Monday Afternoon Travel Links

Everything is really coming up Brett today. First, I scheduled the Uber to the airport about 20 minutes later than I really should have, but it turns out that at 5am you can make the drive to the airport in under 30 minutes without speeding (more than usual). I was expecting more like 45. The desk guy at the hotel we always stay at recognized me and got my room cleaned first, so I was in way early, and then I found a sixer of Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest at the drug store on my way back from lunch. Now I should probably do some work.

Damn, but they rolled this ship good. I’m surprised it was able to get fully 90 degrees tilted, and also, it appears to be pretty high in the water. Maybe they had to blow a lot of ballast to get out of the port?

These whiners. Listen, you don’t lose 59-10 because the coach called the wrong plays.

“Uh, hello, airplanes? It’s blimps calling, you win.” Now with TOTALLY NON-FLAMMABLE helium.

Comments

378 responses to “Monday Afternoon Travel Links”

  1. Certified Public Asshat

    These whiners. Listen, you don’t lose 59-10 because the coach called the wrong plays.

    At least they contained Lamar Jackson to 3 rushes for 6 yards.

    1. Rufus the Monocled

      They’re angry because a player was traded.

      You can either go full Spartacus, or you can do, you know, your jobs.

      They’re bad but give the effort. People will respect that.

  2. Certified Public Asshat

    Republican Activist Returns To West Baltimore For Another Cleanup

    For the second time in less than a month, Scott Presler, the Virginia-based conservative activist and President Donald Trump supporter, is in West Baltimore Monday to clean up trash and debris.

    Presler organized a cleanup on Aug. 5 that collected 12 tons of trash and debris in 12 hours.

    Cleaning up Baltimore by actually cleaning it up? Crazy.

    1. Tonio

      That’s got to really sting. It’s a totally effective form of shaming, and one for which their only response heretofore has been pissiness and butthurt.

      1. Rufus the Monocled

        + Baltimore Sun editorial staff.

        1. Rufus the Monocled

          +1. Mammafucker.

        2. Tonio

          How far they have fallen since Mencken.

    2. Florida Man

      Is there really a “need” to clean up litter or is it just an eyesore? I say we accept our new trashy overlords.

      1. Crusty Juggler

        Florida Man likes rats!

        HE IS THE RAT KING!

        1. Florida Man

          An under appreciated TMNT villain in my opinion.

      2. Tonio

        Well, of course we accept Trashy.

        It’s a brilliantly thought-out PR strategy that hits the left where it hurts.

        Where are the leftists who claim to care so much about the poor and their plight. Not picking up a ton of trash an hour, and nowhere near that neighborhood for sure. Remember, right-wingers are supposed to be mean, icky people who fear and loathe poors and blacks; yet there they are doing good works for those people. It goes way deeper than that, but that’s the best, most accessible reason.

        1. Mad Scientist

          I can;t believe that racist white guy is trying to gentrify that neighborhood!

        2. Ed Wuncler

          That’s one of the major issues I have with the black community. We are always asking whites to hold themselves accountable for the real or perceived abuses along with forking over a shit ton money and resources towards our communities, but yet we treat our neighborhoods like trash bins and tear everything down.

          Why should white people give a shit about our communities when the level of apathy is high among us.?

          1. Ed Wuncler

            Where my parents live, my neighbor (Mr. Barry) used to go out everyday along with the other retirees and clean up the area around the park and our block. He’s gone now but my parents and others are trying to pick up the slack. It shows because our bloc is clean but if you travel 4 blocks east the streets look like shit. Everyone pisses and moans that city isn’t willing to invest shit but yet can’t even take a couple of minutes to pick up the trash in front of their houses or on the block.

          2. Playa Manhattan

            Tragedy of the commons. Happens in all public housing.

          3. Ed Wuncler

            Absolutely. It’s generational as fuck though. Like the older folks are proud of living in that community because at one time, it was mostly known as a middle class community and moving in that area meant that you have sort of made it. They remember the days when the whites did everything they could to keep them out the community, so they figured that they should (collectively) do whatever it takes to keep everything looking nice.

            As far it goes as a neighborhood, it’s relatively a safe neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago because for one thing a lot of city workers live in that area. But you’re starting to see the seeds of a decline coming along because the younger residents aren’t as inclined to maintain the neighborhood.

          4. Playa Manhattan

            It’s certainly generational. The “greatest generation” worked extremely hard, so their kids didn’t have to. As a result, a some boomers are lazy and entitled. And some of the children of these lazy hippies turned out to be extremely successful. Now, we have a generation of millennials that, by all measures, will not exceed the standard of living of their parents.

            I would guess that the younger residents of your neighborhood aren’t inclined to maintain it because
            -They see it as someone else’s job
            and/or
            -No interest in putting down long term roots, so why bother?

          5. Enough About Palin

            I live in a black neighborhood. I have watched people not just standing next to a garbage can, but LEANING ON IT, toss their trash on the ground. Some humans are simply shit and always will be.

          6. Rhywun

            Yeah, “the city” is only going to do so much. Pride in your surroundings is another one of those traits that used to be a lot more common among all “communities”.

          7. Ed Wuncler

            My stepfather used to do a lot of work in the community but got burnt out because none of the neighbors would lend him a hand. He used to attempt to arrange weekly 1-2 hour meetings about clean ups, funding programs to help kids stay off the street and other shit, but the community with a couple of exceptions wasn’t interested. But heaven forbid that someone got shot, when the cameras came into the community, you couldn’t get the folks from in front of the cameras.

          8. Tulip

            Kudos to your stepfather. That’s work and someone always complains that it’s not being done right.

            I live in a neighborhood with a citizen’s association (we can make the local pols come talk to us and listen to our pothole complaints). Twice a year we do a neighborhood clean up around storm drains. It’s always the same few people and never the complainers. I don’t think it’s unique to the black community.

          9. Mad Scientist

            This is one of the reasons why the city providing certain services is a poison. If your neighborhood looks like shit and the city is supposed to clean it, it’s someone else’s problem. If your neighborhood looks like shit and the city isn’t supposed to clean it, it’s your problem.

          10. Jarflax

            Meh, communities neither succeed or fail. Individuals do. Sure some communities have higher numbers of individuals who do well than others, but frankly I think a big cause of that is community based thinking. (which is kind of what you are commenting on so I am not really disagreeing with you)

          11. Ed Wuncler

            I agree in some regards. At the end of the day it is up to the individual to care and clean up their community but it would be a lot easier if other individuals within that community actually gave a shit and keep their shit clean.

          12. invisible finger

            “The black community” IS the problem. Why is it expected that black people are supposed to be groupthinkers stuck in 1890’s Chicago segregated on ethnic grounds? I grew up in the 70’s thinking black people resented that shit but all the behavior of “black leaders” seems to indicate that they just want to flop-flop between color-blindness and separate-but-equal to maintain their power bureaucracies.

            A: You’re special
            B: No we’re not, we’re equal!
            A: OK, you’re equal
            B: No we’re not, we’re special!

            Some weird attempt to maintain popular contrarianism, a la Nick Gillespie.

          13. Ed Wuncler

            It’s fucked up. That’s how I’ve always felt about affirmative action. You can’t angry when you force an institution to have a quota system and the result is that some people will think you got in in order fulfill the quota and not because you’re capable of doing the work. You can’t have it both ways.

          14. Ozymandias

            I think it was the worst thing that possibly could have been done to undermine black achievement. It reinforced the racism of low expectations and conditioned upper middle class whites to think of it as their noblesse oblige, while screaming “RACIST!!!” at anyone who disagreed.

            I have a thought experiment that I came up with: I noticed that every Top 50 guitar players list is stacked, statistically significantly, with black players. If blacks are roughly 1/7th of the population, you’d expect 7 or maybe 8 “all-time” great American guitar players, maybe fewer depending upon “structural inequities,” yet blacks dominate guitar. Then I looked at comedy. Hunh. That’s weird. Then athletics. Hmmm… it’s even true of piano, though not quite as pronounced as guitar, but there are some all-time great pianists (Art Tatum) in what is quintessentially a rich white man’s instrument.

            The one thing about all of those (to my eyes) is that in endeavors of the most pure competition, where there are absolutely no breaks for skin color: either you can play the song, act, sing, dance, do comedy, run the route, hit or catch the ball… Blacks succeed at rates in excess of their ratio in the general population, sometimes in staggeringly high numbers. And it’s not just sportsball or physical endeavors or even related skills – it’s in the fine arts and sports.

            No one ever addresses why Blacks need “special government help” given that reality. Nothing could have been worse than affirmative action for undermining black success.

          15. grrizzly

            Blacks are protected when doing comedy. I watched Chappelle’s Sticks & Stones the other day. No way a white guy could get away with it. To put it differently, at least black folks can say things that the rest of us cannot.

          16. We are always asking whites to hold themselves accountable for the real or perceived abuses along with forking over a shit ton money and resources towards our communities, but yet we treat our neighborhoods like trash bins and tear everything down.

            I’m listening to Black Rednecks and White Liberals on my commute these days, and it amazes me how much of that culture is inherited from the English hinterlands. It’s a case of arrested development. White English evolved out of that culture first, then White Southerners were essentially forced out of that culture, but for some reason it hasn’t just persisted in Black American culture, but has thrived and grown. I’m sympathetic to Sowell’s opinion that the 1960s had some unintended consequences, but I don’t know enough to say whether that was enough to derail the previous cultural evolution.

          17. Suthenboy

            Not all whites. More than one social worker I have known personally told me that they have worked in rural white places in the north and the behavior and problems of the people they worked with were identical to what they see in southern black populations. There are still a lot of whites stuck in that culture.

          18. Suthenboy

            My apologies. I meant to say northern urban whites. Dunno why I typed rural, though it does exist there as well. I was thinking of adding that at least in the area where I live the whites living like that constitute a small minority.

          19. Fourscore

            Not restricted to urban. In my area I maintain that the main occupation locally is ‘bad backs’. While I may be exaggerating some what there seems to be a lot of folks that are able to get by with a minimum of output. Disability must be contagious. A lot of Help Wanted signs.

      3. Playa Manhattan

        Being clean is just a fashion statement.

        1. Enough About Palin

          No, it’s RACIST!

      4. I say we accept our new trashy overlords.

        *beams in regal pride*

  3. Tonio

    Is the industry finally ready to rise from the ashes of the Hindenburg?

    Not with nay-saying like that, you nabob of negativism. LOL

    So, it’s the annual gee-whiz press article on how LTA aircraft are just around the corner. Like useful nuclear fusion.

    Kudos on the illo, Brett. You could have also slipped in a Skytanic one.

    1. MikeS

      “The maritime shipping sector is a major contributor to CO2 emissions and this figure is expected to rise in coming decades,”

      Is there a single sector of anything that isn’t a “major contributor” to Climate Horror™ at this point?

      1. Tonio

        Climate Horror. Damn, are you going to do anything with that?

        1. MikeS

          It does have a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

      2. R C Dean

        The maritime shipping sector is a major contributor to CO2 emissions

        I seriously doubt that. What percentage of anthro CO2 is emitted by cargo ships?

        1. Sensei

          This new estimate places international maritime emissions in 6th place in the world between India and Germany and nearly three times that of international aviation. The bulk of shipping’s emissions stem from cargo vessels, with passenger ships representing only 3% of total ship CO2 emissions, a share which is declining.

          http://oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/2600/Sea_fairer:_Maritime_transport_and_CO2_emissions.html

          1. R C Dean

            Huh. More than I thought.

          2. Homple

            To get an idea of how much ship traffic there is, check out marinetraffic.com online or get their smartphone app. It shows near real time ship positions pretty much all over the world. Take a look at the English Channel, major Chinese ports or the Malacca Straits to be impressed at the volume of maritime shipping.

      3. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

        K-TEL presents the all-new Climate Horror™! Now with 50% more apocalypse than our previous best-seller, Climate Catastrophe™! And 100% more than Climate Change™! Yes, it’s the newest kid on the Climate Cult block, Climate Horror™! Get yours TODAY!!!

    1. Tonio

      To test this theory, the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) gave the crabs a pig carcass to feast on. Turns out the crabs swarmed the pig’s body, removed most of its flesh, and moved some of the bones as far as 60 feet away. “This tells us crabs drag bones,” TIGHAR’s Tom King told Nat Geo.

      How come I never get invited to parties like that?

      1. Florida Man

        What are you doing this weekend?

        1. Tonio

          Going out for drinks with my hot Asian neighbor who looks and (I think deliberately) dresses like Diane Nguyen from Bojack Horseman. You straight guys would die for that oppo, die I tells you, but for me it’s just a girls’ night out with the soccer mom down the street.

          1. Florida Man

            Sooooo…no crab/pig party then?

          2. Sean

            Huh.

            Diane Nguyen cosplay is a thing and it led me here: https://pikabu.ru/story/diane_nguyen_cosplay_5474583

            Not bad.

      2. Pope Jimbo

        Maybe if you weren’t so off putting. Would it kill you to smile a little bit. Face it, you are too crabby in social settings.

        1. Tonio

          Resting bitch face, bro. It’s a thing. I have to take a ton of selfies so I get one where I only look annoyed instead of totally psycho.

    2. Sean

      Coconut crabs.

      Lovecraft would be proud.

      1. Tundra

        Sweet Jesus!

        See, that right there is the argument for full-auto weapons for everyone.

        1. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

          Yes, but are they delicious?

    3. Playa Manhattan

      Are you getting medication for your crabs?

      1. Florida Man

        I was afraid the joke may be too subtle.

    4. Jarflax

      Why the hell does the fact that bones were missing after 3 years lying rotting on an island through storms, winds, animals etc require a detailed explanation?

      1. Tonio

        Why do you have to suck all the fun out of seeing how long it takes certain indigenous fauna to skeletonize and disperse a human skeleton, or reasonable stand-in for one?

  4. Enough About Palin

    Police: Missouri man fatally shot 2 women at apartment because he ‘never felt welcome’

    https://www.ajc.com/news/national/police-missouri-man-fatally-shot-women-apartment-because-never-felt-welcome/oAr9KyhA34BEcgZ24iiugN/

    1. PBRstreetgang

      So he’s on the receiving end of micro-aggressions.
      NOT GUILTY!

    2. Florida Man

      I read that as “finally” shot at first.

    3. BakedPenguin

      he ‘never felt welcome’

      I wonder why.

  5. Certified Public Asshat

    Deadspin ponders Title IX Compiance

    In reporting about the Utah girls’ football league, a Title IX coordinator was deposed. He said that because the number of sports (10 for boys and 10 for girls) was equal, the school was in compliance. That is not how Title IX compliance works. There have to be an equal number of athletic positions available.

    It’s not just the sheer number of athletic opportunities that decides whether a high school is Title IX compliant. Everything has to be equal: locker rooms, play facilities, fan opportunity, and provided gear. That means if a high school boys team has better jerseys, or a better weight room, or fancier soap in their locker room, or fields closer to the school, or nicer playing surfaces, or even better nights to play on than the girls teams, that high school is not in compliance with Title IX.

    Title IX means feeling slighted, no matter what.

    1. Florida Man

      Time to remove sports from all schools. Play in a rec league on your own dime.

      1. Tonio

        ^This. It’s a way to chip away at the monolith that is government K-12 education.

      2. Certified Public Asshat

        I’m in, kill the NCAA too.

        1. Florida Man

          Absolutely. I mean all public schools. If private schools want to waste money, that’s their business.

        2. Homple

          Also, make it illegal for parents and other adults to come within 200 yards of any kids playing any sport.

    2. B.P.

      There are activists who litigate against institutions down to this granular level, causing the institutions to run through piles of resources in the process, and at the end feel like they’ve performed something noble.

      1. Tonio

        Causing the taxpayers to hemorrhage even more money, to support inept educrats on the front end, and to defend their actions against other bureaucrats on the back end. It’s almost a closed system.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          A sort of perpetual emotion machine?

    3. Tonio

      It’s quotas all the way down. The government of Virginia got a Director of Diversity today. No patronage jobs, no make-work, no soaking of the taxpayers.

    4. Playa Manhattan

      WTF is “fan opportunity”?

      1. Certified Public Asshat

        Keep the snack shack open?

      2. Private Chipperbot

        It used to be that they said the boys and girls should play the same sports, in the same season, on the same night. They no one went and watched the girls. So now they play the same sport in different seasons on the same nights…and no one goes to any of the sports other than football anyway (soccer dad with boy and girl on HS teams).

      3. Tonio

        You don’t get to relegate girls’ sports to some back field where parents have to bring their own folding chairs. Fa-cil-I-ties. Bleachers. Vending.

    5. Rhywun

      Insanity. And people wonder why their children come out of school unprepared for the real world.

  6. Tundra

    Hi Brett!

    I hope the trip goes well.

    Want to blow us all to shit, Sherlock?!?

    Great scene.

    1. Florida Man

      What part of helium aren’t you getting?!?

      1. Brett L

        All of it, I guess

      2. Tonio

        [Inhales helium from balloon, lights lighter, exhales extinguishing lighter, talks until voice becomes high and squeaky]

  7. BakedPenguin

    Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, multiple Dolphins players contacted their agents after Sunday’s season-opening blowout loss and directed them to attempt to engineer trades elsewhere.

    “Yeah, we do need an OT, but he plays for the Dolphins.”

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      Imagine playing for the Dolphins and believing that you’re not at fault for them sucking.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        Have the Dolphins been any good ever since they bounced Richie Incognito and banned hazing?

        They need to get back to basics and realize what the Marines, biker gangs and frats have known for a long time, HAZING IS FOR WINNERS.

        1. Crusty Juggler

          IF YOU WONT FUCK TOGETHER YOU WONT FIGHT PLAY AS A TEAM TOGETHER

          1. Crusty Juggler

            gah!

        2. Homple

          Remember to hold the laces out.

  8. Certified Public Asshat

    Greedy insurance companies are working overtime to convince Americans that quality health care for all is an impossible idea.It's not.When you go to a hospital in Canada, the only fee you pay is to park your car.— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 9, 2019

    The healthcare is free, if you can afford to park your car.

    1. Rufus the Monocled

      Piece of shit commie.

    2. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      This is a weird tweet, because in a follow-up he said “I will ban parking lots and the evil sprawl that it enables. Anyways, if you don’t live in a big city do you even exist? #GreenNewDeal”

    3. tarran

      Well, it’s easy to keep costs down if you delay people’s life-saving treatment by a few months to years and let a bunch of them die off.

    4. Stinky Wizzleteats

      He’s a senile old fool.

    5. Playa Manhattan

      I don’t know why this is isn’t common knowledge:

      Bernie has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. It explains why he’s never been able to hold down a job.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        Feeble Alcohol Syndrome? I’d buy that.

    6. invisible finger

      Bernie thinks he has a quality haircut, too.

    7. Fatty Bolger

      Well… there’s also the funeral after they refuse your treatment.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        You still have to pay for the parking.

    8. Fourscore

      If you afford a car

  9. Mad Scientist

    Maybe they had to blow a lot of ballast to get out of the port?

    If they have to ride that high in the water to get in or out of port, they’d have no way to get through laden.

    1. Pope Jimbo

      Maybe if they had stopped blowing Ballast and let him steer the ship, none of this would happen. But when have sailors shown any ability to resist a quick BJ from another sailor?

      1. Bobarian LMD

        I was waiting for someone to make that joke.

        I’m still waiting.

    2. It’s a RO/RO ship – looks like it just onloaded vehicles for export (or movement). Generally a lot lighter/less dense than a container ship IIRC – but still…never seen something like that either. Would be interesting to see why it happened – there are special programs to arrange/balance weight – and consumer vehicles are a LOT less complicated than military cargo.

  10. Crusty Juggler

    Dem Congressman’s Wife: ‘Mind-Blowing’ Our Insurance Doesn’t Cover Marriage Counseling

    The South Carolina Democrat is currently serving his first term in Congress, where members are given access to Obamacare “gold” plans from Blue Cross Blue Shield and are responsible for paying about a quarter of the premiums. The plan is apparently not good enough for his wife, Amanda Cunningham, who told her Instagram followers she would be urging her husband to do something about it.

    “I’m gonna have a little bit of a rant here on social media because I think this is important,” she said on her Instagram story last week. “I’ve been going over my not-a-bill bill here from Blue Cross Blue Shield, and realizing that once again, all of my mental health therapy sessions are denied, in addition to all of our marriage counseling sessions.”

    “It’s just mind-blowing to me that these basic well-known needs, that mental health is health care, are still being denied, that we’re still fighting for these absolutely basic things, it’s unbelievable to me,” she said. “So I’m reaching out to my congressman—yes, also my husband—but saying, like, hey, what can we do about this? Let’s go to the House floor, let’s write a bill, I don’t know what you do, but let’s do it because this is ridiculous.”

    “This affects us, our family, it affects everyone else who’s seeking mental health and needs support doing so,” she concluded. “I’m just flabbergasted.”

    Bro, that’s a nice looking lady so I suggest you get to work. On the other hand RUN!

    1. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Why in the holy hell should insurance have to cover marriage counseling? Pay for it your damn self.

      1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

        What’s next? Are you going to say that insurance shouldn’t pay for transgender surgery or abortions? I bet you think people should exercise personal responsibility and pay for their own contraceptives. Why are you such a misogynist, bigot?

      2. Bobarian LMD

        See now Jimbo, this is where the joke belongs…

        “If she didn’t “mind blowing”, they wouldn’t need counseling!

        1. Homple

          “How the hell should I know? You’re the c*er!”

    2. Playa Manhattan

      Her instagram is…. a hot mess

      In the budget: all inclusive beach vacation to Riviera Maya

      Not in the budget: saving her marriage

      1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

        I couldn’t help but laugh out loud after reading this.

        1. Playa Manhattan

          Totally serious.

          Also, she’s a one stop shop for all of your web design and yoga needs:
          https://www.amandabyoga.com

          Experience includes designing a website about yoga.

          1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

            After looking at her yoga poses, now I know why he married her

          2. Crusty Juggler

            She is a very pretty lady.

          3. Enough About Palin

            Then why not CONNECT? She says (and I quote). “I’d love to hear from you”

        2. Sensei

          That is good snark from PM!

      2. Mad Scientist

        Hey, you gotta have priorities.

    3. B.P.

      “Hey hon, that was really helpful of you to blast our marriage troubles into the national media spotlight. Maybe you could post a little rant on Instagram about our insurance not covering dick pills.”

    4. Drake

      I bet her health insurance doesn’t cover flooding or auto damage either.

    5. Tonio

      Yeah, it’s not the best thing for your husband’s political career to go blabbing in the press about needing marriage counseling. Sounds like someone is deliberately trying to torpedo her hub’s political career because she’s tired of all the appearances and fundraisers and crap.

    6. R C Dean

      Buried lede:

      all of my mental health therapy sessions are denied, in addition to all of our marriage counseling sessions.

      Not helping her husband’s career, at all.

    7. Rhywun

      Funny, in the private market it’s easy to find coverage for mental health care.

  11. Count Potato

    “EXCLUSIVE: Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti embezzled $2.5 million in a settlement meant for NBA player Hassan Whiteside’s ex-girlfriend, spending most of it on a private jet, lawsuit claims”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7443761/Micheal-Avenatti-embezzled-clients-settlement-buy-private-jet.html

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      Remember all the responsible “journalists”, who are definitely not propagandists, who alleged that Kavanaugh ran some super secret gang bang party circuit based upon Michael Avenatti?

      1. Count Potato

        I remember when some CNN asshat was saying he could be the next President.

        1. Jarflax

          and you think this disqualifies him? Have you seen the Democrat field?

      2. tarran

        Didn’t some slobbering simpleton on air claim he wanted Avenatti to run for president?

        It wasn’t the final nail in the coffin of my willingness to consume news. That coffin was nailed shut, cremated and had its ashes scattered years ago. But I thought it was a great indication of how pathetic they’d become.

        1. Stinky Wizzleteats

          The clucking hens on the View along with a bunch of others.
          https://youtu.be/oAjN-CJTQSg

        2. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

          I gave up on believing the corporate press back when the whole WMD thing fell apart and they didn’t want to talk much about us funding ISIS in Syria.

          The crazy thing is that if you say that the corporate press is propaganda people now assume that you love Trump. I mean, even far-left people like Chomskey have remarked that our corporate press is propaganda that would make any dictator jealous.

          Avenatti is the least of their humiliations, but a humiliation nonetheless.

        3. Rufus the Monocled

          I tell people to ween themselves off the ‘news’. It’s pure hysterical garbage.

          Once they do, their rational functions are restored. Not to mention peace of mind.

    2. Playa Manhattan

      “Avenatti was entitled to $1m in fees, but allegedly took $2.5m and used a colleague’s bank account to buy a share of the Honda Jet”

      When $1 million in fees isn’t enough for a few days’ work.

      1. Tonio

        Those Honda jets are sweeeeet.

        1. Playa Manhattan

          His client will be thrilled to learn that she’s a part owner.

  12. Count Potato

    “Megyn Kelly beams at Napa wedding of Guy Benson and Adam Wise after they met because the Fox News contributor came out as gay on her old TV show”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7445067/Megyn-Kelly-beams-Napa-wedding-Fox-News-contributor-Guy-Benson-Adam-Wise.html

    Looks like Kennedy was the officiant.

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      It looks like pretty much everyone from Fox News was invited except for Hannity and Lou Dobbs.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        They were having their own weekend off together?

    2. B.P.

      The two grooms look an awful lot alike.

      1. Tonio

        Kind of like how straight couples are often analogues for one another. It’s just more obvs with same sex couples.

        1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

          That’s a surefire way to get someone to call off their wedding. “Your soon-to-be wife looks like she could be related to you. It’s basically like doing your sister.”

  13. The Late P Brooks

    Time to remove sports from all schools. Play in a rec league on your own dime.

    Gateway to professional;ism and exploitation.

  14. Count Potato

    “Parents of YouTube’s highest-earner Ryan Kaji, 7, who has made $22MILLION testing toys, face investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for failing to declare paid sponsorships”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7443977/YouTubes-highest-earner-Ryan-Kaji-hit-investigation-Federal-Trade-Commission-adverts.html

    1. Fatty Bolger

      What, they didn’t put that tiny disclaimer text at the bottom of the screen that nobody without a magnifying glass could read? Tragic.

  15. Pope Jimbo

    What could possibly go wrong? Minneapolis plans to create six ‘cultural districts’ across the city

    In theory, the plan for the cultural districts is straightforward: The city wants to spend money to make streets cleaner, buildings look newer and help local entrepreneurs thrive in areas of Minneapolis where the majority of residents are people of color and where there’s a high concentration of low-income households.

    Less clear is how the new attention from the city will actually spur economic growth while keeping neighborhoods affordable. Low-income people across the city — including artists in northeast, renters in north Minneapolis or Somali entrepreneurs in Cedar Riverside — have expressed a growing fear over development detracting from local businesses and attracting newcomers who can afford higher property costs and would displace current residents.

    “We’re not looking to have an area feel unwelcoming now to its own residents just because there’s going to be more interest in people coming to that area,” said Council Member Alondra Cano, who is helping organize the long-range planning. “How we roll out that value will matter.”

    Maybe they could clearly label the amenities in those areas with signs that say something like “Colored” so that the crackers know not to use them?

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      The Paris Model, funded by your tax dollars. It’s all the rage in American cities. Wait until you see that your tax dollars are going to support “affordable housing” and then when you drill down you see that those “affordable housing” units are “artist lofts”.

      Move the poors out- get the rich whites in. Is basically all urban planning is nowadays.

      1. Pope Jimbo

        The groups also worry that new traffic could increase crime and cause problems for existing minority-owned businesses, and that the development could be tipping point for a wave of new construction that turns the low-income neighborhood into a place they can no longer afford. Last month, a group of opponents shut down a meeting for the city leaders to discuss the project at the Brian Coyle Community Center. “Our homes are not sale!” one advocacy group posted on Facebook after the protest. “This is how you shutdown gentrification in your hood.”

        Those crackers will steal the hood! How dare they try to clean shit up?

      2. Crusty Juggler

        The Paris Model

        Bardot or Birkin?

        Related: Gainsbourg is a legend.

        1. Tonio

          How women are supposed to look. Without the heavy eye makeup, of course.

    2. What could possibly go wrong?

      Minneapolis has no culture?

      1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

        Being passive aggressive is a kind of culture

        1. Pope Jimbo

          I do not believe any of the cultural areas that were identified were majority Norwegian/Swedish neighborhoods. And our new Somali brothers don’t seem to have any problems with passive aggressiveness.

          1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

            That’s just aggressive.

    3. Enough About Palin

      That’s what I was thinking. Let’s segregate the colored folks in Minneapolis!

    4. Drake

      The ghettos of the future!

      Does each district have a train station for the cattle cars in case a group falls out of favor?

    5. Rhywun

      The new red-lining. “Sorry, only poor people here.”

    6. Tundra

      *counts the days until departure*

    7. Homple

      We used to call those districts “ghettos”.

      1. Rhywun

        Most of what we call ghettos in the US started out as middle-class neighborhoods. They only became ghettos due to a combination of “white flight” and racist policies that ended decades ago but which remain to this day a convenient tool with which to bonk anyone over the head when politically convenient.

  16. Crusty Juggler

    https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-jojo-rabbit-is-taika-waititis-marvel-presents-mein-kampf/“>Review: Jojo Rabbit Is Taika Waititi’s Marvel Presents Mein Kampf

    Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit is the work of a free man. A man, that is, with all the short-term independence that Marvel money and Hollywood blockbuster street cred can buy. This spectacularly wrongheaded “anti-hate satire” (as per the how-the-hell-do-we-market-this-thing ad campaign) is the feature-length equivalent of the “Springtime for Hitler” number from Mel Brooks’s The Producers, sans context and self-awareness. It takes place in a goofball period la-la land of its own creation, with sets as minutely detailed and shots as precisely composed as those in a Wes Anderson fantasia. Indeed, Jojo Rabbit suggests what that dapper hipster auteur might generate if he was to remake Elem Klimov’s hallucinatory, horrifying World War II epic Come and See, and that’s not a compliment.

    I don’t think he likes it very much.

    1. Crusty Juggler

      Sometimes I link well. Sometimes.

    2. Jojo Rabbit, Your Life Is Calling.

  17. The Late P Brooks

    Causing the taxpayers to hemorrhage even more money, to support inept educrats on the front end, and to defend their actions against other bureaucrats on the back end. It’s almost a closed system.

    Nobody makes a profit, so it’s okay.

  18. Crusty Juggler

    License plate melee shows New York missed the mark — in multiple ways

    The state announced its new plate Friday, selected by open polling. Centered around the state motto of “Excelsior,” or ever upward, it again has a white backdrop, this time with even tinier make-you-squint images of Liberty, the New York skyline and a waterfall that is most likely Niagara, though if so a generic one, set against trees and mountains apparently intended to represent a larger Upstate landscape.

    Maybe it is the beginning of an end to the uproar touched off last month by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s decision to hold a statewide vote for a new plate. That original notion mandated replacing all plates 10 years or older, and many New Yorkers saw the subsequent $25 fee as an out-of-the-blue tax.

    Why do we repeatedly do backwards what ought to be so easy?

    jfc

    1. Rhywun

      The fifth, of a catchier sky blue, featured the new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge over the Hudson – leading some bemused observers, such as statistician Nate Silver, to suggest the governor was stacking the deck to win the thing for his dad, a contention rejected by the DMV.

      That one WAS the best of the awful options they put up.

      PS. I like the current ones. A throwback to childhood.

  19. Pope Jimbo

    Well that is settled. Special K is going to be the bestest President ever! Jennifer Rubin says so, so it must be true.

    Her message was simple, but effective: “At a time when Donald Trump wakes up every morning trying to divide us, using immigrants as political pawns, belittling people who don’t agree with him, destroying our democracy with dark money and voter suppression, and allowing a foreign country to make mincemeat of our democracy, we need a candidate for president who understands that what unites us as a country is greater than what divides us, that has a track record of winning Democrats and independents and moderate Republicans in every place, in every race, every time.”

    It is nice that a rube from Minnesoda can make crazy accusations just like a big time pol from the Beltway or East Coast.

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      “destroying our democracy with dark money and voter suppression, and allowing a foreign country to make mincemeat of our democracy”

      That’s a word salad of nonsense.

    2. Fatty Bolger

      “At a time when Donald Trump wakes up every morning trying to divide us”

      Unlike his opponents, who definitely don’t divide people into small groups and and then demand total allegiance from them.

      “using immigrants as political pawns”

      OK

      “belittling people who don’t agree with him”

      Well, yeah, but it’s funny and they kinda deserve it…

      “destroying our democracy with dark money”

      Huh?

      “and voter suppression”

      How’s that?

      “and allowing a foreign country to make mincemeat of our democracy”

      Loony tunes…

      “we need a candidate for president who understands that what unites us as a country is greater than what divides us, that has a track record of winning Democrats and independents and moderate Republicans in every place, in every race, every time.”

      Great. Let me know when you’ve found one.

    3. Stinky Wizzleteats

      She’s as stupid as she is ugly as she is shrill as she is nuts.

  20. The Late P Brooks

    Democracy in chains!

    “As a general rule, when either party has an incumbent president in the White House, there’s no rationale to hold a primary,” South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick said about the move.

    That’s generally true. South Carolina didn’t hold a Republican primary in 1984 or 2004 when Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush were running for second terms. In 2004, in fact, 10 states canceled their GOP nominating contests.

    But there is a big difference between those past examples and 2020. Actually, three big differences, named Bill Weld, Joe Walsh and Mark Sanford. All three of those men — two former governors and a former House member — are running against Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination, each promising to take back the party that the billionaire businessman seized by the throat in 2016.

    ——-

    But just because Trump is very, very likely to be the Republican nominee in 2020 doesn’t mean that states shouldn’t give GOP voters the chance to have their say on his presidency.

    “This is not North Korea or Russia. Donald Trump is trying to eliminate elections,” Walsh told MSNBC of the cancellations. “That is undemocratic BS. It’s wrong and that’s the kind of thing that should piss off Republican voters.”

    Now, obviously, states do have the right to decide whether to have primaries or caucuses. Why? Because these are intra-party races, meaning that the state party in each state gets to decide the parameters of how they work or if they happen at all.
    And there are legitimate reasons to decide against holding primaries — especially at the presidential level. It costs a big chunk of change to stage a primary and often cash-strapped state parties either don’t have the money or don’t want to spend it on a meaningless vote.

    But this isn’t a meaningless vote! Yes, Trump is a heavy favorite, but there are three credible former Republican elected officials running in the race as well. This is not a walkover situation!

    Waaah. Make the Bad Orange Man go away. Illegitimate President is illegitimate!

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      Remember just a year ago when Beltway Libertarians were trying to convince everyone that Bill Weld would be a great LP nominee? And now that he’s running as a Rockefeller Republican again he’s open about opposing guns and being an all around statist dick.

      Gee, I remember when he was the “original libertarian”.

  21. Crusty Juggler

    Woody Allen Says He “Couldn’t Care Less” About Hollywood Backlash, Insists He’s Poster Boy For #MeToo

    In an interview with French news network France 24 (watch the video above), the director, whose A Rainy Day in New York opens the Deauville American Film Festival today, was asked by the network’s Vincent Roux (“I was warned he would not comment on this but I had to give it a try”) about the backlash that followed adopted daughter Dylan Farrow’s renewed accusations of child molestation.

    Asked whether he still believes he should be a poster boy for the #MeToo movement, Allen points to his history of working with actresses without “a single complaint.”

    “I’ve worked with hundreds of actresses,” Allen says. “Not one of them has ever complained about me. Not a single complaint. I’ve worked with, employed women…in every capacity for years and we’ve always paid them exactly the equal of men.

    “I’ve done everything that the #MeToo movement would love to achieve with everyone,” he says.
    Allen insists he “couldn’t care less” about working in Hollywood. (Last February, Allen filed a $68 million lawsuit against Amazon Studios following the cancelation of a four-film agreement and nixing the Rainy Day U.S. release.)

    Innocent until proven guilty! Fuck all yalls haters!

  22. Crusty Juggler

    Alec Baldwin Gets Burned By Robert De Niro At Comedy Central Roast

    De Niro, a two-time Oscar winner, took almost as much ribbing as Baldwin for his advanced age and his recent penchant for starring in big screen comedies never destined for awards greatness. Ross referred to De Niro as the “Aging Bull.”

    That’s good.

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      Well, yeah. He had her at her prime. Now she’s not even a governor or VP. What’s the point anymore?

      1. Bobarian LMD

        She’s too old to be the VPILF, anymore.

    2. Pope Jimbo

      Uffda. What about the kids? What do they think about that? Is Trig down with it?

      1. Playa Manhattan

        What you did there, I see

  23. Crusty Juggler

    K2 banned from bodegas, but it gets into city jails, causing inmate hallucinations

    We do have a good number of inmates that do go out to the hospitals due to the K2,” one NYC correction officer told PIX11. He asked to remain unidentified.

    But Elias Husamudeen—president of COBA, the Correction Officers Benevolent Association—went on the record.

    “We have arrested so far this year more than 40 visitors bringing in K2,” Husamudeen said. “They swallow it, put it in their vagina; they put it in their anus.”

    The union president cited the Brooklyn Detention Complex as an especially problematic site.

    Husamudeen noted K2 has spawned a national problem in various jail systems.

    In 2018, the Miami Herald featured a video clip of an inmate writhing on a prison floor after using K2.

    K2 was behind a spike in Florida prison deaths in recent years.

    It also caused trouble in Pennsylvania in 2018. All 25 state prisons were put on lockdown in August and early September that year.

    Correction officials suspected 50 prison officers got sick due to contact with inmates using K2 or Suboxone, a medicine used in the treatment of opioid addiction. They believed inmates were getting mail dipped in liquid K2 or Suboxone.

    Pennsylvania ultimately dealt with the problem by having mail sorted in Florida and then sent on digital discs to prisoners.

    Ray Donovan, special agent in charge of the New York division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, told PIX11’s Jennifer Bisram inmates won’t be getting a mellow buzz from K2.

    “It’s actually quite the opposite,” Donovan said. “People experience paranoia, seizures, hallucinations.”

    I THINK WE SHOULD ROUTE ALL MAIL THROUGH FLORIDA BECAUSE THEY CAN HANDLE ALL SUBSTANCES

    1. Drake

      Uhh… I know I’m out of date. Last time I heard of K2, it was a brand of ski equipment.

      1. AlmightyJB

        Here ya go. Don’t listen to them though, it’s fine.

        https://www.centeronaddiction.org/the-buzz-blog/what-k2-and-why-it-dangerous

          1. mock-star

            Ive seen people overdose K2. It is not a pretty thing to watch. Its reminds one of the first 15 minutes of every zombie movie ever made…..dude will feel sick for a few minutes, then will go totally unresponsive for a minute or 3, and then its rage zombie time.

          2. AlmightyJB

            That sound suckie.

          3. mock-star

            I literally had a guy snap awake from total unresponsiveness and try to bite me while I was strapping him into a gurney. Luckily his chest was already strapped down when he decided to do so.

            You know what would curb the spread of K2? Drug legalization.

    2. Trolleric the Goth

      isn’t that what Aaron Hernandez smoked before he wrote a bunch of illuminati shit in blood on his wall and hung himself?

    1. MikeS

      Your mom didn’t mind when I did it.

      1. Don Escaped Texas

        toothpaste is a dish best served cold

      2. Crusty Juggler

        ew dude she has chronic yeast infections.

        1. bacon-magic

          That’s a lot of dough.

      3. Pope Jimbo

        She looked at it as a two-fer? She got $5 for the BJ and didn’t have to pay to brush her tooth (she only has one left)

    2. Tonio

      Yeah, there’s actually OTC numbing gel for that shiznat. Totes safe. Although, since topical, can also reduce vaginal/anal sensation for your partner if not used in conjunction with condoms – but those also reduce sensation for you ‘eager’ young lads.

      1. Bobarian LMD

        You don’t have the range of flavors, though.

      2. AlmightyJB

        Or think about Elizabeth Warren.

        1. Bobarian LMD

          Sure, if you need practice at stuffing rope.

    3. Urthona

      Ha. The problems of dudes who clearly don’t masturbate at least 3 times a day.

      Losers.

  24. Suthenboy

    Blimps calling, my ass. Someone is looking for subsidies.

    1. Tonio

      There is a market in tethered surveillance blimps for USCG coastal waters monitoring activity, aka drug interdiction.

      1. We’ve been using them overseas for base security for years (spotting indirect fire, etc) – also useful along a fixed border – great cameras, optics, FLIR, etc.

      2. Suthenboy

        Surveillance seems like an appropriate use. Heavy cargo transport, not so much. I don’t see mentioned in the article the very high cost of hydrogen/helium production.
        We would need a blimp the size of the moon to transport what one large cargo ship can hold. The idea is moronic.

        1. Raven Nation

          Although this is pretty cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-0aYicv26M

          Plus, “Fringe” said it could happen.

        2. Not Adahn

          One we get fusion reactors going, helium will be a waste product that you’ll have to pay people to go and put in blimps!

        3. I do like the “Diamond Age” concept using ultra-light carbon fiber, etc. – don’t recall what the lift gas was in those though.

  25. Crusty Juggler

    Period Tracker Apps Used By Millions Of Women Are Sharing Incredibly Sensitive Data With Facebook

    UK-based advocacy group Privacy International, sharing its findings exclusively with BuzzFeed News, discovered period-tracking apps including MIA Fem and Maya sent women’s use of contraception, the timings of their monthly periods, symptoms like swelling and cramps, and more, directly to Facebook.

    “When Maya asks you to enter how you feel and offers suggestions of symptoms you might have — suggestions like blood pressure, swelling or acne — one would hope this data would be treated with extra care,” the report said. “But no, that information is shared with Facebook.”

    The app also shares data users enter about their use of contraception, the analysis found, as well as their moods. It also asks users to enter information about when they’ve had sex and what kind of contraception they used, and also includes a diarylike section for users to write their own notes. That information is also shared with Facebook.

    Men, I suggest you poor your lady a glass of wine and read this out loud to her – it will be hilarious. Also, maybe she will stop using Facebook.

    1. Crusty Juggler

      *pour*

      Spelling, linking, Et cetra, Et cetrca, are difficult to do (unlike the mother of Glib Mike S.)

    2. Urthona

      It’s really not right this data is just used to sell them shit. It could be used for the greater good of dismissing female complaints at certain times of the month.

  26. Chipping Pioneer

    OT: Day 7: Hyannis to Boston

    Went to the Plimoth Plantation, which is supposed to recreate the life of the Pilgrims. It was interesting. They were basically commies.

    It was a bit awkward, because the reenactors stayed “in period”. Example:

    Young guy: “Welcome, brother and sister. On which vessel did you arrive?”

    Me: “The Toyota”.

    Young guy: “Oh, I’ve not heard of that one”.

    Plymouth Rock is bullshit.

    Driving in Boston is much like driving in Montreal. A bit insane.

    Tonight, Yankees vs. Red Sox. Not the matchup that I thought it would be when I bought the tickets.

    1. Crusty Juggler

      Tonight, Yankees vs. Red Sox.

      My thoughts and prayers are with you. Pee as soon as you get there – the last time I was there tinkling was a nightmare.

      Also, the Cape is great during the early Fall – I hope you enjoyed it!

      1. Drake

        Do they still have tbe troughs or am I thinking of the old Foxboro Stadium and the old Garden?

    2. BakedPenguin

      They were basically commies

      And they came close to suffering the fate of all commies. However, they weren’t imbeciles, so after a long, hungry winter, they decided a free(r) market system would work better.

      They obviously just didn’t do communism correctly.

      1. Raven Nation

        All this while no supplies were heard of, nor did they
        know when they might expect any. So they began to con
        sider how to raise more corn, and obtain a better crop than
        they had done, so that they might not continue to endure
        the misery of want. At length after much debate, the
        Governor, with the advice of the chief among them, allowed
        each man to plant corn for his own household, and to trust
        to themselves for that; in all other things to go on in the
        general way as before. So every family was assigned a
        parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number
        with that in view,—for present purposes only, and making
        no division for inheritance,—all boys and children being in
        cluded under some family. This was very successful. It
        made all hands very industrious, so that much more corn
        was planted than otherwise would have been by any means
        the Governor or any other could devise, and saved him a
        great deal of trouble, and gave far better satisfaction. The
        women now went willingly into the field, and took their
        little ones with them to plant corn, while before they would
        allege weakness and inability; and to have compelled them
        would have been thought great tyranny and oppression..
        The failure of this experiment of communal service,
        which was tried for several years, and by good and honest
        men proves the emptiness of the theory of Plato and other
        ancients, applauded by some of later times,—that the taking
        away of private property, and the possession of it in com
        munity, by a commonwealth, would make a state happy and
        flourishing; as if they were wiser than God. For in this
        instance, community of property (so far as it went) was
        found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard
        much employment which would have been to the general
        benefit and comfort. For the young men who were most
        able and fit for service objected to being forced to spend
        their time and strength in working for other men’s wives
        and children, without any recompense. The strong man or
        the resourceful man had no more share of food, clothes, etc.,
        than the weak man who was not able to do a quarter the
        other could. This was thought injustice. The aged and
        graver men, who were ranked and equalized in labour, food,
        clothes, etc., with the humbler and younger ones, thought it
        some indignity and disrespect to them. As for men’s wives
        who were obliged to do service for other men, such as cook
        ing, washing their clothes, etc., they considered it a kind of
        slavery, and many husbands would not brook it. This
        feature of it would have been worse still, if they had been
        men of an inferior class. If (it was thought) all were to
        share alike, and all were to do alike, then all were on an
        equality throughout, and one was as good as another; and
        so, if it did not actually abolish those very relations which
        God himself has set among men, it did at least greatly
        diminish the mutual respect that is so important should be
        preserved amongst them. Let none argue that this is due
        to human failing, rather than to this communistic plan of
        life in itself. I answer, seeing that all men have this failing
        in them, that God in His wisdom saw that another plan of
        life was fitter for them.

        William Bradford, “Of Plimouth Plantation,”

        1. Raven Nation

          Hmm, apologies for “Ken-ing” the thread.

          1. BakedPenguin

            I know the whole “dindu it rite” has become a tired joke, but really, it’s perfectly legal to form voluntary communes in Western nations. I wonder why ostensible communists never seem to take this route. (With the occasional exception of crappy artists who aren’t going to sell their crap for any real money anyway.)

  27. Suthenboy

    “Actually, three big differences, named Bill Weld, Joe Walsh and Mark Sanford.”

    Who? Wait…the first one was on a ticket as Vice President and endorsed the opposing candidate. The second one….I am not sure how being on the list of greatest 100 guitarists would qualify one as president. The third guy I have never heard of.

    It’s different this time cuz OrangeManBad.

    1. Chipping Pioneer

      They’re just ordinary, average guys.

      1. Drake

        But life’s been good so far?

        1. BakedPenguin

          They all should just walk away.

    2. Ed Wuncler

      Joe Walsh represented my area in the House. He’s a fucking moron.

      1. Urthona

        His guitar work is derivative.

        1. Mad Scientist

          They say he’s crazy, but he has a good time.

          1. Tundra

            I hear his Maserati does 185.

          2. He’s got a Dodge, his friend has a Chrysler. They’re just regular chaps.

        2. Bobarian LMD

          I’m 100% behind him.

          A campaign for the ages.

  28. Crusty Juggler

    Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017

    In a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN.
    A person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy.
    The decision to carry out the extraction occurred soon after a May 2017 meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump discussed highly classified intelligence with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The intelligence, concerning ISIS in Syria, had been provided by Israel.

    The disclosure to the Russians by the President, though not about the Russian spy specifically, prompted intelligence officials to renew earlier discussions about the potential risk of exposure, according to the source directly involved in the matter.

    I believe it because it seems logical to react to a loudmouth without a filter running his mouth about something he shouldn’t, but also it is the CIA and CNN so I don’t believe it. But it is probably true. But also it probably isn’t true.

    1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

      I, for one, have learned to believe every John Bircher conspiracy peddled by the corporate press and leaked by the intelligence community about Russia. They have never been wrong, except every time.

      In all honesty, I am really disappointed that that piss tape never emerged. That would have been amazing.

      1. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

        “Oh this golden shower is so classy. I hire the best whores. Oh, piss on me, Ivank…er…whore.”

    2. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Unnamed sources I see. I’ll take the offered explanation for the agent’s extraction with a boulder of salt.

    3. R C Dean

      A person directly involved in the discussions said that the removal of the Russian was driven, in part, by concerns that President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence and could contribute to exposing the covert source as a spy.

      Now do Barack Obama’s administration.

      1. Suthenboy

        UnNamed sources. OrangeManBad. Treason. Guilty. ‘peach fowteefie!

        Yeah, I am calling bullshit. Are they still using compulsive liars Clapper and Brennan as sources of OrangeManBad stories? I bet Anderson Cooper is on the case.

    4. Not Adahn

      That could have only been successful with Putin’s assistance. COLLUSION CONFIRMED!

    5. Did it involve Whoopi Goldberg and a Rolling Stones song?

  29. Not Adahn

    Israelis improving an Austrian design:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDiJn_oOJ8Y

    1. Count Potato

      He can play songs on his range.

      1. Not Adahn

        When he shoots in the winter, all the snow getting kicked up by the bullet splatter is an excellent reminder why you don’t shoot steel up close.

  30. Cacciatore

    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/period-tracker-apps-facebook-maya-mia-fem?origin=web-hf

    Period Tracker Apps Used By Millions Of Women Are Sharing Incredibly Sensitive Data With Facebook

    “Period tracker apps are sending deeply personal information about women’s health and sexual practices to Facebook, new research has found.

    UK-based advocacy group Privacy International, sharing its findings exclusively with BuzzFeed News, discovered period-tracking apps including MIA Fem and Maya sent women’s use of contraception, the timings of their monthly periods, symptoms like swelling and cramps, and more, directly to Facebook.”

    Who the fuck uses this crap?

    1. Drake

      I can imagine it wouls be useful to men if there was some kind of proximity warning on it.

    2. Tulip

      Men, so naive. There are women that truly suffer every month. My sister was one until she had her first child. I didn’t believe in PMS (what? It’s a surprise to you every month?) until I went on birth control pills. They made me seriously crazy. I knew what was happening and was absolutely powerless to stop it. Thank God I could just stop the pills. Other women aren’t as lucky. Some want to use this to get their doctor to take them seriously enough to actually get help. Mine dismissed my complaints. I just stopped the pill on my own, and it fixed the problem. Many also want to track to try to get pregnant.

      There are many reasons women would use this, and this is shitty behavior by these companies.

      1. Eh, we just think women are crazy all the time.

        /This is why there are no female libertarians….

      2. “Tulsi Gabbard Apologist”

        It’s really creepy and really weird. I know that some churches that don’t endorse contraceptives promote the cycle method which I know there are apps likes this for.

      3. KibbledKristen

        High five

        1. Welcome back!

          1. KibbledKristen

            Hi Ted!

        2. Hey! You’ve been gone too? I just returned last week or something.

          1. Tundra

            6 days, 8 hours and 42 minutes.

            But who’s counting.

          2. *warm fuzzies*

            ?

          3. KibbledKristen

            Hi!!!! So good to see you!!

      4. Cacciatore

        “Men, so naive.”

        Good luck on the dating scene with that attitude! /sarc

        My point being: if you don’t want your data getting out do this on paper. Same way I do my finances. For the same reason.

        Big tech has ZERO credibility and I wouldn’t trust them at all. If this information is so sensitive why the hell would anyone fork it over?

    3. I’d have more to say about this if I had periods, but I don’t. My family just has to survive menopause.

      1. Tulip

        I’m looking forward to it. Not the hot flashes, but just being done

        1. Actually, it’s been very kind to me. I had an endometrial ablation in 2011, and although I could have had a hysterectomy, I was too busy to take the time off to recuperate. I had a hysterectomy in 2017(?) after certain things jarred loose while I was picking up 2x4s.

      2. KibbledKristen

        I had two 1/2 cycles in August – all of the cramps, but less bleeding. I THOUGHT I WAS SUPPOSED TO GET FEWER PERIODS.

        I’ve been sold a bill of goods!! Hoodwinked!! Bamboozled!

        1. Tulip

          I’ve always had a long cycle (when not on the pill) and it’s gotten longer, but unfortunately, my period now lasts longer too. Fuck!

          1. KibbledKristen

            For the last year or so, mine have been as long as they were in high school (never-fucking-ending), until last month. I’ll take 2 semi-cycles a month over a really long one, any day!

            By dog, if I’m bleeding when I go to the UK next year, I will have a SHITFIT. Knowutimean?

          2. Tulip

            Yes, yes I do. I was so relieved it didn’t happen on my England trip

      3. Tundra

        OK, stop already. I live with a 51 yo (hottie, literally) and a 17 yo challenge.

        NO MORE GIRL STUFF!

        1. Florida Man

          Then you should be desensitized.

          1. Tundra

            Do you live with two women?

          2. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

            Do you live with two women?

            On a bad day, yes.

          3. Florida Man

            Only 1. That seems like plenty.

        2. /no libertarian women

        3. Tulip

          JUST DON’T READ IT!

          1. Tundra

            Oh…

  31. KibbledKristen

    Hi Glibs After Dark! I’m so sorry I have been absent so much this summer. Now that my commuting routine is (kind of) back to normal, I hope I can re-integrate.

    So how about that ThinkProgress union-busting, eh?

    1. BakedPenguin

      They can union bust all they want – no money saving measures will help a company selling crappy products no one wants.

      Also – welcome back! Wondered where you’d gone.

      1. KibbledKristen

        I just think the irony of a supposed “progressive” outlet flagrantly and deliberately busted its union. It is sooooo yummy & delicious

        1. BakedPenguin

          Or the Bernie campaign.

    2. Tundra

      You are referenced frequently. We missed you and I’m glad you are back.

      1. KibbledKristen

        Hello! Happy to be here!

        1. Tundra

          One of the shitlords lamented that he couldn’t share his Aviation porn with you.

          1. Tulip

            Speaking of, what do you think of this Kristen?

            https://www.hybridairvehicles.com

          2. Tulip

            I think a ride in one of those would be awesome!

          3. KibbledKristen

            Interesting! If they can make that work for cargo, I think it would be awesome. Seems like cargo is the real moneymaker in aviation.

          4. Tundra

            CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
            ZERO-CARBON FUTURE

            *barf*

          5. KibbledKristen

            Aw, dang!

            There’s some upcoming aviation pr0n down thread

          6. Tundra

            Saw it.

            Nice trip!

          7. Somehow I completely missed this contract getting reactivated this year (I think the last time I searched for an update was early last year).

            #Winning

            https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2019-05-07/marines-reactivating-unmanned-kaman-k-max-helicopters

          8. KibbledKristen

            HHmm….I wonder if those would be practical for civilian use?

          9. They’ve been selling modded versions for rural fire-fighting, etc. I think CA or CANG was using them summer a year ago.

            https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2014-12-11/unmanned-k-max-tested-firefighting

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wwKh4SNYwM

    3. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

      KK! We missed you!

      1. KibbledKristen

        Howdy!!!

  32. Tulip

    Ok, so I’m flipping through pictures. There’s a guy in a bat man mask. Not showing their face typically indicates married, but I laughed and clicked no.

    1. KibbledKristen

      Howdy neighborino!

      1. Tulip

        Yay! Kristen is back!

    2. Crusty Juggler

      I was on the Tinders this past weekend (that’s right ladies and young, confused, smooth men), and there was an alarming number of women wearing wedding/engagement rings.

      1. Florida Man

        Fake News. Men are dogs that cheap, not virtuous women.

        1. Crusty Juggler

          I just assume they were old photos but also I am a positive polly and always believe the best in people.

          1. Cacciatore

            It is a trend among younger women (where I go to school) to wear rings to indicate they are interested in a relationship.

          2. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

            Back in my day, single ladies wore ’em to “cut down on wrestling sessions.” No data on whether it actually worked, natch.

          3. Cacciatore

            The ones I see at college are clearly “fashion” rings. The older crowd who are actually married tend to sport rings with real stones that are gold, not burnished silver or brass.

  33. KibbledKristen

    Updates:

    Especially for MikeS in case I hadn’t said anything: I’ll be flying to Greenville later this month to meet my brother’s brother!

    On another note: I am flying to the shithole known as the UK next March for some extreme AvGeekery. I’ll be flying BA’s A318 all-business class service direct from JFK to LCY. I’ll make my way across London to Heathrow and stay at the Renaissance for some wicked planespotting at the hotel and at Myrtle Avenue. From there, it’s off to Manchester for some airport pub planespotting and some time at the spotting mound. After that, a quick overnight in Glasgow for a Monday morning jaunt to Barra, Scotland. Back to Glasgow and Heathrow Monday night for some more spotting. Another business class trans-Atlantic from Heathrow to Dulles on a 777.

    1. Raven Nation

      I want to get to the northern Scottish islands some time: Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetland.

      1. KibbledKristen

        Me, too! Would love to visit Skara Brae

      2. Tundra

        The boy is going to Scotland for a semester this year. It’s in the shitty time of the year, but I’m still thinking of toughing it out.

        I probably won’t hit those, though…

        1. KibbledKristen

          Where in Scotland?

          1. Tundra

            Aberdeen.

          2. BakedPenguin

            Aye?

    2. Playa Manhattan

      Have you seen the TWA swimming pool yet?

      1. KibbledKristen

        In pics, yes. I’ll be staying there in December for 2 nights! Probably not the best time for the pool, even though it’s supposedly heated to jacooz-level temps. Tryna make reservations for the Connie and the SUnken Lounge. Their online dining reservations system seems to be non-functional.

    3. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

      Well, it is Airstrip One, after all.

  34. KibbledKristen

    Can we do another open thread for the next Dem debate? That one earlier this summer was a gas.

    1. Rhywun

      Oh dear God there’s another one soon, isn’t there? I don’t know if my liver can handle it.

  35. Heroic Mulatto

    I am literally shaking right now.

    I was sitting on the couch with my unconscious wife. She then woke up and saw me watching The Brady Bunch. She asked me “What the fuck? I responded with “What you mean? Me watching The Brady Bunch?,” and she replied, “No, I mean why the fuck did you hit with a frying pan? I’ve had fucking enough, I want a divorce.”

    THE FUCK???!?!?!? Just because I watched two episodes of The Brady Bunch, she wanted a fucking divorce? “Why”, I muttered. She told me, “Because you raped my mother, sodomized my dad, and are constantly abusing me.”

    The lying fucking bitch! In her final words, she lied to me! Instead of admitting she wanted to leave because I watched two episodes of The Brady Bunch, she makes up some bullshit about me being a domestic abuser? Well, I just had enough of that, so I strangled the life out of her.

    I’m here to inform you all that The Brady Bunch is a show for cucks.

    1. The Brady Bunch is a show for cucks

      Preach!

    2. Tulip

      Shouldn’t you be writing for Salon and explaining how this is all the white man’s fault?

      (Boy will I feel stupid when this turns out to be true.)

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        I would never write for Salon.

        This piece is going up on Quillette (the journal formerly known as “The New Yorker, but for Incels”) tomorrow.

        1. KibbledKristen

          “The New Yorker, but for Incels”

          OMFGLMAO

        2. Tulip

          Oh, I see. Explaining how it’s the fault of people explaining how it’s all the white man’s fault.

          1. Heroic Mulatto

            Don’t hate the player, Tulip. Hate the game.

    3. Crusty Juggler

      Were you in the tiki caves with Mr. Hanalei or something?

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        That’s why they call me the Brown Panther.

        1. Tundra

          Uh, no they don’t.

          1. Heroic Mulatto

            The Brown Housecat?

          2. Tundra

            The Beige Lynx last time the committee convened.

            Sorry, dude.

          3. Not Adahn

            Aren’t most lynxes beige?

          4. Tundra

            Most, maybe, but not all.

          5. Not Adahn

            It is a CRIME that they’re not getting paid as much as their male counterparts.

          6. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

            The Mocha Metalinguist.

          7. R C Dean

            The Tan Tabby.

        2. Crusty Juggler

          You remember the episode with Joe Namath? That was great?

          Remember when Joe Namath and Ann Margaret starred in 1977’s C/C. And Company? Remember when Tarantino included the trailer for C.C. And Company</a? in the movie Sharon Tate goes to watch in OUATIH? Remember William Smith – he has the fight scene with Broadway Joe in the C.C. And Company trailer? Remember when he had a fight scene with Rod Taylor and it was violent as a mug?

          I remember.

          1. AlmightyJB

            The 70’s Gone With the Wind.

          2. Heroic Mulatto

            I remember roller disco and cocaine.

            I could only afford to snort through a dollar bill, sometimes a 5 if I was flush, because I was just a toddler.

          3. AlmightyJB

            I remember a young Skywalker.

          4. Drake

            Now I want some Pepperidge Farms.

    4. straffinrun

      It’s not easy to knock someone out for exactly 30 minutes.

    5. AlmightyJB

      Good thing Mrs. Brady had Alice..

  36. Winston

    https://www.aier.org/article/its-lightbulb-liberation-day

    Why did the government do this to us? It fits with everything else about federal policy for the last 60 years. It seems to have put the goal of increasing human misery as a main policy goal. This is why our toilets, faucets, detergent, and washers have been wrecked with water-use controls–even though none of these policies make a significant difference in overall water usage. Just look at what government has done to our bathrooms.

    It’s why we are pushed to recycle even though no one has ever demonstrated that the mandates help the environment. It’s why we are taxed on things we want to do like drive cars. It’s why we can no longer medicate ourselves in normal ways without a doctor’s permission. It’s why we must endure hectoring lectures from public officials about fast food, sweets, and our trash generation.

    What do all these policies have in common? They target things that we enjoy and that make our life better, then force on us inferior products and services. It’s the penance we must do in the interest of the common good — and never mind whether the common good is actually enhanced in real life.

    And the masses appear to be fine with this and the TOP MEN love it so I don’t know…

    1. Winston

      Personally two big problems are firstly the notion of the Educated Elites should be ruling us. The King and the Pope were hidebound reactionaries so fuck them. We can trust these Ivy Leaguers, why? And why would they desire to leave us alone?

      Another is the idea that the Government is us. When the government is made up of a small class of rich aristocrats who hate the masses then the notion that they should leave us alone and not tax us, regulate us, etc. and we should be allowed to become as rich as possible and do what we want was very enticing.

      Oh yes the liberals supported nationalism to destroy the notion of Feudalism, Absolutism and Theocracy. Now that they realize that nationalism has some serious problems they swerved to supporting internationalism. However internationalism has some pretty serious flaws with the biggest being the sort of person who desires unaccountable rule over the entire planet is not the sort who desires to leave people alone.

    2. Homple

      Have you listened to the Democrat presidential candidates talking about the internal combustion engine? Government mandated electric cars will be the incandescent lightbulb story writ large.

  37. juris imprudent

    Paging Mr. SugarFree, Mr. SugarFree to the white courtesy phone.

    Appears there will need to be a slight modification tothe Hat and the Heir.

    1. straffinrun

      What percentage of that is even remotely accurate?

  38. Playa Manhattan

    Confirming what we already knew:

    Robert Kraft will only pay AFTER a release.

  39. Winston

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/19/heres-what-i-learned-from-my-privileged-western-failure-to-go-plastic-free-for-a-month

    What I learned from my month of privileged, cashed-up western failure is that it’s going to take the regulation of plastic production, distribution and supply by global governments to make anywhere “plastic-free”. Single-use-plastic-bag bans are not enough. Recycling is not enough.

    Governments must legislate to enforce the use of alternatives, starting yesterday. A dead albatross is hanging around our necks, it’s full of plastic waste … but we’re the ones who will choke on the stuff.

    1. Rhywun

      I do not want to subscribe to that newsletter.

      1. kbolino

        There is little to nothing more privileged than someone wanting the entire world to be brought to heel, for people to starve and be enslaved, for civil wars to rage and child soldiers to be conscripted, to consign everyone else to poverty and misery, just to make right your own personal moral failings.

    2. kbolino

      Just as the train was about to pull into Self-Awareness Town, the driver said “fuck this”, stopped, turned around, went full speed away, fired a rocket launcher at the station, and then nuked the whole town from orbit just to be sure.

  40. Tulip

    Based on a discussion a few days ago, I bought a baguette and liverwurst today. Comfort food for the win

    1. Yusef drives a Kia

      That sounds tasty!

  41. Yusef drives a Kia

    “Maybe the Earth likes plastic, and made us to create it?”

  42. hayeksplosives

    I wore my new black slacks today (had to drop a dress size—yay!) but in the sun they are more of a deep purple.

    I remarked to my husband that I thought they were trying to go for black but missed the mark.

    He said, “So the Rachel Dolezal of slacks.”

    1. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

      Awesome.

    2. AlmightyJB

      So you dressed up like Prince:)

    3. whiz

      Sounds like you have a keeper (not the slacks).

    1. Tulip

      I’m thinking of taking my dog to agility training

      1. Tundra

        Good training and fun people.

        Do it.

      2. Not Adahn

        Yes.

    2. R C Dean

      An HM “submitted without comment” link?

      I wouldn’t click on that with your mouse.

      1. Yusef drives a Kia

        It’s fine, quite cool

      2. DEG

        It’s safe.

    3. Yusef drives a Kia

      Where do you find this stuff? That was great

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        Bless the holy algorithm.

    4. Tundra

      10/10.

    5. AlmightyJB

      Species Appropriation.

  43. R C Dean

    Something to brighten your day: UberNeverTrumper Max Boot’s column:

    But I do sometimes wonder what I am actually accomplishing. Much of my journalism for the past four years has been devoted to critiquing President Trump and opposing the spread of Trumpism. But no matter how many columns or sound bites I produce, he remains in office, acting (as Sharpiegate shows) more erratically than ever. Sure, he’s not terribly popular — but he could still be reelected. I am left to ask if all my work has made any difference.

    Brought a smile to my face.

  44. DEG

    For the hypothetical rigid airship to be as effective as cargo boats are today, it would have to be over five times as long as the Empire State Building is tall. Beyond the logistics of building the thing, the docking of the airship would be a challenge due to limited control mechanisms, and strong winds could make it collapse.

    But if these challenges could be overcome, the scientists say, a fleet of 1,125 rigid airship carriers “would be able to transport energy equivalent to 10 [percent] of current world electricity consumption.” Despite the obstacles, the fleet could be a support structure for the globe as it transitions to cleaner energy.

    So… a pipe dream.

    1. Tundra

      Or a retard circle-jerk.

      You choose.

    2. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

      With that kind of a cross-section presented to the wind, any wind would make the damn thing pretty much uncontrollable. You’d need engines like on the Saturn V to keep that thing from going nuts.

      1. Rhywun

        Have some faith, unbeliever.

  45. KibbledKristen

    These guys seem to be on the ground with a lot of stuff in the Bahamas: https://www.padf.org/hurricane-dorian-royal

    (I don’t trust the Red Cross that much, so I’ve been looking for other ways to donate. I vacationed in the Abacos many years ago. It was a really lovely place, even though beaches and oceans ain’t my bag)

    1. whiz

      Not enough snow on beaches, eh? Try Antarctica!

      1. KibbledKristen

        2022 is my Faroe Islands & Iceland trip!

        1. AlmightyJB

          My Ex-boss went to Ice Land earlier this year. Had a blast.

          1. BEAM’s not normal, y’all

            I’ve got a fellow photog buddy who’s been to Iceland six times already. He can’t get enough of that place, and keeps calling it a “target-rich environment for photographers.”

    2. Tulip

      I love beaches in the winter with lots of wind.

      1. whiz

        To paraphrase a certain writer, the coldest winter I’ve ever spent was on the Oregon coast in the summer (July 1969, to be exact — saw the moon landing in a motel room in Coos Bay).