Here lieth the lesson for government officials and policy makers: Think carefully before crossing the lines that give reasonable men pause. David Cole
Quote III
“There are a lot of variables. I understand that. We didn’t know what the social distancing would actually amount to. I get it, but we were all wrong. “So, I’m sort of out of the guessing business, right?"Gov. Andrew Cuomo, (D-NY)
“He thought it might get a laugh. It didn’t. And to be honest, I wasn’t laughing either when it was relayed to me. Because I knew how it would be perceived.” Governor Karen Whitmer (Nazi-MI)
On Monday around 8am, a white woman named Amy Cooper was walking her dog unleashed in a protected area of New York City’s Central Park, a wooded space called The Ramble.
Christian Cooper (no relation), a Black man and a bird-watcher, asked Amy to leash her dog. Dogs must be leashed in Central Park from 9am to 9pm, but in the Ramble they must be leashed at all times. Christian later said that he had been worried about the delicate ecosystem of The Ramble and the way in which the dog might affect the birds.
Amy, clearly offended, responded by saying that she was going to call the police on him. The video Christian took ended up online, and almost instantly went viral.
In response to the video, many on social media began to speculate and insist that Amy Cooper was a Trump supporter and a member of the “MAGA” movement.
However, campaign contribution information — with donations to Democrats such as Barack Obama, Pete Buttigieg, and John Kerry — leaked online earlier today appeared to suggest that Amy actually identifies as a liberal. This matters, because in this political era, during this most critical US presidential election, it is necessary that we understand and recognize that white violence transcends party lines and political ideology.
In the video that Christian recorded, Amy can be heard saying, "I'm taking a picture and calling the cops,” as she appears to strangle or roughly handle her dog with the pet’s collar. "I'm going to tell them there's an African American man threatening my life."
Protests Fill the Streets of Minneapolis In Response to George Floyd’s Death In Police Custody
Protests have erupted in the streets of Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd in police custody as illustrated by a live-stream of the protest from Unicorn Riot journalist Niko Georgiades.
George Floyd was a Minnesota man who died in police custody. A video of his death surfaced, showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on the back of his neck for several minutes as a handcuffed Floyd begged for help and told him and other officers that he couldn’t breathe.
It’s a modern quandary for the ultra-wealthy: a yacht awaits at harbor, but how to safely reach it without risking exposure to the germ-ridden masses?
Global aviation company VistaJet has a solution. Spurred by member demand, clients can reserve a freshly sanitized jet to fly them to a yacht moored in Malta (where, as it happens, VistaJet is based). Lest anyone be worried that the island nation itself is germ-ridden, a press release notes that “The World Health Organization singled out Malta as a role model for other countries in the fight against Covid-19.
It’s little moments of joy that can help get you through a long shift at work on a hot sunny day – especially if you’re stuck at the top of a crane on your own. So when one crane driver spotted a sunbather making the most of the lovely weather several hundred feet below he decided to have some fun. A video posted to Twitter shows the sunbather lounging on a pink towel on a patch of grass, with the operator moving his crane to block out the poor man’s sun. Speaking to a collague on a Walkie-Talkie, the crane operator laughs as he says: ‘I put the shade on this geezer, look. He’s moving Fred! I’m filming it.
Yesterday brought the news that this year’s edition of the Minnesota State Fair is canceled. Dating back to our territorial days, the fair was last canceled in 1948 as a result of the polio epidemic. The cancelation is only the fifth time in the fair’s history. State authorities advised the fair board that COVID-19 “would still be with us at dangerous levels” at the end of August, according to Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm at the daily press briefing (audio below). Thanks to measures taken to delay the peak of infections in the state, authorities warned that the worse is yet to come. It is sad news all the way around any way you slice it.
Yesterday the authorities attributed 33 new deaths to COVID-19, beating the previous high of 32 set the day before. The new total of deaths attributed to the disease is 842.
According to Malcolm, 27 of the 33 new deaths occurred among residents of long-term care facilities. The MDH Situation Update gives the number as 25 plus one in a group home (see screenshot below). The department sets the number of deaths among residents of long-term care facilities at 688 — just short of 82 percent of all deaths attributed to the disease.
Faith-based groups say they will proceed with a lawsuit over Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s attendance restrictions for places of worship, despite his concession this weekend that churches can operate at 25% capacity.
Attorneys for the two churches say, based on Walz’s new order, they have dropped their request for a temporary restraining order, which was scheduled for a hearing in federal court Tuesday and, if granted, would have made them exempt from Walz’s restrictions. But the new restrictions continue to violate their religious liberties, and constitutional rights to free speech and assembly, said Katie Fulkerson, spokeswoman for the Upper Midwest Law Center.
“While Gov. Walz has changed his position on religious gatherings in order to avoid a judicial decision, his unilateral actions further demonstrate the need for our lawsuit,” Doug Seaton, the law firm’s president, said in a statement. “Any Minnesotan should be troubled by Governor Walz’s assertion that he can de facto make any executive order he wants so long as he keeps changing his executive order before becoming subject to judicial review.”
Hey churches of Minnesota, self-identify as abortion clinics. No muss or fuss then.
The NFL is planning for the best-case scenario when the season returns this fall and, according to one league official, this includes packed stadiums.
Executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said Friday that the league is planning “to have full stadiums until the medical community tells us otherwise,” according to an NBC Sports report.
“Now remember when we’re talking — we’re talking about August, September. So there’s a lot that can happen here. So we’re planning for full stadiums.”
The NFL has had more time to figure all of this out than the other major sports, which were all blindsided by the shutdowns. The NFL had just entered into its off-season a few weeks before we all went into quarantine hovels. The only disruption was the draft, which ended up being this weird, social-distance remote affair that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hosted from his basement. I hate the format that was adopted for the draft 10 years ago so this year didn’t bother me that much.
The nearly 500,000 students enrolled in the California State University system’s 23 campuses should expect to pay full price for tuition this fall.
A spokeswoman for the system told The College Fix via email that tuition is expected to remain at the regular price despite the system’s decision to remain virtual for the fall 2020 semester.
“There are no plans to reduce tuition and campus-based mandatory fees at this time,” said CSU spokeswoman Toni Molle. “One of the benefits of announcing our planning now is to allow for additional professional development opportunities for faculty and staff over the summer which lead to the best possible learning experience that we can provide for students.”
I call Bull Shit, it will be the same old tired lesson plans taught by TAs who can barely speak English. Good luck finding your "professor" when you really want to.
The Uptis Prototype tyre (Unique Puncture-proof Tire System) produced by Michelin and GM represents a major advancement toward achieving Michelin’s VISION concept, which was presented at the Movin’On Summit in 2017.
The VISION concept introduced by Michelin and GM includes four main pillars of innovation: airless, connected, 3D-printed and +100% sustainable (entirely renewable or bio-sourced materials) to reach a stage of sustainable mobility.
“Uptis is an ideal fit for propelling the automotive industry into the future and a great example of how our customers benefit when we collaborate and innovate with our supplier partners.” said Steve Kiefer, senior vice president, global purchasing and supply chain, General Motors
It’s going to get so hot in California that people swimming in mountain streams could freeze to death.Much of California, parts of Nevada and Arizona, will be getting their first extreme heat of the year and by Tuesday temperatures will reach 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in many places and stay there through Thursday. Car interiors will become death traps for children and pets left alone, outside work will be difficult, and the elderly will be at risk, the National Weather Service said.So much mountain snow will melt that streams will turn into icy torrents. Anyone venturing in to cool off risks being swept away and suffering “rapid onset of hypothermia,” the agency warned.“Daytime highs will be in the triple digits for most Valley locations, especially Tuesday through Thursday,” the weather service said. “Overnight temperatures will remain warm and offer little relief.”
***
Yes, this is a little corny, but it cracked me up...............
(H/T Bitter Clinger)
***
The ONT Musical Interlude
Born on this day: 26 May 1948
American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks, fromFleetwood Mac who scored the 1987 UK No.5 single 'Little Lies' and 1977 US No.1 single 'Dreams', taken from the world-wide No.1 album Rumours. She scored the solo, 1981 US No.1 & UK No.11 album Bella Donna, and the 1989 hit single 'Rooms On Fire'. Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975 along with her then boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham. via thisdayinmusic.com
&&&
Born on this day:26 May 1945
English musician Verden Allen a founding member of 1970s rock band Mott The Hoople, who had the 1972 UK No.3 & US No.37 single 'All The Young Dudes' which was written for them by David Bowie. Other hits include, 'All the Way from Memphis' and 'Roll Away the Stone'. via thisdayinmusic.com
***
The sentencing enhancer here is going to be funny. Drunk, not wearing a mask and being a Genius Award Winner.
Wild video shows a drunk zoo visitor in Poland jumping into a bear enclosure and wrestling one of the animals, according to a report.
The 23-year-old man was arrested for brawling the large brown bear named Sabrina at the Warsaw Zoo — and faces additional penalties because he was wasn’t wearing a mask, The Independent reported.
In the footage, the man, who was believed to be intoxicated, is seen Thursday already inside the exhibit as the female bear, Sabrina, approaches him.
He then jumps into a moat inside the enclosure to escape Sabrina’s advances — but the animal follows into the water after him.
CNN echoes Hillary Clinton's 1998 pronouncement: "Women have always been the primary victims of war. Women lose their husbands, their fathers, their sons in combat."
The husbands', fathers', and sons' lives don't matter, except on how their absence might negatively affect women's finances.
What a hag.
Unrelatedly, David Reaboi makes the point the sort of fringe concern, unhinged partisanship, Surburban Empathy Mom micro-worries, and conspiracy theories that the leftwing blogs used to traffic in -- and make money from -- are now being pumped out by MSNBC and the Washington Post and especially CNN, which is now just the Democrat Undeground's AV Club:
It’s no exaggeration: CNN is creating *exactly* the kind of content that DNC and the old lefty blogosphere used to produce.
Many have pointed out that now, the media is the senior partner in its relationship with the DNC. Starting to think it’s bc they made it obsolete. pic.twitter.com/TthEXly3Yn
I think that's right. I also think that explains why Vice, Buzzfeed, the various former Gawker sites, and all the blogs of the clickbait left are laying people off and going bankrupt: Because CNN is now publishing the unhinged partisan bullshit that used to earn ad revenue for Daily Kos.
If CNN is now putting out fringe clickbait, what's Vice's niche?
Speaking of which: this poor man was fired from Vice!
MSNBC Clowns Mask-Shame People Out for a Walk, Until a Passer-By Points Out That Half of the MSNBC Crew Isn't Wearing Masks
—Ace
The guy on camera -- the guy performing -- is wearing the mask.
The crew you can't see? The people who aren't involved in the Health Panic Theatrical Production? Half of them aren't wearing masks. Including the cameraman.
Here's a hopeful sign that the media plays as negative: A vaccine can only be tested by noting how many, if any, of the vaccinated test group contract the illness they're vaccinated against over a period of months.
An Oxford University vaccine trial has only a 50 per cent chance of success because coronavirus is fading so rapidly in Britain, a project co-leader has warned.
Don't get me wrong; I'd like to know if the vaccine works.
But... if the reason we can't tell if the vaccine works or not is that the virus is self-extinguishing, is that really a cause for "warning'?
On His Way Out the Door, Ric Grenell Blasts Mark Warner (Richard Burr's Boss) for Trying to Protect Obama Officials From Scrutiny While Also Attempting to Declassify Any Bullshit That Feeds His Narrative
His response is great. His basic answers are, 1., Classification is for the protection of sources and methods, not to spare political hacks sunlight, and 2., Go fuck yourself.
Here's 1.:
"My declassification determination was made in the interests of full transparency and public accountability given serious unanswered questions about the potential misuse of intelligence for partisan purposes following the 2016 election," Grenell wrote. "The protection of intelligence sources is always at the fore of any declassification decision I might make. As you well know, the decision to declassify the names of individuals who sought to unmask the identity of General Flynn poses absolutely no risk of compromise of either sources or methods. Additionally, far from undermining the credibility of the Intelligence Community (IC), the utmost transparency in this matter builds public trust and confidence in the Community and ensures the IC will not conceal potential abuse behind unnecessary security classification."
And here's 2.:
"I find it puzzling that your letter initially complains about the declassification of the indemnities of unmaskers, a declassification that posed no conceivable riches to sources or methods, only to then request the declassification of actual intelligence reports. Cherry picking certain documents for release, while attacking the release of others that don't fit your political narrative, is part of the problem the American people have with Washington DC politicians. I would appreciate it if you would explain your philosophy on transparency as it appears to be based solely on political advantage," he continued.
Mark Warner's spokesbitch, Richard Burr, was unavailable for comment.
Fox News has learned that Grenell also completed the declassification review of other documents related to the origins of the Russia probe-- including one that a senior intelligence official told Fox News was "very significant in understanding how intelligence was manipulated to support launching the Russia investigation."
Grenell has declassified the documents, but will leave it to his successor as DNI, John Ratcliffe, to make the decision whether to release them.
I might thank them for their effort, except for the fact they broke the 6' distance CDC recommendation. All they did was break 1 to enforce another. Seems ignorant to me
— Concerned_Citizen (@AdamarRicharts) May 25, 2020
The important thing was that they all got to hoot together like a commune of chimpanzees.
In early April, Jason Furman, a top economist in the Obama administration and now a professor at Harvard, was speaking via Zoom to a large bipartisan group of top officials from both parties. The economy had just been shut down, unemployment was spiking, and some policymakers were predicting an era worse than the Great Depression. The economic carnage seemed likely to doom President Donald Trump’s chances at reelection.
Furman, tapped to give the opening presentation, looked into his screen of poorly lit boxes of frightened wonks and made a startling claim.
"We are about to see the best economic data we've seen in the history of this country," he said.
...
Furman's counterintuitive pitch has caused some Democrats, especially Obama alumni, around Washington to panic. "This is my big worry," said a former Obama White House official who is still close to the former president. Asked about the level of concern among top party officials, he said, "It's high -- high, high, high, high."
The fact that Democrats have admitted this -- and Politico has published their admission -- will not, however, stop the media from claiming that it's a "conspiracy theory" to say the Democrats want to keep critical parts of the country locked down to depress the economy.
Fox Liberal Chris Wallace Declares Unmasking of Political Opponents "Routine," Attacks Kayleigh McEnany Saying "I Have Never Seen a Press Secretary Act Like That;" Democrat Pundit Jonah Goldberg Calls McEnany a "Twitter Troll"
—Ace
As someone asked, when did Jonah Goldberg become a werewolf? Does he think tat the facial hair hides the weight gain?
Um: Dude, people naturally "see through" facial hair to get an estimate of jowl and neck size. If you want to camouflage your massive weight gain, stick to your little-sampled podcast.
And why his face so red? Healthy men do not get beet-red faces from merely sitting down and squeezing into last year's pants.
His blood pressure looks like it's Cat 5.
Chris Wallace reflexes attacks anyone who criticizes the press. He's been doing this for a long, long time. He's got a tribe and he wants to be a fat, old warrior for it.
But the press' main mission is not reportage and has not been for a long, long time. Its main mission is critique. Criticizing. Attacking.
There is not a single industry in America the press doesn't attack routinely.
And yet, whenever anyone dares to critique the industry that spends all fucking day critiquing everyone else, they begin shrieking that Critique Is Dangerous And You're Putting Lives At Risk.
If Trump were to claim that criticizing his coronavirus response was dangerous becuase it undermined confidence in the government's recommendations, the press would, of course (and rightly), object that this is a transparent and foul attempt to stigmatize fair criticism and commentary by claiming that criticism and commentary are dangerous and, by implication, anti-American.
But the press itself makes this argument itself every single time it is criticized.
"When you attack the press, you're giving license to third-world tyrants to kill journlists!"
"When you attack the press, you're creating a Climate of Hate against American journalists!"
"When you attack the press, you are Destroying America by attacking the Common Shared Narrative (created by the press, of course) that binds us together."
And:
"It is just disgusting that Kayleigh McEnany would tell the press to do its job. This is unnacceptable. This is unamerican."
I'd like to ask Chris Wallace a few questions, if a citizen is still allowed to ask his Media Masters questions:
1. Why is the press the only institution in America which cannot be challenged or critiqued?
2. If critiquing institutions is dangerous and it undermines their credibility, why does the press critique critical institutions like the government, the military, etc.
3. Why is the press the one industry in America that is not helped by sunlight and criticism but threatened by it? If criticizing the press puts the lives of "journalists" in danger, does the press' nonstop attacks on the Trump Administration not likewise put Trump Administration officials' lives in danger?
Did you not think of that, or are you just sort of... intrigued by that possible outcome?
And:
4. The only people who seem to be permited to criticize the press are the press' own minions, like Brian Stelter. This is like saying that only Baghdad Bob may criticize Saddam Hussein.
If the press refuses to criticize and correct itself, then they've deputized the rest of us to do that job for them.
Oh, I forgot to ask a question. So here's the question:
Wow. On Fox News Sunday, Jonah Goldberg bashes Kayleigh McEnany's work as press secretary as "indefensible and grotesque," like a "Twitter troll" in cable-news combat. pic.twitter.com/p4O0H4Ljit
The New York Times. The Paper Of Record (cue angels singing). The Gray Lady.
They finally did it. This weekend their reflexive anti-American stances and aggressive multi-culti blather and their contempt for and hatred of all that makes America exceptional pissed of the older brat so much that he was almost literally spitting mad. And my mostly apolitical wife was just as offended.
Instead of a reflective and somber front page noting our national holiday that recognizes the supreme sacrifice that so many Americans have made in defense of our country, the Gray Lady (more like a $20 whore on 43rd St.) chose to whip up fear and uncertainty with a vile and disrespectful list of some who have died from Wuhan Flu. Of course one of the first names was incorrect...a murder victim!...but the truth has never deterred the NYT from its self-appointed task of manipulating public opinion to satisfy the Upper-West-Side elites who never met a real American they didn't hate.
That is nothing new. Let us cast our eyes on a fine, upstanding NYT correspondent and Moscow Bureau Chief named Walter Duranty, who had first-hand knowledge of the murder of millions in Ukraine. It even has a name...The Holodomor...but you would never know it if you read the NYT, because they never met a Stalinist they didn't love, in particular the first one.
So the NYT and Duranty hid genocide from America, all in service of their real masters; progressivism and anti-Americanism. A few years later they seemed curiously incurious about another unpleasantness in Europe...called The Holocaust.
For the last 20 years the newspaper has morphed into a caricature of itself, with one SJW or PC cause after another competing for space in their Arts and Style and Food sections and, increasingly, their front page, which no longer pretends to present the facts, but has become an extension of their socialist-lite editorial pages.
Every topic is viewed through the lens of LGBTQ or multiculturalism or all-encompassing central government or frank anti-flyover-state pomposity, all with the obvious goal of subverting the Constitution, states' rights, individual freedom and liberty, and for the last five years a rabid and chaotic push to de-legitimize the legally elected president of the United States.
But as of Sunday they will be doing it without my help. I cancelled, with some effort, our Friday-Sunday subscription, with the enthusiastic support of my apolitical wife!
Geopoliticus Child Watching The Birth Of The New Man
Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí y Domenech
I think it’s fitting because he depicted an emerging US that he hoped would be a counterweight to the angst and fascism that was dominating Europe at the time. Today, it's the WHO and the CDC, allied with the fascists emerging as the weapon to destroy the US.
Good morning, kids. Tuesday and another grim milestone of yet another day of America held hostage. Hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend, but the madness continues.
...You may recall that Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant, took refuge in a church in Chicago back in 2007. As you may recall, even the president of Mexico got involved in the story. Mexico backed the young mother hiding in a church! Chicago's local leadership warned ICE and federal officials from charging into a church.
Lift the lockdowns. Liberate America...
... The pastor of the mostly black congregation, Courtney Lewis, reportedly shut and locked the doors and refused to allow the officers to gain entry to the building, Todd Starnes reported.
Pastor Lewis told Starnes that he felt like he was confronting "the Soviet-style KGB" as the officers pounded on his doors and demanded entry to shut the church down.
"Thankfully, our doors were locked as a normal safety precaution we take each service to protect our members from the escalating gun violence in Chicago," Lewis said...
[Lori] Lightfoot, Chicago's Mayor since May of last year, has been targeting the city's churches for several weeks as houses of worship have begun balking at her draconian lockdown orders.
Late last week, Lightfoot excoriated the city's churches, saying that their desire to re-open is "dangerous and foolish..."
Considering two days earlier President Trump declared houses of worship to be essential, Lightfoot's action was predictable and nothing more than an infantile tantrum, yet one that has disastrous consequences. As abhorrent as Lightfoot's behavior was, the thuggish totalitarian move was made that much more disgusting coming on Memorial Day weekend, when we pay tribute to those who gave their lives to preserve the very religious freedom that Lightfoot and her ilk want to crush. The only proper response to the Lightfoots of this world is defiance. Easier said than done considering she has the Chicago Police Department on her side. Whether its officers are enthusiastic or "just following orders" to protect their pensions (which may not be as secure as they might think), going along with the oppression of the citizenry is beyond the pale.
If customers see another customer not wearing a surgical mask in the grocery store, should they all corral into an angry mob while pelting the non-mask wearer with a torrent of obscenities until they cooperate? A debate over that very question has erupted online in response to a viral video out of Staten Island, New York showing customers heckle and berate a total stranger for not wearing a face covering...
And this incident took place on Staten Island, which is an anomaly in downstate New York and in NYC since it is a lone bastion of relative conservatism and Trump support. If I'm going to be the one to storm the Albany Statehouse or City Hall to make a citizen's arrest of Angel-of-Death Cuomo and DeBolshevik, to quote Sonny Corleone "I don't want my brother coming out of that men's room with just his dick in his hand."
This is madness. Aside from the alarming Lord of the Flies mob mentality in a Trump stronghold, will enough people like Chicago's church-going black folks who are no doubt historically reliably Democrat rise up in November at the polls, or take to the streets before that? I would hope what's going on in Hong Kong would be an inspiration, but far too many people in this country are clueless as to what's going on across town in their own cities let alone on the other side of the planet. But as I've noted before, this is not an academic exercise or something abstract; this is in-your-face tyranny.
CHINESE CORONAVIRUS, FICTIONS AND FACTS
Even the CDC is stating that this virus just is not the extinction-level event it's still being pimped as, wearing a mask doesn't make you righteous and it doesn't do a damn thing to protect you either, Arkansas' Asa Hutchinson dead right on the flawed projections but try telling that to the idiot governor of North Carolina, a look at what doctors are using to treat the Peking Pox, the disease is so bad that they have to fake the death statistics to prove it, just as Jay Inbreed is doing in Washington, Angel-of-Death Cuomo shucks and jives, and finally a reminder that the US didn't shut down when over 100,000 died in the late 50's due to flu.
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE LUNG MARCH
New York State and City are on the brink of an economic disaster, but tell that to the Angel-of-Death Cuomo and DeBolshevik, chronicling the strangulation of America, and "continuing these measures going forward is unconscionable. We are depressed, demoralized, put upon, and now a poorer nation on account of our elites' panic about the [Chinese] coronavirus."
SHAMPEACHMENT, CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION,
Trump sez tick-tock, Devin Nunes expanding probe into the Mueller gang, Julie Kelly: "it is likely that Kislyak, like so many other Obama-friendly foreigners, was in cahoots with the Democrats to entrap Team Trump before and after the election," and Daniel Greenfield states "a woman who can turn her back on genocide would hardly blink at spying on Republicans," and finally evil and idiocy are sometimes interchangeable.
POLITICS, 2020 ELECTION
Trump with the right tone in his Memorial Day address, Trump fed up with NC's Cooper and threatens to pull GOP convention, speculating that Biden's "you ain't black" translates to he ain't president, Biden seen in public for first time in months, Dems also think frog-mouthed Klobuchar will not help the cause as veep pick, despite the ugly and revealing remarks by Biden, Blacks still vote Dem in far too many numbers, Malig-Nancy with a full-court press for mail-in voting to steal 2020, and Trump tells Jeff Sessionzzz to GTFO.
AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY
Corporatists want Trump to cave and further destroy the American labor market, Tom Cotton with a great bill, and another entry in the Spark-of-Divinity files.
FIRST AMENDMENT, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER BIG TECH
Even the AP confirms that the latest media hero, former Florida Department of Health data manager Rebekah Jones was fired for being an insubordinate asshole, repeatedly overstepping her duties and not because she's some heroic whistleblower, Afghan war vet blasts the Slimes for sliming the military, PDT rips media for their latest smear about him golfing, VP Pence to go after Big Tech censorship of conservatives, undescended testicle Brian Stetler totally wrong about the Sino Sinus Syphilis, and Kayleigh McEnany is effective at swatting down media lies, hence the attempt to take her out.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL
As the Chi-Coms crack down in Hong Kong, Trump threatens more sanctions, Martha McSally warns about Chi-Coms moves, Chinese embassy in France plays to a French audience, WHO now sabotaging HCQ testing, a call for Trump to address Russky war crimes against the Ukies, one in five Brits blame the Jews for the Peking Pox; considering maybe three out of five are either Leftists or Muslims, maybe that's a good sign? Also, as Libya descends into civil war (thanks Obama and Hillary!), even the Russians and Syrians there are bugging out, Caroline Glick calls out Jordanian King Abdullah for trying to sabotage PDT Mideast peace plan, and Michael Ledeen on the current global instability as he tries reading the tea leaves.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE BUREAUCRACY, WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE
I assume Jim Kenney will send in his goon squads. Can't have American interlopers shine a light on Democrat blight.
THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Mass repatriation of our entire industrial and commercial base should be the "big beautiful wall" of 2020, and thanks to Angel-of-Death Cuomo and DeBolshevik, NYC could become the next Detroit.
RED-GREENS, CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX, JUNK SCIENCE, LYSENKOISM
"She's immune to criticism - which is why China and the climate radicals are so happy with her work."
CULTURE WARS, HITHER & YON
Memorial Day at Arlington even more somber due to the Chinese Lung AIDS lockdown, The Lives of Others timelier than ever, "in Little Fires Everywhere, it's interesting to see the '90s reflected from this distance of more than 20 years. But the identity politics is suffocating," a warning about the societal implications of the digital age, and finally, oh joy, "a leftist 'historian' pitches his 'racial capitalism' thesis in a new book."
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.
Monday Overnight Open Thread (5/25/20) Memorial Day Edition
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
***
The Quotes of The Day
Quote I
Memorial Day isn't just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that's a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It's a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it. Pete Hegseth
Quote II
I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country. Nathan Hale
Quote III
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived.” George S. Patton
Quote IV
“All we are seeking is the same consideration and trust that is being tendered toward the liquor stores, abortion clinics, and Walmart,”Rev. Courtney Lewis
Quote V
Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices. Because of these sacrifices, the dawn of justice and freedom throughout the world slowly casts its gleam across the horizon.― President Harry S. Truman
America will never forget? I am having my doubts Harry.
A researcher from the University of Copenhagen's Natural History Museum of Denmark was checking out extreme close-ups of the North American millipede on Twitter (as one does) when she noticed white spots on its carapace. While the specks might look like nothing to most people, to Ana Sofia Reboleira they indicated the presence of a parasitical fungi not seen on this species of millipede before.
***
Will it make a difference at the next election that the political party who wants to rob you of your liberty is the Democrats?
I looked on Craigslist and since May 1, seven barbers and stylists in L.A. have advertised their services. Including Carmelle.
Carmelle, who asked me not to use her last name for fear of being fined, used to work for a salon in Santa Monica before the pandemic hit. She was furloughed on March 17.
Her manager, incorrectly, told her she was not eligible for unemployment while on furlough. So for a month she stayed home, with no income, worrying about how she was going to pay her bills and her rent.
She tried applying for jobs with delivery services and grocery stores, but didn't hear back.
"Ok, what am I gonna do?" she asked herself. "It's not like I can go get another career. I've been a hair stylist for 22 years."
So she pulled her grandmother's barber chair out of storage, hung a mirror on the wall of her living room, and stocked up on bleach and Barbicide and masks.
Then, she wrote her ad.
"I was like, 'I don't think people are gonna drive all the way out here to Compton to see me,'" she told me over the phone. "And when my phone had over 100 texts in one day, I was like, 'oh my goodness, what am I gonna do?' Is a lot of people out there that needs haircuts!'"
Speaking of haircuts, I'm scheduled for one on Tuesday. It's either that or join the Duck Dynasty crowd.
History was made recently when this bright orange dart of a car became the first electric car to eclipse 200 miles per hour in the quarter mile. Running a 7.520 second pass at 201.07 miles per hour, the Current Technology 2.0 dragster ran a world record pass in only its second pass of the day. Of course, this isn’t near as quick as the professional Top Fuel folks are running, but it’s a milestone that deserves celebration nonetheless.
In a follow-up piece to "NYC's Rat Population Hit With Hunger Crisis During Lockdowns," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a new warning that rats across the country are becoming hangry as they scavenge for food amid the closure of restaurants triggered by COVID-19 lockdowns.
"Community-wide closures have led to a decrease in food available to rodents, especially in dense commercial areas. Some jurisdictions have reported an increase in rodent activity as rodents search for new sources of food. Environmental health and rodent control programs may see an increase in service requests related to rodents and reports of unusual or aggressive rodent behavior," the CDC warning read.
The CDC said some regions have reported "an increase in rodent activity" and cautioned about their aggressive behavior.
An urban rodentologist recently said NYC rats have become hostile and are resorting to cannibalism as food becomes scarce with restaurants closed.
***
Last night at our grill out we spoke about Michigan, Chicago and several other jurisdictions. I made the observation, "The Revolutionary War was fought over less." That observation seems to be spreading.
What started out as a freedom-loving celebration of the Second Amendment ahead of Memorial Day turned into Gov. Andy Beshear being hanged in effigy and protesters chanting outside the governor’s mansion.
The Second Amendment rally, meant to inspire people “about what it really means to be FREE,” according to Take Back Kentucky, attracted at least 100 people on Sunday. They gathered from 1-4 p.m. at the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort.
Earth, which means they’ll have to get creative with the limited resources on the lunar surface. Moon dirt is a great building material and there’s water in the form of ice at the south pole that can be turned into rocket fuel. But the hottest commodity of them all may very well turn out to be an astronaut’s own pee.
Earlier this year, a team of European researchers demonstrated that urea, the second most common compound in human urine after water, can be mixed with moon dirt and used for construction. The resulting material is a geopolymer, which has similar properties to concrete and could potentially be used to build landing pads, habitats, and other structures on the moon.
Geopolymers are regularly used on Earth as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional concrete. One of the main ingredients in concrete is cement, which requires a high-temperature 22manufacturing process that releases a lot of CO2. But a geopolymer doesn’t require much energy at all. Instead of cement, it uses pulverized rocks or fly ash, the waste product from burning coal. When this is mixed with water and certain reactive compounds, it creates a putty-like material that can be cast into desired shapes before it’s left to dry.
***
The ONT Musical Interlude
&&&
Tonight's last selection is a hat tip from Hrothgar.
Via Wikipedia - In 2005, the band released a two-song CD single for the family of Andrew K. Farrar, Jr., a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps who was killed on January 28, 2005, in Al Anbar, Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Farrar, who was a big fan of the Murphys, made a request to his family that if he did not survive his tour of duty, he wanted "The Fields of Athenry" to be played at his funeral. The single features a slower version of "The Fields of Athenry" that was originally recorded and placed in Farrar's casket, although the band decided to release the alternate version. The disc also features the track "Last Letter Home," which was written about Farrar and was featured on the Murphys' 2005 album The Warrior's Code. All of the proceeds from the $10 single go to the Sgt. Andrew Farrar Memorial Fund and can be purchased through the band's website or at one of their shows."
***
Graduations are still occurring. Mike Rowe with a profound speech.............
OK .. it’s time for you to hear something – to learn something – that may, but should not, come as a complete surprise.
You are the victims of a terrible fraud. You have just completed your travels through an educational system that had no real intention of educating you … at least not too much.
You’re pretty hot at research right now, aren’t you? While those skills are still with you, perhaps you would like to put them to work studying the start of compulsory government education in the early part of the last century. Do you really think that the goal of our compulsory government education system has been to actually educate you?
Did you study H. L. Mencken? In 1924 he wrote an article for the American Mercury where he defined the true aim of our then-fledgling system of education. Listen carefully:
The aim of public education is not to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. … Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim … is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is the aim in the United States and that is its aim everywhere else.
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Sculpture.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire, AceCorp, LLC and those Armed Forces members who gallantly lost their lives so we can enjoy the First Amendment.
And Now For Something A Bit Different: How About Some Uplifting Stories?
—CBD
Short or shorter...and extra credit for something that seems quintessentially American.
A long time ago I and a friend went cycling in NH and VT with an organized group (American Youth Hostels). One very rainy day in the White Mountains we slogged and slipped and slid to the base of what looked like a very tall mountain, at the top of which was the hostel we were to stay in that evening. And at the base was an old pick-up truck with the hostel owner inside.
He had driven down the mountain and sat waiting for us, because it was one of those cold and miserable August days in the mountains, and he knew we would be soaked and tired. So he tossed some bikes in the back and a couple of teenagers in the cab, and off he went on a 30 minute drive up to the top where the hostel (his house!) was. And back down. And back up, until all dozen of us were safe and sound and drying out in front of the fire.
We live in a great country, and today we honor those who fought and died for it. But let us not forget how wonderful it really is!
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those that I fight I do not hate
Those that I guard I do not love;
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
Or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public man, nor cheering crowds,
A lonely impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds;
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath,
A waste of breath the years behind
In balance with this life, this death.
It seems that with each passing year, I become more emotional about this day and what it means. One side of my family owes their lives to the GIs who liberated them while the other side lost a son defending this country out in the Pacific. Since the beginning of this nation, everything we have done and everything we have achieved could not have been possible without their sacrificing their futures for ours. G-d bless their memory and to each of you who lost someone who made that sacrifice.
Mauldin wrote: "He apologized to the dead men for their presence here. He said everybody tells leaders it is not their fault that men get killed in war, but that every leader knows in his heart this is not altogether true.
"He said he hoped anybody here through any mistake of his would forgive him, but he realized that was asking a hell of a lot under the circumstances... he would not speak about the glorious dead because he didn't see much glory in getting killed if you were in your late teens or early twenties.
"He promised that if in the future he ran into anybody, especially old men, who thought death in battle was glorious, he would straighten them out. He said he thought that was the least he could do."
Carentan, O Carentan
by Louis Simpson
Trees in the old days used to stand
And shape a shady lane
Where lovers wandered hand in hand
Who came from Carentan.
This was the shining green canal
Where we came two by two
Walking at combat-interval
Such trees we never knew.
The day was early June, the ground
Was soft and bright with dew
Far away the guns did sound,
But here the sky was blue.
The sky was blue, but there a smoke
Hung still above the sea
Where the ships together spoke
To towns we could not see.
Could you have seen us through a glass
You would have said a walk
Of farmers out to turn the grass,
Each with his own hay-fork.
The watchers in their leopard suits
Waited til it was time,
And aimed between the belt and boot
And let the barrel climb.
I must lie down at once, there is
A hammer at my knee.
And call it death or cowardice,
Don't count again on me.
Everything's all right, Mother,
Everyone gets the same
At one time or another.
It's all in the game.
I never strolled, nor ever shall,
Down such a leafy lane.
I never drank in a canal,
Nor ever shall again.
There is a whistling in the leaves
And it is not the wind,
The twigs are falling from the knives
That cut men to the ground.
Tell me, Master-Sergeant,
The way to turn and shoot.
But the Sergeant's silent
That taught me how to do it.
O Captain, show us quickly
Our place upon the map.
But the Captain's sickly
And taking a long nap.
Lieutenant, what's my duty,
My place in the platoon?
He too's a sleeping beauty,
Charmed by that strange tune.
Carentan, O Carentan
Before we met with you
We never yet had lost a man
Or known what death could do.
* * * * * * *
Vergissmeinnicht
Keith Douglas
Three weeks gone and the combatants gone
returning over the nightmare ground
we found the place again, and found
the soldier sprawling in the sun.
The frowning barrel of his gun
overshadowing. As we came on
that day, he hit my tank with one
like the entry of a demon.
Look, Here in the gunpit spoil
the dishonored picture of his girl
who has put: Steffi. Vergissmeinnicht
in a copybook gothic script.
We see him almost with content,
abased, and seeming to have paid
and mocked at by his own equipment
that's hard and good when he's decayed
But she would weep to see today,
how on his skin the swart flies move;
the dust upon the paper eye
and the burst stomach like a cave.
For here the lover and killer are mingled
who had one body and one heart.
And death who had the soldier singled
had done the lover mortal hurt.
(Capt. Keith Douglas, UK, was killed in action by mortar fire while advancing from Bayeux, 6/9/44.)
* * * * * * *
(Son to Father...)
Do not call me, father. Do not seek me.
Do not call me. Do not wish me back.
We're on a route uncharted, fire and blood erase
our track.
On we fly on wings of thunder, never more to
sheathe our swords.
All of us in battle fallen - not to be brought back by
words.
Will there be a rendezvous? I know not. I only know
we still must fight.
We are sand grains in infinity, never to meet.
nevermore to see light.
(Father to Son...)
Farewell, then my son. Farewell then my conscience.
Farewell my youth, my solace, my one and my only.
Let this farewell be the end of the story,
A solitude vast in which none is more lonely,
In which you remained barred forever
From light, from air, with your death pains untold.
Untold and unsoothed, never to be resurrected.
Forever and ever an 18 year old.
Farewell then.
No trains ever come from those regions,
Unscheduled and scheduled.
No aeroplanes fly there.
Farewell then my son,
For no miracles happen, as in this world
Dreams do not come true.
Farewell.
I will dream of you still as a baby,
Treading the earth with little strong toes,
The earth where already so many lie buried.
This song to my son, then, is come to its close.
(Extract from a poem by Jr. Lt. Vladimir Pavlovich Antokolski. Killed in action, June 6th, 1942)
This is crazy. Look at the video clip below. What is wrong with this woman? And, more importantly, why are they allowing her to be on the air? I mean, somebody higher up at MSNBC had to make the decision to say yes, this woman is completely normal and certainly sane enough to be watched by the viewing public and to be publicly associated with our network.
Really?
I'm old enough to remember the old-school news anchors. Back in the day, we had Huntley and Brinkley, Walter Cronkite, Frank Reynolds. These were serious men who took the news seriously. Whether they were actually worthy of respect is a conversation for another day, but whether they were or not, they knew how to project an aura of, dare I say it, gravitas that made you want to take the nightly news seriously.
At the very least, they knew how to fake it real good.
But who can take TV news seriously nowadays?
Journalisming is not a serious profession. It's a clown college full of clowns.
Who can take Brian Stelter seriously?
Who can take Don Lemon seriously?
Who can take Matt Lauer seriously? Especially when he was chasing women around his specially designed rape room? And if it was consensual as he claims, what was he doing boinking interns on company time?
And this Maddow woman... sheesh! She sounds like she's this close: --><-- to some sort of psychotic break. It's scary and pathetic and disturbing. She desperately needs professional help to work through her psychological issues.
But not on the air, please. What a complete embarrassment.
And on a completely different topic, isn't it odd how the party that is 100% behind open borders, needle-sharing, decriminalization of intentional infection with AIDS, and street pooping is suddenly concerned about the spread of disease?
Friday's celebs: Loretta Young and Tyrone Power made several movies together in the 1930s, including Second Honeymoon and Suez. And contrary to a couple of comments made on the thread, Power did not play for the other team.
Today's Edition Of The Morning Rant Is Brought To You By Carrot Cake Cobbler:
Good morning, kids. Today is Memorial Day. Now more than ever, remember those who gave their lives so that we may be free. I'll have another thread later in the day devoted to reflection and remembrance, but for now the beat goes on.
Monday, and another grim milestone of yet another day of America held hostage. As more real numbers and real evidence continue to show that the biological nature of the Beijing Blight - deadly as it was to some - did not warrant the strangulation of the American economy, the Democrat-Media Complex is now in a full-court press to smear, ridicule and otherwise dismiss said evidence and tighten the shackles. The goal is evident: destroy the economy to destroy the President's chances for re-election, and failing that, ram through a national vote-by-mail scheme as a backup plan to achieve the same result.
It's now evident that states and cities that either re-opened a few weeks back or, like Arkansas and South Dakota, never shut down in the first place did not experience the wave of mass death the Democrats predicted. The other big misfire in terms of public opinion is the citizens held hostage in blue state America are venting their anger, not so much at Trump but at the capriciousness and deadly incompetence of their own political leaders. It would be foolish in the extreme to predict that there will be a massive revolt come November; Trump Derangement Syndrome is mighty hard to overcome. But perhaps the anger and frustration of Democrat stalwarts like New York Congressman Max Rose not at Trump but at leaders in his own party cannot be discounted as a one-off:
...[Reacting] to de Blasio's announcement that any sort of reopening won't happen until June, Rose compared the NYC mayor's comments to those of "an elitist dilettante" who "does not understand the struggles of small business owners..."
Pointing out the irony of shoppers being allowed to visit large retailers but not small businesses, Rose speculated that, while de Blasio is likely looking at hospitalization numbers, he isn't paying attention to "the potential for a continued economic nuclear bomb to go off each and every week in New York City as our small businesses, our mom and pops die..."
The emphasis in that quote is mine, and it perfectly defines the Left's attitude towards private enterprise, the free market and the effects of big government bureaucracy that has been crushing the life out of small business owners for decades. The question is, will Rose and those like him ever put two and two together? Some do, many more don't. But perhaps there are silver linings to this self-imposed catastrophe. As I said, it's the citizens under the Democrat jackboot that are feeling put-upon as goalposts keep shifting and their lives and livelihoods, such as they were permitted to have in the cities and states they live, evaporate before their eyes. A not insignificant number are using this situation to depart for greener, that is "redder" pastures. We shall see if they bring their voting habits with them (sadly, a fair bet). Looking to November, the estimable Roger Kimball has this prognostication:
...Back in March, before the destruction of more than 30 million jobs and tens of thousands of shuttered businesses, before the missed graduations, and soaring suicide and drug-addiction rates, I wondered when it would be that people would cotton on to the fact that the real crisis here was not the disease but our politician-and-media fired panic over the disease?
For the past two months, the country has been on a moral bender, intoxicated by fear and panic. As with most benders, the aftermath will be painful. But the symptoms this time will not be nausea and headache but shame at our credulousness and rage against those who exploited it. Rage. Look for it in a neighborhood near you in the coming weeks and polling stations across the country in November.
CHINESE CORONAVIRUS, FICTIONS AND FACTS
Rabbi Fischer wants Angel-of-Death Cuomo to apologize for killing 10,000 elderly people, Oxford epidemiologist is going to be ignored or failing that ridiculed/threatened into silence, as Sino Sinus Syphilis rages in Rio, Trump institutes travel ban on Brazil, all the predictions were wrong but Californians are offing themselves at an alarming rate, the theory that Peking Pox came from a lab is quite likely, CDC warning of rodent infestation because restaurants are shut, Brooklyn field hospital cost $21 million and treated ZERO patients - yay government!, another example of government regulation that made things worse, socially distanced funerals increase the suffering, Cookie Milano doubles down on her cluelessness, and finally, more on the silver linings: "Our world has indeed changed forever, but it needn't be for the worse. It took a global pandemic, but we now have a clear framework for restoring American society."
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE LUNG MARCH
Econ adviser Kevin Hassett with a gloomy prediction that's perfectly timed, more on the My-Pillowing of the economy, old time Utah saloon weathers the storm, and yet another silver lining with a poll that bodes well for Trump and Trumpism.
JOE BIDEN RAPE ACCUSATION
Whether or not Reade's story is falling apart, the Left will use it as an excuse to shuck, jive and cover what they did to Justice Kavanaugh, but Bro-Fo Omar/Nur is in Reade's corner, apparently.
SHAMPEACHMENT, CLINTON/OBAMA COUP, CONGRESSIONAL PERSECUTION, SPYGATE, DEEP STATE, MUELLER DECEPTION,
Richard Grenell like a dog with a bone, "by the book" sedition, Obamagate and the attempted stealing of a presidency, the Left's hoped for mass fishing expedition,
and finally, "when a majority of Americans finally realizes what was really happening in 2016 and 2017, do you really think they'll give Joe Biden power?"
POLITICS, 2020 ELECTION
Biden stepped in it and the Dems are fetchin' it. Joey Sex-Knuckles is now trying to walk it back, two who definitely "ain't black" by leftist standards slam paste-eating girl-groper, NAACP not so hot on old Joe, yet Sheila Jackass Lee comes to his defense and Val Demings, a dark horse (racist!) contender for veep rips the Trump campaign for its new t-shirts, Lloyd Billingsley delves into the kerfluffle, and Ken Blackwell on Biden's words revealing so much about his record on race as well as his party's.
Elsewhere, PDT is dead right that the Dems are using the Chinese Coronavirus situation as cover to steal the 2020 elections, CA Republicans sue to try and halt Noose-'em's efforts on that front, Democrats will kill America to capture it, Michael Tomasky projects, Pennsylvania seen as an electoral "nightmare," if Trump can break us out, the election is his, this Charlamagne dude who is a supposed barometer of black America sez if Biden taps Amy Klownbuchar, it's "voter depression," reading the tea leaves on the GOP retaking the House, ripping the GOP-e for throwing Steve King under the train, and lastly Allen West thanks G-d for surviving a weekend motorcycle accident. Amen.
AMNESTY, IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY
Yes, let's keep bringing more of them in to prove we're not racist Islamophobes, and another representative of the spark-of-divinity crowd. Feh.
FIRST AMENDMENT, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER BIG TECH
Ninth Circus sides with Noose-'em in trashing religious freedom, XiNN tries covering for Joey Sex-Knuckles racism but BET founder demands Biden apologize from now until November, media ignores CDC's news that the Chinese Lung AIDS death rate is low, Daniel Greenfield with the reason why, Jonah the whale blubbers garbage about Kayleigh McEnany, NY Slimes slimes our wonderful military and puts a murder victim in its tasteless list of the virus dead, Trump considers formal panel to investigate Big Brother Tech anti-conservative bias/censorship, crooked, murderous shyster Andrew Weissmann forced to ankle MSNBC gig for hosting Biden shindig, how the media lies to keep us repressed, and Victor Davis Hanson posits "When knowledge, wisdom, independent thought, even basic competence were no longer requisites for success, then the media naturally slid into mediocrity, and mastered networking and obsequiousness instead of valuing independence."
FOREIGN AFFAIRS, INTERNATIONAL
Chi-Coms cracking down hard on the Hong Kong freedom movement, regime stooge risibly warns US about pushing for a new cold war, PLA forces cross border into India (uh oh), reports of Chi-Coms bolstering spy ops on the Dark Continent, Dems rush to defense... of America's #1 enemy, NSA warns of Chi-Coms potentially stealing a US-developed vaccine; meh, they steal everything not nailed down, Teh Ted with mic-drop on Chi-Coms over Taiwan, while we're distracted with the Chinese the Farsis and Venezuela are provoking an incident in the Caribbean, and three links on Israel, two regarding the Chinese Lung AIDS situation and Caroline Glick warning about law-fare to undermine Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, aka "the West Bank."
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS, THE BUREAUCRACY, WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE
When he's not forcibly finger-banging aides, sniffing the hair of teenyboppers or extorting Ukraine over a billion dollars in aid to not prosecute his son for corruption, he's consorting with Marxists to craft an economic plan. He ain't black, but he is bleak.
CRIME & PUNISHMENT, NON-DOSTOYEVSKY
The grim milestones the media will never cover, the madness of emptying the prisons and Daniel Greenfield on how Trump gets blamed for black on Asian violence during the time of forced Democrat lockdowns and economic destruction.
HEALTHCARE
Elizabeth Hekawi with a hail Mary pass at the veep slot, and all she had to do was zip her lip on a leftist wet dream, will the constituents of an SEIU bigwig thug open their eyes? I doubt it. Lastly, the other Chi-Com plague that has killed far more than any virus.
EDUCATION
We were better off when the CDC was just concerned with bullying and lesbian obesity, and the abject, costly failure of government-run education.
CULTURE WARS, HITHER & YON
Christian Toto on this Jordan Klepper being a complete fool; and yet people look at The Daily Show for news. Also, " Scott Beauchamp's recent essay collection, Did You Kill Anyone? attempts to reconcile the experience of soldiers in a culture that no longer understands the value and values of military service," the 80th anniversary of Winston Churchill becoming PM when England stood alone, and a moving memoir of a 95-year-old veteran who lived through hell.
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.
“This is insanity, and at some point we are going to look back in shame as we consider it. Politicians will always seize the maximum amount of power, they can. That’s why they went into politics in the first place. The question for us is: ‘Why are the rest of us allowing this to happen?'Tucker Carlson
Quote II
“We have to keep safe, but if you’re going to wear [a mask], you might as well wear it in style. You want to look good in it.” Yosel Tiefenbrun
Quote III
“VP Biden’s statement today represents the, arrogant and out-of-touch attitude of a paternalistic white candidate who has the audacity to tell Black people, the descendants of slaves, that they are not Black unless they vote for him. This proves unequivocally that the Democratic nominee believes that Black people owe him their vote without question; even though we as Black people know it is exactly the opposite. He should spend the rest of his campaign apologizing to every Black person he meets." Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television & RLJ Companies
Quote IV
“I’m not being sarcastic, and I know your concern is genuine and well-intentioned. That said, a crocheted mask is about as effective as a balsa wood battleship.”James Woods
A man claiming to be Dr. Marc Mallory, the husband of nasty woman Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, called a docking/boat company late last week requesting immediate access to the couple’s boat for Memorial Day weekend.
But because the company, NorthShore Dock LLC, was already severely behind schedule because of Whitmer’s oppressive shutdown orders, his request had to be denied.
All of this was revealed in a Facebook post published by one of NorthShore’s employees.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves became the butt of the joke while paying tribute to high school graduates when he fell for a prank Bart Simpson would be proud of.
On a Facebook live session Saturday, Reeves started reading the names of graduates from Florence High School, his alma mater, when he came to an unusual name – “Harry Azcrac.”
The Republican, 45, read it, paused briefly and kept going.
***
Born on this day: 24 May 1941
Bob Dylan (Robert Zimmerman), American singer-songwriter, author, and painter. Dylan has released over 40 albums since 1964, and was a major influence on The Beatles. His biggest hits are the 1965 US No.2 single 'Like A Rolling Stone', the 1969 UK No.5 single 'Lay Lady Lay', and his 1964 UK No.1 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. He has won many awards throughout his career including the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature, and twelve Grammy Awards. Dylan was also a member of The Traveling Wilburys. via thisdayinmusic.com
Brown allegedly robbed the Oklahoma Capital Bank in Skiatook on March 12. The captain, who had an account at the bank, was recognized by one of the employees from the way he walked and his muscular build, according to an affidavit provided to CNN by the Skiatook Police Department.
The second robbery occurred on May 7 at the Exchange Bank in Sperry. Witnesses for both robberies said the suspect wore khaki pants, black gloves with a yellow logo, and used a black backpack to collect the money, the affidavit said.
Brown was arrested in the parking lot of his fire station Monday and was released on a $50,000 bond two days later, Shoemake said. He is scheduled for arraignment June 18.
The Tulsa Fire Department placed Brown on administrative leave.
"We expect our employees to act in a manner that continuously builds upon public trust we have worked so hard to obtain," it said.
#Believeallwomen right? Oh, wait. Since Tara Reade came along and put feminists in a tough spot by accusing Joe Biden, #believeallwomen is supposed to be some kind of right-wing plot despite the fact that feminists were the ones that made it popular. Now it’s #believewomen, as if that’s really any different. Even if we use the hashtag #believewomen, this woman we’re supposed to believe lied through her teeth, got caught, and is being hit with the sort of punishment all women that lie about rape should face (after the jail sentences they deserve):
A University of Minnesota law professor who was falsely accused of rape in 2017 won a $1.2 million defamation lawsuit filed against his accuser.
…According to court records, Parisi and Wright met in 2014 and began an intimate relationship. Later that year, the two agreed to purchase a condo together, but the relationship soon fell apart completely and the prospective property became the subject of several protracted lawsuits.
***
Weekly commenter stats for week of 5-24-2020
Top 10 commenters:
1 [664 comments] 'TheJamesMadison, fighting terrorist in Nakatomi Tower' [93.21 posts/day]
2 [445 comments] 'qdpsteve'
3 [423 comments] 'Joe Mannix (Not a cop!)'
4 [399 comments] 'Skip '
5 [397 comments] 'fixerupper'
6 [371 comments] 'Tom Servo'
7 [358 comments] 'Miklos the Stakhanovite'
8 [344 comments] 'blake - semi lurker in marginal standing'
9 [343 comments] 'runner'
10 [339 comments] 'Commissar Hrothgar - YOU are all in it together!'
Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [350 names] 'Miklos the Stakhanovite' [49.13 unique names/day]
2 [88 names] 'Duncanthrax'
3 [72 names] '18-1'
4 [38 names] 'A Scold of Karens'
5 [35 names] 'Axeman'
6 [33 names] 'LeftCoast Dawg'
7 [30 names] 'freaked'
8 [28 names] 'Huck Follywood, hunker in the bunker'
9 [26 names] 'Mr. Peebles'
10 [22 names] 'Meade Lux Lewis'
***
Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Dual Majors.
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire and AceCorp, LLC. No receipt? No refund, no exchange, no shit.
Gun Thread: Memorial Day Weekend Edition! [Weasel]
—Open Blogger
It's Memorial Day Weekend, traditionally the start of summer with parades, backyard barbecues and long lazy days. How this Memorial Day is celebrated in the Age of Stupidity and "social distancing" remains to be seen, but all too often the real meaning of the holiday is overlooked. It's a day to remember and honor those who have given their lives in military service to our Nation. It's a debt we carry which can never be repaid, but each of us can take the time to reflect upon, and be thankful for, the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice and make certain we are in some way worthy of their precious gift to us.
And with that said, let's get to the gun stuff, shall we?
First up, our pal Sua Sponte sends in the following range report:
I had been researching and reading many articles and watching many reviews on the Ruger 22LR Precision, a scaled down version of their Precision Series, for quite some time and finally decided to, pardon the pun, pull the trigger. I often find myself doing way more contemplating and research prior to most purchases, bit of an OCD type, however, that has led me to making pretty much zero regret purchases.
Anyhow, this thing is a tack driver right out of the box. It didn't come with the scope or bipod. I had both laying around and let's face it, you can't just have a scope and bipod laying around not attached to anything.
These were the first rounds I put through it (Aguila Super Extra CPRN; 40 grain; 1255FPS) and plan on seeing what it can do from 100y and more with other types of ammunition. With 22LR still being fairly available and inexpensive, it makes for a great day of plinking.
Aguila Super Extra - 75 Yards
I went back out with much calmer winds and put a target up at 50 yards. I've just been having all kinds of fun with this rifle. Plan on doing a bit more testing with other ammunition once I can get my hands on it.
Aguila SE CPRN
CCI Mini Mag
CCI Standard Velocity
Winchester Super X CPHP
Aguila SE LRN
So here we have a nicely documented range test using several types of .22LR ammunition. What is your analysis of the results?
Nicely done, Sua Sponte!! I am happy to see someone else who appreciates plinking with a .22 as much as I do. Keep up the good work!
*****
Next, our pal Butch made it to the range and sends the following:
I finally went to the range today; its been six months. Still pushing down; I need to do this on a regular basis.
I took my S&W 6906 semi-auto, DA/SA, 9mm. It was a LEO trade in. I cannot recommend this pistol highly enough. Currently, Aim Surplus has them available @ $390 each. They also have S&W 15-round mags at $15 a pop.
While I was there, I foolishly checked out the counter wares. I took home a FN Browning BDA, .380 ACP. Basically a Beretta Cheetah 85 without the open slide top.
Here's a video review of the Model 6906 by AIM Surplus:
Nice job Butch, and congratulations on the new pistol! I don't know about you all, but $390 for that pistol is awfully tempting, but unfortunately they're sold out now.
Much to my pleasant surprise, ammunition seems to be coming back earlier than I expected it would. I checked a couple of the links shown below and popular calibers are beginning to reappear. Please, I'm begging you now - if you're one of the people caught short when the recent hysteria began, please, please, please make it a priority to start stocking up as you can. OK? Please? It's ging to happen again, and it may be sooner than you think.
*****
Virginia
Elections have consequences as we've famously heard, and you know what influences elections? Jackass dipshit politicians pissing off the voters, that's what. Staunton is a charming city in west central Virginia, and has been a reliable democratic stronghold in an otherwise conservative part of the state for years. However, this past week saw a huge shift in local politics when Republicans swept four open seats on the City Council, flipping the city from blue to red. Think any of the recent gun grabbing bullshit had anything to do with this?
The Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms will host a series of FREE online grassroots training sessions run by Glen Caroline. Glen recently joined SAF and CCRKBA as their Director of External Affairs. Most recently, he worked for NRA for 29 years, primarily as NRA's Managing Director of Grassroots Programs & Campaign Field Operations.
There will be three recurring training sessions. The content will be the same, but SAF wants to give individuals the flexibility to choose the one that best fits their individual schedules. The sessions are FREE and will last roughly one hour. The summits will take place on Tuesday, May 26th 7:00 Eastern Time, Wendesday, May 27, 7:00 PM Central Time, and Thursday May 28th, 7:00 PM Pacific Time. Just click on the date that fits your schedule to register for the summit. We all know what happened in this year's session of the General Assembly. We can't let that happen on the federal level. Choose the session that works best for you, register, then log in next week!
This seems like a great way to learn what's going on and to find out how you can help.
******
Free Shit
Free is good, right? I mean, who doesn't like free shit? Follow this link to free printable targets courtesy of Alien Gear Holsters. All you need is a printer and some 8.5 x 11 paper to print your own![h/t redc1c4]
******
ATTENTION NoVaMoMe 2020!!
Sad people who cannot make the new NoVaMoMe date of August 29th
Due the Chinese Cooties hysteria in Virginia, the NoVaMoMe 2020 has been postponed until Saturday, August 29th. The time and location remain the same. If you haven't already, please check your email and let the Central Planning Committee know if you are able to make the new date. If not, your registration fee will be refunded and we will open your spot to those on the wait list. Questions? Just email us at NoVaMoMe2020 at gee mail dot com. Thank you!
For those of you frightened and confused by the free diagnostic targets linked above, here is a simplified version. [h/t Butch]
******
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?
Food Thread: Skinless Or Natural Casing...The New Crossbow vs. Longbow
—CBD
That's the highlight of the menu for today's attempt at subverting governor Murphy's fascist diktats. Oh, there will be ribs and fried chicken too, but a good natural casing hot dog cooked on the grill is pretty hard to beat.
Except...I like the skinless ones too, so I was torn...standing in my local butcher shop trying to decide which to get. The butcher upsold me while I was thinking...sauerkraut and baked beans. Two more minutes and he could have sold me a selection of mustards, but I decided before the bill hit triple digits.
Long-time commenter "Lin-duh" asked about gas grills last week, but shockingly made her decision without waiting for dozens of suggestions, some of which might even have been worthwhile. I'm not sure why she didn't wait for "slap some hot iron," but I am sure she did well with a new Weber.
Speaking of which, it seems as though there are more brands than ever before. I saw a new (to me) brand while waiting for a propane tank fill, and it was extremely impressive; heavier built than my Weber, and with a ridiculously great infrared side burner. That is something that looks amazingly useful.
My big Weber is about 10 years old, and is already rusting in a few places. That is to be expected, since burning propane pumps lots of water into the air, and some of it is going to condense on the grill. But I would prefer a stainless steel frame to minimize corrosion.
Besides, just look at those grates! I'll bet the food tastes better with those grill marks...
Anyway, the brand -- Napoleon -- is new to me, so I won't be buying one until I can agonize and vacillate and change my mind 800 times. And that should take a few months.
******
I'm tired of the Sous Vide shit. I get it. It's a cool way to cook. Move it along.
These are Sous Vide beef ribs, courtesy of commenter "ibguy." It is a cooking technique that lends itself perfectly to low-and-slow cooking, especially of cuts that need the time to break down connective tissue.
And...damn! They look great! I can't find meaty beef ribs like that anywhere. The only times I have gotten good ones is when I convinced the butcher to cut them from the sub-primals, and to leave more than a thin ribbon of meat on them. That was worth it, but it's not an everyday thing.
Look how great that looks. Perfectly cooked, and I'll bet they were grand.
Yes, it's click-bait, or an agonized and desparate attempt to churn out one more article about food, when everything seems to have been said 100s of times before. This one is particularly silly, because the only common denominator is color, and I rarely choose foods based on hue. "Gee, let's have something red tonight!"
But a few of them are classics, so it's worth a read.
In particular the recipe for Chimichurri, which is really easy and really good. I first had it in the 1980s at a restaurant in Berkeley (Mark Miller's Fourth Street Grill). It was served on a simple grilled steak with impossibly thin matchstick fries, and it is still in my memory as a wonderful meal.
[Hat Tip: Misanthropic Humanitarian]
******
Food and cooking tips, Large-breasted Muscovy ducks, young wild pigs, bartenders who use vermouth in Martinis, crisp bacon (although I am moving toward less crisp), 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!
Well, I saw one last fall, but for some cruel reason, probably related to AGW and radiation from power lines and cell towers (that dastardly 5G strikes again!) and the global Jewish conspiracy, they are few and far between.
Yes, it is a tough life, and I see no relief on the horizon.
By the way, anyone know how they taste? I guess you use #12 shot, and probably nothing bigger than a 20 gauge.
The NYT Continues Its Hysterical Anti-American Agitation, With An Obscene Front Page List Of Wuhan Flu Deaths
—CBD
It's another grim milestone! Of course they don't do this for any other "pandemic," like malaria or Muslim terrorism or all of the other things that kill people at a rate several orders of magnitude greater than Sino-Lung-Rot. How about obesity, courtesy of the geniuses in the federal government who figured, "What the hell...let's change America's diet to a really bad one, based on nothing at all."
What's the body count for that little mistake? One million excess deaths? Five million?
Or the really big one, the holy grail of progressivism, their sacrament...abortion.
How many dead from that leftist savagery? 60,000,000?
The purpose of this horrid and manipulative front page is simple...to sow fear in the hearts of Americans, and make them question whether the federal government is doing anything to help. And the motivation is even simpler; the defeat of President Donald Trump in the presidential election of 2020.
The NYT WANTS America to be afraid. They WANT America to cower in our homes and continue the destruction of Trump's vibrant economy, courtesy of insane, capricious and probably corrupt rules governing who can and who cannot conduct business.
And they don't care that real Americans (unlike the frauds on their editorial board) are being injured, that the real work America has done over the last four years to pull itself out of the morass of government regulation and over-taxation is being destroyed.
Perhaps the legacy media will crumble into dust as a result of the very policies that they embrace. That would be a fitting send-off for a portion of the economy that has been disastrous for America.
That's one business whose failure we should applaud.
Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules), the low-lifes, shady characters, "funny uncles", and the rest of you ne'er-do-wells. 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 may be from some "take your daughter to work" event in DC.
The National Library of Ireland was established by the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act, 1877, which provided that the bulk of the collections in the possession of the Royal Dublin Society, should be vested in the then Department of Science and Art for the benefit of the public and of the Society,
The mission of the Library is to collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge.
On January 20, 2001, Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. became the 43rd President of the United States for the second time...
Newly elected President Al Gore is given a mysterious device that allows his mind to travel back in time and relive his presidency. He needs it, too! There is always some disaster forcing him to start over. Soon, the time-traveling President begins to suspect there’s more going on with this device than he first suspected.
Read the hilarious story of the President that never was, and discover why history turned out different.
Madness, murder, and mystery permeates throughout this Edgar Allan Poe-inspired thriller!
It is early April 1853. Franklin Pierce, the newly elected President of the United States, has suffered the greatest personal tragedy of his life, plunging him into a depression fueled madness. The Vice President, William King, unexpectedly appears at the White House in the middle of the night having overheard details of an international assassination conspiracy that threatens both King and Pierce. Unfortunately, Vice President King is killed without any clue as to who could have done it. Can President Franklin Pierce overcome his personal demons and discover who killed the Vice President before they kill him too?
Franklin Pierce in Death of a Vice President is a thrilling psychological horror, starring the president from the 1850’s you forgot in 4th Grade. It’s an exciting read, and you don’t have to be familiar with Franklin Pierce at all to enjoy the story (in fact, it may be a better story if you go in knowing almost nothing). This is perfect for the American history-buff and "normal people" alike!
Franklin "I Can't Get No Respect" Pierce rebooted as a detective/crime-fighting badass gets points for originality. This novella is also priced at 99 cents.
Morgan always assumed that if she could survive growing up in the mines of Planet Hillman – feared for its brutal conditions and gravity twice that of Earth – she could survive anything.
That was before she became a starship mechanic. Now she has to contend with hostile bosses, faulty equipment, and even taking care of her friend’s little girl. Once pirates show up, it’s a wonder she can get any work done at all.
This is not part of the sale, but while I was pulling together the relevant bits of information for this item, I noticed that the Kindle edition of Star Soldiers by Andre Norton was on sale for FREE (as of Friday afternoon), so I grabbed it. Because free. And also because Norton is an author I have never gotten around to reading.
I hope it's still free when you're reading this so you can take advantage.
472 As I’ve said, my brain can only handle pulp and picture books during These Uncertain Times, but if you’re fully functional, bully for you!, and here’s a list of Tomes of Substance:
https://spectator.us/lockdown-list-books-quarantine/
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at April 26, 2020 12:01 PM (Dc2NZ
Here's a series discussed in the Spectator list that I don't believe has been mentioned here before, and if it has, I missed it:
If you like science fiction, but don’t want anything too close to the bone, I can recommend the Destroyermen series by Taylor Anderson, which is about a World War Two destroyer that passes through a portal in the space-time continuum and plunges its crew into an alternate universe in which highly-evolved lemurs and lizards are engaged in an epic struggle for control of the earth’s resources. It sounds rather lowbrow, and I suppose it is, but the characters are very well-drawn and every inch of the canvas is filled in. The author is a gun buff so there’s lots of detail about ordinance, if you like that sort of thing, which I do. Highly recommended —.
And there are 14 Destroyermen novels in the series, so if you really like it, you have a lot of reading to do. Here's a link to the first in the series, Into the Storm, which Kindle edition costs only $2.99.
Misc. Book Notes
'Ette author Sabrina Chase sent me a link to some online explorable libraries
I doubt the hamsters can handle a direct imbed but the links might be fun for people to try. I'd warn people not to try the Klementinum library site when drunk, it's a little TOO responsive. I got dizzy looking at it sober.
Here's the link, 7 Spectacular Libraries You Can Explore From Your Living Room. In addition to the Klementinum, you can take a virtual tour of Harvard's Widener Library, King’s College Library at Cambridge University, and four other great libraries.
Inappropriate Children's Books:
Moron Recommendations
Catch Thirty-Thr33 e-mails in a recommendation:
For anyone wanting to read a good book on the history of Berlin with a focus on the postwar era, I'd recommend Frederick Taylor's "Berlin Wall: A World Divided, 1961-1989". The book covers the whole history of Berlin, but it focuses greatly on the postwar era, as the title indicates. Mr. Taylor goes into personalities on both sides of the Wall, and goes into the events as well. The airlift, the building of the Wall, and even the uprising of June 17, 1953 are featured in the book. Escapes and escape attempts from East Berlin are chronicled therein, and there are extensive sections on how East Germany kept its citizenry in line, through generally bribing the population whenever possible and of course through the usual measures of vicious police state tactics, such as the use of the Stasi. Finally, Mr. Taylor goes in depth into the Fall of the Wall and what happened afterwards (up until 2007, which I believe was the year the book was published - I bought my copy that summer). Best of all is that the book is very readable - it delivers the goods in easy to digest language and does so in a way that pulls the reader in and holds his or her interest. This is not a dense academic work - it is aimed at a general audience. This is exactly the kind of book those out there who were either born after 1989 or were too young to have a memory need to read so that they can get a sense of what a society ruled by a communist government is like. The memories are fading, I fear, and the sooner younger people are educated on topics like this, the better off we will all be.
I'm not quite old enough to have remembered the wall going up. I've always been curious as to the engineering involved, how the commies put it up in one night. And I am old enough to remember when it came down.
On the morning of August 13, 1961, the residents of East Berlin found themselves cut off from family, friends, and jobs in the West by a tangle of barbed wire that ruthlessly split a city of four million in two...it became an imposing 103-mile-long wall guarded by three hundred watchtowers. A physical manifestation of the struggle between Soviet Communism and American capitalism that stood for nearly thirty years...In the definitive history on the subject, Frederick Taylor weaves together official history, archival materials, and personal accounts to tell the complete story of the Wall's rise and fall.
On the morning of July 12, 2017, the FBI Boston field office receives what appears to be a hoax call: a man rescued from the waters off Massachusetts has claimed that his sailboat was hijacked and used to smuggle weapons and terrorists into the United States. With local agents tasked to prepare for an evening Presidential visit to downtown Boston, and with procedures requiring a response to any threat, no matter how unreliable it may seem, FBI administrative staffer Ben Porter is dispatched to investigate the call. Can Ben, untrained in field work and relying only on his wits and intuition, uncover the deadly plot … in time to stop it?
This is the Amazon blurb for an action thriller that Rush Limbaugh was raving about a few days ago, False Assurances by Christopher Rosow. Apparently, there's going to be a series featuring the character Ben Porter, and the second installment, Threat Bias, has already been released. The Kindle versions go for $2.99 each, not a bad deal.
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Books By Morons
'Ette author and short-story specialist Lisa Mathisen has just released the latest installment of her 'Glimpse' series, 'Glimpse vol 9 – BEST SCENES' which is a
...mixed genre sampling of fan favorites. Short story maverick Mathisen highlights the best of her penetrating observations and musings, 50 uniquely original tales in flash fiction style ranging from biting humor or spiritual to frightening and dystopian.
Sometimes it’s a shocking mix to keep you guessing. A wild thrill ride through the lives of protagonists you never saw coming, it has something for everyone.
Mathisen reflects Mark Twain's sardonic humor; pinches of Poe's creepy elegance and large helpings of Heinlein's ability to wrap futuristic fantasies in human frailty. If you enjoy a quick read these 2 page stories will leave you thoroughly entertained.
A Dress For A Queen Lizzie loves to perform daring tricks in strange places- the only trouble is -her day job gets in the way.
The Story That Got Away
Deidre works alongside Rodney an editor, who turns up his nose at every story she writes. Until she comes across photos of his mother’s past life.
The Lady In The Box
Pete thought he knew everything there was to know about yoga until he meets the Lady in the box.
Boudicca And Mavis
The tail of a dancer waiting for a chance, she wants attention, she wants adoration but what she gets is a different story.
A comical collection of 4 short stories, all for $2.99.
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'Ette' author artemis has just released a new Regency romance novel, a nice summer read called The Spanish Mask:
A Spanish postulant is living quietly in her Andalusian convent until suddenly, the various factions from the Napoleonic war descend upon her, believing that she alone knows where the Spanish royal treasure lies hidden. As she attempts to convince the British Commander that she is not the missing royal, she finds she must also convince him that the attraction that crackles between them is forbidden, and for more reasons than one.
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 very useful guide to applications of common tools – you may want to review frequently:
DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.
WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh shit!'
DROP SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.
PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.
BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.
HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.
VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.
OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting on fire various flammable objects in your shop. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.
TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.
HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.
BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.
TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.
PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.
STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.
PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.
HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.
HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.
UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.
ADJUSTABLE WRENCH: aka "Another hammer", aka "the Swedish Nut Lathe", aka "Crescent Wrench". Commonly used as a one size fits all wrench, usually results in rounding off nut heads before the use of pliers. Will randomly adjust size between bolts, resulting in busted knuckles, curse words, and multiple threats to any inanimate objects within the immediate vicinity.
SON OF A BITCH TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'SON OF A BITCH!' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need. H/T Cousin Chuck
I normally attempt to keep the Saturday ONT carefree, light and perhaps even funny. I try to stay away from current events. However, this story made me snicker.
Why yes, I'm from the government and am better than you and smarter than you. LOLGF!!!
Washington state officials have acknowledged the loss of “hundreds of millions of dollars” to an international fraud scheme that hammered the state’s unemployment insurance system and could mean even longer delays for thousands of jobless workers still waiting for legitimate benefits.
Suzi LeVine, commissioner of the state Employment Security Department (ESD), disclosed the staggering losses during a news conference Thursday afternoon. LeVine declined to specify how much money was stolen during the scam, which is believed to be orchestrated from Nigeria. But she conceded that the amount was “orders of magnitude above” the $1.6 million that the ESD reported losing to fraudsters in April
Seyfarth Synopsis: Reopening businesses must quickly prepare for customers claiming the ADA exempts them from face mask requirements.
Business re-opening their doors to serve customers have many issues to consider, and now they must add to their list customers refusing to wear masks because of a claimed disability.
Many businesses are now requiring customers to wear masks at their places of business, either on their own accord or to comply with governmental mandates. There are now reports of customers refusing to comply with this requirement, claiming that their disability prevents them from wearing masks and a refusal to grant them an exemption violates the Title III of the ADA. We have even seen a document which displays the Department of Justice (DOJ) seal stating that the ADA exempts individuals with disabilities from wearing masks and references penalties for ADA violations. While it is apparent to us that the document is not issued by the DOJ, is there a basis under the ADA for the objection?
According to the tribute, Jacobs’ friends called him RJ, but he was affectionately known as Uncle Bunky or "The Bunkster" to his family. Jacobs fearlessly lived his life in a way “that would have sent a lesser man to his grave decades earlier” and always did as he pleased.
“Uncle Bunky burned the candle, and whatever else was handy, at both ends. He spoke in a gravelly patois of wisecracks, mangled metaphors, and inspired profanity that reflected the Arizona dive bars, Colorado ski slopes, and various dodgy establishments where he spent his days and nights,” the obituary read. “He was a living, breathing ‘hang loose’ sign, a swaggering hybrid of Zoni desert rat, SoCal hobo, and Telluride ski bum.”
Known and loved for his one-of-a-kind personality and sense of adventure, Jacobs had a “chaotic energy and hysterical charm” as well as a “gentle soul.”
Meet Robin Hamilton of Hawthorne, Florida; the only woman ever to peer into the Ark of the Covenant and live to tell the tale.
Robin is a simple woman with simple tastes. She likes long walks on the beach, cuddling her favorite towel, and a roaring house fire with people inside.
Robin Hamilton, 57, was arrested shortly after Saturday’s fire behind a Hawthorne trailer home.
A woman told Alachua County deputies that she was renting the shed from Hamilton and living there with her two dogs. The woman said Hamilton had been drunk and threatened to “burn her out” because of a missing towel that had sentimental value to Hamilton.
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Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Surrender.
(H/T Ladyl)
Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire, AceCorp, LLC and the high quality, low deductible Ace of Spades Dental Plan & Hobo Emporium.
The Occasional Fishing Thread, Circle of Life Edition [Bandersnatch]
—Open Blogger
Welcome Piscators and Piscatrixes, Nimrods and Nimrettes, and Rough Riders of all genders to the current installment of the occasional fishing and hunting and other wholesome outdoorsness thread, It’s All Connected Edition.
One of the joys of the outdoors is its invitation to Nerddom, or the way it invites compulsive or spectrum types to explore increasingly expanding circles of knowledge. You start with the simplest question – where should I fish? Well, the fish are where the bait is. Why is the bait there? Well, if you’re a freshwater guy, it depends on whether it’s a freestone creek (water tumbles down hillsides) or a spring creek (water upwells through limestone) and the different chemistries of those waters. Then you can branch out into bug biology or geology and each of those will lead you somewhere fresh and new.
Like that pretty little feller up top. Mayflies are of the order Ephemeroptera because they are ephemeral. They get born under rocks in a stream and live 364 days as nasty little crawlies who get eaten by trout whenever they come out from under the rocks. Then they moult as butterflies do and struggle out of their bug shells at the surface and emerge as pretty, delicate, flying creatures. They fly around pretty for one day and have all the bug sex they’re ever going to have and die. Insert your own metaphor.
Of course, you have to dial in the level of nerdiness that fits you. I was on a stream once when an old guy told me that the pattern I was using was a mayfly with two tails and the kind that was hatching now has three. Thank you, Isaak Walton. You don’t have to know everything. If there’s a good shop near where you’re fishing they’ll tell you what’s going on.
That’s from Upcountry Sportfishing’s Framington River report. If you ever fish central CT check them out.
In saltwater – and I’m really a saltwater guy – it’s the Moon that’s important, at least inshore. In a forum like this (fishing Morons) we were talking about when to fish and one guy said I like Plum Island at dawn at low tide, particularly when it coincides with the New Moon. I said it always does. He said huh?
The tide follows the Moon inexorably. The Moon has a 28 day cycle which means that in a 24 hour day it advances the tide by close to an hour a day. So if high tide was 7:00 this morning it will be close to 8:00 tomorrow. A very handy thing about the tide on Boston, which includes Plum Island and the Outer Cape, is that high tide on a Full and a New Moon is at Midnight. Hence low tide at dawn. There are two tides a day each about six hours in each direction. So if I’ve been watching the Moon for a few days to know if it’s waxing or waning I don’t need a tide chart. I’ll catch the end of the outgoing at Scorton, then look at Bourne’s to see what it’s doing, then wander out to Nauset, it should be halfway into the incoming by then.
Now I’m going to tell a story about how some people are just magic. There was a famous fisherman named Tony. Every local knew his truck – he called it his buggy; he called his cabin on the sandbar a camp; I think all the camps are gone now and so is Tony – and people would shadow him. He hated that and if he were on to a fish when someone he didn’t know showed up he’d point his rod straight at the fish so that there was no bend to it and the onlooker wouldn’t know he was on.
So one night I saw his buggy at cutoff #3. The way the Oversand Permit works is you can’t drive on the beach, you drive a sand road behind the dunes and enter at the numbered cutoffs. I kept going and fished at #5, #7, and #9. It was a flat calm night, There was no wind, no surf, no sounds. It was the kind of night where any fish chased any food you’d hear the the food splashing from a dozen yards away. You’d see the bait ripples on the moonlit glassy surface. I scientifically verified that there were absolutely no fish.
I stopped off at #3 just to say hi. I didn’t take my rod out of the truck, just a friendly tonight sucks chat. “Hey Mike! Can you believe ALL THE FISH!” What? Mother Eff. So the thing to do that night was to lay out a black eel-like plug and not retrieve it, just twitch it on the surface. I went back and tied on a black eel-like fly, twitched it, caught a fish on the first cast and went home.
I’m making him an honorary late Moron for tonight:
hi mike, just want to say hello...
been fishing just about every night... had a good season so far... hope to get my second over 70#s soon... i hope i hope!!!
gotta be positive you know.
still love hunting for that first hit... i love finding those crazy fish!
when you get bored and want to do some bass hunting come on down...
hope all is well with you
take care tony
heres whats out there
‘Ette extraordinaire, the lovely and talented Nurse Ratched went outdoors with Morons.
This was our view this past weekend at Camp Defiance.
Winston, a Dreg of Society took the shot.
We had an EPIC campfire. Simply freaking ROARING. Didn’t hit the sleeping mat until after 2.
And there was a lot of bourbon involved, and wine. And beer.
But there was mostly freedom and laughter. And camaraderie.
Then again, we’re talking about Morons.
Moron attempt at setting up a shelter. It was raining slightly. And NO, we didn’t have the excuse of wind. I think the boy were just drunk.
And they refused to read the directions.
Like I said, it was a hoot.
And with that we move on to the raison d’etre of this here HQ, the comments section. Brickbats, praise, and fish brag pics are welcome at aoshqfish at sign gmail thing
Goal: Black can force mate in 4 moves
Hint: Get the King pinned in the corner
6k1/pbR2p1p/1p1p2pQ/4r3/6qP/6N1/P4PP1/6K1 b - - 0 1
Advanced Problem - Black To Play (1147)
How can Black secure a winning advantage?
8/8/8/q1pp1p2/4k2P/1PQ3P1/1K6/8 b - - 0 1
Dress Pr0n For The 'Ettes:
The new blog is ***finally*** up and running and today I have been posting all of my historical posts from 2016 onwards. It will take a few days for everything to be up to date. It's funny to see how my writing has evolved since my first years at university, and nice to see 1/2 pic.twitter.com/GtRxZsAs9A
Not wishing time away, it is far too precious, but I am gazing wistfully at floaty frocks, wondering if it will ever EVER stop raining here in the UK? In lieu of actual sunshine, here is a cheery early #1920s ensemble by @LANVINofficial, hat & all @metmuseum#fashionhistorypic.twitter.com/aN0nYCGl9y
The e8 square must be secured for queening. Premature is 2...Kf3? 3.h5 d4+ 4.Kd3 Kxg3 5.h6 f4 6.h7 f3 7.h8=Q and Black has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Back up at move 4, another move for White to escape the check is 4.Kc2, but then 4...Ke2 5.Kb2 d3 6.h6 d2 7.h7 d1=Q 8. h8=Q Qd4+ 9.Qxd4 cxd4
4.Kb2 will also fail, and I leave that line as an exercise for the reader.
Hope to see you all next week!
___________
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.
Thanks to Jake Holenhead for this interesting video.
***
(H/T Blake)
***
Meet The PetMorons
Love the Pet Thread and the site I never miss it!!!
The first picture is our Pomeranian, Haggard. He is a red merle Pom so our son suggested Haggard as in Merle Haggard, it stuck. He will chase a ball all day if you let him. He loves getting in the pool. My husband cannot get in without him. The second picture is his sister Prissy. We first named her Dolly but changed her name to Prissy because she is. The third pic is of our garage cat, Gabby. After Hurricane Michael, Cat 5, in 2018 we found her in the neighbors torn up garage and brought her over to ours since she and our house cat, Baby, do not get along. She will talk your head off. Sweetest cat I have ever seen. I love the white heart on her chest and the painted toes on her paws. She will lay in your lap and purr for hours if you let her. She comes and goes from in the house whenever she wants. The fourth picture is Baby, she is shy and a typical cat.
We are in Panama City, Fl and got hit really hard by Hurricane Michael. People are still working to fix their homes and businesses. I just wish we didn’t lose all of the trees, I miss them. - Thank you - Tina
We are happy to have you as a regular and contributing to the thread today. It certainly appears that your home is pet friendly. Thanks for sharing today.
***
Hi MH,
I love the pet thread and just about everything else on AoSHQ.
Maybe you can find room for our kitty. Just an ordinary tabby housecat but she got her name in an interesting way.
We got her from someone advertising free kittens on the supermarket bulletin board. She was the last of the litter and a runt so the owner kept her for a few extra two weeks.
No idea what to name her but we got takeout Chinese food that night and my Wife asks the guy at the counter how to say “cat” in Chinese. He says “mao and hao mao means “good cat” (assuming he meant well behaved).
HaoMao is 19 now. She has chronic renal failure, hypertension and hyperthyroidism but is doing great. Hope to have her for a little while longer. Cheers! - Eric
Eric we always find room for a PetMoron. Sometimes it takes a little time for them to get their 15 minutes of fame. Sounds like HaoMao has had a wonderful life with you folks.
***
These are my good friends Buster (brown) and Barry Wayne (grey). They are best of friends and will play with anything they find laying around including someone’s misplaced boots. Both are big snuggle bunnies and very affectionate. Of course having a full grown donkey lay the whole weight of his head on your shoulder isn’t very comfortable but they get a pass for being so sweet. Buster has been known to give a little love nip if you haven’t him enough scratches.
Both of them were rescued from the kill lots. - MW in Texas
Love nips eh? Hate to see what happens when they can't sit on the couch with you. J/K. You certainly have a large heart and it is quite apparent. Good on you for the rescue.
***
Mis Hum
I sent you a picture of Elvis a couple weeks ago but I saw that you said you had lost a bunch of recent emails so here is another one.
This is Elvis a couple days after I adopted him. Turns out he loves going for car rides and seeing the sights. He's a very happy guy and despite his attempts at acting like a tough guy he's a big marshmallow. - JackStraw
I can see why Elvis loves car rides. On a sunny warm day not much beats riding around in a convertible. Thanks for submitting Elvis' photo again.
***
Hey Mis Hum,
You have featured our latest rescue when we got him 8 months ago. On his 8th month anniversary of his new home, Wiley got bit by a rattlesnake. He likes to leap onto our patch of fake grass, and he saw it mid leap but there wasn't time to correct course. When he landed the snake bit him on the nose. Mr. Wee Kreek saw it and yelled to me. We thought he might not have gotten bit because Mr. Wee Kreek said he leapt almost three feet in the air to get away from the snake. When I got to him, I saw blood dripping down his nose. I had to get him and our other dog inside, and Mr. WK got on the phone to the Vet. In these times of "social distancing" there aren't as many Vets for emergencies open and we had to go about 20 minutes away to get to one that was open for emergencies. The bastard snake got away while I was getting the dogs in and I will always regret that. Wiley spent about 21 hours in the hospital, got three vials of antivenom, and we spent $2800. He is doing great. He is already back to his amazing self after only a week. We have spent the week preparing our fencing for an additional layer of "snake fencing"on the outside which means digging a 2 inch trench and clearing back all foliage so we can attach 1/4" wire mesh buried two inches down and extending 34" above ground. Most of you think digging a two inch trench is no big deal, however we live on a mountain full of rock so this is more of challenge than it sounds, as well as being in the mid 90's. This is supposed to keep the rattlesnakes out. All the local stores were out of the 1/4" wire mesh so we had to order it online. I have attached a picture of our little man after he got home. His nose is a bit swollen and his neck is pretty puffy. We only could find 1 puncture so we think he only got half a load of venom, which maybe why he has done so well. Any other petmorons out there with advice about keeping the snakes out? Has anyone else installed snake fencing?
Wee Kreek Farm Girl
We are glad to hear that Wiley made it. I have no personal experience with snakes living in the frozen tundra. He certainly is loved by you folks. Hopefully there are some Morons here who can help out on the snake issues you face.
***
This is Lily, tricolor Pembroke Welsh corgi, age 4-1/2 months. Mr and Ms Les Kinetic are getting trained by her.
So that little cutie is herding you and the Mrs. up already? So cute yet so much work, good luck with that.
***
I sent a pic of Bogie and Bacall back when they were 14 week old kittens. This is them now at 2 years old. Don't regret a second of getting them.
Kilroy wasn't here
Adorable kittehs Kilroy. Sounds like a fun 2 years with hopefully many more to come. Thanks for sharing today.
***
Thank you all for your submissions of links, pets and their stories. A wonderful group certainly!
We still have quite a full in-box here at the Pet Thread. We will get to your pets as soon as we can. If you do need to reach out in the meantime petmorons at gmail dot com.
The Pet Thread staff wishes you a safe and happy Memorial Day Weekend.
Saturday Gardening and Puttering Thread 5/23/20 [KT]
—Open Blogger
Hi, everybody! Above, a flag at sunrise from Larro, in honor of the Memorial Day Weekend. Below, the first Gaillaria of the season from 40 miles north.
And Larro also found a surprise in his garden this week.
Didn't remember planting anything. Wonder if someone else did?
International gardening and other outdoor activities
Our new Swiss garden guide dog, Gioia, takes us today on a retrospective jaunt through the woods to a little grocery store, during their lockdown, which is now being lifted with some conditions.
There was a little rock garden outside the grocery, with an alpine ground cover
And some appropriate succulents
Back home, there were early primroses and bulbs.
This week, she went to visit her mother, Bella, on the farm where she was born.
She flirted with a horse.
Back home, there was a rhododendron in bloom, and barbecue in preparation.
Sausages and asparagus. So Swiss. Cheesy potatoes and other fixin's not shown.
I have often suspected artichokes of murderous intent. Do you have other suspects?
Warding off the diseases of aging is certainly a worthwhile pursuit. But evidence has mounted to suggest that antioxidant vitamin supplements, long assumed to improve health, are ineffectual. Fruits and vegetables are indeed healthful but not necessarily because they shield you from oxidative stress. In fact, they may improve health for quite the opposite reason: They stress you.
That stress comes courtesy of trace amounts of naturally occurring pesticides and anti-grazing compounds. You already know these substances as the hot flavors in spices, the mouth-puckering tannins in wines, or the stink of Brussels sprouts. They are the antibacterials, antifungals, and grazing deterrents of the plant world. In the right amount, these slightly noxious substances, which help plants survive, may leave you stronger.
I am not afraid. Here is the veggie garden of friends of ours. Looks better than ours. We're doing weed control.
Can't be killed
Looks kinda tropical with its big leaves Big leaves can be spread to choke out weeds or thrown right in the compost bin
Can be used as a fan You can hit people with the stalks
Easy to process Can split one plant into 2
The fiber in it helps you poop * Like sour celery
Say, strawberries go with rhubarb. Cumberland Astro has strawberries!
I'm enjoying the first backyard harvesting of 2020 - my Tribute
Strawberries are once again coming in strong from my little 4' by 4'
strawberry patch. I started picking about 20 berries a day about a week
ago, with an especially good harvest today (see pictures.) This heavy
production will go on for a few more weeks before tapering off to a
steady trickle of berries throughout summer. These aren't huge
strawberries, but they are flavorful, and they're not hollow in the
middle like many large strawberries. Other than this little patch
planted three years ago I've never grown strawberries before. I've given
them no special treatment or care yet they've stayed healthy and
productive, so I'm very pleased with this varietal.
Long-season berries!
Gardens of The Horde
From the garden of Mr. and Mrs. Invisible Hand. Matilija Poppies, backlit.
Biggist wildflower in California. They spread underground, forming colonies, so the plants get big, too.
If you would like to send information and/or photos for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden
at g mail dot com
Include your nic unless you want to remain a lurker.
Could you have guessed last year that
this year cutting hair would be risky business?
Have you noticed a few changes in recent days in the ways that people are assessing risk? Have you noticed more emphasis on risks generated by lockdowns just in the past, say, couple of days?
Maggie's Farm has been featuring a number of posts and links recently which are related to risks people face at this time and assessments of risk vs. safety more generally. Some of these include ideas from Mike Rowe. For a while now, since way before The Virus, Mike Rowe has been kicking around the idea of "Safety Third". A little more on that later. I think this video about putting safety first during the time of the Chinese Virus is fascinating:
We can be a safety first country, but only for very, very, very short periods of time. And then we're reminded that the chief goal of living is not merely to stay alive.
Those with a literary bent may be interested in the story told in Mike Rowe's podcast concerning the Staplehurst Train Disaster. It features a novelist you may recognize, plus some ideas about risk assessment and character.
On Dirty Jobs, I was struck by the number of safety professionals who repeatedly insisted that nothing was more important to them, than my personal safety. "Your safety," they said, over and over again, "is our top priority."
I usually heard these words moments before I was invited to walk up the cable of a suspension bridge, or field test a stainless-steel shark suit, or climb into a bosuns chair to wash windows at the top of a high-rise. I still hear them today from pilots who invite me to strap myself in as they attempt to defy gravity in a pressurized aluminum tube that travels through the air at 600mph. And now Roger, I'm hearing them from you. You're telling me safety must always be first, no matter the cost. . . .
I'm not trying to be provocative, or insensitive. As I wrote on my first day of quarantine, I have two parents in the at-risk category, and I'm terribly worried about their well-being. But assigning a cost to preserving human life is hardly a new calculus, or a sign of misanthropy. We humans are constantly deciding which calamity to worry about, which disaster to panic over, and which tragedy to outright ignore. Just yesterday, 24,000 people died of starvation. The same will happen tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and the day after that. Over nine million a year die of hunger related illnesses. Why is this not a global emergency? Why doesn't cable news report these tragic deaths every minute of every day, like they do with this virus?"
Anyway, to answer your question, Safety Third was my slightly subversive attempt to start an honest conversation around occupational safety back in 2009, and to acknowledge the unintended consequences of exaggerating the importance of safety on the job. For what it's worth, it worked. Attached is a short video that spells it out for you.
And here's one of a hundred articles written by various safety professionals who actually agrees with me. . . .
Be careful out there...
Does this quote fit into these concepts somewhere?
Try to exclude the possibility of suffering
which the order of nature
and the existence of free-wills involve,
and you find that you have excluded life itself.
C.S. Lewis
Sports
Mike Rowe notes that as official safety measures increase a sense of safety, people tend to take more risks. But still, individuals vary in how much risk they want to take:
Wow.
Probably wouldn't want to try this now. Not enough social distancing.
Do Democrats need to do a new risk assessment?
There are all kinds of risks. Is is safe for Democrats to let Joe Biden talk?
Was anybody surprised yesterday when Biden said If You're Black But Can't Decide Between Me and Trump, Then You're Not Black?
Well, ZUBY, a non-American black, had a good laugh about this on video.
Come collect your boy, Obama. Collect 'im. This guy's done.
He posted a helpful campaign slogan for the Democrats.
It's the unofficial start of summer. Enjoy your weekend by not running with sharp objects, not pissing in the pool, not pulling the 'ettes hair and being nice to one another.
Yes, it's a fake, apparently these guys do a lot of this kind of stuff, inserting themselves to news stories, and it's an awfully good one. And when they find the burnt remnants of a Cardassian optolythic data rod which somehow miraculously survived the explosion, any imperfections in the forgery will appear to be a result of the explosion.
I can live with it.
(Quick Quiz: guess what my favorite DS9 episode is? Well, it's either that or “The Visitor “)
Doing what American entrepreneurship does best: adjusting to changing times and finding a way to thrive. I swear to OG, just once I would like to live in an America that was working properly the way the Founders intended, with minimal government and maximal personal responsibility. I can see why God doesn't allow it, however. People wouldn't want to leave for heaven when they died.
The Cannonball Run record is now under 26 hours, New York to LA. That means an average speed of at least 107 MPH the entire way. Incredible.
Oh, and just for the record, The Lamborghini Countach in the opening credits of the movie could have walked away from the cops chasing them in that Firebird.
This is why the media is claiming that the murderous incompetent Andrew Cuomo is a national hero -- they know Joe Biden will not make it to the election.
— John ‘Murder Hornet’ Cardillo (@johncardillo) May 22, 2020
Biden's staffers are so worried about what Grampa might say next that they're interrupting his staged, telepromptered interviews to answer questions on his behalf.
— Trump War Room - Text TRUMP to 88022 & get the APP (@TrumpWarRoom) May 21, 2020
I'm not sure what the staffer thought would happen here. Was she speaking into Biden's mic or did she have another line to the anchor's earpiece and it got picked up by his mic? Either way, it's clear she wasn’t thinking this would be on the broadcast. But there it is, Biden so unable to even manage even a simple interview, having to have his staffer step in to tell the interviewer what to do next. It makes one wonder whether Republicans get to call their shots like this, though perhaps local networks have to go with the flow with a national figure like this.
More of Felonius Fingers' recent cases of sundowning below.
Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris introduced a resolution last week calling on the Senate to condemn the term "Wuhan virus" as racist.
The resolution, introduced May 14, describes the terms "Chinese Virus," "Wuhan Virus," and "Kung-flu" as "anti-Asian terminology and rhetoric” that “have perpetuated anti-Asian stigma." The resolution on the Senate to condemn "all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID–19," including "all manifestations or expressions of racism, xenophobia, discrimination, anti-Asian sentiment, scapegoating, and ethnic or religious intolerance."
This is a perfect example of what they complain about on Morning Rising: China needs to be punished for unleashing this plague on the world, and hiding it, and buying all the world's PPE while it hid it, and threatening to unleash more coronavirus on the world.
Furthermore, the current state in which China makes all of the US's medicines (all of the generics, and all of the base medicines from which more advanced non-generics are made) cannot be allowed to continue. The US manufacturing capacity for core, essential goods must be brought home.
But that would mean upsetting the main money funding the Democrat Party, which is the main money funding the Republican Party, too: transnational megacorporations and the China Lobby.
So instead of talking about anything real, anything that actually matters, Democrats just flood the ether with constant frivolous Identity Politics non-proposals.
Instead of discussing the effect that 30+ years of a complete national surrender to the China Lobby's interests have done to American national security, American health security, and the wages and life outcomes of the American middle and working classes, instead we get more fucking censorship and speech-patrolling and Identity Politics poison.
And the GOP Establishment is more than happy to fritter away its time fencing with Kamala Harris on this point, because that spares them the need to discuss China, too.
Appellate Court Lawyer: Of All The Options the DC Court of Appeals Could Have Chosen in the Emmet Sullivan Matter, It Chose "The Most Extreme, Rare, and Drastic" of Them
—Ace
Yesterday I wondered if it was a big deal that the DC Court of Appeals -- Emmet Sullivan's overseeing judges -- had issued the order to Sullivan to personally explain himself to them.
As a Twitter thread from an appellate court laywer found by John Sexton explains: Yes, it's a huge deal.
Most of the thread is below, but here are the main points:
1. The appellate court could have just dismissed this motion out of hand, which they do most of the time. (As I noted, when you're dealing with a jailhouse lawyer's frivolous filings, it's only a matter of time before he cries prejudice and demands a new judge.)
They did not do this, obviously. They're taking this seriously. That fact means that this motion has already cleared a "huge hurdle" -- the appellate court accepts that this is serious matter requring their attention and not just a desperate last-chance gamble.
2. They could have politely "invited" Sullivan to file a reply with the court. Which is friendly and collegial.
They did not. They "ordered" him to. Which is unfreindly and reminds Sullivan who the ranking officers are here.
3. They could have asked an amicus -- a friend of the court; a respected lawyer or judge or legal commentator -- to file a reply on Sullivan's behalf and thereby spare him the indignity of having to, effectively, defend himself and act as his own lawyer.
They did not do that. They insisted that Sullivan himself reply.
This all seems like good news.
The three judges on this panel were appointed by Reagan, Obama, and Trump.
I assume the Obama appointee is a loss -- this case, after all, is about the misbehavior of Obama's ministers and minions.
The Reagan appointee, I don't know. People always think that Reagan appointees must be conservative, but that's not true at all. Emmet Sullivan was a Reagan appointee, originally. This was back when there was no Federalist Society, and when, frankly, liberal Bushites were running most of the government anyway. So this one could go either way.
The Trump appointee, Rao, I assume is good draw for us.
4) Rule 21(b)(1) allows the DC Circuit to deny the writ petition outright, without asking for a response. This is what happens with the vast majority of writ petitions. #appellatetwitterpic.twitter.com/R9gJjnhQmk
8) Rule 21(b)(4) states that the appellate court "may invite or order the trial-court judge to address the petition or may invite an amicus curiae to do so." #appellatetwitterpic.twitter.com/E9zQK1IsoR
10) Even if it wants to hear from the trial judge, the appellate court can simply "invite"--that is, request, or ask--the trial judge to respond. It does not have to ORDER the judge to respond. #appellatetwitterpic.twitter.com/ZNLFavvlXT
16) Had the DC Circuit appointed amicus, that lawyer's job would have been to present legal arguments defending Judge Sullivan's refusal to grant the DOJ's dismissal motion, NOT legal arguments purporting to show why the DOJ's motion should not be granted. #appelatetwitter
18) Instead, the DC Circuit ordered Judge Sullivan to PERSONALLY respond and defend his actions, without an amicus attorney to do it for him. #appellatetwitterpic.twitter.com/ess2zmL1JN
22) It has ordered (not requested) Judge Sullivan to personally (and not through appointed amicus) respond and defend his actions to them. #appellatetwitterpic.twitter.com/mb9MQPIvej
Stay-at-home orders intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus could end up causing “irreparable damage” if imposed for too long, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNBC on Friday.
“I don’t want people to think that any of us feel that staying locked down for a prolonged period of time is the way to go,” Fauci said during an interview with CNBC’s Meg Tirrell on “Halftime Report.”
He said the U.S. had to institute severe measures because Covid-19 cases were exploding then. “But now is the time, depending upon where you are and what your situation is, to begin to seriously look at reopening the economy, reopening the country to try to get back to some degree of normal.”
Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun had argued in an affidavit that Manke's shop was a threat to public health, but Stewart said not enough evidence was shown to prove that.
"The attorney general has not presented any studies underlying the doctor's conclusion,” Stewart wrote in his opinion. "The attorney general has not shown any nexus between the cutting of hair and an increased risk of transmission. The attorney general's filings rest more on general facts about COVID-19 than specific practices or conditions at Manke's business."
...
Nessel [the fascist AG] personally attacked Manke last week, questioning his motives for wanting to open his barbershop.
"Mr. Manke, he's not a hero to me," Nessel said. "He's not a patriot. A patriot is a person that fights all enemies, foreign and domestic, and does everything possible to protect his fellow countrymen and countrywomen. And, to me, Mr. Manke is doing just the opposite of that, and he's being selfish in his behavior in that what he's doing is allowing the virus to spread."
...
"The government is not my mother," the barber said to hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in front of the Michigan state Capitol in Lansing last week. "Never has been. I've been in business longer than they've been alive."
In a scathing nine-page decision, Lake County Common Pleas Judge Eugene A. Lucci excoriated Acton and her health department for exceeding their authority, saying the director "has no statutory authority to close all businesses, including the plaintiffs' gyms." Acton, the judge said, "has acted in an impermissibly arbitrary, and oppressive manner and without any procedural safeguards."
Judge Lucci went on to say that fundamental liberties--the right to own and use property and earn a living--are at stake in this case. Acton has "criminalized lawful businesses, imposing strict liability for violations, including severe criminal, civil, and equitable penalties," the judge opined, noting that "some of the plaintiffs' businesses will not survive the lockdown of two or more months."
...
Members of the Ohio legislature have been up in arms in recent weeks, calling for Acton to be stripped of her unchecked power--and rightly so, as Ohioans continue to suffer under the weight of the lockdown orders, which have devastated families, business owners, and the state's economy. Ohio has nearly a million jobs in the last two months.
A measure currently under consideration in the Ohio Senate (and already passed by the House) would limit Acton’s shutdown orders to 14 days and require her to consult a joint legislative commission if she wishes to extend such an order.
Ohio Governor DeWine, heady with power, has vowed to veto the bill if it lands on his desk.
Judge Lucci seemed to disagree, saying that if he failed to issue an injunction, "There would be a diminishment of public morale, and a feeling that one unelected individual could exercise such unfettered power to force everyone to obey impermissibly oppressive, vague, arbitrary and unreasonable rules that the director devised and revised, and modified and reversed, whenever and as she pleases, without any legislative guidance."
"The public would be left with feelings that their government is not accountable to them," Lucci warned.
Oh, would they?
What a crazy feeling. Only crazy people would feel such crazy feelings.
Kayleigh McEnany: "Boy it's interesting to be in a room that desperately wants to seem to see these houses of worship & churches stay closed."
Reporter: "Kayleigh, I object to that. I go to church. I'm dying to go back to church. The question that we're asking... is it it safe?" pic.twitter.com/UA2l0yzyLg
At 31:00 in this Derek Hunter podcast, Ann Coulter blasts FoxNews and Jonah Goldberg, with a knock Goucher College She says that she doesn't watch FoxNews because she knows exactly what they're going to say on it by just watching a few people's twitter feeds a couple of days in advance. I imagine she means Trump's twitter feed -- to attack his latest outrate -- and Jake Tapper's twitter feed, to get the liberal CNN line which gets a very light rewrite for FoxNews and is repackaged as "consensus conservative opinion"
Babylon Bee: Stacey Abrams Says She Will Step Down from the Governorship If Asked to be Biden's VP If she does step down from the governorship, the chain of succession is as follows: The new governor will be the current governor, Brian Kemp, who is the actual governor, and will succeed himself as governor, being that he is in fact the governor, and not the Let's Just Pretend to Make the Retard Happy Governor that Stacey Abrams is
A carrot and an altidudinally challenged woman walk into a bar...
Drift Compatible Podcast
RNC Research@RNCResearch
Democrat Stacey Abrams: illegal immigrants "are now no longer able to elect anyone who represents them"
Obese NeverTrump liberal Neil Cavuto now... mask-shaming Trump Meanwhile, the reporter that's on camera questioning Trump about his mask is wearing her mask below the nose, making it ineffective and hence just for show Hey Cavuto maybe read up on the New Science of Carbs I literally never see reporters wearing masks at their stand-ups -- they only wear them for show during White House briefings, and only for the exact seconds the cameras are on them. But the Karen Korps just can't stop with the mask-shaming
Noted Expert Who Obviously "Questions the Science" About the Dangers of Obesity Has Some Thoughts About Those Who Ignore Medical Advice:
@RadioFreeTom
15h
That mook in Costco saying he didn't have to wear a mask inside of someone else's place of business because "I woke up in a free country this morning" is everything you need to know about how some of us only understand "freedom" at the level of a toddler.
From Sarah Hoyt: warning...language!
I DO NOT CONSENT "Well, assholes, I have news for you: I do not consent. Nor do the rest of America consent.
You didn’t even have the decency to get us drunk before you started to lie to us."
[CBD]
#ReleasetheSnyderCut
The Hollywood Reporter says that the long rumored original cut of Justice League is coming to HBO Max next year. It'll be 4 hours long.
[TheJamesMadison]
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