

    • UnCivilServant

      From the old thread:

      I “Upgraded” my browser and now I’m getting the bug where the most recent articles are not appearing on the front page.

      Anyone figure out a fix for that?

      • Tonio

        It’s a known issue with the hosting service but seems to be getting slightly better. I’ve found that using FireFox and staying logged in to the site makes things better, but not bulletproof.

        If all else fails, open the topmost article you see and use the “next” control (left angle-bracket) from the voodoo controls at the left edge of the screen and you can eventually get to the article.

      • Festus

        As noted in the previous thread, refreshing the page has been working fine for me for the last 2-3 weeks.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        I have been having that problem of late, as well. I have to click on the latest article that appears and use the toolbar on the left to click through to the latest article. I don’t know if it is some cache issue on my end or some WordPress voodoo on the backend.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Go to whatever article shows up and arrow over until it won’t arrow over anymore. Not a fix but it works.

      • UnCivilServant

        Getting to the article isn’t the problem, it’s getting the front page to display correctly.

      • R.J.

        I am running Brave, and have the same issue. I just reload/refresh and get the most recent articles. It is odd. I don’t think your recent upgrade is causing it.

  1. rhywun

    LOL “I’m not racist. Hey look over there – it’s Apu!”

    • Festus

      Simpsons has been pretty terrible for nearly twenty years. Those first five or six seasons were pretty great, discounting the Lisa-centric ones. Except for the braces one, that’s still a classic.

      • Festus

        Sorry, twenty-five years.

      • C. Anacreon

        I’d say the first nine seasons were all pretty great, although there were more clunkers in the later seasons. The show went downhill when they changed Homer from a well-meaning buffoon to a malevolent idiot.

      • Akira

        Another bad trend has been the constant celebrity appearances. They had maybe one or two per season prior to S9, and they were brief and funny cameos, but last time I watched it on TV (circa 2004) it seems like they had a celebrity on every single episode, and it the story was heavily focused on them. It’s just another gimmick that they’re substituting for good humor and storylines.

      • Mojeaux

        I can’t speak for the Simpsons, but the heavy reliance on pop culture and cameos was what made Animaniacs so unable to bear the weight of time. It REALLY doesn’t hold up.

    • OBJ FRANKELSON

      I was talking to the wife about this a couple of days ago. Apu is probably the most admirable character on the show. Proud immigrant, always working, dedicated husband and father. So he is a bit of a caricature of South Asian immigrants, every single character is a stereotype, that is what makes it funny (when it is).

      • Hank

        But he was never a “numinous South Asian” (wise nonwhite character uplifting all the white characters) – he was a tad careless about the quality of the stuff he was selling, figuring that if the customers wanted to buy it it was on them.

        The only time I really winced was when they gave him and his wife octuplets.

        Short of that, he was no more offensive than any of the other stereotypes, like Willie the Scotsman (when will *his* voiceover guy do an apology?)

  2. Scruffy Nerfherder

    The corporate media couldn’t have run with the Sicknick story for so long if DC hadn’t sat on the examiner’s report. It was obvious that they were stalling until the insurrection theater ran its course.

    • Tonio

      And the only thing most people will remember is the lying in state and subsequent hero’s funeral.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Bear witness to the true believers trying to process this debunking of their miracle:

        Tard Tuesday: I Still Believe

        He died of natural causes…

        in respect to naturally dying after being bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher and inhaling pepper spray, trying to repel hundreds of rabid fascists trying to overturn a free and fair election. Those “natural causes”.

      • l0b0t

        I love that one of the more prolific posters to DU goes by a handle derived from the name ‘Winston Smith’.

      • EvilSheldon

        From his perspective, 1984 probably had a happy ending.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Ah, he means the fire extinguisher that never hit him, and the pepper spray he didn’t have an allergic reaction to?

        What a fuck nut.

        Facts simply don’t matter anymore.

      • rhywun

        I noticed yesterday the capital cop who got shot last week (?) is lying in state . I guess this is a thing now.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        The Praetorian Guard gets special honors while the footsoldiers are hung out to dry.

        Just goes to show you that Congress recognizes that they need protection.

      • AlexinCT

        The people that want to believe the state is the solution to all problems welcome the lies that allow them to pretend they are in the right, and ignore anything to the contrary…

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        As eloquently written by Greenwald last night….

        Truth matters. Noble lies are never justified no matter the cause, especially in journalism. But these employees of corporate media outlets have been taught the exact opposite model: that their primary obligation is to please and flatter the partisan agenda and political sensibilities of their audience even if it means lying or recklessly spreading unproven theories to do it. That is their profit model. And they have trained their audiences to want and expect this and that is why they never feel compelled to engage in any self-critique or accountability when they get caught doing this: their audiences want to be lied to — they are grateful for it — and would prefer that they not admit they did it so that their partisan interests will not be undermined.

        https://greenwald.substack.com/p/the-media-lied-repeatedly-about-officer

  3. The Late P Brooks

    I “Upgraded” my browser and now I’m getting the bug where the most recent articles are not appearing on the front page.

    I’m still getting that. It’s about the least of my worries.

    • UnCivilServant

      It’s been a morning full of ammoyances, like how firefox 88 is ignoring userchrome.css and not putting the tabs below the address bar where they belong.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Firefox? That browser has been shit since they ran Eich out of the company and replaced his technological prowess with woke virtuousness.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Brave is pretty good. I have very few issues with compatibility.

      • UnCivilServant

        All I want to do is move the tab bar, I’ve got everything else the way I like it.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        All I want to do is move the tab bar

        And a Pepsi…

      • Rat on a train

        You can’t stop at just one.

      • Ted S.

        Brave doesn’t play well with Eyepiece/Monocle.

      • slumbrew

        I’m not having any issues, AFAIK – what are you seeing?

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Firefox fucked up in multiple ways at the same time. As a result, I switched to a combo of Brave and Kiwi. Mozilla can fuck itself with STEVE SMITH’S red rocket.

      • slumbrew

        Mozilla hopping on the “cancel RMS” train was the final straw for me. He’s an annoying aspie, but the software world would be a worse place without Stallman.

  4. l0b0t

    Love, love, LOVE the musical selection this morning! Thanks Banjos.

    • Festus

      Yes indeedy-do! Old school.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    The media claim the two post hoc suicides are somehow “casualties” of the insurrection.

    Nothing is beneath them.

    • juris imprudent

      Lower than whale shit huh?

    • The Wanderer

      I guess that’s definitional, though. Yes, of course, they are not “casualties” in the sense that someone at the riots actively killed them.

      On the other hand, it’s unlikely they just happened to choose to commit suicide after the riots. There is probably a link there.

  6. Muzzled Woodchipper

    “The corporate media is the enemy of the people.”

    One can only hope that an increasing number of people come to realize that they’re nothing but cum dumpsters for the media, what with how badly they’re being used and all.

    • Strange Brew

      I’ve pointed this out to a few friends who eagerly pass along MSM propaganda. “Why do you enjoy being emotionally manipulated?”. The answer, as far as I can tell, is that some people enjoy being manipulated. Gotta keep that rage meter pegged, it makes them feel alive.

      • juris imprudent

        There is also the sense of belonging they get by sharing those feelings. We’re not really different about that process here, even if the ends are different.

      • Plisade

        But why don’t they direct their rage at people so obviously lying to them? If one is going to be manipulated, at least have some standards.

      • EvilSheldon

        You psychologically abuse someone hard enough for long enough, they’ll eventually start to enjoy the abuse.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        The best part is that look they give you when they realize you think it’s all bullshit. It’s the same look you’d get if you told somebody you enjoyed eating puppies topped with kittens.

      • Mojeaux

        enjoyed eating puppies topped with kittens

        Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

  7. l0b0t

    The Simpsons has been absolutely terrible since about season 12, and wholly unwatchable from about season 20.

    • Festus

      I’d go back further but that’s just like, my opinion Man. Did you see the bit from a season or two ago wherein The Squad were chasing OMB during a musical number?

      • l0b0t

        Ugh! I’m trying to block out that memory. The video did have at least one good snarky comment referencing Groening’s travels with Mr. Epstein on his jet-plane and Groening’s desperate insistence that he only received a foot massage.

  8. The Late P Brooks

    Anybody want to gimme me a hundred thousand bucks?

    Maybe I should start one of those intertoob begging bowls.

    • Nephilium

      Greetings friend!

      I would glad to help you. But my moneys are currently tied up in a foreign bank. If you could hlep me raise $1.000 US Dollars and send it to me through Amazon Gift Cards, I will give you half of the vast moneys stores I will recover!

      • Rat on a train

        Why not $1.000000000?

      • Nephilium

        Come on man… you start it low then ramp it up. Make people fall pray to the sunk cost fallacy.

      • UnCivilServant

        Our Loco(motive) Rodent is picking on the use of a decimal point as a thousands separator.

      • Nephilium

        Which is a common practice, specifically in the typo laden spam messages (and the now really rare physical typed copies).

      • robc

        You know, I would consider playing along then sending a $1 gift card and play dumb American.

      • Nephilium

        robc: That’s a tactic for the 419 eaters to get the scammer on the hook. The best are the ones who have managed to get the scammers to send them gift cards “to help with shipping”.

      • Rat on a train

        +1.234,567 Europeans agree

      • Pope Jimbo

        Agree. $1000 seems like a n*****dly amount of money to ask for.

      • Tejicano

        But probably enough to keep you in the black

  9. The Late P Brooks

    Current temperature: 18 degrees.

    Springtime!

  10. Rat on a train

    Who? The last guy to lose by more than 10%.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    Speaking of firefox. The catatonia my laptop suffered the other day seems to be directly related (and limited) to firefox. I sorta wish I could rescue some of my bookmarks.

    Maybe it’s not <completely dead…

  12. Festus

    Bad Bobcat! You g’way now! Mornin’ Banjos!

    • juris imprudent

      Oddly enough I saw some cat tracks on my morning walk that I would interpret as bobcat but I don’t think we have any in these parts. I’ll have to ask some of the old-timers around here.

      • UnCivilServant

        I can only identify bobcat tracks by them not being big enough to be caterpillars.

      • OBJ FRANKELSON

        What you did there, it was noted.

      • Fourscore

        You steered yourself out of that skid, anyway

      • Mojeaux

        He has a pallet stacked with those.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        And he’s back on track.

      • Festus

        We don’t have them here. Lynx are bigger and much more cool.

  13. sarcasmic

    That gif reminds me of when our dogs treed a bobcat. Boy were they happy with themselves. After a while to bobcat got fed up and decided to come down. It walked down the tree trunk. Like it was walking on the ground but only vertical. The dogs shut up and backed off. The cat then calmly strolled towards the woods, without even looking back. Beautiful animal, and scary as fuck.

    • blighted_non_millenial

      40 lbs of condensed hate. Do not want.

    • The Wanderer

      Never been in that situation with a bobcat, but have seen raccoons with that kind of attitude many times.

  14. The Late P Brooks

    I would glad to help you. But my moneys are currently tied up in a foreign bank. If you could hlep me raise $1.000 US Dollars and send it to me through Amazon Gift Cards, I will give you half of the vast moneys stores I will recover!

    Will it be denominated in pre-Revolution rubles?

  15. Scruffy Nerfherder

    America’s national debt now exceeds $123 trillion, according to a new report, or more than four times the official figure of $28 trillion, as calculated by the U.S. Treasury Department at the end of March.

    *resumes search for Uruguayan real estate*

    • l0b0t

      I vaguely recall the debt breaking $1 trillion during Reagan’s tenure and that it was a HUGE deal. I guess now, what with computers and desktop publishing, money printers just go Brrrrr without let or hindrance.

      • Nephilium

        It’s lot easier now that they don’t have to write all those zeros out by hand.

  16. Rat on a train

    But, Manley said, “in the meantime interest rates are low and the economy is digging itself out of the hole the pandemic government caused, but there is no reason for Democrats to be at all concerned about the Republicans’ new-found focus on cutting spending after everything the last administration did.”

    He was referring, he said, to 2017 tax reform legislation enacted by Republican majorities in the House and Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump.

    How much did the SALT cap increase the deficit? You better repeal that ASAP.

    • Drake

      The 40% capital gains tax-rate and across-the-board personal and corporate tax hikes the Dems want should successfully destroy any recovery.

      • Festus

        Someone on the Twits mentioned that Justin’s new budgetary plans mirror his Father’s from 1980. I lived through that shit once, no need to watch a repeat. 12% unemployment rate, 12% inflation rate and 18% Prime interest rate. I graduated in 1982 at the peak of that stagflation. There was no work for anyone for love or money unless you had connections. It was so bad that it nearly ended me twice. I love my chosen family and I don’t want to see my Grandkids put through the same grinder.

  17. Drake

    Yet Brian Sicknick was lain in state at the Capitol Rotunda. The cop who really was killed protecting Congress from a terrorist (a black nationalist) was quickly memory-holed.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      What? Are you trying to harsh my buzz, man?

      What’s up with the inconvenient facts, bruh?

      • Festus

        I’m seriously pondering taking up the devil’s lettuce again so I won’t need to ponder the woes of the world so seriously. Heck, there’s a pot-shop on every fourth corner here. Problem being, weed can make me paranoid…

    • AlexinCT

      I have no problem with Sicknick lying in wait. I have a HUGE problem with the fact that people in the team that “fortified” the election after 4 years of nothing but lies and misinformation, created another lie to take own the guy they felt represented them movement that threatened their racket and hold on power. At this point I assume if it comes from the usual suspect that it is pure psyops lies to help the corruptocracy keep people from finding out they are actively destroying the republic in their efforts to keep their power.

      At this point I don’t trust anything government related, I believe our legal system has been corrupted and is being used as a weapon to cull the enemies of the state, and that we sooner than later will have to have a reckoning.

    • WTF

      I would love to know who originated the fire extinguisher story, and then the bear spray story after the fire extinguisher story blew up.

    • Drake

      Did the Ambassador draw the cartoon?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Oh noes, he has to leave Pakistan….

      • Tejicano

        In his shoes I’d probably be publishing a weekly cartoon featuring the prophet himself.

        “Is that all it took?”

  18. The Late P Brooks

    Give these people the right to vote, ASAP

    “National guard, go home!” hundreds of teenagers chanted in a heavily fortified Minneapolis on Monday, as part of statewide high school walkouts over the police killings of Daunte Wright and George Floyd.

    In neighboring Saint Paul, more than a hundred students took their grievances over police brutality to the capitol, where lawmakers inside the fenced-in statehouse could be seen peeking out through the curtains to look at protesters outside.

    The high school walkouts against racial injustice and police brutality took place as a Minneapolis court was hearing closing arguments in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. The city was bracing for the verdict, with hundreds of national guard soldiers deployed.

    The student protests were organized on Instagram by Minnesota Teen Activists, a local group founded after the George Floyd protests last summer. Students from at least 110 schools across Minnesota had planned protests to honor Daunte Wright on Monday, the group said.

    Teen activists?

    Prepare the grapeshot.

    • Drake

      For sure the students all came up with this idea on their own and weren’t coached at all by their teachers who were busy teaching the 3 R’s.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      The student protests were organized on Instagram[.]

      Any word on whether IG will be cancelled for inciting mass truancy?

    • Plisade

      “The high school walkouts against racial injustice and police brutality being stuck at school and missing out on some choice looting took place as a Minneapolis court was hearing closing arguments in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.”

      • Pope Jimbo

        Nah. Teenage girls walked out because they love the drama of these protests. They would have walked out for any cause that allows them to emote all day.

        The teenage boys walked out because they were following the girls.

      • CatchTheCarp

        I remember a walk-out that happened when I was in HS circa 1975 – we walked out in order to have a smoking area for students. I was a junior and like most of my classmates we didn’t smoke – maybe a 1/3 were smokers. But standing up to authority was an idea I could get behind. The smokers got their dedicated smoking areas. Seemed only fair as the teachers had one – the teachers lounge.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    The 40% capital gains tax-rate and across-the-board personal and corporate tax hikes the Dems want should successfully destroy any recovery.

    Wealth tax! We demand JUSTICE! and DEMOCRACY!

    • PieInTheSky

      100% tax and you get a check back for whatever is is considered enough

      • Swiss Servator

        Are you Andrew Yang’s campaign manager?!?!

      • AlexinCT

        AOC’s was my guess…

  20. Tundra

    Good morning, Banjos!

  21. Trigger Hippie

    ‘However, the examiner’s report also suggested that the riot likely played a role in causing the stroke, noting that “all that transpired played a role in his condition.”‘

    What?! That’s a helluva leap there. Is the examiner claiming that the dude stroked out because he finally realized his job is to protect some of the most evil people this nation has to offer? He stroked out due to shame and embarrassment?

    • sarcasmic

      If he was capable of shame or embarrassment then he had no business being in law enforcement.

      • Festus

        Apparently he was a deplorable. It was Righteous God what struck him down.

    • creech

      Not a cardiologist, but mine told me once that excitement – attending an exciting ball game, a political rally, witnessing or being victim of a crime, death of a close one, any activity that jacks up your blood pressure – has been known to cause strokes.

      • Festus

        Pretty girls in sundresses will be the agent of my demise, then. I can live (and die) with that.

      • Festus

        *Thumps on chest* Not this time, Scruffy!

      • Gustave Lytton

        Those pics are sexier than the saline galleries that regularly get posted.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I prefer the lithe, athletic type.

      • Q Continuum

        There are two types of straight men in this world: those who like big boobs and those who are wrong.

      • Pope Jimbo

        The pretty sundress will draw you in Festus, but the surprise dick you find under it will be what causes you to stroke out.

      • UnCivilServant

        So what you’re saying is “It’s a trap”?

        /Cathy Newman

      • Trigger Hippie

        Admiral Cathy Ackbar?

      • Festus

        Naw, I’ve seen that flick.

      • Trigger Hippie

        A day later?

      • WTF

        Except the medical examiner also said the stroke was caused by a clot, and stress doesn’t cause clots the next day.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Well, maybe that and drinking too much coffee that morning. Let’s face it, if your grasp on life is that tenuous something was going to get ya sooner rather than later. The medical examiner is likely correct but the inferences being drawn are nonsense.

      • R C Dean

        The medical examiner is likely correct

        Oh, I dunno about that. I’m no neurologist, but I’m thinking stress causes strokes in the moment, not hours later. And not by throwing clots.

        You can tell how tenuous it is by the fact there are no indictments related to the death. That tells you even the DOJ doesn’t think they can make it stick. In a DC court with a DC jury baying for blood.

  22. robc

    Baseball birthdays: Questionable HoFer Dave Bancroft (49.1 WAR), Sideburns aficionado Don Mattingly (42.4), active player Brandon Belt (24.8), 19th century SS Germany Smith (21.5).

    I always confuse Germany Smith with Germany Schaeffer. I found an interesting story in Smith’s wikipedia page, but, as I am sure is a big shock to you all, wiki gets it wrong. In 1885, Smith made 7 errors in a single game. The team made 14. It was a revolt against a new pitcher, Phenomenal Smith. The team fined the players involved in intentionally making the errors $500 each.

    P Smith was a young pitcher who gave himself the nickname and said he didn’t need help from his teammates to win. They proved otherwise. Wikipedia says that all 18 runs Phenomenal gave up in the loss were unearned, but baseball-reference ways 11 were earned runs. In 8 innings, he gave up 12 hits and 6 walks, so it wasn’t like he was dominating.

    Despite the fines, the team released Phenomenal after the game to make the other players happy. He would pitch another six seasons, ending with a 54-75 career record.

    • Festus

      They walked a bunch of it back on Sunday after the cops refused to comply. It’s still a load of horseshit, though. I’m expecting the same here.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        I liked the Chris Farleyesque deceased brother much, much better.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      It’s like they watched Australia and said to themselves “We can top that.”

    • AlexinCT

      BUT THEY ARE DOING IT FOR YOUR SAKE!

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Before this bullshit, CS Lewis’s words on the tyrant after your own good rang true but didn’t really have a ton of weight in my mind. One of those abstract things that explained some of the chipping away of our rights. Now the words are like a boat anchor. It’s like he’s saying “Here’s what it looks like in real time, dummy.”

  23. l0b0t

    I’ve dipped my toe into the well of Eastern European cinema and I like what I’ve seen so far. I just picked up my very first Romanian movie and I’m curious as to whether any of y’all have recommendations for more?

      • l0b0t

        Ooh, I recently watched that and enjoyed it. It reminded me somewhat of both Taps and that Sean Penn movie where he gets sent to juvenile hall and fashions a weapon out of a pillowcase and canned soda pops.

      • sarcasmic

        I’ve recommended that to a few people. Everyone enjoyed it.

      • rhywun

        LOL the cast all look like runway models.

        God bless Sweden.

      • sarcasmic

        Eye candy plus two endorsements. Hmmm. Like to hear what you think if you decide to watch it. Think it’s on Amazon.

    • Festus

      Somebody mentioned something yesterday on these threads regarding the “talents” of certain Czech “performers”…

    • Gustave Lytton

      Closely Watched Trains? Fireman’s Ball?

      • l0b0t

        Trains is downloading, and a request has been placed to re-upload Fireman’s Ball, thanks.

      • Festus

        I watched that nearly forty years ago. I don’t think that I really gronked it at the time. I was still kind of a socialist…

  24. The Late P Brooks

    *resumes search for Uruguayan real estate*

    I don’t want to have to learn another language.

    • UnCivilServant

      I’m sorry, I don’t speak English.

    • PieInTheSky

      I don’t want to have to learn another language. – Switzerland. No one will talk to you.

      • I'm Here To Help

        But see Swiss, you are just proving his point – only communicate through the size of the gap between eyelids…

  25. Stinky Wizzleteats

    I was lamenting the state of The Simpsons not a week ago here. It used to be that they were actually transgressional and edgy, now they just toe the line. Morrissey doesn’t have the right politics it seems.

  26. The Late P Brooks

    Religion of peace

    The precautions are intended to head off the kind of riots that destroyed $350 million in property last summer when George Floyd was killed. Outside the courthouse are fences, plywood and a strong security presence.

    Similar steps are underway across the country, including in Beverly Hills, which is stepping up patrols, and Philadelphia, where boards are covering windows. At least six states and Washington, D.C., have made requests for help from the National Guard.

    But Minneapolis is the trial’s location and the likely epicenter for any protests. Local law enforcement says it’s ready.

    “The number one focus for us is deescalation. We don’t want to use force if we don’t have to,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo.

    The killing of Daunte Wright in nearby Brooklyn Center has added to an already tense environment. Activist Nekima Levy Armstrong has been at protests in both cities.

    “Who are they protecting? They are certainly not protecting peaceful demonstrators” Armstrong said.

    The police are gearing up for an all out assault on the civil rights of peaceful protestors. The nation has succumbed to the siren song of banana republic Strong-Man-ism. When will we be rid of the Bad orange Totalitarian?

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      At least six states and Washington, D.C., have made requests for help from the National Guard

      Does anyone know if the National Guard are deployed armed or if they are delegated to support roles (filling sandbags, erecting fences, etc)? Just curious. Seems like a bad position for the NG to be in regardless.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        Nvm, looks like they are armed with rifles. At least in Minneapolis.

      • l0b0t

        But do they have live-ammo? During the Andrew and Katrina responses, the Nasty Guard had firearms but the overwhelming majority were not issued ammunition for same. Sounds like a gift of free ASSAULT RIFLES to a subset of the population who probably shouldn’t have them.

      • Swiss Servator

        “the Nasty Guard”

        Did you time travel from 1988? That name vanished when we showed all the AD units who could get things done in Iraq and Afghanistan…

      • l0b0t

        Tee hee… That’s what the drill sergeants always called them in Basic/AIT; they had to muster separately for chow, IIRC.

      • Rat on a train

        No separate mustering. They used poker chips to track service at mess. Red=RA, white=AR, blue=NG. Soldiers put the correct color in the pot for head count. Reserve and guard where easy to spot with their unit patches.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Nasty girls.

        No separate muster or poker chips for our basic. Last four and sign. No organizational patch either regardless of component, unless former wartime service.

      • Rat on a train

        They wore patches because most were already assigned to a unit and were officially TDY for training at basic. Same thing at AIT.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Still the same and still didn’t wear them. Had all three components in our training company.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Was the same, I should say.

        I’ve seen recent photos of trainees wearing the stupid Army marketing logo patch.

      • Rat on a train

        It was better to not wear patches or insignia. Fewer things to gig on inspections and less harassment if you had a patch that could be ridiculed (like the burning, bleeding, rectal thermometer of the 63rd ARCOM/RSC/RD).

      • Animal

        In AIT I wore the upside-down flying jockstrap of the 47th Infantry Division and never took any crap over it.

      • Gustave Lytton

        *see patch, raises inflamed butthole patch of 40ID*

        (thankfully never mine)

        We had a prior service guy who initially didn’t wear his right side patch (I’m going to fuck that side up, it’s been so long) until he got tired of being treated too much like a recruit. That 2AD triangle stood out like a billboard after he (hand) sewed it on one night. Drills called him “Combat”. In the 90’s, it wasn’t uncommon for the younger ones not to have one either if they had missed Desert Storm.

      • Rat on a train

        I only got a NDS for Desert Storm. There was no way the Screaming Hebes of the 6th Jewish Division (Kosher) were going to the desert.

  27. Wood Chipped Wednesday

    Did everyone leave milk and cookies for snoop dogg last night?

    • Nephilium

      Shouldn’t he be leaving the cookies?

      • Wood Chipped Wednesday

        Good point, got to spike them though.

    • Trigger Hippie

      Ah, shit. Forgot it was Hitler’s birthday.

    • Pope Jimbo

      We were just talking about Snoop’s career trajectory last night. Going from a rapper who was a lightning rod for culture warriors to now being a prolific corporate shill is quite the deal.

      • tripacer

        Apparently he has a talk/cooking show with Martha Stewart. It was on at my mom’s house.

      • R C Dean

        Weirdly, Dogg and Stewart shared table at a fundraiser (and that had to be one hell of an interesting table) and became genuine friends.

      • Chipwooder

        Was an actual member of the Crips and was once indicted for murder. Only in America!

      • egould310

        Rollin’ 20’s

      • Mojeaux

        Sorry, but Ice T is worse.

        Going from talking about cop killing and whatnot to BEING a cop on THE WORST cop show in America (SVU), then shilling car-repair insurance and something else that I can’t remember. I mean, shilling Corona is one thing. Shilling car-repair insurance is a whole new low.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        This

      • Chipwooder

        And, now, shilling for Tide with Stone Cold Steve Austin. He also played a cop in New Jack City way back when, many years before SVU.

        I’ll give him credit for being loudly pro-2A, though.

      • Mojeaux

        Tide! That’s it. That’s the other one I was thinking of.

      • Not an Economist

        Going from talking about cop killing

        Are you sure you don’t have Ice T mixed up with Ice Cube?

      • The Hyperbole

        IceT’s metal band Body Count had a song and album called Cop Killer.

  28. Q Continuum

    Titty Tuesday has seen your tax return.

    • Festus

      If they saw my tax return they would collective poke me in the eye and laugh at my tears.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Can you have them send it to me? I’ve been waiting a month.

  29. Pope Jimbo

    Maxine Waters asked for a police escort during her visit to Minnesoda

    Rep. Maxine Waters — who has been blasted for calling on protesters to “get more confrontational” if former cop Derek Chauvin is acquitted of murder charges in George Floyd’s death — reportedly asked for police protection during her trip to Minneapolis.

    A document obtained and published by Townhall appears to show that the Democratic congresswoman requested a police escort to the city, where she called for people to “stay in the streets” during the unrest.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      I don’t know why they even bother with the he/she’s a hypocrite articles anymore. It’s become painfully obvious that no one cares.

    • EvilSheldon

      That is an impressive level of shamelessness. My hat is off to her (or would be, if I wore a hat.)

    • Tundra

      Should make for some good ammo for the appeal.

      What a freak-show.

      • UnCivilServant

        I’ve heard theories that the plan is to get a guilty verdict that gets overturned on appeal to minimize rioting and not end with a prison sentence.

        Not sure if there was really that level of collusion, since the prosecution’s case looks weak to me.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Listening to Reasonable Doubt podcast last night and they were talking about the prosecution getting caught in a Brady violation for not turning over test results that they had in regards to carbon monoxide poisoning.

        Geragos said that the fact the defense didn’t demand a mistrial means that the defense thinks a couple of the jurors are going their way. Adding the prosecution getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar only helps if that is the case.

      • l0b0t

        On the Viva Frei/Robert Barnes podcast, Barnes said the prosecution has been slow-walking discovery and turned over about 500 exhibits to the defence, every single day during the trial.

      • rhywun

        I heard Maxine flapping her gums might lead to a mistrial.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    Chicken feed

    At the moment, the two sides seem very far apart: Biden’s initial infrastructure spending pitch was more than $2 trillion, with a second part of the plan still in development. And several Democrats said Monday they seriously doubt that discussions with the GOP will produce anything at all.

    Republicans have not indicated they would be willing to spend anything more than $800 billion — a paltry sum for Democrats — and even that might be a stretch. And while liberals in Congress aren’t yet asking Biden to ditch the talks altogether, they are clearly signaling that his patience, like theirs, should be finite.

    It’s shameful. The Republicans are killing Americans with their austerity. Why are they so cruel and vindictive?

    • Ownbestenemy

      there was “luggage attached to the vehicle.”

      The caller is the bigger dick in this story which is hard cause the state is just as much the prick also.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        A sack of shit snitch who’s being a dick for free is worse.

    • Drake

      PEI should have a stellar tourist season this summer. How dare those people live like they are free!

    • Pope Jimbo

      In a news release, police said they received a call just after 8 p.m. AT on Friday. The caller said there was a vehicle with Ontario licence plates in the Walmart parking lot on Granville Street in Summerside, and there was “luggage attached to the vehicle.”

      The caller was concerned the vehicle might have just arrived in the province.

      Bad enough that the place is full of slimy little snitches, but you have cops that follow up on their complaints.

      The correct answer should have been “Thank you for your concerns citizen, but you really should mind your own business. Don’t call again” and then hang up.

    • Trigger Hippie

      ‘In a news release, police said they received a call just after 8 p.m. AT on Friday. The caller said there was a vehicle with Ontario licence plates in the Walmart parking lot on Granville Street in Summerside, and there was “luggage attached to the vehicle.” The caller was concerned the vehicle might have just arrived in the province.’

      Imagine being this person.

      Rat fink snitch.

    • DEG

      Shame. PEI is a nice place.

  31. The Other Kevin

    Good for that judge. Anyone official who has the interests of the country in mind would say “We’re not at the trial, we’re not part of the jury, so we should trust the legal process.” Unfortunately there are many who put their own power, and the interests of their party, first. I’ve never been a tin foil hat kind of person, but I’m pretty convinced they want all this violence so they can more easily push their agenda (mainly gun control).

    Morrissey can be a jerk, but he’s right this time. The Simpsons has been crap for a long time, and it’s just cheap political shots at this point.

    • blighted_non_millenial

      it’s funny to me how much of a whiny prick he comes off as, even when he’s in the right.

      • Festus

        Sctv even had him on in the early 80’s making fun of that very thing. That was nearly forty years ago. He’s a ponce but The Simpson’s writers are cuntes.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    At his latest bipartisan meeting on Monday afternoon, Biden told House and Senate attendees that he was ready to compromise, according to attendees. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said that Biden asked Republicans to stitch together an offer within a month. He also told lawmakers that inaction is not an option, according to the White House, and press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden’s bottom line is that “the only thing we cannot do is fail to invest in our nation’s infrastructure, rebuild our economy, and create millions of jobs.”

    That’s just the latest recent olive branch from the president to the GOP. Already his overtures to Republicans have eaten up more time than they did during debate over his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan earlier this year. Democrats decided then to leave Republicans behind almost immediately after GOP negotiators put forward a bill less than one-third of what Biden is seeking. But there was also a more obvious deadline then as benefits ran out in March.

    That recent memory means the current skepticism about honest deal-making cuts both ways. The GOP sees a president trying to reconcile his campaign persona as a bipartisan negotiator with his record of encouraging Democrats to pass their huge coronavirus bill along party lines.

    Olive branch. Such bipartisan. You’re either with us or you’re against us.

    Get on board or get run over.

    • l0b0t

      Am I correct in assuming that the President’s plan spends a wee bit upon roads/bridges/dams/etc. and the bulk of the money on bailing out the insolvent governments of several states?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I assume that every spending bill is now.

        They’re looting the treasury before the entire enterprise goes tits up.

      • Pope Jimbo

        What I don’t get is that it seems like they are robbing a confederate bank days before Appomattox. They think they are rich because they are grabbing wads of paper money.

        Don’t they realize that their own actions are making the loot they have stolen worthless?

        Or are they converting it somehow into things like gold, land, etc.?

      • The Other Kevin

        I think this is a good rule of thumb. For any spending bill, assume 10% will go towards whatever the bill claims to do, and the other 90% will be pork and graft. Example: Coronavirus relief.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      My offer is this: nothing…
      But the GOP are both spineless and stupid so they’ll come up with something that’ll be ignored and will still be framed as unreasonable while pissing off their own base.

      • Pope Jimbo

        I’d offer up a solution with the trillions he wanted, but I’d also cut the same amount from existing spending.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      I used to work with a lady that died in her mid 30s from just that. If that letter’s real she’s not long for this world.

    • Tejicano

      Time to buy some life insurance.

    • EvilSheldon

      12 bottles of wine a week is a lot of existential misery to self-medicate.

  33. Pope Jimbo

    Just looking at the local weather to see how bad the rioting will be. Looks like a mixed bag. Thursday looks to be very nice, after that a bit cool and cloudy with some possible rain.

    Hopefully someone with sense will tell the jury to not return the verdict on a nice warm sunny day. Wait until the weather turns.

    You can’t tell me that the riots last year weren’t fueled at least in some part by the fact that it was the first nice stretch of warm weather. And the lockdowns. People were sick and tired of being locked down and exploded.

    • Festus

      Most people (present company excluded) are stupid, evil and grasping. Hell, I trust people less than bears and I don’t trust bears at all. Pace, Tonio, I’m not referring to your preferred prey 😉

  34. wdalasio

    It’s really more a mystery that the Simpsons is still on. The show creatively ran its course more than a generation ago. The show has been on for 32 years. Even “fans” of the Simpsons say it completely ran out of steam after 20. At this point, paying attention to anything the Simpsons has to say about much of anything is roughly akin to wondering about the opinions of Max Headroom or Laura Palmer.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      It’s more about watching something you valued as a kid/teen/young adult spiral into the shitter. I wish they’d just cancel it.

    • AlexinCT

      Bart is still in 4th grade after 25 years? Fook that!

    • Festus

      It’s a dinosaur looking for a mud flat to lay down in and die.

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s not hard to be better than Pepsi.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        I liked New Coke, the clear soft drink fad from a few years later not so much.

      • Chipwooder

        We were a test market for Crystal Pepsi. I remember thinking it was really cool, but then again I was 14 or so at the time.

      • rhywun

        I liked Crystal Pepsi but yeah, child.

    • Akira

      Any show that goes on that long is inevitably going to fall into “hot topic of the week” episodes. They’ve pretty much done everything a show can do, and all that’s left is slapstick and news/culture items.

      Of course, the Wokeism that is infecting the show will hasten the decline, but that’s probably for the best.

    • Chipwooder

      Zombie Simpsons, trudging on in death since 2000 or so

      • Raven Nation

        Zombie Simpsons must die: https://deadhomersociety.com/

        Also, FXX is running Simpsons episodes from beginning to end on a cycle every evening. Right now they’re at the beginning of Season 9 which was still pretty good. Last night I watched Lisa’s Sax. They even kept in the entire “Those Were the Days” parody:

        Homer: Boy, the way the Bee Gees played
        Marge: Movies John Travolta made
        Homer: Guessing how much Elvis weighed
        Homer/Marge: Those were the days
        Marge: And you knew where you were then
        Homer: Watching shows like Gentle Ben
        Homer/Marge: Mister, we could use a man like Sheriff Lobo again
        Homer: Disco Duck and Fleetwood Mac
        Marge: Coming out of my eight-track
        Homer/Marge: Michael Jackson still was black
        Those were the days

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Heh…yep, they were good.

    • Fatty Bolger

      Out of curiosity I tried watching it again a few years ago. A few episodes were mildly amusing, but most were either boring/not funny or embarrassingly awful.

  35. The Late P Brooks

    The caller was concerned the vehicle might have just arrived in the province.

    Paranoid xenophobia. Awesome.

    Maybe western civilization really will devour itself in internecine strife.

    Well done, Cathedralites.

  36. Pope Jimbo

    Of course Biden is telling all his Fritz Mondale stories in honor of him.

    This passage was interesting:

    “When President Obama asked me to consider being his vice president, Fritz was my first call and trusted guide,” Mr. Biden said. “He not only took my call, he wrote me a memo. It was Walter Mondale who defined the vice presidency as a full partnership, and helped provide a model for my service.”

    I bet an enterprising reporter could get Biden to claim that he was the brains behind Obama if he could get a chance to talk with him. Biden seems to be pretty full of himself lately.

    • Festus

      Us older folk know everything, you young whippersnapper!

    • Festus

      I’ve read that cats and dogs can do that.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Cats and dogs cannot get a woman pregnant Festus. I don’t care what your wife told you.

      • AlexinCT

        Roh Roh Shaggy….

    • R C Dean

      Seriously doubt. She would have to be ovulating while pregnant, and I don’t think it works that way.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        I think it’s possible with a hormonal disorder. Don’t quote me on that, though. I’m vaguely recalling something I read a long long time ago.

      • UnCivilServant

        According to the article, she was on some sort of fertility treatments that messed with that.

  37. DEG

    Too Local News Lazy Edition: Editorial in favor of HB 220, the bill from the NH House which updates the state’s Communicable Disease law to add more limits on when the State may force medical treatment on people. Contrary to come comments on a past thread about another story I posted about HB 220, this is not the bill which expands the state’s Public Accommodation laws to prevent discrimination against anti-vaxxers.

    • UnCivilServant

      Any word on any of these getting past the governor?

      • DEG

        He’s threatening vetoes on anything that reduces any governor’s emergency powers.

        However, this bill and a few others have passed the House with veto-proof majorities, assuming no one flips.

        There are emergency powers reforms tacked onto the budget policy bill. The head of the House Finance Committee, Rep. Weyler, who was not known for being supportive of Reopen NH, has been lobbying the Senate Finance Committee to keep four things in the budget policy bill. One of them is the emergency powers reform and and another of the four is the rollback of emergency orders violations. The ban on use of state money for teaching Critical Race Theory is another of the four, and I forget what the fourth is. Rep. Weyler said if any of those four go, he loses enough votes that there will be no budget, as the House has to concur on the changes, and the state government will shut down.

        Sununu’s popularity ratings have been dropping. Sununu is an astute politician and certainly knows that his popularity has been waning.

        But, the Senate has to finish taking their whack at the bills, budget and otherwise.

  38. Pope Jimbo

    Think that bobcat dude lays awake at night cursing his instincts?

    “Doh, if I had only let it chomp her neck first, I could have been scoring big time with the gals now! I’d just tear up while telling them about her untimely demise and how I blame myself for not acting quicker and the next thing you know we are in the sack. But nooooooooo, I had to grab that fucking bobcat and get the shit bit out of me. And do you think she’s even given me a hero’s BJ?”

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Nah man, he has the ultimate get out of jail free card.

      “You never do the dishes!”

      “Bobcat”

      “I have a headache, not tonight”

      “Bobcat”

      “She’s my sister, that’s disgusting!”

      “Bobcat”

    • robc

      I now see that is 4 years old, but it popped up in my sidebar and made me laugh.

  39. robc

    Mondale was in that category of people that I had assumed was already dead.

    • Endless Mike

      I am also in that category of people…

  40. Akira

    Was reading the Wikipedia article about The Simpsons and saw this:

    On June 26, 2020, in light of the various Black Lives Matter protests, Fox announced that non-white characters (such as Carl Carlson and Dr. Hibbert, among others) will no longer be voiced by white actors.[273] Beginning with season 32, Carl, a black character originally voiced by Azaria, is now voiced by black actor Alex Désert.[274] In addition, Bumblebee Man, a Spanish-speaking Hispanic character also originally voiced by Azaria, is now voiced by Cuban-American actor Eric Lopez.[275] Dr. Hibbert is also now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

    That’s even worse than the Apu thing… Isn’t that what actors do? Pretend to be someone and something they’re not? I don’t see how anyone finds those voices demeaning (Carl and Dr. Hibbert are completely normal voices, and Bumblebee Man is supposed to be a generally ridiculous character).

    • Hank

      They’re still doing Bumblebee Man? He survived their Wokeness analysis? Ay-yi-yi!

  41. Evan from Evansville

    This has been a fantastic week so far. This is my third week at both of these gigs, and after learning the kids and the commutes/blah blah/etc, today and yesterday were hands down my best teaching days. My teaching and the kids.

    Today has been Day 6 without booze, though I have been going hard on non-alcoholic beer. It’s been lovely. Learning the kids was primarily important, but no alcohol has helped. I already feel livelier. Certainly sharper. That’s always a hard one for me to tell, though. Especially with memory. I have all a couple big factors at play for my short-term memory. Long-term is actually pretty interesting. I sometimes forget things completely. Bands/songs/albums/ballplayers/ but also events get rubbed more than normal. But it’s like I can re-learn them. I wonder if that’s just a memory being implanted or if there’s actually some other cognitive process going on to rewire that sort of thing.

    I hope all is well with y’all. One thing I thought about today: I am awfully happy that I’m not back home. My family is in Indy and I’d have to keep my tongue bitten the entire time anytime near them talking about it. My family has gone all Blue, except maybe my dad. And Chauvin and the rioting that is bound to happen. Other than the dumbfuck masks, life in Korea just goes on and on as far as I’m concerned. It’s one of my favorite things about living the way I do. It’s as best to pure anonymity that you can get.

    So anyone who wants to get away from it all….people here are always talking about Montana or something. Just a random thought—ya can get away from it all by going to an incredibly dense city as well. Also note, I did just smoke a bowl.

    • Swiss Servator

      Keep up the good work, Evan.

    • Akira

      Great job Evan! Keep us posted about how hard you’re crushin’ it.

      My family has gone all Blue, except maybe my dad. And Chauvin and the rioting that is bound to happen.

      #MeToo. My family’s opinions pretty much line up with NYT and NPR. It’s vexing to me because they complain so much about Fox News and accurately point out any time there is a falsehood, lie of omission, spurious association, or any other form of dishonesty, but they insist that none of this happens on “reputable” outlets like the ones they follow.

      • WTF

        they insist that none of this happens on “reputable” outlets like the ones they follow.

        So they are somehow unaware of the Russia collusion hoax, the Nick Sandmann lies, the Brian Sicknick lies, etc. etc.?

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Who in TMITE is covering that stuff? I know more than a few who live in a TMITE bubble.

        “Did you hear about [insert anything that didn’t make the TMITE priority list]?”

        “No, what channel was that on?”

      • WTF

        Well after months of TMITE claiming Sicknick was murdered, the WaPo no less just published a story saying he actually died of natural causes, in direct contradiction to the lie they were telling previously. I would expect at least a little bit of a lightbulb to go off at that point.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Wow, I’m surprised they did that. Still won’t break through the cognitive dissonance, but at least it’s a situation where you can point at WaPo and say “your own team admitted it and you’re still clinging to their lies”

      • Akira

        So they are somehow unaware of the Russia collusion hoax, the Nick Sandmann lies, the Brian Sicknick lies, etc. etc.?

        Most people will acknowledge these things if you really corner them on it and show them incontrovertible proof, but they’ll dismiss them honest mistakes that are just isolated incidents and in no way indicative of a trend… But every single thing that Fox gets wrong will be filed away in the evidence locker and used as proof that Fox is a giant misinformation factory.

        Or they’ll assert that the dishonesty from Fox News is somehow more dangerous.

    • The Other Kevin

      Keep it up! While I’m not in the same position as you, I’ve been trying to clean up my diet, and as part of that, I stopped drinking. That was way back at the beginning of Lent. I just haven’t had any since then. Last night I was tempted, but realized I do feel a lot better without alcohol so I had ice water instead. I think part of drinking for me was boredom, or I’m actually thirsty and a drink just sounds good. Drinking will definitely mess with your sleep, and I’m getting that under control too.

  42. Mojeaux

    One time the morning radio DJ had a quiz on: “You win if you can give me a riddle I can’t answer.” Me: “Challenge accepted.”

    1 ringydingy
    2 ringydingy

    Him: “Hello, what’s your riddle?”

    Me: “Why does a cat walk with its tail in the air?”

    Him: “Dunno.”

    Me: “To show off its Mondale button.”

    And all I got was that lousy tee shirt.

      • UnCivilServant

        I can’t find the explaination for the cattail button.

      • Mojeaux

        It is a political joke told in the zeitgeist of the presidential election. I’ll say it in Glib: Mondale got cat-butted.

      • UnCivilServant

        Okay.

        I’d send you a t-shirt, but I haven’t got any that A: I haven’t worn, and B: would be appropriate.

      • Mojeaux

        And now…I don’t know what that means.

        I already won the tee shirt.

      • UnCivilServant

        It was a riff off the original prize. You came up with a riddle I couldn’t answer.

      • Mojeaux

        Your deadpan is on point.

      • Gender Traitor

        ^(^
        (*) <—– Mondale button

        Maybe Redbubble or Zazzle or whoever would print that on a t-shirt?

      • Mojeaux

        Since, you know, Mondale was in the a.m. lynx.

      • kinnath

        That was one of the greatest political moments of all time.

        The press had been talking all summer that Reagan’s age was going to be a major campaign issue.

        With one joke, he wiped it off the table.

        Even Mondale laughed.

        It never came up again in the campaign.

      • Hank

        That was one sick burn!

  43. Sean

    LOL, wut?

    The digital artist known only as Pak has reportedly sold a single pixel as a part of a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) for a total of $1.4 million; the entire collection sold for $17 million.

    I don’t think I saw this posted yet.

    • Swiss Servator

      If the bubble doesn’t burst right the fook after this, it might never.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      I’m still scratching my head on this NFT thing after a few hours of research. Some of the use cases don’t completely suck, but every one I’ve encountered has been more complicated and prone to failure than the system it’s trying to replace.

      *shrug*

      • Mojeaux

        every one I’ve encountered has been more complicated and prone to failure than the system it’s trying to replace.

        Ride the tulip bulbs, trashy. Just ride them tulip bulbs.

      • Ownbestenemy

        He is a married man Mo! 🙂

      • Mojeaux

        Ha! My brain, she is not so sharp this morning.

    • Endless Mike

      I like the commenters’ ideas – this looks like a hide-in-plain-sight money laundering operation.

  44. The Late P Brooks

    Another scalp

    Colorado District Judge Natalie Chase has resigned after she admitted using a racial slur in front of court employees, voiced her opinion on racial issues from the bench and asked employees to do personal tasks for her during work hours.

    The Colorado Supreme Court issued an order Friday in which it publicly censured Chase and accepted her resignation. According to the order, it stemmed from accounts from multiple court employees, cited in the order, given as part of an investigation by the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline.
    Chase admitted to using the n-word a number of times in early 2020, according to the order, while driving to Pueblo, Colorado, with two court employees — one of whom is Black.

    “(She) asked the (court employee) questions about why Black people can use the N-word but not white people, and whether it was different if the N-word is said with an ‘er’ or an ‘a’ at the end of the word,” the order said. “During the conversation, Judge Chase used the full N-word a number of times.”
    That wasn’t the only time Chase made offensive comments in front of court employees.

    We will root out the heretics and whip them naked through the streets to the Place of Judgement.

    • rhywun

      meta-raycisst

    • Q Continuum

      Funny how the CO Supreme Court had some big time scandal about prosecutors and judges doing the ole’ Senile Joe grope-bang with interns (and receiving multiple complaints) but this chick gets the heave-ho for a private conversation in which she was not using the term in a derogatory manner. I’ll have to do some digging to see if this particular judge might be a wrongthinker and that’s why she had to face the guillotine.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Yeah

        Our priorities are slightly whacked.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Intellectually asking is bad. I mean, we wouldn’t want judges to have that understanding of context.

      I absolutely am so happy that when not used as a slur it still is.

    • Akira

      “(She) asked the (court employee) questions about why Black people can use the N-word but not white people, and whether it was different if the N-word is said with an ‘er’ or an ‘a’ at the end of the word,”

      It’s a perfectly fair question. I never understood the logic of why that word may only come out of a black person’s mouth. The only explanation I’ve heard is “we’re taking back the word they used to hurt us”, which I understand, but you’d have to stop reacting to it as though it’s offensive. That’s not what’s being done. If there were a movement for black people to start treating it like “buddy” or something regardless of if a black or white person says it, that would make more sense.

      I know a white woman who is dating a black dude and takes that as permission for her to use the N-word.

      • Ownbestenemy

        If I were to make a guess…black employee was turned down sexually from the judge on the car trip

      • The Hyperbole

        Sounds more like a bad comedy bit than a legitimate inquiry. White people be like this…an so on. I’d wager it was a failed attempt to be edgy/funny/with it, not a deep philosophical discussion. That said she shouldn’t have to resign over it either way.

      • Hank

        With the Bostock decision, I speculate that employers will start firing black employees for using the word, under the rationale that they’d fire a white employee for doing the same and can’t justify differing racial treatment.

        The word may not be on its last legs, but I expect it to suffer some setbacks.

    • R C Dean

      Of course, the first thing your D & I class says is to engage with black folk, ask them about their experiences, etc.

      When you do, of course, your white supremacy takes over and your inherent, irredeemable racism shines through, and you get canned.

      During the conversation, Judge Chase used the full N-word a number of times

      The implication being, if she had just stuck to the childish euphemism, all would be fine.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, I’m going to open up that can of worms. ?

      • R C Dean

        I had to larf (silently, of course), during out first D & I class. After the ritual statement that it was a safe space and anyone could share anything they wanted, there was a deep, dead silence. Nobody even moved.

      • UnCivilServant

        So, everyone knew that was a flat lie?

      • R C Dean

        Just because we’re executives doesn’t mean we’re stupid. Especially when it comes to self-preservation.

      • Hank

        “But Chairman Mao said to let a hundred flowers bloom!”

    • Festus

      Repost later, if you please. I gotta hit the sack but I really dig what you two are creating.

  45. KromulentKristen

    I hear tell New Zealand is allowing international inbound flights with no quarantine.

    I’m curious to see if their fascist police state lockdowns will bite them in the ass, given their almost total isolation from the rest of the world for the past year.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Travel bubble with Australia. It’s not opening up to the outside world.

    • Raven Nation

      Yeah, I think NZ is going to be a shit show in about 6 months. The whole success story has been built on massive government subsidization of businesses, unemployment, etc. But, with a lot of the tourist industry likely to not make enough money to survive this year, the government has started publicly saying they can’t save all businesses. I suspect the wonderful NZ covid economy is about to hit a wall.

      Not to mention most of the country, including a lot of business leaders, really don’t understand incentives, or much at all about the economy.

  46. The Late P Brooks

    this chick gets the heave-ho for a private conversation in which she was not using the term in a derogatory manner.

    Whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap of believing these people have any interest whatsoever in an honest open exchange of ideas.

    You are nothing more than fodder for the meatgrinder.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Dammit, squirrels ate my comment.

      Long story short, this shit is causing irreparable Balkanization. Employers talk about “being comfortable bringing your whole self to work”, but when people get canned and publicly shamed for innocuous or mildly offensive behavior, it has a damned strong chilling effect. Work gets Work Trashy, a non-descript person who has no opinion on anything outside of our business. Parents at trashkid’s extracurriculars get Parent Trashy, a guy who doesn’t get much past small talk. Certain family gets Distant Trashy, the guy who used to be engaging but hasn’t really wanted to talk much since covid hit.

      • Chipwooder

        Precisely. I don’t talk about anything remotely touching on current events with anyone but my family.

      • Mojeaux

        I barely do that. I cannot collate my thoughts enough to discuss anything. There’s just SO MUCH of it and I can’t hold a proper fisking in my head anymore like I used to be able to.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Even if I had the energy for such things, it wouldn’t be well received by anybody who wasn’t nodding in agreement. Maybe I’m getting lazy as I get older, but forming a well crafted series of arguments only to have “white supremacist” spit back at me feels like a waste of effort.

      • Akira

        I cannot collate my thoughts enough to discuss anything. There’s just SO MUCH of it and I can’t hold a proper fisking in my head anymore like I used to be able to.

        Have you tried meditation? Some forms of it are pretty much a psychological exercise in focus. I’ve found it helpful for clearing my thoughts and improving emotional health.

        Also, I have this weird habit of talking out loud when I’m home alone or in the car. I think it’s my brain’s way of arranging my thoughts and preparing to talk about it with people if it ever comes up. I used to have pretty bad social anxiety, and I wonder if this is some way of practicing the speech beforehand so I can deliver a smooth oration without getting nervous and fucking it all up. It’s usually an imaginary conversation with someone about a complex topic (often political ones – when a new issue comes up, I find myself giving monologues about it frequently in order to hash out my position).

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        I thought it was just me doing such monologues. Good to know I’m not the only one with that particular quirk.

      • Mojeaux

        I give monologues to myself when I am driving also.

        Also, I find that discussing such things with anybody is way down low on my priority list. I suppose I could hold a proper fisking in my head if I didn’t have so many more important things to think about.

        I honestly don’t talk to enough people to warrant it anyway. My mom maybe, but she has voluntarily checked out of current events and I don’t blame her.

      • UnCivilServant

        I compose mental comments to the glibertariat in my head when I might otherwise monologue.

        That means I only vocalize insults directed at myself.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        Work gets Work Trashy, a non-descript person who has no opinion on anything outside of our business.

        Sounds very much like Work SSD too. I’ll pass on a harmless funny story/mention smoking a brisket or something to not seem cold but voice zero opinion on anything that could remotely seem political or offensive.

        I might have bit clear through my tongue the day after America picked herself up from the “Capital Siege”.

  47. The Late P Brooks

    Ad I just heard:

    The NAACP is “organizing for black liberation”.

    Yeah, fuck you, too.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      WTF does that even mean?

      • kinnath

        liberation == a lifetime on the dole.

      • rhywun

        That is a very good question.

  48. The Late P Brooks

    Employers talk about “being comfortable bringing your whole self to work”, but when people get canned and publicly shamed for innocuous or mildly offensive behavior, it has a damned strong chilling effect.

    “Come on, tell us what you really think. I honestly want to know. I want to learn.”

    *Long shot from parking lot of Honest Trashy being rudely perp walked out front door of office building by security*

    • hayeksplosives

      Lol

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      ?
      *flashes back to quarterly meeting where CEO made clear that they were going to fire any employee found in DC on Jan 6th*
      ?

  49. hayeksplosives

    Brr! It’s a chilly day in SoCal. I’ve got windows and doors open in hopes my cat returns.

    And that makes it COLD! Pretty sure I could cut glass with my nipples right now.

    Brrr!!

    • UnCivilServant

      Actual cold, or SoCal cold where I wouldn’t even need a jacket?

      • Rat on a train

        SoCal gets cold enough for jackets. Fans for visiting teams were confused by home team fans bringing jackets to games when the temperature was above 70. They understand after sunset.

      • UnCivilServant

        So after sunset it’s below 30?

      • Rat on a train

        It can get down to the 30s.

    • Mojeaux

      Is your cat missing or something?! Oh, no! *fingers crossed*

    • Gender Traitor

      Get on your local NextDoor and tell the Karens that Kitty left home without wearing a mask. They’ll hunt her down.

      Seriously, I hope she turns up soon. Chances are, she’s not far. Hold your nose and put out APBs all over social media. ::crosses fingers for quick homecoming::

    • Rat on a train

      Poor kitty. I had one get out and come back more than a week later. I hope you don’t have to wait as long.

      • Gender Traitor

        Yup. The late great George Kitten Chatterbox Underfoot [GT’s IRL surname] got away coming back from the vet & hid under the neighbor’s shed for several days before Tom T lured him out with the promise of petting.

  50. The Late P Brooks

    WTF does that even mean?

    CHAINS, dude.

    Bad Orange Massa put them all back in chains. Haven’t you been paying attention?

  51. The Late P Brooks

    I’ve got windows and doors open in hopes my cat returns.

    Fuck.

    *crosses fingers*

  52. Pope Jimbo

    Minnesoda’s poor man’s Bee….

    The Nordly

    Looks like clever headlines and that is it. But there were a few that made me chuckle.

    “Governor Walz Enacts Curfew to Make Sure Citizens Have Ample Time to Salute the Armored Humvees Driving Through Their Neighborhoods”

    “Jacob Frey Announces He Will Not Get Vaccine Until Local Doctor’s Office Restocks Cool Spider-Man Band-Aids”

    “Body Positive Uncle Brags About Time He Caught Average Sized Bass”

  53. The Late P Brooks

    Sounds more like a bad comedy bit than a legitimate inquiry.

    Cool story, brah.

  54. Fourscore

    What happened to the virus? Everyone vaxxed and safe? Even the border problem isn’t making the headlines.

    The results of the mostly peaceful protests will be in evidence for years, I’m sure. Be a good place to spend some infrastructure money on the clean up

    • Swiss Servator

      The people that torched and looted will see more of the money than the people who actually had their livelihoods destroyed.

      The Canadians seem a bit up in arms about the ‘vid overreach.

  55. R C Dean

    Welp, Mrs. Dean has decided she needs a “modern sporting rifle”. As she is a lefty, this has proven a challenge. Nonetheless, she has a Tavor X95 on the way. Of course, as I told her, buying a gun is like buying a horse – you have only begun to spend money on it.

    I already have an optic I think is ideal for this gun – a Trijicon 2X scope – illuminated crosshairs, etc., which I will liberate from the battle rifle (and which means I am now ready to get the one I really want for it). She’ll need mags (it takes Magpul), she wants the pistol grip with a trigger guard, and she wants to try a vertical foregrip. And, of course, a sling and case. And and and.

    Oh, also ammo. Did I mention I don’t have a single round of 5.56?

    When I placed the order, she clapped like a little girl who just got a pony. So its all good.

    • Sean

      Did I mention I don’t have a single round of 5.56?

      Oh, that’s gonna hurt.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      I should have bought stock in Magpul (yeah I know it’s a private company). When one of my kids asks what happened to their college fund, I’m going to point to a pile of pmags.

      Kidding but damn those things seem to exponentially multiply.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        I’m debating getting a stack more of them in case uncle Joe tries to ban them.

      • Sean

        Yes.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        The hard part is that I can throw away all of my monthly budgeted “spending money” in about 5 minutes clicking around the various gunsites. I try to avoid blowing my entire load on the 1st of the month.

      • R C Dean

        Kidding but damn those things seem to exponentially multiply.

        So I need to give them some privacy, maybe candles and some Barry White?

      • R C Dean

        The checking account is huddled in the corner, crying and holding its black eye and asking me why I don’t love it any more.

        I think I’ll wait a bit before getting ammo.

    • Drake

      Those Tavors seem pretty well put together. After the scope and mount, all I would really want is a good sling.

      Then of course, lots of mags and ammo. The good news is that Vista has Remington’s ammo factory back up to full production.

  56. UnCivilServant

    Avoid cheap Chinese knockoffs

    “A study by University of Chile earlier this month reported that CoronaVac was 56.5% effective two weeks after the second doses were administered in the country. Crucially, however, they also reported that one dose was only 3% effective.”

  57. Festus

    I’m terrible. Judi got up this morning and asked if I had eaten anything. I said I hadn’t but a grilled cheese sure sounded tasty, blinking eyelashes and everything. Two grilled cheeses and a kosher dill later and I will bid you adieu, Glibbies!

  58. KSuellington

    Hey l0lbot, you should check out this piece of Eastern European cinema. It’s been a while, but I remember enjoying this one. I saw it somewhere it Latin America, thankfully not dubbed, just subtitled in Spanish.

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118843/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

    • l0b0t

      That looks fun; it’s downloading now. thanks.