BLC’s Encounters with Police – Part 5 – County Line

by | Jun 14, 2022 | Cops, Musings | 197 comments

My buddy and I lived about an hour and a half from our hometown in college. One Friday afternoon I told him I was headed back to see my parents that night. He asked if I could drop him off at his girlfriend’s house since it was close to my parent’s place. I said, “sure” and we hit the road that evening. We rode in my 91 TA. Bright red, T-tops off, music loud.

 

Not mine, but exactly like mine.

 

 

The trip to her place, which was just a short hop over the county line from my final destination, was exceptionally uneventful. I pulled in to her house somewhere close to sunset with that pink and yellow haze illuminating the sky. My buddy hopped out and I was set to go back to my parents. I turned out of her neighborhood onto a small two-lane highway. Looking in the mirror, I could tell it was a cop behind me.

 

Being an early twenty-something, in a red sports car, with the tops off, on a Friday night, and in a small county, I figured I should make sure to cross my T’s and dot my I’s. I sped up slowly and set the cruise control at exactly 54mph, one mile per hour less than the posted 55 speed limit.  I made sure not to swerve. I drove with caution. I drove safe. He did not. He was riding my ass. He was way too close, I assume running my plates. It just seemed that something was off. I’d had several run ins with the police in my life and didn’t want another. Just a couple miles and I’d be over the county line and less than a mile from home. It seems I can drive 55 when I don’t want any trouble.

I could see the county line sign when his lights started flashing. He was pulling me over. For what? I had no idea. For once I hadn’t done anything. I probably pulled over within 300 yards of the sign. I can remember I could read it from where I sat; realizing he wanted to pull me over for something anything before I left his county. I could see he was a county Sherrif’s Deputy. I kept my hands on the wheel and visible. I made no quick movements. But I was getting agitated as I sat there knowing I hadn’t done anything but did my best not to show it.

Unfortunately for him, while I was always fairly liberty minded, I had begun diving more into it around this time. I knew a lot more about what to say, or more importantly what not to say when pulled over. I knew a lot more about my rights. And I had also been learning more about how police would abuse those rights. How they weren’t my friend. How they weren’t there to protect me.

He was a large, very large, man who looked agitated from the beginning of our encounter.

The Deputy approached my open top vehicle on the driver side as usual. He opened with a question that I think most people have heard before. “Do you know why I pulled you over today?”

 

The rest of the encounter went something like this:

 

Banginglc1: No sir, I do not know why you pulled me over.

Deputy Fatass: Can I have your license and registration?

BLC1: Not unless you can tell me why you pulled me over

DFA: I’m sorry, let me ask again, Can I have your license and registration?

BLC1: Did you pull me over for any specific reason?

DFA: Have you been drinking?

BLC1: No.

DFA: Do you have any drugs in the car?

BLC1: No.

DFA: I need to see your license and registration.

BLC1: Sir, not without a reason as to why you pulled me over.

DFA: (Loudly and aggressively) Are you sure you haven’t had a drink today, there isn’t any booze in this car?

BLC1: No sir, Is there a reason you pulled me over?

DFA: I know you have drugs in this car! Just tell me and we’ll work it out.

BLC1: (Pissed off and losing his patience) I don’t have any fucking drugs in the car. I don’t even have to answer that question. You have not provided me with a reason as to why you pulled me over and I’m leaving unless you can provide one.

DFA: Get out of here! And don’t come back to my county again!

 

I drove away unscathed, but I was irate after the encounter. I can only assume he saw a young guy in a red sports car and assumed I was doing something wrong. I’m certain he pulled me over because I was about to be out of his jurisdiction and he was hoping to catch me doing something, anything wrong. I’m aware that as tension grew between us that I’m lucky he didn’t just make something up or arrest me for no reason. Even without proof I could have had a night in the county lockup, the process is the punishment after all. I guess he just wasn’t ready or used to someone who didn’t follow his every command. I’m sure he pulled over someone after me who did to regain his manhood.  But I made it through another encounter. I even went *gasp* back into his county the next day to pick my buddy up.

 

About The Author

banginglc1

banginglc1

197 Comments

  1. slumbrew

    AM I BEING DETAINED?

    • UnCivilServant

      Yes.

      Now, Stop Resisting!

  2. EvilSheldon

    No “Am I being detained?” What kind of a libertarian are you?

    • EvilSheldon

      Damnit, jinxed myself again.

  3. Sean

    I’m picturing Buford T. Justice.

    • MikeS

      What we have here is a total lack of respect for the law.

      • UnCivilServant

        Well, officer, it’s good that you’ve recognized your problem. The next step is for you to start respeccting the law. We can start at the constitution.

    • SDF-7

      I’m picturing Eric Cartman.

  4. R C Dean

    And don’t come back to my county again!

    Your county? And here I thought it didn’t belong to anyone, and you are just an employee of the people who work for the people who actually own the property here. I mean, if I owned the county, I wouldn’t spend my days in that ridiculous outfit riding around in a mediocre car randomly pulling people over.

    • Sean

      Think of all the free drugs you could seize!

    • Ownbestenemy

      Problem is in towns/counties like that they have a judiciary that feels the same way. Best just leave them to their petty kingdom.

      • juris imprudent

        Petty tyrants deserve the loss of their kingdoms.

    • db

      “I don’t like your jerkoff name, I don’t like your jerk-off face, I don’t like your jerk-off behavior, and I don’t like you, Jerk-Off.”

      “Stay out of Malibu, Lebowski! Stay out of Malibu, deadbeat! Keep your ugly fuckin’ goldbrickin’ ass out of my beach community.”

      • banginglc1

        On a similar note. I worked with a guy whose BIL was a cop. He went for a ride along with him. They pulled over some girl for speeding. When he was back in the car, running her drivers license, he asked my co-worker if he should give her a ticket. He said “that’s up to you.” The BIL cop replied, “I think I’m going to, I didn’t like her sunglasses”

  5. R C Dean

    “Do you know why I pulled you over today?”

    I think I’ve done a fair job of educating people that this is just a cheap attempt at getting a confession, and they should never answer it except to say “I have no idea”, even if they were driving on the left side of the road through a school zone at 100 mph and the empty vodka bottle they just threw out of the car bounced off the cop’s hood.

    • UnCivilServant

      “No officer, I’m not psychic.” *takes fist to jaw.*

    • Ownbestenemy

      That is exactly what it is. Even something as innocuous as “I think I *insert suspected infraction*” will immediate be deemed a confession.

      “No sir, I do not” and “I won’t discuss my day with you” all on an even keel will make it less painful majority of the time.

    • EvilSheldon

      “‘Cause I’m young and I’m black and my caps on real low?”

      • UnCivilServant

        “Do you know why I pulled you over today?”

        “It’s because I’m black, isn’t it.”

        “You’re white, sir.”

        “I am? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

      • Bobarian LMD

        I never dreamed I was adopted!

      • MikeS

        “I was born a poor black child.”

    • banginglc1

      “because you’re jealous of anyone with even an average size penis?”

  6. Lackadaisical

    Sounds like fun.

    Are we no longer doing the links to previous parts thing? That was super useful.

    • R.J.

      It may well be under repair. For a short, glorious while the links opening in a second tab worked. Then they reverted. Repairs take time.

      • MikeS

        Opening links in new tabs is also a browser setting.

      • MikeS

        Also, try middle-clicking on them.

      • R.J.

        On a phone, using Brave. I know, better phone and browser, etc… Consider me to be engaging in pointless bitching.

      • MikeS

        Ah yes. Forgot the phone thing. Carry on.

      • R.J.

        I also have an AM/FM pocket radio that runs on AAs. Regularly used. I should be in a museum.

      • MikeS

        Akshully…I’d expect all the oldsters around here (like me) to be on PCs and saying “hell no” to websurfing on a phone.

      • Animal

        I can’t surf on a phone. Even with my big honkin’ Note 20, the screen is too damn small. And my big gorriloid hands aren’t made for those little touch screens.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Long pressing the links on a phone will bring up an option to open in new tab…

      • Lackadaisical

        I just meant that multi post series often contained links to the previous episode(s). I know I can search for them, but it’s much easier to have the link and I’m lazy.

    • banginglc1

      I did not add those when submitting this story. Blame my forgetfulness.

      • Lackadaisical

        These articles are really slipping. I’m going to ask for a refund.

        Seriously though, thanks for your hard work.

  7. Fatty Bolger

    I’m lucky he didn’t just make something up or arrest me for no reason.

    Always a possibility, but the more likely outcome is that the cop with the dog is called to the scene, the dog “alerts” when the cop gives him the secret signal, and then they tear the shit out of your car looking for the supposed contraband.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Heh…that was fun

  8. Rebel Scum

    “Do you know why I pulled you over today?”

    *whispers*

    I believe that is what you are supposed to tell me…

    • db

      Also also, check out his piece on the French Revolution.

  9. robc

    And on topic, the first time I ever got a warning (I have had two now), was the time I was an obnoxious jerk to the cop.

    I was in North Georgia, somewhere near the NC border (yes, non map nerds, GA and NC border). Clayton probably. Its been a long time, I forget the exact town, but I think Clayton.

    I was driving along, a truck came flying up behind me just as a cop came the other way. The cop whipped a U-turn and started following us. At the point the truck had slowed down to my speed. About a mile later, I made my turn, truck went straight, cop turned and turned on lights. I am pretty sure he radared the truck, but I turned off first and had out of state plates. He was writing the whole time I was sitting in his car, so I figured he was writing a ticket and I was pissed, so I was fairly rude. Nothing over the line but not putting him with his BS. Then he hands me a warning (see, he knew he hadn’t radared me).

    I didn’t realize they actually wrote warnings (this was about 1990, so I was young). I told me Dad about it and he told me that he had bought the entire town in the 60s for 50 cents. They were passing thru and had some sort of fundraising roadblock going and asking for 25 cents. My Dad told them he would buy the whole damn town for 50 cents. They took his money. Sounds like a binding oral contract to me.

    • pistoffnick

      …I was pissed, so I was fairly rude.

      “I had the right to remain silent, …(dramatic pause)…but not the ability! – comedienne Ron White

      • robc

        Did he transition?

        “…all the way to the scene of the crash.”

  10. The Other Kevin

    As stated earlier, these days they’ll get a dog to put on a show and either find *something* or make you miserable for a while.

    That car brings back memories. In high school I had a black 1988 Firebird (not the TA). It was a pretty car and I’d love to own one again. I recently got a ride in an 89 and the experience was just like I remembered.

  11. Tundra

    Funny story, BLC1!

    I find that driving an F150 is like driving a station wagon back in the 70s or 80s. You become completely invisible.

    Which is fine with me. My strategy today is to avoid any interaction at all with the cops.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      ???

    • Mojeaux

      I speed. I don’t mean to. I get to thinking about something else, and I just operate on muscle memory.

      • Mojeaux

        I take that back. Yes, sometimes I do mean to speed.

      • Ted S.

        You’re not speeding; you’re traveling at a velocity above the arbitrary limit the King’s Men have set.

      • Mojeaux

        I knew there was a reason I like you other than your excellent song timing.

    • Aloysious

      Absolutely.

      My rule#1: don’t attract attention.

    • R C Dean

      Today?

  12. Mojeaux

    red sports car

    arrest-me red

    • Fatty Bolger

      I hope Yogi and Boo-Boo are OK.

  13. DEG

    That was an interesting story BLC1. You’re probably right, he probably pulled someone else over later that night.

    • Tundra

      Nah, he went home and smacked his wife and kids around.

      • R.J.

        That too.

      • DEG

        Embrace the power of “and”.

      • banginglc1

        I can at least rejoice knowing that he probably had a massive heart attack within 5 years of this encounter.

    • R.J.

      That’s a special kind of person who can expend energy to make people’s day worse for absolutely no reason. I never understood it. It’s the reverse of what people should be.

  14. Semi-Spartan Dad

    Good story. Glad you got out unscathed.

    Deputy Fatass: Can I have your license and registration?

    BLC1: Not unless you can tell me why you pulled me over

    I wonder if this is related to if a state allows checkpoints. The county sets them up near my house sometimes, and we have to hand over license and registration. There is no pretense of being pulled over in a fishing expedition. I think its the same with DUI checkpoints. There’s some good videos on Youtube of drivers going through checkpoints with their license and registration in a ziploc bag hanging out a closed window along with a note that they will not talk to the police manning the checkpoint. I saw a good one last week of motorcyclist through his helmet cam handing over his license and registration at a DUI checkpoint and telling the cop to not talk him every time the cop spoke. The cops were pissed but eventually let him go. But I think some states have banned checkpoints as being unconstitutional searches.

    • EvilSheldon

      Having a bidirectional vehicle camera is handy for situations like these.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        Definitely. I need to pull the trigger on getting the camera.

      • db

        Any recommendations?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Seconded

      • EvilSheldon

        I have a Viofo T130 from Amazon. I hardwired it into my Tacoma’s 12V system, just to avoid visible cables and power bricks. Any car audio shop can do the same.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      WA?

  15. Timeloose

    Great looking TA, was yours’s a GTA? I seemed to remember the laced black wheels were usually on that trim version,

    I had a 90’s Formula with the 6 speed and 5.7 LT. Really fun car that weighed little, had no traction control, and could really rip.

    Cops liked to pull me over in nearly every iteration of car I drove except for the VW rabbit. I like to go a bit fast, and have been a user of radar detectors since the Firebird. TX allowed local yokles to use radar and there were tons of speed traps across east and south TX. They paid for themselves several times over. Today they are more difficult to use as a lot of the driver assistance systems use radar. Most notorious are the Honda/Acura and Jeep/Stealantis vehicles active cruse control. My new detector allows you to reject specific frequencies within the K and Ka bands to avoid false positives.

    • banginglc1

      5.0, manual. It did not have the GTA markings and I don’t think it was. However, on the title it said Trans Am GTA . . .but the BMV is full of idiots

  16. Ownbestenemy

    Back to masks at the tower cause community levels or some nonsense metric says so. Guess I’ll be increasing my teleworking days til next week.

    Oh and getting ready to roll out forced testing on only unvaccinated or unattested personnel though I suspect that is hitting legal hurdles

  17. Scruffy Nerfherder

    I got pulled by a university cop on a public street once. It took me a minute to figure out he wasn’t city or state, but once I did that was the end of the discussion. I knew my plates weren’t tied to my residence at the time, so I just asked him if he was going to write a ticket (which he couldn’t, he was just berating me) and I left.

    I think he thought I was a student because I had out of state plates.

    My offense? I slow-rolled coming into a red light and sped back up when it turned green without stopping.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Video of Scruffy’s encounter

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Close. I was too chicken to pull away while he was standing there though. I was afraid the lardass might file vehicular assault charges.

        But my hairstyle was pretty close at the time.

    • slumbrew

      That’s a great video.

      Slightly pithier

    • Nephilium

      There used to be an organization that did nothing but educational things about knowing your rights when dealing with the police. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name, and some quick searches show lots of ACLU orgs popping up instead.

      • Nephilium

        And after more searching, because it was irritating me, it was Flex Your Rights.

  18. Sean

    On topic.

    Nunchucks?

    Is he 14 years old?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      The tweet did not address when this stop was, who was arrested, and what if anything they were charged with.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Yep modern day journalism which is amplifying local/state governemrnt mouthpieces and call it reporting.

        I guess it’s no different than the police blotter column of old in the local rag.

      • slumbrew

        “and we could not be bothered to pick up a phone to ask”

      • Ownbestenemy

        More like “this will help advance a cause we want”. I’m done thinking people are incompetent as the main reason for this. It is malice

    • Ownbestenemy

      News couldn’t be bothered to follow up on the story and just relied on the agency’s tweet

      “Suspect was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail.”

      Followed with

      “The tweet did not address when this stop was, who was arrested, and what if anything they were charged with.”

      So my guess is they are going to hold this person the maximum amount of time while they hope they can drum up charges.

    • Gender Traitor

      The tweet did not address when this stop was, who was arrested, and what if anything they were charged with.

      Not even pretending any more.

    • EvilSheldon

      This is a normal Wednesday night range trip for me. Except for the nunchucks, I guess. And I usually have at least four guns.

      • R.J.

        A thousand rounds sounds huge, but it’s just a few boxes. Not that much to carry around. The follow up article of “man sues police for wrongful arrest and demands return of possessions” will not be published.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I would suspect people practice in their body armor also so nothing weird there, even the nunchucks.

      • EvilSheldon

        Not many people own body armor, and almost no one practices while wearing it. Including me, and I really should know better.

      • Sean

        I think 2020 changed that a fair bit. Multiple month long back orders.

  19. Timeloose

    The new state police tactic this Memorial day was the following on PA highways:

    Park on the side of the road in an area where they could be far in to the berm and nowhere near the rumble strips. Turn on the cherries and berries and wait to see if cars move over a lane as they approach the parked cruiser. If you are in traffic and can not get over or just assume that since there is a car width or more of clearance from the rumble strip to the cruiser, you don’t need to move over, the trooper pulls you over and gives you a fine. Failing to yield a lane for emergency vehicles. He is not doing any traffic stop, just trolling for this ticket.

    Another tactic is to park on the side of an entrance ramp with two cruisers and look for out of date inspection stickers as you approach, point to the side of the road if you are out of compliance and fine you. Pursue you with the other car if you don’t notice the dope pointing at your car.

    • Tundra

      Protecting.

      Serving.

      Heroes.

    • Ownbestenemy

      At least in Nevada it’s an OR. Either yield the lane or slow down. Since people are busy they know they are going to just pay the fine. Everyone who got popped with what you describe should flood the court contesting it.

    • Rebel Scum

      What’s a little entrapment among overseers and serfs?

  20. Rebel Scum

    Listen, fat. Everything would be fine if Democrats could control 100% of – uh – you know the thing.

    “The problem is Republicans in Congress are doing everything they can to stop my plans to bring down costs on ordinary families. That’s why my plan is not finished and why the results aren’t finished either,” Biden said.

    The President continued, “Jobs are back but prices are still too high. Covid is down but gas prices are up. Our work isn’t done. But here’s the deal: America still has a choice to make. A choice between a government by the few — for the few — or a government for all of us. Democracy for all of us. An economy where all of us have a fair shot and a chance to earn our place in the economy.”

    The President on Tuesday focused on drawing a contrast between his economic policies and the plan put forward by the leader of the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. Under Scott’s plan, which has been rebuked by Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, all federal legislation would have a sunset provision five years after it passes.

    “Really ask yourself, how are they going to sleep at night knowing that every five years, Ted Cruz and the other ultra-MAGA Republicans are going to vote on whether you’ll have Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid?” Biden said.

    I see you are still pretending that this is an insult.

    • Ownbestenemy

      An economy where all of us have a fair shot and a chance to earn our place in the economy.

      Unless we deem your business wrongthink or you are not a woman of color or LGQTPSE#+

      • Nephilium

        Or we declare your business non-essential, and shut it down for COVID Monkeypox.

    • The Other Kevin

      Democracy for all of us. Except those white supremacists who don’t agree with 100% of what we do.

    • Drake

      What fucking plans are those? All he talks about is printing $billions more for “infrastructure” giveaways.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Squeeze any company that he and his ilk declare to be ‘price gouging’, put in crippling regulations and then pseudo take over industries by utilizing the Defense Production Act as a result.

    • R.J.

      If Mitch McConnell hates it, I love it. The sunset provision sounds perfectly reasonable.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Agreed and Joe can fuck right off with regards to his reference to SS, medicare, etc. Those are laws on the books and would have to be challenged in the courts against the backdrop of any sunset rule or even amendment, so they aren’t going anywhere (though wish they would).

      • Ownbestenemy

        God damn right you’re changing peoples lives. You have decimated my retirement funds, you have decimated my ability to save money because its going into gas and food, and getting quite near going to decimate my ability to still have economic freedom.

      • slumbrew

        You have decimated my retirement funds

        Man, I wish they had only been decimated…

        YTD change: -17.04%

      • Necron 99

        -11.29%, but a conservative portfolio since I am close to retirement (or was.)

      • banginglc1

        I’ve been trying hard not to look at mine at all. I’m far enough away that I can dream this is going to rebound. But my heart tells me our economy is gone for good.

      • MikeS

        I’m in the same boat as you. Telling myself I’m buying low and hoping I get a chance to sell high, one day.

      • Lackadaisical

        Same here Mike. Hopefully I won’t be sending good money after bad, but given inflation, that’s not too likely.

      • Nephilium

        Add me to the list. Hold the course and buy the dip are my current mantra.

      • rhywun

        -11.76% since April 1

        LOL there’s a pop-up before you log in saying “Don’t shit your pants when you see what’s coming”.

      • Ownbestenemy

        They should honestly put that up…then maybe people might look to the assholes messing it all up.

      • Drake

        A month ago I moved all of my wife’s and my 401k investments to a 2025 targeted date fund because that seemed the most conservative choice – it’s still taking a dump.

      • kinnath

        I went online to check to see where I was. I am 50% into a 2025 target data fund (down %11 this year) and 50% into a stable income fund (up 1.4% this year).

        So, not as bad as I feared. Still complete shit, just not as bad as feared.

      • slumbrew

        Various bits are better or worse; 401k is mostly fixed income and only down -9%. My taxable account… not so hot.

        Daydreams of retiring before 60 aside, I’ve still got a ways to go, so I’m just sucking it up and not looking too often.

      • Nephilium

        My robo-managed profiles have been helpfully notifying me each time they do another tax loss harvest. It’s just happened twice this week, that’s good… right?

    • juris imprudent

      He would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those Republican kids and their dog!

    • The Other Kevin

      I’m standing by this. He isn’t convincing anyone, and he’s not even trying. As things get worse, he can only lose supporters.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I dunno. His inner circle and party are leaning heavily on the propaganda machine to wash this all clean and pull the wool over the basic American that isn’t paying attention.

      • Sean

        Basic American’s pay attention at the cashier. It’s the “elites” who haven’t felt the pain yet.

      • juris imprudent

        Exactly – we’re all quite secure here, can’t understand what’s got the peasants all stirred up.

      • The Other Kevin

        What Sean said. He can’t bullshit away what people are seeing for themselves every day.

    • UnCivilServant

      Fun.

      Maybe if you’d put a V8 in there like a Mustang is supposed to have, you wouldn’t have this problem.

      • UnCivilServant

        *okay, okay, there were some smaller engines too.

      • Sensei

        Let’s just call the Mustang II what it was… A Pinto.

      • UnCivilServant

        I saw a picture a pinto with a flame paint job – with the flames originating at the back.

      • pistoffnick

        I had the station wagon version of the Pinto. Safety orange. I had a bumper sticker on it that said this car explodes on impact.

      • R.J.

        The American Museum of Tort Law once had a t shirt advertising the museum with a flaming pinto logo.

        https://www.tortmuseum.org/

      • R C Dean

        No, but you’d still have the problem that the Mach-E manages to be butt-ugly, generic, and not a Mustang at all.

      • R.J.

        Boy howdy. I saw one in person. It’s destined for rental car lots.

      • Drake

        Reminds me of those fat-ass Mercedes and BMW “sport” SUVs that don’t do anything well.

      • banginglc1

        That’s not true . . .they take peoples money quite well.

      • Ted S.

        The Ford Escape: the piña colada car.

      • db

        What’s the walk-in-the-rain car?

      • Tundra

        Renault LeCar

      • Sensei

        It’s a generic mid size SUV.

        What I find somewhat funny is the “pineapple on pizza” response it brings out from the Glibs.

        I like the real Mustang just fine, but don’t hate the Mach-E. I just don’t consider it a Mustang. But I’m not especially invested in the branding.

    • Gender Traitor

      “Let’s just redesign it so it only goes really slowly. Problem solved!”

      • The Other Kevin

        Nobody needs more than one horsepower. /Bernie

      • Ownbestenemy

        Horses are a symbol of oppression to my people. /Warren

    • DEG

      The Mach-E is not a Mustang. It is an abomination.

    • Lackadaisical

      The first one could really happen. The second is just true.

      Come on bee.

      • R C Dean

        Didn’t they used to be a satire site?

      • robc

        youtube keeps recommending me a video about why conservative humor isn’t funny. The thumbnail has the Babylon Bee on it. Which means the entire premise of the video is wrong.

        If nothing else, read the Bee’s ongoing tirade against praise bands.

      • robc

        On a related note, I am going out drinking with my pastors tomorrow night.

        FtC is a helluva place.

    • robc

      20 something years ago I came up with the idea that all homeschool families fall into one of 8 categories based on 3 independent variables:

      Religious yes/no
      Hippy yes/no
      Libertarian yes/no

      Obviously this is tautology, as no-no-no exists. But I still think it is a useful way to think about it. I don’t think all 8 categories are equal in size, but it is still a pretty good breakdown.

      • robc

        For example, if I homeschooled, I would be in the Religious-Libertarian-Square subgroup.

  21. UnCivilServant

    I just love these meetings where people are arguing and sniping at each other over perfectly normal project management items. I don’t care why you’re all pissy today, leep it out of the damn meeting.

    • R C Dean

      “What is wrong with you people? Did your crack dealer cut you off?”

  22. trshmnstr the terrible

    OT: Now starts my “totally not mandatory” DEI training that sent so many non-compliance emails to my boss that she begged me to please attend it so that she doesn’t have to see them anymore.

    *minimizes Zoom screen, continues with day*

    • slumbrew

      Still haven’t hit us with any mandatory DEI stuff, which I’m more than a little surprised by.

      I have to wonder if the huge numbers of overseas employees have anything to do with it; I don’t think the Indians are particularly woke.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Just start toobin’

    • Ownbestenemy

      Quite interesting that the DEI training for FedGov is all common stuff “Don’t be a racist asshole” is how I sum it all up.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Over the past 3 or four years, it has drifted from milquetoast to marxist. They soften the language to be less revolutionary, but the ideas are there. For example, assimilation is bad, tolerance is bad because you’re not celebrating differences, etc. That’s what I picked up from the one slide I saw when they forced us into a breakout session.

        I glance over to the screen occasion, and it’s all woke leftist gobbledygook streaming across the closed captioning. Nah, I’ll just do my job and listen to a podcast instead, TYVM.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Yeah that is annoying. Again, surprisingly diversity for us still actually what it is supposed to be…diverse backgrounds of work skill

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Just glanced over and “Over time, you can have the luxury of emotional trust”

        Lo-fucking-l

        Trust is earned, assholes. Tell me about how much I’m supposed to trust you when you announced just today a new metric to the “transparent bonus structure” that conveniently eliminates bonuses for the entire company. Pull the other one, dickhead.

    • Nephilium

      I completed mine a couple weeks back. I got a question wrong, I suggested that someone who has a boss who says racist things or tells racist jokes should bring it up through their management chain. I was told that was putting the burden on the person suffering, and that I should be responsible for defending them.

      I suppose those poor minorities need a white man to stand up for them.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Heh those are the fun ones. “Jamal overheard a co-worker say something that could be considered racist but brushed it off as ‘what guys say'” What should you do as a manager?

      • R C Dean

        Sounds like Jamal is a white supremacist. Fire him.

      • UnCivilServant

        I fire the DEI director, all people they had a hand in hiring, and any manager who supported the creation of that department, plus HR to boot.

        Problem solved.

      • Sean

        Plant drugs in Jamal’s desk. Call the cops.

      • R C Dean

        That rather assumes that someone is “suffering”, no? I’ve been in slanging sessions where the worst things were said by people about their own “race”.

    • Ownbestenemy

      I wanna bet that she has a family member that is perfectly tooled to create just these regulatory signs that people will have to purchase from

    • R C Dean

      The sign at any site where firearms sales or transfers are conducted in the county would read: “WARNING: Access to a firearm in the home significantly increases the risk of suicide, death during domestic violence disputes, and the unintentional death of children, household members, or others. If you or a loved one is experiencing distress and/or depression, call the hotline or visit the website.”

      I wonder how many of these dimwits actually believe these signs will make the slightest difference.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Something is did R C Dean…something is did.

      • Nephilium

        /looks at the mandates signs in bars, on alcohol, or in California

        Can you imagine how much worse it would be without those signs?

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Look man, if it weren’t for those Prop 65 signs, I’d have 31 flavors of cancer by now.

      • R C Dean

        death during domestic violence disputes

        Sometimes known as “self-defense”.

    • R.J.

      “WARNIN’! THAR BE GUNS HERE!”

  23. Grummun

    Regarding the conversation about loans for acreage in the morning lynx:

    We bought our lot in ’99, got the loan through Farm Credit Services. I did not know at the time, they are are Federally-backed lender like Fanny Mae. I thought the guy from FCS screwed me on the rate, so I was not happy with them. In ’02 we got a construction loan through a local bank for the “temporary” house. I think at the time we rolled the mortgage for the lot into the construction loan, the bank didn’t want to be in the position of fighting over the property with another lender if we defaulted.

    In ’10 we went to get another construction loan for the “permanent” house, and started shopping around the local banks. In between ’02 and ’10, everything had changed. None of the local banks carried their own loans anymore, they all sold them to Fannie Mae (or Freddie Mac, whichever). But Fannie Mae won’t touch a loan on a lot where agricultural activity takes place, so after getting shot down everywhere, we ended up back with… Farm Credit Services, which exists to write loans on agricultural properties. Since then FCS has rolled a separate brand, Rural 1st, that writes loans on large rural lots for “get out of the city” types. So, if you’re having trouble getting a loan on a rural lot, you might check them out. Again, though, pretty sure they are Federally backed.

    • westernsloper

      My day off morning drives now are driving past all the property I should have bought back when I had money. Good on you for getting some.

  24. grrizzly

    Dicks out for Ticos.

    • Ted S.

      Unfortunately, the Soccer Ooze beat Peru to qualify for the WC.

    • westernsloper

      I have no idea who Ticos is but ok.

      • juris imprudent

        The nice Central American country.

    • Sean

      He’s too wide on that corner. #Staged

    • Sensei

      One Of These Days – Pink Floyd
      https://youtu.be/48PJGVf4xqk

      I’m thinking yours may be staged. She seems to fall too safely and who rides like that with an umbrella?

  25. westernsloper

    Cops are not your friend until they give up the badge.