It’s been an interesting trip here to Jaw-ja, I must admit. The car rental guy took a liking to me (god knows why) and upgraded me to a Mercedes. Had a decent dinner at a Turkish restaurant courtesy of the company that brought me out here. Walked around the neighborhood between downpours; it’s suitably near-suburbs city-edge bland. My hotel room smelled like a syphilitic hobo with massive intestinal blockage had just been detonated. The nice people moved me but made the mistake of asking me what the odor smelled like, and I spared them nothing in the description.
Anyway, from my only-from-me smelling room, birthdays abound and I’m bringin’ ’em, including a guy who made lots of dollars; another guy who made lots of dough; a guy with a black, black heart; a guy who did not kill Spider Sabich; a congresswoman even more viciously stupid than Hank Johnson; a guy famous for pointlessly driving around in circles; a pioneer of academic thoughtcrime; a guy truly batshit crazy; a hilariously entertaining and transparent fraud; a very beddable woman; and a wonderful character actress from the best reality TV show ever.
And from there, we segue to a set of carefully handcrafted Links.
What the French need is common-sense hammer control regulation.
Tales from academia. I hope this prof ends up owning USC after the lawsuits. Note that the usual suspects (AAUP, are you listening?) are offering no support.
While I have some sympathy, the practicalities here seem absolutely ripe for abuse.
We pray for the continued health of Joe Biden.
I’m sure this isn’t PR bullshit.
The Old Man maintains that Gilmour, although hardly unknown, is under-regarded as a guitarist. Not flashy at all, just… perfect. And on one of the Great Songs of Rock Canon.
Morning, OMWC… sorry about the hobo stank.
Was expecting Sergio Leone.
Damn your nimble fingers!
blink
blink
blink
BOOOOOO!
including a guy who made lots of dollars;
Happy birthday Sergio Leone!
a guy with a black, black heart;
Way to misgender Joan Jett.
Why, it is almost like our species are accomplished tool users who clawed their way up the food chain by killing anything and everything with whatever we could get our hands on (when our hands didn’t suffice) and gun control is only trying to keep the efficient killing on the side of the Government. (How German!) I do declare, sirrah!
A “tush push” ban? Homophobia!
I am with him on this one. Pushing for yardage was always a penalty. Changing that leads to some weird rugby scrum stuff. Allowed to evolve, a proper coach would figure out that he can run a lineup of all linemen with an Allstot type fullback taking the snap and scrum for 4 yards per play. You would kill the clock, keep your defense rested and probably score every drive… At least until they figure something out to stop it.
Leg injuries would certainly go up in that environment. How many tons of force can a half dozen NFL linemen generate?
They spent decades trying to get to this video game scoring we have now. Going backwards in this way is a bad idea.
I think that is called a flying V, and has been banned since before WWII in pro ball.
this is not illegal
I was expecting Stripper!
Damn autocorrect.
Stryper.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
I would hope FIRE is helping out (can’t be arsed to look… lazy lazy me…)
We live in a post-reality society. Addressing a situation where a 79 year old professor was banned from campus for saying Hamas are murders, USC says this:
The university said Strauss “in no way has been disciplined or punished for engaging in protected speech.” The statement from the university was first published on Nov. 27 but updated on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Now… That is just crazy talk, but if you watched Gavin Newsome, or any Network News, you would know that crazy is the new normal.
I really feel like a character in an Orwell novel.
The Road from Wiggan Pier?
Keep the Aspidistra Flying?
a hilariously entertaining and transparent fraud;
I guessed Uri Geller.
There are plenty of good choices.
What… you don’t trust the government when it comes up with another excuse for widespread camera surveillance of the public?
I do declare (again) sirrah!
Our local government just installed cameras on the new bridge near my house. A neighbor excitedly told me it has license plate recognition, so it should cut down on crime!
Yeah, those homeless guys biking into the neighborhood and stealing shit from my garage are going to be deterred by the state tracking my every movement.
Yeah,
those homeless guys biking intodriving into the neighborhood in cars they stole and stealing shit from my garage are going to be deterred by the state tracking my every movement.Oh, you have been to Portland recently? Or is Memphis back to normal?
that’s how they do it here; cameras are the rage here, but what good is recording stolen tags? my neighbors are idiots
the most profit I ever generated was with a client in PDX; I miss that part considerably
Starting with F?
My church did a big project to help the homeless about a decade back. We collected and repaired bicycles for the homeless because we have a large population of men who were sent here from up north for court ordered rehab. They have DUI convictions so they cannot drive, hampering any ability to work and get on their feet. So.. Here, free bike. Get a job.
We also gave them backpacks to carry their stuff.
It did a lot of good. A lot were able to transition from halfway houses (that popped up everywhere around here, funded by that out of state money) with that hekp.
But….
My nice neighborhood suddenly experienced a spike of adult men on bikes wearing backpacks cruising through. Dammit.
No good deed goes unpunished.
I would rather the thing dispense bullets at high velocity rather that just fines, but hey.
From the “Secretary of War Spending wants more War Spending” link:
This would be the same decades of prosperity that has seen y’all hollow out our industry, attempt to kill the middle class and rack up more deficits and debts than if we were actually fighting the rest of the planet while you use said funds as slush funds and to reward your cronies? That prosperity?
More seriously — I’m all for keeping Somali pirates out of shipping lanes and all — but the US taxpayers 3 generations from now (or whatever we’re up to) are not the world’s police, world’s piggy bank or however else the leeches of the “Western world” choose to view it. Pay. Your. Own. Fucking. Way. Assholes. And that’s not “pulling up the drawbridge” that’s recognizing that this can’t continue and it is high time the US Government started working for the US again. (Hah! And again, where’s my starship since I’m wishing!)
I have been watching CNN, and I am pretty sure your opinions are racist. Probably fascist too.
Heh. My great-great grandfather was a Jewish Confederate. Arrived from Prague in the 1850’s, landing in Missouri. Served as a sapper for their army as he was an engineer. His son became the second Jewish professor at Cal, which is how part of the family ended up in CA.
Dixie? I thought you said you were in Atlanta?
Hank Johnson is not stupid. The poor man is mentally ill. Keeping him in congress is a sadistic act of abuse.
On him or on us?
Yes.
“A guy with a black, black heart”
Bam! Got that one on the first guess in two seconds.
Paris: Let pigs in the house and in no time at all you are stomping around in pig shit.
As far as cities go, I’m hard-pressed to think of one less Southern than Atlanta. Of course, it’s huge, no more typical to the South than, say, NYC is of NY; they’re entities onto themselves.
And New Orleans isn’t the south; maybe Baton Rouge is, but everything south of there is something else.
Florida is the only state in the Union where the more north you go, the more south you get. Florida isn’t the South. Houston is its own thing.
Most of the rest of Texas isn’t the South, either, not enough of Maryland to count, but then, suddenly, Oklahoma, which didn’t even exist before the Civil War, is very much the South.
Lexington and Asheville are too nice to be representative. Savannah, Charleston, Mobile, Memphis, and Little Rock are all wonderful if you’re in someone’s sleepy secret garden getting your drink freshened every 20 minutes, but they will get you fucking killed if you step outside and your head’s not on a swivel.
I had rather be in Oxford than Elmira, Montgomery than Albany, Nashville than Syracuse, Columbia than Jamestown….
but I will definitely take Watkins Glen over Talladega.
My niece is up near Ashville. She reports that it has transformed into a progressive hotspot.
that’s fair
I think it’s more fair to say that the roll of generations reveals difference preferences everywhere: you’re seeing more people born in 1990 with nose piercings strolling around smoking dope than you did 30 years ago….when those people were three. It’s their time everywhere: AVL, ATL, …..and SFO and LAX and LGA.
The question for me is where would I rather have my daughter changing a flat; Asheville comes out on top of most places when you start thinking that way. But, then, so do Lubbock, Bemidji, and a million other places I would never live.
Asheville also got into “defund the police” and attracting homeless people. It’s had a major crime spike, though when I was there last summer it looked like the city started listening to the downtown businesses. It wasn’t as bad as news articles let on, but you could see the signs of increased security downtown and elsewhere. Signs that weren’t there when I was last in Asheville before the Lil Rona Panic.
TL/DR: the South is only a state of my mind.
that’s a better argument than “how cool is Portland” I suppose
Portland is more wet than cool.
Fucking humidity is through the roof right now.
Don is correct. Many major cities in the south have transformed because of the influx of too many people from not-the-south.
I hear a lot of them complain that they dont like the south. Oh yeah? What you hate is where you are from, that is why you came here. You just stupidly brought that place with you.
Where ever you go, there you are.
Well said. I’ve been here for over thirty years. What makes Atlanta suck is all the proggy immigrants who think they know more about everything, but don’t realize why they came here in the first place.
proggy natives are what’s wrong with Memphis: listen to the broadcast of the alderman and you’ll lose a thousand brain cells a minute
My brother was in High Springs, FL. There was a problem with the rural roads were he was living. He and I attended a county board meeting where it was to be addressed.
We sat there for an hour curling our lips and listening to those assholes flap their gums. Never once did the obvious, simple solution get mentioned. Every single board member was bearded wearing shorts, sandals sporting a ponytail and north eastern accent.
My brother grumbled to me “When I retire I won’t have anything else to do. I am going to make these motherfuckers lives pure hell.”
East (meaning, east of DFW/I35) Texas is definitely South.
I’m not sure I’d say there’s no such thing as a large Southern city.
Big city kills the defining ethos of “southern”, which is a friendly, affable veneer that lubricated life in small towns. Once you cross a certain size, it no longer pays to interact that way, and as such the polite idioms and general kindly demeanor slowly dissipate.
Interestingly, that supposes an inverse relationship with conformity – higher in the smaller scale, less so in the metropolitan (save for the old school enclaves).
Nashville sure as hell considers itself a Southern City, whether you do or not.
I’m going to be in Lexington and Asheville this coming week, so I guess I won’t be really experiencing the south. My buddy lives in Greenville, SC which probably doesn’t count either. About half his friends are from the south, and the other half are northern transplants.
This place in Asheville has good BBQ.
Thanks for the rec, I’ll look into it. Not sure on dinner for Friday.
Saturday going to Tupelo Honey Cafe downtown. I really like their food and try to go there every year when in Asheville.
You’re welcome!
I don’t remember stopping in Tupelo while I was in Asheville. I remember hearing about it, but I didn’t stop in.
More recommendations:
Here’s a non-southern place that is worth a visit.
For beer, Burial and Green Man are good, though both are credit card only. Highland Brewing outside of town has changed a bit, the Scotsman is no longer on the label but they get good food trucks in. I didn’t stop at High Wire last time I was in Asheville. I stopped in on my previous trip to Asheville and liked it. Wicked Weed’s restaurant is a shadow of its former self.
Sierra Nevada’s brewery here is beautiful, with excellent food.
I like Hot Dog World in downtown Hendersonville. In fact, I prefer Hendersonville to Asheville by a mile.
If you want upscale, my favorite restaurant I have ever been to is 1/2 way between Asheville and Greenville.
OK, links digested. That Conrad, the greatest of novelists, and Anna Chlumsky share a B-day is kinda awesome. Her meltdown in season 4 was epic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeQGIzVyT3M
Reported uncritically:
The federal government has opened civil rights investigations into several universities over allegations of antisemitism or Islamophobia since the war began, as part of the Biden administration’s effort to dismantle discrimination in schools.
…… Really? Are they really undertaking an effort to dismantle discrimination in schools? What evidence do you have for that? Because I have a lot of evidence that they are doing the exact opposite.
Democrats have reverted to the mean. Half are racists, and the other half are hand wringers.
My stupid laptop stopped working. Goddamnit. Only had it for 6 years 🙁 . Was hoping to get at least 3 more.
Conspiracy, I sez! My $100 up stream netbook is about to die… Plastic hinges cracking, case popping apart. Linux revived it after windows could no longer update… But it looks like the hardware is about dead. Only got… Huh…13 years out of it. Stupid planned obsolescence.
My daughter uses a chromebook with a GeForce Now account to get most of what anyone would want. She plays Steam games via streaming with a powerful GPU for similar cost to Netflix. Way more cost effective than a $2,500 pc, so dad is happy.
Her chromebook is a tank. I can’t imagine that thing ever dying. Limited capabilities, but she only needs web apps for school.
Currently typing on an 11 year old desktop. I’ve upgraded the video card and the RAM, but this thing just keeps chugging, especially since it’s mainly used for web browsing, Office, Skype and a few other non-memory-intensive applications.
Huge herd of elk resting on lawns in Colorado
https://twitter.com/gunsnrosesgirl3/status/1717482276588519835
they pretty much walk the streets of Estes Park
“No Fun League”
Eh, just going back to the previous rule that you can’t advance the ball by pushing the runner. Really, just the mirror image of the rule that the defense can’t push the ball carrier back, so the ball gets spotted at forward progress.
Under the “nobody thought it was broken in the first place” theory….
And my eyes were glued to every riveting detail.
The article buried the lede – a black man was somehow able to obtain picture ID.
I had no idea that guy was Bond-villain level evil. JFC.
Why? Just because he said “Fuck you, I am going to keep stealing all of your money and shoveling to evil foreign dictators whether y ou like it or not.”?
Good grief rhywun, what kind of monster are you?
Lloyd Austin would easily fit in Congress. I see a whole new career opening up. Talks tough, likes spending other people’s money.
Not liking Atlanta: How to say you don’t care for black folks without saying you don’t care for black folks (just kidding BTW). Either that or you hate construction zones, snarled traffic, and high crime.
Insane traffic and crowds, expensive, and utterly bland. At least it’s winter so the heat and humidity are tolerable.
And not even peach season.
At least it’s not
ClevelandSan Francisco (Pre Emperor Xi).Concur on David Gilmour. I’ve always thought this his clean tone and superficially simple arrangements (as in, not burying everything under piles of look-at-me flourishes) is actually harder to do well than the stereotypical guitar hero antics.
overdrive pedals and hammer-ons FTW !!!!
superficially simple
whose side you on?
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 12/03:
*22/22 words (+10 bonus words)
⏱️ In the top 1% by speed
I played https://squaredle.com 12/03:
76/76 words (+39 bonus words)
📖 In the top 9% by bonus words
🔥 Solve streak: 70
I’m just not feeling it today… currently at 29/76… just keep feeling like doing something else. So will get to both of them at some point (at least XP so it doesn’t fade away, I guess…) but no rush. Good job on your part though Sean.
Thanks. I had to use hints on the regular one.
I played https://squaredle.com/?puzzle=medical:
211/211 words (+156 bonus words)
📖 In the top 10% by bonus words
That one was a bit of a bugger too.
Working on this one. Seeing how far I can get before I turn on the hints.
I played https://squaredle.com/?puzzle=otherworldly:
268/499 words (+89 bonus words)
I dig the big puzzles. 👍
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 12/03:
*22/22 words (+3 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 44% by accuracy
I played https://squaredle.com 12/03:
76/76 words (+22 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 25% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 94
Ugh. That sucked.
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 12/03:
*22/22 words (+2 bonus words)
🎯 Perfect accuracy
I played https://squaredle.com 12/03:
76/76 words (+16 bonus words)
🎯 In the top 5% by accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 126
What’s to stop some joker resident/pedestrian with an airhorn getting people bogus noise tickets?
I cant believe no one posted this yet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylhsbfQTPDQ
How old is that? Today’s assholes are MUCH louder than that.
I remember lamenting having to either listen to loud motorcycle assholes or thumping shit music assholes. Then one day I pulled up to a stop light next to the ultimate asshole… cranking shit thumping music whilst revving his Harley. I was glad I was not with a firearm.
I don’t want to know how loud your asshole is….
The most memorable part of the Pink Floyd show at Camp Randall in 1994 was Comfortably Numb. Every time I talk to someone at that show, this is the first thing they bring up.
It had been lightly raining on and off throughout the show. When Comfortably Numb started, the rain picked up in intensity. As Gilmore’s guitar solo increased in intensity, the rain came down harder until it was a downpour at the end. It’s like the rain was choreographed with the music. When the song was over, the rain slowed down and ended. It was very surreal.
Trippy
My brother lived a block away, so we had a big party before and after the show. More than a few friends had to be assured that yes, that did actually happen.
Administration officials have warned that money for Ukraine is running out and may only last through the end of this year. The Pentagon has about $5 billion worth of equipment it can send from it’s own stockpiles and has been eating away at that almost weekly. Money to replace military weapons and equipment taken from Pentagon stocks to send to Ukraine is rapidly dwindling, and totals about $1 billion.
The well is running dry and Israel ranks higher than Ukraine. You fucked up, you trusted us. Maybe Israel should learn from that.
You fucked up, you trusted us.
It is hard for me to believe that there is anyone around the world that hasn’t figured that out by now.
People build better idiots.
Trump’s plans for second term.
Well fuck.
Trump is not a small government, low tax, reduce spending conservative. It’s a great shock.
He demonstrated that in his first term.
Still, we have a choice. A- a bowl of runny, steaming dogshit or B – a bowl of raw turnips. You are going to eat one or the other, take your pick.
https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/01/NINTCHDBPICT000705946424.webpstripall.jpg?w=1280&quality=44
Cant read it. What does Trump say? Is Andrew just talking as someone familiar with Trump’s thinking?
Are there quotes? Or just “people familiar with Trumps thinking?”
But, yeah, no shit he wants big gov’t, as that is what most of the population wants. Gotta turn the ship if you want that to change.
Sorry, I’m laughing too hard at this.
yeah, me too. There is no evidence of that.
To carry over a spud link discussion: In-N-Out fries are maligned because they are considerably healthier than the competition. You can watch the employees cut up fresh potatoes, toss them in a deep fryer, salted and done.
The crispy greasy goodness that is MickyDs fries comes from deep frying them once, freezing them, and then deep frying them again at the restaurant. Proof of the adage that calories are a rough measure of how delicious something tastes.
Some of the worst “date night” experiences with the wife are when we sit at the Chefs Counter, or whatever you call it (her choice, not mine.) I don’t want to watch them cook, I am there to have dinner, not see them perform like trained seals. Seeing fast food workers make fries is just as bad. Let them make passes at the girl working the drive through, play practical jokes on each other, and all the random shit that happens in a pro kitchen. Let them be themselves.
Yeah, Ramsey pulls that shit on one of his cooking competitions – the “chef’s table”. It’s the most pretentious thing I’ve ever seen in a field that is already so littered with pretension.
If you haven’t seen The Menu, you really should.
*Sushi chefs shout, hurl Shun knives across room*
And yet, McD’s fries were once fried in beef tallow. Can you imagine how magical that was?
And their apple pies too.
Related: https://www.chewboom.com/2023/12/02/blueberry-lemon-cream-cheese-fried-pie-is-back-at-popeyes/
That looks good.
“You’ll hear some people try to brand an American retreat from responsibility as bold new leadership,” Austin said. “Make no mistake: It is not bold. It is not new. And it is not leadership.”
When I want to hear about bold leadership, the first guy I think of is that triple-masked, full-face-shielded putz. That worthless fuck should be painting rocks white at For Leavenworth.
There’s no such thing as a non-Southern city located in the actual South, because it’s an agglomeration of cultures. Key West, Asheville, Oklahoma City, San Antonio: distinctly different overall vibes. And a proggy city like Austin is more liveable than, say, SF, because it is a blue dot surrounded by a tempering sea of red.
This seems a bit like the No True Scotsman fallacy.
Well, they are cities, and they are in the south. Hence, southern cities, no matter if someone doesn’t like the flavor and feel.
Yeah. It’s a rationalization to correct a bs generalization.
I’ve never had Costco (welcome to Costco, I love you) mac & cheese. Is it good? Wife was looking for a good mac & cheese recipe and I may give that one a whirl.
I thought Panera was supposed to be the reigning champion.
https://thecozycook.com/panera-mac-and-cheese/
*shrug*
Thanks, I may give that one a try as well.
If you have access to the Beechers Flagship Mac and Cheese, it is the same recipe they use in heaven.
Pricey though.
Yes, but an example of getting what you pay for.
Stouffer’s or GTFO.
Tangentially, the Kirkland brand lasagna is way, way better than it has any right to be. Haven’t tried the mac&cheese (which I assume is the one they do at the ‘fresh’ counter).
It’s a start
At his event in Cedar Rapids, Trump pointed to a speech Biden gave ahead of the 2022 midterm elections in which the president warned Trump and his closest followers were trying to undermine American democracy and that their efforts could devolve into violence.
“If Joe Biden wants to make this race a question of which candidate will defend our democracy and protect our freedoms, and I say to crooked Joe – and he is crooked, the most corrupt president we’ve ever had – we will win that fight and we’re going to win it very big,” Trump said.
Trump added, “Joe Biden is not the defender of American democracy. Joe Biden is the destroyer of American democracy.”
I don’t disagree, but you have to tell them specifically how President Pen-and-Checkbook’s rule by decree is wrecking democracy. There is more to democracy than ballot boxes stuffed like Christmas turkeys.
Hammer attack? I hope it was a giant mallet like Ben Davidson had in Conan.
Imagine if the titanic array of law and order that has been trained on Donald for the last eight years with little to nothing to show for it were instead trained on Joe. “You’re gonna get sick of the scandals!”
Slutty Sunday bringing top heavy babes for your viewing pleasure.
https://archive.is/wyHgX
Hi Q!
Saving the earth, on decree at a time
An EPA press release said the rule is expected to prevent 58 million tons of methane from entering the atmosphere between 2024 and 2038. These emissions savings are the climate equivalent of taking 28 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year.
Methane is a planet-warming gas that’s about 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about 25 percent of global warming.
It mainly comes from the production and transport of fossil fuels — as well as from livestock and other agriculture and decaying waste in landfills. Natural gas is primarily made up of methane.
The announcement was made as the U.S. looks to show that it is tackling the issue and encourage other nations to do the same during the global climate summit known as COP28 being held in Dubai. While President Biden will not go this year’s summit, other officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Special Climate Envoy John Kerry, are attending.
The EPA rule would deliver the methane emissions cuts through policies aimed at limiting leaks, such as requiring monitoring and repairs.
The final rule also adds an additional requirement for new wells — to phase in the elimination of the routine burning off of excess gas that’s extracted alongside oil. The practice, known as flaring, occurs when companies opt to burn off gas that comes alongside oil production instead of capturing it for use.
Leave it in the ground. We don’t need liquid energy. We’ll just rub sticks together.
Narrator: Other nations are not going to do the same.
“It (methane) mainly comes from the production and transport of fossil fuels – ”
Lie. Outright, baldfaced lie. The amount of methane produced outside of the ocean is barely a rounding error. Methane comes from decaying biological material in the oceans. Think algae, diatoms, etc.
Gun grabbers or watermelons, which are the biggest liars?
In addition to methane, the rule is also expected to reduce pollution, preventing 590,000 tons of toxic air pollutants from being emitted from 2024 to 2038.
Methane regulations have been something of a political issue in recent years. The Trump administration rolled back methane regulations.
However, President Biden was able to undo that rule with the help of Congress since a law called the Congressional Review Act allows for the reversal of recently passed rules.
Biden’s latest action received a warm response from at least one player in the oil and gas industry.
“BP welcomes the finalization of a federal methane rule for new, modified and – for the first time – existing sources,” said Orlando Alvarez, chairman and president of BP America, in a press release issued by the EPA. “We appreciate the collaborative way EPA, NGOs and industry worked together on this rulemaking.”
No kidding. Corporations prefer clarity. PR departments issue bullshit press releases. What a shocker.
I’m sure the usual suspects will be along to tell us it’s not enough! and we’ll all die if fossil fuels are not banned completely.
And extra opportunities for graft.
Fuck the Pope
Pope Francis said on Sunday that it was essential for all world religions to unite in opposing the “rapacious” devastation of the environment.
The 86-year-old pope had planned to preside at the opening of the Faith Pavilion at the C0P28 climate conference in Dubai but a lung inflammation forced him to remain in the Vatican.
Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin read the pope’s message in his place, as he did with Francis’ main address to the conference on Saturday.
“Religions, as voices of conscience for humanity, remind us that we are finite creatures, possessed of a need for the infinite,” the pope said, noting that a Faith Pavilion was a first at a COP conference.
“For we are indeed mortal, we have our limits, and protecting life also entails opposing the rapacious illusion of omnipotence that is devastating our planet,” he said.
Religions, he said, “need, urgently, to act for the sake of the environment”, educate their members to “sober and fraternal lifestyles” instead of wasteful ones and work for a return to the individual contemplation of nature’s grandeur.
——-
In his main address to the conference on Saturday, Francis repeated his call for the elimination of fossil fuels.
Stick to your knitting, you pompous charlatan. Focus on butt fucking little boys.
The whole thing is a “faith pavilion”.
He clearly needs to refresh himself on St. Augustine of Hippo.
New truck is on the way (eventually). Prices are up but feature creep is up too. I’m able to get a lesser trim level with almost all of the same creature comforts as my last one plus a few more bells and whistles for essentially the same inflation adjusted price as I did 20+ years ago.
Will miss the CD player. I still like throwing a disc in and letting it go vs streaming/mp3.
+1
Discs are great when you are in the middle of nowhere. I keep some in the truck now just for that reason.
I think I’m-a make eggs B today for Brunchnner
Isn’t that called “lunch”?
Battle for the soul of America
“Donald Trump and his MAGA republicans are determined to destroy American democracy,” Biden said at a fundraiser in New York.
Trying to make a reelection campaign about a choice is a strategy as old as time. And it’s an absolute necessity for Biden, says pollster Christine Matthews.
“Everyone can see the latest polls, so if it is a referendum in 2024 on Joe Biden, he will lose,” said Matthews, who runs Bellwether Research and does polling for moderate Republicans.
She said a lot of people tuned out after Biden was inaugurated and have forgotten the chaos and instability that were Trump’s trademarks.
“Right now the hazy veil of memory is benefitting Trump,” she said. “People are looking back and it’s a little fuzzy but it seems like gosh, things weren’t as expensive.”
Voters say they are worried about inflation, the state of the world and the president’s age and all of that is weighing down Biden’s approval. But that’s also where a contrast can help. Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, says party volunteers recently went out knocking on the doors of people who are not normally Democratic voters, asking them what they care about and how they’d feel about Trump winning again.
“However upset people are with whatever is bothering them at this moment, there are so many people who do not want that guy to get back into the White House,” said Wikler.
Biden needs to harness what Wikler called an “anti-MAGA” coalition. That is, not just Democrats.
Chaos and instability? I guess he did manage to upset a few people’s apple carts. Not nearly enough, though.
If we can just get people to focus on Joe’s good intentions and ignore the actual practical effects of his diktats, we might be okay.
In 2020, among voters who disliked both Biden and Trump, in the end they tipped in favor of Biden. Currently polls show Trump winning with the “haters” said Matthews. What Biden’s campaign is doing now is trying to remind all those voters why they ended up supporting Biden in the first place, and working to persuade them to do it again.
Now that they have seen Joe in action, a lot of those anybody-but-Trump voters might turn out to be almost-anybody-but-Trump voters.
I would think having seen Joe in action they would be anybody but Biden voters.