Tomorrow…
A reminder – tomorrow evening we will have to take the site off-line to update the format. Our old familiar layout and manner of posting is not being supported (sounds like Windows, eh?). Also, with us opening registration again, and taking the veil off of searches, we anticipate traffic increasing…eventually.
This leads to further reminders. We exist because of certain people contributing their time and efforts – Webdom, who took over for our dear departed SP in administering the site. Our weekday morning linkers Banjos and Sloopy. Our afternoon linkers – Riven, Tonio, SugarFree, mexican sharpshooter, me. Weekend linkers – Old Man With Candy, Spudalicious. Our regular features – Animal, Mojeaux, CPRM, R.J., SugarFree, Not Adahn, ron73440, mexican sharpshooter. All of our periodic contributors – too numerous to list. Our open Zoom room is a special little place, courtesy of Nephilium. Your editor who works with aspiring authors is Tonio. Your primary scheduler and minor repairs editor is me. Our cryptid contributors are STEVE SMITH, SEA SMITH and ZARDOZ.
This website is part of a small Texas charitable foundation – the Glibertarians Foundation. Funds raised by donation and by merch sales go to pay hosting and other charges, with the surplus being donated to a deserving pair of liberty-oriented organizations annually (usually the Institute for Justice, FIRE and such). We have a contribution link on the main page of the site – right now it is PayPal based, we will be replacing that with Venmo (after the update) for those of you who find the site worth a couple of pins or so.
If you find us worth a read, stick around. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell anyone who might enjoy. Just check the commenting policy on the main page, please.
And now some links.
- Whycome defense budget so screwy?
- “Please stop beating us up. We had counted on Russia to protect us…oops. And you guys have Turkish support and oil. Uncle!”
- Did someone say defense budget?
Music – an upbeat song.
hums..
the site’ll come up… tomorrow!
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow — there’ll be fun!
Just thinking about… tomorrow –
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow… until STEVE SMITH gets done!
Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Server monkeys will love us, tomorrow! They’re only… a day…. awaaaaay!
(And no — nowhere near as good as Swiss churned out in the mid-day thread. Check that if you haven’t.)
Thank you.
Hmmm… looks like it takes registering a card with them.
I miss the whole thing they did a few years back where you could request fixed spending limit virtual cards linked to your main card (UBER BANK AUF AMERIKA did anyway…). Better than Paypal – but I’d rather not have the card registered (which is what the docs I found state). But the site squirrels need acorns, so I doubtless will anyway.
A couple of cards are back to offering virtual card numbers again (and suggesting that you use them online).
I hope it catches (back) on. It makes much more sense to me (especially with the set reduced limits). Thanks.
Would a Visa gift card bought at the drug store work?
Too damned obvious apparently. 😛
Yeah, that would probably work. The doc I was reading said you stood a good chance of a service fee with a debit vs. credit card (which is what I believe the pre-paid ones show as), but c’est la vie even if that’s the case.
Thank you for hitting me with the much needed “I’m being stupid” stick, GT.
I was just thinking of my employer’s employees-reward-each-other program, where you can redeem points for merch, specific store gift cards, virtual Visas, etc. I’ve used Virtual Visas for GoFundMe campaigns, so I thought they might also work for more generic online payment systems.
And I only hit you with my fluffy feather stick, so I trust it didn’t hurt TOO badly. 😁
And if it’s Visa or MC branded and doesn’t require a PIN, maybe it would pass for a CC?
This MIGHT be an option: https://privacy.com/
I’ve not signed up yet, but my initial due diligence has not raised flags.
Why did I read “privacy” as “piracy”?
Raytheon says: “Piker.”
—“Whycome defense budget so screwy”—
I don’t get the problem with this. Almost all of us know that at the end of the fiscal year, the government word goes out to spend any left over money. How can you be angry at this woman (?) for just doing her job?
Given DoD can’t pass an audit, how do they know she really stole it?
Heisenberg’s theory.
At least they’re being franc about the situation.
*narrows gaze*
I suspect a military budget would come down to brass tax.
I guess that’s ok, as we all are on some sort of lists anyway. >.>
*Adds Sean to another list
Adds bacon to grocery list.
Our old familiar layout and manner of posting is not being supported
😞
The commenter experience will change very little, but contributing writers will feel it the most. The beloved and simple Classic Editor is no longer “supported” by WordPress and authors and editors will have to contend with the newfangled Block Editor.
As long as I can copy/paste from MS Word, I can manage.
I can manage, but I don’t like changing something that was working.
But, having a functioning site is more important than my preferences.
Agree
So gnashing of teeth and tearing of garments?
Probably just for me. I never transitioned to the new block editor.
You are not alone.
*sniffles*
I have a UI that works for me, why must I adapt to another??!!
Because.
The block editor wasn’t all that bad.
HAIL ZARDOZ. PREPARE FOR THE CLEANSING.
YOU HAVE BEEN RAISED UP FROM BRUTALITY, TO KILL THE BRUTALS WHO MULTIPLY, AND ARE LEGION.
TO THIS END, ZARDOZ YOUR GOD GAVE YOU THE GIFT OF THE GUN.
THE GUN IS GOOD.
THE PENIS IS EVIL.
THE PENIS SHOTS SEEDS, AND MAKES NEW LIFE, AND POISONS THE EARTH WITH A PLAGUE OF MEN, AS IT ONCE WAS.
BUT THE GUN SHOOTS DEATH, AND PURIFIES THE EARTH OF THE FILTH OF BRUTALS…
So ends the recitation. May the site update not crash the system and cause weeping and gnashing of teeth.
AMEN.
The major events in question are AirSpirit24 and Defense25. The first is an airshow held every 10 years to celebrate the main anniversaries of the Swiss Air Force; this year it would have been held in Emmen. Defense25 is a military exercise to demonstrate the work and capabilities of the Swiss Army’s ground troops to the population and would take place in Biere.
The Air Force and Navy use the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, respectively, as a recruiting aid. The Swiss shouldn’t have any problems with recruiting, even absent the airshows. I mean, the logo alone is a big plus.
That’s the kinda thing Swiss might get cross about.
I see the width being diminished.
I’ve never know Swiss to have a cow about anything.
*militantly narrows gaze*
Good luck, on the change over. But fair warning, if this is a complete mess I’m canceling my subscription.
There will be no refunds.
tomorrow evening we will have to take the site off-line to update the format.
I look forward to seeing the new look.
…and monthly updates…
The new site will be Gliberservatives.
Gliberluminati — STEVE SMITH UP EVERYONE’S BACKSIDE!
Beware the Glibs of Zurich.
The all seeing third eye.
“Looks like Chuck’s taking Mr One-Eye to the optometrist !”
Do the Swiss troops carry Swiss Army knives? Inquiring minds need to know. Just in case
I still have the one dad gave me when I turned 10 in my tackle box.
I have a small Leatherman tethered to the hole in my bib overalls for fishing.
They did in the late 1970s is all I remember.
I am not a Swiss troop, but I carry a Swiss knife, and watch!
The military admitted that there is nothing that can be done to withhold Mello’s benefits as they’re protected under a federal law that was held up in government bureaucracy.
So she can buy things from the Federal Penitentiary commissary when she hits 65 during her presumably long stay at Club Fed?
The article discussed in AM links just got submitted. If I need to resubmit after change over tomorrow, let me know.
If I’m remembering correctly, the Russians sorta but not officially committed to helping the Armenians (like us with Taiwan and Israel). Then the Armenians started doing idiotic provocative things and the Russians said “good luck”.
As it should be. Germany should have done the same after the Austria-Hungary memorandum to Serbia, after all.
The Turkmani have been genociding Armenians for close to a 1,000 years now. Israel sold them weapons to help with the genociding this time around and the Americans knew the Russians were too preoccupied to help with the Ukraine conflict. But, yeah, it’s funny to laugh at genocide, so long as it’s an unfashionable people.
Armenians provocations: existing
Scott Horton did a show on this a few months back. I don’t remember all the details right now, but I do remember it as a pretty good primer: https://scotthorton.org/interviews/10-5-23-dennis-marburger-on-the-fall-of-nagorno-karabakh/
We exist because of certain people contributing their time and efforts . . . .
We need to arrange a time and place where I can drop off a case of mead for the folks that do all this hard work.
If we could get them to HH. The mead alone is well worth the trip, in any case, the mead is appreciated by the Glibwriters and other Glibs that show up, as well as the locals.
When I went to Alaska and accidentally caught a mess of salmon and had the filet shipped down, after the Bosslady got over her conniption (you did what?) we had an “Eating of the Salmon” party, with neighbors and friends invited.
By far, the most popular treatment of the fish (we cooked them four or five ways) was mead-poached.
If you can find someone to bring you a mess of lake trout, bring some mead to a light simmer, add a squeeze of half a lemon, put in the fillet, and cook for a few minutes. All the guests, and a few of the bears, will be coming to your yard.
…I like mead.
Mead paper? Margaret Mead? Mead, WI ?
We can meet at the Mississippi. But I won’t cross into Illinois. 😉
Kinnath and Swiss, at Tanagra.
Much dig. 👍
Will there be any extra functionality added to the new site?
Blackjack! And hookers!
Glibbr. It’s an app that allows Glibs to post short, pithy comments to the world.
Wait I thought they renamed that to just “G”.
There’ll be a link. But good luck finding the G spot.
That’s not a problem. It’s that little red button between the G and H keys on your laptop.
If you can find the formality, you can find the functionality.
Nothing integral to the site will be lost.
Any differentials will be purely cosmetic.
Puns? Really? So derivative.
OnlyGlibs, where people just record themselves talking about the NAP.
I have invited a friend this way – Alaskan, libertarianish, smart-as-a-whip.
If he writes for Red State we already got him.
Nope, I know at least two people to lean on if I ever do make it up that way.
Settle down, you paranoid crackpots
A year ago, a Biden administration official set off a firestorm when he suggested the Consumer Product Safety Commission could ban gas stoves, because they have been linked to childhood asthma. Cue the outrage.
On Monday, the administration released its new standards. Your gas stove is safe.
The US Energy Department announced new energy efficiency standards for ovens and stoves, and the big takeaway is: Not much is changing. The department assured that the vast majority of gas stoves on the market – 97% – already meet the standards.
——-
“The standards will not result in the loss of any consumer-desired features in future models, such as continuous cast-iron grates, high input rate burners, and other specialty burners,” the DOE said in a release Monday.
What the administration says the new standards will do, however, is save Americans about $1.6 billion on their utility bills over 30 years. The energy savings would also do good for the environment, decreasing harmful carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 4 million metric tons over three decades, the DOE claimed.
They’re helping us save money, see>
I wonder what they used as a cost assumption for that
calculationwild guess.What is the market share of those 3% that will be banned?
See no reason to complain – it’s nothing more than a camel nose.
So… 3% of stoves getting phased out will save $1.6 billion over 30 years?
Why do I doubt those numbers are based in anything resembling reality?
They’re already banning gas at the state level.
By their logic, everyone can shut up about abortion now – right?
Huh. Must be an election year.
They’re about to fuck up the market for table saws instead.
https://toolguyd.com/sawstop-table-saw-regulations-update-012024/
Those cheap Ryobi table saws for a couple hundred bucks will either go away altogether or cost $500-$900 instead.
Sawstop’s patents are expiring already.
Paging donnytwofinger…
Yeah, they’re filing for extensions of course. To nobody’s surprise the guy who first brought up the notion to the government to mandate that kind of tech in table saws was the patent holder.
What could be more the personification of a deplorable than a guy that owns a table saw for his weekend woodworking hobby?
YOU DIDNT BUILD THAT!
FREE CASCAD…..oh, never mind.
whaddup doh’
If the DOE finalizes all of its pending standards from the backlog of updating efficiency standards, the agency projects it will save consumers $1 trillion and cut at least 2.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years.
WHEEEEE!
“cut at least 2.5 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over 30 years”
Where are these tons of emissions piling up? I damn sure don’t see any around my house. With billions of tons of the stuff there must be some. Someone’s getting my share and it pisses me off.
So since CO2 is about 0.11 lb/ft3….Id work that out to a volume but its pointless.
Pikers! Just think how much consumers could save if carbon based fuels were outlawed tomorrow
Facebook just sent me a message to say “you are old!”.
This was in the form of a reminder that my youngest turned 45 today.
Another reason not to Facebook, don’t need no stinkin’ reminders
Astronomical
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and three other Democratic lawmakers are pushing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates at the upcoming Fed meeting to make housing more affordable.
“As the Fed weighs its next steps in the new year, we urge you to consider the effects of your interest rate decisions on the housing market,” the senators wrote in a letter to Powell on Sunday.
“The direct effect of these astronomical rates has been a significant increase in the overall home purchasing cost to the average consumer,” the letter said.
That’s right. If mortgage rates were knocked down to 2% there would be no homelessness.
I guess she’ll be fine with 25% inflation.
Wrong! There will not be any inflation unless…those evil kulaks, wreckers, and greedy businessmen put up prices.
Expensive housing costs have contributed to lagging public sentiment on the economy, a top voting issue that has weighed on President Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign.
But in December the Fed indicated that three rate cuts could come in 2024 as inflation cools, which has already helped lift consumer attitudes on the economy.
The Fed has announced their clear intent to violate the Hatch Act for the benefit of President Biden? That’s good to know.
Me and my shadow
The drone that killed three US Army soldiers and wounded dozens more in Jordan on Sunday approached the US military outpost, Tower 22, around the same time an American drone was returning to the base, which led to uncertainty over whether it was hostile and caused a delay to the US response, two US officials told CNN.
The enemy drone followed the American drone as it approached, but it is not clear whether the enemy drone intentionally followed the American one or if it was a coincidence, one of the officials said. US officials are also still assessing the enemy drone’s point of origin.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the confusion over the enemy drone.
——-
The consensus is that an Iran-backed militia group is behind the deadly drone attack, though the US is still working to determine which group specifically is responsible. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN’s Phil Mattingly on Monday that the White House believes “the group was supported by Kataib Hezbollah, which is one of the main IRGC Revolutionary Guard-core backed groups in Iraq and Syria.”
I have no idea; could that be done visually, or would it require some sort of tracking capability on board the drone?
Visually, via the camera the operator uses, though there was probably also a spotter on the ground nearby. Shepherds often move freely across the borders there. Pay off the right one to get good recon.
As seen on Fox News: Iran-proxy drone got past Tower 22 air defenses because it was mistaken for US drone returning to base
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/what-is-tower-22-and-why-are-us-troops-in-jordan/ar-BB1hrbnk
When I was in the Army back in 2016, I was on the short list for an Arabic immersion trip to Jordan. I didn’t make the final cut. That’s OK. I’ve been to the Middle East before.
In other news, a retired Green Beret knocked on my door today. We had a nice chat, and I gave him my business card. He’s moving and was looking for someone to take his TV and bed. At least, that’s the reason he gave.
From BBC:
***
The attack targeted a US military base known as Tower 22 in north-eastern Jordan, near the Syrian border.
A defence official told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that the enemy drone came in “very low and very slow” at the same time that an American drone was returning to the base from a mission.
The auto-response features of the base’s air defence system were turned off so as not to shoot down the US drone, the official said.
As a result, there was little to no warning for troops stationed at Tower 22, who were reportedly still in their sleeping quarters when the drone arrived.
…
The base which was hit in a deadly drone attack in a north-west corner of Jordan is one of more than a dozen where US military personnel operate across Iraq, Jordan and Syria.
In recent months, these bases – ranging in size from a military outpost such as Tower 22, which was hit in Jordan, to al-Asad air base in western Iraq – have been attacked by militias trained, funded and equipped by Iran.
There are about 3,000 US troops based in Jordan, a key US ally, and 2,500 in Iraq – there at the invitation of the Iraqi government as part of a US-led coalition to prevent a resurgence of the jihadist Islamic State group, which still has a presence there after being routed in 2017.
There are also about 900 US personnel in Syria, officially there to support its anti-IS ally the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria’s semi-autonomous north-east region. The Syria government opposes the US presence in its country, calling it an occupation.
The US also maintains many more bases further afield across the Middle East, including three major air bases in the Gulf and a port in Bahrain which serves as the headquarters of the US Naval Forces Central Command and the US Fifth Fleet.
***
Left unstated, exactly what the air defense would do if it had been turned on. Pop up warning that’s not actionable or C-RAM (and how effective are they against drones)?
If there was a concern it could shoot down a US drone (probably a Predator), I presume it would be effective against an Iranian drone like a Shahed or an Ababil.
Also, RIP to the fallen soldiers. All gave some, some gave all.
End the forever wars and bring the troops home.
“Hey Pfc Snuffy, go ahead and turn that thing off. Can’t be too careful…no fucking way am I signing another statement of charges.”
Exactly why Tres V2.0 isnt joining any branch of the services that provides “boots on the ground”. I know they all do in some capacity or other.
Recruiters hang out at his school (which I deeply disagree with) like pimps looking for their next hoes.
If you have a problem, and no-one else can help. If you cant find them- maybe you can hire the A-Team
Looks like they found me. The FBI beat them to the punch. Given that I used to work for NSA, I’m sure I’m at the top of many lists.
We have 6,000+ troops in the Middle East but can’t secure our own southern border?
It makes no sense.
Why do we have troops in Africa?
US troops restricted to American bases, embassy in Niger
Ostensibly to fight groups like Boko Haram and Al Shabab, neither of which is a threat to the US.
Seems like Boko Haram raided that school and took Hillary Clinton’s kids. Or was it Michelle Obama?
Someone was supporting them.
Someone might not take Africom seriously if we didn’t.
So that they can’t be at our southern border?
Niger, please.
If you didnt do that, I was going to.
I didn’t want you to have to reply to yourself 🙂
Good lookin’, Niger
Nice 🙂
I’m glad wasn’t Harry Belafonte, because that would have been racist.
FTFY
Those soldiers are just bait. There aren’t enough of them to do anything other than hold and be sitting ducks to justify the next conflict
That depends on how you see things.
XY tells me he decided to go get a passport. I asked if he was going to travel internationally. He said “Maybe.” I thought about that a few seconds and decided that might be a good thing.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
I haven’t been able to give my children the travel experiences my parents gave my brothers and me.
Why do we have troops in Africa?
Drug enforcement, duh.
Maybe they miss the rains down there.
Toto did say to hold the line…
TOTO does.
“Squad member Ilhan Omar slammed for ‘disgraceful’ speech saying she is ‘Somalia first’ and pushing an unrecognized deal with Ethiopia”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13020207/ilhan-omar-slammed-speech-somalia-ethiopia-deal.html
CWAC
“Sleep in comfort tonight knowing that I’m protecting Somali interests from inside the US system”.
Sounds sufficiently treason-y.
At least she’s honest. How about all the assholes putting Europe and the WEF before American interests?
I could maybe make an argument that they’re allies….treaties and all that old stuff.
If we dont already, we should have a direct interest in Africa, just for the mineral rights we can exploit. Then again, I feel the same way about Canada.
Canada is our little jaunty top hat that needs some adjustment around the headband on occasion.
America’s Dunce Cap
If she had any class she would have resigned in disgrace a couple dozen times already.
Is this supposed to be news to us?
“Ohio lawmakers propose PAYING kindergarteners and ninth graders $50 a month to attend school – and a $250 bonus if they graduate – under wild experiment targeting absenteeism”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13019725/ohio-house-bill-348-pay-students-attend-school-chronic-absenteeism.html
End child unemployment.
The Dems have been pushing this for many years – I wonder how it has worked out in those areas where it was implemented.
The Get Schoolchildren Accustomed to Being Bribed For Votes By Democrats act.
Today I learned: How alligators survive in frozen water
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Z5ok5xfHg
I thought 1 alligator called in all the other ones around. He was the [[[takes off shades]]]…..congregator.
That was a pretty Shpippy thing to say.
I already had that one ‘diled in.
alligator, from el legarto (the lizard, Spanish)
And now you know.
Jordan Peterson sentenced to open-ended re-education.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKh0A2GFFMk
That’ll teach him for his wrongthink on gender and climate change.
I would love it if he managed to Whatever-Pill some people while he’s in the klasses. Bonus points if he converts a teacher.
He’s a Joel Osteen. Or a Trump. The more they persecute him, the more he’s martyred.
Dafuq? Have you listened to the guy? He’s no Joel Osteen or Trump.
Now, if you only mean to say he’s easily martyred, then okay.
If he had any balls he’d tell them to shove their license to practice psychology up their asses and go on treating people anyway, whinging that he’s be persecuted gives their bullshit licensing requirement undeserved authority.
He doesn’t practice at all. The re-education is for him to be able to keep his license.
Right, a bullshit license and if he had a hair on his ass he’d tell them to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. The only power they have over him is if he wants to enjoy the monopoly on medical care that he most likely* profited on during his working life and thus he’s part of the system. Live by the sword die by the …
*I don’t know his history and am not inclined to investigate but he is a DR. and thus at one time at least benefitted from the violence inherent in the system.
Social update:
Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion Diss Track Beef Keeps Getting Uglier
Ya’all need to just Calm down.
What was that meme?
It was a man sitting on a park bench, talking to Jesus. He said:
“One minute, I was telling my wife to calm down, then here I am, talking to you!”
Truths (with the lying unspoken subtexts):
I promise I won’t cum in your mouth (right away)
The maximum income tax bracket if you pass this constitutional amendment will only be 3% (this year – soon we’ll raise it to 90%)
These gas stove standards will only affect 3% of stoves (this year – but once the precedent is set, 99% will be prohibited)
Another reason not to vote for RFK Jr:
***
After his father’s death, Kennedy lived with a surrogate family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[21] Kennedy was expelled from two boarding schools—Millbrook in upstate New York and Pomfret in Connecticut—for using drugs.[22] In August 1970, Kennedy and his cousin Bobby Shriver were arrested in Barnstable, Massachusetts, for marijuana possession and were placed on 13 months’ probation.[23][24] He graduated from the Palfrey Street School, a day school in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1972.[25]
Kennedy continued his education at Harvard University, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in American history and literature. He then studied at the London School of Economics before earning a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1982,[26] and a Master of Laws from Pace University in 1987.[27]
…
In 1982, Kennedy was sworn in as an assistant district attorney for Manhattan.[7] After failing his bar exam, he resigned in July 1983.[28] That September, he was charged with heroin possession in Rapid City, S.D.,[28] and pleaded guilty in February 1984, whereupon he was sentenced to two years’ probation and community service.[29][30] Following his arrest he entered a drug treatment center. To satisfy the conditions of his probation, Kennedy worked as a volunteer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and was required to attend regular drug-rehabilitation session. His probation ended a year early.[31]
***
It’s not the drugs that bothers me so much as the fact that he got caught. What a dumbass. Also, I doubt very much he got into Harvard on academic merit.
Yeah a dude that got kicked out of multiple private schools with an arrest record totes got into Harvard on merit
I want to know what the drugs are and can I get some that will get me into Harvard.
Despite decades of trying, there had never been a genetic link shown to addiction. “Learned Behaviour”, maybe,
But his Uncle is the notorious drunk, lampshade on the head, party guy that sunk Mary J into a river.
The fact that he went to Harvard is damning in of itself.
Cornell used to crank out some good chemistry kids, IMO.
That was 25 years ago.