20th Anniversary ONT

Today is the blog's 20 year anniversary, which is only one of the momentous things that happened on this day in history.

Ooof. Man, that's cold.

Ten Years Ago

One thing social media is good for is posting stories and having everyone get worked up about them without checking to see if they're true, or even recent. Still, this did happen.

Woman choked and raped by ex-boyfriend after dispatcher informs her there are no cops to help - and instead tells her to ask attacker to leave

A terrified woman from Josephine County, Oregon, dialed 911 to report that her violent ex-boyfriend is trying to break into her home, but in response she was told that there are no officers on duty to help her. 

The cash-strapped sheriff’s department in the county had been forced to lay off 23 of its 29 deputies after losing millions in federal aid. The remaining six officers had their shifts slashed to eight hours Monday through Friday.

Unfortunately for the woman faced with an out-of-control jilted lover, her 911 call came on a Saturday.  

Eventually, the crazed man forced his way into the house, choked his former girlfriend and raped her without no one there to stop him.

The suspect, Michael Bellah, was later arrested and pleaded guilty to kidnapping, assault and sex abuse.

Someone posted the 911 call on Twitter, and it's pretty horrific. Someone else reported that the lady had a conviction on her record for drug possession, which is why she couldn't have a gun, but I've seen no confirmation of that. In any event, the article focuses on the residents of the county voting against a tax increase to fund more police and how terrible that is. Well, on one hand, hey, they voted for this, now they have to live with it. On the other hand, I'll bet you a gazillion bucks that that county still fully funds welfare services and diversity officers and school administrators tasked to "support LBGQLMNOP+-* youth". I posted that on Twitter, and the comment got a lot of opinions. 183 likes, a few who were carping on me for being insensitive to trans youth and a couple who thought they had a trump card by telling me the county was strongly Republican. My reply was simple: What difference does that make? I live in what is literally the most Republican city in the country (70%) & we fund all that shit. Government always cuts essential services to justify raising taxes, no one will vote for a tax hike to fund the high school trans club, they will for cops. And that, I think, is the core problem with all levels of government. Fine, a federal grant ended which they had been using to fund police. They have a budget crunch. They have to make cuts or raise taxes. What they WANT to do is raise taxes, but to JUSTIFY that, they make cuts or threaten to make cuts, in essential services, for the simple reason that people will vote to increase taxes for essential services, while almost nobody will vote to raise taxes to fund drag queen story hour at the library or the new playground in the park, the contract for which happens to be held by the mayor's brother. And this poor woman suffered for it. I think there ought to be a mandated hierarchy of expenditures, say, police, fire, EMT, schools, and so on, down to paying for the sign to rename the local dog park after Tits McGee, and municipalities should be required to cut from the bottom up if cuts are needed. Each state could pass its own hierarchy list, and all the municipalities in the state would have to follow it.

Tonight's Game

I'm taking the pull down string to the attic trap door. How about you?

Jesse Kelly Trolls The Libs. Again.

I like Jesse, but I also realize that he's doing a bit. And he's very funny doing it, moreso when people don't understand the bit and overreact.

Republican radio host humiliated after saying Statue of Liberty is American architecture

Jesse Kelly, who in 2021 openly speculated that Republicans may soon get tired of "following the rules" and "pick a fascist" to lead the party, posted on Christmas eve that American art and architecture is superior to that of Europe.

“People love to sound sophisticated and brag about European art and architecture,” he said Sunday. “I’ve seen America’s and I’ve seen what they’ve got. Theirs can’t touch ours.” Along with that caption, Kelly also included a photo of the Statute of Liberty.

He wasn't humiliated, he was laughing his ass off at the libs having kittens. And so were we.

It's A Sick, Sick, Sick, Sick World

Wait a minute, wait a minute...I'm remembering something...It's on the tip of my tongue...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

In large, large parts of the west, governments no longer exist to serve the needs of their citizens (I know this has always been aspirational and often breached in practice, but it IS the basis of their legitimacy), but to serve the desires of an immoral elite class at the expense of the citizens. This can not continue. It must not. It WILL not. The question now is what form the correction will take.

Musical Interlude

I love this fan made video. Way better than many “professional” videos for songs.

We Have Ways Of Making You Talk

The Strange History of Chinese Water Torture

Contrary to popular belief, Chinese water torture was most likely not invented in Asia. 
Its first known description appears in a text written by Italian scholar Hippolytus de Marsiliis, who lived in the 15th century. 

Hippolytus seemed to have a certain fascination with inflicting cruel punishments on people because he known for studying sleep deprivation as a method of torture. 

In his writings, he meticulously described how a lack of sleep and aggressive interrogation methods can effectively extract information from a victim.

It’s no wonder this same person would devise a method whose main purpose was to drive a person mad. 

However, the method he devised originated from an erroneous conclusion. Supposedly, he observed how drops of water would, over time, erode a rock’s surface. And he believed that when applied to humans, the same would occur. 

That’s right, Hippolytus thought that the water could drill a hole into a person’s skull.

It would take thousands of years for any physical damage to occur from water droplets. But that doesn’t mean that Chinese water torture wasn’t effective. 

Gotta Catch 'Em All (With A Fishing Pole)

After 3,000 Hours, A Pet Fish Has Completed ‘Pokémon Ruby’

Following an incredibly innovative and interesting experiment, a pet fish has completed Pokémon Ruby, sinking more than 3,000 hours into the game.

How? So, Mutekimaru (that's the name of the fish) swims in a tank that has a grid displayed on the back of the aquarium. The squares on the grid are attributed to a button, i.e. A, B, up, down, left and right. A tracking camera follows the fish's movements, and when it moves from one square to another, the command is sent to a circuit board, which then inputs Mutekimaru's actions into Pokémon Ruby.

I'm going to remember this next time I'm playing Pokemon and feeling pleased with my performance.

Tonight's ONT has been brought to you by Savaging John Cleese:

The former member of Mothy Python posted a really stupid tweet this week:

He got plenty of push back, but nobody said it better than this Anon on 4-chan:

Ooof. That left a mark.

posted by WeirdDave at 10:00 PM

| Access Comments