This week keeps dragging on and on. And it seems to be getting colder as it does. I know its gonna finally get into the 50s here today and back into the 60s on the weekend so I’m not gonna bitch too much. But still…I hate cold weather. And most of a week in the 20s and 30s for me suuuuucks.
Not too much going on in the sports world yesterday. This article was written. You know, heaven forbid a team hire who they want without wasting other people’s time and money checking off a stupid box. It’s insulting to professional coaches and insulting to what are essentially the token blacks being brought in for no reason other than to comply with a race-based rule. Maybe some players should propose a Rooney Rule for white receivers and running backs. That would get panned as racist, while on the other hand, this desire to judge people by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character coaching ability is viewed as “progress” of some sort.
In hoops, Brett’s Seminoles took down the Tar Heels last night. Kentucky barely beat LSU. Oklahoma rolled. Miami fell to Ga Tech. Clemson, UVA and Purdue all won. On the ice, the Red Wings and Blackhawks took care of business. And across the pond, Arsenhole and Chelski played to a draw.
Didja get all that? Do you really care? Doesn’t matter. Time to move on anyway into…the links!
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on the move to stamp out “sedition.” That can’t be a good sign and I hope the move is condemned by the leaders of free countries. But don’t count on the leader gf Froglandia to do so. He’s too busy calling Trump out for his “inflammatory comments” that have been little more than supportive of the people protesting the barbaric assholes who throw gays off of water towers and stone unescorted rape victims to death. Way to stand up for freedom, Macron…you worthless, cowardly piece of shit.
I swear, this current storm is like a movie plot. If only it had waited until The Day After Tomorrow then it wouldn’t be causing so much havoc.
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit this morning near Berkeley, CA. No word from local authorities if its because of man-made global warming or if it was Trump’s fault personally. Either way, there’s no way it could have been a naturally-occurring event. Serious traffic delays are expected.
There was a fire at the Clinton house in Chappaqua, NY. No injuries were reported and it was quickly contained. And all we have to do now is wait for the “surprising” news that it unfortunately burned up [insert something that was either under subpoena or had been requested under FOIA] but that the former SoS and President were doing their best to comply with [insert name of agency that had demanded it be turned over].
As the latest member of the Kennedy cabal family enters the political world, so does mudslinging. This time its accusations of racism. And I can’t see how its gonna help him any. Who knows, maybe he was just doing what Kennedy’s do best before going out in public: getting drunk.
I’ve had to discipline employees in the past. But I didn’t do it quite like this. In the guy’s defense, I’d like to see photographs from the time for a little context.
And last but not least: Houston keeps winning!
This album cover reminds me of this week for most of the country. Plus I like the song.
Good luck out there, friends. Stay warm.
I’m a bit sad the Employment Survey dropped when I was otherwise occupied.
I was hoping it would stay alive today for those that missed it. It was a very interesting thread. Thanks to SP for doing it. It’s funny how asking one simple question results in 100’s of comments.
People love to talk about themselves. It’s basically the #2 rule in getting along with others .
It’s literally Carnegie’s #4 rule of how to get people to like you.
That was in the back of my mind. I was also thinking of good job interview techniques when I typed that.
Same here. I added my .02 anyway.
I missed it as well.
If anyone wants to know, I’m Batman.
Good luck out there, friends. Stay warm.
Last night it got down to -5F – needless to say my winter jog is taking a hiatus.
It is blowing some 50 mph here and snowing.. My employer contacted everyone to say that Hartford was shut down and hence unless you could work from home, you have the day off to shovel the mountains of snow we are supposed to get. Got a robocall from our power provider telling us that they expect power outages to happen and with the record predicted temps for the nexst 3 days, some people are gonna be icicles.
Nazi Flag At Antique Store Causes Death Threats
TW: possible autostart vid
WW II. You could probably use it for WW III. Recycling FTW.
I’m sure a lot of folks here are fans of the movie Idiocracy. I enjoy the movie, as well. The thing is, though, I think Mike Judge might have gotten the nature of the dumbing down process wrong. Rather than a bottoms-up dumbing down of society through increased breeding by the moronic, the stupidity seems to be seeping from the top down. The lower intellectual tiers, to me, actually seem to be improving. Yet those in the educated, “intelligent”, classes seem to be getting dumber by the day. Personally, I blame the overexpansion and consequent democratization of higher education.
Think about it, Does anyone here really think the people sending this woman death threats over having an historical artifact are high school drop-outs? Or is it orders of magnitude more likely that they’re people with college degrees, or even graduate degrees in the humanities. Twenty years ago, the overwhelming majority of educated people would have understood this item as simply a piece of merchandise the woman was carrying, a minor item of historical note that speaks nothing about the woman’s political views or outlook. And taking personal affront to a piece of cloth would have rightly been cause for public mockery and ridicule. Yet today, we a story about people threatening to murder a store owner for selling a piece of cloth is seen as a controversial issue. This imbecility wasn’t visited on us by Britnie and Cletus. This was the legacy of just the people Idiocracy implies might pass from the scene.
Oh there’s no doubt you’re correct in my view. I’ve observed the same thing.
I think what you are identifying is the result of college making people stupider, rather than more educated. Idiocracy will apparently come about because people go to college to be educated and come back with minds full of mush.
This. A degree in Women’s or Race Studies indicates that the student was an idiot to begin with – has now spent a quarter million dollars and 4 years having ever ounce of common sense and logic pounded out of his or her head.
Isn’t it quite the coincidence that it has become easier to hock your life away and end up with massive debt to pursue so many of these worthless degrees while people continue to be told they should just study what they are passionate about, even if said passion produces nothing of value and means no chance of employment? Colleges and the liberals manning it gain a ton of wealth and the world gets a shit ton of angry and victimized baristas…
“I’m sure a lot of folks here are fans of the movie Idiocracy. I enjoy the movie, as well. The thing is, though, I think Mike Judge might have gotten the nature of the dumbing down process wrong. Rather than a bottoms-up dumbing down of society through increased breeding by the moronic, the stupidity seems to be seeping from the top down.”
Get out of my head Bill.
Seriously, this is one of my favorite movies to watch, and I laugh my ass off every time. I do however remember that even the first time that I saw it, I had the impression that the reason the movie presented a dumbed down society had the reason reversed. Our aristocracy, be they the political or the other such entities where marxist ideology has become pervasive, want stupid people, because they are easier to manipulate in a system where they can shut down any form of debate by simply accusing their opposition of being evil (without having to ever provide proof of any kind other than the accusation itself). Too many people love to wallow in ignorance – and are proud of it – and think intellectualism is spouting marxist bullshit and platitudes. I think these people showed their hand a bit too early, and we ended up with Trump, which quickly resulted in them losing their shit and proving how fucking stupid and insane the shitty crap they portent to believe in really is.
You’re theory mirrors the plot of Atlas Shrugged. The normals just wanted to live their lives, while their political and beaurocratic betters were busy destroying the world.
Quick post before I go out to snowplow the equipment yard. Thank god we held back the loader with a heated cab.
Happy Thursday Glibs.
Ayers said he went to the home of Wendy Sigal, a reporter who worked at the newspaper in 1973 and 1974, and spanked her — on the advice of a doctor, Ayers claims.
The Lube Dx?
Hi, Dr. Nick
HVAC Glibs – Is there any good reason for this setup:
Furnace sits in a closet on the same flevel of the building as it is intended to heat. The intake on the furnace unit for the forced air system is at floor level, but there is ducting in the closet up to ceiling level then runs between the joists in the ceiling to pull air from the top of the next room, where the thermostat is located. No AC, just natural gas heating.
Why might the original installer not have just punched through the wall to have the intake near floor level?
Owner request to get around furniture or preserve the appearance of a wall.
It’s plain drywall, in beige. Not sure what furnature might have been there in the past.
I’ve seen stranger things.
Chief Hopper, is that you?
We keep hearing about your setup…
…but you never deliver the punchline.
He had a really short wife.
People Are Paying $37 Per Bottle for ‘Raw Water,’ the First Bizarre Health Trend of 2018
“Tap water? You’re drinking toilet water with birth control drugs in them.”
Why would they put birth control drugs in it if it’s turning everybody gay?
“This Way To The Egress —>”
A fool and his money are soon parted. If people are this stupid it’s almost a crime to not take their money.
If I’m going to pay extra for special water, I want it to be distilled and have as little non-water in the water as possible.
If it has contaminants, I want a discount.
I want one of Q’s ladies to pour it down here breastesses into my mouth…
Distilled water is awful.
Coke uses distilled water at their bottling plants, but add packets of minerals for their bottled water.
Plus distilled water is useless for brewing (unless you want to control exactly what minerals you add to the water).
I don’t drink bottled waters because they taste like crap. Most leave this disgusting chalky aftertaste.
If people are this stupid it’s almost a crime to not take their money.
Do you have a newsletter?
P.T. Barnum will always be right.
Oh my God something that actually makes the organic/vegan types go, “come the fuck on”
Science
I have some water to sell them – better than raw, it’s sterile with a slight yellow tinge, not that evil clear stuff!
Distilled water costs less.
Distilled derp? Priceless.
I’m behind the times with bottled water. Someone was talking to me about “structured water” yesterday. I told him I would think structured water is ice.
Unstructured water would be water vapor, also identifiable as air. Start selling empty plastic bottles.
Unstructured Lavender Water. $50 per 20oz bottle. /starts picking out vacation homes.
Sorry, thanks to Trump’s tax cut your dream of a vacation home is over.
Macron also said he would only visit Iran if there was a return to calm and respect for freedoms.
He wants to reinstall the Shah.
If the son of the last Shah is sincere about what type of government he wants to put in – stop laughing – that would be an improvement.
Actually given the amount of state sponsored terror from the Mullahs, even a dictator who didn’t pull that shit would be an improvement.
No need for “actually”. That’s my point.
Woke up to find my thermostat kicked into away mode. I was warned about smart appliances, but I bought one anyways. Now they’re self aware!
If you have electrical heating, I bet the power company did it remotely because too many people are using power. This has been a prevalent problem for a lot of people that got the smart thermostats and have electrical heat.
That’s not going to have any unintended consequences whatsoever…
Yeah, when the company peddling these things called me and offered me a HUUGE discount if I got it in addition to a bunch of big savings on my taxes for putting the item in, I told them I would do so only if I could get a written affidavit certifying that the power company would never, ever collect data on me or make changes to my selections from their end…
After assuring me this was already the case, I pointed out they were full of fucking shit, and then the he told me this would only happen for my own good. I hung up on him after telling him to go get fucked by a donkey.
-33F this morning – headed for a balmy -6F today! Truck says – Fuck You! get me a garage!
Oh. Anyone beat that? It was about 45F today and 35F or so right now.
16F here, forecast high of 19F, so no, can’t beat that.
That’s below zero to me. Haven’t experience that this winter.
Ahhh, takes me back to summer in northern Minnesota!
It’s a balmy 12 in Fairbanks right now… so no.
After lurking for the better part of a decade here and at TOS, having created an account and letting it lay fallow for months, with my first post, I have to say, your fascination with Fairbanks might be the weirdest thing I’ve stumbled across on the internet, including HM and SF’s links. With that said, I do very much appreciate your daily contributions, as well as the contributions of all on the site.
Anyways, greetings from tropical Fairbanks, AK!
Greetings, Tulpa!
You lucky bastid. Get me a job up there?
As a kid I used to love to look at our big color atlas, and wonder about Fairbanks. So I grew up with a weird obsession about it too!
About ten years ago I was invited to give speeches in Anchorage, Wasilla and Fairbanks, in June! I was thrilled.
And I was amazed at how beautiful and warm Fairbanks was in the summertime. We had lunch in an outdoor restaurant on the banks of a small river, it was super nice.
I do love your state. I’m not sure how I’d deal with the winter there, but the summer was tres cool.
39F here, wind chill in the 20s!
(seriously, that’s like, unreasonably cold for SoFla. Only headed up to 57 or so today.)
Isn’t North Florida Snowed on right now?
People must think the four horsemen are on the way.
You win. Only got down to -6 here.
Whoa. High of 11F here and low of -1F.
How cold can it be if chicks are running around in bikinis?
9F here in the most powerful area of the world.
You’re in Pyongyang?
“””“” I know its gonna finally get into the 50s here today and back into the 60s on the weekend so I’m not gonna bitch too much.”</I
upper midwesterers stare in silent, stony judgement of your entire state
*adds 1000 yard stare*
Oh, only -4 right now.
You two are only staring because your eyelids are frozen open.
*icy stare*
Oh, look down to -6 now.
Two years ago when I flew to Ft. Worth for business, I was disappointed in the weather. In my minds eye I expected desert 70-something weather. Not drab 40-something. It looked like Michigan in November. Well Michigan with less trees, and more scrub and cows.
In fairness, my Dad winters in south Texas and I would not want anything to do with the summers down there. I’ll take a few weeks of brutal cold over 6 months of 90s plus humidity thank you very much.
Just set record in Michigan for consecutive days not reaching 20 degrees for a high temp. I’ll peak out around the middle of June to see if we’re in the 70s…
Try most consecutive days not reaching zero, that’s what were dealing with. That’s brutal. Temps in the 20s F are perfect winter weather. Not bone chilling cold, but not melting all the snow and ice (bad for winter sports). Winter is better without constant freeze-thaw cycles (IMHO).
We’ve been sitting in the singles digits for a while, and getting snow most days, but it’s still too damn cold to be out for any amount of time. The kids can’t get out in it to play. I can’t run. We’re supposed to get back in the 20s on Sunday, so a perfect day to set up a bonfire, make a snow couch, and drink outside.
Dealing with cold is like most things, preparation is key. With the right clothing it is easily bearable. People here still run and bike (fat tire bikes mostly), lots of people cross country ski (including skiing to lakes in the Boundary Waters to go ice fishing). Honestly, the cold is far harder on our man-made surroundings that it is on people. Cars don’t like it. Buildings don’t like it. It’s awful for roads (yay for frost heaves!). Things just stop working. The plastic knob to turn on the lights in your trucks just breaks in your hand.
Have I sold anyone on l living here yet? Hope not. Because the best thing about cold is it keeps out the riff-raff!
The official motto of the upper midwest
I hate running in yaktrax so I end up going to our gym. I hate running on the small track so I end up on the treadmill. I hate running on treadmills.
And don’t forget the mosquitoes and deer flies, come summer.
IT’s CLIMATE CHANGE! IT”S COMING TO GET US!
Seriously, so tired of everything being blamed on climate change. It’s the weather, not a political agenda.
-8 supposed to reach a high of 8, summer is coming!
You silly people. Snow is not for living in. It’s for visiting only. You all need to move to the Southwest.
We’re supposed to get back up into the 30’s early next week. At that point I think I can move the coats back to the closet. If the weather stays cold, the Ice Ride may be on this year. It’s a bike ride across Lake Erie to Put in Bay.
Woke up to find my thermostat kicked into away mode.
It’s Skynet’s way of telling you to GET OUT!
STEVE SMITH SAYS NO.
Is It Weird to Have Your First Kiss And Have Sex For The First Time in the Same Night?
I think people were, on average, less socially inept and awkward before the invention of smart phones (I’m talking normal people here, not Glibs).
Of course you meant normal people. Glibs were always socially inept and awkward.
This is not true. I managed to bang this chick who just wanted to shake hands.
You do know that a “Court Date” isn’t related to dating or courtship, right?
It’s the only second date I can get.
I don’t think I’d kiss someone (on the mouth) on the first date that I also slept with on the first date. If they’re that easy, you don’t know where that mouth has been.
But you’ll propose within a month?
Proper order:
1. Vaginal intercourse
2. Marriage
3. Then you kiss her at the altar
It makes it so much more special if you wait until you’re married.
Golden anniversary for anal?
Naw, that’s more like a 3rd date thing.
Don’t wanna buy the car before you test drive it right?
Who are you, Dr Ruthless?
Propose in two days. Moved her to California two weeks later. Married in under three weeks.* Happy six years later.
This is a simple formula for success, people.
*But we knew each other from TOS comment sections before that and had a series of text, email and phone conversations in the weeks leading up to me going to meet her.
Some of it must be genetic. My parents got married six weeks after a blind date on which my dad farted on his future wife’s head as she was crawling out of a car.*
*They were on a blind double-date with his buddy Mike Paisley, who drove a 65 Corvette Stingray and they had to ride in the back compartment. He told the story two weeks ago at their 50th wedding anniversary party.
I think the
slutgirl is saying she’d kiss the guy first before letting him know how easy she is. So, you’ve already kissed her mouth that’s been on a dozen other guys’ junk.37?!
To Veronica: Hey, try not to suck any dick on your way through the parking lot!
To random dude: Hey you, get back here!
Wasn’t there an Oklahoma quarterback a while back who was engaged and he and his girlfriend were planning on having their first kiss at their wedding?
Sounds more like a Notre Dame linebacker.
Holly Madison, the onetime girlfriend of Hef and reality “star” has a $1 million dollar insurance policy on her boobs.
http://archive.is/3JRmK
7, 10, 12, 16, 20, 22, 25.
When you have a moneymaking asset, you insure against loss.
Individually, or as a set?
Well since one is pretty worthless without the other, I can only assume as a set.
Bonus:
Because the 3rd best thing in the world is (you already know what the first 2 are) a great set of butt dimples and this is one of the best I’ve found.
https://imgur.com/kfyrIRQ
My wife has the best.
I have to agree with Coop on this one.
Well said.
Get your thumb off the scale. I’m still gonna take 22.
#22 and #26 (Christina Hendricks).
If I’m going to pay extra for special water, I want it to be distilled and have as little non-water in the water as possible.
Exactly. There had better be nothing but hydrogen and oxygen molecules in that bottle.
DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE KILLS!
http://www.dhmo.org/truth/Dihydrogen-Monoxide.html
It’s only an enhanced way of drinking. /Chaney.
Distilled water? This is the first virgin processing of natural stream water, all for the low low price of $10 per gallon.
You may also want to make sure that you have the correct ratio, I mean who wants H2O2?
“It’s sad to see Chris Kennedy joining President Trump and Governor Rauner in using cynical, politically motivated attacks about Chicago’s communities for his own personal gain,”
I’d say it’s more deplorable than sad, Rahm.
Andy Sez:
Sorry Andy, but income tax need not be apportioned, thanks to the 16th Amendment. If you want to challenge it in court, you need to get an amendment to repeal the 16th.
Oh, please do…
So, ending a tax subsidy for the high tax rates in blue states is “robbing them for the red states”.
I guess he sees not taking as giving and not giving as taking.
Well, he is Governor of New York.
And Cuomo is extremely divisive toward gun owners.
Anybody remember when Obama was in office and paying taxes was patriotic n’ shit? Now it’s literally worse than genocide.
They meant Other People paying taxes.
It’s good to see Cuomo going to the mat for his wealthy constituents (cause that’s what this is). What income level does it take to bust the ten thousand dollar state tax limit in New York?
Give or take $400K/yr
Aggggh I hate this, because I hate the fact that the state deductions were killed, because they were a tax hike for some people, but to claim that this is unfair to blue states makes me want to punch a tree. Blue states have been swindling their tax payers by taking them high, and hiding behind the state tax deduction. Now that can’t do that and they don’t want people to know the real cost.
Isnt it making the tax more progressive?
Its not like the poors are going to hit the 10k limit even in NY or CA.
Andy’s constituents are the NYC Limo Liberals.
In other words, progressives who should be in favor of progressive taxation.
for other people. Need I remind you that these same people are routinely walking around with millions in unpaid taxes on their record?
Oh, I know. I was just pointing it out.
Worse than slavery
The White House is banning its employees from using personal mobile phones while at work in the West Wing, despite concerns among some staffers that they’ll be cut off from children and other relatives trying to reach them.
—————
White House chief of staff John Kelly imposed the ban, citing security concerns. President Donald Trump has repeatedly complained about press leaks since taking office, but aides said the change isn’t connected to concerns about unauthorized disclosures to news organizations.
There are too many devices connected to the White House wireless network, and personal phones aren’t as secure as those issued by the federal government, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an internal White House matter.
Aides who opposed the ban said they cannot use their work phones for personal use, and that work phones can’t accommodate texting. They believe the ban will be a hardship because texting is often the easiest way for their families to reach them in the middle of a busy day of meetings.
Call me crazy, but I have no problem with this. When you’re at work, you’re there to work.
It’s like the Holocaust all over again.
You are saying that to the wrong crowd methinks.
If be annoyed if my work implemented it. I’ll text while taking a break. Doesn’t mean I don’t work hard, but going at it for 8 hours straight without moments of fresh air isn’t as productive.
Not all of us are lazy bums. I can’t bring my phone in with me at work, and I get along just fine for all 10 hours of the shift.
Security concerns? We all know the most qualified people in the world use their unsecured Blackberries to forward all the important stuff to their Yahoo and Bathroom Server accounts, THE MOST QUALIFIED.
This new policy makes it impossible for me to check glibertarians.com though 🙁
Now you’re going to gang up on us with Rufus!?
Celebrate Freedom, Not Pot
…said the boring party-pooper wet blanket.
But the humanitarian side heralds the many who could not control their drinking and broke their downward plunge through participation in Alcoholics Anonymous.
I understand. Really, I do. Alcoholism probably played a role in my late wife’s passing. But, here’s the thing, Prohibition didn’t do a thing to stop alcoholism. And modern-day Prohibition doesn’t do a thing to stop drug addiction. If you don’t believe me, look at all of the young people who are ODing around the country every day. Put simply, Prohibition clearly isn’t working. If anything, it’s making the problem worse by shifting people to harder drugs and cheaper highs and increasing the costs of those people getting help.
Right. And she’s not arguing for prohibition. She’s arguing for legalization of everything. She’s just saying it’s dumb to somehow glorify drugs like all these California hippies have been doing.
True. And I wasn’t necessarily arguing with the author. Just addressing that part of the squeamishness about legalization.
There’s nothing wrong with that position. I tend to agree with it myself. Too often libertarians themselves fall for the equation of approval and tolerance. Where critics of libertarianism cite believing something should be legal with approval of it, too often libertarians equate disapproval of something with statist urges to prohibit it.
I was in that trap myself, as a conservative before I became a libertarian. I had friends that would smoke pot around me, and I did not like the way they acted when they did that. I have come to see that it is their own choice, and that their own foolishness is not my problem.
Right. And the thing is, you’re not less of a libertarian for thinking it’s foolish. In certain libertarian circles, not approving of pot is rejecting part of the holy trinity (the other portions being Mexicans and butt sex).
As someone that has never done drugs (unless you count alcohol) I can attest to the fact that I have had people tell me I can’t be libertarian without doing so, despite the fact that I am pro individual freedoms and rights, and against the drug war in general.
If I had the government ban everything I disapproved of…
We’d all be eating sand and drinking air.
I’ve often said that if we destigmatize recreational use, people will emerge from the shadows, and those with legitimate addiction issues will be more likely to seek help.
We tend to empathize with alcoholics more than we do drug addicts because alcohol is legal, it’s everywhere, and is thus more “socially acceptable”. If recreational drug use was afforded the same treatment as alcohol use, I think in time we’d find more addicts ready to come out of the shadows and legitimately seek help.
My paternal grandfather and grandmother have been active in Alcoholics Anonymous for 35 years (they sobered up together). One of my maternal uncles has been active in AA for 30 years (yes, I have it coming at me from both sides of my gene pool). When I recognized that I had a problem, I knew exactly where to go. Most drug addicts do not have that luxury. Whereas my grandfather, grandmother, and uncle lived proudly sober lives and were open about their alcoholism, most addicts – even those that have been clean for years – are often stigmatized.
^^^This guy gets it.
I’m sure there will be no unintended consequences of this at all…
http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/iceland-just-made-illegal-pay-11789693
First comment.
Well, 24 is the highest number…
I am going to boldly stride into the C-Suite at work and demand we do the same! Should I go to the woman who is CEO first, or the woman who is CFO?
EQUALIZED PAY!
North Korea Accidentally Hit Its Own City During Missile Test According to New Report
Totally meant to do that.
How do we know it was an accident? They place zero value on the lives of their citizens, maybe they just wanted live targets.
Exactly comrade. Now we know the missiles work.
whoops – well we never liked that city anyways.
I’m seeing a moment where they finally decide to launch a nuke – and it plops right back down on their own turf, wiping the Kims from the face of the Earth.
They took their missile training from the Gazans.
Totally meant to do that.
This is true in a serious way. Ever notice how many fails they have? It’s intentional.
They have to appear strong, but if they actually do anything they know they’ll be annhilated.
They can’t be seen as weak, so they do these missile threats and launches, and then intentionally subvert them.
“”No word from local authorities if its because of man-made global warming or if it was Trump’s fault personally.””
Too small, no one died. This was clearly mere white privilege at work
The GOP tax plan robs blue states to pay red states.
Yeah, that’s not how this works.
Not taking is giving, and not giving is taking, don’t you know?
Somehow I don’t think this is going to be a popular as he imagines.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/andrew-cuomo-new-york-exploring-ways-to-circumvent-gop-tax-overhaul/article/2644888
Already posted, d’oh!
Baker proposed that state governments replace income taxes with employer-side payroll taxes, shielding more income from federal taxation.
Sure that tax will stay on “the employer-side”, Bucko?
When they make it illegal to put it on the paystubs, the customers will never know…
And I can absolutely see them doing that. I sort of wish it were law that both parts of payroll taxes had to be on your paystub and your W-2, just so you could see how much you are getting fleeced.
Taxes should be paid by the person, not automatically withdrawn. Changes would happen then. To see the money come into your account(s) and then have to be paid out would enlighten a lot of people.
And tax day should be election day to boot.
Ooooh, I like that idea.
Wasn’t mine, but I do think it would have an impact on voting patterns.
Tax day first, next day election day
Eh, private escrow accounts for payroll taxes will show up, employers will offer them as a benefit and soon we’ll be right back to where we started.
I’ve come around to the idea that so long as we’re going to have a government funded by taxation, it should be a “head tax” to be paid directly from each person who has reached voting age. Total expenses of government divided by the number of people in the population.
The entire IRS could just be a giant database with a list of social security numbers and corresponding addresses, and the employees’ only function would be to follow up with the taxpayers who have not submitted a payment by the deadline. The entire agency could be shrunk down to a tiny fraction of its size and cost.
No more market distortions caused by the hundreds of special little taxes on certain business activities; no more companies headquartering overseas to avoid taxes; no more confusing tax situations that require citizens to hire a financial professional to comprehend.
Thai penis whitening fad drives social media nuts
Black Dicks Matter
Have you seen Sammy Sosa lately?
http://www.trbimg.com/img-596783b2/turbine/ct-sammy-sosa-lighter-skin-20170713
Safe for work not a dick pic…
Used to be frewer… connotations
Fun fact: My mom’s cousin was photographed as a baby for some Eisenhower campaign ads with the “I Like Ike” slogan.
Holy shit.
If they read a story about Western women bleaching their assholes, they probably balk the same way we balk at this.
Brown poopers matter?
All poopers matter!
Women bleaching their assholes is still weird to me.
It’s only polite to sterilize something that someone else is going to be licking.
+1 changing your ringtone
I am all in favor of reclassifying state taxes as charitable donations. Just as long as they’re truly voluntary. It would provide invaluable feedback regarding the true perceived benefit of state “services”. Especially if people become aware of just how much of their donation goes to support retired state employees who live better than they do.
Interesting. If they do this, could someone decline to make this charitable donation without repercussion? That would be an interesting court case.
Matthew YglesiasVerified account @mattyglesias
Matthew Yglesias Retweeted Josh Dawsey:
We’re about to learn that right-wing “populism” is nothing without its billionaire patrons.
Alternatively:
“We’re about to learn that left-wing ‘grassroots resistance’ is nothing without its billionaire patrons.”
This.
Lefties really don’t want to face up to the fact that their own movement is bankrolled by self-interested 1%-ers. Whenever I hear them complaining about the Koch Brothers donating money to politicians, I tell them to look up how much money gets poured into Democrat war chests by the AFSCME, SEIU, and the teacher’s unions, then I tell them to think about why those organizations might have an interest in Democrat policies being implemented.
There’s a perception out there that Democrats never have any financial interest in their policies; that they’re just angels of self-sacrifice who only want to help their fellow man. This is fucking bullshit, and we need to get the word out.
Have them Google Tom Steyer and get back to you. He gives 10x what the Kochs do to politicians.
Wait, where are those patrons going? I thought the new tax law and net neutrality repeal were going to make this a country of robber barons stealing peoples’ internet.
…and their money and their lives!
/prog
Filed under: headlines I never thought I’d read.
http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/367326-chelsea-clinton-denies-worshipping-satan#.Wk2SowxB4ew.twitter
Fake news
As a Baal worshiper she’s technically correct.
It’s a Webb of lies.
The Devil’s greatest trick was convincing the world that the Clinton’s don’t worship him?
any crazy person that can tweet can now become a world renowned ‘thinker’.
Well, it’s pretty rare for children to actually worship their mothers.
“This week in the 20’s and 30’s”
You southerners could really learn how to deal with cold weather from those of us in the upper Midwest. 30 degree weather is not cold that is called ‘Autumn’.
^ This ^
Alternately, it’s called “Spring”
It’s trannies all the way down.
https://pjmedia.com/trending/study-27-california-adolescents-identify-nongender-conforming/
AP NewsBreak: US to end policy that let legal pot flourish
Sessions.
Because it’s worked so well in the past we need to PROHIBIT HARDER!
Here’s the argument I’ve heard: We never had an extensive system for legal weed like we did with alcohol before prohibition. Therefore we can restrict weed where we couldn’t restrict alcohol.
Sessions is a worthless sack of shit. He’s a timid pussy on the things that badly need to be addressed and he gets aggressive on this stuff and civil asset forfeiture. Trump’s worst appointment by far.
Fuck that guy!
In fairness to Sessions, in the past he has said that he is following the law as written, and if Congress were to change the laws regarding drugs, he would respect those laws. He’s got a point.
Pretty much this. Unless an AG takes the stance that the federal drug laws are an unconstitutional infringement of intrastate commerce, then they should enforce them.* It is the legislature’s job to make and change the law, the executive branch should merely enforce it. The only time the executive should ignore the legislature is when they themselves are violating the law (such as passing unconstitutional laws).
*This is not likely to happen, as the misinterpretation of the commerce clause that is currently accepted is the foundation upon which a lot of current federal regulation rests.
Here’s the quote I was thinking of: “the U.S. Congress has made the possession of marijuana in every state, and distribution of it, an illegal act. So if that’s not desired any longer, Congress should pass a law to change the rule.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/10/sessions-on-enforcing-federal-marijuana-laws-it-wont-be-an-easy-decision/?utm_term=.316c20a23b12
Except the laws as written allow him to reschedule pot from Schedule I all the way down to Schedule V. He doesn’t do that because he hates him some potheads.
Think of the massive political disruption that would occur if the Trump administration were to reschedule and ask Congress to take the federal government out of the marijuana prohibition business altogether and leave it to the states.
I think it would be a net win – they might lose a few hardcore drug warrior Trump voters, but I think they would pick up a lot more middle-of-the-road types who think pot prohibition is kinda silly.
The only problem with simply rescheduling it is that they can always reschedule it back, even if it is difficult. Far better to force the law to be dumped all together either through court conflicts or making congress critters actually stand up and push for repeals of the prohibitions in their entirety so it’s only a state level ban that is left anywhere.
The only problem with simply rescheduling it is that they can always reschedule it back
Its an executive/agency action, so it is easier to do and to undo. I am not a big fan of passing up incremental improvements in hopes of forcing a larger change when things get bad enough – “the worse the better” is generally a bad guide to making decisions. Its a strategic decision, though, that reasonable minds can differ on.
On this one, I think the tide is running in our favor (for once). It would be very difficult, I believe, for a future administration to tighten up federal pot laws – I think (hope?) that the political calculus is tilted pretty significantly toward less restriction, not more.
Steyn haz sadz for Commie Pope.
https://www.steynonline.com/8365/virtue-signaling-while-rome-burns#.Wk1jeV2isis.twitter
Steyn’s off base. Mary and Joseph were refugees in Egypt.
That is addressed in the article, that the Pope wasn’t talking about that, “May our hearts not be closed as they were in the homes of Bethlehem.” was the what the pope said in the context of refugees.
True refugees only go as far as necessary to be safe, and when the problem is cleared up – GO HOME. They do not travel thousands of additional miles to mooch off the taxpayers of the most generous countries whose language and culture they don’t give a damna bout and then actively resist learning or contributing.
Well said sir…
You are not a refugee if your objective is to get free shit from others: you are just a pirate/profiteer.
What uncivil said – and the Pope didn’t actually talk about Egypt, just the young couple who couldn’t get a hotel room while on a government-mandated road trip.
As someone considering becoming a Papist, this Pope is awful
I don’t think he actually believes in his own religion. It’s weird.
He was, at the very least, extremely malformed at seminary.
*remembers*
Oh yeah, he’s a Jesuit. Nevermind, he’s doing exactly as he was taught
Fucking Jesuits.
Christian Brothers Master Race!
St. John Baptist DeLasalle….
Pray for us!!
Live Jesus in our hearts…
Forever
*Seriously, the Jesuits should be suppressed again and all their holdings given to the Dominicans*
The fucking Jesuits were infiltrated by the KGB in the 80s. These beliefs are KGB propaganda 101.
The church has always been pro-immigrant and they don’t differentiate with regard to legal status or process. The criticisms of Pope Francis from within the church are much different from the criticisms outside the church. Internal dissent is centered around their feeling that he is watering down theology. Those institutions wouldn’t criticize the Pope for his statements on immigration.
The Catholic Church is still a religion and not a political party. I think some free market people are particularly appalled by the Pope’s criticism of capitalism, since the Catholic Church played such a pivotal role in bringing about the end of the Soviet Union. But, the church is equally critical of capitalism as it is socialism.
I have not seen this to be true. Now, that my just be the media not reporting it, but I haven’t heard the Pope condemning Venezuela or Cuba or China.
I know a priest who hates Francis. He’s a staunch believer that trying to preach morality to the collective is bad. Paraphrasing him, “Morality only applies to individuals. There is no such thing as collective salvation. You don’t get a free pass to heaven, nor or you condemned to hell, based on the actions of the ‘society’ around you. It’s up to you to make a conscious decision to do good, and inspire others to do the same, so that when they do, it is of their own volition.”
Sounds like a fellow with a modicum of wisdom.
He gave a great homily the other week about judging people by their actions, and not just their words. Which made me think of Trump.
Then there was another line that stuck with me (paraphrasing) “Be sure that your desire to do good comes from a genuine desire to do virtuous things, and not just so you can signal your virtue to other people”.
He’s totally /OurGuy/
As long as you don’t look back at the society as God destroys it, then your daughters end up raping your widower and all you get is high sodium.
That is part of the internal criticism (based upon my reading of Catholic publications other than America or the National Catholic Reporter), especially since he’s tried to get the church to reconcile with China (the state approved Chinese Catholic Church is not in communion with the Holy See, because the government chooses its bishops).
So it’s the Changlican church?
Pope Leo XII and Chesterton coming through with Distributism for dat ass.
But yes, Pope Francis is, at best, heterodox. At worst, he’s a formal heretic. The confusion he allows to be spread and the breadth the American bishops have to abuse the liturgy (not unique to this papacy) is appalling
My grandparents are uber Catholics, and they’re convinced he’s the anti-christ/anti-pope.
The Cincinnati area seems to be a hotbed for Sedes . North Idaho being the only comparable place in North America to my knowledge. North Idaho…*shivers*
If I swim the Tiber I will definitely be attending FSSP Masses, but I don’t think I can quite follow the Sede argument. This Pope is bad, maybe even a willful heretic, but we’ve had some bad ones over the past 2000 years so I’m not quite ready to go that far.
I’m pretty sure this guy was worse.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banquet_of_Chestnuts
Pretty sure none of the Popes during the Crusades and Reconquista were pro-immigration when it came to Muslims.
Not sure if it means anything or matters but I’m getting a ‘Page is trying to load scripts from unauthorized sources’ warning on this page, It doesn’t happen on the main page or other post, like the employment one, just this one.
NoScript isn’t showing anything for me.
Has anyone talked about what’s going on in Iran and Obama’s deal with them and how it looks now?
*MSM looks at feet, shuffles away*
I actually saw a bunch of these dnc operatives with bylines complaining Trump showed solidarity and made what Obama did look bad…
How many bullets that are fired on protestors did American taxpayers pay for?
150 billion to mullahs and killers.
I want that money back.
Ratting out the Israeli assassination plans for Qassem Soleimani to the Iranians in order to facilitate the deal was unexpected. I don’t approve of the Mossad sneaking around and whacking people willy nilly but us giving the Iranians a heads up is a bit much.
I don’t approve of the Mossad sneaking around and whacking people
Rather depends on who and why. Personally, I’d rather one generalissimo get greased than a thousand draftees or civilians.
The planeloads of cash didn’t impress me much either.
That deal still makes me wonder if Obama and his Iranian handler Jarrett were really that stupid, or really that malicious and anti-western.
Mainstream media will play it down because it reflects poorly on Obama, both his shitty “deal” and his total lack of support for the protesters in Iran last time.
I’m going with “Stupid and maliciously anti-western.”
Or even, “stupid and therefore maliciously anti-western”.
You wonder?
Metal
Enjoy some Swords and Sorcery from the Salt Lake City band Visigoth.
Just noticed LT Fish dropped his movie review on the dead thread cuz he wasn’t gonna make it to links. Take a peek.
Thanks for the promotion.
/posting on a dead thread again!
I saw the comment in the recent comments list, and thought someone cad called you Commander Fish.
You guys know the difference between credit fraud and Identity theft?
Credit fraud is using someone else’s personal information to obtain credit. It’s as old as credit itself. In identity theft, on the other hand, someone goes to your job, comes home and sleeps with your wife, and no one can even tell that it isn’t really you–since they’ve stolen your identity!
Actually credit fraud and identity theft are the same thing. The latter term is mostly a media invention created to sell newspapers and make you want to tune in for the late news rather than watch the media tarts on The Tonight Show.
I think I’ve spotted a new media buzzword we’re likely to hear more about: “ghost guns”.
“The Rise of Untraceable ‘Ghost Guns'”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-rise-of-untraceable-ghost-guns-1515061800
Actually, what they’re talking about is people making guns for themselves from unfinished receivers and parts a la the process Vhyrus has written about extensively. (link to follow).
But “ghost guns” sounds so much more scary, doesn’t it? Hell, “ghost gun” sounds even scarier than “assault rifle”.
I can see Kamala Harris and Liz Warren on the campaign trail trying to outdo each other over “ghost guns”–who could be in favor of something that sounds as scary as “ghost guns”? They suddenly materialize out of thin air, indiscriminately shoot people, and then disappear into the ether again and there’s nothing the government can do about it–because rednecks, racists, and Donald Trump.
If and when this term gains currency, remember you got the truth from Vhyrus here at Glibertarian central first–before the hype.
I thought Ghost Guns were what Scooby and the gang ran from before finding out the ghost was actually the old man who ran the amusement park.
https://glibertarians.com/2017/06/firearms-friday-printed-pistols-and-other-peculiarities/
Yay Vhyrus!
What happened to Vhyrus?
Vacation?
So do the Ghost Guns dress up in sheets and hold rallies?
You know you’ve jumped the gun grabber shark when you’re going after guns that haven’t been created yet and you’ll never know about.
That’s the part that scares them.
What loophole are they proposing to close? People will be 3D printing all of the components necessary to build a gun at home in the next couple of years. Then even the lowers being sold on the open market won’t be necessary.
And if they say “we will make the software or designs for gun components illegal” then ask them if they’re incapable of having their party leaders secure their own email from phishing scams and “Russian hackers” why should we trust them to manage the entire internet to keep 3D plans away from those who want to build guns.
I think they want you to have to pass a background check in order to purchase an unfinished receiver.
Another term for “unfinished receiver” is “a block of metal”.
Ultimately, they don’t people to be able to own guns without the government’s knowledge. They want you in a database.
As California has shown with its dysfunctional program that ostensibly confiscates guns from people who become unsuitable for gun ownership subsequent to purchase (spousal abuse, mental health diagnosis, etc.), even when they have you in a database, sending the regular police to confiscate guns from such people–even when they know they have them–isn’t something any police department wants to do. I’m sure that’s highly hazardous duty.
But the progressives want you in the database.
I think the long game is to make gun ownership so miserable for people that they’ll just give them up. They want to make you get a license for ownership, put up a bond for ownership, require insurance for ownership, and maybe even tax the fuck out of it. They can’t do any of that stuff if they don’t know who you are, so they want to know who you are. They don’t want anyone getting a gun without their knowledge–because whatever form confiscation takes, it’ll be predicated on them knowing who owns a gun.
… But of course, they’ll flip their lids if someone has to show ID to vote (because IDs cost $15 and black people don’t have $15, or something).
That is, indeed, the end game.
Here’s a 0% lower.
That’s funny:
They could make a good weapon if thrown at an attacker.
While these weapons are not regulated under ITAR yet, we still don’t want these dangerous things to get into the hands of the wrong people, like Kim Jong-un. Therefore, shipping of 0% lowers is strictly limited to USA only.
No, Ghost guns are guns that turn people into ghosts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvAbophptmM
The term ghost gun came from a speech California State Senator Kevin De Leon gave in 2014 trying to get 3D printed guns banned. Cody Wilson then hit the tech media hard with his “Ghost Gunner” 3D printer that was designed to make printing the silly things easier. Not exactly a new term.
I think I’ve spotted a new media buzzword we’re likely to hear more about: “ghost guns”.
The ghost gun panic has been around for a while, but mostly in California.
https://twitter.com/keithellison/status/948657342308147202
I’d say “the mask is off”, but in Ellison’s case, the mask was never on. We’ve always known who he was by his own words.
He also never had a mask of intelligence. He’s been proven as dumb as a rock over and over.
More
By 2050 there will be no more true white race#KKKBEGONE
5 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
Reply 5 Retweet Like
Nathaniel
@FakeNewsBTFO
14h14 hours ago
More
Did you just equate all white people to being KKK members? Wow, that’s racist.
1 reply 0 retweets 7 likes
Reply 1 Retweet Like 7
mr rags
@abelhtorres
14h14 hours ago
More
Just the fact that DIVERSITY is nearer than you think
2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
I love how they just assume they’ll win or the idea that a group (in this case whites) won’t try and defend themselves like human nature dictates.
What a bunch of stupid, snivelling, coward, ignorant clowns these losers are.
We’ll shame white people so much they’ll willingly put their heads on the chopping block!
So “diversity” just basically means no white people? Why am I not surprised
Trumpocalypse, one year on
In its first year, the Trump administration has had only modest success in eliminating existing regulations. But it has dramatically slowed the issuance of new regulations, including in the areas of safety, health and the environment.
For 2018, and the remainder of Donald Trump’s presidency, that raises an urgent question: Will courts ever intervene and require agencies to act?
It’s a wonder any of us are still alive.
CNN fact checking Trump’s claim to have a real button. Now I see the media is running with the claim that Melania cried tears of sadness when Trump won. I enjoy fake/worthless news as much as anyone, but can you please turn it down just a tad this year?
I see CNN at the gym (and turn the channel if nobody else is in the cardio room). It’s like watching a Pravda parody. On New Year’s Day (just a few days after a giant tax bill was signed) they had a table full of angry libs discussing how Trump hadn’t accomplished anything and was destroying American credibility in the world.
Yep. Turned it on for a while today just to see what they’d be saying. That’d be CNN International and that was terrible. Can’t imagine how bad CNN America is.
You should start going to Life Time fitness.
I’m going to complain to my gym next time I’m there too. See what happens. Never mind the fact that I have ear buds in the whole time listening to audiobooks and podcasts.
My gym has a habit of showing only live sports. Which sometimes means Monday Night Football, sometimes La Liga, and sometimes women’s collegiate field hockey.
Good gyms have individual TVs built into their cardio equipment.
Funny, there were all kinds of comments during the election that we shouldn’t let Trump near the button. Hillary even said, “He shouldn’t have his finger on the button.” WaPo at least commented that there really is no button, but they didn’t feel the need to go on and on about it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/nervous-about-nukes-again-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-button-there-is-no-button/2016/08/03/085558b6-4471-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html?utm_term=.132e5e1cf4b9
This headline sounds ripped straight from Hat and Hair, “Trump in bed with a cheeseburger, shouting at staff & TVs, book claims”
That’s an endorsement in my world
So, as it turns out,
President Bill Clinton lost the nuclear codes for months.
(spoilers: he found them down in the sofa while looking for the t.v. remote)
From the article: “This is a big deal – a gargantuan deal – and we dodged a silver bullet,” Shelton writes…
Sheldon just let slip that the Clinton Administration was populated entirely by werewolves.
I dodge silver bullets every time I go through the beer aisle. Might as well be drinking UCS’s distilled water if I’m gonna waste money on that dreck.
Too bad Vince Foster didn’t….
Not surprised at all that this guy that once said he loathed the military and used Chinese money to buy himself a second election was this careless. After all, his focus was on cigar fucking chubby interns.
Way OT: I was looking through my Dad’s gun cabinet over the Holidays and realized he hasn’t taken very good care of them since he quit hunting. The single shot Iver Johnson 16 gauge I used my first year deer hunting has surface rust and the bore has a couple big spots inside I need to check out. It is the worst of the bunch. (age unknown at this time)
The Winchester Model 1912 in 12 gauge that his grandfather bought new in 1917 is VERY well used but is in working condition. This has the most sentimental value. I took it apart to clean it last night. It may have been the first time ever. I found dirt/grease in crevices that may have been older than my Dad (70). On one hand I thought I should leave it, but then decided it would ruin the gun eventually and I’d rather it be in working order than have some sentimental dirt in it.
The 20 gauge JC Higgins bolt action is my gun-smithing project. It is missing a part (maybe several) that are very hard to find. I’ve never had a chance to have the gun in possession for any length of time to really figure out what is missing. This is my fathers first center-fire gun I believe. He used it for small game and deer. It has a poly-choke as well. I think this gun is late-50s or early-60s. Dad got it in ’62 I think.
He also has a sweet Remington Model 742 in .308 that he used for deer hunting for as long as I can remember. I hope to get that someday as well. I think he got that in the 70s, but the gun is 50s vintage.
Maybe the coolest thing in the cabinet is the recurve he made back in the 70s when he got into bow-hunting. Ok, not sure he ‘made’ it, but I do remember him refinishing and hand drawing the draw weight and length on the bow (he was also an artist). That thing is pretty cool, though one limb has de-laminated, so it is useless anymore.
When I see stuff like that I don’t even ask permission. The cleaning kit, oils, and cloths come out and I do everything I can to at least stop further deterioration.
My favorite Supertramp album cover: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Supertramp_-_Crime_of_the_Century.jpg
That’s a good one. They had greta album covers for most of their stuff. One of my all time favorite bands.
*great
New X-Files: 7/10. V. mild spoiler alert follows…
Was going to give it 7.5 until the last 10 minutes or so.
What, did they tease a Mulder/Scully kiss for the ten millionth time in the series, only to have something interrupt it in the last second?
Trump stopped them and he with the Russians and aliens were behind the bad stuff the whole time. (Haven’t see past season 3)
Nah, it was a plot turn/twist that just seems forced and completely out of character with the series’ themes. Of course, it’s Carter so it’ll probably turn again.
I googled it, it sounds pretty dumb. One of those twists that something interesting turns out to be really dumb.
Wife and I watched and were eye-rolling at parts. She said, “Well, it is the X-Files…” So we’ll probably stick with it and see how it goes.
Oh, and I’m using the phrase, “I’m going to scientifically bang you” going forward when talking about sex.
Snowing like a sonofabitch in Jersey, Delaware and Penna. right now. At least the snow is starting to cover up all the dead bodies in the street from net neutrality repeal and tax cuts so we don’t have to look at them any longer. I’m about to send the orphans out to shovel; wouldn’t want to miss the monocle shipment truck today.
Same in CT, and the wind is blowing hard as well.
Getting pretty thick up here now too. Nothing like a needless round trip from Manchester, NH to Lowell, MA in a developing blizzard to brighten your morning.
“Macron said it was important to maintain dialogue with Iran”
Because….? Why is that important?
Iransplaining.
Because that is what the proggie morons have been thought is the solution to every problem, regardless of how likely the other side is to take dialogue of any kind seriously.
Because lot of French crony capitalists have deals with the mullahs, that’s why.
I think many people (and not just progressives) really believe in the idea that there is a correct solution to every problem and if people just sit down and talk, they’ll all arrive at that correct solution.
I blame a lot of this on historians.
And on people that believe everyone is always going to be willing to use dialogue to reach their goals. As I like to remind people, some people just want to see the world burn…
I distinctly remember a passage in my elementary school history book that said, “The United Nations gets countries to sit down and talk about their problems instead of fighting. For example, [two countries I can’t remember] had been fighting for years, but after discussing their conflict, they reached a peace agreement.”
Anakin Skywalker thinks thats a fine idea.
Because if shit gets bad with Iran, even more refugees will start showing up in Europe.
Yeah, I wonder about that, too. It’s one reason when I hear people like Scott Horton talk about how great the Iran deal was, I get skeptical. It’s one thing to agree the US government has a terrible foreign policy track record of late. It’s another to assume good faith on Iran’s part simply because Bush and Obama had terrible foreign policy.
For those of you whose NYR includes losing weight, being healthier and/or drinking more water, consider this:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fourdesire.plantnanny&hl=en
As stupid as it sounds, taking care of a cute Tamagotchi-esque plant by drinking water is surprisingly effective.
Drinking more water isn’t really healthy though.
There was sort of a misinformation that worked its away around about drinking 8 glasses of water a day.
I’m not sure I could physically drink that much.
It turns out what the researcher meant is you need that much from the various things you consume, including food (which contains water). And pretty much almost everyone accidentally gets about this much fluid.
Blah blah blah RASCISMZ
Why is the economics profession losing the ear of policy makers? One theory is that it’s due to repeated failures — over-encouragement of free trade policy that hurt American workers, complacency about financial deregulation, and inability to predict the Great Recession. But this might not be the major reason. After all, free trade was never particularly popular, and economists actually gained credibility after the Great Depression (which they also failed to predict).
An alternative theory is that identity issues — especially racial issues — are getting in the way of economic policy making.
Economic policy has several uses — redistributing wealth from rich to poor, providing public goods like education and infrastructure, establishing institutions that ensure the smooth flow of economic activity, and clearing away counterproductive regulation. But there’s reason to believe that broad support for these policies is difficult to achieve when racial and ethnic divisions run deep.
Pointless incoherent rambling, if you ask me. Spare me your moralistic musings about social engineering, please.
over-encouragement of free trade policy
Quit being so voluntary.
You peddle policies that continue to fail in general but make a bunch of connected people a lot of money in crappy economic conditions, and sooner than later, and doubly so when someone comes along and decides to do away with the practices you put in place to allow government to pick winners & losers, people will realize your ideas don’t only suck, but are destructive and you need a serious ass kicking.
“Economic policy has several uses — redistributing wealth from rich to poor”
Fuck off and die, slaver
establishing institutions that ensure the smooth flow of economic activity, and clearing away counterproductive regulation
Pick one, because the first is what generates the second IRL.
Answer for OMWC from the employment post:
We have almost everything you can think of other than an NMR. One of the truly wonderful things about starting up this place was someone would ask us a question and we could say “If only we had an instrument that could determine… oh wait! We do!” Oh, an we don’t have a synchrotron, our HR-RBS just uses a linear accelerator.
My part of the lab group deals with all the liquid and gas phase analysis and also solid phase TXRF and FTIR for some reason. So ICP-MS, ICP-OES, IC, LC, GC (with various detectors) UV-VIS, XRD/XRR/XRF. The other labss are all solid-state work, with one branch dedicated to material properties, one dedicated to structure, and one dedicated to electrical. The structural group has every variant of SEM/STEM/TEM with every accessory that has been invented and some that are still being developed. Slap together an acronym, and it’s probably a TEM technique (EELS? HAADF?) The new hotness in the materials group is to combine an AFM with something else to get the chemical or structural information. And they have something which I consider absolutely awesome, which is Atom Probe Tomography where they rip apart the sample atom-by-atom and generate a 3D image with single-digit-angstrom resolution.
The main problem I have is that there is so much stuff out there that is so advanced that I am not always certain if someone is fucking with me when they describe the technique. Like the first time someone said that they had set up the AFM tip to “emit plasmonic polaritons,” which turn out to actually be real.
Atom probe tomography has the unfortunate side-effect of SFing links http://www.cameca.com/products/apt/technique
plasmonic polaritons
See, now you’re just fucking with us.
That was also my initial response. Boy was I embarrassed.
Honestly, it sounds like something from a bad science fiction novel.
“Captain, the framulizer is emitting plasmonic polaritons! If we don’t drop out of hyperspace in two parsecs, we’re all gonna die!”
Nice band name.
Smile of nerdy happiness after reading your post!
Where are you located and does your lab perform fee-for-service?
Upstate NY, and unfortunately no.
So, military, then.
Sweet. The sun just cleared the ridge. Looking at a sunny and warm (above freezing) day. I’ll let things soften up a bit, and go out there with the shovel and carve out the turnaround zone in my parking area. I’ve decided I’m in the market for a snowblower. The past two weeks have been the worst in ten years.
Did you have a porno dick worth of snow?
When I lived in Madison, we had a brutal winter like this. I bought a snowblower. The next year, I didn’t need it at all, the following year used it maybe 4 – 5 times.
Then I moved to Texas.
I spent two winters in Madison: one was one of the snowiest ever, but not too cold. The other was one of the coldest ever, but not too snowy.
Brown County, where Green Bay is, had a .5% sales tax to pay for Lambeau Field renovations, and it recently went away because the project was paid for. Well, they decided to bring it back, and are being sued to stop it. Basically the suit says the way they passed this new tax broke state law. Their response sums up everything people hate about bureaucrats.
It gets that simplistic when you get into legal,
Something I have never heard from a client.
Yeah, that’s the ticket. Steal from visitors to pay for your morgue, library and STEM research center. That is totally appropriate. This is like when cities stick high taxes on hotels and car rentals. The pols and the locals all see this as a win for themselves. They get “free” money to spend on shit from people who can’t vote against those taxes.
They can at least not pay the taxes by avoiding your city. I can think of worse situations.
Oh I vote, I just avoid big cities with stupid taxes when vacationing.
I mean, the response is basically, “Doesn’t matter if it’s not legal, either we take your money this way, or we take your money that way, either way we’re taking your money, so shut your whore mouth.”
The projects have to be paid for.
Sez who? Aren’t you skipping past the “The projects need to be done” phase?
Dutch from Dude Weather has a good forecast for Minnesoda.
That would cost us an estimated $40 million in interest payments alone
Why would you pay people for voluntarily allowing you to make use their money, when you can just stick a gun in the faces of the willing and unwilling alike, to fund your pet projects?
When I lived in Madison, we had a brutal winter like this. I bought a snowblower. The next year, I didn’t need it at all, the following year used it maybe 4 – 5 times.
Yeah, that’s why I have put it off. Usually, when it snows a foot or more, either we get a big sustained wind which clears it off, or I can just beat it down with the truck. This time, the wind let me down (never, in a million years, did I think I would say that).
It’s weird. Right before it started snowing, I was perusing the want ads and saw a big snowblower at a not-unreasonable price, and thought, “That’s something I should probably own.” It’s long gone, now.
This is what I need.
For $10k you could buy a regular snowblower and an orphan to operate it.
I said I need it, therefore the government needs to pay for it, it’s my right.
Or one shovel and a bunch of orphans.
Who wants to legalize meth?
A: What’s the twit refering to?
B: Legalize Meth so we can stop penalizing people who want to buy cold medication.
Meth didn’t cause this asshole to commit that horrific a crime (and it shouldn’t be a capital case, because fuck the death penalty).
Legalize it, because as UnCivil said above, we can stop the moronic game with cold medicine and actually let me buy enough of it for my family without fearing arrest, and because people taking Desoxyn would be a hell of a lot safer than people taking whatever’s cooked up in their trailers.
There are plenty of terrible stories out there that were fueled by alcohol. Meth’s not unique in that respect.
My point in linking the twitter thread is that half the damn comments are disbelief that anyone would propose legalizing meth. Seems like libertarian education and outreach is lacking. It’s not that people disagree with it it is that they are totally ignorant of the argument (I guess they don’t know Trump favored legalization for a couple of decades). I was pleased to see Alex Nowrasteh of CATO in there on the right side of the issue.
I generally have two responses to “Look at this tragic [overdose, poisoning, murder, crack baby]; how can you argue for legalization of [meth, heroin, bath salts, 40 oz pop]:
1. Clearly, prohibition failed this victim(s)
2. Decriminalization would be the end of heroin and meth. Why would you buy a drug made by some idiot in the bathtub of his trailer when you could purchase pharmaceutical grade morphine or amphetamines over the counter?
This is what I need.
Excellent. If I could stand upstairs in the window with my joystick controller, and clear away the drift in my driveway, that would be awesome. Unfortunately, the price tag is prohibitive; especially since I’ve never paid more than fifteen hunnert bucks for a car.
stand upstairs in the window with my joystick controller
Sounds like a felony euphemism to me.
You could buy a 2002 Ford F-150 XL for about $5k and a nice snow plow attachment for around $1500, and still have money left over to take the missus to Branson for a long weekend.
(and then you could charge to plow parking lots to recoup costs.)
drinking 8 glasses of water a day.
“Water? Fish fuck in it.”
Trout jizz just adds that earthy flavor I’m looking for.
Schprokets techno dance party!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzfEKmO4V4o
Your story has become tiresome. Now is the time on Glibertarians when we dance.
Since people are necroposting on the Employment Thread, why don’t we just resurrect it here?
GO!
And to prime the pump:
http://i0.wp.com/www.boredombase.com/wp-content/uploads/images/girls/2/busty-girls-1941.jpg?w=610
My real job is to look at Qs pic posts
Or we could just watch the comments on both threads…
Too much work. You’re a government employee you should understand that better than anyone.
I thought you were accustomed to paying attention to two things at once.
*opera applause*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoDse9WV9po
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZclddLcOYYA
This just made me go look for the zombie thread and post there. Don’t want to be left out! Sorry Q 😛
So yeah, this meltdown issue is pretty gross: https://twitter.com/misc0110/status/948706387491786752
Yikes.
Wait, so what’s the deal here that makes this uniquely terrible?
It’s spying on the data in memory directly just by issuing one command that doesn’t require root privileges. Theoretically, anyone could get at any data there (including passwords etc.) by doing essentially nothing.
Ah, even as a computer semi-literate I can see how this could be a major problem.
The issue is that somewhere, even with the most elegant security systems, that your password has to be SOMEWHERE in plain text, even if the very next step is to hash it and then push the encrypted hash out on the ‘insecure’ web. That somewhere has defaulted to ‘in memory’ because if the software is “well written”, the copy will be leak-proof.
The problem is that the assumption is invalid.
The further problem is that there’s nowhere better, and that operating systems aren’t built by default to isolate processes from each other – in effect, they’re all ‘trusted’ not to violate each other’s privacy.
That trust has now been compromised.
While I agree with most of what you’ve said, the part about processes not bring isolated from each other is not accurate. All modern operating systems (as in, preemptive multiprocessing operating systems designed for general purpose CPUs with memory management units) use virtual memory and other mechanisms to isolate processes from each other. This isolation is not optional and does not require any of the processes’ permission or cooperation.
The problem is that, for performance reasons, the processes on a system all incorporate the kernel (the core of the operating system) when running. There is supposed to be a hardware mechanism preventing a process from doing things with the kennel that it isn’t supposed to do, but that mechanism has been compromised on Intel CPUs.
The net effect is indeed a loss of the isolation that’s supposed to be present, but that doesn’t mean the operating system wasn’t trying to enforce isolation. Indeed, the issue isn’t even that processes can directly access each other’s memory (they can’t) but rather that a malicious process can compromise the operating system itself to subvert the isolation.
The problem being that all that isolation is worthless. If you have a piece of AV software on your PC that can run memory scans for vulnerabilities, you can see that whatever isolation there is is vestigial.
That’s always been the laugh-line for me, that Linux is inherently more secure than – for example – windows (it is) – with the implication that a linux system is “secure” in absolute terms.
Personally, I’m not beating up on Intel for their inability to keep ring 0 uncompromised. And really, I’m only beating up on OS manufacturers (incl. Microsoft) to the extent that they lead ‘normie’ users that the security efforts they undertake might be effective.
The functionality that “Meltdown” provides isn’t new. Process inspection’s been around since – well – forever. On a very lucky day, the process you’re trying to inspect can’t be inspected, but that’s almost entirely because the guy(s) who wrote it knew what they were doing, as well as the guys who implemented the compiler and all the other shoulders the app developer stood on when he compiled his source.
It isn’t vestigial. When you install a piece of AV software, you’re installing a kernel driver as a component of it. The user portion of the AV calls up to the kernel piece, which has the escalated privileges. Just as a normal user isn’t protected from an admin, a user process isn’t protected from the kernel — so just as you wouldn’t use sudo with random commands, you want to limit 3rd party drivers or kernel extensions to what you really need. And the trust in the kernel (via “I’m a Big Corp you can sue” like Microsoft or “There’s enough serious people checking this stuff before it is accepted” like Linux or FreeBSD) is needed for that model to work. For Virtual Machines, of course, there’s a Super Kernel under the VM kernel called a Hypervisor, and the guest kernels aren’t really protected from it until you get into funky stuff like AMDs in-line memory encryption, iff you can keep the key isolated (haven’t looked into it much yet).
Ugh, virus scanners. The backdoor into any otherwise secure system.
Note however that the means by which a virus scanner can introspect another process’s memory space is through the kernel. The Linux kernel can be compiled without support for that “feature” altogether, and the Windows kernel AFAIK has a specific capability flag for it which is not granted to any process by default and can be denied by policy even to virus scanners. If your virus scanner has the ability to get access to another process’s memory through the kernel, it’s because you’ve granted it that permission (whether knowingly or by clicking through all the security prompts for the virus scanner installer without paying attention).
Describing the isolation provided by virtual memory as “vestigial” is completely off base, especially since the workaround that the major OSes are implementing for the “meltdown” vulnerability is to cordon off the kernel in its own virtual memory space (AFAICT).
Maybe I should have avoided “vestigial”, and said “compromiseable”. Normal users regularly install device drivers and other pieces of code ‘below’ the application layer. Many users deliberately and unknowingly set their systems up to do this almost invisibly, as you guys note.
The practical outcome is that the apparent security that isolation gives you (or would give you if you didn’t use an Intel CPU) is illusory, because to do it ‘right’ requires an informed and engaged body of users and developers. I’m not victim-blaming here in the way you might blame a homeowner for being burgled if he leaves his door unlocked, but the problem with the commoditization of technology is that people – even alleged ‘professionals’ treat it like a fridge or a toaster.
Having read about this issue a little more deeply, it does seem like my original take on this is a bit off. Besides the fact that there are actually multiple vulnerabilities under the broad heading of “speculative execution-related memory leaks” (e.g. Project Zero identifies 3 variants), it also seems like at least some of these variants can involve leaks of arbitrary physical memory, i.e. memory from potentially any process on the system. That is different than what I described above and does indeed represent a compromise of the isolation that should be provided by the use of virtual memory.
re: Q’s “Trannies all the way down” link
Apparently the PJ Media people didn’t read the study. Its easy: you give them a multiple choice questions with 6 responses. ONLY 1 OF THOSE RESPONSES IS “NORMAL”-GENDERED. All the others are just vague phrasings which the researchers then translated as “gender non conforming”
Its the same way many ‘rape’ researchers got students to claim they’d been raped: by coding answers in their questionnaires which sounded perfectly innocent, but which researchers would classify as “Non consensual sex”
e.g. – “how many times have you ever had sex while: drunk, unsure”, on medication, or because you felt pressured (a) once b) a few times c) frequently d) never) – all the answers other than “never” equal claims that “i have been raped”, according to researchers. This example was actually the EXACT way many studies got their huge estimates of ‘prevalence of student rape’.
in the gender non-conform study, it was:
Shazaam! All your kids are trannies now.
I bet trans people will just love this. Kind of how I bet rape victims just love their traumatic experience being viewed as equivalent to an “unwanted kiss.”
No, I’d wager real transfolk are displeased with a guy who happens to own pink shirts being lumped in with them. A lot like they don’t like the trenders who don’t have body dysmorphia, but want to be unique.
I believe TK was being sarcastic.
the dilution of “gender dysphoria:” down to “some of my peers *might* say i’m slightly less than 100% ALPHA MALE” is an insult to the lives of gender dysphoric people
its not “you act a little girly”. Its YOU ACTUALLY BELIEVE YOU ARE A GIRL.
They’re dumbing down what these things mean simply to wave bullshit numbers around and so they can generate clickbait headlines and justify MOAR FUNDING
My sarcasm detector is not the best.
The ambiguous wording in the study is a feature not a bug; that’s at least the way I interpreted it. They’re going to use these bogus studies to way overestimate the number of trannies among children to push an agenda the same way they used the ridiculous 1 in 5 rape stat. It’s like the gender pay gap, no matter how much people debunk these numbers somehow they never die.
It’s down to 1 in 5?
He meant 5 in 1.
Now that’s a party.
Pretty sure I watched that last night.
Another witch on the pyre
CBS News said Wednesday that it has fired its political director, Steve Chaggaris, amid allegations of “inappropriate behavior” in his past.
Chaggaris was a longtime CBS News employee. In his latest role Chaggaris, among other things, oversaw coverage of the Trump administration and occasionally appeared on CBS programs.
Chaggaris could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. His Twitter account was deleted sometime in the past two days.
I like how there is absolutely nothing to indicate what the nature of the “inappropriate behavior” might have been, or when it might have occurred.
It would be nice if the inappropriate behavior he was fired for was his operation of the political news division as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democrat Party, but I suspect it was making sloppy pass at the cute receptionist during the Christmas party.
Shazaam! All your kids are trannies now.
I just assumed they put any male kid who doesn’t want to be an NFL player or fighter pilot in the “gender nonconforming” pile.
re: Q’s “Trannies all the way down” link
the study explains how they did it on the first 2 pages
Its the same way ‘rape researchers’ got huge numbers of students to admit they’d been raped. = DONT ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE BEEN RAPED – ask them some other question which you then CODE as being equal to admitting to rape.
e.g. “Have you ever had sex while either drunk, unsure, while on medication, or under pressure? a) never b) once c) multiple times d) every time”
that was the exact question used to get the “1-in-5 students have been raped” number.
They simply repeat the same trick to create new victim groups
oh shit, squirrels.
didn’t think it posted the first time
Semantics is really the lefts main weapon. We’ll change the definition of things to fit our narrative and then argue with you based on the new lies we just made up like you’re the asshole who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Yes. One of them at least.
If they didn’t have intellectual dishonesty, they wouldn’t always feel so darn *smarter than you*
Running a survey where you assign ‘gender self-identification ‘ based on answers to questions about how other people might perceive you violates even the basic standards “gender studies” has for itself. The only way someone can be defined as identifying as X or Y is if you ask them directly : “What is your biological gender” and “What do you Identify as = Same as biological gender, opposite of biological gender, or unsure”. All this other bullshit is word-games trying to trick people into answering ‘little bit of x and y’ because its *cool* to be a little girly/manly.
I recall getting similar Q’s back in high-school psych evals, and almost no one answers “100% male/female” because your instinct is to empathize with others. Its not cool to be ‘simple’.
Plus they’ve already redefined gender itself, which also means they can tweak every nuance that goes along with word definitions to “win” any debate. Intellectual dishonesty is 100% correct.
What is your biological gender
No such thing. Sex is biological. Gender (as currently defined) is self-image. Tranning is what happens when they don’t match; when your self-image does not match the biological reality of your sex.
With all of the weather talk I feel obligated to give a local report. Before this cold air mass showed up we were in the mid thirties to lower forties, very high humidity and pissing rain; In other words miserable louisiana winter weather. When this cold air mass showed up the temps dropped into the teens but the humidity went away and the sun came out, much more pleasant. It’s nice out right now – 32 and sunny. My fire is keeping it very cozy inside.
Windchill of minus 4 here. Supposed to be colder tomorrow. I’m so done with this week.
Up to 5 degrees here, waiting for it to warm up a bit more so I change a headlight bulb without freezing my fingers off.
Duct tape a flashlight to the hood.
It’s too cold for the tape to stick 🙁
MacGyver haz a sad 🙁
Ratchet strap.
True story: When I was a wee lad, we drove up to Ely to do some winter camping. A blizzard hit us in Iowa, but we drove slowly through it by having someone sit on the hood and point at the edge of the road with a flashlight.
No, we weren’t drunk, it was just a different time, safety-wise.
I had to change spark plugs and plug wires on my truck a few days back. In the dark and an air temp of -8. Thank g-d the wind was (unusually) nearly calm.
72 here today. Brrrrr.
It would be nice if the inappropriate behavior he was fired for was his operation of the political news division as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democrat Party
Patriotic dissent is never inappropriate!
Let’s get rid of buldozers, too
No fewer than a dozen online publications ran some version of this story and thusly Oregon was made to look like either a collection of feeble-handed troglodytes too dumb or lazy to do the deed themselves or an assemblage of elitists who turn their noses up at the plebeian pump.
But, it turns out, neither is true and the law is actually good.
A last count, Oregon’s ban on self-pumping created something like 10,000 jobs. They aren’t necessarily high-paying or glamorous jobs, but they are employment nonetheless. Oregon’s unemployment rate is 4.2 percent, according to an November analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is slightly above the national average. We’ll take all the jobs we can get.
Secondly, a lot of these pieces poking fun at us reek ever-so-slightly of jealousy. In all sectors of service, there are levels of luxury. Some food is served out of food trucks, some is served at a counter. Generally, the best food is delivered to you by an attendant well versed in the ways of the cuisine who smiles and makes sure you’ve got everything you need. Could it be the rest of the country is mad they don’t have access to the fine-dining equivalent of gasoline?
They’re like sommeliers, for guzzoline. Yeah, that’s it!
The fine dining equivalent of gasoline…
Jesus Tapdancing Christ that’s stupid.
Why stop there?
Let’s mandate everyone be spoon-fed. No wiping your own ass either.
Piss boy!
A last count, Oregon’s ban on self-pumping created something like 10,000 jobs.
And if Oregonians really want their gas pumped by gas station attendants, then those 10,000 jobs won’t go anywhere*. But the reality is that most people, if given the choice, don’t want to pay extra for gas just so that somebody can pump it for them. There is, after all, no state in this country where full service is illegal.
* = Never mind that this change to the law only affects a small percentage of Oregon’s gas stations
I made this yesterday, Sauternes cake with roasted pears and Sauternes sauce, and it was really, really, really yummy. The recipe claims to serve 8… I ate so much of it fresh from the oven I was forced to make a second one. Will also try again with a nice port or sherry.
!!!!!!!!!
Hey Minnesotan glibs, I called Redstone grill to get reservations for 6 tomorrow, but they were only taking for 530 or 7 or later.
So we can pick another place or we can just barge on up to the bar. I am not even sure how many are coming.
Thoughts? Didn’t occur to me that they would be so crowded!!
Reposting on zardoz thread…
The recipe claims to serve 8… I ate so much of it fresh from the oven I was forced to make a second one.
Nice.
I had to change spark plugs and plug wires on my truck a few days back. In the dark and an air temp of -8. Thank g-d the wind was (unusually) nearly calm.
Ooh, fun times! Does it start/run better, now, at least?
Right after I finished it still wouldn’t start. I got very discouraged/pissed. I calmed down, put the battery booster on it and then it did run after a bit more cranking and about 10 seconds of running rough. In addition to being very cold, sitting for 3 days I believe it was a bit flooded as well. Starts and runs like a champ now! That is definitely the coldest mechanic work I’ve ever performed. And it will hopefully be the last.
*knocks on wood*
OT: Is it possible for flames to come out of a chimney that is venting from a natural gas furnace?
There’s a pipe on my roof that vents gases from the natural gas furnace in the basement. The other night, my neighbor said she saw “fiery colors” coming from this pipe (I’m assuming she meant there was a reddish glow that could be seen on the spark arrestor).
I’m going to call an HVAC service, but have you ever heard of such a thing happening? I looked at the furnace and couldn’t see anything abnormal (but I’m not a furnace expert) and there is some kind of white emission coming from the chimney, but it looks the same as what’s coming out of every other chimney on the block.
Any ideas what this might be?
Too easy.
Is it possible for flames to come out of a chimney that is venting from a natural gas furnace
Yes, I’m sure it is. Especially if your combustion is fucked up at the burner and unburned natgas is igniting in the flue, which I think would be very bad indeed. That white emission is probably water vapor(?), condensing as it hits the very cold outside air.
So I just signed up for my new insurance bennies, and it seems like the cost per paycheck has gone WAY down. IIRC, when I was at my last job, it was over $100 per paycheck. Now it’s $70ish. It’s the same company, same plan options. Anyhoo, it allowed me to choose a better plan than I had last time.
Your new job is at a bigger company I assume?
Same company, same plan options.
Sorry. “when I was at my last job” confused me, By “same company” I thought you meant same insurance company / new job at new place.
Ah, no. I am getting paid by the same company to work at a difference place. Life of a contractor!