Good morning my Glibs and Gliberinas! Wake up from that gluttonous stupor and grab that coffee, wave to that co-worker, and enjoy another beautiful day and the links!
Railway Strike Seen as Increasingly Inevitable, Threatens to Derail Economy Ahead of Holidays
CDC rains on Fauci farewell, as COVID becomes pandemic of the vaccinated
House GOP plans to turn tables from Trump tax return fight, track Hunter Biden’s money to father
Republicans Appear to Defend Every House Seat Won in California in 2020
Murkowski Manages to Win in Deep Red Alaska again, after insane change in voting system
Kari Lake Files 1st Lawsuit After Election
Jan 6 staffers turn on Liz Cheney
Musk Announces Mass ‘Amnesty’ For Most Banned Twitter Accounts After Poll
Holiday sales flat at $64.5B, retailers forced to offer deals
End of Cheap Money for US Farmers Plows Trouble Into Food Production
That’s all I got for today. I’ll leave you with a song and move along with my day.
Morning, Banjos.
There’s no one else in the office to wave to. I’m the only one here. Just empty cubes as far as they eye can see.
That would be a ripe opportunity for a prankster, but I suspect you’ll probably straighten everyone’s desks and file their paperwork.
That sounds like work.
I’ll just ignore their desks.
Also, pranks are evil. Pranksters deserve to be hurt for their cruelty.
no pants day
No such thing.
Put those trousers back on.
The sign only says I must wear a shirt and shoes.
Just because you hung the sign around your neck doesn’t mean it applies to wherever you happen to be.
“Back” on?
In my gluttonous stupor I grabbed my co-worker and waved to my coffee, and now I’m in trouble.
Sadly, the J. Edgar Hoover of NIAID will be replaced by another career bureaucrat as bad or worse.
So what you’re saying is we need to dissolve both of those agencies?
In an acid bath. Along with the people who run them.
My fear is whatever replaces the alphabet soup agencies will end up being much worse. Didn’t this already happen when the Federal Narcotics Commission was dissolved and replaced by the DEA?
Replace? No, leave it vacant. Shoot anyone who suggests putting in a replacement.
This is the way.
Then the bureaucracy in charge of shooting people would get out of hand.
Yes, yes I’m quite cynical today.
That is a policy that could be applied very generally.
With the heffalumps back in charge, I’m sure we will be returning to the “congress has no police powers and thus can’t jail anyone for contempt of congress” school of legal reasoning from the Holder days.
Murkowski Manages to Win in Deep Red Alaska again, after insane change in voting system
Ranked choice voting isn’t insane at all. I don’t understand why so many people think “this electoral format produced a winner I don’t like; therefore it’s evil”. Yet RCV seems to do that to a lot of people.
Because it always seems to elect the person nobody really wants
Considering most people’s primary choice will be “this guy will hurt those people I don’t like, I’m kind of happy with that.
Even if it ends up with the guy who will hurt people you do like, particularly yourself?
If every candidate intends to rule by abuse, you’re screwed no matter what. C.f. NY.
When your election system is so convoluted, that it’s pointless to even poll your election, that should be your clue. Plus it takes a ridiculous long time to determine the winner, adding instability and creating a complete lack of trust in the election.
It’s already pointless, as we saw this year.
It seems to work fine in Australia, and even Ireland, which has a much more convoluted version of it (multi-member districts and pro-rata distribution of “excess” votes when a candidate crosses the quota).
If it takes forever to count here in the States, it’s because the authorities want it to take forever to count. Look at places like California that only have two candidates on the ballot, and still take two weeks to count the votes.
Vox has told me that it is perfectly normal for it to take 3 weeks to count the votes.
We have a two party system here. This benefits no one but democrats and establishment hacks like Murkowski.
FPTP is simply asinine. A runoff system makes it more palatable. RCV + “none of the above” would be best.
If it’s a runoff, it has to be *after* the general election, not the sort of jungle primary that California has.
It also takes away from the idea of “one person – one vote”, and gives a political position to a person without majority support in far too many cases.
Not even majority, but tiny minority of the population in some cases.
I don’t have a super strong opinion on it, but I can’t help but notice that in the places where it’s been implemented it seems to benefit one political party to the near exclusion of the other, and not only doesn’t benefit third parties, which was the primary advertised benefit, but actually narrows the field of candidates even more than the incumbent system.
With a multiparty system, RCV allows the electorate to express preferences. With a two-party system it is stupid beyond words. The hope of RCV is “it allows a thousand parties to bloom”, and that is about as likely to succeed as it’s allusion did.
OK, this is a fair point (having grown up with something akin to RCV I’ve been an advocate). But you’re right that it’s hard to break people out of the duopoly view. The question then becomes, how to destroy the two-party system (or is that even a reasonable goal?)? Wait for one party to implode a la the 1850s?
You always are going to end up with two parties, or two coalitions, in any representative system. One will be in power and the other in opposition. The only difference is if the coalitions are internal or external.
The problem is majority rule governance, and it will be ever thus as long as majorities rule. The only thing that keeps the whole thing from being truly intolerable is that no majority is permanent (much to the chagrin of those most desperate for power).
“You always are going to end up with two parties, or two coalitions, in any representative system. One will be in power and the other in opposition. The only difference is if the coalitions are internal or external.”
In Australia (and I think the UK) there are times where you end up with “cross-benchers,” i.e., people from smaller parties who are not in permanent coalition with either main party. Although they often vote with one of the parties, this is not always the case. Where the majority is slim – or you have a minority government – those cross-benchers CAN (but not necessarily will), leverage their votes into forcing policy onto the governing party.
Sure, parliamentary systems with external coalitions are also notorious for instability for that very reason. As much as I bitch about Congress, most of it is because party is put before the institution. Do the job you were elected to do as defined by the Constitution and put the fucking party second. You get more contentious factions involved, that isn’t going to get better.
This. You can loosely name the two Progressives and Anti-progressives, while understanding that the two “parties” will change place in that duo-spere at the drop of a hat, or, to use a better phrase, when their ox is getting gored.
We have 1 1/2 parties now. Soon we will have only one.
I’m going to have to google the difference between RCV and IRV, aren’t I?
New voting system I just made up:
Every voter gets one vote and one anti-vote. Cosmos and Yokels can vote for the L while casting their antivote for different candidates.
I want a binding None of the Above. If that is the majority (or even plurality) the election must be re-run with new candidates.
Yup.
‘Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Just the News that fighting the Biden administration for access to some 150 Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) filed by banks concerning Hunter Biden’s financial transactions would allow investigators to determine to what extent, if any, Joe Biden benefited from his son’s foreign influence peddling.’
150 SARs. I get the feeling little ol’ me’s credit union would would never let my account reach 150 SARs before dropping me. Hell, I’m sure some sort of criminal investigation would have been well underway after the first dozen and I would have been arrested, tried, and convicted of something, anything, that was related to finance after the second dozen.
Must be nice being the Fresh Prince of Tighty Whities.
“the Fresh Prince of Tighty Whities.”
lulz
I laughed too.
Nah, they would just confiscate the money and threaten to charge you with a crime if you attempted to fight them on the confiscation. That’s how they do.
Thank you all for the warm reception to my Thanksgiving day post yesterday by the way – I had to log off early and didn’t get a chance to say it at the time.
In response to chafed, re: Dr. Carl Hart’s book Drug Use For Grown-Ups, he actually dedicates a fair portion of the book to examining the issue you raised, that being the poor quality of the studies done on scheduled drugs. He has, however, conducted any number of his own grant-funded studies to which he makes reference, and bases quite a bit of the book on his personal experiences as a researcher and eventual user of drugs. The book served as his “coming out” as a regular heroin user. It’s intended as a popular rather than scientific text, so the information therein is presented at that level, but still worth a read.
I have called MikeS the Anti-Firster for his false pretenses of being First, but your post yesterday was well and truly a work of Anti-Firstism if I have ever seen it.
I am surrounded by seconding villainy.
I forgot to express my thanks to you for bearing the incredibly heavy burden of firsting.
Glad to see you back, Brochacho.
If only for a second.
/evil laugh
So are you all out of thanks to give?
For OMWC (and anyone else interested. Judith Curry There no Climate Emergency.
SCIENCE DENIAL
Give me back BAP & alex jones & hakan & clarkhat & menaquinone & browningmachine & glomar & john rivers & ricky vaughn & the president
https://twitter.com/extradeadjcb/status/1511174416503345154
I think I know who 4 of those are
On first reading I thought that said Joan Rivers, and I was thinking, well, even daddy Musk would have a hard time pulling that off…
Just prop her up, she’s well preserved.
The corpse of Joan Rivers would be vastly superior to Zombiden.
we’re so fucking back
we kept posting our fish in tinder photos and women eventually came around
https://twitter.com/eigenrobot/status/1595804983169110021
lol
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told Just the News that fighting the Biden administration for access to some 150 Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) filed by banks concerning Hunter Biden’s financial transactions would allow investigators to determine to what extent, if any, Joe Biden benefited from his son’s foreign influence peddling.
Remember when Democrats were bitching about Trump and the emoluments clause? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
After the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Palin was the first to sign a petition to repeal ranked-choice voting launched by the group Alaskans for Honest Government.
Good for Palin.
Technically, she was the beneficiary of RCV, as the Alaska Republican Party had endorsed Begich (and he likely would’ve won a closed primary). Figures she is too stupid to get that.
Or, she’s principled and understands that the system gets Democrats elected in red areas.
That’s a possibility. It’s also a possibility that the U.S. will defeat England today. I think I like the odds on the latter.
You can rail against a system and still participate under those terms. You sound like one of those dipshits who screams “rOAdZ!” at libertarians as if that somehow is an argument.
Please, she is about as principled as she is intelligent. She is a party politician after all. She could’ve bowed out and supported the other Republican in the race if she really cared about keeping the seat in Republican hands; that probably would’ve worked. She didn’t because like most political creatures she is a fucking ball of ego.
Most political discourse in this country is conducted at exactly the “rOAdZ!” level, whether aimed at libertarians or anyone else.
If anything, then, you should be passionate about ending such a shit system if it’s designed to get shitty establishment Rs and Dems elected.
We get shitty politicians because that’s what the majority of Americans – at least the ones that vote passionately (i.e. voters in the primaries) – want.
I want to get rid of the primaries. I won’t belong to a party and the damn things are run on tax payer money for the benefit of the parties. Fuck that. Go back to smoke-filled-rooms and caucuses and party bosses – contrary to the progressive assholes, it wasn’t any worse back then. Put up your candidate in the general election and win or lose by that.
We get shitty politicians for two reasons:
1. because the nature of the job attracts people who want to exercise power, obtain wealth corruptly, and enjoy prestige without achievement.
and
2. the process of campaigning for office necessarily rewards those who are talented and shameless liars, and disadvantages those who stick to their principles.
Spent 6 hours battling a dishwasher installation on Wednesday before calling it a day. Everything was hooked up, but I forgot to replace a washer in the water line and there’s a pinhole leak. At least I can I can reach the water line from the front to fix.
Striploin roast was a huge hit yesterday. Made a horseradish sauce and reheated leftover au jus from the last brisket. Only spent a couple hours of cooking to serve 15 people. I’ve cooked my last turkey.
Not a lot of wants for myself so Black Friday is meh. I had planned on picking up another VR-80 semi shotgun (down now to half what I paid for mine last year), but looks like it will be a night scope instead. The ATN 5-20x X-Sight (hat tip Sean) is on sale today and will probably be the pick. The built in electronics sound really interesting, but I’m a bit concerned about how that affects longevity. Hopefully it will last longer than the 2.5 years of the aforementioned dishwasher.
Shit, now I’m getting dishwasher won’t drain code. So close to being done. No disposal plug to knock out and the pipe is hooked up correctly. Manufacturer is going to send out a service tech.
Sometimes the float can get stuck, especially if you are moving it around a lot.
Come back. We promise not to nationalize again.
If only there were options for increasing oil supply that didn’t require working with foreign governments.
If only there were options for increasing oil supply that didn’t require working with foreign governments. – it is called invasion
Crazy talk. How would the usual suspects get their grift and graft on? And they’d miss out on foreign prostitutes too!
Precision
https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1595847410227486723
We did this during our last visit there:
https://www.greenbrieroutfitters.com/socialacitivities/falconry-experience/
Highly recommended. 👍👍
+1
https://www.newenglandfalconry.com/
We had a Harris hawk and a Barn Owl. If you go during small game season they have a hunt package.
That’s a beautiful header photo #1.
That second bird is going “Can I eat this kid?”
Unbelievable!
I’d like to try this.
Huh. Must be a franchise.
https://www.broadmooroutfitters.com/socialacitivities/falconry-experience/
CO Springs.
Oh, that counts me out I guess.
‘Orning ‘ordles — non-precision, but non-chumping. I’ll take it.
Daily Duotrigordle #268
Guesses: 36/37
Time: 05:49.20
https://duotrigordle.com/
Daily Quordle 305
5️⃣4️⃣
8️⃣7️⃣
quordle.com
Daily Quordle 305
4️⃣3️⃣
7️⃣5️⃣
LL… WTF? I got it accidentally by just plugging missing letters.
TR can piss right off.
Daily Quordle 305
6️⃣8️⃣
5️⃣4️⃣
Daily Quordle 305
4️⃣6️⃣
8️⃣5️⃣
Fuck you, LL.
Daily Quordle 305
5️⃣3️⃣
9️⃣7️⃣
Lower Left continues to plague me.
6 4
7 5
Daily Quordle 305
4️⃣3️⃣
7️⃣6️⃣
quordle.com
I slept in a bit today. Now it is time to head off the to gym.
Former German Chancellor Merkel said that the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine was not a surprise
“It was not a surprise. The Minsk agreements were destroyed. After the meeting between Biden and Putin, I wanted to create a separate European format for talks with Putin.”
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1596009534849286144
sounds like bullshit honestly
then again if any western intelligence has any worth, something like the invasion of Ukraine could not have been kept a secret by Russia should have been known in advance
Bullshit? I hate to side with Merkel, but everyone on Earth knew it was going to happen for months before it happened. Putin wasn’t exactly quiet about it .
One of the very things the biden Administration has done that I approve of was their public release of some high-quality intelligence products prior to the invasion in a (vain) attempt to deter Putin.
PieInTheSky on November 25, 2022 at 6:39 am
camping? why do that to yourself”
It’s fun.
Regarding ‘inflicting character’ my son is the one most excited about going.
It’s fun. – no it is not. You don;t have a proper bed a proper bathroom etc humanity struggled for thousands of years to get rig of camping.
Camping makes you appreciate those comforts all the more.
Bodybuilder is covered with horrific scars after steroid use caused him to break-out in acne and BOILS
Dave Hartrey, 24, of Waterford, Ireland, started taking steroids aged 20
But the drugs caused outbreaks in acne and boils, leaving him with scarring
He has now shared photos of his body on TikTik to warn others of the risk
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11468641/Bodybuilder-covered-horrific-scars-steroid-use.html
Hawt.
Yeah, not clicking on that.
My brother made the most upsetting pie I’ve ever had in my life
https://twitter.com/hello__caitlin/status/1595940895521935360
Rate My Plate
@ratemyplatenow
Rice n Beans by Kye
https://twitter.com/ratemyplatenow/status/1596116665712128000
rice and bean is not something I would eat but that looks awful. I assume some latin american country can at least do a better version
I am not aware that pouring pork n’ beans on rice was even a thing. WTF England?
In the US we have many rice and bean dishes, using different bean types, but that thing is not among them.
No, I’m afraid this is merely part of a memetic misuse of beans that has been slowly simmering through social media rather than a crime of English cuisine.
Really? ‘Cause those people pour pork n’ beans on toast so…
Baked beans on toast isn’t bad. English baked beans aren’t as sweet.
Today in African-American news,
“Elon Musk says Twitter will relaunch its verification next week: Companies will get GOLD check mark, governments get gray and people (celebrities or not) will have a blue tick if verified”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11468517/Musk-says-Twitter-launch-blue-check-subscription-week.html
“‘This is necessary to restore public trust’: Elon Musk says he will reveal all secret documents about Twitter’s decision to ban Hunter Biden laptop story”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11467387/Musk-says-disclosure-Twitters-decision-censor-Hunter-Biden-laptop-story.html
Who gets red?
Commies and Bolsheviks
Authors that cannot spell.
So the group run by the Gray’s get a Gray checkmark?
Well played, Mr. Musk.
“Emma Corrin calls for gender-free Oscars and BAFTAs, rolling actor and actress gongs into one as The Crown star insists the awards aren’t ‘inclusive enough'”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11468879/Emma-Corrin-calls-Oscars-BAFTAs-introduce-gender-neutral-categories.html
I have no idea who this is, and I think gender non-binary is bullshit, but this makes sense in that it’s acting, not boxing.
And if a woman (or “woman”) doesn’t win it every year it’s sexism.
One winner, bottomless victim stack!
Srsly, Just announce “no wypipo will be eligible for an Oscar, Tony, or Grammy until 2050.”
Done. Racism solved.
Nope, because people will then stop caring about the awards and not celebrating the celebrities the way they must.
Shhhhhh! Don’t tell them!
Will then stop? Aren’t all of the awards ceremonies already dropping in ratings?
Yeah, it’s already happening.
This got me thinking of the Hugos and/or Nebulas that also went woke and seem less relevant than ever.
Wait a minute, this sounds a lot like that “Affirmative Action until 2000, racism solved” argument from 1970.
Won’t happen. Fewer awards for narcissistic assholes is a nonstarter.
True, but the awards are inconsistent. Acting is divided in to actor and actress categories, but director, screenplay, score, etc. aren’t.
It’s the same reason why comedies and dramas are in separate categories. One style becomes considered “superior” to the other and ices out other styles. If there was only one acting category the award would always go to a woman in a drama, and the performance would always be a violent, shrieking hysteria.
Look at what happened when Marissa Tomei won “best actress” for My Cousin Vinnie. Everybody started screaming that it must have been rigged. Everybody knows comedy isn’t ACTING.
Or when Kevin Kline won the best supporting actor role in A Fish Called Wanda.
Because of the mob?
“It’s the same reason why comedies and dramas are in separate categories.”
Are they? I don’t follow award shows much.
Just give all of them a trophy! It is not like the arguments against participation awards are relevant in this context. The recipients are already spoiled narcissistic idiots with unending senses of entitlement.
“A substantial part of the population anticipates that having too much money will make them less happy.”
https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1595658349370298369
well not me gimme the $$
I’m sensing methodological errors or outright malfeasance.
Capuchin monkey pleasured himself upon watching his peers having sex. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-022-02475-5 Video under “Supplementary Information” at the bottom of the linked page.
https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1595798312166526976
Fu likes to watch. No kink shaming.
Do you want another Rapesquatch? Because this is how you get another Rapesquatch.
Doesn’t seem that unreasonable to me, tbh. At least not the way the study was conducted in relation to lottery wins – i.e., a very sudden increase in wealth up to or beyond a certain level. Suddenly finding yourself with too much excess money presents new obligations, tax burdens, security concerns, etc. Those are all manageable, of course, but we tend to fear the unknown, and being thrust into that environment very suddenly could be quite stressful and jarring for some people. And then, of course, this study was done in the UK, so you’ve got the whole wealth-guilt socialist thing going too. It’s always baffled me that in a godless, materialist age, the only taboos Western society managed to retain from Christianity were money and gambling. People who think that gay-married parents should be free to get their adopted 5 year old Zimbabwean child’s dick cut off at taxpayer expense scandalized by the CEO of Coca Cola being paid more than the guy who cleanse the shitters.
Coral Swimwear Fashion Show – Miami Swim Week 2022 – DCSW – 4K
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbwq_iacaVg
Why the headline change??
First up… Changed to….
https://twitter.com/JenniferSey/status/1595887223634886657
Since my personal moral code says I can now play Christmas music, I tried to fire up my favorites on my phone. Unfortunately, two of the three albums are in .wma format instead of mp3. Can anyone recommend a good, trustworthy converter app?
I use Total Audio Converter to rip. I don’t know how well/how/if it converts one sound file into another, although it says “total” and “converter” in the name, so I assume it must.
Audacity is FOSS, and can convert items between pretty much any format.
I thought they did something evil in the more recent builds. There was some sort of controversy which made me decide to keep the version I had at the time and avoid newer.
A commercial organization purchased the project and introduced telemetry, which would have been sent over plain HTTP and processed through Yandex. They backed off it after a massive backlash, but then reintroduced it in a different form a few months later. You can just keep using the older version though. Or just use ffmpeg, Audacity uses it as a backend for a lot of formats anyway.
“A commercial organization purchased the project and introduced telemetry”
WTF?
Just re-download them. Converting from lossy to lossy always entails a loss of quality with each transcode. WMA should be supported on Android anyway. What phone and audio player are you using?
I’m just using the “built-in” audio player on my LG phone. A lot of my music files are ripped from CDs, but most are mp3s, so I don’t know how these particular albums ended up as .wma files. Probably operator headspin.
Might it be worth it to re-rip from the original CD then? Avoid any quality issues from multiple conversions?
Yeah, I’ll probably just end up doing that, so I just have to wait until I get home… assuming I can find the CDs. I’m just looking for any excuse to put off writing up the Board meeting minutes.
Looks like WMA isn’t supported in stock Android, so my mistake there. The VLC player for Android will install the codec and play it though. I’m sure there are others as well. You can convert, but as I mentioned, transcoding always entails a loss of quality, so re-ripping from source or just re-downloading the content is the better way to go.
Christmas music for GT and Mojeaux
I bought that the last time you linked it. I heart it.
::checks composer/lyricist:: As I suspected. Thanks, but hard pass.
I do not like the original.
Here’s a depressing one I like, for all those Christmases my husband and I were dealing with drama and chaos.
While not technically a Christmas song, I like Animal Collective’s Winter Wonderland for capturing the spirit of the season.
Try this, if you dare.
Today is “Box Thanksgiving.” This is where I throw together an approximation of Thanksgiving dinner from boxed sources: stuffing, spuds. Jarred gravy, canned cranberry sauce (the slippery jelly kind), and a small turkey breast are also on the menu. I will also make a couple of pies (pumpkin and pecan) from pre-made freezer shells. A “C” effort all the way around. I may also make my first batch of Christmas cookies.
Yesterday, I made a thing. Let the Christmas carols begin in earnest!
I make an apple-cranberry compote type of dessert that I freeze and eat with poultry or pork periodically, but for Thanksgiving, it has always been and always will be Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce straight from the can.
It has to arrive on the plate with the imprint of the can’s shape on the side!
YES!!! And YES!!! to UCS’s point also.
Tomorrow I’m going to try Thanksgiving egg rolls.
You, MoJeaux and UCS are correct in this.
“Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, brought political powerhouse Karen Giorno and controversial commentator Nick Fuentes to dinner with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week.
Ye and the former president have both announced their intentions to run for the White House in 2024.
The dinner between Ye and Trump had been previously arranged, but the additional guests were brought on by author and political commentator Milo Yiannopolous — who has been named by the fashion and entertainment mogul as his campaign director.”
https://timcast.com/news/exclusive-details-ye-brings-nick-fuentes-and-karen-giorno-to-dinner-with-trump/
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1595965974293118979
Am I taking crazy pills?
Someone definitely is.
Absent deSantis or Rand Paul, I’d totes vote for Ye for the lulz.
Technically, that’s a kind of diverse crowd, though crazy is what seems to bring them together.
Ironically, they may out-minority the Dems with that lineup.
I can’t even.
I like to crush and rail my crazy pills.
The holiday weekend open Zoom is open.
at this hour?
We tend to do that on long weekends.
What long weekend?
/’working’
Compelling.
Jeremy Parish, probably
@gamespite
Out of nowhere, my nephew just asked, “Do you think Pavlov thought about feeding his dog every time he heard a bell ring?” and now I’m going to be haunted by this question
That’s a good question.
LOL, I love that.
Bring on the alien invasion
Residents of China’s capital were emptying supermarket shelves and overwhelming delivery apps Friday as the city government ordered accelerated construction of COVID-19 quarantine centers and field hospitals.
Uncertainty and scattered, unconfirmed reports of a lockdown on at least some Beijing districts have fueled the demand for food and other supplies, something not seen in the city for months.
Daily cases of COVID-19 across the country are hitting records, with 32,695 reported Friday. Of those, 1,860 were in Beijing, the majority of them asymptomatic.
So efficient. So deadly.
Xi is loving this theater.
The growing number of camps is a nice touch. I’m sure they will come in handy.
You may need to use a search engine or clear cookies to load. Really interesting long form article on a camp stay.
https://www.ft.com/content/77622627-9433-445a-a763-a547b77b58ed
Relevant.
Which is why Jugsy isnt allowed to touch my cast iron or my chef’s blade. And a few other knives.
Finally, a man who knows how to deal with those nasty things.
Good morning, Banjos!
Dems are evil pedos.
But that song is wonderful!
I hope y’all had a great day yesterday!
Most residents of the city have already been advised not to leave their compounds, some of which are being fenced in. At entrances, workers clad head to toe in white hazmat suits stop unauthorized people and make sure residents scan their cellphone health apps to gain entry.
I have reached the point of rooting for the wholesale slaughter of all government apparatchiks, everywhere.
+1 I was just following orders
I just did my Black Friday Shopping. Amazon has TurboTax Premier at $78 compared to $105 from TT.
I haven’t had a job in over 30 years but still….the gov wants its pound of flesh every year.
As usual I hate everyone. Two hours to fix this? Our society is totally broken.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11468451/Couple-scream-tired-cabin-crew-refuse-leave-seats-forcing-aircraft-deplane.html
It’s kind of surprising to see two Amish folks flying in a plane and acting like assholes.
Some people just need to be punched.
This, ladys and gentlemen, is why I drive whenever possible.
Apropos of nothing (specific)-
Joe Biden seems to be intent on making himself into the embodiment of the absolute worst and most authoritarian aspects of Progressive Nannytarianism. A pantomime version of Woodrow Wilson, without the charm and warmth, railing endlessly bout the evils of capitalism.
He hasn’t done as much as Wilson, so pantomime is about right. Dr. Jill no doubt fancies herself equal to Edith. The question then is, who is Colonel House in this version?
Mr. Obama.
ARROWS vs ARMOUR 2 – FULL MEDIEVAL ARMOUR TESTED
Tod’s Workshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds-Ev5msyzo
Drama queen story hour
The co-owner of the Colorado Springs gay nightclub where a shooter turned a drag queen’s birthday celebration into a massacre said he thinks the shooting that killed five people and injured 17 others is a reflection of anti-LGBTQ sentiment that has evolved from prejudice to incitement.
Nic Grzecka’s voice was tinged with exhaustion as he spoke with The Associated Press on Wednesday night in some of his first comments since Saturday night’s attack at Club Q, a venue Grzecka helped build into an enclave that sustained the LGBTQ community in conservative-leaning Colorado Springs.
So tedious .
Who wants to play stereotype bingo?
Anti-T, although the vocal section of the LGB population facilitates it.
Qataris: We spent $200B and this is what we get? [from ESPN]
On the other hand, your team will probably never play in another WC, so I guess you got that.
Hey, they got eight (?) sparkling new stadiums out of it that will never be used again so there’s that.
Grzecka said he believes the targeting of a drag queen event is connected to the art form being cast in a false light in recent months by right-wing activists and politicians who complain about the “sexualization” or “grooming” of children.
Even though general acceptance of the LGBTQ community has grown, this new dynamic has fostered a dangerous climate, he said.
“It’s different to walk down the street holding my boyfriend’s hand and getting spit at (as opposed to) a politician relating a drag queen to a groomer of their children,” Grzecka said. “I would rather be spit on in the street than the hate get as bad as where we are today.”
What?
If he’s ready to throw the groomers under the bus, I’m not going to argue with him.
The question then is, who is Colonel House in this version?
Anita Dunn?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11468423/Wife-31-freezes-death-hiking-Zion-National-Park.html
Yikes! Don’t fuck around with the cold, kids.
Note to self:
1/8 of a apple pie and 2 cups of coffee is not a good breakfast.
Of course not, the coffee should have been swapped for bourbon.
That depends, what is the diameter of the pie?
Twice the radius.
Sounds good to me.
How much is that in metric?
About the same.
314 grams then
Just think of it as an overstuffed Pop Tart.
Oh. How hungover are you?
That guy in Pie’s wonderful video yesterday (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZDUaDDtrdk) said that his hangover cure is consomé and salsa!
In the aftermath of the shooting, Grzecka and other community leaders hope to fill the gaping hole left by the desecration of Club Q.
When I turned over the card (once I had stopped laughing), it said,
GO DIRECTLY TO HELL.
DO NOT PASS GO”.
DO NOT COLLECT TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS.
1/8 of a apple pie and 2 cups of coffee is not a good breakfast.
Poppycock!
Agreed. Sounds about perfect. But only at the holidays.
I heard of cocaine dick but not of opium cock
Last night’s excesses did nothing to ease my troubled tummy.
Best thing is a double vodka
And a couple of cigaretts
Shadow campaign
As Republicans prepare to use their new House majority to probe the Biden administration and the business dealings of the president’s son, Hunter, Democrats are assembling a constellation of groups to respond.
President Joe Biden hasn’t said if he’s running for re-election, but the groups are designed to defend him and discredit the opposition — including launching intense opposition research efforts into Republicans leading the charge in Congress — ahead of a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump in 2024.
Three new “war rooms” have sprung up in the past two weeks to combat the House Republicans’ investigations, each backed by multimillion-dollar dark money budgets and some of the best-known operatives in the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee and major outside groups are already retooling to shift from 2022 to 2024.
“It’s clear the White House has been preparing for the anticipated barrage of meritless investigations from House Republicans, and outside groups are an essential component,” said Adrienne Elrod, who helped run Correct the Record, which defended Hillary Clinton from congressional probes before her 2016 presidential campaign was up and running.
Get those wagons in a circle! We have to be ready to dodge those
flaming arrowsmeritless allegations.“The National Education Association, the country’s largest teacher’s union, has repeatedly placed its political activism ahead of parents or appropriate discourse. Now a new report shows their advocacy is only getting worse.
Journalist Christopher Rufo explained the disturbing news that the union’s “LGBTQ+ Caucus” has created a badge for teachers to wear with a QR code linking to a website discussing extremely graphic content, including a “how-to guide for ‘queer sex.’”
The website highlights the extremely popular sentiment among Democrats that men can get pregnant, and references “non-binary identities” while promoting activist organizations like The Trevor Project, Scarleteen, Gender Spectrum and Sex, Etc.
Other links direct to the Teen Health Source, which according to Rufo includes a directive on “Queering Sexual Education” by “empowering youth” through extremely graphic how-to guides on sexual practices that go far beyond traditional sex ed.
This is just the latest example of the NEA operating as a political institution first, and educational union second….”
https://www.outkick.com/national-teacher-union-safe-space-badges-graphic-content/
The Trevor Project? The NEA is actively promoting pedophilia.
“As previously reported, the NEA has been distributing “safe space” badges to teachers across the country. The badge has a QR code which leads students to sites containing sexually explicit and pornographic content.
Here an elementary school teacher promotes it:”
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1596171308559405057
“Los Angeles #Antifa member & violent extremist Chad Loder is freaking out after @elonmusk
liked & responded to a tweet saying Twitter was removing pedophilic accounts.
Loder has been accused of predatory behavior.”
https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1595869010100310017
“TrevorSpace: A Pedophile’s Paradise
We recently took some time to dig around the forum TrevorSpace, which they themselves describe as “an affirming, online community for LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13-24 years old.” With over 400,000 members across the globe, they go on to say that “you can explore your identity, get advice, find support, and make friends in a moderated community intentionally designed for you.”
Although sources say that TrevorSpace was investigated by law enforcement for facilitating inappropriate conversations among children and adults, the problem is still going on.
What we found will shock you.
TrevorSpace markets itself as a safe space for LGBTQ+ young people to talk about their experiences with identity and peer/familial rejection, which sounds like a great idea. But browsing the website for merely a few minutes makes it abundantly clear what it actually is: an online dating service for children and people aged 13-24. No website or chat room of this nature should cater to minors, especially one that encourages them to talk to adults. Adults in their 20s regularly talk to teenagers about sexuality and gender transition on Trevorspace. Profiles specify whether the user is over or under 18, but there is no procedure to verify whether the user is answering truthfully. Not only is the website specifically for children and adults, but someone of any age can say that they are a minor and have inappropriate conversations with kids…
https://www.gaysagainstgroomers.com/post/trevorspace-a-pedophile-s-paradise
https://twitter.com/againstgrmrs/status/1595892286210150400
The comments on that site are bizarre. Also doxxing.
This is just sick.
None of this should be any of part of the school day.
Speaking of breakfaqst pie… I had leftover peach pie this morning.
Unfortunately, “peach pie” in this case is not a euphemism.
“It’s important that the opposition not get the upper hand in defining a false narrative, and outside groups can help mitigate that from happening,” Elrod noted.
Anything which does not conform to our approved official history of the world is a false narrative.
That’s how you gaslight, boys and girls.
That’s it get rid of him. He was 15 and obviously morality can never change.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/washington-post-unearths-1957-photo-185644735.html
FWIW the photo I saw showed him as part of a crowd, not actively keeping anyone out of anything.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is poised to use his likely chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee to aggressively investigate alleged politicization of the Justice Department, said last month at CPAC that the GOP majority would work to “frame up the 2024 race.”
“These are sham investigations. You can take Jordan’s word at it,” said Kyle Herrig, the founder and executive director of one of the new war rooms, the Congressional Integrity Project, which is relaunching to counter the investigations. “They don’t have an agenda that will help Americans. They have only one agenda and it’s a political agenda.”
The Congressional Integrity Project, which already has focus groups underway, promises to be as much about offense as defense. It plans to investigate the lawmakers investigating Biden, many of whom hail from the safe congressional districts and have never faced a tough election and the kind of opposition research and media scrutiny it brings.
“We’re going to leave no stone unturned. No one has done the investigative research we’ve done on these investigators. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” Herrig said. “We have a multimillion-dollar budget, and we’re staffing up with a team of researchers and communicators.”
Burn it all down. Total scorched-earth political warfare. Take no prisoners.
Show the American people exactly how much their betters really care about “helping them”.
I hope they’re not counting on all that laundered FTX money again.
“People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”
What are bizarre statement. Is Herrig suggesting that he and his fellow investigators do not live in glass houses? May their backgrounds be investigated in a “no stone left unturned” fashion? And then should those who investigate Herrig in turn be investigated by others. To some extent, I’d support that: agreeing with TLPB: get all their shit out in the open. I don’t care who they’re screwing or what drugs they do. But let’s get all the cozy relationships and kickbacks and everything else out there.
Screw rank choice voting. What we really need is a “none of the above” choice for all state and national elected offices. If “none” gets the most votes then all candidates have been thusly rejected for the do-over election that would be held 3-6 months later. They could run in the future just not in that one. Keep repeating until you get someone who gets more votes than “none”. This would making voting a hell of a lot more enjoyable and help ditch some utterly terrible people.
If “none” gets the most votes then all candidates have been thusly rejected for the do-over election that would be held 3-6 months later. They could run in the future just not in that one. Keep repeating until you get someone who gets more votes than “none”. This would making voting a hell of a lot more enjoyable and help ditch some utterly terrible people.
Probably too late, but…
I think anybody who loses to “none of the above” should be prohibited from ever running for office again.
well the week is done just poured myself a glass of red…
what is everyone doin/drinkin?
I had leftover steak for lunch, with a glass of Garnacha.
Insult weapons
“The idea (that) we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick, it’s just sick. It has no social redeeming value, zero, none. Not a single, solitary rationale for it,” Biden told reporters during a brief gaggle outside the Nantucket Fire Department in Massachusetts, where he greeted first responders.
Asked whether he would try to take action on guns, the president said, “I’m going to try. I’m going to try to get rid of assault weapons.” When pressed on whether he would try to do so during the lame duck session, he said, “I’m going to do it whenever – I’ve got to make that assessment as soon as I get in and start counting the votes.”
As a good-faith gesture, you should instruct the members of the Presidential protection detail to carry nothing but hammerless five shot Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolvers with a two inch barrel.
That should be more than sufficient firepower. After all, you love everyone, and everyone loves you. Right?
RIGHT?
It’s easier to get rid of one man than millions of guns.
Got my son part of his Christmas present — he is moving out next summer.
Toolbox
Wrenches
Screwdrivers
Tape Measure
Hammer
2 sets of adjustable pliers
Utility knives.