Friday Morning Links

by | May 6, 2022 | Daily Links | 400 comments

Good morning my Glibs and Gliberinas! And what an absolutely wonderful day it always is!

 

FDA puts new limits on Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to rare blood clotting condition

 

Elon Musk expected to serve as temporary Twitter CEO after deal closes

 

Karine Jean-Pierre to replace Jen Psaki as White House press secretary

 

The leak was one of the dumbest political moves I have ever seen. Not only was it not going to change anything but instead it let loose the crazies on the left.  An added bonus, it really exposes the core problem, that the left can’t explain what is human and life and when does it begin. They turn spastic.  Politically, when it comes to abortion, the left is still living in the 90s.  It’s not the issue it use to be.

 

They don’t have the votes to overcome the filibuster. 

 

Worker output fell 7.5% in the first quarter, the biggest decline since 1947

 

CNN Poll: Only 2% of Americans Believe Biden’s Economy Is ‘Very Good’, 77% think it is poor

 

Trump Proposed Missile Attack To Wipe Out Mexican Drug Cartels, Mark Esper Claims

 

That’s all I got for today.  I’ll leave you with a song and move along with my day.

About The Author

Banjos

Banjos

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

400 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    Morning Banjos.

    I’m to that stage of the week where I’m whisper-singing “I gotta get out of this place”

    • Nephilium

      /checks calendar for the work day

      Only one meeting so far. The ongoing issue (that we were letting stay down to try to find an RCA while agents used the backup) was fixed with a reboot yesterday. Saturday is Free Comic Book Day.

      I should be able to make it through the day.

      • UnCivilServant

        Yeah, I’ve got a meeting on longstanding incidents and service requests (most of which cannot even be acted upon) then three interviews back to back.

      • db

        My boss’s boss called a meeting for 0830 at 0820. I just got in in time.

      • cavalier973

        Eat a donut for the rest of us

      • db

        online meeting; no donuts 🙁

      • Nephilium

        I’m not sure which is worse, the last minute invite, or the cancellation that comes after the meeting was supposed to have started.

      • Rat on a train

        Last minute invite to an all-hands meeting with some c-suite who shows up late?

  2. invisible finger

    “the left is still living in the 90s.”

    That’s why they voted for Joe “Jungle Fever” Biden

  3. Gustave Lytton

    You can’t just drone strike targets in other countries. That’s just crazy talk.

    *ignores twenty five years of doing so*

    Esper also claims Trump is “an unprincipled person who, given. his self-interest, should not be in the position of public service.”

    The lack of self-awareness is once again astounding.

    • WTF

      Claiming that obtaining positions of political power for personal aggrandizement and accumulation of wealth via grift is somehow “public service” is one of the more Orwellian terms in use.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Trump may be the least corrupt President in my lifetime. Simply because he doesn’t need it.

      • cavalier973

        Is it true that he cut twenty or so existing regulations for each new regulation imposed?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        LOL, I wish

      • cavalier973

        So do I. That was the claim his administration made, at one point.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        I view Trump as a relatively impartial buffoon, which is much better than those who actively hate me.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Dental Category

        So that’s why I have spit into a cup instead of the little wash basin now.

      • Threedoor

        Stossel put it at about seven.

    • Pope Jimbo

      The lack of self-awareness is once again astounding

      Thank doG! If the man had even a whit of self-awareness he wouldn’t have begun writing a book about his life. A sane person would have asked himself, “who is clamoring for a book that explains who Mark Esmer is and what he thinks?”

      I honestly had no idea who he was before reading that story.

      Is the grift that he hopes that TDS sufferers will buy anything that has dirt on Bad Orange Man? Or that it will jump start a career on CNN+? Why can’t he just skim millions from the Military Industrial Complex like a normal ex-Pentagon creature?

    • The Last American Hero

      Here’s how it played out – there was a meeting of cartel leaders that the alphabet agencies caught wind of. Trump probably just floated the question of why not just drone strike the meeting place, it’s what we do with Al Queda. Establishment laughs.

  4. The Late P Brooks

    Musk told investors that he felt Twitter’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin was too low and the company has “too many engineers not doing enough,” Faber said, citing sources familiar. Musk also pledged to make the company a “magnet for talent,” Faber added.

    Time to do some pruning. Maybe get people to focus on the “making money” part of the business.

    • rhywun

      That’s just crazy-talk.

    • Trigger Hippie

      It will be interesting what the true profit margins are if/when our intelligence agencies stop propping it up with taxpayer dollars to fuel the propaganda machine. Then again, Musk has no qualms with sucking the government tit.

      • cavalier973

        No more Darpadollars

      • R C Dean

        Selling something that the buyer gets a tax subsidy for is one thing.

        Working hand in glove with sociopathic lairs and killers is another.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Sounds like he better play ball or else.

      • Homple

        I wonder if Musk will ever find out the sources and amounts of such funds. And if he does, I wonder if he’ll get Epsteined.

  5. The Late P Brooks

    “Next week, the US Senate is going to vote on legislation to codify a woman’s right to seek an abortion into federal law,” said Schumer. “I intend to file cloture on this vital legislation Monday, which would set up a vote for Wednesday.”

    What the fuck is that even supposed to mean?

    • Trigger Hippie

      Social signaling before the midterms, that’s all. Expect many an ad saying [x] congress critter voted to protect women’s bodies in the near future. Dems are going to get crushed(short of voter fraud) and the abortion issue is the hail Mary to turn the tide.

      • Sean

        (short of voter fraud)

        Someone doesn’t watch the news.

    • rhywun

      Some bodies, some choices.

      • Festus

        Your Body, My Choice! That’s how it has run for the last two years.

      • Nephilium

        That’s different. The masks and vaccine requirements were there to save LIVES!

        (Said without irony by those on the left)

  6. Fourscore

    “Group Claims to Be Planning Protests at Homes of SCOTUS Justices”

    Why don’t they just file a class action suit? Name the anti justices as defendants.

    Have you or someone you love not gotten an abortion? You may be entitled to a free abortion, retroactively.

    For more info call 1-800- WE GOT ALITO

    • rhywun

      Have you or someone you love not gotten an abortion? You may be entitled to a free abortion

      LOL I also watch too much television.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Me as well. Everytime I see Joe Namath and JJ Walker pushing Medicare I get reflexively angry and yell “Shut the fuck up, cunte!” before quickly changing the channel.

      • Ted S.

        I was watching Queasy, ME on Cozi a few weekends back, and all the ads were for shady online retailers showing people using smartphone versions of the sites.

      • l0b0t

        Tee hee… Queezy, ME was the title of the Mad Magazine spoof of the series (written by Lou Silverstone with fantastic art by Angelo Torres).

      • rhywun

        It’s like we’re twins.

        That shit was supposed to end on Jan. 1 but then Uncle Joe declared that it would never end. Fucking asshole.

    • Rat on a train

      entitled to a free abortion, retroactively
      Only through the 75th trimester.

    • Atanarjuat

      Intimidating the Justices in an attempt to affect the outcome, that’s wildly inappropriate.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        The bigger issue is that the White House appears to be A-OK with it.

        https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/may/5/jen-psaki-refuses-condemn-abortion-planned-protest/

        White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday declined to denounce a plan by pro-abortion activists to protest Supreme Court justices’ homes and church services over a ruling that could overturn legalized abortion.

        Ms. Psaki also described the protests that have taken place at the Supreme Court as “peaceful.”

        The remarks come after the activist group “Ruth Sent Us” urged people to protest inside Catholic churches on Sunday and published a map allegedly detailing Supreme Court justices’ addresses for a demonstration next week.

        Imagine if right wing protesters had shown up at Ginsberg’s house. The entirety of the left wing apparatus would be freaking out.

      • Nephilium

        urged people to protest inside Catholic churches on Sunday

        What could possibly go wrong with this plan to win hearts and minds?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        At least the Progs are getting back to their anti-Catholic roots.

      • juris imprudent

        [golf claps]

      • UnCivilServant

        The congregants get sick of turning the other cheek and go full Deus Vult on the degenerates leading to a new crusade across the country and we end up with zones ruled by various new militant orders like the Knights of Poughkeepsie?

      • Nephilium

        The Knights of Columbus are already a thing. I have some friends and acquaintances who are members.

      • UnCivilServant

        I don’t believe they are a militant order, though.

      • Not Adahn

        They have a fish fry on Fridays here. The apparent median age is somewhere north of Fourscore.

      • Nephilium

        UCS:

        They could easily start transitioning into one. I seem to recall they were originally started to protect Catholics from progressives… it would just be going back to their roots.

        Not Adahn:

        Those I know that are in it are only in the Twoscore range. All devout Catholics.

      • The Last American Hero

        They have swords, and bring them to First Communion celebrations.

        Don’t underestimate the Knights.

      • Pope Jimbo

        The KOC are a bit too Catholic for my taste (if you know what I mean).

        They seem too fixated on tender butts for me to feel comfortable around them.

      • Not Adahn

        I thought the KoC were created to stop Catholics from joining the Masons?

      • Gustave Lytton

        They should just get Pelosi and Biden to lecture on how Catholicism is compatible with abortion rights.

      • db

        Notable theologians Pelosi and Biden.

      • rhywun

        There is some recent word salad out there with Joe trying to do exactly that. It’s breathtakingly stupid.

      • Swiss Servator

        +1 Child of God because I exist

      • Sean

        Target rich environment.

      • rhywun

        That ship has sailed. Moobs has already verbally threatened them.

    • Grosspatzer

      “You may be entitled to a free abortion, retroactively.”

      Retroactive abortions would certainly solve a few problems.

  7. Tres Cool

    whaddup doh’

    • Festus

      Reaching the breaking point. And you?

  8. The Late P Brooks

    Esper allegedly considered resigning several times but was allegedly worried that should he resign he would be replaced with a pro-Trump loyalist, which Esper believed would be unfair to the American people.

    A selfless hero, he is.

  9. Raven Nation

    “Former President Donald Trump allegedly said he wanted to launch missiles into Mexico to wipe out drug cartels”

    Clear and Present Danger

    • Rat on a train

      The US only launches missiles into non-belligerent countries to take out baby milk factories.

      • UnCivilServant

        Who’s fault is that? Us, or the people making babies into milk?!

      • cavalier973

        Is that what was going on?

        I thought they were drawing milk from babies.

        You can milk anything that has nipples, you know.

      • R.J.

        Harambe disagrees.

      • waffles

        THEN WHAT PRAY TELL IS ALMOND MILK

      • Rat on a train

        Milk from people with almond eyes?

      • R.J.

        We drink the milk from female almonds which live on farms. We only eat the males. That is why you have never seen almond nipples. I assure you, they are glorious.

      • R.J.

        That bird is cool. Can’t comment directly off of you, I think the nesting on comments set by the Powers that Be have been exceeded. Almond nipples is now a thing, at least through Monday.

      • rhywun

        *testing*

    • UnCivilServant

      Having to cross a nuclear wasteland to reach a border fence would be a bit of a deterrant to illegals too.

    • Urthona

      Isn’t the current administration helping assassinate Russian generals and blow up their military without congressional consent?

  10. Festus

    Senator Buzzard Baby should fall off a cliff and forget his wings.

    • Drake

      Let’s pass a clearly unconstitutional bill to reach the court a lesson.

      • Tonio

        It’s plausible deniability and blame-shifting. “See, we did something, and those evil unelected justices thwarted us again!”

      • Atanarjuat

        There’s an element of that, but don’t forget (as Jeff Deist said) the Democrats are playing to win, especially on abortion. Republicans are happy to campaign against abortion or Planned Parenthood, get in office and do nothing about either, and throw up their hands and say shucks, I tried. Democrats are intent upon getting their way on this, even if they have to send brownshirts to the homes of the Justices.

  11. Rat on a train

    CNN Poll: Only 2% of Americans Believe Biden’s Economy Is ‘Very Good’, 77% think it is poor
    They don’t appreciate all Uncle Joe has done for them. It is a messaging problem.

    • Raven Nation

      I wonder how many of the 77% blame Trump and/or Putin.

    • Fourscore

      WTF is up with the other 20 %? They will vote too, “on the issues”

      • juris imprudent

        Maybe they just laughed at the question – the economy isn’t something the president owns/operates.

      • UnCivilServant

        Although he certainly has the means to harpoon it.

      • juris imprudent

        Go on…

        Is it the orders he gives to the Fed?
        The spending he decides on all by himself?
        What exactly does the president unilaterally do?

      • UnCivilServant

        The most recent were all the EOs regarding throttling the oil industry (blocking piplines, denying leases and drill permits, etc)

      • juris imprudent

        Uh-huh. Then the release from the strategic oil reserves, and the reversal of those policies. Oil was crushed two years ago remember – negative spot prices because of the glut when demand dried up. Oh, but that was a different president, wasn’t it? Same thing with helicoptering federal money out because of COVID – that didn’t start with Biden.

      • juris imprudent

        Hell, Biden couldn’t even get his ambitious agenda through Congress.

        Who touted the great infrastructure program he was going to have? Trump’s was about as successful as Biden’s.

      • UnCivilServant

        You can exacerbate a problem without being the initial cause of a problem, which will then accellerate the deterioration.

      • juris imprudent

        Oil market was fucked up before Biden won the election let alone took office.

      • UnCivilServant

        Well, we’re still waiting for him to win an election, so I’ll cede that point.

      • Pine_Tree

        The main thing he unilaterally does is drive confidence, or the lack thereof. The other policy/EO things matter, but the main impact has to do with confidence in the predictability of laws and their effects on long-term investment.

      • juris imprudent

        Yep – right there, the myth of the rightful ruler. And you’re right – that is a society wide thing.

  12. The Late P Brooks

    I never watched Schoolhouse rock, but don’t “laws” originate in the House of Representatives and not the Senate?

    • UnCivilServant

      A bill can originate in either house, unless it involves the expenditure of money, in which case it is required to originate in the house.

    • Rat on a train

      Laws can originate in either. Laws pertaining to revenue must originate in the House.

      • Rat on a train

        Article I Section 7 Clause 1

        All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

      • Rat on a train

        Of course, the Senate has been known to work around the restriction by amending a House revenue bill replacing the text with the Senate’s bill. See Obamacare.

    • Festus

      “Quiet, You!”

    • cavalier973

      These days, laws originate in the bureaucracy.

      • Nephilium

        Don’t forget the lobbyists!

    • Pope Jimbo

      I never watched Schoolhouse rock

      Let me enact some labor for you. Here is the main gist of that episode.

      I’m just a Bill.
      Yes, I’m only a Bill with blue balls.
      And I’m sitting here in the Oval Office.
      Well, it’s a long, long journey
      To the capital city from Little Rock.
      It’s a long, long wait for that intern
      While I’m hiding from Hillary
      But I know I’ll be blown someday
      At least I hope and pray that I will,
      But today I am still just a Bill with blue balls.

      • Fourscore

        So, you are a blue bill.

        /Throws out decoys

  13. The Late P Brooks

    2% of Americans Believe Biden’s Economy Is ‘Very Good’,

    Pfizer and Exxon shareholders.

  14. PieInTheSky

    goddamnit I hate my job.

    • Festus

      Me too but I’ll miss it when it’s gone. Actual meat universe people? They aren’t that attractive but they are warm and friendly. Yup. Festus will be grieving.

    • Nephilium

      I’m unhappy with mine, but got an e-mail from a recruiter that has me getting ready to spruce up my resume this weekend.

    • PieInTheSky

      and the fuckers want to bring up back to the office

    • juris imprudent

      I am employed, but I don’t really work. [grins at Rufus]

      • waffles

        If you’re employed and you have to work can you really say you are good at your job?

        I generated templates to autofill for 90% of my busywork in the first 3 months. They still don’t know.

      • waffles

        Just realized I’m basically doing what Homer did with the drinking bird.

      • UnCivilServant

        Fun fact, if the dipping bird’s beak down’t touch water, the thermal process that keeps the cycle going breaks and it stops dipping.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    Thanks UCS. I stand corrected.

  16. The Late P Brooks

    goddamnit I hate my job.

    If it makes you feel any better, we hate it, too.

  17. PieInTheSky

    Trump Proposed Missile Attack To Wipe Out Mexican Drug Cartels, Mark Esper Claims – just send them to Ukraine if they were not used in Mexico

    • Ted S.

      The missiles, or the drug cartels?

      • PieInTheSky

        both?

      • PieInTheSky

        good cocaine is almost impossible to find in Romania

      • R.J.

        *Takes notes

  18. cavalier973

    “Trump proposed missile strike…”

    So, was this a situation where he kept pushing for using missile strikes, or was this part of a brain-storming session on how to deal with the drug cartels?

    “Can we prosecute them? How about sending in saboteurs? What about missile strikes?” *chuckles*

    • juris imprudent

      And ironically enough, Peter Zeihan can foresee us having to do something about those cartels, particularly if (or when) they start bringing their violence across the border along with the rest of their ‘products’.

    • Urthona

      This actually didn’t seem to be unreasonable to me at all.

      I don’t know if this is the big bomb they think it is.

  19. Evan from Evansville

    Sorry for the long comment and for going OT so soon. Time zones, yo. They be tricky. Lady went to Daegu with friends. She’s gonna have a great time and that’s important. She’s helped me so much. But after spending the night in a lovely Love Motel last night (no sarcasm, I loved every bit of it, all on my own), Lady is lovingly letting me stay in her place. So I’ve got it to myself.

    OR DO I!

    I’m even more blessed. One of the girls she’s went up with has a cat, Bubba, (whom I call Bubz, while Lady calls him Bubbles. Meh. Same-same for The WIre folk. We have the place to ourselves for the weekend.)

    Before they left, I was complimented by all the girls about how Bubba was just intrinsically attached to me. I used to work with lions and tigers, etc!…(for a summer internship)…it was useful for something…(I have a way with felines?…)

    So this unemployable, homeless lad gets to live in the building he started in Korea for a weekend, all by his human-self. But I get a cat to share my space and time with. Which is everything, even to a guy who loves cats but is a dog-person at heart.

    Sorry. Things are strange. I’m remarkably chill, considering. This week threw some strange curves at me. Stay in the box. Wait for your pitch and hit it well. Play hard. Play smart. In that order.

    • cavalier973

      Are you going to post some funny cat videos online?

      • Festus

        I want pictures of The Lady or it never happened.

    • cavalier973

      I’m glad things took a turn for the better for you.

      • Evan from Evansville

        This is a great respite. I’m still in Purgatory. Had to deal with several governmental bureaucracies today. But I did them well.

        And now…I get to have my Lady’s place, and in addition a cat! All to myself…it’s an odd bit of Animal Therapy. That shit works. It’s working on me. I relish it. Don’t forget those Tingles. They tend not to last.
        also pa
        I’m shockingly happy right now. Gotta think of another song to play for myself. That shit is real, or it is for me and others, though not everyone. (And yes…I am also partaking in fantastically rare Korean herbs and spices…that would go for less than $20/gram downtown…Winston’s Mom…etc….)

    • Atanarjuat

      What is a Love Motel?

      • UnCivilServant

        It is a Motel typically used for amorous liasons for the sake of privacy.

        ie, most customers are couples.

      • Festus

        One would hope so…

      • Evan from Evansville

        Yep. The population density leads to small apartments for families. Parents/etc gotta get away from the kids to fuck. So there are Love Motels everywhere for them to go to for an hour or the night to take care of shit and have fun.

        If you’re single and just travelling through, they are a great, cheap way of having a (fairly) nice place to stay for like $40/night. It’s possible for them to have a bar downstairs (not always), and you can meet some interesting folk. Help you find the best, maybe hidden, spots in the city. Strongly recommend.

        It is also where people take prostitutes to. But, to each their own. I’ve done it as a couple and as a single guy. Never did the sex-worker thing though…that I remember…

      • Q Continuum

        It’s the Asian equivalent of an hourly-rate motel, but much cleaner, nicer and without the same level of stigma. It’s a cultural thing.

      • Not Adahn

        Bawdy-house!

      • Atanarjuat

        Interesting. I think Evan’s explanation above shows why there isn’t much stigma – lots of regular people need to use them.

      • Evan from Evansville

        Married folk; college folk; travelers; “have-to-sleep-on-the-couch-from-your-spouse” folk; need a cheap, yet (pretty) OK place to stay folk…yep.

        Population density. It really does alter how a culture looks and functions.

        Dammit. I’m stoned. I should write an article about that. It’s too late, now. Kitty is taking up my bed. She’s still wandering around and meowing for more food at the same time. Goddammit. Having any sort of private “home,” after being homeless for two months…is breathtakingly fun and enjoyable. And I get to share this part with a cat that’s all over me. (I’ve spoiled her a bit, but not too much).

        For a couple of days, I am no longer homeless. I’ll have to re-adjust when Lady comes back, but that will be easy. Already was. Odd waves of freedom swirling over me. Just gotta think of the best music to listen and shows to watch. London Calling is certainly first…though I’m already halfway through my (maybe) favorite Seinfeld episode. Need some juice. I like this idea.

        Lord, I am odd. (Oh, shit. I hope that I’m borderline the next AgileCyborg. That would be fun. I’ll work harder.) (Miss him/it/xe.)

  20. Q Continuum

    “If you’d like to join or lead a peaceful protest, let us know[…]We must rise up to force accountability using a diversity of tactics”

    Yeah, we all know how your “peaceful protests” end up, Commie scumbags. “Force accountability using a diversity of tactics”? No possible way your goons would interpret that as a call to violence…

    • Festus

      “force” seems to be the bell weather. Cuntes.

    • Ozymandias

      Biden: “Will someone not rid me of this damnable priest SCOTUS justice?”

  21. Festus

    Mornin, Banjos! I really dug that tune. Nicely done!

  22. Q Continuum

    “Sen. Schumer says Senate will vote next week on codifying ‘abortion rights’ into law”

    Sounds like Moobz needs to watch Schoolhouse Rock; the legislature does not “grant rights”. In fact, the FedGov cannot “grant” rights for anything; it can only usurp natural rights. If you’d like to propose a Constitutional Amendment strictly defining the right to bodily autonomy as inclusive of abortion, you’re welcome to try. Everyone knows that would go down faster than Kamala in the coat closet of a fundraiser and would be a source of great embarrassment. Maybe have a come-to-Jesus moment and realize that your party’s lunacy on the issue led to this; if you had stayed with “safe, legal and rare” instead of “I’M PROUD OF MY TAXPAYER FUNDED POST-BIRTH ABORTION!” it’s unlikely the issue would have been forced like this.

    • UnCivilServant

      There has been some speculation on why he would pushfor a vote when there are not even 50 available. What I’ve read from the pundity boils down to “performance art”

      • juris imprudent

        performance art

        90+% of what passes for politics these days.

    • Urthona

      I was trying to figure out their strategy in cultivating a radical abortion law that’s guaranteed to lose.

      They would’ve actually had a chance to pass one that’s more moderate. Like the Collins/Murkowski proposal.

      Maybe they think trying and failing with the whole enchilada will galvanize voters in the next election .

    • PieInTheSky

      In fact, the FedGov cannot “grant” rights for anything; it can only usurp natural rights. – what a quaint old fashion view

    • Atanarjuat

      Luckily they have already primed the pump with “right to healthcare” rhetoric during the Obamacare discussion.

    • Pine_Tree

      The real point, though, isn’t abortion or whether or not it’s legal. Yes, there are true believers on both sides for whom that’s true. But for the Cathedral, the point of all this – of EVERYTYHING THEY DO – is destruction of the system so that they can rule.

      The leak, and all that Moobs and Biden’s handlers are doing, is about delegitimizing the court. Their “fortification” in 2020 already completely delegitimized the election system – and having come out on top, they’re making everybody live with it. That’s what they mean to do here, whichever way the abortion thing goes over the next months/years.

      They mean to rule. That’s what this is about – not Roe.

      • juris imprudent

        Ya know, I’m going to remind you, and everyone else, that election de-legitimization is a bi-partisan game. Trump claimed in ’16 that if he lost it was because the election was rigged. Most likely because he actually expected to lose and wanted that excuse built in.

        It seems to be now that money can’t be blamed for losing elections (as it used to be), stealing is the ONLY reason MY side loses. Perpetuating that isn’t going to ever build up trust in elections – so having given up on that, are you fully prepared to start shooting people so that YOUR TEAM can have power?

      • Pine_Tree

        You askin’ me?
        – I am my team. I’m not interested in having power.
        – But there ARE situations for which I’m fully prepared to shoot. Isn’t that true for you, too? Would you shoot to defend an innocent?
        – The Progs showed plenty of “mostly peaceful protest” evidence that they definitely are happy to use violence to stay in power.

      • juris imprudent

        I won’t shoot to PUT someone into political power. I will shoot to defend life (mine or others) from a direct and imminent threat.

        My beef with all the bitching about “fortification” is, that everyone treats it as though it has a single source at a single point in time.

      • db

        My beef with all the bitching about “fortification” is, that everyone treats it as though it has a single source at a single point in time.

        I think this is the good point to make. Our elections stand on very questionable ground and we certainly need better processes and more security–but there are threats from both sides. I think people would be appalled if they could know just how badly our elections have been compromised–and almost no one in power wants any light shone upon it.

      • juris imprudent

        We had a local election last year that was something of a disaster in my county – which is as red as they come. Yeah, we’ve gotten real bad at one of the core things we should be competent at.

      • The Last American Hero

        The thing about 2020 is the radical changes that happened – shifting voting dates, ballot harvesting, going to all mail in voting, vote boxes going missing, turning up.

        In the old days when it was majority paper on election day this was harder to do – although it could be done (see the Kennedy victory).

      • juris imprudent

        Yes, a lot of bad/stupid shit happened in a legal gray zone or dodgy litigation. It seems that in most states the Zuckerbucks were legal even if of questionable ethics. And I’m not arguing against fixing stuff that is obviously broken, as is true even in my very red county. It is the fact that my county can be included in the list of places not conducting elections correctly that is the point I am trying to emphasize.

      • R C Dean

        And much of that was actually illegal. We can debate difference in degree v in kind, but I don’t think its arguable that it was a significant escalation.

      • juris imprudent

        Addenda – the Cathedral doesn’t care about which side of the aisle has power, as long as the Cathedral contains it. So everything coming from the Cathedral emphasizing the internecine conflict is all about distracting you. Everything coming from the Cathedral about how voting doesn’t change anything (which it doesn’t) is about demoralizing you.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        ?

    • Not Adahn

      Meh, you can codify existing rights into an explicit statement of law. That’s that the BoR is.

      If someone were really sneaky, they could work with Schumer to get a “right to privacy” codified or make him come out and say that killing unwanted children is a specific standalone right.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    Gotcha!

    When Elon Musk announced his bid to buy Twitter last month, he said he wanted to make the social network a beacon for free speech. But as Musk scrambles to pull together funding for the $44 billion deal, the billionaire is also planning to accept financing for the deal from two countries that have historically restricted freedom of speech: Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

    On Thursday, an SEC filing revealed new financiers for Musk’s takeover plan, which include Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. Both countries impose harsh censorship to quash dissent: A Qatari law states that spreading “false or malicious news” can land you in prison for five years, while in Saudi Arabia, critics of the government have faced arrest and even murder. Saudi Arabia ranks number 166 out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index, while Qatar ranks number 119, according to Reporters Without Borders.

    The government must block this, for the good of the people.

    • rhywun

      LOL *now* we’re going to criticize the petrostates?

    • WTF

      A Qatari law states that spreading spreading “false or malicious news” …

      No mention of the Biden Admin’s new “Ministry of Truth”?

    • The Other Kevin

      This is rich. Recently in one of those Russell Brand videos, he talked about those social credit scores they have for businesses. The top companies do a lot of business with China, and some are weapons manufacturers.

  24. Festus

    Alright, I’m fucked to the gills. Good day my lovelies. We’ll meet again sometime soon. Don’t give up! Never give up!

  25. PieInTheSky

    In local news a truck crashed trying to avoid a deer on the road. What is the official glibertarian position on deer, if braking is not an option: swerve or hit?

    • UnCivilServant

      What type of deer?

      What are the road conditions on and off the pavement?

      • PieInTheSky

        European roe deer (no link to wade)

    • Q Continuum

      Hit. Then make venison stew.

    • SDF-7

      Wait… this herd of cats has an “official” position on anything besides Nikki being The Worst?

      • UnCivilServant

        No, but Pie always asks for one as if such a thing could exist.

      • PieInTheSky

        In the US I assume, here no one is circumcised

      • Atanarjuat

        Women are wrong about a lot of things, though.

    • Atanarjuat

      Swerving is almost always a bad idea. It often leads to a rollover or an accident. Plus you don’t know which way the animal will move. Just stomp the brakes to kill as much speed as possible before impact.

    • db

      Open up with the forward-mounted M134 before hitting.

    • Pine_Tree

      Serious answer: Don’t ever swerve.

      That’s what they get for gambolling.

    • EvilSheldon

      After you hit them, make sure that they’re dead.

      • db
  26. SDF-7

    Esper reportedly recounts in “A Sacred Oath,” set to be released Tuesday, how Trump allegedly asked at least twice if the military could “shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy the drug labs” in the summer of 2020. Esper reportedly said Trump cited the constant flow of narcotics across the border as his reasoning.

    “They don’t have control of their own country,” Trump allegedly said, according to Esper. Esper claims he objected to the suggestion, to which Trump allegedly said “we could just shoot some Patriot missiles and take out the labs, quietly,”

    Esper also claims Trump is “an unprincipled person who, given. his self-interest, should not be in the position of public service.”

    I’m not at all saying it would be a great idea (frankly, doing it with the permission of Mexico sounds fine to me, but you know damned well that the cartels would know as soon as we told anyone in the Mexican government, even if they pretended to go along with it). But that doesn’t sound like “self-interest” to me, Mr. Former Defense Secretary.

    I don’t get the whole Swamp Creature attitude on many fronts — but the “Write a book trashing the people you used to work with and pretend *you’re* the principled one” really befuddles me. Disagree all you want, offer other options (that’s your damned job after all), but shut up about it after you leave the job, jerks.

    Of course, I also don’t get who the hell would bother buying gossipy trash like this either… so I continue to reside in a State of Ignorance and all.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      A Sacred Oath

      Look at how holy I am. What a self-important douche.

    • R.J.

      Clearly no one can take a joke. Trump jokes. I could see him saying stuff like that in jest just to horrify people around him, and those people taking it seriously. We may never know. But keep in mind most people in government don’t have a sense of humor that they are aware of.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        Most likely either a joke or “I’m just brainstorming here”.

    • juris imprudent

      “They don’t have control of their own country,” Trump allegedly said, according to Esper.

      Does Esper contend Trump was wrong about that? It would be un-diplomatic to agree, but it’s the fucking truth.

    • l0b0t

      Did Trump really say Patriot? Patriot is a surface to air, anti-aircraft system. The only way to shoot those at a drug lab would be if the drug lab was in a zeppelin.

      • db

        If he did, perhaps it was a simply an off-the-cuff remark rather than an actual tactical proposal.

      • juris imprudent

        But Patriot sounds cool, like it is patriotic to blow up shit in other countries.

  27. Q Continuum

    While I don’t support the idea of blowing up the cartels with missiles, let’s be honest: it would have a more positive impact on the lives of daily Americans than the missiles we’re sending to Ukraine.

    PS: Why not consider decriminalizing drugs and cut their source of revenue off at the knees?

    • UnCivilServant

      While prohibition juiced organized crime in the US, the loss of the alcohol revenue didn’t do a lot to stop them, they just took the money they’d made and diversified, using the same violent tactics in other endeavors.

      We’d get the same situation with the cartels. You need a two prong approach – kill the cartels and legalize.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      What happens in Mexico is far more important to the United States than 99% of the shenanigans we get ourselves involved in across the globe.

    • PieInTheSky

      There should be some level of satisfaction gained from blowing up Russian tanks for an American. Remember the Cold War

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        I remember it ended in 1989.

    • SDF-7

      Because they’d probably do it with all the grace that California decriminalized marijuana with.

      I’m certainly fine with it in concept — in a perfect world, FedGov would get a reminder somewhere, somehow that “regulate interstate commerce” meant ensuring smooth commerce between the states, not deciding what IS or ISN’T acceptable for people to consume / ingest / whatnot, so they don’t have any business making things illegal, adding red tape, etc. either.

      But we all know that’s going to happen right after I get my Sovereign class in orbit with the command codes and go off to explore the galaxy away from this crazy planet….

      Agree with you in concept, though — not sure how we’d cut the cartels out of *enough* markets to significantly weaken them at this point though.. they’ve shown a talent for pivoting and all.

      • Not Adahn

        Did CA actually decriminialize MJ tho? I know in NY, it is still very much illegal to grow, produce, possess, or consume MJ, except in very specific and pre-defined circumstances.

      • juris imprudent

        It is decriminalized if you are a licensed (and taxed) part of the production process OR if you grow your own. Simple possession is legal, no fine or other criminal sanction.

      • SDF-7

        I believe so… though I’m way too much of a square to pay too close of attention and have enough work stuff to do this morning that I’m not going to dig out whatever change to the legal code did it. :shrug:

      • Homple

        Who would make the drugs after legalization stops the cartels from doing it? I’d want good lawyers and a heavy liability insurance package to cover legal risk before going into the business. Ask the Sackler family about what you can get for selling legal, prescription drugs. I expect the legal risk of selling similar non-prescription ones would be pretty high. Yes, I know. Alcohol. But whatever immunities booze producers have didn’t seem to apply to prescription narcotics manufacturers. There will still be plenty of overdoses and plenty of people suing for the loss of relatives.

        This is what I think the problems are. How do others think it world work?

    • juris imprudent

      Why not consider decriminalizing drugs and cut their source of revenue off at the knees?

      Drugs are bad m’kay?

      They really don’t have a better argument. Of course they are bad – so is tobacco and alcohol. Get the fuck over yourself; there are people that are going to self-destruct and you can try to take the means away from them, they’ll just find another way to do so.

      • Grosspatzer

        “Of course they are bad – so is tobacco and alcohol”

        There is a tradeoff, otherwise no one would drink or smoke. Having a drink or two to relax makes life a little more tolerable. For some, this outweighs the negative health implications. COVID is dangerous, perhaps we should totally disrupt society to limit the damage.

      • juris imprudent

        Exactly.

    • The Last American Hero

      Because conservative commenters claim there will be even more coyotes shuttling people over the border to recoup lost revenue. In fact, the legalization of MJ has been the main cause of the migration surges in recent years. Yes, they actually argue this.

  28. Stinky Wizzleteats

    “Trump Proposed Missile Attack To Wipe Out Mexican Drug Cartels”
    I’m torn: on the one hand Esper’s a typical swamp creature and as such is a liar, on the other Trump’s a flighty idiot. I guess what I’m saying is DeSantis/Paul 2024 or flip it, I don’t care.

  29. wdalasio

    With regard to Schumer’s abortion rights bill,

    A poll just released today from Data for Progress showed voters…

    Honestly, if you’re citing data from an outfit called “Data for Progress”, you aren’t trying to convince anyone but your own base that they have a wild majority. The same would apply if Republicans were citing data from “The Center for American Values”.

    The truth is a little more complex. Whatever you think of abortion, Americans are generally supportive of legal abortion in early terms, with that support collapsing in later terms. For what it’s worth, 92.7% of abortions were performed at ≤13 weeks’ gestation, meaning that even the “draconian” anti-abortion measures being proposed are mostly going to leave most abortions intact.

    • Q Continuum

      Look at this Nazi with his facts and logic.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        It’s all in the way the poll items are crafted and interpreted if the sample’s representative which it likely isn’t.

      • juris imprudent

        If I can’t drag you out to my fringe position, you are oppressing me!

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      As Malice noted yesterday, a reversal of Roe vs Wade puts politicians of all stripes, but particularly state level Dems, in a much tougher spot. They now have to articulate an actual position on abortion and what restrictions they support (or not) instead of just identifying as pro-choice or pro-life.

      • juris imprudent

        On the flip side, all of those state politicians that run around “I’m pro-life” will have to ante up without Roe being the shield they can crash their spear against (to make a lot of fierce sounding noise).

      • Pine_Tree

        This is why I’ve always said that the establishment R’s are the MOST pro-Roe group out there.

        Tremendous amounts of their “support” exist ONLY for this reason.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        This. There is about to be a fracturing as people who are “life begins at conception” run into politicians who are for “reasonable restrictions after 20 weeks”.

      • juris imprudent

        Those every sperm is sacred folks will find out they are about as numerous and influential as the post-birth abortion camp.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        There’s a huge gap between every sperm is sacred and life begins at conception. Every sperm is sacred is a fringe minority view even in the pro-life movement. Life begins at conception is bog standard for the (many) pro-lifers I’ve run into. The main points of variability in that group are on what to do about rape/incest, physical peril to the mother, and non-viability of the baby.

      • UnCivilServant

        If the baby is non-viable, or the pregnancy is going to kill the mother, the odds are the baby is dead anyway.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Malice also (I think) retweeted someone who said something along the lines of:

        Pro-abortion polls ask if you support banning abortion/ if any circumstance justifies it.

        Pro-life polls ask if you support abortion up to delivery and regardless of the circumstances.

        Both sides then claim victory.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Į̴͓̘̳͍̣̘̈́̐̐͛͛͂̈͆̀ ̴̡̛̦͌͊̓̐̏͆̀͗͒͠w̴̧̛̲̜͙̻̳͖͎̗͍͉̎̽̆̓̇̆̏͊̉̀͝ǫ̴̨̨̛̻̗͚̏̍̈́͌̀́͐͛̈́̚̚̚͝n̵͔͚̿d̵͓͗̄̈́̀̀͛̃͝͝ͅͅẹ̷͎̝̟̭͕̋͘r̵̫̗̞̳̼͂́̕͜͠͠ ̵̺̼̼̞̗̆͋̍̂̌̚͜i̴̧̦̞̼̗̙͎͓̙̟͕̱͆̏̓̆͊̓͂͑̒̅̿͝͠͝f̶̹̝̽̒̾̅͗͊̿̔̑̌ ̶̧͝ţ̶̣͙̜̹͙̄̌̀͗͊̃̾ẖ̵̨̫̲͖̳͚̞̥͎͛͌͊̑̀̎͂̒͗͒̑̒̀̌̕͜į̶̢̧̡͔̭͔̥͍̞͕͔̖̠͍͐͑̃͂̈́̋̍͊͒̇́̑̚͝s̶̨̧̡̘̳͔̝̯͍̽̈͜ ̶͖̞̗͂̌̒̅̀͑̈́͒w̵̨̡͇͎̩͎̰̩̤̎̓́͒̏̀́̎͐̈́̔̽̅͑͘͜o̶̖̔̈́̃́́̈́r̸̜͐k̶̺̹̾̿̓̏͑͋͐̿̑̌͗ŝ̸̛̛͚̗̗̥͚̜̰̜̬̹̬̿̏̈́́̐̓́̑̏̔͐͠ͅ.̶̡͎̝̞̦̼̭̳͖̈̌̀̓͒͠

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        OK Neo

      • Name's BEAM. James BEAM.

        That’s a *font*? Good God.

      • UnCivilServant

        Maybe it’s some other effect. It renders wierd in notepad.

      • Sean

        Whoah.

      • MikeS

        ?

      • slumbrew

        h̵i​s un̨ho͞ly radiańcé destro҉ying all enli̍̈́̂̈́ghtenment, HTML tags lea͠ki̧n͘g fr̶ǫm ̡yo​͟ur eye͢s̸ ̛l̕ik͏e liq​uid pain, the song of re̸gular exp​ression parsing will exti​nguish the voices of mor​tal man from the sp​here I can see it can you see ̲͚̖͔̙î̩́t̲͎̩̱͔́̋̀ it is beautiful t​he final snuffing of the lie​s of Man ALL IS LOŚ͖̩͇̗̪̏̈́T ALL I​S LOST the pon̷y he comes he c̶̮omes he comes the ich​or permeates all MY FACE MY FACE ᵒh god no NO NOO̼O​O NΘ stop the an​*̶͑̾̾​̅ͫ͏̙̤g͇̫͛͆̾ͫ̑͆l͖͉̗̩̳̟̍ͫͥͨe̠̅s ͎a̧͈͖r̽̾̈́͒͑e n​ot rè̑ͧ̌aͨl̘̝̙̃ͤ͂̾̆ ZA̡͊͠͝LGΌ ISͮ̂҉̯͈͕̹̘̱ TO͇̹̺ͅƝ̴ȳ̳ TH̘Ë͖́̉ ͠P̯͍̭O̚​N̐Y̡ H̸̡̪̯ͨ͊̽̅̾̎Ȩ̬̩̾͛ͪ̈́̀́͘ ̶̧̨̱̹̭̯ͧ̾ͬC̷̙̲̝͖ͭ̏ͥͮ͟Oͮ͏̮̪̝͍M̲̖͊̒ͪͩͬ̚̚͜Ȇ̴̟̟͙̞ͩ͌͝S̨̥̫͎̭ͯ̿̔̀ͅ

      • MikeS

        Is that an Agile Cyborg quote? If AC used that font, he would be an unstoppable force.

      • UnCivilServant

        Why? If he used the font, it would be harder to read what he wrote. That’s all it does, it’s like smudging the ink on the page.

      • Nephilium

        No thanks… I’ve already read House of Leaves.

      • rhywun

        Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Is that Cronenberg’s bathroom?

    • MikeS

      That’s Minnesoda’s state flower. I am not shitting you.

  30. db

    Re: Trump’s “missile strike”

    OK, so, probably a bad idea, but why, exactly is this being discussed? Is it important to our national discussion of anything?

    Or is it just that Trump lives rent free in so many heads that his specter is useful to whip the faithful into line and get them riled up?

    • PieInTheSky

      To see how good it is you got rid of the guy. First mexican cartels, second black lives matter protests. And then thew missiles could even target your home. Good thing it is no longer a possibility.

    • juris imprudent

      I think you have it – the 2 minutes hate.

  31. Grumbletarian

    Daily Quordle 102
    7️⃣9️⃣
    8️⃣4️⃣

    28, ugh.

    At the gates of Chumptown today.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Daily Quordle 102
      8️⃣4️⃣
      6️⃣9️⃣
      quordle.com
      ?⬜?⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜?
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜??⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ???⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ⬜???? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

      ⬜⬜⬜⬜? ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜? ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜???? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ????? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?????

    • Grosspatzer

      29 here. Brutal.

      Daily Quordle 102
      8️⃣7️⃣
      5️⃣9️⃣
      quordle.com
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜??⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜???⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜???⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ?⬜??⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

      ?⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜?⬜
      ??⬜⬜? ⬜⬜⬜?⬜
      ???⬜? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ????? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?????

      • Sean

        Daily Quordle 102
        7️⃣5️⃣
        6️⃣8️⃣
        quordle.com

    • SDF-7

      Daily Quordle 102
      5️⃣8️⃣
      6️⃣7️⃣

      Yeah — almost got called back to Chumptown as well. Without spoilers — I’ll just say I think the word selection today was particularly evil. Honestly, I think I was very lucky not to chump and had to stare at some of them for a good while…

      • MikeS

        I’ll be honest, a couple lucky guesses are all that saved me from Chumptown. It was brutal today.

      • db

        Yesterday’s softened us up.

    • db

      9 X
      7 X

      boo

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      *grumble*

      Daily Quordle 102
      9️⃣6️⃣
      ?7️⃣

    • Raven Nation

      Daily Quordle 102
      8️⃣6️⃣
      7️⃣4️⃣
      quordle.com
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜??⬜?
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ????⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

      ⬜⬜⬜?? ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
      ⬜?⬜⬜? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

    • Rat on a train

      Daily Quordle 102
      7️⃣5️⃣
      3️⃣8️⃣

      Not a great score, but out of the chumphouse.

    • Sean

      #waffle105 5/5

      ?????
      ?⭐?⭐?
      ??⭐??
      ?⭐?⭐?
      ?????

      ? streak: 16
      ? #waffleelite
      wafflegame.net

      And another secret waffle today! Yay!
      The bigger board is so much harder.

      • Sean

        Or not..brought up the last one. 🙁

      • TARDis

        Yep same one. Easy one today.
        #waffle105 5/5

        ?????
        ?⭐?⭐?
        ??⭐??
        ?⭐?⭐?
        ?????

        ? streak: 19
        ? #waffleelite
        wafflegame.net

      • Grosspatzer

        #waffle105 5/5

        ?????
        ?⭐?⭐?
        ??⭐??
        ?⭐?⭐?
        ?????

        ? streak: 12
        ? #waffleelite

        And the big one…

        #secretwaffle 1/5

        ???????
        ?⬜?⬜?⬜?
        ???????
        ?⬜?⭐?⬜?
        ???????
        ?⬜?⬜?⬜?
        ???????

        wafflegame.net
        wafflegame.net

    • MikeS

      8️⃣4️⃣
      7️⃣6️⃣

    • rhywun

      Top-right has me completely stumped and I have 4 of the letters. But dammit I will sit on it all day if I have to.

      • MikeS

        That’s the spirit!

      • rhywun

        Huh. Not how I spell that word but I’ll take it.

        Daily Quordle 102
        4️⃣7️⃣
        6️⃣5️⃣
        quordle.com
        ⬜⬜⬜?⬜ ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
        ?⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜??
        ⬜⬜⬜?⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
        ????? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
        ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
        ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
        ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?????

        ⬜⬜⬜⬜? ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜⬜??⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜?
        ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
        ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
        ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

    • whiz

      Daily Quordle 102
      6️⃣5️⃣
      7️⃣4️⃣
      quordle.com
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜???⬜
      ?⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

      ⬜⬜⬜?⬜ ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ?⬜⬜⬜? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

      Holy crap this was nasty. This is the first time in a long while that I had to use all three starting words, and I still had to get lucky on one guess.

    • Tundra

      Daily Quordle 102
      8️⃣7️⃣
      4️⃣5️⃣

      Fuck me, upper left took me 10 minutes!

    • TARDis

      Daily Quordle 102
      8️⃣9️⃣
      6️⃣4️⃣

      Boooooo!! Hiss.

    • Bobarian LMD

      Daily Quordle 102
      9️⃣4️⃣
      5️⃣8️⃣=26
      8 guesses with only one letter has to be a record?
      quordle.com
      ?⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜??⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜???⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜???⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜? ⬜⬜⬜?⬜
      ??⬜⬜? ⬜⬜⬜?⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ????? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜??
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜????
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?????

      • kinnath

        Same for me (see down below). Although, I had a different single letter than you did.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    Reality sets in

    Boeing announced on Thursday that it would be moving its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Va. and would be developing a research and technology hub in northern Virginia.

    “We are excited to build on our foundation here in Northern Virginia. The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement.

    Boeing noted that the research and technology hub, planned to be established in the area, will target systems engineering, autonomous operations, quantum sciences and software and cyber security innovation development.

    It’s a lobbying firm making airplanes on the side. Where else would they put their HQ?

  33. Not Adahn

    This may be an interesting weekend.

    On Saturday, I’ve got a USPSA at a club I’ve never been to before. No biggie, just obey their house rules and be slow and safe. However, I notice that after a match, my feet hurt rather a lot (as opposed to my hikes that don’t bother them at all) . I attribute this to having to make sudden stops with my excessive bulk. The next day, I do have a hike, though apparently it’s an easier mountain. We’ll see.

    I’ll be the guy in the Glibs jersey.

  34. Atanarjuat

    Speaking of psychopathic warmongers who want to start World War 3, looks like another Russian naval vessel has been destroyed, probably using American satellite information for targeting.

    Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate of the Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet is reportedly on fire near Zmiiny island in Black Sea. Rescue operation ongoing, multiple aircraft, rescue vessels in the area

    (from https://twitter.com/Liveuamap/status/1522507395750146048)

    • Sean

      Russian boat go glug glug glug.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Naval operations have never been Russia’s strong suit. The Japanese can attest to that.

      • SDF-7

        Worth a listen. ESPECIALLY for any mention of Kamchatka…

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Seen it already, it’s a good breakdown of a slow motion naval trainwreck. They would’ve done way better just staying in port.

      • Atanarjuat

        Interesting, will check out later. Thanks.

    • PieInTheSky

      Aren’t frigates small unimportant ships?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Used to be the case but not in most modern navies.

      • SDF-7

        That’s inflation for ya…

    • Grosspatzer

      “Speaking of psychopathic warmongers who want to start World War 3”

      If you’d rather rule in hell than serve in heaven, creating hell on earth is a good start.

    • PieInTheSky

      they should ask reddit not deidre

    • Grosspatzer

      Beautiful.

    • db

      Heartwarming

  35. The Other Kevin

    All of this “look the other way when our side riots” is still going on. I have a bad feeling about these SCOTUS protests.

    On FB, a few people have posted but it’s surprisingly quiet. I think you’re right, it’s not as big an issue as it once was. Almost everyone wants some type of restrictions. And they must realize this is not a total ban.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Most people want legal early term and heavily restricted late term. The left overplayed their hand with the up to birth and post birth stuff.

      • Pope Jimbo

        They are also deeply disturbed by anyone who “celebrates” abortions.

        I’m have a sneaking suspicion that if some new method of birth control was developed that was 100% effective, there are crazies out there who would take a page out of the “deaf culture” playbook and condemn it. They’d want people to have abortions because they have become a totem for them.

    • Grosspatzer

      “I have a bad feeling about these SCOTUS protests.”

      #metoo. Mobs have a nasty habit of getting out of control.

      • Pope Jimbo

        Mobs have a nasty habit of getting out of control.

        That is why you need a mansierre.

        Wait. What?

        Oh you said mob. Nevermind.

      • Grosspatzer

        Nice link. A mansiere would help with something I may have mentioned on the Wednesday zoom.

    • db

      Maybe people are just wary of airing their true thoughts in the current political climate?

      I think there’s real potential for these protests to be whipped up into something bigger over the summer. I sincerely hope that does not happen.

      • juris imprudent

        Well, if they are tied even loosely to the Democrats – it is sheer insanity. They are already on thin ice with voters over public safety, this would be chainsawing the last stretch of solid ice.

      • db

        I’m not sure that the people who would instigate and support them are the same Democrats that are concerned about losing elections. They may be willing to destroy a party they affiliate with in order to take control of the remains and build it into something else. The current Democrat leadership has a tenuous grip on power at the moment, and it’s past time for their Young Turks to take over.

        When they do, it’ll probably go about as well for them as it went for the original Young Turks (not well at all, and resulting in even more damage to the country).

    • WTF

      I’m just entertained by how the “muh democracy” crowd is suddenly dead set against democracy. Overturning Roe doesn’t make abortion illegal, it just leaves it up to the democratic process.

      • juris imprudent

        Yep, and it delights me no end throwing that into their faces.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        They are trying to pivot to individual sovereignty without acknowledging how full of shit that position is.

      • R C Dean

        But, muh vax mandate!

        This may be revealing about how much the riots-r-us crowd are controlled by the ruling class, and which faction. I can see most of the ruling class seeing the electoral damage riots could do this year, and not wanting them (unlike in 2020). But is there a faction that wants riots anyway, or think they will help? Can that faction prevail? How much does it matter, as in, how much top-down control is there of the riots-r-us?

    • SDF-7

      Huh… I would think Ellen DeGeneres would be following *them*, not the other way around.

    • Atanarjuat

      Weird moment when the second girl used her bikini bottom to open a longneck beer and pretend to chug it.

      Speaking of fashion shows, some incredibly ballsy guy started a Youtube channel of footage he takes of the girls changing backstage.

      • Tulip

        That guy is a creep.

      • R C Dean

        Concur. I would consider a beatdown to be well deserved.

      • Atanarjuat

        100%

  36. Pope Jimbo

    If I wasn’t such a nice guy this story would be a Ray of Sunshine. I actually do feel bad when people lose their jobs though. Even though this whiner is testing my resolve.

    During the strike, one demand of MFT and ESP was to decrease student-to-counselor ratios in the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) district. The agreed-on contract increases the hours and pay for educational assistance and raises for teachers, but does not address the student-to-counselor ratios.

    The district told school officials that funding increased pay for counseling and social workers would have to come out of individual school budgets, according to Leif Kurth, a counselor at Southwest High School. Two counseling positions at Southwest High School will be cut next year in addition to his position as the clerical counselor.

    “That’s something that was particularly frustrating for the counselors. (Counselors) knew going into it that they probably wouldn’t get everything that they wanted, but they would get something, and essentially, they’re getting nothing,” Kurth said. “In some instances, like at Southwest, they’re losing positions.”

    Much of Kurth’s job is helping students with post-graduation plans by helping gather transcripts or holding meetings to go over important information.

    “There’s just not going to be anybody upfront to help guide them to the right people or to just provide some of the answers that I can give them,” he said. “It’s going to cause a lot of confusion, and there are going to be some really big gaps between what they’re expected to know and what they do know because there won’t be an adequate passing of information.”

    The story later notes that Kurf’s district lost a shit ton of students. Who’d a thunk losing lots of customers would lead to job cuts? It does make me laugh when the union sells these dupes out. Increased pay is awesome when you still have a job.

  37. The Late P Brooks

    Fickle lot, those progressives

    The New York Times was blasted on Thursday for running a “hit piece” suggesting that Elon Musk’s childhood in apartheid South Africa made him indifferent to racism and that it could impact his content moderation policies once he takes control of Twitter.

    Musk, who has vowed to allow more expression on the social media platform once his takeover is complete later this year, was a child when South Africa was “rife with misinformation and white privilege,” according to the Times.

    Times correspondents John Eligon and Lynsey Chutel reported that Musk benefited from an “upbringing in elite, segregated white communities” in suburban Johannesburg, “where black people were rarely seen other than in service of white families living in palatial homes.”

    The Times story surmised that Musk’s being “insulated from the harsh reality” of the system of apartheid may dull his sensitivity to racist hate speech that could be allowed to flourish on Twitter should he take over and institute his desired changes.

    Obviously the cultural heir to P W Botha, and not to be accepted in polite company.

    What next? No more Ironman movies?

    • Pope Jimbo

      Elon Musk or Omicron. Which was the most overhyped threat coming out of South Africa.

      • PieInTheSky

        Pinotage

    • rhywun

      Stay classy, The New York Times.

    • Pope Jimbo

      OJ’s emotional support monkey?

  38. Atanarjuat

    Here is some footage of the aftermath of a battle. Paul Krugman is presumably predicting a strong economy in southeastern Ukraine.

    https://twitter.com/all_seeing_pi_/status/1522057177627643904?cxt=HHwWgMCihYu8t58qAAAA

    Full video from Popasnaya, a group of Russian soldiers clash with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, eventually cutting them off & taking the survivors prisoner. 22:00 minutes of Drone footage from the engagement [1/10]

  39. The Other Kevin

    I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. The left isn’t even trying to be persuasive anymore. If you look at civil rights, gay rights, disabled rights, etc., those were fought for in courts, but there was also a big element of persuasion: “We’re just like you, we have families and jobs, we just want the same rights as the rest of you.” Rosa Parks, and the civil rights protestors worked because they evoked empathy. NONE of the causes on the left have that element. Lea Thomas isn’t someone you empathize with. She/he is kind of an asshole about the whole thing. Same with all these loud protests. They aren’t persuading anyone, if anything they’re turning people off. And when they do get their way, their policies are proving to be a disaster. Long term, they aren’t gaining followers, they’re losing them.

    So when you can’t persuade someone, you intimidate, you cheat, you censor, and that’s what we see now. I’m concerned about all those things, but I am encouraged because I can’t think of a single instance in years where someone said, “You know, those trans/defund the cops/abortion/climate change people are right, I’ve changed my mind.”

    • db

      I think you’re right, but I still fear that they have a chance of forcing a “win” in the sense that most people really don’t want a conflict over this. There are millions of “green grocers,” and it’s not clear if they will eventually decide they’ve had enough, or continue to be comfortable with the little lies.

      As the lies get bigger and harder to ignore, maybe.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        The other source of pessimism is the stranglehold they have on education. Yeah, they’re not winning anybody over with their arguments, but they get their hooks into the kids at age 5 and pump out good little leftist drones by age 25. It takes decades to deprogram those poor kids, all the while they’re voting and influencing culture to everybody’s detriment.

        Oh, and this isn’t a new thing. Even the vaunted “good old days” were rife with this BS. It was and is a stated goal of public education. It may not have been as blatant 50 years ago, but it was no less insidious.

      • juris imprudent

        Apathy is their biggest ally.

    • wdalasio

      Yeah, there was an episode of Part of the Problem a couple of days back that touched on something similar. If you hear the left talking, and really listen to what they’re saying, they’re outright saying that the reason they oppose Musk’s Twitter acquisition is the possibility that Donald Trump might get on and, if that happens, he might take power again. But, think about what that is admitting. It’s admitting that they believe that, if Donald Trump has the opportunity to make his case, the public might agree. And I think a similar dynamic applies to the things you’re talking about. They know they’ve lost the argument. They know, if people have a choice, they lose. So, they resort to intimidation, cheating and censoring because that’s what they have left.

      I’m not Pollyannaish about it. Morally and intellectually discredited ideologies can be some of the most dangerous. Like a cornered rat, those ideologies can lash out. But, their arguments aren’t on the ascendance.

    • hayeksplosives

      To be perfectly honest, all we need to do in order to prevent destructive electoral decisions is to eliminate women’s suffrage.

      And I’m not even kidding.

      It will never happen, of course.

      But if you ever scrutinize the demographic breakdown of exit polls, you’ll see that the worst policies and politicians win only due to the women’s vote.

      IDK if it’s that women are allowed to coast in society without checking their emotions or what, but it’s messed up. My votes have always aligned with those of middle class men, and would have resulted in far different results over the past few decades had they won.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Married women tend to align much more closely with married (and unmarried) men than with unmarried women. It’s a well known fact in political circles that unmarried women are the most reliably leftist demographic.

        The “why’s” dive into psychology and sociology to a level that I’m not gonna pretend to understand.

      • hayeksplosives

        Even when I was unmarried I voted “like a man”.

        Maybe because I was already the marrying type, whatever that means. I think it’s related (not claiming causation, just correlation) to the fact I’m an engineer.

        But then again, my mother was an artist and still voted more conservatively—she was a 1960s-1970s Army Wife though.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Marrying type may be part of it. It’s interesting because women usually cluster towards the mean more than men do on most measures. Political affiliation is the opposite.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      So when you can’t persuade someone, you intimidate, you cheat, you censor, and that’s what we see now. I’m concerned about all those things, but I am encouraged because I can’t think of a single instance in years where someone said, “You know, those trans/defund the cops/abortion/climate change people are right, I’ve changed my mind.”

      Sure, but tyrants also stop persuading when they have reached a position where its just no longer needed to remain in power. It’s much easier to intimidate, cheat, and censor than persuading.

      Some see the Establishment/Cathedral/Left + eGOP dropping their mask as a sign of desperation and weakness. Others, including myself, see it was a sign of confidence and ascendency. They are no longer persuading because what you think no longer matters in the slightest to them.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        ^^

        Predatory aggression is difficult to distinguish from prey desperation. Are the leftists backed into a corner or are they asserting their hegemonic dominance?

        Personally, I lean towards the latter.

  40. The Late P Brooks

    Musk left South Africa at the age of 17 and relocated to Canada. He then attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor in physics and economics in 1995.

    In 1999, his software company, Zip2, was acquired by Compaq. Musk received 7% of the proceeds, which translated to $22 million.

    The next year, Musk used money from the sale of Zip2 to co-found X.com, an online bank that eventually merged with Confinity. The newly created entity was renamed PayPal, which was bought by eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

    That same year, Musk founded SpaceX, the space exploration company.

    He’s a monster. He should have gone to work for a noble charity like Oxfam or Greenpeace. You know, done something useful with his life, instead of making billions by putting people to work.

    • juris imprudent

      He’s no George Soros.

    • Gender Traitor

      putting people to work

      “He made them wage slaves!!”/prog

    • Urthona

      Wow. He and I were classmates apparently in college. I didn’t actually realize this.

      I turned out to be slightly less successful however.

    • The Other Kevin

      Wow that is really well done. I especially like the slight movement when they’re standing still.

    • db

      cool

    • rhywun

      heh

  41. The Late P Brooks

    “Qualified” buyers

    A new California home loan program provides a lifeline to first-time homebuyers unable to save up a down payment. Buyers struggling to enter California’s severely tight housing market can now get a helping hand in the form of a forgivable down payment loan with a zero percent interest rate.

    The state’s new Forgivable Equity Builder Loan gives qualified buyers up to 10 percent of a home’s purchase price, and they don’t have to pay it back if they live in the home as their primary residence for five years. There is no cap on how much that 10 percent loan could be.

    It might sound too good to be true, but it’s real.

    More like too stupid to be true, but that’s just me.

    • PieInTheSky

      there is no better cure for inflated prices than artificially pumping up demand. economics 101

      • db

        As taught in universities with student bodies and administrations swelled by student loans.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        And at the same time they restrict supply nearly everywhere possible.

      • JaimeRoberto (shama/lama/ding dong)

        In this house we don’t believe in the law of supply and demand.

    • UnCivilServant

      If you can’t save up for a down payment, you have no business buying property, especailly at Commifornia rates.

      • WTF

        Once again, the people who work and sacrifice to save up money and build credit are played for chumps.

      • rhywun

        No doubt this is being pushed by the San Francisco set whose maids have to commute two hours from Stockton and Modesto. It’s not fair that they can’t have an $800,000 home of their own.

      • UnCivilServant

        I always wondered how there could be enough people paid enough money to actually live in these places, and what it was they did for that money.

      • rhywun

        I don’t get it either. I make over the median income in this place but the claimed median rent is way out of reach. Something ain’t adding up.

      • Pope Jimbo

        We know several couples who make good money but literally own nothing.

        Lease 2 SUV’s. Huge house that they owe a lot on (especially since they take out loans on the supposed “equity” they have in it), a big boat. You name it.

        They cannot miss a paycheck (from either of them) because shit would go sideways immediately. I have no idea what their long term plan is. I think they believe that at some point they can sell the house and make $$$$$$.

      • Sean

        Smart.

      • UnCivilServant

        How could anyone live like that? The stress and anxiety over that debt and the quick crash if unforseen troubles arize would drive me to… well maybe not suicide, but pretty close.

        Debt Free is the way to be.

    • Nephilium

      So if I’m living in a place for 5 years, I can get a 10% discount on the home price. Or since I”m already bad at finances, live there for five years, take out a big home equity loan, and spend my free money?

  42. Pope Jimbo

    Should we be worried about Brett’s plan to take the whole family to the beach?

    • Pope Jimbo

      If Brett does go off the rails, I hope he uses the established legal Florida defense of Circumcision Rage.

      • Atanarjuat

        Seems fair.

  43. Ozymandias

    1. FDA limits J&J b/c of 9 fatalities, but BNT162b2 has killed 114 in the DoD alone. Jeez, it’s almost like the FDA is picking and choosing specific vaxxes as “safe” based upon other considerations… In totally unrelated news, the last two heads of the FDA now work for Pfizer and Moderna, the only 2 “safe” vaxxes.
    2. I hope Musk takes an axe to most of Twitter’s staff…FIGURATIVELY. (Insert discussions about words meaning their opposites vis a vis “LITERALLY” and “FIGURATIVELY”).
    3. Redhead Baghdad Bob replaced by… Faux Redhead Baghdad Bob. Totally different.
    4. The Switch in Time that Saved Nine (Lives)
    5. Dems pulling a Team Red: Rally the Base and Fundraise Against a Lost Cause. “We TRIED but those evil ReThugLickans thwarted us!”
    6. I like how the CNBC article blames “rising Covid cases” for the drop-off in productivity. JFC.
    7. CNN poll… blah blah blah.
    8. “Esper was recognized as a top corporate lobbyist by The Hill in 2015 and 2016.[15][16] Esper’s departure from Raytheon included a deferred compensation package after 2022, based partly on Raytheon’s stock price.” Wikipedia tells me all I need to know about Mark Esper.

    Daily Quordle 102
    6️⃣5️⃣
    7️⃣9️⃣
    quordle.com

    Have a good one, Glibs!

    • hayeksplosives

      Yeah, nobody is making big bucks off J&J vaxx. Thus it must be quashed. They’ve done this a few times over the past 2 years in order to steer people to the mRNA versions.

      Also, J&J is preferred for 3rd world countries because it doesn’t have to be refrigerated and is only one dose.

      Can’t be having those advantages over Moderna and Pfizer, which have the big investors awaiting their profits.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      In totally unrelated news, the last two heads of the FDA now work for Pfizer and Moderna, the only 2 “safe” vaxxes.

      We (I?) also keep forgetting that Moderna in most of Europe is not an option for anyone under 40.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        There are so many lies that I can’t keep track anymore. They’re just replacing old lies with a new lies as they go along.

  44. The Late P Brooks

    Smells like battlespace prep

    Supreme Court justices take extraordinary precautions to protect their internal deliberations. They swear their law clerks to secrecy. They shred documents. They never reveal in advance when specific decisions will be announced.

    Some justices even object when colleagues arrange for their private papers to be turned over to the Library of Congress decades later when they die.

    But their quest for secrecy failed to prevent the public disclosure of a first-draft opinion, a stunning 98-page document in an abortion case for the ages.
    After Politico on Monday published the draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito that would bring the reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade landmark, Chief Justice John Roberts focused on “this betrayal of the confidences at the Court.”

    He directed the court’s marshal, overseeing the building’s regular police force, “to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.” The chief justice said nothing about whether extra resources might be put toward the effort, whether outside experts might be enlisted and whether findings might become public.
    Much is unspecified about the investigation, and it remains uncertain whether the source of the Politico disclosure will ever be known. But what is certain is the court’s extreme drive for secrecy, in all manner of operations, even those unrelated to deliberations on a case.

    Irrespective of this breach, the justices’ general lack of transparency has increasingly become the subject of debate, including by President Joe Biden’s bipartisan commission on court reform.

    Among the issues: that the justices often issue late-night orders with no recorded votes or explanation; that they keep secret certain procedural rules related to when cases are accepted for review; and that they lack a formal code of ethics and fail to explain recusals and potential conflicts of interest.

    A Court independent of our wishes and influence is an unacceptable affront to DEMOCRACY!

    Rein in this renegade institution, before they do irreparable damage to the Progressive Dream.

    • db

      EVERYTHING MUST BE POLITICAL

      • Raven Nation

        Yeah, I posted last night about a friend of mine dragging today’s politics into The Blues Brothers.

        Just watch one of the great movies of all time and enjoy.

      • UnCivilServant

        You’re not on a mission from God?

    • rhywun

      bipartisan commission on court reform

      Pull the other one.

    • Pope Jimbo

      This shit is like dealing with my kids. They are always (or were, they are older now and better) lobbying for them to get their way. Anything that went their way was good and anything that went against them was proof that the world was unfair.

      Did Biden and the Dems have any of these grievances when the court upheld Obamacare and legalized gay marriage? And the GOP was just as whiny about those decisions.

      It goes both ways. I will concede, though, that this abortion crap is pushing the whining to 11.

      • Urthona

        I actually thought the gay marriage ruling made more sense than the Roe v Wade one.

      • R C Dean

        Roe v Wade didn’t even pretend to be rooted in the Constitution or precedent. Obergfell at least pretended, although it was terribly flawed in other ways.

      • Urthona

        It mean it kinda pretended. Just really badly.

      • R C Dean

        Sorry, but an “emanation of a penumbra” of the Constitutional text is pretty much an open admission that there is no basis in the Constitutional text. Just because both the Constitution and the decision are written in English doesn’t mean the decision has any Constitutional basis.

      • Urthona

        Those are big words. I buy it completely.

      • Pope Jimbo

        It is like you didn’t even watch that documentary (National Treasure) where they proved that there is all sorts of secret words in the Constitution. You just needed those special penumbra glasses

  45. The Late P Brooks

    “He made them wage slaves!!”/prog

    Exactly.

  46. The Late P Brooks

    In this instance, if the justices overturn nearly a half century of women’s abortion rights, they will upend constitutional privacy rights and scramble many Americans’ domestic choices and economic lives.

    All law should be based on social convenience.

    • R C Dean

      I’m wondering: Outside of “reproductive rights” cases, what other SCOTUS decisions actually rely on Roe? I honestly couldn’t say, but I would be surprised if there are very many. The notion that we have some kind of sweeping right of privacy because of Roe is laughable, regardless.

      • Rat on a train

        It’s doctor-patient privilege. You and your doctor can do whatever you want without threat of prosecution like use drugs that aren’t FDA approved, right?

  47. PieInTheSky

    Jill Biden just landed in Romania. We are safe from Russia at last.

    • db

      Are you holding her as a Hostage Queen or something?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      FFS why?

      • db

        Important medical research into the rejuvenating effects of exsanguination of living beings?

  48. Tundra

    Good morning, Banjos!

    FDA puts new limits on Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to rare blood clotting condition

    Ah, that explains why I’ve been reading positive stuff about it. Gotta hammer the competition. And with the shit that’s been released, the mRNA is looking dopier and dopier. Fucking assholes all the way down.

    But I don’t care. It hasn’t killed me yet, it’s an absolutely spectacular day here and I woke up with a fabulous brain worm!

    Have a wonderful day, you funky people!

    • rhywun

      I can’t get the Quincy theme song out of my head.

      • Tundra

        You could try this one.

        Such a great record.

      • rhywun

        That just puts this in my head which I’m perfectly happy with.

  49. The Late P Brooks

    Who you callin funky, turkey?

  50. DEG

    From Reopen NH: Official list of Reopen NH bills that passed both chambers. I haven’t looked to see what the governor has signed, if any:

    HB 275, state of emergency reform
    HB 1466, relative to the off-label use of prescription drugs and relative to pharmacy prescriptions
    HB 1099, prohibiting the department of health and human services from requiring vaccine passports for services
    HB 1131, relative to facial covering policies for schools
    HB 1431, establishing the parental bill of rights
    HB 1495, prohibiting the state from requiring businesses to require vaccine or documentation related to vaccination or immunity status
    HB 1439, relative to health care facility visitation policies
    HB 1003, prohibiting health care providers from refusing to provide care or services based on patient vaccination status
    HB 1488, expanding the prohibition against discrimination based on an individual’s election not to participate in the state vaccine registry
    HB 1608 relative to withdrawal from the state immunization registry
    HB 1022, permitting pharmacists to dispense the drug ivermectin by means of a standing order
    HB1606, making the state vaccine registry an opt-in program
    HB 1280, prohibiting a parent’s refusal to vaccinate a child pursuant to an order of the state or federal government to be used as a basis for terminating
    HB 1604, including state medical facilities in the statute providing medical freedom in immunizations.
    HB 1455, relative to state enforcement of federal vaccination mandates.

    HB 1022 was modified in the Senate. From what I’ve heard from a legislator I know, the House is expected to concur with the Senate’s changes, then the bill goes to the governor. The Senate modification is that the law expires after two years and to set up a legislative committee to find a longer term wider solution.

    • DEG

      It’s possible others need concurrence from the House. I’m kinda busy with work, and so I’m going to go through and see what else the Senate has modified.

    • R C Dean

      I larfed.

      Although I would have gone with “The Economy” rather than “The Stock Market”.

      • Sean

        I haven’t looked at my 401k since pre covid.

      • UnCivilServant

        My deferred comp dropped 5% in the first quarter. I haven’t looked at it more recently than that last report.

        My brokerage account is down 20+%

    • mikey

      That is neat if a bit dodgy. That guy is one minor mechanical problem/injury away from a life threatening situation. I certainly wouldn’t hike in that area as poorly dressed and equipped as he is and he’s gonna be a lot further from help.

  51. kinnath

    Daily Quordle 102
    9️⃣8️⃣
    7️⃣4️⃣
    quordle.com
    ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜??⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜?⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜???
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜???⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
    ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜??
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜? ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜?⬜ ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
    ⬜?⬜⬜? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
    ⬜?⬜⬜? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
    ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

    no champ; no chump

    fuck the upper left word

    • kinnath

      Better luck with the waffle.

      #waffle105 5/5

      ?????
      ?⭐?⭐?
      ??⭐??
      ?⭐?⭐?
      ?????

      ? streak: 13
      ? #waffleelite
      wafflegame.net

  52. UnCivilServant

    If you’re going to be late or not going to show up to an interview – let the interviewer know! I’m sitting here with my coworkers waiting for the candidate to show up. No email, no nothin. I get you might have last minute technical difficulties but an email saying “hey, I’m having trouble connecting” would be appreciated.

    • R C Dean

      Kick that resume upstairs. Sounds like management material to me.

      • UnCivilServant

        State Management comes from State Employees, not contractor candidates.

    • R.J.

      “Still ‘bate’n! Be there shortly!”

      • UnCivilServant

        Wasting other people’s time is your fetish?

      • Pope Jimbo

        What can he say? He’s a jerk.

      • R C Dean

        He may be late, but he’ll come eventually.

    • mikey

      Then there’s the answering machine recording I got.
      “Bob, this is Tom. I was impressed with your phone interview and we’d like to bring you in for an in-person interview. Give me a call.”

      I felt bad. This was in the days before caller ID and there was nothing I could do to help poor Bob out.

  53. Swiss Servator

    2 weeks in a row, I am late with the Daily Stoic.

    Not a gimmick or such, just editor error – mine.

    • Rat on a train

      You should buy a Swiss watch. I hear they keep precise time.

  54. Evan from Evansville

    Difficulty: I know that smoking and drinking are bad for me. But I also know that they make the pain go away. I’m drumming in my apt and I can’t feel my arm hurting at all. It’s gone. I know what I am doing is stupid. But I know why I am doing it.

    Interesting road to be on. Difficult to navigate. I’ll figure it out. Friends should be coming over in an hour.

    A few Carlin bits; London Calling, for music; and…I don’t think we should get to intellectual at this late-hour. I’ll do that myself with some Sowell right now, methinks.

  55. Gender Traitor

    Ooh! I get it! The lack of a “Daily Stoic” post is a test of our stoicism, right? (Or were we warned there would be none this week?)

    • UnCivilServant

      Well, this non-appearing candidate is a test of mine.

    • Swiss Servator

      I just KNEW people would think that…

  56. Ted S.

    Daily Quordle 102
    7️⃣9️⃣
    8️⃣6️⃣
    quordle.com
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜?
    ⬜⬜⬜?⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
    ??⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
    ⬜??⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ??⬜??
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
    ????? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
    ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?????

    ?⬜⬜⬜? ⬜??⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜? ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜⬜?⬜ ⬜⬜?⬜?
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ?????
    ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
    ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛