Monday Overnight Open Thread (7/31/23)

Quote I

“Eliminating generational incarceration through education, by restoring value, hope, and purpose to our inmate population,” Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson

Quote II

“I was a leader in the search for Bowe Bergdahl after he deserted his post and we subsequently lost men looking for him. Not only did we lose brave service members, but then-President Obama also traded five terrorists in exchange for his release.” Retired colonel Rep. Michael Waltz (FL)

Quote III

"There is certainly concern with the US consumer that shows up in their sentiment, but our business and our value positioning in the market has put us into a good position to be able to weather that and continue to drive the share gains that you’re seeing," McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski

This should certainly grab their attention for a moment or three.

Megadonor pulls $400k annual gift after ASU ousts prof who hosted conservative speakers

Megadonor Tom Lewis pulled his $400k annual donation over 'left-wing hostility.'
“The university is just intolerable of the voice from the right, and we learned that in spades when we put on this event with Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager, and it just drove them crazy,” he said.

Just thinking out loud here. Would a service such as Life Lock picked up on this bold move?

Dan Haar: A property owner returns to CT, finds a new $1.5M house on his land. Now police are involved

The Fabulous and I recently attended a concert. We were both pleased with the band and the show. I can't imagine spending big bucks (IMHO) to see a show and throw something at the person I want to see.

In the latest incident of musicians dealing with items being thrown at them during their shows, Cardi B took a stand after she hurled a microphone at a concertgoer who had splashed her with a drink during her weekend performance.

On Saturday, at Drai’s Beachclub in Las Vegas, the Grammy-winning artist found herself in a situation familiar to many musicians in recent years: dealing with items being shamelessly chucked at them. Unlike many, Cardi is a force to be reckoned with and couldn’t let this slide. After a brief moment of realization, Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus, known simply as Cardi B to fans, paused her rendition of “Bodak Yellow” and assertively launched her microphone towards the front-row fan who had splashed the artist with liquor.

Now that Elon Musk is no longer the Left's Poster Child, I expect San Francisco to come out on top.

Musk and building inspectors in standoff over giant neon X sign
There are currently two active investigations into Twitter's HQ signage changes.

No sooner had I put the previous story in this comes rolling in. BREAKING
‘X’ Sign Abruptly Removed From Twitter HQ Following Complaints

TOPLINE The giant ‘X’ sign atop Twitter headquarters was removed Monday—just three days after it was constructed and received criticism from San Franciscans for its bright, flashing lights that shined illuminated nearby buildings.

Always good filler material for an ONT. Embarrassing tats or something to be proud of?

Tatt's embarrassing! Questionable body art proves why some people should be kept away from the tattoo parlour
BoredPanda has compiled a gallery of the world's very worst tattoos
Read More: Hilarious snaps show some of the worst permanent ink disasters

For most people with tattoos, their ink holds a special significance. Alas, for a small minority, they're just a permanent reminder of a not-so wise decision.

People from around the world have shared snaps of the worst tattoos ever, and Bored Panda collated them into a gallery.

There's the man who got eyes tattooed on his eyelids... so it appears he can watch people even with his eyes closed.

The U.S. Population Estimated at 334,233,854 on Jan. 1, 2023. New Profile Analysis Shows As Many As 60% of Americans Now Own Firearms, according to the handy dandy junk drawer calculator that's 200,540,312 gun owners.

A surge in “quiet gun owners,” much like the so-called “silent majority” in political circles, is leading firearms analysts to believe that far more Americans own weapons than the accepted 30% cited in polls.

At the highest end, it’s possible that up to 60% of Americans own guns, especially with the pandemic-era rise in gun buying among women and minorities, especially in suburban and urban areas.

Reason Magazine’s J.D. Tuccille put part of the study in the spotlight in an early July post that began the buzz in the gun industry about the potential of far higher U.S. gun ownership.

Ford could be going the way of the horse and carriage it replaced.

Ford Will Lose $4.5 Billion On EVs This Year, Up From $2.1 Billion Last Year

As we first noted last week, Ford is slated to lose $4.5 billion from its EV segment this year, a $1.5 billion larger loss than the company had expected.

So far this year, the division has lost $1.8 billion and this year's $4.5 billion loss figure blows away last year's $2.1 billion loss. Ford also announced that its electric F-150 pickup trucks will undergo a price cut, according to Fox.

Ford beat earnings on Thursday and reported adjusted EPS of $0.72, beating expectations of $0.54. It posted revenue of $45 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $3.8 billion, above estimates of $3.15 billion. We detailed analyst takes on the report late last week in this piece.

Who needs math when you can dunk a basketball?

Basketball player LeBron James is fielding questions from the Akron Public School Board concerning James’ “I Promise School,” where not one eighth grader could pass the state’s basic math test in three years. Not. One.

LeBron James’ I Promise School, located in Akron, Ohio, is currently facing severe criticism from members of the Akron Public School Board due to a troubling revelation. Recent reports have disclosed that this year’s incoming 8th-grade class has not produced a single student who passed the state math test in over three years.

The shocking news left board member Valerie McKitrick astonished as she expressed her disbelief, saying, “Not one? In three years?” The data presented to her revealed that not a single student from the fall 8th-grade class at the I Promise School could achieve proficiency in the Ohio state math test, per the Akron Beacon Journal.

RIP Paul Reubens AKA Peewee Herman.

Cher has led the names paying tribute to Paul Reubens following his death at the age of 70.

The actor, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, died on Sunday, with a statement on his official social media pages confirming the sad news.

Hollywood was in mourning in the wake of the announcement, with Cher leading heartbroken messages to the late star.

In a new post on Twitter, the Believe musician penned: ‘Goodbye Paul. Goodnight sweet prince. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Hamlet. William Shakespeare.’

Visualize whirled peas and Pudding!

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Members of the Upper House shuffled excitedly down the hall on their way to lunch Thursday after hearing Congressional chefs were prepping something special in addition to their usual meal of strained peas and blended cube steak.

"Oooo! I hear it's chocolate pudding!" exclaimed Senator Dianne Feinstein. "I haven't had chocolate smooshsmosh since Otto von Bismarck made his trek across the Delaware and another thing why are the lights in here so bright and where's Dorothy with my whacking stick…."

On this day: July 31, 1964 - Jim Reeves
Country singer Jim Reeves was killed in a plane crash when the single engine aircraft flying from Arkansas to Nashville crashed in thick fog. 40 year- old Reeves was one of the first country singers to cross-over into the pop market. with his 1960 US No.2 single 'He'll Have To Go', and 1966 UK No.1 single 'Distant Drums'. via thisdayinmusic.com

Born on this day: July 31, 1947 - Karl Green
Karl Green, guitarist with English beat rock band, Herman's Hermits who scored the 1964 UK No.1 single 'I'm Into Something Good' (cover of Earl-Jean's) and the 1965 US No.1 single 'Mrs Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter'. via thisdayinmusic.com

Splat! Genius Award Winner, Posthumous style.

SEATTLE — A man who was spray-painting a building was hit and killed by the Seattle Center Monorail Sunday night.

Seattle Police said it happened shortly before 9 p.m. near Fifth Avenue and Denny Way. The man had climbed onto the roof of a building.

Surveillance video reviewed by the Seattle Police Department shows the man was spray-painting graffiti on a building next to the tracks before he was hit.

Parachuting beavers? Yes, parachuting beavers and Tonight's Feel Good Story of The Day.

Parachuting beavers created a fire-resistant wetland

How beavers benefit the ecosystem

Some people have a negative view of beavers: they tear down trees and build dams that can flood the adjacent landscape. In Idaho in the 1940s, officials rounded up beavers from populated areas and relocated them – sometimes by parachute – to remote areas such as Baugh Creek. Now, nearly 70 years later, NASA satellite images show that these areas where beavers settled are lusher, greener, and more resistant to fire and drought.

Parachuting beavers

Some of the areas that Idaho wanted to relocate the beavers to were so remote that there were no roads to get them there. So, they came up with a novel solution. Idaho Fish and Game used surplus parachutes from World War II to drop the beavers into their new homes.


Top 10 commenters:
1 [538 comments] 'TheJamesMadison, watching some more Best Pictures' [75.52 posts/day]
2 [434 comments] 'Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden'
3 [413 comments] 'Aetius451AD Work Laptop'
4 [385 comments] 'polynikes'
5 [381 comments] 'Moron Robbie - The EPA has determined US has cooled since 1948'
6 [369 comments] 'Joe Mannix (Not a cop!)'
7 [348 comments] 'BurtTC'
8 [328 comments] 'ShainS'
9 [317 comments] 'logprof'
10 [317 comments] 'Blonde Morticia'

Top 10 sockpuppeteers:
1 [136 names] 'Official Novdu Informations' [19.09 unique names/day]
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3 [81 names] 'The Count'
4 [71 names] 'Alright, we've got ourselves a bonzer philosophy department!'
5 [69 names] 'Count de Monet'
6 [57 names] 'Ciampino - some vanilla is good'
7 [45 names] 'Duncanthrax'
8 [43 names] '18-1'
9 [39 names] 'I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper'
10 [35 names] 'i'm just sayin'

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Notice: Posted with permission by the Ace Media Empire & AceCorp, LLC. The ONT is proudly produced in the USA with all sorts of goodies. Well CA Prop 65 says otherwise.

posted by Misanthropic Humanitarian at 10:00 PM

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