“Speaker Pelosi, on the other hand, is deafeningly silent. By failing to act and hold Rep. Tlaib accountable, Pelosi is emboldening her and others to continue spreading and escalating this dangerous, hateful bigotry.” Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA)
Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! Michael Landon
When police burst open the doors of a gay orgy attended by top anti-LGBT+ Hungarian official Jozsef Szajer, orgy-goers thought the cops were “part of the fun” and tried to “unzip their pants”.
Clearly mistaking the police for a different kind of pig, attendees of the party in Brussels, Belgium, assumed law enforcement banging down the doors was a precursor of what was to come, organisers told Polish news outlet Onet.
Polish orgy organiser David Manzheley said the some 20 predominantly naked men attending the bash in the heart of the city’s gay village “tired to unzip the pants of the police officers because they thought that the raid was part of the orgy”.
David French is thinking, "Is that a night stick in your pocket or are you just glad to see me."
Aptera, the company that shuttered in 2011 after failing to secure funding for its three-wheeled electric car, is back with a new solar electric vehicle it claims never needs charging, at least, for most drivers. And it predicts its top model, with a battery of 100 kWh, can get up to 1,000 miles of range.
The new three-wheeled, two-person (or two adults plus pet, as its specs suggest) vehicle has a solar roof array that can provide up to 45 miles of range per day, so if you have that top model and add the charge from the solar panels while it’s parked, then the 1,000 range seems ... possible. Although, as Car and Driver points out, the vehicle doesn’t run just on solar power while driving.
***
At this time of year when I was a kid (only just a few short years ago) I enjoyed perusing the various Christmas catalogs. As winter faded the seed catalogs arrived. They were followed up by fishing supply catalogs. Say "Goodbye" to Ikea's catalog.
After a 70-year run, Ikea is discontinuing the publication of its printed catalog.
Ikea’s decision comes as catalog readership is in decline and the company becomes increasingly more digital. After initially resisting online shopping, the company was forced to embrace it during the pandemic. Ikea says its online retail sales increased by 45 percent worldwide last year with ikea.com reporting four billion visits. The company has also improved its suite of apps to make discovering and buying products easier, while opening smaller stores located in city centers meant to reach people where they live.
The summit, which occurred in May of 2019, was touted as an “exclusive deal making opportunity” for closer financial ties between the Chinese government and their U.S. counterparts.
Gilchrist, a Democrat who’s held the position since 2019 and labeled President Trump’s election grievances a “house of cards,” attended the summit alongside the Governors of Kentucky and Tennessee. A Chinese Communist Party mayor, two Vice Governors, and one Governor attended the summit.
Living in the country has its perks. Most notably is the chance to encounter wildlife on a near daily basis. You just never know when a deer, turkey or racoon is going to show up in your backyard or at your bird feeder. It's one of the reasons we like being away from the big city.
Sometimes, we're fortunate enough to encounter wild animals that are rarely seen during the daylight hours. Such is the case with today's video. This family was surprised to look outside and see three young mountain lions in the yard.
A woman claiming to be a teacher stopped her car and had a complete meltdown at anti-lockdown protesters in Bend, Oregon, on Sunday.
The belligerent woman shouted “b-tch kill yourself” as she berated the protesters from her vehicle.
“I’M A F-CKING TEACHER,” the aggressive woman repeatedly shouts at the peaceful demonstrators. “F-CK YOU, I AM A TEACHER.”
Either today or later this week, the House will likely take the historic step and actually hold a vote on whether to deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). In addition, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would expunge low‐level marijuana offenses and impose a 5 percent federal sales tax. The bill is unlikely to get past the Republican Senate, and there are many other proposals—some with the seeming support of President‐elect Biden—that would reschedule rather than deschedule the plant. But descheduling—removing the drug from the CSA entirely—is the only sensible path forward for marijuana reform, not rescheduling—moving the drug to a different section of the CSA. Like alcohol, the federal government should have very little involvement in regulating marijuana.
The Maltby Café has served the community for over 36 years. But the small family-run restaurant has suffered greatly in these past months.
When the second shut down came, co-owner Tana Baulmer resigned herself to the reality that she would have to close the restaurant permanently.
"I got on my knees and I cried and I said, 'God, I need a miracle'," Baulmer told KING 5.
When word got out about the restaurant closing its doors, thousands of customers began giving what they could to keep the cafe's doors open.
In less than a week, more than $92,000 has been raised for the restaurant on GoFundMe.
"Small family run businesses have suffered greatly in these past months and The Maltby Café is one of those small family businesses that is struggling to stay open," Jim Barger, the organizer of the fundraiser, wrote on GoFundMe.
***
Weekly commenter stats for week of 12-6-2020
Top 10 commenters:
1 [556 comments] 'Sponge - Office of the President Elect' [78.00 posts/day]
2 [534 comments] 'deplorable unperson - refuse to accept the Mask of the Beast'
3 [522 comments] 'BurtTC'
4 [457 comments] 'Insomniac'
5 [433 comments] 'redbanzai the Southerner'
6 [396 comments] 'Skip'
7 [388 comments] 'TheJamesMadison, catching up on stuff I've bought recently'
8 [379 comments] 'rhennigantx'
9 [379 comments] 'preznit select vmom'
10 [363 comments] 'JT'
Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [274 names] 'raimondo' [38.44 unique names/day]
2 [264 names] 'Ping from Guoanbu '
3 [47 names] '18-1'
4 [45 names] 'Duncanthrax'
5 [39 names] 'Bete'
6 [32 names] 'Hands'
7 [32 names] 'Helena Handbasket'
8 [25 names] 'Sponge - Office of the President Elect'
9 [25 names] 'Cicero (@cicero43)'
10 [24 names] 'That guy who always says...'
***
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by the Luv Boat.
All this little patriot wanted for Christmas was a nerf gun, and this anti-gun mall Santa chose to push his anti-freedom beliefs on this little boy and made him cry.
St. Anthony resident receives anonymous letter chastising them for their Christmas light display and calls it a reminder of "systemic biases against our neighbors who don't celebrate Christmas or can't afford to put up lights of their own." It further calls the lights "harmful." pic.twitter.com/Xh11jbnswz
This one doesn't have much to do with Christmas but it does feature a mentally-ill leftist. Who shrieks, in an utterly crazed way, "KILL YOURSELF! I WILL FUCKING KICK YOUR ASS!!! I AM A TEACHER!!!"
This unmedicated hatebag is teaching our kids.
I've become upset and have lost my Christmas cheer.
“You f— w/our flag, we f— you up! We’re not gonna take this!”
Trump supporters fight back against antifa in Olympia, Wash. earlier today after they tried to light a stolen US flag on fire. Video by @SpaceForceUSA_: pic.twitter.com/izRjXmlzG9
He keeps lisping about the thienth, but he never gets around to thiting the actual thienth.
He certainly thites no evidenth that lockdownth have demonstrated any effectithness at stopping covid tranthmithon.
Lockdowns are the new communism: If they don't work, it just proves you need more lockdowns with even more deprivations of liberty and with even more draconian penalties and punishments for the "wreckers" and "saboteurs" ruining our great lockdown Five Year Plans.
On the Chris Wallace's Leftwing Opinions Network, Chris Wallace Badgers HHS Secretary Azar Into Agreeing With His Leftwing Opinions
—Ace
It's a fact that Biden is not President-Elect. He becomes President-Elect when the electors say he is.
Furthermore, there is currently an election contest going on. Trump does not accept that Biden won the election, and has live lawsuits attempting to vindicate that point.
But Chris Wallace demands that HHS Secretary Azar undermine the president he serves and call Biden "President-Elect."
Repeatedly.
If a lawyer comes on to talk about a case he's involved in, will Chris Wallace badger the lawyer into conceding the case in whatever leftwing direction aligns with Chris Wallace's leftwing opinions?
Apparently so.
This is what was formerly the "Fair and Balanced News Alternative," everyone.
All the left wing was delighted to hear Chris Wallace repeatedly badgering a guest to repeat his leftwing opinions on the Chris Wallace's Leftwing Opinions Network.
Chris Wallace repeatedly correcs HHS Secretary Alex Azar when he refers to Joe Biden as "vice president."
"He's the president-elect, sir. He’s the president-elect... First of all, it's the President-Elect Joe Biden, Secretary Azar." pic.twitter.com/lc5bOQ6zAl
By the way, here's how Chris Wallace handles corrupt CIA head John Brennan on the Chris Wallace's Leftwing Opinions Network. He only asks about the Steele dossier with two minutes left, and lets John Brennan give his dishonest scripted answer -- that he never relied on the Steele Dossier for FISA warrants -- without rebutting John Brennan. Like, say, pointing out that the Steele Dossier was indeed included in the FISA applications.
Or asking Brennan about Comey's claim that Brennan insisted on including the Steele Dossier in the president's briefing (the one immediately leaked to CNN, as per the plan).
Nope! Chris Wallace just lets Brennan offer up his cover story, and accepts it for the record.
He then accepts John Brennan's lie that there was no spying on the Trump campaign.
Brennan on John Durham being designated a special counsel to probe spying on the Trump campaign: “There was no spying on Donald Trump’s campaign” pic.twitter.com/UF39icxw8C
Nearly half of Black small businesses had been wiped out by the end of April as the pandemic ravaged minority communities disproportionately, according to a report from the New York Fed.
Black-owned businesses were more than twice as likely to shutter as their white counterparts, the report found.
"Nationally representative data on small businesses indicate that the number of active business owners fell by 22% from February to April 2020—the largest drop on record," the report said.
"Black businesses experienced the most acute decline, with a 41% drop. Latinx business owners fell by 32% and Asian business owners dropped by 26%."
Below, mentally retarded old man Joe Biden uses the only argument his dying brain can remember -- "Come on, man!" -- to explain why people should continue to be prisoners in their own homes.
He also mentions World War One, when he almost certainly meant to say "World War Two."
He just wanted to re-emphasize that he is old and dying and mentally crippled.
Meanwhile, his Amen Chorus on CNN demands even more tyrannical government actions -- CNN wants America to pursue the Full Chinese Containment plan.
Which, by the way, included welding people inside their apartments. I imagine almost all of those people died.
.@JoeBiden on Americans upset over mask mandates impeding their liberty: “Tell that to all the people who went to World War 1 and gave their lives .. I mean, c'mon” pic.twitter.com/Q7t9YQVA5P
“We’re not even doing that”: CNN suggests U.S. should adopt stricter Covid policies like LA’s ban on outdoor dining and China’s earlier “complete lockdown” in Wuhan pic.twitter.com/6b2uzRA3lx
Karma-Cola: Biden's Pick for Top Economic Adviser Endorsed a Bill Creating a National Soda Tax [Buck Throckmorton]
—Open Blogger
If Biden becomes President, I would enjoy seeing a national soda tax imposed on Coke and Pepsi. In fact, I want it to happen.
My principles used to be that applying harsh taxes on certain products to influence consumers not to use those products was immoral and anti-free market. Well, those are actually still my principles. But I’ve come to have a stronger overriding principle – that it is necessary and appropriate for corporations to receive a poisonous bite when the serpents they’ve cozied up to gain political power.
As the head of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress (CAP), Neera Tanden applauded and endorsed a Democratic proposal to implement a national soda tax. Now, she is one Senate confirmation vote away from becoming President-elect Joe Biden's top economic adviser.
“…in a commencement address at Columbia University’s business school, Ms. Nooyi compared five major continents to her hand with the U.S. representing the middle finger. In that talk, she said: “Each of us…must be careful that when we extend our arm in a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand…not the finger….Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the U.S.”
Of course, right after Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009 Pepsi ran ads with the phrase “It’s time for optimism” with a logo that was a rip off of the Obama logo. And Ms. Nooyi maintained her activist left-wing politics until stepping down as CEO
in 2018.
Have you ever been called “racist” by a Democrat or the media for not being a leftist? Of course, you have. Left-wing activists use the terms “racist” and “conservative” interchangeably, and Coke CEO James Quincey is one of those left-wing activists. He wants you canceled and de-platformed.
"There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media," the drinks maker's chairman and CEO James Quincey said. He demanded "greater accountability and transparency" from social media firms. It came after Facebook said it would label potentially harmful or misleading posts left up for their news value.
Oh, by the way, Coca Cola inventor John Pemberton was a Civil War veteran who actually owned slaves. That should have no bearing on the 21st Century company, but according to the rules of Coca Cola’s left-wing political allies, Coke is forever tainted by Pemberton’s original sin. Perhaps Coke should be hit by a crippling “Reparations Tax” too. At a minimum, Coke should have to change its name since “Coca Cola” was a name created by a slave-owning Confederate soldier. Their rules, not mine. I suggest “Karma-Cola”.
Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a new emergency order Wednesday that bans unnecessary "travel on foot" as he warns the city is nearing a "devastating tipping point" in their fight against COVID-19.
...
The order prohibits "all travel, including, without limitation, travel on foot, bicycle, scooter, motorcycle, automobile, or public transit," with limited exceptions.
Individuals who work in the healthcare and news industry are allowed to travel, along with individuals going to grocery stores, gas stations and other locations deemed essential.
Garcetti also ordered all residents living in the city "to remain in their homes," forcing businesses that require in-person attendance to shut down. Gatherings that include individuals from more than one household are prohibited.
His order makes an exception -- for protesting.
However, the order has exceptions for a host of activities including "outdoor faith-based services" and for those "participating in an in-person outdoor protest while wearing a face covering, maintaining social distancing, and observing the Los Angeles County Protocol for Public Demonstrations."
He's destroyed the restaurant business in LA, so he's going to send some but not nearly all laid-off restaurant workers a one-time check for $800, which.. is nothing.
That's how much they make per hour at the low rate a restaurant pays them. It does not cover their lost income in the form of tips, which is where they make most of their money.
Critics charge that SERVE is not enough, and doesn't cover nearly enough people.
[D]espite the tens of thousands of food service employees being out of work, only 4,000 are to receive stipends. The shortfall of the stipends, as well as the applicants being selected at random for the money should the number of applicants go above 4,000, has drawn criticism from many in the sector.
"I do have to say that it’s good to see SERVE acting as a little stimulus for restaurant workers here in LA, all out of non-public funds. That's a good thing," Armando Rivas, a food service industry mediator in Los Angeles, told the Globe. "But this isn't enough. $800 is roughly about how much a restaurant worker makes in a month because they aren't salaried and because many rely on tips. So that $800 SERVE recipients are getting just gives them another month. That's it."
"It's just a partial solution to a problem they caused by stopping outdoor dining and reinstalling the curfew. It’s basically the city giving them a months' severance for screwing them over. And I should say only 4,000 out of the tens of thousands out of work in restaurants alone."
Garcettti might be feeling heat due to the below video.
In it, a restaurant owner cries that her outdoor-seating restaurant has been closed down due to the danger of covid, supposedly.
But then she pans the camera around to show a very-similar outdoor seating area that is open -- which Garcetti built for his Hollywood pals, and which he permits to continue operating.
Dear Therapist: Should I Give My Adult Children More Money?
They're both angry at me, and I want to mend our relationship.
Dear Therapist,
My husband and I are both successful professionals. He's an attorney and I'm a nurse practitioner. Each of us came from a fairly lower-middle-class background and worked hard to get where we are. Our families helped us as much as they could, but for the most part we are self-made.
The hard part is our kids. Our son struggled with some mental-health issues in high school. He was a national merit scholar and eventually graduated from college. He's now obese, working for minimum wage, and living with his polyamorous nonbinary partner of 11 years. He's angry at us. We say nothing much of consequence to him and see them often and have a pleasant enough time.
Our daughter is also angry at us. She excelled in everything she did in high school and college, but had a serious rift with her sorority senior year and an abusive boyfriend; she moved to Seattle to be a barista and declared herself pansexual. She spends eight hours a day on Twitter railing at our homophobia and our control of her life.
The Atlantic Therapist's advice is simple: It's the parents' fault for being so transphobic.
And fatphobic.
[I] have a feeling that right now your children have a deep, unfulfilled need to be embraced and understood by their parents, and that's why they're angry. You know that both children are angry with you and your husband, but do you know why they have so much anger, and if so, how have you responded? For example, if your daughter says she feels that you try to control her life, or that you judge her for her sexual orientation, are you curious to learn more? Or do you defend yourself in a way that dismisses her complaints with something like "I'm not trying to control you--I'm trying to help you get your life on track" or "I'm not homophobic--I just think this is a reaction to what happened with your boyfriend and not really who you are'?
Your daughter probably takes to Twitter to express her anger because she feels that when she goes directly to you, she isn't being heard. Similarly, your perception that you "say nothing of consequence" when you see your son yet "have a pleasant-enough time" might indicate that you aren't aware of how he's truly feeling either. With so much anger (on his part) and anxiety (on yours and your husband's) roiling beneath the surface, these interactions sound at best hollow and superficial, and at worst emotionally torturous. Is time spent together really "pleasant enough" when he knows that you're disappointed with his career, his partner, and his weight, and find his life to be sad?
Leftism is a viral mental illness and we're about to start reaping a grim harvest of suicides and parent-shootings by an entire generation driven insane by this sickness.
Back in 1958, Hollywood released Stanley Kramer's film The Defiant Ones, a story of two escapes prisoners, one black (Sidney Poitier) and the other white (Tony Curtis) who hated each other but had to learn to work together to not get recaptured. I think most people agree that this can be seen as a commentary on race relations in America, at least as it was in the late 50s.
So I think we're getting to the point where we need a reboot. Only instead of a black guy and a white guy, we need, say, a white, genderfluid soy-boy and an Hispanic construction worker wearing a MAGA hat. Who are somehow forced together, maybe they're both in the same lifeboat or trapped in an airplane with irreparable damage that is slowly getting worse until it can no longer stay up. Something like that.
The point is, they have to work together to avoid getting killed. And thus the new cultural fault lines can be easily seen.
But such a movie cannot yet be made. I think The Defiant Ones> could be a success because some progress in race relations had been made, even back then. Obviously a lot of work still needed to be done, but that a story that could serve as an illustration of the folly of racism could be shown without angry mobs burning the theaters down is an indication of progress.
Not so now.
Right now, we are in the middle of a cold war that is heating up seemingly every week and it may go hot at any moment. Some days, I feel like I'm in a garage with a lot of oil-soaked rags and some cans of gasoline and the temperature outside is climbing past 102 and oh no, here comes someone with a lit cigarette.
Plus, I despise the other side. That is, I despise everything they stand for. I've compared them (progressives) on this forum to viruses, parasites, and vampires. I think audiences in 1958 could watch TDO and have some sympathy for both men. And Kramer didn't make one of the an obvious good guy and the other an obvious bad guy. I have no such objectivity. If I were writing the script of the new movie, the first thing I'd do is have the Hispanic MAGA guy grab a tire iron and beat the gendefluid soy-boy into a bloody, lifeless pulp. Then he could get on with it. Such a scene would be an apt parable of what I think of progressivism, but I admit it would make a lousy movie. I can't imagine what such a character would bring to a dangerous situation that would be an asset. His degree in Innuit lesbian poetry would be useless. And no doubt he would feel the same about me.
So it may be awhile before such a remake could be produced.
By the way, I know we all can't wait until 2020 is over, but do we really think 2021 is going to bring unicorns, rainbows and Skittles? We may be entering a phase of protracted instability that will take years to resolve, one way or the other. Contested elections, rioting, and street brawls are just the beginning, not the culmination. I'm old enough now that whatever civic instability has started, I might not live long enough to see the end of.
Friday Who Dis: The much married Arlene Dahl, who left Hollywood for a successful career in business was in the 1959 screen adaptation of the Jules Verne novel Journey to the Center of the Earth along with crooner Pat Boone
Today's Edition Of The Morning Rant Is Brought To You By the DIY McRib Sandwich:
Good morning, kids. Monday, December 7th. The 79th anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Funny how the names Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada have particular meaning all these many years later. May G-d bless the memory of those who were killed that day as well as the survivors, who grow fewer and fewer with each passing year, who are still with us. I cannot begin to imagine what they must think of the nation as it is today, considering what they sacrificed so much for in trying to preserve it. The irony is beyond tragic that subsequent generations of their progeny are now actively embracing essentially the same ideology which that generation fought and died to protect them against. But here we are.
A judge in Michigan is allowing a forensic investigation of 22 Dominion vote tabulation machines in rural Antrim County over claims that the votes there were compromised.
"Our team is going to be able to go in this morning at about 8:30 and will be there for about eight hours to conduct that forensic examination and we'll have the results in about 48 hours, and that'll tell us a lot about these machines," attorney Jenna Ellis said...
...Jeremy Scott, Antrim County spokesperson said forensic images will be taken from the county precinct tabulators used in the November 3rd election. The president's legal team was not responsible for the lawsuit, it was filed by a voter, William Bailey, who alleged the ballots were damaged during a recounting of ballots in a village marijuana proposal that barely passed.
Elsenheimer's order doesn't mention the presidential race but, Antrim county did experience strange voter irregularities. Initially, the ballot count in this deep red county showed that former Vice President Joe Biden won however after a recount was done results showed that President Trump won by several thousand votes.
"What we see here is fraud perpetrated against the people of Pennsylvania, against the American people and the Electoral College process by politicians who violated the constitution repeatedly, who have violated the rule of law by a rogue state supreme court," Levin stated. "And unless the U.S. Supreme Court -- as it did in Bush versus Gore -- exercises legitimately its power of judicial review. We have a potential constitutional crisis in this matter. And in one way or another, Congress will have to resolve it on January 6. But the U.S. Supreme Court shouldn't just sit there and take a pass when in fact it is time for the U.S. Supreme Court to intercede, which is exactly what the petitioners are asking it to do."
At bottom, it's completely bizarre that Biden did not sweep the United States. Instead, he swept a few specific precincts. If Biden were as popular as his victory indicates, wouldn't his support have been enormous in every state in which he won? It's simply inconceivable to a logical person that every non-polling metric predicted a massive Trump victory, only to have Biden win in a handful states that had election anomalies never before seen in an American election -- but often seen in a Venezuelan one.
In Georgia, we have two varieties of anti-American crackpot vying for the Senate seats in a dual runoff election that more than likely was nearly stolen from the two iffy Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Yes, for now we have to drag them over the finish line to preserve our hold on the Senate. That does not diminish in any way, shape or form my loathing of the GOP. That party will have to go the way of the dodo at a time when temporary emergency political expediency will no longer be a factor in having to deal with them.
Two great essays from Victor Davis Hanson (here and below) and Bruce Thornton (here and below) put this past year and all its madness in perspective. No matter who is sworn in come January 20th, the madness will no doubt continue. It's just that with Trump, we still have a chance at survival, as a nation and perhaps even individually.
Roger Kimball: "The faith in fairness has been shattered beyond recovery, and the assumption of anything like a shared consensus seems more and more like a naive pretense when it isn't just a cynical hustings gambit." The Burden of Proof
"It's likely that the Supreme Court will overturn a critical Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ruling on account of the state court's incorrect use of the legal doctrine of laches." Will SCOTUS Overrule the Pennsylvania Supreme Court?
"Ballots were sent to every registered voter in the state. As San Franciscans were heading for other cities and states, what happened to their ballots?" Something Strange in the City by the Bay
"It is important to consider who he is: a defamation lawyer. And perhaps no one is better equipped or proven at correcting a false narrative than Wood." Lin Wood: Consider the Source
"The GOP offers the illusion of opposition and so represents the biggest obstacle toward a better future for Americans. Perhaps it's time it all falls down." The Stupid Party Redux
"Trump's policies and results over the past four years have been truly great." President Trump Persevered
ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY
Victor Davis Hanson: "The summer of [Chinese] COVID-19, quarantines, riot and arson, and an absence of confidence in the sanctity of voting ended with deep wounds on the body politic -- wounds we will bear from now on." The Scars of 2020
"Around 310,000 people in the United States are dead who, statistically, would still be alive in a normal year. At the very least, we are not dealing with a hoax." Yes, Total Deaths in the U.S. Are Up
"Those were unfortunate mistakes and each of those elected officials have held themselves accountable and apologized. But I don't think that is sufficient in terms of a mixed message." Bass Defends Dems Who Flouted Own Chinese COVID Restrictions
"Our immigration policy should prioritize the dogged preservation of America's free-thinking, free-praying, free-speaking, and free-opportunity traditions as the greatest global ideal." Biden's Immigration Agenda
"An alliance between Big Tech and leftist papers to suppress dissent is a deeply sinister thing. The amount of scorn required for this already troubling work to then be outsourced to partisan college kids is incredible." USA Today Is Now Using College Kids To Censor Media They Dislike
"Sharyl Attkisson walks the walk of honest journalism and has the scars to prove it. Here she unleashes on the mainstream media." One of the Last Honest Reporters Speaks Out
"The joint operation by big tech and big media to bolster former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign likely landed Democrats in the White House." Fraud or No Fraud, This Election Wasn't Fair
"The arrest was the result of a joint investigation by the state prosecutor's office called 'Operation Mile High' -- a nod to his job as CEO of Central Jet Charter, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Saturday." (must not be a high-profile Leftist - jjs) Charter Jet CEO Arrested for Alleged Child Sex Trafficking
Heather Mac Donald: "It's the achievement gap, not systemic racism, that explains demographic disparities in education and employment." The Bias Fallacy
Our intrepid science reporter: "Capitalism in space: Aevum, a new entrant in the race to provide low cost reusable launch services for the emerging smallsat market, has unveiled the world's largest drone, dubbed RAVN-X, designed to take off and land at airports and then release an upper stage rocket that takes the satellite into orbit." World's Largest Drone Unveiled for Launching SmallSats
"Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, explained that 'major hurricanes don't really care whether the Gulf [of Mexico] is above average or below average in temperature.'" Fact Check: Hurricanes Are Not Strengthened by Our CO2 Emissions
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
"As prescient as George Orwell was, even he didn't have the foresight to see that a major battle would be fought over the truism that women cannot become men." Transgenderism Is Orwellian
"Mythmaking is a double-edged sword. The stories we tell can build a people up or deconstruct them. Consider the contrast between Roots and Hillbilly Elegy." American Myths in Black and White
"What we're after cannot be captured in statistics: some sense of how far our practical liberty extends, protected not by policemen, penal codes, or forensic criminology but by trust in our countrymen." Trust Across the Ages
HITHER & YON
"The Queen's Gambit is a compelling new miniseries that tells of an individual overcoming handicaps to achieve success." The Queen's Gambit: Fairy Tale and Sport
"Pearl Harbor started a chain of events that culminated with America dropping the atomic bomb, something for which I've always been grateful." A Personal Note About Pearl Harbor Day
NOTE: The opinions expressed in some links may or may not reflect my own. I include them because of their relevance to the discussion of a particular issue.
ALSO: The Morning Report is cross-posted at CutJibNewsletter.com if you want to continue the conversation all day.
“Unlike tobacco smokers who could still leave their apartments to step out to the curb or smoke in other permitted outdoor smoking areas, cannabis users would have no such legal alternatives,” San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman
Quote II
“I hope you’re watching Matt — you are not welcome in New Jersey, and frankly I don’t ever want you back in this state." Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ
"My heart goes out to Ms. Marsden and the workers at the Pineapple Hill Saloon who have to comply with state and county public health restrictions that close outdoor dining," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
Quote V
“All of the things we’ve said for months and the thousands of hours of dedicated work from our staff and our local partners on this response effort and our excitement for the hope the vaccine offers make our overall department position on the pandemic clear" Wyoming Department of Health spokeswoman Kim Deti
Today, the National Science Foundation released video taken at the moment the Arecibo Radio Observatory's cables failed, allowing its massive instrument platform to crash into the dish below. In describing the videos, the NSF also talked a bit about the monitoring program that had put the cameras in place, ideas it had been pursuing for stabilizing the structure pre-collapse, and prospects for building something new at the site.
A quick recap of the collapse: the Arecibo dish was designed to reflect incoming radio radiation to collectors that hung from a massive, 900-ton instrument package that was suspended above it. The suspension system was supported by three reinforced concrete towers that held cables that were anchored farther from the dish, looped over the towers, and then continued on to the platform itself. Failure of these cables eventually led to the platform dropping into the dish below it
Millwall fans booed as their players took the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The players, staff and match officials all took a knee at the start of the match between Millwall and Derby County at The Den, as fans returned for the first time since lockdown began.
Videos circulating on social media showed a significant number of supporters booing, with Kick It Out condemning the behaviour of those fans booing the gesture, and admitting they are “saddened”.
A statement from Kick It Out read: "We are saddened by the behaviour of fans booing the players taking the knee today at Millwall. What this demonstrates is that players are right to continue standing up to discrimination, whether that is through taking the knee or speaking out
Funny thing that this "Saddend Avenue" is only one way..........
The Democrat had previously worked the state’s chief economic development agency Empire State Development from 2015 until March 2018 – when she was appointed by Cuomo to serve as a special adviser.
“Don’t be surprised that it’s the same small group of white people sitting alongside him at every presser. The same group that he has had by him the whole time, doing his dirty work,” she tweeted.
“If you’re not one of those handful, your life working for him is endlessly dispiriting.”
Boylan, who ran for election to the US House of Representatives but lost in the June Democratic primary, was prompted to make her comments by a tweet from fashion photographer Jerry Avanaim asking his followers to “name the worst job you’ve ever had.”
Control and Prevention, T. Stephen Jones spent his career fighting major threats to public health in the US and globally, from smallpox to HIV to viral hepatitis. But it wasn’t until Jones was well into retirement that he learned about a widespread yet widely overlooked health risk in his own home in Florence, Massachusetts, and in most US households: pollution emitted by natural gas appliances.
While many Americans might think illness linked to indoor cooking and heating is a problem confined to smoke-filled kitchens in the developing world, the natural gas-burning stoves and furnaces found in millions of US kitchens and basements can produce a range of health-damaging pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and formaldehyde. Over the past four decades, researchers have amassed a large body of scientific evidence linking the use of gas appliances, especially for cooking, with a higher risk of a range of respiratory problems and illnesses.
The Phoenix City Council on Wednesday unanimously agreed to pay $3 million to the family of Ryan Whitaker, who was shot and killed several months ago by police investigating a noise complaint and who did not receive immediate medical assistance after the incident.
Taxpayers will be footing the bill. Taxpayers are also footing the bill for the salaries of the cops—Officer Jeff Cooke, who pulled the trigger, and Officer John Ferragamo, who too was on the call—as they are both still employed by the Phoenix Police Department (PPD).
On May 21 of this year, Whitaker's upstairs neighbor called in a noise complaint: "I have a domestic dispute going on…and I can tell they're just at each other's throats down there," a man is heard saying on a 911 call. "I hear slamming of doors, and—I don't know, somebody could be getting thrown into a door for all I know, but I hear all kinds of banging."
A study by a group from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona focuses on making it easier to dispose of unused opioid pills. I would argue that we need better disposal methods for opioids like a fulminating case of crabs. Here are both sides.
I was rather intrigued by a recent paper in Anaesthesia News. Why? The title: "Education and Easy Disposal Option Lower Opioid Supply." In other words, the more opioids that get thrown away the fewer remain behind. Obvious? Perhaps.
I would argue that we need better disposal methods for opioids like a fulminating case of crabs but Rachael A. Haverland, MD, MS, a gynecologic surgery fellow at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, and colleagues believe otherwise:
“I think the public is becoming more aware of the opioid crisis... But we noticed that although our patients knew about the problem, they didn’t know what to do about or how to dispose of their medication".
A new study looks at how airflow patterns inside the passenger cabin of a car might affect the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other airborne pathogens. Using computer simulations, the study looked at the risk of aerosol particles being shared between a driver and a passenger in different window configurations. Redder shades indicate more particles. Risk was shown to be higher with windows closed (top left), and decreasing with each window opened. The best case was having all windows open (bottom right). Credit: Breuer lab / Brown University
A new study uses computer simulations to track airflows inside a car’s passenger cabin, providing potential strategies — some of them counterintuitive — for reducing the risk of transmitting airborne diseases.
A new study of airflow patterns inside a car’s passenger cabin offers some suggestions for potentially reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission while sharing rides with others.
The study, by a team of Brown University researchers, used computer models to simulate the airflow inside a compact car with various combinations of windows open or closed. The simulations showed that opening windows — the more windows the better — created airflow patterns that dramatically reduced the concentration of airborne particles exchanged between a driver and a single passenger. Blasting the car’s ventilation system didn’t circulate air nearly as well as a few open windows, the researchers found.
“Driving around with the windows up and the air conditioning or heat on is definitely the worst scenario, according to our computer simulations,” said Asimanshu Das, a graduate student in Brown’s School of Engineering and co-lead author of the research. “The best scenario we found was having all four windows open, but even having one or two open was far better than having them all closed.”
Jeremy Newberry, who played nine seasons at center in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers in 2001 and 2002, is selling his big cherry farm property outside of San Francisco because he is sick of lockdowns in the region and wants his children to return to socialization.
“We’re going to move somewhere where our kids can actually go to school, go participate in sports,” Newberry told TMZ. “Somewhere in the country that’s open. I kinda feel like these kids are getting deprived from their childhood because everything’s locked down.”
“What is the future of this state?” Newberry asked. “Are they gonna go back to school next year? Are they gonna go back sometime later this year? We’re going on almost a full year now where these kids haven’t been in school, haven’t been allowed to do any extracurricular activity, any football, any dancing, anything. It’s time to give them a childhood that they deserve.”
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The ONT Musical Interlude
Hard to believe FZ has been gone 27 years as of this past Friday December 4th.
After being placed in shackles due to some alleged drunken dumbassery, a Florida collegian told cops that being restrained “gets me off,” and then requested someone “pinch my nipples,” according to an arrest report.
Cops allege that Joseph Lancaster, a 22-year-old University of South Florida student, caused a disturbance early Sunday after refusing to pay an $820 bill at a St. Petersburg nightspot.
After Lancaster argued with security guards, his friends stepped in and paid the bar tab. Lancaster, stumbling and slurring his words, then began shouting, “I am sorry none of you graduated high school, but fuck you.” Upon being detained by police, Lancaster’s belligerence did not cease. “Fuck you, pussy” and “Bro, this is fucked,” he shouted, cops noted.
When a police transport van arrived, Lancaster “even argued with the van driver,” the report states. “The defendant had to be placed in shackles and stated, ‘This gets me off.’ He also said ‘pinch my nipples'
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Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by the Joys Of Bacon.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire, AceCorp, LLC and Dewey, Cheatem & Howe, S.C. ONT tips, loose change, drink tokens and burner phones to petmorons at the gmail thingy. All other issues to someone who is empathetic.
Holy crap! Did I just type December 6th up here? How in the hell did it get to be December already? This week was another to hang around the casa (the house), but I am planning an epic and triumphant return to Weasel Acres, hopefully sometime this coming week, and have an idea for a video that I've been thinking about doing for a while. So if you're feeling down and low and depressed, now you potentially have that to look forward to! If I get around to doing it, that is.
Also, tomorrow is the anniversary of the Jap sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, now known as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. So take a moment and join me in remembering the brave men and women who lost their lives that day.
With that, let's see what we have below, shall we?
This is getting to be the time of year that will see fair-weather shooters beginning to hibernate. Believe me, it's no fun to be on an outdoor range on a cold, blustery day for an hour or so of shooting. It's much less fun to spend all day on a cold, blustery range trying to keep your toes and fingers thawed enough to come up to merely miserable, which will truly test your commitment to the shooting sports. Camp Butner in North Carolina hosts a multi-day long range Iron Man match each year in late November, and that was just long enough ago to remember freezing my ass off there fondly. Sort of.
Anyhoo, you may be finding your interest in outdoor shooting beginning to wane as winter starts to settle in. So what do you do? Well, if you don't have access to an indoor range, you aren't entirely out of options. There are any number of drills that can be done at home, for example the penny drill:
As mentioned in the video, either a penny or a dime will work; and you may want to start with a penny and work up to the dime, as your economic circumstances allow.
So Rolex Guy has another video on magazine changes that I thought was good.
This is something else you can practice at home with an unloaded! gun. Just start with the slide back, dump the magazine, reload, drop the slide and reacquire the target. There is a huge benefit in developing the muscle memory associated with this drill, because there are a lot of things going on. If you're fumbling around and dropping shit, you need to practice. Start slow. Speed can come later. Be able to do this in your sleep.
What else do we have...
Oh! Laser training systems! Truthfully, I started as a skeptic several years ago when these systems began to appear on the market. Over time, however, the products have advanced and evolved, and now to me seem like a pretty good at-home supplement to your training regemin. Plus, you're not burning expensive and hard-to-find ammo, so win-win. There are countless systems available, but since I haven't used them extensively I am reluctant to recommend any one in particular. So look around and read reviews. How about anyone here? Care to give us your thoughts on your particular model? Do you find it helpful and are you still using it?
Finally, maybe take the time to do a detail cleaning of your firearms. WeaselWoman is one happy camper whenever I drag out a bunch of weapons and spread them all over the diningroom table and let the Hoppes 9 flow. So do your 'ron or 'ette a favor and treat them to a marathon gun cleaning session!
Now let's see what else we have.
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First up, our pal and delightful 'ette screaming in digital sends in a bigly grand and luxurious report! One of my greatest pleasures is helping new shooters take some of their first shots, and a very close second is reading reports like this!!
Today I took a 5 hour basic pistol class for women. Before today, I had fired a rifle once and a pistol once (not just on one occasion--one shot each). I feared and hated guns most of my life. Didn't even touch a firearm until I was almost 40 years old. Even after my perspectives on guns had changed, I didn't think I'd ever need/want to own one, or ever be capable of learning how to use one. (I'm a klutz with no mechanical inclination whatsoever.) But the Horde has motivated me to become a knowledgeable gun owner; the Left's intention to deprogram me may also have something to do with my current pursuits.
The class cost $125, which included eye & ear protection, ammo, and guns (but you could bring your own). This class qualified us to apply for a CCP. There were 12 students in the class. We began with about 2 1/2 hours of classroom instruction, starting with the 4 rules of gun safety, which were reinforced many times throughout the day. We also covered the basic parts of pistols and revolvers, how guns work, why you want to use different kinds of ammo for practice vs self-defense, and more. Next we learned about stances, grip, aligning sights, how to press the trigger, and follow through.
Then it was time to go to the range. We began with dry firing, using the Mantis app. It's a small device that attaches just below the muzzle and tracks movements as you aim and fire, and then provides a report to help correct errors. It scores each shot on a 100 point scale, with 80 and above considered a good shot. I began with a score of 33, had a high of 98 and averaged out at 76 with 10 shots. Because of the ammo shortage, the number of students, and time, we did more dry firing than they'd usually do in this class.
Next we practiced loading and unloading. Finally we practiced live fire in groups of 6, taking 3-5 shots with each turn. We were able to try several different pistols of different sizes and brands (all 9mm, except for one .380). I was not very accurate, consistently off to the left. We were sharing targets. I'm attaching a couple of pictures that I know are only my shots, in "A" and "C" respectively.
Nice shooting! Screaming in digital wraps up with overall thoughts:
Some more or less random impressions--
The first issue I had to correct was a too-loose grip. Then I needed to adjust the placement of my finger on the trigger-- I was too close to the knuckle rather than right on the finger pad.
One thing that surprised me is that our instructor taught us to press the trigger slowly. This was *very* hard to do and not at all how it looks on TV.
I had extreme difficulty applying the slide lock after clearing the chamber. I'm not sure if it's because my hands are small or not strong enough, or maybe I just need more practice.
The noise and flying shell casings were a little overwhelming to a noob. Or maybe that's just me having a bit of sensory overload. (I'm happy that no casings ended up in my bra.)
Everyone in the class was great, but I'd have preferred a smaller class and a little more time on the range.
All in all, it was an incredible experience and well worth the cost. I have a little more confidence that I'll be able to make an informed buying decision, and then to practice and develop good habits.
Congratulations screaming in digital, I love, love, love the report! One question - do you think the fact it was a ladies only class made a difference, and if so, how? I'd be curious to know. Please let us know how it goes the next time you make it to the range, OK? Thanks again!
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Next up our pal AHL sends us a great report.
As you know, my concern about not having enough ammo chiefly revolves around the need to practice with it. I remain convinced that if things get "sporty," people aren't going to be doing multiple mag dumps with their Glocks.
The issue is whether one remains proficient when it really counts. With ammo still very scarce, I've tried to take Paul Harrell's advice and shoot .22 LR as a practice round. It is better than nothing, but I'd really rather use something that is closer to what I will normally use, particularly in terms of noise, weight and recoil.
My solution is to shoot .32 Auto (aka 7.65mm Browning). It's still out there and not hideously expensive to shoot. It's a bit 'snappy,' but that's a feature, not a bug. What is more, there are some very economical guns out there chambered in it.
This week I picked up a Crvena Zastava M70, which is an all-steel Yugoslav police pistol chambered in the afore mentioned 7.65mm (aka .32 Auto). These things are flooding the marketplace at the moment and can be got for around $250. Mine even came with a spare mag, flap holster and cleaning brush.
This is a single-action autoloader with 8-round magazines. It's pure blowback, and its guts, for those who care, are Tokarev-inspired. Disassembly is a little tricky at first, but there are videos that show you how to do it. The biggest obstacle for me was the Cosmoline. This could be tricky for people not used to dealing with it, so before buying one online, check to see if it has had it removed. I thought I did a pretty thorough job removing it from mine, but the firing pin was still sluggish which led to light primer strikes. I fixed the problem in short order, but a novice might have been stumped.
It fits the hand well, though the trigger was a bit stiff. This could also be because of gunk. As you can see, my target isn't great, but for a breaking-in session it's not too bad. Range was 10 yards at an outdoor range in weather just above freezing - what we call "brisk" in Michigan.
Basically, it fulfilled my expectations in having enough recoil to force me to use good technique and was accurate enough to reward me when I used it correctly. The sights aren't up to modern standards, but it points well. I actually did better when I tried to shoot instinctively rather than using slow-fire technique. To put it another way, instead of trying to hold it steady and shoot it from the same position, I found I did better by dropping it slightly after each shot, and then raising it again.
My point is that these M70s may be a good option for people wanting a handgun they can actually find ammo for. It is heavy for its size, but you could conceal it if desired. The biggest drawbacks are the Cosmoline if it has it, and the takedown, but both can be overcome.
I'm sure that some will dismiss .32 ACP as underpowered, and while it certainly lacks the punch of heavier calibers, the .32 in your hand beats the .45 you left at home. Shot placement always trumps caliber, so the extra practice you can get with relatively plentiful ammo could well be a life saver.
We are in a time when many of the old rules no longer apply. The days of doing test firings of rental guns, getting lavish amounts of practice in using cheap ammunition and having instructors readily available to help are gone. I'm hopeful that they will come back, but that seems an increasingly risky bet.
They are absolutely not for everyone, but some folks may find them useful. I have a weakness for 'mouse guns' anyway, but this seems like a good practice engine and I'm glad I picked it up.
Nicely done, AHL! I generally agree the philosophy on ammo, with the exception that I manage my inventory with the expectation that I'm never getting any more. So while I'm not expecting prolonged high round count combat, I'm also not expecting the UPS truck to 'round the corner with re-supply either.
What do you all think? Agree? Disagree?
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While all the rest of us were screwing around, our pal Old Blue has been keeping an eye on important stuff:
*****Firearm Public Service Announcement*****
Smith and Wesson has just announced a recall for their M&P Shield EZ firearms because of a defective hammer that may cause the weapon to fire, possibly multiple times, even with the safety on. This includes the 9mm and .380 Shield EZ firearms. You can go to this website and enter your firearm serial number to see if your firearm is affected. If so, S&W will send you a prepaid postage label to return the firearm for inspection. If it is determined that your firearm needs repair, S&W will repair the firearm for you and return ship it at no charge.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.
*****Firearm Public Service Announcement*****
Vey useful, Old Blue, thanks! Unfortunately, OB found his .380 is covered by the recall. Hopefully all goes well with the return and repair. Anyone else affected by the recall? My experience with S&W customer service has always been 100% positive. Please let us know how it goes!
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Next up, our pal Grey Fox has an interesting question on ammo storage:
I've got an odd dilemma for which I could use some experienced advice. Background: A bit over a year ago I lost my damp little basement apartment when the septic tank failed and the landlord didn't have the funds to repair it to code, and between employment issues and the skyrocketing cost of housing I have been unable to find another home, so I've been living my parents' spare bedroom and keeping my stuff in a storage facility and their basement. My ammo supply can't be stored in the rental space, so it has been with my tools in the basement, which is reasonably dry and cool. Unfortunately space down there is pretty limited, and the ammo was put up on top of a pile of boards (future blanket chest, hopefully), which in turn was right next to the cat's litterbox. And there it stayed for 14 months . What I did not realize until very recently is that cat urine produces ammonia and that ammonia fumes in the air (not just liquid) causes brass to become brittle over time. While it is not like the cat has been peeing on the ammo or the place smells like cat urine all the time, since the ammo was stored so close to the litterbox and for over a year, I've got some serious reservations about the safety of some of what I had down there.
I figure that the stuff that was in surplus ammo cans is probably unaffected - ammo cans are designed to protect against this kind of thing, and they've been kept closed for the most part while down there. Unfortunately my entire small supply of .223 was not in ammo cans - about half of it came in plastic buckets that, as it turns out, I didn't quite seal completely when I inspected them last spring/early summer. The other half was just in the cardboard boxes they came in, and was already showing some tarnishing from humidity being held by the cardboard when I broke some out of storage last spring, which is what prompted the inspection later on when I figured out what was going on. Everything is now sealed up, though that is small consolation since the horse has already made tracks for other places.
So yes: I need to get more ammo AND I need to get more and better ammo storage boxes AND I need to figure out a place to store ammo that is neither a hot little bedroom upstairs nor a basement with a cat box. In the meantime, I'm wondering if you have ever had to deal with something like this and whether you know of any test short of shooting it that I can use to make sure that the affected brass will not crack or separate. I'm not even sure if embrittled brass will still be shiny or the process will produce tarnishing or darkening as part of the process (ammonia is used to produce the effect of aged brass, a color change, but whether the brass becomes brittle prior to the change I do not know.) I don't really want to toss 500-1100 rounds of ammo that might still be shootable, but neither do I want to risk my eyes nor do I want to be worrying about it every time I pull the trigger, which will certainly do my habitual flinch no good!
I have the same circumstances - kitty box in the basement with a lot of my ammo and reloading components. We use a clumping litter and I never notice an ammonia or urine odor, and I think it would take more than a few stray airborne cat pee molecules to cause an issue. I can tell you I have been storing my ammo and reloading stuff like this for years and have never had any problems, but it's a great question and frankly one that I'd never thought about.
This week's funny comes to us courtesy of our pal JT
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Please note the new and improved gmail account morongunthread at gmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
If Ever There Was a Year for Christmas Cookies, this is the One [Bluebell]
—Open Blogger
This has been a year like no other, and it’s not finished yet. We’ve been battered and bruised mentally and spiritually, if not physically. But – Christmas is coming! No matter what else life has to throw at us, we can look forward to Christmas with its many traditions including, of course, Christmas cookies.
Christmas cookies can be spiced and sturdy, like gingerbread men, or delicate, like sugar cookies. They can be chocolate, vanilla, nut-flavored, citrus-flavored, or pretty much any flavor you like. They can be rolled in nuts or sugar, filled with jam, dipped in chocolate, or sprinkled with jimmies. I like to make an assortment of all kinds, and in a typical year I will make 10 or 12 varieties, one of which is not exactly a cookie, but rather a chocolate-covered almond toffee.
I encourage everyone to make some Christmas cookies this year, even if you never have before, and even if you are the only one in your home. Maybe you have your mother’s or grandmother’s old cookie recipes, or maybe you have favorites you’ve found over the years. Or maybe you’ve never made them before, in which case I invite you to do an internet search and pick something you’d like to try. Or look in the “Cookies and Brownies” section of The Deplorable Gourmet!
What if you don’t have time to make Christmas cookies? After all, you don’t want to make them too early or they will go stale, or get eaten. And the closer it gets to Christmas, the busier you will probably be, especially if you are hosting a big family dinner or a party (well, in normal years anyway). Relax, I’ve got you covered.
Starting about mid-November, whenever I have a free half hour, I will mix up a batch of Christmas cookie dough and put it in the freezer. For cookies that will be baked in a ball shape, like Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cakes, I freeze the dough in the ball shapes on a cookie sheet (no need to leave much space in between) for about an hour, then put the frozen balls into a Ziploc bag and back in the freezer. For slice and bake cookies like Neapolitans, I freeze the dough in the form the recipe suggests, then wrap in wax paper, put into a Ziploc and back into the freezer it goes. For rolled out cookies, freeze the dough in flattened disks. Not all cookies will lend themselves to this treatment, but a good many will.
When you are ready to bake, it only takes a few minutes to pull the dough from the freezer, pop into the oven (no need to thaw first, unless you have to roll out the dough and cut shapes), and let the cookies bake for a little extra time. Keep a close eye on them.
This technique is especially useful because you don’t have to bake all the cookies at once unless you want to, and you don’t have to find space to store the baked cookies in your freezer. When I send cookies to out-of-town friends and relatives, I bake the cookies in this way the morning I plan to send them. That way they are still relatively fresh when they arrive a couple of days later (I always send them Priority Mail).
By the way, you don’t have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy Christmas cookies! I have given them to my Jewish friends and no one has complained yet.
The fanciest Christmas cookie I make – recipe here.
I invite you to leave your favorite Christmas cookie recipe in the comments. I can’t wait to see what you give us! In the meantime, here’s one of mine, which can also be found on page 70 of The Deplorable Gourmet.
Shortbread Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
4 ½ cups flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans)
Cream butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla and salt. Gradually stir in flour until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Dough will be very stiff.
Shape in 1” balls and place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork to 1 ½” rounds. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes, or until they just begin to lightly brown around the edges. Remove to wire rack to cool.
If you want, while the cookies are still warm, you can sprinkle the tops with 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar through a strainer. (I have never done this.)
**Note – the butter MUST be softened considerably (although not melted). If the butter is too cold, the dough will be far too crumbly.
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Many thanks to CBD for allowing me to usurp his Food Thread today. And I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that the reason we have Christmas cookies is to celebrate the birth of Christ, Who gave everything for us. Wishing you all a blessed Advent and soon, a merry Christmas.
Food Thread: Is There Such A Thing As "Too Much Cheese?"
—CBD
That's the gratin I served to great acclaim and adoration for Thanksgiving. I used Ina Garten's recipe, which is in dire need of some further testing by her kitchens, because it's a dumb way of making it (more anon).
And that's what it looks like when it is done. Pretty good! Garnish it with oysters and you'll be in heaven (right Bluebell?).
But the recipe calls for a measly, wholly inadequate 10 ounces of grated cheese (by volume, which is worse!). That's just silly.
So I tripled it.
And it was..um...great!
So the answer is: No, there can never be too much cheese.
Oh, she calls for painting the bottom of the casserole dish with one third of the bechamel/cheese sauce. That's dumb. Just toss everything into your largest bowl and using a spatula gently coat the florets with the cheese sauce, then put it all into the casserole. Why she wants it striated is beyond me. Sometimes cookbook writers try to be too clever.
Yes, there is method to the madness. There is a special guest post coming at 4:00pm; thus the early and abbreviated Food Thread. But the ongoing and chaotic contest for best menu on a budget got short shrift last week, and because the entries were uniformly interesting I wanted to post a couple more...
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Long time lurker, comment rarely.
Here we go: App: Dover Sole Involtini/Braciole
8 Filets $9. (Really, only 10.99/ lb
1 c bread crumbs
Lemon juice 2 T
Lemon zest
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 c toasted chopped pine nuts. $5 for full jar.
24 shards good parmigiana, use peeler. $3
Remaining ingredient costs scored with other courses. $17
Mix filling, roll filets around, place in oiled ramekin or Pyrex storage bowl, garnish with a few dabs of marinara and 3 shards best parmigiana, bake 325 oven
Main course
Esquire Magazine Best Meatball Ever Recipe (One of two, avoid the one with bacon, as well as the current content)
1 1/2 lb 85 % Ground beef. $10.50
1 1/2. lb. mild Italian sausage. $7
1 c flat leaf parsley chopped. $1
3 eggs. $0.70
1 1/2 c bread crumbs, Italian seas. $1
1/2 c best quality Parmigiana $9. Total $27.20
Mix, chill 12-24 hours and form balls size of a small lemon. I bake in glass 9 x 13 dish at 400 oven, to crisp the bottom and turn a few times. Makes enough for 3 + per person. Ok to make the day before.
Marcella Hazen’s Marinara.
3 x 28 oz Kirkland San Marzano tomatoes/Costco. $10
1 onion. $1.
2 sticks Weyauwega butter (Land’OLakes-$2). $2
Spaghetti x 2 lb. $3.
$$16
Heat tomatoes w onion (in large eno ugh pieces you can remove at end of simmer) and butter, crush tomatoes with spoon at end. Kirkland has basil included. Make this in time to use a little in appetizer.
Caesar Green Beans
Prepped cleaned green beans 8 oz x 3 (busy night). $12
Anchovy paste 2 tsp. $2
Dijon mustard 2 tsp
Mayo. 3. T
Lemon juice 10 T. 2
Olive oil 8 TGarlic
2 cloves.
Croutons, extra dry/crunchy2 c. $4 for all,
total $20
Total cost $ 88 oh no too much. I can’t apologize, needed the pine nuts, best Parm.could save on green beans, but the party was election night.
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Appetizer: Portobello Mushroom pizza
(Grilled large portobello mushrooms, then filled with pesto topped with prosciutto. Then added buffalo mozzarella cheese. Put back on grill to melt cheese.)
One mushroom for two people. Serve with Tractor Shed Red (Zinfandel) wine at $10 per bottle)
Main Course
Pork Tenderloin medallions with onions and mushrooms setting on top of jalapeño cheese grits with grilled asparagus.
Serve with E. Guigal Cotes du Rhône Red Southern Rhône Blend ($15)
Season tenderloin with olive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Using a hot grill, cook for five minutes on two sides.
Remove from grill and place inside an aluminum foil pouch.
Put slices onions and whole small mushrooms with the tenderloin. Seal the pouch and place on grill for 15-20 minutes depending on size of tenderloin.
Remove from grill, let set for ten minutes.
Remove from pouch and cut medallions.
Place medallions on top of grits with the onions and mushrooms.
Pour some of the pot liquor form the pouch on top of the medallions.
Desert: Dark Chocolate Creme Brûlée with fresh berries and whipped cream
Serve with Pierre Ferrand Champagne Reserve 1ER Cru deCognac ($72/bottle with plenty left over!)
"MB"
Long time Lurker!
******
You may remember that commenter "ALH" has shared some rather yummy looking foods from her kitchen. The last two were Peach Cobbler and a luscious-looking lasagna.
Well, I guess she thought that we were in need of some punishment.
I guess I could have posted "Man On Ottoman," and it would have been pretty much the same thing.
******
Food and cooking tips, Large-breasted Muscovy ducks, young wild pigs, bartenders who use vermouth in Martinis (but not too much), pork belly that doesn't have 5-spice, low-temperature-roast chicken, and good tomatoes that aren't square, pale pink and covered with Mestizo E.coli: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com. Any advocacy of French Toast with syrup will result in disciplinary action up to and including being nuked from orbit. And yes, shaking a Manhattan is blasphemy...it's in the Bible!
Addendum: Here's a hint about what's coming up...anyone with a special cookie recipe who would like to share with the Horde...dig it out of your files and bring it to the playground at 4:00pm!
I have a relatively old car (actually an SUV) that doesn't have many of the recent bells and whistles. Well, it has a back-up sensor which is pretty useful for parking, but that's about it. One of its few interesting features was a heating system for the wiper fluid. I thought that was pretty neat, but GM's engineers added another feature to the system called, "Wiring harness failure and fire," so the fuddy-duddies at corporate decided to disable it.
Unfortunately, while it is quite old (13 years!), I generally take care of my things, so it is in excellent condition. And as everyone knows, modern cars are pretty damned reliable. They may not be exciting or beautiful or elegant, but they are boringly predictable and last a very long time.
BUT I WANT A NEW CAR!
I am also cheap frugal, so the thought of buying a new car before the old one wears out is just silly. It's just not going to happen.
We are supposed to live in a free society (don't laugh!), and the default among our representatives should be that information is to be widely disseminated among the people for purposes of transparency and accountability. Before something is classified (made secret) there should be a careful examination of who and what is being protected. Embarrassing or career-ending information about government officials is exactly the kind of information that needs to be accessible. In fact, the default should be that everything is free unless a compelling argument is made to classify.
Obviously military and technological information should be closely held. There is a small benefit but a huge risk to our society and to the country's political discourse were our war plans to be made public. And that can be extrapolated to other information by any competent arbiter.
But the pay-offs made by Congress to the victims of the vile and illegal behavior of our representatives? That should be plastered on billboards across America. And the way our government spends our money? Absolutely. Absent a clear national security risk, the spending habits of every department, from the lowliest tech to the various secretaries should be public.
Joe Biden and his handlers have established the “Office of the President-Elect,” but at this writing Donald J. Trump remains president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world. The president commands extensive powers of declassification, but other powerful people want to keep such material secret for reasons that have nothing to do with national security. President Trump should make those matters a priority, starting with the mighty National Institutes of Health, which “invests about $41.7 billion in annual medical research for the American people.”
We have it exactly backward. Any serious attempt to claw back the government from the Deep StateTM must include complete transparency in our spending. Every penny spent should be public, so our representatives can be called on the carpet for the profligacy with our money, and their currently invisible attempts to enrich themselves.
Perhaps in this magical future we could create some sort of mechanism through which people could investigate how the government spends our money and report back to the people. We could protect them by law from government interference in their work, dependent only on their impartiality. Obviously those who are partisan would not be protected, but one can certainly imagine an honorable trade springing up around those legal protections. People who are respected for their work in the public interest!
Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules). Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, a weekly compendium of reviews, observations, snark, witty repartee, hilarious bon mots, and a continuing conversation on books, reading, spending way too much money on books, writing books, and publishing books by escaped oafs and oafettes who follow words with their fingers and whose lips move as they read. Unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants, which were obviously designed by someone with a very troubled childhood.
The Wisconsin Historical Society...Division of Library-Archives collects and maintains books and documents about the history of Wisconsin, the United States, and Canada. The society's library and archives, which together serve as the library of American history for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, contain nearly four million items, making the society's collection the largest in the world dedicated exclusively to North American history.[3][4] The Wisconsin Historical Society's extensive newspaper collection is the second largest in the United States after the Library of Congress.[5][6][7] The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research is also housed within the division.[8] The society's archives also serve as the official repository for state and local government records.[1] The society coordinates an Area Research Center Network, an alliance between the Historical Society in Madison and four-year campuses of the University of Wisconsin System throughout the state, to make most of the archival collections accessible to state residents.
Of course, it is obviously impossible for one person to read every book that has ever been written. But if you go back far enough, you will eventually get to a point, centuries ago, in time when such a thing would have been possible.
According to this article in the Smithonian, there was at least one person who thought that you could at least keep track of them all:
Christopher Columbus may have explored oceans, but his illegitimate son, Hernando Colón, explored the mind. In the 16th century, he amassed somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 books, part of a pie-in-the-sky effort to collect “all books, in all languages and on all subjects, that can be found both within Christendom and without.” As part of this ambitious endeavor, he commissioned an entire staff of scholars to read the books and write short summaries for a 16-volume, cross-referenced index. Called the Libro de los Epítomes, it served as a primitive sort of search engine. Now, researchers have found one of those lost volumes, a precious key to many books lost to history.
And by attempting to collect everything, it is not meant just the "classical" or "good" literature, but literally *everything* that had ever been written:
Unlike other book-obsessed collectors from the time period, Colón wasn’t just interested in volumes from classical authors or other well-trodden texts. Fortunately for present-day scholars, he bought everything he could find in print, including political pamphlets, guidebooks and posters from taverns.
The lost volume/index they found is a 2,000 page tome that is a foot thick.
I remember reading William F Buckley's speculation, back in the days when I was a subscriber to the dead tree edition of National Review, that Erasmus was probably the last guy who could've read everything. And, coincidentally, Erasmus (1469-1536) was more or less a contemporary of Hernando Colón (1488-1539).
(Last week's 'who dis' was early Hollywood actress Gloria Swanson.)
Moron Recommendations
60 I'm reading Larry Correia's "Target Rich Environment" which is an anthology. I need some mindless fluff to distract me from reality.
Posted by: lin-duh at November 29, 2020 09:31 AM (UUBmN)
TRE is a collection of Correia's urban fantasy short stories, some of them previously published, but others seen here for the first time:
Together for the first time, fourteen action-packed tales of demons, monster, vampires, and cosmic horrors too terrible to name—and the men and women who take them all down. Oh, and toss in an interdimensional insurance salesman for good measure.
You’ll also find: An elven princess from the pages of Monster Hunter International on a mission to redeem her people. A samurai pirate with a blood vendetta against an extremely large sea beast. And a magic-wielding P.I. who walks the mean streets of Detroit.
Journey back to the origins of Monster Hunter International in “Bubba Shackleford’s Professional Monster Hunters.” Uncover the origin of one of Dead Six’s central characters in “Sweothi City.” And celebrate the holidays with the Grimnoir Chronicle’s own Jake Sullivan in “Detroit Christmas”...
Maybe I'll be talking about this sort escapist 'fluff' writing in the months ahead if Biden manages to sleaze his way into the White House.
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44 I discovered a marvelous author - Norman Collins, an Englishman who not only wrote novels beginning in the 1930s and continuing to the 70s, but also worked for the BBC and went on to help establish the rival network, ITV. He was very popular in his day, and is now nearly forgotten, but unjustly so.
He most popular book was 'London Belongs to Me', and I discovered it because I watched the movie made of it in 1948, starring David Attenborough and Alastair Sim. You can see the whole thing on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DDUWWLsOpQ
If you like the movie, the book is even better. It's the story about a diverse group of lower middle class people in a rooming house in south London a year before WWII breaks out. Collins has a Dickensian way of writing these people withe real affection. There's Percy, a young garage mechanic who's not a bad guy, but you can see he's already on the wrong path, getting mixed up in shady stuff. The landlady is into spiritualism and takes in a new lodger, Mr. Squales, who's a fake medium who sees her as his meal ticket. (Alastair Sim plays Squales and is a hoot in the role.) The heart of the group is the Josser family, Mr. Josser who's just retired from a lifetime as bookkeeper to a financial house, his irritable wife, and their daughter Doris, who wants to strike out on her own.
The book is part comedy, part drama, and really enjoyable. I'm sorry I read it so fast, and am just waiting for some time to go by before I read it again. Meanwhile, I've ordered another Collins book from AbeBooks, and hope it's as good as this one.
Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at November 22, 2020 09:27 AM (NPokB)
Not much I can add to this succinct review, other than to note that London Belongs To Me (Penguin Modern Classics) is either OOP or Penguin isn't putting in a lot of effort into making it readily available. Amazon lists the paperback price north of $22. Suggest looking into purchasing a used copy from Abebooks, and there are many available.
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124 12 With that out of the way: I'm reading The End of October, a 2020 SF/thriller by one Lawrence Wright. It's the kind of story that reviews will call "eerily prophetic," as it deals with, guess what, a pandemic. This one is real, more like the 1918 flu.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at November 22, 2020 09:10 AM (rpbg1)
Sounds good... wait, did you say Lawrence Wright, the guy who wrote...
Purchased, as the author is the Lawrence Wright of 'The Looming Tower', and I can't give him money often enough.
Posted by: motionview (I also want desperately to believe) at November 22, 2020 10:04 AM (pYQR/)
Yup, that Lawrence Wright. This novel does, indeed, sound prophetic:
At an internment camp in Indonesia, forty-seven people are pronounced dead with acute hemorrhagic fever. When Henry Parsons--microbiologist, epidemiologist--travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization to investigate, what he finds will soon have staggering repercussions across the globe: an infected man is on his way to join the millions of worshippers in the annual Hajj to Mecca. Now, Henry joins forces with a Saudi prince and doctor in an attempt to quarantine the entire host of pilgrims in the holy city . . . A Russian émigré, a woman who has risen to deputy director of U.S. Homeland Security, scrambles to mount a response to what may be an act of biowarfare . . . Already-fraying global relations begin to snap, one by one, in the face of a pandemic . . . Henry's wife, Jill, and their children face diminishing odds of survival in Atlanta . . . And the disease slashes across the United States, dismantling institutions--scientific, religious, governmental--and decimating the population. As packed with suspense as it is with the fascinating history of viral diseases, Lawrence Wright has given us a full-tilt, electrifying, one-of-a-kind thriller.
Featuring descriptions of past plagues and meticulously researched, some of the reviews compare this book (favorably) with Michael Crichton. I was surprised to see the Kindle edition available for only $3.99. (Update: no, sorry, that must've been a sale price. It is now at $14.99. Aargh.)
If, like me, you’re sick and tired of being told how to think, speak, eat and behave, then this book is for you.
If, like me, you think the world’s going absolutely nuts, then this book is for you.
If, like me, you think...the real stars of our society [are] not self-obsessed tone-deaf celebrities, then this book is for you. If, like me, you’re sickened by the cancel culture bullies destroying people’s careers and lives, then this book is for you.
From feminism to masculinity, racism to gender, body image to veganism, mental health to competitiveness at school, the right to free speech and expressing an honestly held opinion is being crushed at the altar of ‘woke’ political correctness.
So this is a blurb used to describe a new book written by which author?
a) Mark Levin
b) Donald Trump, Jr.
c) Sean Hannity
d) Piers Morgan
And the answer is, of course (d) Piers Morgan. The book, published last month, is titled Wake Up: Why the world has gone nuts and further subtitled 'Our eyes have been opened' and 'We must never close them again'.
Piers Morgan? Seriously?
I always thought Morgan was just a limey twit. Every time his name has appeared on my radar it's always been in tbe context of a 2A/gun ownership debate that he is invariably on the wrong side of. Oh, and didn't he get canned from one of his media jobs for publishing fake photos during the Iraq War?
So now he's sounding like a conservative cultural warrior. So I don't know.
I found out about thie book when it was endorsed by PDT on Twitter.
Books By Morons
Moron author 'Long-time Commenter, First-time Reader' has just published a new collection of Space Western short stories, called Stardust Mesa: Scenes From Another Frontier:
Decades ago, the colony ship Gila left Earth bearing the future inhabitants of a new world, one destined to become humanity’s homestead among the stars. This collection of stories paints the picture of life on a new frontier – one both like and unlike the American frontier of yesteryear, where miners wrest exotic material from asteroids, ranchers breed herds of giant bug-like creatures, and each and every person fights to carve out a new life for themselves far from the planet their ancestors left behind. Welcome to the western side of the stars.
I might have to buy this one myself. Fortunately for me, the Kindle edition is only $1.99.
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So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, insults, threats, ugly pants pics and moron library submissions may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.
What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books.
A young blonde woman from Brooklyn was so depressed that she decided to end her life by jumping into the ocean. She goes down to the docks, but just as she is about to jump in the water, a sailor sees her.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he calls out.
"I have nothing to live for. I’m jumping in."
"You’re young, you’re beautiful, you have everything to live for," the sailor says. "The boat that I’m on is sailing to France tomorrow. I can stow you away on it. I'll take care of you, I can bring you food every day, and when we get there, I’ll show you all around Paris."
The young blonde woman thinks it over. "What’s in it for you?"
"Well, if I’m going to hide you here, well, you have to ... satisfy my sexual needs during voyage."
With nothing to lose and the prospect of going to France, she accepts. The sailor brings her aboard and hides her in a small but comfortable compartment in the hold. From then on, every night he brings her three sandwiches and a bottle of red wine, and they make love until dawn.
Two weeks later, during a routine inspection, she is discovered by the captain. "What are you doing here?" asks the captain.
"I have an arrangement with one of your sailors," she replies. "He brings me food every day and I get a free trip to France. And in return . . . he’s screwing me."
"He sure is," the captain replies. "This is the Staten Island Ferry."
(H/T Isophorone Blog)
General Motors knows all too well that a fully electric future is coming. As a company, GM wants to have 30 EVs for sale by 2025 and Cadillac will reportedly be leading the Detroit automaker's electric charge in the United States. Recently, it was reported that GM told dealerships to invest in the future or get out of the way. Cadillac has 880 dealerships nationwide, and now, citing sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports that 150 of them have taken a $300,000 to $1,000,000 buyout to cease operations instead of investing $200,000 in charging infrastructure and other updates to their facilities to support the brand's electric future.
This is a little more than one in six Cadillac dealerships nationwide, so in a nutshell, a fair amount of them will probably close. It's unclear if GM expected so many to take the buyout, however, a $200,000 investment is likely a lot to ask for many dealerships, especially during a pandemic. That being said, some of Cadillac's vehicles like the XT6 crossover have seen dramatic increases in sales over the past year, and it's betting on the new electric Lyriq SUV to further improve its fortunes.
Here on SHIFT, we’ve covered conversion kits that turn your regular bike into an ebike to help you power up hills. But what about when it starts to snow? Well, there are conversion kits for that too.
Envo Drive, a Canadian company that specializes in making electric propulsion kits for bikes and kayaks, is taking pre-orders for its “electric snowbike kit.”
In short, the kit is pretty simple. You take a bike, replace its rear wheel with the kit’s electrically-powered snow track, and replace the front wheel with a snowboard that attaches to the forks and allows the rider to steer.
The battery is attached where a bottle cage would typically mount in the middle of the frame.
I suspect if the snow is 3" or deeper it will be a lot shorter ride.
Speaking of snow. Perhaps Ryan should wear a coat and cap............
You'll be able to catch this dazzling display on December 21, 2020 and because of its close proximity to the Christmas holiday, it's been also dubbed as the "Star of Bethlehem."
So what causes the gorgeous cosmic phenomenon? An extremely rare alignment between Jupiter and Saturn. Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan dished out to Forbes what makes this visible star so significant.
"Alignments between these two planets are rather rare, occurring once every 20 years or so, but this conjunction is exceptionally rare because of how close the planets will appear to be to one another. You’d have to go all the way back to just before dawn on March 4, 1226, to see a closer alignment between these objects visible in the night sky.
Which brings us to this really upbeat Neil Young song.
Model claims sunbathing vagina for 2 hours a day boosted her libido
Sunshine, lollipops and libidos.
A Brazilian model claims that she increases her sex drive with a little afternoon d-light by way of sunning her vagina.
“Nothing better than a morning sun…,” 23-year-old Letícia Martins, who goes by Lunna Leblanc, captioned a nude Instagram post of herself this week in which she displays her naked body, legs spread at the sun.
“Did you know that exposing your private parts to the sun can provide you with more energy, increase your libido, improve circadian rhythm (which regulates the entire functioning of the human body) and still help you get a good night’s sleep?” the bikini influencer continued in Portuguese, ending the post with a question to her 14,400 followers. “What did you think of this experience
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey lawmakers may include a so-called social equity tax in the legislation establishing a legal market for recreational marijuana, according to reports.
Bills in the state Senate and Assembly would give cannabis regulators the authority to impose the "social equity excise fee," which would help fund programs aimed at reducing racial disparities caused by drug laws.
The black market pot will be cheaper and just as strong. Isn't that what pot purchasing is all about?
***
Hmmmm, I wonder why........ Taco Bell flopped in Mexico? You shouldn't be a rocket scientist to figure this out.
It may or may not come as a surprise that Mexico is not one of the 30 countries where Taco Bell has been able to pull off a successful expansion, but that is not for lack of effort. Taco Bell first attempted to open a location across the border in Mexico City in 1992. After that failed, they tried again with a different concept in 2007, but that, too, was unsuccessful. So, why have the minds behind some of America's favorite tacos had such a hard time infiltrating the birthplace of the very food they helped to popularize in the United States? We took a deep dive into the history of Taco Bell's attempts at expansion into Mexico to find out why their south of the border locations were destined to flop.
One morning in May 2019, a crowd of journalists gathered around the Biratenu bar in Jerusalem, snapping photos as a bartender poured golden, frothy beer into plastic cups. The story of the beer was both new and very old: The yeast that fermented it came from a 3,000-year-old jug found at a nearby archaeological site.
It’s hard to listen to Katrina and the Waves's “Walking on Sunshine” without feeling a little like you’re actually walking on sunshine. And ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” is bound to turn you into one for roughly 3.5 minutes. According to Baltimore radio station Mix 106.5, this isn’t surprising—those tunes are two of the most uplifting songs ever to grace the airwaves.
Several years ago, UK-based electronica band Alba surveyed an unknown number of English and Irish citizens to find out which songs make them especially happy. After compiling a list of the most popular answers, the band sent it to Dutch neuroscientist Jacob Jolij and asked him to figure out why those songs were such effective mood-boosters. Though Jolij explained on his website that each person’s musical taste is “highly personal and strongly depends on social context and personal associations”—and that the endeavor was “data crunching,” rather than “hardcore science”—there were enough quantifiable factors to draw certain conclusions. In studying the chosen songs, Jolij realized their average tempo was between 140 and 150 beats per minute, which is a couple dozen beats faster than the average pop song. And while a few songs were played in a minor key, the majority of them were in a major one. Jolij also identified trends in the lyrics. Most, he said, were either about “positive events” like parties or romantic experiences, or they simply “did not make sense at all.”
***
Now time for our Christmas tunes............
&&&
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The mayor might have been practicing Social Distancing. But her car wasn't. Genius Award Winner.
A Kentucky mayor was arrested for driving under the influence after falling asleep in a White Castle drive-thru line and crashing into a utility pole Tuesday night, authorities said.
***
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Rules.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. Warning this product is not a safe alternative to drinking.
Saturday Evening Movie Thread 12-05-2020 [Hosted By: Moviegique]
—Open Blogger
Freaky (2020)
Pickings, as noted, have been slim, though they were much fatter a few weeks ago before The Tyrant Newsom capriciously shut everything down again, and we had a chance to trek out and see a double-feature. The first feature was John Wick which the kids actually hadn't seen (I couldn't get them to go with me the first time). There was an interesting movie from the people who did Secret of the Kells and Song of the Sea, but with 6 of 30 seats already taken, the three of us couldn't get tickets because that would exceed 25% capacity.
But The Flower (and to a lesser extent The Boy) was semi-intrigued by this horror remake of Freaky Friday. As she said, "It's not like it's a classic that they're screwing up, Dad." It's a fair point: Her version of the movie is the cute-but-not-classic Jamie Lee Curtis/Lindsay Lohan, whereas mine is the also cute-but-not-classic Barbara Harris/Jodie Foster version. The premise, if you don't know, is that a mother and daughter, frustrated with their impressions of how easy the other's life is, end up swapping places. Body swapping in the movies goes back at least to the Thorne Smith story Turnabout (which Hal Roach made into a cute movie with Adolphe Menjou and Carole Landis), where it's a frustrated husband/wife swap.
But in this case, instead of swapping with her mother, our teen heroine Millie (Kathryn Newton, Three Billboards Outside of Billings, Montana and Lady Bird) swaps with the crazed slasher who is trying to kill her, thanks to his recent acquisition of a Zuni doll or a totem or whatever. Where the usual playbook is for the swapped characters to struggle comically being a fish-out-of-water in their unfamiliar surroundings, in this case—well, it's exactly the same here, just one's a psycho.
Now, really, this is pretty much an actor's storyline. It had a lot more "bite" back in 1940, but seeing Adolphe Menjou flounce around while Carole Landis "manspread" in Turnabout is that movie's primary entertainment value. I don't remember the '70s version well enough to say much about the acting, but I remember being disappointed by the '00s version, because Jamie Lee Curtis' has so many easily imitable mannerisms, and the "swap" doesn't change either hers or Lohan's at all. (Annette Benning dropped out of the role just six days earlier, which may account for this.)
This "Freaky" is about a psycho whereas most are about teen girls and stressed moms and I probably better stop right there.
In this case, Vince Vaughn (whose doesn't play psycho-killers nearly enough) gets to flounce around like a teen girl (and even kiss a boy though that is thankfully obscured) and Kathryn Newton gets to play a slasher who's constantly confounded by her sudden loss of strength. I liked this aspect of the film: I mean, it was absolutely necessary that this 105-pound girl not be very physically intimidating for the premise to work, but if the past 30 years of entertainment have taught us anything, any woman can beat up any man at any time using nothing more than girl power. So it was actually kind of refreshing that this movie pointed out the obvious.
The movie opens with a clichéd (almost campy) murder of a quartet of obnoxious teens you're largely glad to see die, and when you first meet Mille and her two besties, you pretty much want them to die, too. One of the besties is very out gay boy and the other is a soulful-saint black girl, checking off vital diversity boxes—but as with other Blumhouse features, they do extend a bit beyond mere tokenism. The actors (Celest O'Connor and Misha Osherovich) are fine, though the movie couldn't resist throwing in a closeted football player—I'm almost surprised they didn't have a closeted Klan member.
Vaughn, 50, is still pretty convincing as a maniac.
Millie is lives in strained circumstances with her recently widowed mother (Katie Finneran, of the underrated 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake) and her snarky sheriff sister (Dana Drori). Mom gets drunk and forgets to pick up Millie after the game and that's when The Butcher (Vaughn) finds her. The next morning he wakes up in her bed and she wakes up in an abandoned mill. The next hour involves Millie (in The Butcher's body) convincing her friends who she is and trying to unravel the mystery while The Butcher (in Millie's body) goes on a killing spree, utilizing his/her new privileges as a cute teen girl. (Of course, any horror fan knows that about 15% of all slashers are cute teen girls but whatever.)
It's cute, but not classic, much like it's predecessors. It might end up as my favorite version of Freaky Friday, for what that's worth. Some laughs, not really any big scares. A fair amount of legitimate suspense as you wonder how they're going to swap back before midnight (at which point the swap becomes permanent). There is a tension that comes from mixing genres: If it were straight horror, you'd sort of expect them not to switch back or—given that body swapping is a staple of horror far more than comedy—for Vaughn to end up in yet another body, but it still has the same kind of After School Special feel of its predecessors. It's really hard to imagine good won't prevail.
The gore is pretty perfunctory as is the (minimal) sex, and it wraps up pretty well in the hour. (I'm seeing now that it's supposedly an hour and 42 minutes, which I don't think I believe. At the theater, they had it listed as 85 minutes.) In any event, there's an end to the movie followed by a denouement which made the movie feel overlong and was a little too "yass kween" for my taste. It doesn't fit, but it doesn't really ruin the movie.
We had fun and that's all we were looking for, even though the theaters themselves are a weird and alienating experience in post-Covid California.
TFW you convince your friends you're not a slasher on a spree.
Moviegique will be along later with the movie thread. As always, the chess/dress pr0n thread is an open thread, so there is no such thing as an off-topic comment.
Beginner Problem - White To Play (1248 )
Goal: White can force mate in 3 moves
Hint: Sac, sac, mate.
2r1k1qr/ppp5/2n1p1pp/1NQ3B1/2p2R2/8/PP3PPP/3R2K1 w k - 0 1
Goal: Black can force mate in 5 moves
Hint: Gain time to bring the queen over with a sac.
3q1rk1/p4pp1/2pb3p/3p4/6Pr/1PNQ4/P1PB1PP1/4RRK1 b - - 0 1
Advanced Problem - White To Play (1244)
Bring home the win for White while sidestepping all of the stalemate threats by using this one weird trick.
8/6pp/8/6PP/7P/8/p2K4/k7 w - - 0 1
Dress Pr0n For The 'Ettes:
Today marks the return of my autumn/winter series Unsuitable Sideline Attire in which I spend every Sunday at the side of a rugby pitch wondering how my washing machine will cope. I counter this with entirely unsuitable pitchside frocks, today #1950s Charles James ...@KSUMuseumpic.twitter.com/RamQUE7XS9
So the feature to notice about this position is that White needs to keep Black's king bottled up on a1 to prevent him from getting a queen, but that opens all sorts of stalemate possibilities. White needs to just keep shuffling his king back and forth until Black's pawns sort of self-destruct and open up the path:
1.Kc1 g6
2.Kc2
Premature is 2.hxg6? h5 3.gxh6 stalemate.
2...h6
3.Kc1
Again, if 3.gxh6? gxh5 4.h7 stalemate
3...gxh5
4.Kc2 hxg5
And now it's time for the pawn race.
5.hxg5 h4
6.g6 h3
7.g7 h2
8.g8=Q h1=Q
9.Qg7#
Hope to see you all next week!
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Note: that cryptic line of letters and numbers you see underneath each board diagram is a representation of the position in what is known as "Forsyth-Edwards Notation", or F.E.N. It's actually readable by humans. Most computer applications nowadays can read FEN, so those of you who may want to study the position, you can copy the line of FEN and paste into your chess app and it should automatically recreate the position on its display board. Or, Windows users can just "triple click" on it and the entire line will be highlighted so you can copy and paste it into your chess app.
___________
So that about wraps it up for this week. Chess thread tips, suggestions, bribes, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to my yahoo address: OregonMuse little-a-in-a-circle yahoo dott com.
Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and relax. Enjoy the world of animals.
Well, last night was a sad sad one here at the Satrose household. My daughter works at a small pet rescue shelter. (It ’s called Charming Pet Rescue and was started by one woman). An old feral dog had a litter of puppies a week ago and one of the pups wasn’t going to make it. My daughter brought it home because she didn’t want it to die alone. It was hard on her (and me!) to have to sit there and do all she could but know that it was going to die. And it did.
BUT the real story is that these small shelters DO make a difference, one dog at a time. Meet Kingston. He was a poor woe begotten mess of a dog that was dumped at the Shelter’s gate. He had a severe skin disease (I think it was a type of mange) and was in bad shape. Plus he did not want to be touched by anyone, having probably been mistreated.
But The staff at Charming got him medical care, worked with him, fostered him and found a forever home in the Northwest. Here is an amazing picture - you won’t believe it is the same dog!
There are happy endings. We just have to believe and work hard, and never give up.
Keep the faith! Love your pets, you are making a difference.
God Bless,
Satrose
So sorry you had to experience the heartbreak of that puppy's passing. Although a hard thing to do it was such the right thing to do. Thanks for sharing the positive news of shelter rescues.
***
This Big Poodle. He had to get paw surgery and had to wear the cone of shame. He was not happy. (No name given)
Hopefully Big Poodle is on the mend and is scarfing down snacks left and right. Thanks for your submission today.
***
Cousin of Ed and Fred; my grandpup, Oliver. So smart,funny, and very loving! Look at those paws!! -LASue
Paws? Look at those eyes asking, "Can I have a doggeh cookie please?!" Lovely pup, thank you for sharing.
***
Hello MisHum!
As previously mentioned, people sometimes move away and leave their furries in the street.
I found this one, or rather, she found me. Obviously an outdoor cat, older, female, long hair. No chip, but wearing a collar with the name “Audio”. Which seems appropriate because she has a very loud purr.
So, looks like I have a new foster charge, maybe a forever home for Audio.
She is keeping the mouse population down pretty good.
Kindest regards, navybrat
I saw the Subject line of Audio and I thought no way I can just post an audio clip. Big surprise when I opened the email and came across this pretty cat and a pretty neat story. Thanks for the contribution today.
***
Greetings, fellow moron!
I loved the pet thread today. I just realized that I should contribute to the community more. Long time reader, rare poster, etc. But some things will shake me out of my comfort zone.
I lost Auzzie yesterday. Brings a new meaning to Black Friday for me. He was 16+ (we don't really know) and he had what I hope was a wonderful life with us. He certainly seemed to enjoy it. He brought me so much happiness that I wanted to give you a picture of him in the hope that he could give a little happiness to the Moron community, even if it is just a brief smile and a "awwww".
Requiescat in pace, Auzzie.
Oh I 'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Auzzie lived a long life and from the looks of it a happy one in a beautiful location. My condolences.
***
This is Drago, been meaning to send something into the pet thread, but always forget until I read the Pet Thread. So, I send this now, for maybe next week. Not sure how long the waiting list may be.
Australian Shepherds are not from Australia, but a cattle dog bread from the American west…go figure. The wife ask what to name the pup as she was heading out the door to take him for his 1st Vet visit. I was kicking back watching McLintock. Chill Willis had just uttered the line "I'm still the ramrod of this outfit. That better be followed by a "yes sir"”. Well, Drago it is. He is wicked smart. He will look at you, cock his head to one side, and you can hear the wheels spinning. Barbara is retired now, and he is never more than 10 feet from her. Unless the UPS guy drives up, and he is at a dead run to give him what fore. The driver one time started to reach the back of his hand to let him get a whiff. Barbara yelled “don’t do that!”. At the UPS guy. Drago was crouched back on his haunches ready to leap. To his credit the driver could see that just because he was not barking, did not mean he was ready to become friends. Drago understands his job. Protect the homestead. I have 2 acres fenced in, and even though he can leap to get his 2 front paws and go over the rail fence. He doesn’t. He knows it his yard, and he defends it vigorously. He has only has 2 speeds a run, and flat out. I do not know how much of this little diatribe’s you want to use, but I could go on for hours about Drago. Definitely the “Ramrod of this outfit”.
“Paladin” Rios,
I love the movie McClintock. And the name Drago seems to fit your dog like a glove. What a wonderful companion you have there. Thanks for your contribution.
***
The tuxedo cat is Tiger, formerly a bookstore cat, now a cranky senior citizen.
The brown fuzzy cat is Hershey, a chocolate tabby Persian with defective ears. I got him two weeks ago. He’s about nine months old and thinks his name is “Ohmygod! No-o-o!!!” It’s been so long since I’ve had one, I’ve forgotten how rambunctious a young, healthy cat can be.
Captain Josepha Sabin
Thanks for the photo of 2 cats together. So you can herd them? Your name for the kitteh isn't bad. I once had a puppy named Dammit!!!! We appreciate your contribution today.
***
Long Time Lurker here. Love this thread and all the morons who take part. This is Gabriele or Gabby for short. She’s a “shorkipoo” for all you purists. She’s also fearless and protective and doesn’t realize that she’s 12pounds. I’d take a bullet for this dog! Love this site and this pet thread. God bless you and the USA!
Looks like Gabby is one little fluff bucket. Fearless, protective and fluffy. What a combination!!! Thank you for sharing this afternoon.
***
Been quiet on the Pet Thread sonce Splotchy passed. MegaRoy doesn't really snuggle, he's more of an ambush predator. 17lbs of Maine Coon cat, ambushing me in the dark. Eventually, I'll get his ass on camera and post that. Probably get a girly squee when he 'gets' me in the bargan.
Put my game camera in the side yard to see what I could see. Got 120 videos over the next week. Mostly squirrels and chipmonks. One monster of a groundhog, neighbor kitty, several racoons. And these cat killers here.
Three coyotes moving through. Now I need to figure out how to trap the bastards.
Link goes to Rumble, because eff Google and EweToob.
https://rumble.com/vbgw0l-coyotes-in-the-side-yard.html
Here's a Tiny URL if you prefer that.
https://tinyurl.com/y3x6hhuf
BifBewalski
Looks like you need some hounds and a .223. Good luck getting rid of those predators.
***
Elvis is my 10-month old Blue-Eyed Bernese Mtn Dog - In my town of Parker Co he was just voted "top dog" so we're kinda nuts about him..
https://www.instagram.com/theelvisshow/
Been a daily reader since this site started. Loooonnnnng time.. - John
Well, it was hard to select a photo, there were so many John. Quite the pooch you have there. Thanks for being a long time supporter of the site. And thank you for sharing Elvis with us.
***
Great pets. Great stories. Great Morons. You folks certainly do have big hearts and wonderful companions. Thanks so much for sharing today.
If you have something you would like to submit please reach out to us at petmorons at gmail dot com.
Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread, December 5, 2020 [KT]
—Open Blogger
Hi, everybody! Isn't the shot above amazing?
I thought I'd send in this snap I got of a Bald Eagle. The eagle was perched at the top of a fir tree, and I cropped this image from that shot. Lizabth
Thanks!
I love it, Lizabth. I think others will, too!
Today, we have some American Farm History and a Vegetable Profile with some recipes. And some special composting directions to help you grow some great veggies (or other plants).
It's still catalog season. You may be able to get some gift ideas. If you're not out in the Great Outdoors like Lizabth, take a little time to dream.
"I cannot think of another insect that's displaced so many people, changed the economy of rural America, and was so environmentally injurious that everybody clearly rallied around and said we have to get rid of it," says Dominic Reisig, a professor of entomology at North Carolina State University.
The havoc the boll weevil wrought on the Southern economy was so disruptive that some scholars argue it was one of the factors that spurred the Great Migration--the movement of 6 million African-Americans from the South to urban areas in the North. As the weevil destroyed cotton farms, many farmworkers moved elsewhere for employment, including urban centers.
So why would any town want to honor such a pest with an expensive statue, let alone call it a herald of prosperity? To understand that requires jumping back over 100 years in history, to when the insect first invaded American farmland.
What happened in Enterprise:
H.M. Sessions, a man who lived in town and acted as a seed broker to farmers in need, saw the devastation and knew he needed to act.
Farmers could switch to other crops that wouldn't support the boll weevil, but cotton generated the highest profits and grew on marginal land--"sandy, well-drained land that not a lot of crops can tolerate," Reisig explains. One of the few crops that could tolerate those conditions: peanuts. After visiting North Carolina and Virginia, where he saw peanuts being grown, Sessions came back with peanut seeds and sold them to area farmer C. W. Baston.
"In 1916, Mr. Baston planted his entire crop in peanuts. That year, he earned $8,000 from his new crop, and paid off his prior years of debt and still had money left over," Bradley says.
Since peanuts replaced cotton in Enterprise, the boll weevil has been brought under control in many places through the use of pheromone traps.
Heard of Pima cotton? Cotton was grown by the Pima Indians in the olden days, then cultivation was dropped. Six seeds remained, and the strain was revived. But that is not the strain we call "Pima cotton" today. It came from a USDA station near the Pima reservation. Unrelated. Interesting.
Around here, Acala (upland) cotton is grown. Here's a comparison of Pima and Upland cotton. It's against the law to grow other kinds of cotton locally, say, in gardens.
Cotton for Gardeners
There is a related species, black cotton. The leaves are dark. The cotton is white. Quality of the cotton is probably not as high as that of Pima cotton. The opening flowers are the most attractive thing about the plant, I think.
Putterers might be able to use the dried pods and cotton for crafts, something like the ones below, made with regular white cotton (burrs as ears) and dried okra pods as hats. The genomes of five species of cotton have recently been sequenced. Cotton is big business.
One of several cotton pests that is still with us is the Red Cotton Bug. Also known as the Cotton Stainer or Okra Bug. Nymph seen here on Okra. This bug also attacks Hibiscus. I've never seen one.
Cotton is related to okra. They are in the Mallow family, along with hibiscus, marshmallow, etc. They are less closely related to the plants that give us cocoa and kola nuts, as well as to linden trees.
Vegetable Profile - Okra
That black cotton above kind of reminds me of the red varieties of okra, like Burgundy. If that little fuzz on the pods bothers you, rub it off just before you wash the pods. And wear gloves and long sleeves when harvesting okra.
I'm a little surprised that this variety does well in Vermont. Some varieties of okra are day length sensitive. Check before choosing if you live in the North. You can start Okra indoors if you live in a short-season climate.
Try picking this variety smaller than shown above, pan-frying whole, "aggressively", until crisp and dressing with roasted tomatoes and garlic.
Usually this kind of dish is a celebration of a single vegetable.
If you don't want to eat okra, you can plant it for the flowers in the garden, then use it for decoration in the house. Below, a variety of pod forms. All edible when picked young, woody when allowed to mature.
And pods dolled up.
Seed Catalogs
Several people mentioned catalogs last week. We can add a few details as people comment on their favorite veggies or other plants from the catalogs.
They have a Goth Garden seed packet this year. Hmmmm. It includes Dracula Celosia.
Sal likes the Whole Seed Catalog "just for fun reading materiel. I may actually buy from them for 2021."
I am not familiar with this one. Though I am familiar with Baker Creek, which puts it out. They have a LOT of fascinating stuff. Anybody have a favorite from them?
Sal also notes Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for the Southeast. They're based in Virginia, specialize in heritage plants. They sell some cotton for gardeners. Including a light brown variety.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange has a nice "All About Okra" page. It includes history, cultivation tips and recipes. There's one for Pickled Okra. Ever thought about making "coffee" from roasted okra seeds? They say it tastes just like caffeine-free coffee. Maybe that impression has sometimes been affected by necessity - interruptions in supply of coffee, etc.
Okra has beautiful flowers. You can see the resemblance to Hibiscus, Rose of Sharon and Hollyhocks.
They also sell 21 kinds of okra and a book about okra.
Twilley's may sell 51 kinds of pumpkins, but Southern Exposure sells 66 varieties of greens! Garden huckleberries. And some flowers. Eight kinds of marigolds. They seem to like French marigolds best.
You might recall that I said last week that 'Dainty Marietta' (Crosman Seed Co.) was hard to find. This is 'Naughty Marietta'.
Old fashioned marigold. Golden-yellow single flowers with splashes of mahogany. 10-in. plants. (Similar to "Dainty Marietta," but somehow "Naughty Marietta" gets more attention...)
Tashkent:
[Found outside an old Muslim school in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 1992. A favorite of flower seed collector Bob Bell. Introduced 1999 by SESE.] 78 days. 24-30 in. tall plants with a sweet marigold fragrance. Lacks the common astringent odor of other marigolds. The plants are so fragrant they sweeten the air on a hot summer day. Bears numerous 1 1/2 -2 in. single petalled flowers that have yellow centers and velvet mahogany petals, with a fine orange border. Petals change from mahogany-red to orange-red as they mature. One of our favorites.
Ronster remembers Gurneys. I remember them as having a slightly tabloid vibe in the past. They seem a little more corporate now. They have started offering a few interspecies stone fruit trees. Some of them still seem like a bit of a gamble to me, depending on your climate. This is the Honey Pearls Nectacot:
Flyover got a catalog from the socialists at Fedco. They are less annoying than some socialists. Catalog is aimed at market growers and shipping costs are high for small orders. You may be tempted to by large packets of seeds.
One advantage of the Fedco catalog is that they give you good information on how long it takes to get its varieties to maturity. They are in New Englands, in a short-season area.
I have been tempted by the Rose de Berne tomato. The "Brandywine of continental Europe". I have grown some 'Cosmonaut Volkov' tomatoes from their seed that were so good they made your eyes roll back in your head. Didn't last all season in our heat, though.
Pat* recommends Territorial Seed Company. It is very informative, especially if you live in the PNW.
Here's something different: A little hardy kiwi that doesn't need a pollinator, on a vine that isn't too rampant. Doesn't say if it attracts cats. Prolific is its name.
Special Tutorial on Making Compost
How to Make (Lots of) Compost: the Very Basic Version
-by The Famous Pat* and Pat*'s Hubby
This recipe is meant for larger properties, it's not for just dealing with kitchen waste. We recommend having the following items available:
Grass
Leaves
Water
Wire cages
Pitchfork
A good amount of room
Patience
First, find spots where you can put two different series of wire cages, one for leaves and one for compost. The compost cages should be located where you can get water to them if you live in dry country. Our cages are 3 feet tall, 4 to 5 feet across or so, made from fence wire (holes are 2 inches by 4 inches), wired into a circle. Some stuff will fall out the sides - just pick it up and throw it back in later.
We started in the fall, by collecting compostable leaves - leaves that don't have waxy coatings, that are generally smaller, or easy to shred. In our experience, maple, linden, sweet gum, apple, and crabapple work well. Oak (waxy coating) and sycamore (just won't shred) do not work. You may have to experiment to find out what leaves on your property will work best. If you have a shredder, shred the leaves before putting them into the leaf cages - they'll take up less room and break down faster.
Pile the leaves into the leaf cages. Wait for the grass to grow.
When you mow the grass, collect the excess clippings, either with a bagger, or using a sweeper after mowing (we use a Brinley model for that, and for gathering some of the leaves). Throw some saved leaves at the bottom of your first compost cage, then some grass. Alternate. Mix things up with the pitchfork - and don't let the grass clump up, mix it in while it's freshly cut if you possibly can. You can also throw in fruit and veggie waste from the kitchen and garden, crushed eggshells, and paper coffee filters with grounds. We avoid meat scraps, sticks, weeds, fibrous plant stems or rinds, and any plant material that has had a disease or pest problem. Continue adding material until a cage is full.
The pile will need some water in order to turn into compost. You don't want the pile to be dry, or no breakdown will happen. But you don't want it sopping wet, either. If you are in an area with regular rainfall, just try it and see what happens. If you are in arid country, like the southwest or the intermountain West (where we live), you'll need to help it out. We use mini-sprayers attached to drip irrigation tubing to dampen the pile - they're wired onto the top of each compost cage, and they run whenever the garden drippers run.
Once cage 1 is full, use the pitchfork to turn the material from cage 1 into cage 2. Start filling cage 1 again.
Winter Rye (Baker Creek), not lawn grass as above.
When cage 1 is full once again, cage 2 is turned over into cage 3 - and cage 1 is turned over into cage 2 - and cage 1 starts filling again. Continue this process with as many cages as you like. The turning process is how we aerate our compost. As we get closer to finished compost, I try to break up any clumps as I go. I have a pair of garden gloves that I wear just for working with compost, so I can do the breaking-up by hand.
Our yard has a series of 4 compost cages. It takes 2 years or more for the starting material to become good compost. We're using our compost to turn a chunk of paddock (originally made of just clay and sand) into a good corn-growing bed. I dump the final, fully composted material into the expanding corn bed, and Husband tills it in, each spring.
One lesson I learned the hard way: you may get plants growing in the compost. One year we had a huge number of tomato plants growing out of the top of a cage. I let them grow, though Husband told me not to. But I regretted not listening to him! When I tried to turn the compost later, the roots were everywhere, and made the work much harder than it needed to be. So if plants grow in the compost, either transplant them, or pull them out! (Pull weeds out ASAP - don't let weed seeds get in the compost.)
Rose de Berne, grown with compost
(not in a compost cage)
If you don't have a lot of room - or if you don't have a lot of need for compost for soil improvement - you could create just one leaf cage and one compost cage. Fill the leaf cage half full. If you mix grass and leaves in the compost cage, until the compost cage is full, the leaf cage should be empty. You can then turn the compost from one cage to the other - I'd say about twice a year, in spring and fall - until you have compost that looks like soil.
*****
Thanks, Pat* and Hubby! We are impressed!
If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden
at that g mail dot com place
Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker.
Critical Race Theory has received a lot of attention recently, especially with the President's executive orders aimed at ending its promotion in the federal government, in the military and among federal contractors. The opposition to Critical Race Theory Training may have really gotten started in Seattle, though. It was there that Christopher Rufo pointed out that this training entailed government-sponsored segregation.
But before Critical Race Theory, there was Critical Legal Theory. Again, Christopher Rufo provides a recent example from Seattle:
In October, the Seattle City Council floated legislation to provide an exemption from prosecution for misdemeanor crimes for any citizen who suffers from poverty, homelessness, addiction, or mental illness.
Under the proposed ordinance, courts would have to dismiss all so-called "crimes of poverty" -- which, according to the city's former public-safety advisor, would cover more than 90 percent of all misdemeanor cases citywide. In effect, the legislation would create a new class of "untouchables," protected from consequences by the city's powerbrokers.
This is the latest and most brazen effort in the city's campaign to establish what might be called a "reverse hierarchy of oppression." The underlying theory is that society has condemned the lower class to a life of poverty and stigma, which leads to addiction, madness, and indigence.
The poor, in the logic of Seattle's progressive elites, are thus forced to commit crimes -- including violent crimes -- to secure their very existence. Therefore, as society is the perpetrator of this inequality, the crimes of the poor must be forgiven. The crimes are transformed into an expression of social justice.
Lisa Herbold, the city councilwoman who proposed the legislation, must have known that it would be controversial. Though she chairs the council's Public Safety Committee, she attempted to launder the ordinance through the budgetary process, under the justification that it would reduce the cost of court proceedings and jail usage. During a five-minute presentation buried in an hours-long budget hearing, Herbold framed her argument in social justice terms . . . Neither questions from other councilmembers nor public comment was permitted.
Fortunately, a local watchdog organization flagged the proposal and raised an alarm in the media. . .
This proposal would probably save the city money when businesses and residents left, too.
Andrew Kelman raised an earlier alarm about where Critical Race Theory was taking us in a 2018 piece in Quillette, Beyond All Warnings: The Radical Assault on Truth in the Law. After the summer riots, CHAZ/CHOP and now the proposed changes in treatment of misdemeanors in Seattle, this piece seemed especially applicable to the city.
"Law is the worst of the bunch.... I had no idea how deep the corruption in law had gotten until last year. I have been talking to law students and professors, and it's absolutely unbelievable." Dr. Jordan Peterson, January 2018.
Dr. Jordan Peterson claims left-wing radicals are corrupting legal teaching across the Western world. At first glance, these extraordinary claims about the teaching of law seem unlikely. Jurisprudence is generally considered a dry subject of study, and the relentless application of reason and logic are the hallmark of conventional legal scholars and argumentation.
But there are a few signs that Peterson may be right, and the significant influence of 'postmodern neo-Marxists' on the legal academy is undeniable and pernicious. For more than a generation, a coalition of radical scholars has been schooling students in doctrines they consider above criticism.
This piece covers a lot of territory, and I think it is worth careful consideration. A few short excerpts:
The philosophy behind this movement, known as Critical Legal Theory, has its roots in the 1970s, when postmodern neo-Marxist radicals began challenging and overturning accepted norms and standards. . .
Critical Legal Theory spawned its own substrata: Critical Race Theory (CRT), Feminist Legal Theory and Queer Theory. These influential subgroups eventually came to dominate the movement, as the role of gender, race and sexuality rose in prominence. The narratives, ideology, and vocabulary have become familiar to us all: "systemic oppression", "institutional racism", and "white, cis-gendered, male privilege".
Like any set of academic theories, it was once subject to the kind of lively criticism one would expect of enlightened institutions dedicated to the pursuit of the truth. But, sometime in the 1990s, its proponents hit upon a clever way of advancing their case that would place their philosophy above criticism. When their fellow professors would point out fundamental conceptual flaws, they would simply smear them as racists, sexists and the contemporary equivalent of being alt-right. And it worked beautifully.
The treatment of law professors Daniel Farber and Suzanna Sherry demonstrated their success, even in the face of brilliant critique. In 1997 Farber and Sherry exposed what they saw as the corruption of American legal thinking by postmodernist radicals in their book, Beyond All Reason: The Radical Assault on Truth in American Law.
In terms near identical to Peterson's evaluation twenty years later, their prescient analysis highlighted how left-wing radicals were perverting the ideals of the law as originally inspired by the Enlightenment. They demonstrated that the radicals' postmodern theories conflicted deeply with their own laudable goals of racial justice and progressive dialogue. They showed that these theories, particularly identity politics and White Privilege, had anti-Semitic and anti-Asian implications, undermined community relations and impeded dialogue.
Moreover, they charged that radicals were hypocrites, treating discrimination against Jews, whites and Asians as unworthy of the same criticism as against blacks. . . .
You may recognize the stories of some of the brave, embattled people who have pushed back, highlighted in this piece. There is one dig at Steve Bannon for saying, "Let them call you racists".
The piece ends:
Conservatives and classical liberals must unite to find a new way to end bigotry without the tribalism of extremist identity politics. The tale of Farber and Sherry is a cautionary message. Twenty years of increasing corruption in the law has passed, and we are now beyond all warnings.
Are there enough conservatives and classical liberals left to do this?
You can compare Kelman's piece with the Wiki on critical legal studies, which is criticized for being short on citations.
Quillette also published a reply to Kelman's piece in which the author notes that there is more variation in the theories of proponents of Critical Legal Theory than Kelman suggests, and that:
The challenge of legal indeterminancy didn't actually originate in critical legal theory. Legal realists such as Justices Oliver Wendell Holmes and Jerome Frank noted that "the life of the law is not logic: it is experience."
I am not sure this helps the people of Seattle much.
UPDATE: In November, the King County Council approved a different, but related, plan: Instead of facing a judge, juveniles and adults accused of a first-time, non-violent felony offense will be offered an alternative where a non-profit community panel will decide how the accused person can be held accountable for their crime.
Wonder if their deliberations will be secret?
You might want read from the top of the thread where I found this, too.
Good morning Horde. Enjoy your coffee break, opine and bloviate away. Just a couple of rules, be nice to one another, no running with sharp objects and no peeing in the pool. Have a great weekend.
Just need another stack where the picture is the top half of some kind of fissure.
This is the bullshit they're teaching these days. I could point out that the problem with one system vs the other isn't that one is “for corporations” and the other is “for individuals”, the problem is than when the system is based upon a central authority stealing from the people and redistributing the money, no matter who or what name you do it in, you will have individuals and groups frantically trying to get their hands on that money (in the name of X, of course) like remoras on a shark. Eventually (read:really quickly), all that the system is is one giant furball of thieves all trying to get their hands on money that they didn't earn and have no right to. Oh, and aside from that, what's really fucking funny is that the descriptions themselves are of systems that are fascistic in nature, not classically socialist (although the two are no more than variations on a theme).
I had an uncle who was a great Russian Roulette player. He played for years and only ever lost once.
The difference:
Are you there yet? (Hopefully most of you know the original meme)
That's a weird name for a kid. Maybe they picked it because she got pregnant after he did his business inside her.
Valid point, but I think the further back you go, the fewer actually “mentally disturbed” people there are. Society today creats mentally disturbed people. On purpose (see opening picture/quote).
Unfair to mark down the kid because you didn't think it through
Tonight's ONT is brought to you by Johnny Ringo:
Doc Holliday: A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it. Wyatt Earp: What does he want? Doc Holliday: Revenge. Wyatt Earp: For what? Doc Holliday: Bein' born. pic.twitter.com/hrkwR4fUkX
Confused Old Man: If I Have a Disagreement With Kamala I'll Just Pretend I Have Advanced Cognitive Decline and Resign as Being Mentally Incompetent to Serve as President
—Ace
Well, that's the gist of Biden's statement.
The media is saying "No big deal, this is just a joke."
Ah.
Ahhhh.
Oh, a joke?
Weird. As Julie Kelly pointed out, one time Trump made a joke about Hillary's deleted emails and he got a three year FBI/Special Counsel investigation for it.
Joe Biden is asked about his disagreements with Kamala Harris on certain issues:
"Like I told Barack, if I reach something where there's a fundamental disagreement we have based on a moral principle, I'll develop some disease and say I have to resign." pic.twitter.com/SLcvrwaPCA
Meanwhile, this confused old man is also getting his fake statistics mixed up, claiming that 250,000 people will die of covid in America in a single month.
Good point made here in reply:
This is a false claim that is contradicted by TEH SCIENCE (TM), which estimates that, at most 25,000 people will die.
So this is "misinformation" and "deceptive information" about covid.
Where's the Twitter warning?
Where is the rebuke from YouTube with the link to the correct (or at least accepted) numbers?
These are not "fact checks." They're politics checks. "Fact checks" would not be reserved for Republicans only.
"I DON'T WANT TO SCARE ANYBODY here but understand the facts: we're likely to lose another 250K people—dead, between now & January."
Yet, this is TEN TIMES higher than current projections.
Biden is already making egregious statements. No one will fact check or *dispute* him.🔻 pic.twitter.com/qpWbD0KXTJ
On December 16th, in honor of those Bostonians who dressed like Indians (and thus committed a terrible hate crime) who had the audacity to dump King George's tea into Boston Harbor rather than pay the King's tax, I will be holding a Mask-Burning Party, my place, at 6:30 PM PDT. If there are any morons/moronettes nearby (SE Washington State), drop me an email and I'll send directions.
The colonists protested taxation without representation and the suspension of their rights as British subjects.
Me, I'm not protesting a damn thing.
I AM asserting my rights as a free American citizen. I have the right to free speech and the right to peacefully assemble. These are not rights conferred by government, nor are they rights the government can revoke; they are granted to me by a power greater than the government. I intend to exercise my rights fully, despite the unconstitutional edicts of Governor Inslee.
I further assert that I have the right to pursue happiness - and the non-scientific twaddle about masks gives me the sads. So, I'm going to burn some of mine in my front yard. That will make me happier. I'm inviting friends, all three of them, neighbors, and random passers-by.
The only people not invited? Well, the petty tyrants, of course. And, those folks who are in the danger zone for the WuFlu - elderly, one foot on a banana peel, the other in the casket. We're Americans - we're capable of good judgment. (Most of the time and when it counts, that is.) This flu is dangerous to one group. Toast us from afar, please, and we'll return the compliment.
If you can't make it to my Mask-Burning Party, I understand. Wednesday nights are a tough party night, and I live in the middle of nowhere, the epitome of fly-over, drive-around, you can't get here territory. So, consider having party of your own. The Boston Tea Party wasn't the only event of its kind - there were similar splashes up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Go wild, have your own party, laugh at the progs, remind them of who and what you are .
Ornery. Independent. Americans.
******
Joining me? Holding your own party and want to swap pictures and video?
David Perdue: Boy, I Can't Wait Until We Can Start Cutting Deals With President Biden!!!
—Ace
When Christine O'Donnell beat Mike Castle in the Delaware Senate primary, I stopped criticizing her and I stopped saying she would lose.
I told cobloggers like Gabe to lay off.
Before the primary, I felt it was my duty to tell people she would lose.
But not after it.
After the primary I felt peace. I'd done my duty. And there wasn't anything more I can do.
I feel the same way now about the Senate Republicans.
They've now chosen to lose the Senate.
I can't persuade them to stop losing it. They're determined to lose.
This has nothing to do with little old me.
They're actively demoralizing the base and gleefully spiting the base with every word and every vote.
I -- you, we -- have warned them again and again: This is how you commit political suicide.
We try to tell them what we, as constituents, actually want.
They ignore us, and get the "straight dope" about what the base wants from Noted Tribunes of the People such as The Bulwark, The Dispatch, and National Review, and various Koch-suckers at neoliberal AEI like Tim Carney.
See, that's where you get accurate reports of what the vox populi is saying.
Right?
Right.
We keep telling them: You can either win as populists, or lose as corporatists.
But they keep deciding to see if they can squeak out a bare 1% win as corporatists.
And they will keep doing so until 30 of them fail out of the Senate.
You can't stop a suicidal person from committing suicide. At some point -- they will find the razor. They will find the pills.
Once again, I will sit back in silence and let people enjoy their own choices.
I can't stop the Party of Losers from losing.
I'll more or less stop talking about the Senate in an electoral context.
There is nothing the GOP can do about it now, and there is nothing I can do about it, and there is nothing you guys can do about it.
And after they lose the Senate and deliver one-party control to the Democrats, they can write another post-election autopsy stating that what really did the GOP in was not giving amnesty to illegals and expanding immigration from one to three million per year.
Again.
The GOPe can't even fake it until after the runoff election. They can't sell us out fast enough.
Posted by: TheQuietMan
After Damning Video of Ballot Stuffing Goes Viral, True Warrior of the Constitution Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Finally Calls for Signature Audit After Refusing to Do So for Weeks
—Ace
(BTW, I'm bumping the non-political chat thread right below this one.)
"Our" party is one of incompetents, cowards, and simple grifters.
Put them all out of office and start over.
@kylenabecker
GEORGIA.🚨
GA Gov. Kemp is calling on Sec. of State Raffensperger to call for a *SIGNATURE AUDIT* of votes.
Kemp appeared on The Ingraham Angle in the wake of damning security cam footage that showed poll workers in Fulton County illegally processing ballots with no observers.
So only in the wake of that video does he decide that it might be a good idea to bother checking of the signatures on the ballots even resemble those of the voters allegedly casting them.
The Secretary of State, however, is refusing to conduct the signature audit. He's making up excuses.
This column does not in any way allege that Democrats, Joe Biden, the Mainstream media, Big Tech, or any other entrenched, left-leaning institution in this country rigged the 2020 election.
God forbid anyone would think such a thing.
If this column were to even come close to making such an assertion, it would be flagged, banned, and removed from social media platforms and other avenues of entry to this website in an effort to prevent the unwashed masses from informing themselves of the facts surrounding this past ballot process.
So, let us repeat: This column does not accuse the Biden campaign or the Democratic Party of cheating in the 2020 election.
Got it?
That said if they were going to cheat... here's what they would have done.
First, they'd make sure that the voter rolls were full of ineligible voters. Deceased people, non-citizens, and people who have moved out of state would not be purged from the rolls, and there would be no mechanism in place to purge those ineligible voters.
Further, they wouldn't have any preemptive check to ensure that only eligible voters registered in the first place....
Next, they'd modify existing election laws so that voters could mail-in ballots on a whim and not for a specific "absentee voting" reason. This way, in-person voting (the most secure kind of voting) would diminish, and mail-in voting (the least secure) would increase.
Read the whole thing.
Sarah Hoyt re-linked Trump's speech about voter fraud, and urges people to watch it.
Good. We're going to have to build up a case for primarying these motherfuckers-- they must be put on record servicing their Tech Monopolist Donor Overlords.
We have to make it very clear who they are serving, if we want to boot them out of office.
And we do have to boot them out of office.
They must be made to understand that their Corporate Cronies give them money, but only we give them votes.
And we can withhold those votes, or send them to a primary candidate, or send them to a third party candidate.
If James Inhofe and Mike Lee and Jim Jordan and James Sensenbrenner think they can fucking get hundreds of thousands of votes from Google and FaceBook -- well, let's see them put that plan into action.
You want to override the veto? Good. Put your name on it fellas. Stop just living in sin with your corporate masters; put a ring on it.
Let the voters know who you actually serve.
Meanwhile, Joel Kotkin writes that the real fascist threat isn't Donald Trump.
(Most of the Trump Derangement has been edited out of this excerpt. But it's there in the original.)
Under the kindly gaze of Uncle Joe, we soon may find ourselves living under an updated version of the fascist "corporate state" -- an alliance between political leaders and a handful of ultra-rich, ultra-powerful companies that increasingly dominate the economy and culture. This new American-style corporate state reflects not a conspiracy but the politics of a society with unprecedented concentrations of wealth and power.
These firms, based largely in the tech industry, have benefited massively from the lockdowns and now account for nearly 40 percent of the value of the Standard and Poor index, a level of concentration unprecedented in modern history, As the giants get even more gigantic, up to 30 percent of America's small businesses face bankruptcy and the ranks of the poor have grown by 8 million.
...
Biden raised record sums from the corporate elite, notably the tech oligarchs and their Wall Street allies. Among financial firms, communications companies and lawyers, Biden outraised Trump by 5-to-1 or more. Besides providing money, the tech giants actively helped direct Biden's campaign and volunteered their digital savvy, with Mark Zuckerberg himself financing election day operations in many critical states, something sure to titillate the tinfoil-hat wing of the GOP.
Like many Americans, tech moguls and elite financiers rightly despised Trump's crudity and nativist memes, but they were more immediately motivated by self-interest--starting with their need to maintain a pipeline of immigrant workers to collusively keep their labor costs down and to keep maintain trade and commerce with China. Biden also had the virtue of being able to stop real progressives, like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who openly challenged oligarchal power.
...
Not surprisingly the new regime will likely favor controls on information that fit their own interests and inclinations. Despite suggestions to the contrary by the New York Times, history suggests any meaningful effort to rein in the oligarchs is now dead on arrival. There will be little restraint as platforms like Facebook and Google accelerate their attempts to "curate" (read: control) news--or in Amazon's case, remove books or videos--to minimize or exclude those who violate their world-view.
What we see now is something of an American version of the Chinese system of power concentration and control--the leading fascist model of today. In America this will be achieved not through government but by allowing a handful of private companies to control information. Indeed Richard Stengel, head of the Biden transition team for media, has openly advocated controls on "hate speech," a conveniently vague term. Such an approach is widely supported by organizations like the German Marshall Fund as well as prominent "liberal" legal scholars who openly praise China's censorious approach.
This notion of thought control has been emerging for at least a decade on issues like climate change and more recently the pandemic. It also was all too evident during the recent election as platforms like Facebook and Twitter made assertive editorial judgements to cut off stories about Hunter Biden's laptop even as they allowed equally absurd anti-Trump conspiracies to travel widely.
This new emerging American corporate state provides a perfect way for the oligarchs to consolidate power and boost their profits. Corporate lobbyists, working for Wall Street, tech and other giant companies all but assure that Biden, like Barack Obama, will wink and nod as Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google acquire or crush competitors, continuing the erosion in anti-trust enforcement that's happened under both parties. Monopolistic control is critical to maintaining the enormous profit margins and unprecedented wealth of the oligarchal class.
...
We cannot hope to have a functional (as opposed to a nominal) democracy when property and information are controlled by a small number of companies tightly allied with political power. This is not either a right-wing issue or a left-wing one, but a matter of protecting our republic before it is too late.
Tucker Carlson: As America Faces One of the Highest Levels of Unemployment Ever, Republican Senators Decide to Flood India and China with H1-B Visas
—Ace
As he points out: These aren't the lettuce-picking jobs the GOP Corporate Graft class routinely says "Americans don't want to do."
These are the high-paying tech jobs that Americans do want to do -- and in fact, the jobs Americans are supposed to train to get when they're laid off from other industries flooded with immigrant labor. ("Learn to code," peons.)
And the GOP -- the GOP whose only constituents are megacorporations and, strangely, the tech monopolies seeking to eradicate the GOP from government and society generally -- decided to give high-paying jobs to foreigners.
Again.
Is everyone psyched about voting in two more GOP Senators in Georgia?
They'll really look out for us, right?
You know, there is a very strong and very plausible suspicion that the GOP has colluded with the Democrats to rig the election against Trump -- so they can get back to endlessly servicing their only real constituents, megacorporations and tech monopolies.
The GOP demonstrates here that that's true -- they could not even wait until the Commander in Thief Biden is sworn in before proving their allegiance to their plutocrat masters once again.
Here's what FaceBook is already doing -- before the Republican Corporate Senate decided to do new favors for them:
“Department of Justice’s lawsuit alleges Facebook engaged in intentional and widespread violations of the law, by setting aside positions for temporary visa holders instead of considering interested and qualified U.S. workers,” said Asst AG Eric Dreiband of Civil Rights Division. https://t.co/4UWq50VDxn
PS, yes, I know: The boycott. I looked for a non-Fox video of the clip but apparently, now that Fox has joined the left, YouTube is actually taking down pirated clips.
President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday revealed that he broke his foot tripping on a rug after a shower as he chased one of his dogs and grabbed its tail.
Biden’s campaign previously explained the hairline fracture by saying Biden fell while playing with the dog, but did not mention the shower or tugging the animal's tail.
The injury requires Biden, who turned 78 last month, to wear a boot for weeks.
"What happened was I got out of the shower. I got a dog and anybody who's been around my house knows -- dropped, little pup dropped a ball in front of me. And for me to grab the ball," Biden told CNN journalist Jake Tapper in his first post-election joint interview with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
"And I'm walking through this little alleyway to get to the bedroom. And I grabbed the ball like this and he ran. And I'm joking, running after him and grab his tail. And what happened was that he slid on a throw rug. And I tripped on the rug he slid on. That's what happened. Oh man, not a very exciting story."
Yeah, this decrepit old man was chasing a dog around.
"That's what happened."
No, here's what happened: This ancient credibly-accused rapist broke his foot just getting out of bed, but they're making up a story about dogs and tails and monkeyshines to play down the fact of how truly fragile and decrepit he is.
The media contacted the criminals involved in this ballot-box-stuffing scheme and asked them if they committed vote fraud. They said "no." The media declared: "The story is discredited!"
You know who's echoing them on that?
Erick Erickson. He's decided that asking the accused criminal if he's guilty of the crime constitutes a full and probing investigation.
About that video of the ballots in Fulton County, here's the actual story: https://t.co/0EXFfM93ck
Mr. Snerdly points out that the leftwing media is boycotting all stories about fraud:
You cannot tell me that the NYT, WAPO, The Hill, Politico, MSNBC, CNN are not AWARE there is video that shows illegal, improper conduct in Georgia. The Governor of the state is aware of it and has commented on it. This is journalistic malpractice.
By the way, Erick Erickson soon returned to his primary interest: relentlessly campaigning for someone to put his ugly trogface on television again:
The amount of energy spent trying to come up with new rules by the left to block conservatives from television probably contributes to climate change. https://t.co/tXCiabMkIj
First they came for the straight white guys, but I didn't say anything, because I wasn't a straight white guy.
Then they came for straight white women, but I didn't say anything, because I wasn't a straight white woman.
Then they came for the white Hispanics, but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a white Hispanic.
Then they came for the brown Hispanics, but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a brown Hispanic.
Then they came for the straight black men, but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a straight black man.
Then they came for the gay conservatives, but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a gay conservative.
Then they came for the gay black conservatives, but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a gay black conservative.
Then they came for the one-eyed genderfluid feminist muslim midget furry twink who believe that climate change will destroy the earth in 20 years instead of 12, but I didn't say anything because I wasn't a one-eyed genderfluid feminist muslim yada yada yada.
Then I got tired of them coming for people and thought, this is really getting ridiculous, why do they keep coming for different groups of people, and will they ever stop? Why can't they leave me alone? Can't they do that? What would be wrong with that?
Yay, the Bulwark now has a discord Whatever you do, don't raid it, guys Where's the companion discord where you can hit on the wives of the ineffectual manlet shut-ins in the main discord A friend answers: "You can make sub-channels. I'm sure there is a "talk dirty to my wife" channel."
@tomselliott
8h
Just flipped on MSNBC and the first thing I hear is Joe Scarborough say in a depressed voice, "I read and re-read Joan Didion a lot these days"
So are you guys missing Fox News? Someone in the biz pointed out that Chris Stirewalt sure doesn't seem to be on TV much lately. But he's keeping his job, because fuck you, "fringe" "far right" "radical." By the way, a source tells me that this "purge" that has Jennifer Griffin so upset is about, again, Deep State/Democrat Military Complex resistance to bringing the boys back home. Forever Wars forever!
DaveinTexas' venerable Crap Tree post is up. It's not Xmas without it. [geoff]
“For the governor, COVID-19 restrictions are apparently optional and penalty free. But for Churches or anyone worshipping in their own home with someone who does not live there, COVID-19 restrictions are mandatory and enforced via criminal penalties.” SCOTUS. That's the polite way to say "Go pound sand". [Mis. Hum.]
TFW you convince your friends you're not a slasher on a spree.
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