“OK, you need to move everything out of your lab, haul it upstairs, and set it up there. As soon as you do that, you need to haul everything that’s upstairs to the downstairs to make room for more stuff you’re hauling from downstairs to upstairs.” This will be my Saturday. It is not often that one thinks, “Man, I wish Warty was here,” but this is one of those times. No time to spare, so let’s just get to it.
Birthdays today include a fun guy with reputedly a huge dick; co-star of TV’s most perfect comedy; candidate for the most overrated actress; a comedian who knew how to go out with a bang; an absolutely disgusting fraud who became the patron saint of ambulance-chasers; and the queen of processed and unchallenging punk.
British politics is getting nearly as entertaining as ours.
I’ve never been an opera fan, but I could be convinced.
Hey, Cubans, if you don’t like it, there ARE still lampposts.
Cheer on the police state! What could possibly go wrong?
You have enough money to, ahhh, take care of this situation.
“We’re the government and we’re here to help you!”
Old Guy Music is a selection from an interesting concept album, “Seven Curses,” the songs on which are all American murder ballads. Cheerful! Here’s a wonderful cowboy song.
mornin’
Mournin’
Mornin’ Tres….and everyone else too.
It is already sauna-like outside. Grass cutting day or day drinking? Decisions, decisions.
why not both ?
The new carburetor for the tractor arrived wed and I haven’t put it on yet. That is probably a job I should do sober. I guess after that I could strip, drive the tractor, shoot my pistol wildly in the air and drink.
…Uncle John?
Grilling day, with a side of drinking.
Saunas are dry. Louisiana is moist. Steambath is the word that comes to mind.
I , too, need to cut the grass. But I also need to smoke and/or grill some meat. One of those is more fun than the other.
Hot already here too – but it’s a pool day. In fact it’s “kick off summer potluck” day at the pool, 4-7 tonight. I love our neighborhood.
Natsoc Propaganda Radio wants you to know: only an informed electorate can save us from becoming the Fourth Reich
As for Carroll, his latest accuser, Trump suggested in his statement that she might have ulterior motives and questioned her story.
“False accusations diminish the severity of real assault. All should condemn false accusations and any actual assault in the strongest possible terms,” the president said. “If anyone has information that the Democratic Party is working with Ms. Carroll or New York Magazine, please notify us as soon as possible. The world should know what’s really going on. It is a disgrace and people should pay dearly for such false accusations.”
Trump has previously defended political figures accused of sexual assault, including now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Alabama GOP Senate nominee Roy Moore, who announced Thursday he’s running again despite lingering accusations.
Last October, when Kavanaugh’s nomination was nearly derailed by allegations of sexual assault by multiple women, Trump told reporters, “I think that it’s a very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of.”
We cannot allow a degenerate sex fiend to steer the ship of state into the ditch. The woman is clearly telling the truth.
“Carroll’s disclosure now, more than 20 years later, is only one part of a book in which she alleges other unwanted attacks by several men, including former CBS CEO Les Moonves…”
I bet I could steer her into claiming alien abduction or a STEVE SMITH encounter without much effort.
Everybody else is riding the gravy train, why not her?
A billionaire playboy who dates and marries models decades younger than he is was so desperate to knock the dust off some 50-something year old trim in the mid 90s that forcibly penetrating some random woman in a posh clothing store’s dressing room was his only option. No witnesses or camera footage of her running out of the store with her tights around her knees and incriminating Trumpcum(TM) dribbling down her legs. And she managed to keep quiet about being raped during Trump’s first run at the presidency, but the second time is one term too far!
Sounds legit!
/progs
Of all the recent sexual assault allegations against public figures, this is the least credible one.
I noticed they left off that trendy “without evidence” phrase that they like to tack on whenever a right-wing figure says something that is completely unsubstantiated by facts.
“credibly” accused
Carroll details an encounter that she says happened in either late 1995 or early 1996 when Trump, who was then married to his second wife, Marla Maples, ran into Carroll in the high-end department store.
Something something indelibly burned into her consciousness.
+1 hippocampus
At this point, who hasn’t been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump?
*looks around, slowly raises hand.*
Actually you’re just still repressing the memories.
She claims she was raped in a department store. Isn’t that like a fairly public space? Couldn’t she have screamed or alerted somebody really quickly after it happened?
I’ll give her credit for one thing. It looks like she learned from the Kavanaugh affair. You never give them a specific target in your allegation. “Sometime over a two-year period we met in a department store”. That’s perfect!
Absolutely no way to refute that.
How was the Democrat hit machine to know that Kavanaugh would have a detailed calendar of all of his actions during an entire summer? Trump might have some travel records, but there’s no way he can cover an entire two year period.
President Trump has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to conduct a mass roundup of migrant families that have received deportation orders
He told them to do their job?
Shocking.
Never mind that these laws have been on the books for decades. Orange man bad.
[McAleenan] also has maintained that ICE should not devote major resources to carrying out a mass interior sweep while telling lawmakers it needs emergency funding to address the crisis at the U.S. border.
Nothing says “don’t come here” like a policy of ignoring anybody who makes it in.
Not just making it in, they are looking to deport those ignoring court ordered deportation. Laws are meaningless, unless they aren’t. I am sure Chuck Schumer will tell us which is which.
Oh… Ok then.
The Los Angeles Police Department released a statement Friday saying LAPD is aware of upcoming ICE actions “beginning this Sunday,” that would be directed toward individuals who have been issued final deportation orders, and LAPD Chief Michel Moore told reporters Friday that ICE has 140 targets in the area.
“The Department is not participating or assisting in any of these enforcement actions,” the LAPD statement said. “The Department has reached out to various community stakeholders regarding the reported ICE enforcement actions, reiterating that members of this Department will not be participating. We are committed to protecting the public through meaningful relationship building and community partnerships.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James assailed Trump’s plan for mass deportation raids, saying that the president’s “use of migrant families and asylum seekers as political punching bags is a despicable act of racism and xenophobia that is antithetical to our basic human values.”
“This is an immoral and unconscionable act by a president and an administration hellbent on dividing our country, and, as New York’s top law enforcement officer, I can assure New Yorkers we will do everything in our power to fight back against these inhumane policies,” James said in a statement.
If Letitia James thinks something is “immoral and unconscionable” it must be really horrific.
I am steadfastly pro-immigration, but this shitshow has to be gotten under control.
If they don’t have anything to do with the operation how is it that they know who the targets are?
All they had to do was say they were staying hands-off because they don’t want to damage trust with the community. That is reasonable and the right way to do it. Let ICE handle it. Instead we get conflation of ‘migrant families and asylum seekers’ with people who have been ordered deported and accusations of (checklist) racism and xenophobia.
Trump keeps winning because the people he is up against are morons.
LOL you do know how blue-state politics works, right? These people do more grandstanding before 9AM than the rest of us do all day.
“inhumane policies”
Or, you know, laws on the books for decades. And agree or disagree with said laws, state/local govts do not have to assist in federal enforcement, but they also cannot impede it.
When I think of “inhumane policies”, this is where my mind goes:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/no-one-helped-her-nj-woman-murdered-by-ex-while-awaiting-gun-permit
“if it saves one life”…
Fuck NJ and the corrupt statist fucks who run it.
She would have died of old age waiting for a carry permit. It takes about 2 months to get a handgun purchase permit if the local cops are competent. Still can’t ever carry it concealed.
That is horrible. One more reason to avoid NJ.
I’m still trying to figure out why it’s OK to make people get a permit (with a myriad of excuses allowed to deny you that permit) if they want to exercise the Second Amendment outside their home. What other amendment does that apply to?
(I know I know, the Second Amendment basically doesn’t exist in these hardcore Leftist states. I just need to point out the absurdity of this shit once in a while.)
Those policies only became inhumane because the man who makes Hitler look like a saint became president.
Don’t ask me for specifics because it is obvious to all who aren’t violent, retarded fascists.
I guess after that I could strip, drive the tractor, shoot my pistol wildly in the air and drink.
I might have to re-think my plans for the day.
Letters to the Local Rag: Teetotaler History
For the record, Reiss actually returned Colonial Williamsburg to positive cash flow for the first time in over a decade. Of course, the locals and employees hate it. Personally, I think adding hookers to Duke of Gloucester street would add to the authenticity.
Make Williamsburg Great Again!
We’ve been planning another weekend down there some time soon. If I’d known there were a bunch of beer gardens, I’d have done it sooner. If they’re gonna get rid of same, I better hurry my ass down there! I mean, I’m not an expert on colonial American history, but I believe beer was a thing, and drinking it was a thing a lot of people did.
All the cool names get given to Native American weapon platforms. Tomahawk, Apache, Chinook. Time to update to the current culture. Florida Man weapon platforms?
Meth Star
The Mexican Speed Ball has a nice ring.
Sean, saw your update on erythritol. Thanks, looks like it’s worth a try.
?
Love it!
I’m not one that normally shows any sign of mirth. My wife describes me as having an emotion, and that one emotion has the frivolity of a DMV worker with the social grace of a government auditor (which is fitting, as that is what I am). Needless to say, I’m an absolute blast to have at parties.
All that said to put this into context – “Meth Star” has me laughing hard enough for my wife to come see what was wrong.
Very good one there!
Anyone want to place bets if Toys R Us even makes it to the end of Summer?
And damnit, I brooks’d. Blergh, well anyways, this Florida Man would love the FM weapon platforms.
They can if you can buy a toy apache or tomahawk.
Face Biter
Prison Shankulator
I’m a little disappointed that given the picture, this wasn’t the song of the morning.
Florida Man weapon platforms?
That’s what we’re calling our Doomsday Machine.
Letters to the Local Rag: You’re Wrong, George
“As a gun owner…”
Fuck off you tiresome prick.
Yeah, old George is either a liar or a fool.
What is the average number of guns mass shooters carry? 1.5?
“with no state permit required”
Article 1, section 13 is my “permit”. Now kindly fuck off.
As a gun owner you should already know the answer and shouldn’t be gun grabbing douche readily gobbling up the lies the media pimps you.
Don’t be a useful idiot, George.
1. My money is on George not being a gun owner, or if he is he inherited a shotgun from his dad or something.
2. So now an assault weapon is anything that either can hold more than 20 rounds (so, a magazine), or can have a silencer (so, anything with a barrel). Cool.
Why doesn’t the the left care about all of the black men being killed by handguns. Racists.
More people killed by hands/feet or blunt objects or knives than all rifles combined, not just AR’s.
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-4.xls
Look at the stats for drowning in pools and bathtubs. I eagerly await the outcry for common-sense pool regulation and look forward to a new shower-only future.
MUH PRECEDENTS
The Supreme Court battled Friday over overturning long-standing cases, with liberal Justice Elena Kagan charging that a 5-4 opinion that broke along ideological lines “smashes a hundred-plus years of legal rulings to smithereens.”
Kagan was dissenting from a case pitting a property owner against the government, but the liberal justice made clear that she was also looking forward, laying a marker and insinuating that the newly solidified conservative majority may be similarly dismissive of precedent in other areas. Those areas could include access to abortion, affirmative action and LGBT rights — all issues making their way up to the high court.
Kagan’s lament matched that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg last week when Ginsburg called the retirement of swing vote Justice Anthony Kennedy “the greatest consequence” of the current term and “perhaps for many terms ahead.”
Straight to abortion. They just cannot help themselves.
It would be a tragic shame if the Court were to put the brakes on the creation of vast new categories of positive rights.
Ginsberg: “You’ll have to carry me out of here. I’ll never surrender while Bad Orange Man is in the White House.”
That’s because they know that the legal footing of Roe v Wade is extremely shaky.
Shaky? It is smoke.
I guess we should have just upheld long-standing “precedents” like Dredd Scott and Plessy vs. Ferguson, yeah?
It’s like you don’t even super-precedent.
Your legal theory is wrong because it overturns all this precedent.
What theory was used to determine that precedent?
Ummm the Lefts Ends justify the means legal theory’.
Fuck you Jerred.
Good morning, Old Man (and the rest of you miscreants).
How you find these songs is impressive. Rarely do I see one that has more than a few hundred views.
This was in the sidebar. Brings me back.
I haven’t heard the sidebar in ages, what a great song.
Fine song!
Good luck with all the boxes OMWC. That’s actually worse (but better) than the big move-in day. It’s better because you can feel like “this is it” when you’re done. I hate moving!
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…. https://people.com/movies/jaws-shark-mold-transformed-academy-awards-museum/
“When a theory requires declaring precedent after precedent after precedent wrong,” Kagan said, “that’s a sign the theory itself may be wrong. The majority’s theory is just that.”
She’s a smart one, that Kagan. “Seriously, guys, stop knocking our sand castle down. It’s not fair.”
Newsflash: Kagan believes slavery was established precedent and therefore untouchable legally.
Or the precedent is wrong. Btw, is rbg even participating now? I haven’t seen evidence that she is still alive.
She just teamed up with Gorsuch on a dissent.
Good morning all from Amsterdam! Well, it’s actually afternoon here. My first time here since being a Eurail backpacker in 1983. There are tons of magic mushroom stores right by my hotel, I don’t remember those from 36 years ago, it was just hashish coffeehouses back then.
I’ve only got 48 hours here now that my business in Rotterdam has concluded. Any recommendations? I’m going to the Rijksmuseum to see the Rembrandts in a little while, but after that no plans.
Definitely pop some shrooms and go to the Van Gogh Museum.
I actually met Mayor Ed Koch there backin the 80’s. Unfortunately I was not on shrooms.
No idea, but let this be the soundtrack to your day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2zcG3bcuMI
This was a great restaurant, first time I’ve been served a rare porkchop (it damn near melted on my tongue) and you get seated in big overstuffed armchairs with your meal served on a big cutting board on your lap.
The Maoz falafel shop right off Liedseplane. Not the other ones, that one.
If you are into the dope, this is our favorite coffee shop. https://amsterdamcoffeeshops.com/item/the-noon
Also, a this song is appropriate. More so because he played a show at our IL home for a bunch of the Glibs.
For fried potatoes that will make you sad you can’t find any this good in the US (make sure to try the Knoflook sauce) – http://vleminckxdesausmeester.nl/nl/
Yeah, the best french fries anywhere. I’m partial to their satay sauce.
I’m not waiting in a long line for taters I can make at home.
If I may be so bold? The other day, we took those wee baby potatoes (the kind the size of marbles), parboiled them for 8 minutes, and let them cool. Then, putting my OCD to good use, I Hasselback cut each one of those tiny spuds and then put them into the deep fryer for about 10 minutes until they were crispy. HOLY MACKEREL! Super crispy outside, burst of creamy goodness inside; absolutely delightful and worth the effort.
*googles*
Holy cow I need to try that!
Do it. It’s a PITA but worth the effort. Well, to be quite honest, just scoring them and frying them kinda-sorta works but the outside doesn’t get as crispy.
Found some good tips here.
About to dig potatoes myself…I am gonna try that.
The Maritime Museum is amazing – https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.com/
Another peppy little tune to add to the playlist du jour.
Can confirm the Maritime Museum, especially the East Indies ship they have. I was absolutely gobsmacked at how small it was, and how many men lived on it for long periods of time.
Keep you eyes on the lookout for Mickey’s Marijuana Boat tied up along one of the canals.
It was a small barge with large plants in half barrels with a few tables and chairs on the deck.
It was last seen by me as a wide eyed 19 year old who was used to people getting 20 years for 1 joint back home in Texas
Oooh, also the Cat Boat – https://depoezenboot.nl/en
And-
Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion, explained why the majority felt it needed to overrule precedent — a case called Williamson County decided in 1985.
“Contrary to Williamson County, a property owner has a claim for a violation of the Takings Clause as soon as a government takes his property for public use without paying for it,” Roberts wrote. He said that the court’s precedent had come in for “repeated criticism over the years from Justices of the Court and many respected commentators.”
“Its reasoning was exceptionally ill founded,” Roberts wrote.
They are attacking the very foundations of American society. Taking us back to a time when this nation was an untamed wilderness; when dog eat dog was the order of the day, and lawlessness plagued the land. That sacred ruling was handed down from on high. In 1985! Oh, woe. The destruction of America is upon us.
The lottery winner guy is an idiot. There was a similar case in MA. That guy hid the ticket and kept his mouth shut until the divorce was final. Then he cashed in and the court ruled it all post-divorce income.
He’s still set for life and his kids will be too. I don’t cry in my cereal for lotto winners.
Largest jackpot winner in history (500ish Mil?) was dead broke and millions in debt in less than ten years. I don’t cry for him either.
A fool and his money…
A lot of people lose their minds when they win the lottery….or they didn’t have one to start with.
If you are already financially competent enough to be living comfortably on what you have waiting until you have everything in order before cashing in is no problem.
My favorites are the ones who find out they don’t get showered with cash the day after winning so they borrow money against their winning ticket. A day later they are throwing stacks of cash in the air and screaming “Whheeee! whheeee!” *facepalm*
When Tucker is right, he’s really right.
Good clip.
???
Hopefully Trump listens to him instead of the evil idiots who want to start WWIII.
Glad Tucker’s also on the anti-Iran war train.
Great stuff.
Their lust for war and blood sickens me.
If you’e libertarian and Trump sticks to his guns – excuse the pun – why wouldn’t you vote for him? He’s bucking a military interventionist trend.
If he brings the troops home, I’ll do what I said I would never do and will vote for him. Wrapping up the trade squabbles would be an added incentive.
Because he’s the moron who nominated Bolton in the first place.
Trump: How bad can he be?
Bolton: If only we could kaboom the whole damn region.
Trump: Yeesh.
Borrowed from a Zerohedge article: If Bolton and Pompeo are let go in the next couple of months, Trump is interested in preventing war. If they aren’t, Trump is interested in preventing war until after the election. That sounds about right to me.
Good observation worth paying attention to.
Especially Bolton.
Dude must have a torture lair with Graham.
And if there’s any doubt the anti-war left are an unprincipled band of partisan and hypocritical twats this should once and for all prove it.
Now they’re distracted by detention centres. They’ve moved on. Now they suddenly care about that.
I had no doubt they didn’t care when they started calling the anti war right white nationalists
Just look at their treatment of Tulsi.
Everybody Bops
https://youtu.be/KFq4E9XTueY
Young people bop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHozn0YXAeE
I haven’t used Opera,but have been using Brave which is working great.
What I use at home. I just wish I could Monocle it.
That article is a bit misleading. AFAICT Firefox isn’t doing anything special that installing an ad-blocker – and checking one of the “tracking” boxes under things to block – won’t bring you on any browser.
Morning Glibs. Mrs. A, yr. obdt. and the kids are kicking off a weekend at Lake of the Ozarks. Our annual Redneck Yacht Club involves a party barge, sunshine, water and plenty of libations. Maybe I’ll write up a travelogue.
On the way in yesterday Mrs. A and I stopped a roadside gas station/convenience store for a bottle of pop. I noted, on the counter, a bottle of something called “Ozark Distillery Butterscotch Moonshine.” I bought a bottle, opining to Mrs. A as I did so that “…you just don’t get any more central Missouri redneck than buying a bottle of butterscotch corn whiskey at the gas station.”
This should be a great weekend.
Sounds like a blast, Animal!
Some drinkin’ music for you.
Have a great weekend!
Sounds good to me, enjoy the party barge.
Hey! You’re pretty close to my neck of the woods.
Minor quibble.
Seeing something sold in a store labeled as moonshine always irks me.
If you’re paying taxes on it, it ain’t moonshine. Period.
absolutely disgusting fraud who became the patron saint of ambulance-chasers
You must be mistaken, I saw her movie. She was a spunky underdog with great tits.
I heard hexavalent Cr killed her master which lead to a blood soaked rage.
Erin Brockovich 2: Catchment Basins of Blood
“They killed her master…. now they face a statistically significant increase in mortality rate!”
Which reminds me of one of my all-time favorite comics: Advanced Dungeons and Discourse. “I am 87% confident you will burst into flames” cracks me up every time.
Re: browsers. Switch to Brave. It’s great. And it really is a bulldog when it comes to cookies, scripts, etc. I’m cynical and I’ve been a web developer for nearly ten years, and I was still surprised by how many sites either work differently or not at all because they rely on third-party cookies. Brave’s default is conservative but totally functional, and it lets you either blanket whitelist a site with a click or do it on a more granular basis, such as allowing scripts but not cookies. It also blocks ads by default but has a feature where sites can opt-in to receive tips, essentially, from Brave users. Users, on the other end, can opt-in to ads from Brave which then give the users a crypto currency they, in turn, can divvy amongst the sites they visit how they choose. Or, you can just toss money in it yourself. Also, it’s based on Chromium, which is the basis of the Chrome browser, so it runs about as fast as Chrome does and can use the Chrome app store.
Brave is legit and pretty much the only browser we use in our home. I’ve been trying to get the overlords to verify Glibs as a publisher so I can tip them some basic attention token (BAT) but they’ve resisted thus far.
While on the topic of crypto, I mentioned yesterday that BTC was just under $10k. Its now sitting around $11.1k for a 13% rise in 24 hours. There’s only enough for everyone on Earth to have .003 or so at best. The early bird train is leaving the station.
I had a very modest, one might say hobbyist, position in BTC and ETH for a little while, but I dumped it just so I would stop checking it every day. I don’t understand cryptocurrency, frankly, and I definitely don’t understand crypto markets. Do you think it’s going to stabilize at a higher price, or is this another deal like the winter before last?
Silicone Saturday brings you endless joy.
https://thechive.com/2019/06/21/im-high-on-hipwaist-ratios-48-photos/
Whew https://imgur.com/a/OzdkKkJ
Glad that’s over with. Had a good time, but that drive is a bitch. I left at 8 o’clock last night and pulled into my house at 8 30 this morning.
At least the kiddos slept the whole way back.
Did you drive the whole way with the check engine light on?
Because that would be bad ass.
Key was on acc when I took that. The van was a rental though, so i totally would have.
I’ve been known to do that.
“Eh. Probably nothing.”
These days the CE light comes on for any little thing including farts.
Fun fact: an old boss in the 90s was the spitting image of that woman – hair, tone, manners – but with an American accent. And yes, she was the GM of a hotel. I was terrified of her.
That’s because you’re gay.
Too-dee-doo.
As an aside, watching the UEFA U-21 or Copa?
Not really except I think I saw England yesterday. Mostly watching the ladies and Gold Cup. And now Africa cup of nations, I like those. I know I should check out Copa America but man there’s only so many hours in a day.
No kidding. Watching snippets. Catching highlights. I’d rather watch U-21 or Copa than the women’s. Gold Cup only later on. Right now, not interested in Honduras and Curacao. Caught parts of Mexico clobbering Canada 3-1. This program can’t get off the ground.
I can’t catch Africa CN anywhere so I’m good there. Lol.
I just can’t handle the officiating in women’s soccer. Already the men is filled with BS, but that’s another level of incompetence.
That penalty against Italy in the Brazil game was an utter joke of a call. They won the group but that coulda cost them.
Too much of those missed calls on the scale of the hand pass we saw in the Sharks-Blues series.
Thank goodness for VAR, right?!
Even that they can’t get right.
Wait?!? You worked for my paternal grandmother? That’s right, she had a Virginia drawl and was a dispatcher for the VA State Police for 40 years.
American exceptionalism is exceptionally evil
In 1971, George McGovern—who the Democrats would nominate for president the following year—called Richard Nixon’s bombing of Southeast Asia “the most barbaric act committed by any modern state since the death of Adolf Hitler.”
But when the anti-war and other protest movements of the 1960s faded, so did their challenge to exceptionalist language. By the 1980s, Democrats were playing catch-up to Ronald Reagan’s flag-waving patriotism. Exceptionalism was further bolstered in the 1990s, when the fall of the Soviet Union and the seemingly global embrace of American-style democracy and capitalism appeared to reaffirm the fundamental superiority of America’s political system. During the Barack Obama years, questioning American exceptionalism was considered a career-imperiling transgression. When Republicans questioned his commitment to the creed, Obama in 2014 replied, “I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being.”
In recent years, however, a resurgent left fueled by an influx of Millennial voters has launched a new challenge to exceptionalist discourse. Partly, it’s because a higher percentage of Millennials are people of color, who generally look more skeptically on America’s claims of moral innocence. Partly, it’s because the financial crisis has cast doubt on whether America’s economic model is preferable to those practiced in other nations. Younger Americans—a majority of whom embrace “socialism”—believe it’s not. Most of all, the challenge to exceptionalism is a response to Trump.
Uh huh. How could a nation capable of electing the World’s Worst Human be exceptional? Those poor self-identified millennials of color, leading lives of desperate privation and oppression, pining for the all-encompassing solicitude and succor of a socialist nanny state. It’s a living Hell for them here in Trump’s America. If only they weren’t being held here against their will.
*somebody linked this blather the other day, but I just got around to reading it
On Twitter I read someone argue that trump would starve the people in the detention facilities and then call it an accident.
You know like what tan lies say about Stalin and the Ukraine
That’s gotta be the howler of the millennium.
He lied because he has no fiber.
“skeptically on America’s claims of moral innocence”
Couldn’t possibly have anything to do with a 50 year record of fighting and losing constant pointless wars.
Stunningly absent is the mention of actual concentration camps in WWII. (By the guy who AOC patterned her signature proposal after).
I’m only opposed to calling the detention facilities concentration camps because the left wants to make them into being extermination camps.
I have no doubt that the American Government is capable of great evil.
Capable?
Shit, they are now and have been actively involved in great evil for most of my adult life.
AOC and her defenders are saying she is using the academic definition of concentration camp instead of the more common association (I’m guessing) with the Nazi version associated with the Holocaust. Of course she also said “Never Again” which is directly tied to the Holocaust so that very much undercuts her argument.
Of course the academic definition describes people being held for non-criminal reasons while the people in the detention facilities are being held to determine if they committed a crime.
the academic definition of concentration camp
Not even that. You aren’t allowed to leave a concentration camp. You can leave a Border Patrol detention facility any time you want. You just have to go back where you came from.
^QFMFT.
The US government is committing the heinous crime of deporting people who have entered the country illegally. That’s basically the same thing as rounding up American citizens of a particular demographic and forcing them into detention. Maybe if Karla Marx wants a good example of a concentration camp she could look to her Progressive hero, FDR, who actually established them.
Aren’t Democrats the single biggest reason Immigrants sit in camps instead of being blocked or deported?
By encouraging (hell, probably funding) massive waves of migrants to walk right in and then denying funds to properly process them? Nah, that’s crazy talk.
You mean allegedly benevolent policies can result in bad outcomes??
Next you’re gonna tell me that the anti-death penalty people are largely responsible for blocking the use of reliable chemicals for lethal injection, causing them to switch to unreliable concoctions that leave the condemned to struggle and choke for several hours.
I don’t remember anybody saying America was”morally innocent”, just that America was better than other countries
Low bar, but I tend to agree.
That the US can and should be and do better does not make it worse. Judged by the treatment of its own citizens, the United States was objectively morally superior to the Soviet Union for any given period of history. And I’ll further say that where the US has had moral failings (and really we’re talking about the federal government, I think, by and large) these have been deviations from our principles. The Soviet Union, as an example, committed tremendous moral injustices against its own citizens and justified them as necessary sacrifices that were ideologically correct and very much in line with Marxist-Leninist philosophy. Which is to say that a person who smacks his/her kid because he/she lost her temper did not do a moral thing, but the person who gets mad and smacks the shit out of his/her kid because he/she feels it’s his/her right to do so, or even worse, because the kid has no rights worth respecting, is objectively a less moral person.
Very good point. Having the right ideas is one thing, living up to them another but ideas matter. A lot.
Millions of people desire to come to America, or flee from it?
Fuck Peter Beiner with a rusty chainsaw.
Reposting a question from the Space Smith thread re: the shitshow in Oregon.
What are the Glibertariat’s thoughts on the ‘prevent a quorum by not showing up to work’ tactic? I recall that the Dem lawmakers in Wisconsin fled to Illinois for awhile during Scott Walker’s term to prevent the GOP from passing laws they wanted to. Legit tactic, impeachable offense, or something in between?
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”
Heh-heh-heh
Legit tactic, I think, a last ditch defense against the tyranny of the majority. But one to be used sparingly, or eventually you’ll never have a quorum for anything. There is almost certainly no issue in front of a state legislature so urgent that avoiding a vote will cause great harm, and you can point at plenty of instances where slowing down a vote an “outrage of the day” issue prevents harm. Ultimately, the voters will judge whether the tactic is acceptable or not.
What are the Glibertariat’s thoughts on the ‘prevent a quorum by not showing up to work’ tactic?
Legit, to a point. I don’t know what counts as a quorum in these legislatures – it must be something other than 50% + 1 (the usual definition).
When I have had supermajority or other odd quorum definitions (e.g., in a joint venture, each partner has to be represented, that kind of thing), there’s a safety valve. Either you can pass resolutions by sending the resolution to every board member, and if a majority signs (or whatever is required to pass a resolution at a meeting), then its adopted. Or, if there is a failure to have a quorum at one or two called meetings, then a quorum for the next meeting is 50% + 1.
There’s always a balance between protecting the minority interest, and allowing the minority interest to effectively shut down governance.
Allright, Glibs. I’m off to try to be productive.
I’ll leave you with an album that some of you might know, if only from Track 4.
It’s an interesting record that came out in 1985. Band was from Jersey, but the album was first released in France.
If you like it and want to know the story behind ithere you go! It’s a long story, but those of you who enjoy the DIY ethic and serious music nerdity will dig it.
Have a great day, y’all!
Love “Scenario” – the HS radio station I listened to played it all the time in addition to #4 of course. That’s one of those albums I never got around to replacing the long-lost cassette….
…and that oversight has been rectified!
It looks the WSJ is beating the war drums over Iran. Yesterday’s editorial:
Mr. Trump may have saved Iranian lives now, but his indecision and professed fear of casualties may be risking more American lives later.
It’s interesting because their readership, or at least commentariat, is on a 180 stance. Same with illegal immigration and increasingly gun control. They ran an article earlier this week complaining about firearm manufacturers are removing tacticool features to skirt gun control loopholes (i.e., making semi-auto rifles that don’t look “scary” is now being labeled a loophole). Not a surprise, we always knew that would be the next step.
On a nicer note, we’re having a large cookout/pool party today for my son’s birthday. Lots of alcohol for the adults, but I still can’t drink yet, Zardoz help me. Maybe a Heineken will be okay, that counts as basically water right? Hopefully the rain will hold off.
There is definitely tension in the WSJ. Peggy Noonan managed to put herself as a crazy split personality chick a couple of days ago over Trump’s re-election campaign.
“Some of my favorite relatives are rubes” is an OK way to restate it.
I’m a Peggy Noonan fan, but she’s got a touch of the George Will syndrome. She’s a conservative, like Will, but, like George, she’s also a little bit of an elitist. Not as much as Will, but it’s there. In Will’s case, he was more comfortable with Clinton’s position as a supporter of establishment politics than Trump’s chaotic populist feel. Will doesn’t want to “drain the swamp”, he wants to not throw the baby out with the bath water. She’s willing to give the hoi polloi a little more leeway, but she’s got her limits, too.
Well stated.
I’ll never forget her drooling endorsement of Obama though. That tore it.
Yeah, you could tell who was aware of where their bread was buttered by who crossed the lines to endorse Obama. Not that there were a whole hell of a lot of good alternatives, but Noonan seems at a minimum to be guilty of both terrible judgment and being swept up in the popular angst against Bush at the time.
Not that I’m saying Bush wasn’t and isn’t absolutely worthy of criticism. I’m saying that there was a healthy number of people who piled on because it felt like the thing to do, not because of any serious reflection.
I have read very little Noonan over the past several years, but I recall her as being utterly ordinary, devoid of originality or insight. A good place to check what the conventional squishes were thinking, but that’s about it.
Everything he does is wrong. Everything he doesn’t do is wrong. The man’s a genius.
Senior US Democrats led the outcry on Friday against Donald Trump’s dramatic almost-launch of military action on Iran and the last-minute pullback – calling the crisis “self-inflicted” by America and pressing for a swift de-escalation.
They also demanded oversight from Congress on decisions involving any eventual strikes.
——-
While most Democrats were focused on the risk of war, some decried the almost haphazard manner in which Trump had called off airstrikes with just minutes to spare. Trump said he made the decision after he was informed that the strikes could cause the loss of up to 150 Iranian lives – but in that case, Democrats wanted to know, why was he informed so late in the process?
Anthony Brown, the Democratic vice-chairman of the House armed services committee, told CNN: “But 10 minutes before a potential strike against Iran – that demonstrates a broken system, a lack of understanding and knowledge by our commander-in-chief.”
Call in an air strike? Horrifyingly bad. Call it off? Horrifyingly bad.
Also, Senators complaining about authority they ceded to the President is always amusing. Muh oversight!
The obly time I have seen the Democrats praise trump is when he sent missiles into Syria after the false flag Gas attack that was stupidly blamed on Assad.
If Trump wants in their good Grace’s, all he has to do is start a war with Iran. Pathetic, really.
The McCain doctrine lives on!
The Dem senators who ceded power to the exec under Obama truly believed the Dems would never be out of power again.
Well, President ICanKillAnyoneIWant could be trusted, you see.
I was at a party attended by a woman I fancied and she brought out how much she loved Obama. I was clearly not going to get anywhere with her so I asked her who was her favorite American citizen murdered by a drone strike in Yemen. It sealed the deal of me definitely not getting laid. Mission Accomplished. I guess.
I believe I would like to overhear that conversation. Probably buy you a shot.
Just saw a headline about “High levels of arsenic” in bottled water.
Why do I assume, without reading it, that you would have to drink three gallons a day for five years to poison yourself with it?
I recall that during W’s administration, a district in Arizona begged for an exemption from the EPA arsenic maximum in water, not because they carelessly added arsenic, but it was naturally prevalent there in the water.
The region just wanted to keep supplying water to their residents; otherwise they’d have had to shut it off.
So Bush approved the waiver and was immediately accused of Poisoning our Children.
They need to get with it and start labeling it artisanal organic spring water.
From Econstories.tv:
Mmm, lifting heavy things. You can get to a respectable deadlift in a few months.
At least respectable to everyone else in the gym. Warty would just laugh and toss you in his basement.
Taking up lifting is one of the best things I ever did for myself, not just physically but mentally as well. I’m about to do some bench press today. I thought I’d get it up to 275 and then focus on cutting bodyfat, but now I’m tempted to go to 300.
Well I feel weak now. Your bench is better than my deadlift.
For the next two weeks.
You’ll get there before you know it, and it will be a fucking awesome feeling when you do.
Those of us with non-functional shoulders cringe at the thought of benching that much.
“I bench about 320, then Im out of the gym no later than 3:25”
/be here all week
I have read very little Noonan over the past several years, but I recall her as being utterly ordinary, devoid of originality or insight. A good place to check what the conventional squishes were thinking, but that’s about it.
I read something by her not long ago. “Doddering senile hack” would be a generous characterization.
Elections have consequences
When Democrats won control of New York’s government last year, riding a national wave of liberal energy, they promised to fundamentally transform the state’s economy, infrastructure and social norms.
As their first session in power ended on Friday, it became clear just how fully they had done so.
They rewrote New York City’s rent laws, passing the strongest tenant protections in decades. They unveiled one of the nation’s most ambitious climate plans, mapping a 30-year course toward a carbon-free future. They granted undocumented residents the right to driver’s licenses, gave farm workers collective bargaining rights and passed strict anti-sexual harassment laws.
And that was just in the last two weeks.
——–
The transformation was not without its setbacks or detractors. Republican leaders dismissed many of the new laws as examples of an “extreme socialist” agenda; Democrats were unable to reach agreements on high-priority issues like legalizing recreational marijuana or ending solitary confinement.
Still, the presidency of Donald Trump, a surge of progressive activism and a particularly lengthy list of long-dormant liberal proposals — stymied by more than 50 years of near-continuous Republican rule in the State Senate — converged into a frenzied six-month spree that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, called “the most successful legislative session in modern political history.”
“It was a moment for change that we were presented with,” Mr. Cuomo said, “and we seized the moment.”
Yay!
And they all lived happily ever after.
The End.
I know solitary confinement has been abused, as has every other power given to prison guards. But I don’t see the problem with putting someone in solitary if they can’t be around other inmates without raping and murdering them.
Yes, it mentally fucks people up, but you know what else fucks people up? Being raped. Being murdered. That should never be allowed to occur in prison. They live in a zero-freedom environment; there’s just no excuse for it.
Fun times ahead. I will bask in the warming glow of all these protections. Such much protection, you’ll be sick of the protection!
New York is already such a cheap place to live.
Guess what sets off Swedish single mothers into 20 minutes of spittle rage? “A free market would’ve saved more lives than socialized medicene”. My Saturday night. Part of me is enjoying it.
Morning Glibs. So, speaking of the TSA I finally said fuck it yesterday and got the TSA Precheck. The last time I went with the fam to Mexico last December the commoner security line was over an hour and the special one was five minutes. No fun with three squirmy little boys. I’m going on a buddies fishing trip to the East Cape in a couple weeks so I got it. 85 bucks for five years and your kids 12 and under can go with you on it. I fly once or twice a year so it’s really a no brained, should’ve done it sooner, but I thought the kids had to pay as well. The questions are of the “are you a terrorist” variety. One thing that may put you off it was having to give fingerprints, but the government already has mine at least a couple times from my work and coaching. It sucks that we have to do that and I think the TSA should be disbanded and all airport security private, but screw the stupid shoe dance and waiting in those lines.
Also, for those Glibs that travel internationally a lot, I got this new free app called Mobile Passport that is supposed to significantly speed up time in Customs on your way back in. The TSA chick said she has it and the lines are way shorter and you can skip that silly ass kiosk thing that they have started doing.
My current job involves flights on TSA-exempt flights in the Alaska bush. Makes it much easier to bring water bottles filled with wine on my carry-on.
*stares into distance fondly remembering the better days of air travel*
I locked myself in the bathroom on an empty flight a few weeks after 9/11 for about 30 minutes to throw up after a very long night. I don’t think that would fly these days.
Há, no it wouldn’t. I remember a flight I took about six months after where the security guy laughed as he took away my bottle of VSOP Remy. Bastards.
My house purchase is being delayed by the HR at my old company not responding to employment verifications from the mortgage company. Good to see that their HR remains less than useless.
Isn’t it nice how the government has protected you against rapacious lenders by now making the lending requirements get documentation for bank accounts you closed five years ago and jobs you no longer have?
It’s infuriating. I provided a year’s worth of bank statements and three years of tax returns showing that I could write a check to buy it outright, but no, that’s not good enough. I’m more upset at the laziness of goddamn the Carols in HR who showed up every morning at 9a with a calorie laden Starbucks mochafrappachino who’d judge me for having a beer from the keg at 2p. Like, woman, I’ve been here since 6a so don’t give me that fucking look and I actually make money for the company. I’m so glad I left as the company morphed from a place where you were treated like an adult as long as you did your job into a place where paperwork was uber alles.
The list of legislative accomplishments resembled a progressive wish list: new rights for voters, immigrants and victims of violence; reforms to the criminal justice and campaign finance systems; new gun control laws; and bans on plastic bags, toxic toys and offshore drilling.
———
Other measures set New York on track to reclaim the mantle of progressive leader, by assuming bold positions that few others have adopted or by taking explicitly political stances against Mr. Trump.
Such was the case with the climate change bill, and limits on cash bail, which criminal justice reform activists called transformational. Lawmakers also passed a bill to allow Congress access to Mr. Trump’s state tax returns and to allow state prosecutors to charge people even if they had been granted a presidential pardon for similar federal crimes.
“America can look to us as a beacon not only of resistance,” Ms. Stewart-Cousins said in her closing speech on the Senate floor, “but of progress, and of hope, and of action.”
Truly, New York is a beacon of light and hope. They stand at edge of true social justice and egalitarianism. Utopia looms.
I have a relative who works for the legal department of NYS. Said relative drives around all day and travels internationally since her law school debt will be wiped out after 10 years.
We do not exchange Christmas cards.
Well shit, if I knew I wouldn’t have to actually repay debt I’d just take out as much of it as I could. That couldn’t possibly have any consequences in the lending market or anywhere else, could it?
It’s entirely rational, but the govt sponsored incentives are disgusting.
Just got home from work. 8 hours of overtime pay for two hours actual labor. More like this, please.
Festus getting paid. I like it.
Pics or it didn’t . . . oh, paid. Carry on.
I’ve got a couple friends who work in wastewater and work overtime as often as they can, sometimes double shifts. They’re both basically like, “Sure, it’s long hours, but barely anybody’s there, it’s nice and quiet, I can get things done that I haven’t had a chance to do, and I’m getting paid a bazillion dollars for basically just hanging out watching movies on my phone and occasionally checking something or turning a valve.”
Good water and wastewater operators are priceless.
Nice.
When I transfer to my new job in a month or so, that’s what weekends will be like (I don’t think I could get away with watching movies on my phone, though). Weekends are basically dead, and there’s overtime pay plus a handsome hourly premium for working on weekends (they’ve had trouble getting adequate staffing on second/third on weekend shifts, so they’re ramping up the incentives).
I’m the kind of guy who likes as little overtime as possible, but I can see working two or three weekends per month if that’s the deal I get.
Yup!
*stares into distance fondly remembering the better days of air travel*
You mean, like, “1)Drive to airport. 2)Go to gate. 3)Board airplane.”?
I was born in the mid 70’s so I missed the era of zero security (although pre deregulation the ticket prices were crazy). I guess they did have to implement something because there was a hijacking or attempted one almost every week then. But the security gates from the mid 70’s to 9/11 were almost always quick and perfunctory. And not having to worry about liquids and being able to carry bottles of booze on board were really nice. The shoe thing really pisses me off. One absolute idiot caused tens of millions of people to have to take off their friggin shoes every year.
I recently had the corporate jet experience and it was amazing.
Just pulled up to a private airport in my rental car (no worries; we will take it back for you ma’am), pilot himself put our bags in the plane, and off we went.
Awesome. Not a person less safe for it, either.
Drive to airport, buy one-way ticket with cash, go to gate, board airplane.
Because how I pay, and where/when/why I travel, is none of their fucking business.
I just drive, I must be in control, if I flew again, it would be as a pilot