Sunday Morning Bye Week Links

I have some few small comforts in life, and today’s is that the Ravens won’t lose. And there’s rumors about that Flacco is injured and Jackson will be given a chance to start next week. This may not be a good thing for this season, but long-term, that’s what has to happen. We might even see a guest appearance by RGIII. We live in interesting times.

Speaking of interesting, November 11 is rich in significant birthdays. A few: Paracelsus, the father of modern medicine; George Patton, who probably got performance reviews saying, “You’re extremely effective but you piss people off.”; the Pride of Milwaukee, Pat O’Brien, who was in a disproportionate number of my favorite movies; fellow Baltimore native Alger Hiss, from the days when there really WERE Russian spies under every bed; Kurt Vonnegut, inspiration to generations of college freshmen (and who inadvertently wrote one of the strongest cases for libertarianism in one of his short stories); and the funniest human to ever walk the face of the earth, Jonathan Winters.  And of course, November 11 is the day that all of us should pause and remember why Woodrow Wilson was the biggest piece of shit to ever occupy the White House. The blood of tens of millions soaks his grasping Progressive hands. I wish that my atheism would allow me to believe that he’s burning in Hell, but I have no such comfort. I shall give myself the marginal comfort of drinking some beer with Swiss this afternoon. He’ll be in full uniform, making the ladies swoon.

On to the news.


 

As my illustrations show, I’m tremendously amused by the election-rigging stuff that no-one is even bothering to hide. I guess this is a form of honesty, right?

@GeorgiaDemocrat
BREAKING: A handful of Georgia counties just reported thousands of new *absentee*, *early*, and *Election Day* votes that @BrianKempGA’s numbers did not account for, significantly closing the gap. #CountEveryVote #gapol

How conveeeeeenient. More chaos and de-legitimizing of government. Good, I say, let’s have more!


 

Diversity is bad, mmmm-kay?

Artists and intellectuals across Europe are calling for the founding of a continentwide republic to replace its many nation states.

Activists planned to proclaim a “European Republic” in dozens of cities at 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) Saturday, almost exactly 100 years after the end of World War I.

The event is being organized by a group calling itself the European Balcony Project. Its listed supporters include political scientists, philosophers and writers…

The “republic,” of course, to be run by political scientists, philosophers, and writers.


 

After Clinton, Bush, and Obama, it’s nice to have an administration which respects civil liberties and doesn’t want to spy on citizens. Most Libertarian President Ever! Oh, wait…

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have hidden an undisclosed number of covert surveillance cameras inside streetlights around the country, federal contracting documents reveal. Christie Crawford, who owns Cowboy Streetlight Concealments with her husband, a Houston police officer, said she was not at liberty to discuss the company’s federal contracts in detail. “We do streetlight concealments and camera enclosures,” Crawford told Quartz. “Basically, there’s businesses out there that will build concealments for the government and that’s what we do. They specify what’s best for them, and we make it. And that’s about all I can probably say.”

However, she added: “I can tell you this—things are always being watched. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving down the street or visiting a friend, if government or law enforcement has a reason to set up surveillance, there’s great technology out there to do it.”

Amazon has been particularly interested in outfitting cameras operated by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with facial recognition, according to emails recently unearthed by the Project on Government Oversight. “We are ready and willing to support the vital [Homeland Security Investigations] mission,” an Amazon employee wrote in an email that touted the company’s facial recognition software.

When you fine people elect me president, the very first thing I pledge to do is abolish every goddamn acronym agency. And fuck Amazon, who are delighted to help here. They should not get a penny of public money or subsidy, and won’t under President OMWC. Also, I hope Christie and her cop husband die in a fire. The OMWC administration will not cause such a fire, but we will not so much as direct a stream of urine in its direction. These are evil, evil people.


 

Clearly, I must be the most truthful and honest human alive.

Scientists at the University of Granada investigated the so-called ‘Pinocchio effect’. [They] have shown that your nose actually shrinks when you tell porkies because its temperature drops.

Look at my honker- I must be a regular fucking George Washington.


 

Hey, we haven’t heard about the caravan in a while. I was worried that they had been Cindy Sheehaned. So it’s a relief when brief news items pop up at convenient times.

Some members of the caravan of Central American migrants that has drawn the ire of President Trump began leaving Mexico City early Friday, splitting from the main group and heading for their ultimate destination — the U.S.-Mexico border — still hundreds of miles away. But the majority of the 5,500 caravan participants remained in the Mexican capital and were planning to leave on Saturday.

The caravan’s next planned stop after leaving the Mexican capital is the city of Queretaro, some 135 miles to the northwest, where officials were readying shelter space for the migrants’ anticipated arrival. Thousands of migrants, mostly from Honduras, have spent days at the sports facility next to Mexico City’s airport, where city officials and various aid groups have been providing food, medical treatment, legal advice and other services, including entertainment from clowns and wrestlers. The stop was a chance for many to rest and recuperate after weeks on the road from Central America.

Clowns??? No-one deserves that.


Old Guy Music! I was wavering between a bunch of odd-but-interesting classical bits but then thought, “Nah, this won’t annoy people enough. What will…?” And then it hit me. But listen anyway- it’s a terrific song with a great story. H/T to Spudalicious who gave me this album nearly 20 years ago, and it’s stayed in my rotation.

 

Comments

294 responses to “Sunday Morning Bye Week Links”

  1. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Avenatti continues to prove that his mommy didn’t love him enough.

    Michael Avenatti, who was once dubbed a “creepy porn lawyer” on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News program, claimed Saturday he’s “investigating an alleged assault … committed by T. Carlson” stemming from an incident at a Virginia restaurant.

    The attorney, who is exploring a 2020 presidential run and rose to national prominence by representing porn star Stormy Daniels against President Donald Trump, posted video on his Twitter account Saturday showing Carlson in a verbal altercation at a country club and asks for help in identifying other people involved in the incident.

    Carlson, in a lengthy statement provided through Fox News, said the incident began when a man at the club last month verbally harassed his teenage daughter on her way back from a bathroom and called her a “whore” and “cunt.”

    He acknowledged that his son then confronted the man and threw wine at him. But Carlson maintains neither he nor his son assaulted the man involved. Avenatti disputed that account, saying it’s an “absolute lie.”

    1. Sean

      Real tough guys on the left, eh? Harassing teenage girls. Sad.

    2. Stinky Wizzleteats

      When they carve the Mt. Rushmore for sleazeball lawyers his portrait definitely needs to be included.

    3. Rufus the Monocled

      The left are sick in the head.

    4. Isn’t throwing wine at someone assault? I guess he might have missed but it’d still be attempted assault no?

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Yeah, Tucker’s bending that one a little.

      2. Breet Pharara

        Yes, but if someone goes after your teenage daughter like that and all they get is a stained shirt, they got off easy.

        1. Stinky Wizzleteats

          I got hit by an errant drink throwing a couple years ago in a restaurant. The guy came over and apologized and I went back to eating my dinner. Technically I guess it’s assault but come on.

          1. westernsloper

            Well, you shouldn’t have called his daughter a cunt.

        2. Old Man With Candy

          Fortunately, I have no teenage daughter. More fortunately, I have a daughter in her early 30s who would have left that guy a bloody pile of pulp on the floor.

          Do not fuck with WebDom.

          1. Breet Pharara

            “Fortunately, I have no teenage daughter.”

            Why do all those teenage and younger girls call you daddy then?

          2. Old Man With Candy

            It pays well.

      3. Trigger Hippie

        ‘Isn’t throwing wine at someone assault?’

        No. It’s a civil case over a dry cleaning bill.

        Come on…

        1. So if someone threw wine in your face and you responded with a quick jab to the nose you’d be the aggressor?

          1. Trigger Hippie

            Uh, yeah. It wouldn’t be the first drink thrown in my face, never hit anybody as a response…and equating lukewarm liquid with a fist is ridiculous.

          2. You’re a far more forgiving man than I. Also what exactly are you doing that gets drinks repeatedly thrown at you? I’m an incredible asshole and I have never had that happen.

          3. Trigger Hippie

            It’s been a good dozen years or so since I’ve last had that happen to me and don’t expect it to happen again but who knows.

            As for what I was doing…well…there’s a good reason I gave up whiskey about a decade ago. It just brings out the devil in me so it’s a no go.

            The last time I had a drink thrown in my face it served up courtesy of a woman so any physical retaliation wasn’t in the cards. If I remember correctly I was at my local dive at the time with a small group of friends one evening and some of their acquaintances whom I didn’t know wandered over to the table to say hello. One of them was a cute readhead with a healthy set so I was initially pleased that they decided to join us.

            After another few rounds of drinks were served and unfortunately the far too often subject of politics entered the conversation. Now I could already tell the readhead was a bit of a peacenik hipster from scattered comments earlier(it’s very important that a prog establish what a loving, caring, compassionate person they are early on) and she began to say we need more laws on this, that, the other, everything, and of course wanted restrictions on speech, weapons, meat consumption, you get the gist. All in the name of love and peace. After about twenty minutes of this I tipped back what was left of my Crown and blurted out something along the lines of her being completely full of shit. She bristled and asked why. I went off on a rant about how all of her positions on human interaction were predicated on state violence or something. Basically saying she was a petty tyrant who’s god was the authoritarian state and she worshipped violence, not peace…fuck you…so she threw her vodka and cranberry in my face and stormed off. I deserved it.

          4. westernsloper

            Heh, had I witnessed that I would have snickered and bought you another crown TH. I can’t keep my mouth shut either but don’t go out much anymore.

          5. Trigger Hippie

            Me either, ‘sloper. Most nights are spent at home with a dark beer and a fat bowl. I have forty coming up in a couple years and socializing just isn’t very appealing anymore. It’s expensive, I hate driving, and I always seem to become accosted from all sides by people who annoy me. What I’m saying is I’m a misanthropic asshole so I avoid large social gatherings. But you guys are okay, I guess. 😉

          6. blackjack

            Couple of years back, I was getting hassled by some jerk in a coffee shop, so I told him to back the fuck off. While doing so, I flailed my arm a bit and tightened my grip on my coffee cup, which caused the lid to pop off, spilling coffee on the table. The spill flowed to the other edge and some got on his lap.

            Two years later, I got pulled over and informed I had a warrant for battery. Hand cuffed, taken to jail, made to pay 500.00 bail and then stand trial. The wife filed about a dozen motions to dismiss on various grounds, but all were denied. The prosecution wanted me to attend a hundred anger management classes (which pissed me off). Eventually, the judge found a way to dismiss the charges that eradicated all negative effects of the arrest.

            When I got my latest job, The background check showed the arrest, but no outcome, I had to go to the court and get an abstract. So, yeah, drink throwing, even inadvertent, can get you charged.

          7. Suthenboy

            I can stand a little wine. A stained shirt is no big deal. Calling my teenage daughter a cunt, however, would earn someone a knot on the head.

          8. Trigger Hippie

            Yeah, I don’t have any children and I don’t think words should be responded with by violence…but…I get it. There’s certain words and phrases in all languages that all men know are ‘fighting words’, and fuck what the law says to the contrary. It’s hardwired into us one way or the other. Culturally, evolutionary, I don’t know. The point being: yeah, don’t call somebody’s daughter a cunt unless your looking for a fight because you’re probably going to get one.

          9. Lackadaisical

            don’t call somebody’s daughter a cunt unless your looking for a fight because you’re probably going to get one.

            Exactamundo.

            Not saying you shouldn’t be convicted, but I’d definitely consider the provocation when it came sentencing time…

      4. it’d still be attempted assault no?

        Assault is the attempt. Battery is when you land the blow.

    5. Atanarjuat

      Wow, it’s so outrageous…that Carlson and his son didn’t team up to beat the living shit out of that guy.

    6. Hyperion

      “Avenatti disputed that account, saying it’s an “absolute lie.”

      Whenever you hear this guy say something is a lie or truth, you can 100% know it’s the opposite of whichever he’s claiming.

  2. Sean

    These election shenanigans are more brazen than I expected.

    1. Waterfall Insurance

      How many days before Beto wins his race?

      1. Hyperion

        Beta’s on the back burner for now. After they’ve secured FL, AZ, and GA, they’ll find a few truckloads of TX ballots that somehow got lost.

  3. Stinky Wizzleteats

    I have family in Georgia and they’re about to shit. Let’s just say they like their semiautomatic guns.

    1. westernsloper

      Georgia has been kind of flying under the radar thanks to FL. Paraphrased from what I just heard on NPR, ‘Many top Republicans are calling what is happening in FL election fraud without any evidence, has there been any fraud?’ (reporter) ‘There has been no formal complaints of fraud filed with the courts that I have heard of, but there have been some problems’ then proceeds to hand wave away the fraud that they have been caught doing.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Perhaps the much vaunted Fourth Estate should do its purported job and investigate a little.

        1. Stinky Wizzleteats

          Hyuk hyuk, good one…

        2. KGBplant

          They’ll investigate. “Nothing to see here, just democracy in action…unless it’s not enough to haul the D over the finish line, in which case it’s not done yet.”

        3. Breet Pharara

          Too busy making sure Russia doesn’t mess up the election.

        4. Lackadaisical

          Just hard working government employees making sure every vote is counted.

          Anyone saying otherwise is racist, natch.

          1. SoberPhobic

            Your tax dollars at work

            Yes, i know it was sarc.

      2. Hyperion

        When I made the claim that the democrats will never accept another election result again, I wasn’t kidding. Well, they’ll accept some, just not the ones that matter. But anything that’s close, we’ll be seeing this from now on, forever.

  4. westernsloper

    I have some few small comforts in life, and today’s is that the Ravens won’t lose.

    I spent a good part of Saturday thinking the same thing about the Broncos. “at least I don’t have to watch the Broncos lose tomorrow”, made for a pleasant day.

    1. juris imprudent

      This used to be the kind of day I’d dread – a winning Chargers team against the Raiders with nothing to lose. But since the Spanos clan decamped San Diego, who the fuck cares?

    2. Trigger Hippie

      If you haven’t already, check this guy out. He does multiple videos a week on Denver area sports. I think he’s fucking hilarious and watch his stuff often. And I’m a Chiefs fan.

        1. westernsloper

          No I hadn’t ever seen him. Thanks, ya, that cracked me up. The halftime FG attempt by Denver was soooooo fucking infuriating. They had something like 30 seconds on the clock and they did a hurry up FG attempt from 61 yards (I think) leaving enough time for HOU to score. I was screaming at the tv on that one.

  5. Hey, we haven’t heard about the caravan in a while. I was worried that they had been Cindy Sheehaned.

    I heard a report on one of the international broadcasters I listen to yesterday that suggested it dropped off the news radar because Trump couldn’t use it for electoral purposes any more.

    The projection, it burns.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I guess that was a tacit admission that the media works for Trump?

    2. Old Man With Candy

      The use of this stupid thing went both ways. And both Team Red and Team Blue were ready to toss it aside when it no longer suited the narrative.

  6. westernsloper

    European Balcony Project.

    If it involves the throwing of beads and the lifting of shirts I fully support this project.

    1. Old Man With Candy

      Or tossing self-styled “intellectuals” off them.

      My first time through, I read it as “Baloney Project.”

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        Did you actually read it?

      1. westernsloper

        hah!

    2. juris imprudent

      The “republic,” of course, to be run by political scientists, philosophers, and writers.

      C’mon, it’s practically the Platonic ideal. What could possibly go wrong?

  7. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Math Nerd News Incoming

    On September 16, 2011, an anime fan posted a math question to the online bulletin board 4chan about the cult classic television series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Season one of the show, which involves time travel, had originally aired in nonchronological order, and a re-broadcast and a DVD version had each further rearranged the episodes. Fans were arguing online about the best order to watch the episodes, and the 4chan poster wondered: If viewers wanted to see the series in every possible order, what is the shortest list of episodes they’d have to watch?

    In less than an hour, an anonymous person offered an answer — not a complete solution, but a lower bound on the number of episodes required. The argument, which covered series with any number of episodes, showed that for the 14-episode first season of Haruhi, viewers would have to watch at least 93,884,313,611 episodes to see all possible orderings. “Please look over [the proof] for any loopholes I might have missed,” the anonymous poster wrote.

    The proof slipped under the radar of the mathematics community for seven years — apparently only one professional mathematician spotted it at the time, and he didn’t check it carefully. But in a plot twist last month, the Australian science fiction novelist Greg Egan proved a new upper bound on the number of episodes required. Egan’s discovery renewed interest in the problem and drew attention to the lower bound posted anonymously in 2011. Both proofs are now being hailed as significant advances on a puzzle mathematicians have been studying for at least 25 years.

    I’m looking at this thinking “I thought this was a well established rule. For n shows, it’s n! + (n-1)! + (n-2)!….., but apparently I was wrong.

    Then in 2014, Houston startled mathematicians by showing that for n = 6, the pattern breaks down. The factorial rule predicts that to watch six episodes in every possible order should require 873 episodes, but Houston found a way to do it in 872. And since there is a simple way to convert a short superpermutation on n symbols into a short superpermutation on n + 1 symbols, Houston’s example meant that the factorial rule fails for every value of n above 6 too.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      The best part? It was partially solved by a 4channer

      By the time of Houston’s work, the anonymous 4chan post had been sitting in its corner of the internet for nearly three years. One mathematician, Nathaniel Johnston of Mount Allison University, had noticed a copy of the post on a different website a few days after it was posted — not because he was an anime fan, but because he had typed an assortment of superpermutation-related search terms into Google.

      1. Slammer

        The funny thing is remember about that is how do you attribute it for the papers and footnotes? “Anon”?

        1. Scruffy Nerfherder

          Pepe the Frog

      2. SoberPhobic

        I’m no genius, so I put 6! into google and came up with 720.

        1. Old Man With Candy

          Now add in the next factorials… Maybe it’s the 1! that fucks things up.

    2. Slammer

      Looks like the autists are now on the case regarding Florida voting

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Never underestimate the autistic hive mind.

    3. Lackadaisical

      Then in 2014, Houston startled mathematicians by showing that for n = 6, the pattern breaks down. The factorial rule predicts that to watch six episodes in every possible order should require 873 episodes, but Houston found a way to do it in 872. And since there is a simple way to convert a short superpermutation on n symbols into a short superpermutation on n + 1 symbols, Houston’s example meant that the factorial rule fails for every value of n above 6 too.

      Thats crazy. I had learned the factorial rule too.

  8. Suthenboy

    All of the bitching about D’s committing voter fraud…you know what Rs? Put someone in prison or shut the fuck up. They keep doing it because you keep letting them. Someone needs an asswhipping and it aint the D’s.

    1. Sean

      I won’t be happy until I see some heads on pikes.
      Metaphorically, of course.

      1. Lackadaisical

        Why only metaphorically?

        I’m okay with redefining treason to include election shenanigans, assuming we edit the constitution to do so.

    2. Rufus the Monocled

      Exactly. My wife said, “And? Why don’t they do anything about it?” She said the same thing about Hillary. She did all these bad things, so why isn’t she in prison?

      I couldn’t answer.

      1. Drake

        A general lack of balls. And guys like Paul Ryan who don’t really want to win – so they pretend to be gentlemanly.

    3. Slammer

      These blatant power grabs quite often lead to bloodshed

      1. Drake

        Sure. When the Romans stopped playing by the rules, they started killing each other in large numbers.

    4. juris imprudent

      You know, the left isn’t the only one invested in narratives.

  9. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Letters to the Local Rag: Andrew McCarthy Edition

    Looking for a full-bodied male and female mannequin for church project. If you have either to give away or for a small fee, call 1-757-634-XXXX. Thanks so much.

    1. Do they have to be anatomically correct?

  10. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Letters to the Local Rag: We’re All Dangerous

    It seems that people who generate online hate speech are potentially dangerous. Maybe this should be a factor considered for gun purchases and ownership.

    1. Breet Pharara

      The right to self defense is a fundamental right. The right to free speech is a fundamental right. However, you only get to pick one, so choose carefully.

      1. Drake

        Blam! Blam! Blam!

      2. If I have the first, I’m guaranteed the second.

      3. Rufus the Monocled

        Right plus right = not right.

        1. juris imprudent

          Now over at TOS, that would be some first rate Hihn-trolling.

          1. Not an Economist

            For the record, Hihn, the One True Libertarian, got himself banned at the TOS. People sometimes claim some poster is a sock puppet for Hihn, but I don’t know whether that is true or not.

          2. Hyperion

            He did, but he had 5 sock puppets the next day.

    2. Stinky Wizzleteats

      And there you go, any excuse they can use. Are you a close the borders guy or gal? No guns for you then.

  11. Suthenboy

    On tv Frog burps up gibberish: Macron takes a swipe at Trump – “nationalism is the opposite of patriotism”
    And something something just caring about your own country and never mind about those other guys.

    Whut?

    Please, dissolve NATO, gtfo of europe and let them form their globalist wet dream and their own defense and pay their own way. Jesus.

    1. Gillespie

      ^^This so damn much. I’ll be dancing in the streets the day this happens.

    2. For all Trump’s bluster about us paying too much for Europe’s defenses didn’t I read a week or so back that we are opening another base in Poland or somewhere.

      1. Gillespie

        Apparently he was in the talks for it, I’m not sure if it’s a set deal yet. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/09/18/trump-us-may-put-permanent-base-in-poland/

        I hope we don’t go with this though. Even if we’re getting “compensated” I’d rather we just bug out of Europe in general.

    3. juris imprudent

      We can’t do that, then we would all find out that Europeans are too chickenshit to stick their tongues out at Putin without us standing at their shoulder. Oh, and then we would also find out that the Russian Menace isn’t nearly as frightening as it is made out to be.

      Sheesh, you see common sense break out like that and the next thing you know the Euro’s will stop letting in immigrants because they have no fucking idea how (or interest in) assimilating them.

  12. westernsloper

    Old Guy Music – Didn’t annoy me at all. I actually made it through that one.

  13. Atanarjuat

    “she was not at liberty to discuss the company’s federal contracts in detail”

    Oh, ok. Sorry we asked. That’s certainly none of our business.

    1. westernsloper

      “It basically has the ability to turn every streetlight into a surveillance device, which is very Orwellian to say the least,” Marlow told Quartz. “In most jurisdictions, the local police or department of public works are authorized to make these decisions unilaterally and in secret. There’s no public debate or oversight.”

      Whatever you guys think is best.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        IIRC the companies that make these devices have an NDA that the city “has” to sign in order to purchase the devices. That way, the city gets to say it wasn’t their decision to hide it.

      2. Atanarjuat

        Can we ask 4chan to get on this next? Locations, how they’re constructed, system drawbacks, etc.

  14. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Unfortunately for this business, OSHA has noticed the lead paint on that window frame and will be paying them a visit shortly.

    1. Suthenboy

      Bats? No guns?
      Meh.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Needs more C4

  15. The Late P Brooks

    the European Balcony Project

    Why did something like this pop immediately into my head?

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Europeans love their balconies. So do the Argentinians

    2. westernsloper

      Because you are an libertarian shitlord who points out authoritarianism. I hear balcony and I think of Mardi Gras because I am a pervert.

      1. Suthenboy

        In your comment above I read ‘shirts’ as ‘skirts’. I like my version better. Q may disagree.

    3. Charlie Suet

      I was thinking this myself.

  16. The Late P Brooks

    Also, I hope Christie and her cop husband die in a fire. The OMWC administration will not cause such a fire, but we will not so much as direct a stream of urine in its direction. These are evil, evil people.

    Hang on. That’s a bit harsh. The government only spies on us because it loves us.

    1. juris imprudent

      The government only spies on us because it loves us.

      And really, they know what is in our best interests better than we do.

  17. Suthenboy

    “Artists and intellectuals across Europe are calling for the founding of a continentwide republic to replace its many nation states.”

    You know who else wanted to unite all of Europe?

    1. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustu?

    2. Gillespie

      Karl Marx?

    3. Slammer

      Mohammed?

  18. Grummun

    European Republic

    If there’s anything we can learn from the end of World War I and the breakup of Austria-Hungary, it’s that the multitude of ethnic groups in Europe really yearn to all be part of the same country under a strong central government.

    1. KGBplant

      Yeah. It’ll be just like our republic over on this side of the Atlantic. Only where we took thirteen separate colonies, each of which had a common language, common goals, a common enemy, and a common history, and bound them together with immense hard work, divine providence, and good luck, and under the tutelage of some of the most brilliant minds the world has known, they’re going to will take a dozen countries with as many different languages, far more individual goals, nothing to unify them, and a history of a thousand years of trying to kill each other, and bring them together under the same level of leaders who brought us among many other things both world wars. It can’t miss!

      1. Suthenboy

        I cant remember them exactly but most people speaking a particular language in Europe have a word for the people in adjacent countries that are the same as their word for cockroach, rat, etc.
        It’s hilarious.

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          That’s just a difference in time. Give us a few more centuries and we’ll be the same. Hell, “Masshole” is already common currency here in New England.

    2. Suthenboy

      Story my father told me:

      He was sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Zurich on a date with a Swiss girl. He saw another girl walking down the street in traditional Swiss garb and mentioned her to his date. She curled her lip and said “Oh yeah. She is from _______, you can tell by the (whatever symbols or pattern on her skirt). Those people are shit.”
      Apparently the girl was from the next valley over from where his date was born.
      I had similar experiences in England. The people on one side of the river hated the people from the other side and their accents were so different they could barely understand each other.
      United Europe, my ass.

      1. Threedoor

        I had a similar experience in Tennessee. “They’re from Dixon county…”

        1. Fourscore

          Same in high school, “He’s from north of the river”

      2. Gustave Lytton

        The ole “100 years is a long time in the US, 100 miles is a long distance in Europe”.

  19. Scruffy Nerfherder

    I was reading this article on local embezzlement when something popped out at me.

    VIRGINIA BEACH
    A grand jury has indicted a former economic development employee for embezzlement.

    Brian Scott Hall, a former business development coordinator, has been charged with three felony counts of embezzlement, according to Macie Allen, a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. He is accused of stealing about $4,000.

    The indictment offered no details surrounding the incidents other than that they happened between September 2016 and June 2018. Virginia Beach Auditor Lyndon Remias said the alleged crimes are associated with packages Hall shipped to his girlfriend in the Philippines.

    The city has offices in the Philippines as well as Germany and Spain to promote economic development. Scott traveled to all of the overseas offices for work. FedEx receipts obtained by The Pilot through the Freedom of Information Act confirm Hall had been sending packages to an address in Olongapo, Philippines, that was not associated with the city’s office there.

    Hall worked for the city for more than 9 years. He left his job on June 28 after he had been interviewed about his spending. The city declined to say under what circumstance Hall left.

    Hall is now the vice president of Economic Development for Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce in Kentucky, according to the organization’s website. Hall did not return a phone call from The Pilot.

    1. Mr Lizard

      “He is accused of stealing about $4,000”

      He works there over 9 years, And That’s it?!!?!

      This guy squeaky clean, should’ve made him the comptroller. He’s honest enough to only send a little sugar to his phillipino side piece, yet smart enough to recognize a racket.

  20. Trigger Hippie

    A few seconds of uplifting words to start your Sunday.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uLQTmYVrOzU

  21. The Late P Brooks

    Hall worked for the city for more than 9 years. He left his job on June 28 after he had been interviewed about his spending. The city declined to say under what circumstance Hall left.

    Hall is now the vice president of Economic Development for Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce in Kentucky, according to the organization’s website. Hall did not return a phone call from The Pilot.

    “Case closed. He’s somebody else’s problem, now.”

  22. The Late P Brooks

    I spent part of my evening watching Atlas Shrugged, pt I. I found it surprisingly entertaining and watchable. I will say there are some cartoonish caricatures, and some dialog which made me wince, but it was no worse than much of what I have watched in the past six months. I am eagerly awaiting the part where Wesley Mouch gets tied to the railroad tracks. Will watch II and III.

    Dagny: hubba hubba hubba!

    1. westernsloper

      I was pleasantly surprised by part 1. Parts 2 and 3 lived up to my expectations as the production quality and acting went down.

      1. RAHeinlein

        We watched Part 1 last week – sounds as though 2 and 3 are worth skipping?

        1. westernsloper

          I wouldn’t recommend skipping them. The cast changes though. I am not sure what happened there, but I wish they could have kept the same actors throughout the series. I will watch them all again one of these days.

    2. Mojeaux

      I thought it was awful. The writing was stagnant, the actors wooden, and it couldn’t decide whether to be a modern piece or a period piece. I cried at the end because they’d butchered the spirit of the book so badly.

      1. westernsloper

        When I watched it I assumed many A Shrugged fans would feel that way just based on the size of the book. Hard to put a coffee table sized book into film form. Myself being someone who has never read it didn’t have that problem, but ya, the acting kind of stunk in parts 2 and 3 imho.

        1. Mojeaux

          I knew there was supposed to be followup movies, so that part wasn’t at issue.

          My complaint is that it wasn’t a well done movie even if the book were not involved. IMO. The lack of storytelling ability of whoever wrote the script, and the actors’ lack of emotion (yeah, I know they read flat in the book, but it doesn’t make for a compelling, persuasive movie) killed it.

          It just wasn’t a good story in movie format.

          But again, just my opinion.

        2. Old Man With Candy

          Hard to put a coffee table sized book into film form.

          Excuse me, that’s a Postum table. Have some respect.

          1. Mojeaux

            I say “coffee table,” although I could get excommunicated for it. That’s me, always making trouble.

          2. westernsloper

            *Scratches postum and belches.

      2. CPRM

        I thought it was awful. The writing was stagnant, the actors wooden, and it couldn’t decide whether to be a modern piece or a period piece.

        The you describe it is a spot on translation of the book.

        1. Mojeaux

          Inadvertently. I doubt anybody WANTS stagnant writing, wooden actors, or a wishy-washy timeline.

          My point was that the production could have far surpassed the original material while staying true to its premises and sequence of events. It should have been a period piece, they could have chosen better actors, they could’ve written a better script.

        2. Mojeaux

          In short, there is SOMETHING special about the book.

          The movie didn’t even capture that much.

    3. PudPaisley

      Not sure if you read or liked the book We the Living, but there was an Italian movie made of it during WW2. Actually, it was two movies. From what I remember the Fascists allowed it because it was anti-commie until they realized the subversive nature of it. I thought it was a good movie aside from ruining the ending, but I can see why they changed it under the circumstances. I thought the woman who played Kira did a great job. It’s on youtube.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwWFsQOpGck&t=4430s

  23. The Late P Brooks

    I cant remember them exactly but most people speaking a particular language in Europe have a word for the people in adjacent countries that are the same as their word for cockroach, rat, etc.

    There was a Monty Python bit about nationalist pejoratives, and who called whom what. When they got to Brazil, they said nobody could think of a worse thing to call somebody than “Brazilian”.

    1. Suthenboy

      We should consult Hyperion on this.

      1. Hyperion

        They’re just like everyone. They hate everyone else and have lots of unique slurs for them.

        1. Hyperion

          But I have never heard anyone say what P. Brooks is talking about. I have heard Brazilians say that the country is shit because the people are shit. But when they say that, they are NOT talking about themselves, but those OTHER Brazilians. So yeah, same as everyone else. They do have a million Portuguese jokes. They consider Portuguese to be shit, while the Portuguese consider Brazilians to be shit. But they still travel to each other’s countries and get along just fine, despite those other guys sound funny, like the Brits and Aussies do to us. And of course, Brazil being a big country, they all talk shit about people in different regions.

  24. Scruffy Nerfherder

    It turns out Avenatti has a brother

    A Florida judge has reportedly dismissed a class-action lawsuit against McDonald’s that alleged the chain engaged in deceptive and misleading business practices with the sale of one of the menu items.

    The $5 million suit was filed in May by Andrew Lavin, of the Miami-based Lavin Law Group, in May after two customers, Cynthia Kissner and Leonard Werner, complained about the price of the Quarter Pounder with Cheese. The patrons said they were charged the full price of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, although they ordered the burger without cheese.

    “These products cannot be purchased either separately or as part of a value meal, without the customer being overcharged and being compelled to pay for unwanted and undelivered cheese,” the lawsuit stated, according to The Miami Herald. “McDonald’s is being unjustly enriched by these practices, because it receives payment for cheese it does not deliver to its customers.”

    However, U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas disagreed and threw out the case “with prejudice,” which means the plaintiffs cannot file the suit again, The Miami Herald reported.

    1. The menu doesn’t have a plain Quarter Pounder?

      1. Suthenboy

        Yes, it does.

  25. Sean

    Anyone change out the battery in a jump box? I have one that is older, but in pristine shape and it won’t take a charge anymore.

    Should be simple, right? Any tips?

    1. Suthenboy

      You have a replacement battery already?
      I am guessing a new jump box is cheaper. Either that or just carry around an extra battery and jump cables.

      1. Sean

        Not yet. It’s a nice unit with a built in air compressor and in like new condition.

        Battery looks under $40 per a my search, and a replacement over $100.

        Usually I would go new, but somehow seems wasteful this time.

        1. Suthenboy

          I have never changed one out. I carry an extra charged battery, cables and a separate air compressor. I also carry a tire kit, fire extinguisher, full tool box, a gallon of antifreeze and a gallon of oil. My wife complains about all of that stuff, or used to until we needed it.
          I have been stranded with a lame vehicle too many times so I am not going to get stuck like that again. Also, I have aided many a motorist with flat tires, dead batteries, broken heater hose etc.

          1. Sean

            That’s more than I want to carry! Though my intent was to put the box back into my car along with a tire kit.

            And now you got me thinking about my lack of an auto fire extinguisher…

          2. Suthenboy

            Never go anywhere without a fire extinguisher. Ever.
            Carry a pistol, a flashlight and a fire extinguisher every where you go. It could mean life or death, literally.

          3. And a knife, a lighter and a handkerchief.

          4. Sean

            Always bring a towel.

            /Towlie

          5. Tundra

            Wanna get high?

          6. Suthenboy

            You are right…and a towel ( I toss a 4-pack of Viva in the back)

          7. westernsloper

            Also sandwiches, a blanket, twelve pack of beer, bottle opener, can opener, and some soup.

          8. Twelve pack? What’s a twelve pack? Real beer comes in 30s. But that’s a fair point nonetheless.

          9. Tundra

            For around town I don’t worry too much. Out in the sticks, especially in winter, the equation changes.

            This stuff, a fire extinguisher, jumper cables, flashlight, basic tools, blanket, small shovel, recovery strap, food, water, extra clothes, etc. I always carry fire, as well.

            Never needed any of yet, of course!

          10. Suthenboy

            I hope you never do but if the moment when you do arrives it will arrive without warning and you will find that lugging all of that shit around was worth it.

          11. Tejicano

            You forgot the most important item – duct tape.

          12. Threedoor

            I’m guessing you drive an 80s Dodge pickup.

          13. Suthenboy

            2007 4-door jeep wrangler 4wd sahara.

          14. Threedoor

            Shouldn’t be that unreliable. I packed a spare battery on long trips in my ‘youth’. Usually ended up using it to rescue others as well. Now I’m down to a spare gallon of oil, a tow strap and a handful of throwaway tools.

    2. mexican sharpshooter

      Any tips?

      Dont touch both posts at the same time…..or touch them both. Be free to do what makes you happy!

    3. Count Potato

      The newer ones have better batteries than the old ones.

  26. This Fed Cup is mighty entertaining….

    It’s too bad the ITF took that Spanish money to fuck up Davis Cup. 😡

    1. Luther Baldwin

      I’m more irritated by the constant whining about how matches are too “long”.

      1. If players would stop taking more than the allotted time between points, it wouldn’t be an issue.

        1. Luther Baldwin

          I was referring to the trend of adding more tie-breaks and even on the men’s side agitation to get rid of 5-set matches. You wanna work less hard? Fine. Take a pay cut.

  27. The Late P Brooks

    Wasn’t thi89s just a topic of conversation here, in the past day or two?

    Talking points awaaaaay!

    We’re nearly two decades into the 21st century, so why is America still operating with a House of Representatives built for the start of the 20th?

    The House’s current size — 435 representatives — was set in 1911, when there were fewer than one-third as many people living in the United States as there are now. At the time, each member of Congress represented an average of about 200,000 people. In 2018, that number is almost 750,000.

    *blah blah blah*

    The bottom line is that the House today is far too small, and that poses a big danger to American democracy.

    ———-

    the size of the House determines the shape of the Electoral College, because a state’s electoral votes are equal to its congressional delegation. This is one of the many reasons the college is an unfair and antiquated mechanism: States that are already underrepresented in Congress have a weaker voice in choosing the president, again violating the principle that each citizen should have an equal vote.

    Man, those guys have developed a serious hard-on for the Electoral College.

    I have my own ideas about what constitutes a “big danger to American democracy” and it ain’t the *size* of the legislature.

    1. I tend to think the districts are getting too big, but that has nothing to do with the Electoral College.

      1. Lackadaisical

        ^this.

        We should have about ten times as many congress critters. Pay and staffing should be commensurate with the resulting decrease in importance.

      2. Trigger Hippie

        Agreed. If I ever get the balls to submit it I have a half thought through article on revisiting the The Reapportionment Act and wind up making a case for more Congress Critters with the stipulation that alphabet agencies are eliminated and all laws written by said agencies not originating from Congress itself be reviewed and voted upon. It would tie up Congress for years to shovel through that mountain of legislative shit they handed off to a third party. A fitting punishment for shirking their responsibilities. I know this will never happen but let a fella fap, will ya?

    2. Threedoor

      Screw them. Repeal the 17th Ammendment.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    There’s a simple fix: Make the House bigger. Many Americans will groan at the thought of expanding a government they already consider too big and unwieldy. Polls consistently show that the public would rather throw the bums out than hire more of them.

    That response is understandable; The Times itself editorialized against a House expansion in 1920, arguing that the chamber was “top-heavy” and “the legislative machinery … cumbrous.” The problem is that there’s virtually no evidence that a larger House would be less effective at governing.

    *prolonged, outright laughter*

    1. As if it’s a bad thing that they can’t govern.

  29. The Late P Brooks

    It just gets better:

    There’s a better solution, which involves bringing America into line with other mature democracies

    Right. When I think of efficient, effective governance, I point to Italy as an example.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      with other mature democracies

      Now I’m laughing.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    I cried at the end because they’d butchered the spirit of the book so badly.

    Fortunately, My reaction to the movie is completely unencumbered by any contact with the book.

    1. Mojeaux

      You’re luckier than I, but that doesn’t change the other two points.

  31. egould310

    What the hell happened last night? Things got fuzzy at 11pm.

    I sliced the tip of my pinkie finger off, and there is blood all over my shorts.

    I’m at the laundromat now. Think I’ll go get a drink.

    1. Sean

      “What the hell happened last night? ”

      I was wondering the same thing when I saw another congratulations email from gunbroker this morning.
      *sigh*
      I gotta learn to put my tablet down earlier in the evening.

      1. Mr Lizard

        Soooooooooo what did you get?

        1. Sean

          Beretta PX4c

          1. Mr Lizard

            *dons dental surgical gear, takes out pliers*

            Sooooooooo what caliber?….
            *taps foot impatiently*

          2. Mr Lizard

            Excellent. I am quite the fan of them. My only complaint was that the magazines were like really hard to load (and that’s using my slender yet strong reptile fingers). Also the recoil is strange due to the rotating lock on the barrel as opposed tilt mechanisms. However I have found I am a bit more accurate with the PX4 than a comparable HK USP9 compact.

          3. Sean

            I’ve never shot one of them before, but my sister has one and likes it.

            Best $30 you’ll ever spend :
            https://smile.amazon.com/Maglula-UpLULA-Magazine-Loader-UP60B/dp/B0169PR59I?th=1

          4. Gustave Lytton

            Very nice! They’re on my lust list. Right after a P99c & a first gen PPS.

    2. Fretting hand or picking hand?

      1. Tundra

        Punks don’t pick.

        1. Yusef drives a Kia

          Bull Shit

      2. egould310

        Strumming. Probably sliced it on the e string. Gotta check my guitar.

    3. Suthenboy

      What the hell dude? Nothing hurts like a fingertip.
      Ouch. You better take care that doesnt get infected. That means cleaning twice a day with hibecleanse then swabbing generously with triple antibiotic and covering with a bandage. No fuckin’ around and putting it off or thinking nah, it’ll be alright…once the infection gets started it can be hell to get rid of and takes forever to heal.

      1. egould310

        Thanks for rhe advice. Turns out I got home and jumped on the guitar. There’s skin abs blood andstuff all over the guitar.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    I sliced the tip of my pinkie finger off, and there is blood all over my shorts.

    Are you sure it wasn’t the Yakuza?

  33. The Late P Brooks

    We’re all Spartacus, now.

    On Thursday we learned that a year and a half after Ossoff’s loss, Lucy McBath, an African-American gun control advocate, had flipped the seat.

    McBath’s victory was emblematic of the Resistance triumphs in the midterms. There was no immediate catharsis on Tuesday, no definitive national rebuke of a president whose bottomless depravity continues to dumbfound more than half the country. But the steady work of citizens who’ve been trying, over the last two years, to fight the civic nightmare of Trumpism bore fruit. It was a slog, pockmarked with disappointments. At the end, though, there was hope.

    ———–

    As I write this, Democrats have flipped at least 30 House seats, and their total haul could go as high as 40. Democrats virtually wiped out the Republican Party in the Northeast, but they also won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. The party is on track to make more gains in the House than it has in any election since Watergate’s aftermath. Across the country, Democrats flipped at least 333 statehouse seats, a third of all those lost over the course of Obama’s presidency.

    The seeds of this success were planted after Trump’s election, when all over America scared, angry people searched for mechanisms that could constrain him. The democratic institutions that should have thwarted an authoritarian demagogue like Trump had failed, said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, which would quickly become one of the most important Resistance groups. People were “looking around to see who or what was going to come and save them,” Levin said. “And the answer was nothing. The answer was that they had to do it themselves.”

    Trump’s shithole America needs more guerrilla patriots. Stop the rot. Save democracy. Crush the Republikkkins.

    1. Suthenboy

      bottomless depravity.

      Citations?

    2. >>And the answer was nothing. The answer was that they had to do it themselves.

      I’ll laugh if Trump wins in 2020 and the house flips back to the Repubs.

      Because the Democrats and ilk are making mountains out of mole hills. And considering the amnesty and gun legislation they will attempt to pass (and fail) they won’t exactly be popular with a large swath of deplorables.

    3. Raven Nation

      “won new seats in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.”

      I’m too lazy to look this up, but did the Dems win “new” seats, i.e. ones that have been R for a long time? Or did they flip seats that tend to change hands? Or both?

      For example, I know KS-3 tends to be something of a swing district. It’s not on a knife edge and it tends to indicate the majority party in Congress. If they flipped KS-2 that would be a much bigger deal.

      1. Trigger Hippie

        (D)s got the third for the first time in a decade and the second stayed red.

        https://www.google.com/amp/amp.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article221156115.html

        I did get a chuckle out of seeing them refer to Davis as the first Native American woman elected to Congress. *Yeah, no shit.

        *flat stare at Warren

        1. Raven Nation

          So, it’s a significant gain but not earth-shattering, I guess.

    4. Luther Baldwin

      the Resistance

      These people have no shame.

  34. creech

    Why are all the news outlets reporting that “Trump insulted Macron?” Seems to me that Macron insulted the U.S. by proposing that Europe raise an army to defend itself from the U.S. among others. Macron is a real piece of shit who doesn’t realize he’d be speaking German today if not for our fathers and grandfathers.

    1. The ones on the left report it that way because they think it makes Trump look bad, the ones on the right report it that way because Trumpsters love it when Trump insults people.

    2. juris imprudent

      Actually they’d be speaking Russian. The Germans were doomed on the Eastern Front.

    3. Heroic Mulatto

      Seems to me that Macron insulted the U.S. by proposing that Europe raise an army to defend itself from the U.S. among others.

      But if one is a “nationalist”, how is that even an insult? Isn’t the purpose of a nation’s army to defend itself from other nations? Was War Plan Red an insult to the UK?

      1. juris imprudent

        Diplomacy – the art of dissembling about who are your allies, who are your enemies and how fine the line is that separates them.

    4. Hyperion

      “Seems to me that Macron insulted the U.S. by proposing that Europe raise an army to defend itself from the U.S. among others.”

      Trump should just smile, shake his hand, and withdraw all troops and monetary military support from Europe, tomorrow.

      1. Heroic Mulatto

        I would vote for him in 2020 if he did that.

        But he’s too tied in with cronies in the defense industry to do that. Can’t bring back steel manufacturing to the U.S. if we aren’t building arms for all our “allies”.

  35. Ugh – a bit hungover today. Turns out the party wasn’t Friday night – my wife got confused – but last night. Neighbors showed up and pleasant times had by all. I drank too much – had so many different kinds of beers to sample. And the wine.

    One of my wife’s friends has been having marriage difficulties, husband separated from her. But surprise, surprise – they both showed up at the party. They have patched things together.

  36. Tundra

    The Lonely Mob

    I think he’s right. These people are sad, lonely and lack any sort of mission in life. I saw some of Spawn 1’s buddies last night who were back from college for the weekend. Not an antifa fucko among them, just clean cut aggressive kids enjoying their missions.

    People need to be busy and productive to be happy.

    1. Suthenboy

      Eric Hoffer covered that decades ago. People never change.

    2. Mr Lizard

      College creatures need to be chasing booze, ass, and trying to pass

      1. Tundra

        What the hell did you think I meant by ‘mission’?

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          Mormons?

    3. PudPaisley

      Hey Tundra, are you familiar with this Minneapolis musician? He’s on my bucket list to see, along with another band he’s in called Vulfpeck. The dude’s got style, and the end of the video is great. Plus the song is named after his first car.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWbQR_k1IFA

      1. Tundra

        Nope, not familiar with his stuff. Kid can play, though!

        Whoever shot that video needs a beating.

        1. Old Man With Candy

          Other MPS guy who needs to be seen is Randy Sabien.

          1. blackjack

            What about Jonny Lang?

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldRV565BjTE

            *not technically from Min, but ended up there…

          2. Tundra

            Yup. He’s been around forever. Used to be “Kid” Jonny Lang when he started performing in grade school.

        2. PudPaisley

          I should have picked something less distracting.

      2. Gustave Lytton

        Vulfpeck has come up here a bunch. I think I first saw them from straffinrun.

    4. Fourscore

      Sez you…

    5. Hyperion

      “These people are sad, lonely and lack any sort of mission in life.”

      And because of those things, they also desperately crave attention. What could be more comforting to them than to believe that they are somehow a ‘resistance’ that is saving all of us from some Nazi like oppression? And the media makes their ridiculous fantasies worse by providing legitimacy and cover for them, sometimes even making them out to the hero ‘resistance’ that they are dreaming up.

  37. >> to replace its many nation states.

    You know who else wanted to replace many nation states with one…

    1. Tundra

      Genghis Khan?

    2. Mr Lizard

      The Zerg?

    3. Tres Cool

      the game Risk ?

    4. Hyperion

      “>> to replace its many nation states.”

      This is just the lefties getting scared about all of the right wing insurgency. If the left could only be in power forever, utopia will be realized.

  38. The Late P Brooks

    They’re blabbering about “the (electoral) year of the woman” on Meet the Press. Just what I need, is a bunch of butthurt hectoring harpies telling me what a shithole Trump’s America is.

    Guess what, Lady. You don’t get my guns.

    1. creech

      Time to start flying the Gonzalez flag of the Texas Revolution? “Come and Get It.”

      1. creech

        “Come and Take It”

      2. Scruffy Nerfherder

        I think that was the flag of the best little whorehouse in Texas.

  39. The Late P Brooks

    I’ll laugh if Trump wins in 2020 and the house flips back to the Repubs.

    Because the Democrats and ilk are making mountains out of mole hills. And considering the amnesty and gun legislation they will attempt to pass (and fail) they won’t exactly be popular with a large swath of deplorables.

    Listening to these two female Democrats on MtP, I see that as a near-certain outcome.

    1. creech

      “they won’t exactly be popular with a large swath of deplorables.”
      I’m afraid the vast majority of these folks already vote Republican. But such legislation will just do even more to curry favor with the suburban soccer mom who thinks guns are icky and “it’s time to take away all guns from those who aren’t law enforcement.” When the recount dust finally settles, maybe someone will analyze where those 30-35 seats were flipped and why.

      1. juris imprudent

        Suburban soccer moms can take a flying fuck. You’re talking helicoptering soft-prog, semi-feminists anyway. Those are the same women that stupid fucking pro-choice ad is intended* to appeal to – you think there is anything you are ever going to have a ‘reasonable compromise’ on with them?

        * of course intents don’t always equate with outcomes – something that always completely mystifies progs.

  40. I know the media and the internet makes voices seem louder than they are, but are we seeing the death throes of the “old breed” America? Things certainly feel waaay different to me politically – than the 1970s-1990s. If the left gets power, senate, house, and the presidency, I see a large scale change coming – as if the Republicans (or conservative or whomever) are fighting a losing rearguard action against gun control, 1st Amendment rights, Republicanism, Federalism, etc

    Or am I reading too much into the current situation?

    1. Sean

      Kavanaugh getting through renewed my optimism. But we have to keep fighting to gain ground, not just keeping the status quo.

    2. Tundra

      As Suthen notes above, people never change. The progressives made the country their fuck toy for 100 years before they got significant push back. I think that’s what we’re seeing.

      At the end of the day, most normals just want to quietly go about their business. We (glibs) are pretty engrossed in this stuff, so naturally we tend to be more cynical and pessimistic.

      It’s still (mostly) a beautiful time to be alive.

      1. Fourscore

        Yeppers. A Northern boy can survive, with his old friends and new found friends.

    3. juris imprudent

      It’s worse than you realize. Most everyone in the political game has learned from the left’s tactics. Nothing makes me sadder than seeing once conservative types using the left’s playbook for their own brand of big govt.

      There is NO significant segment of the electorate that doesn’t want to shove something down your throat, that is willing to live and let live and mind their own business. And that is exactly consistent with Suthen’s observation that people don’t change – they are all so damn insecure that even the mere existence of something non-conforming makes them piss themselves.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Bingo. Trump is a reaction to the left’s tactics, not a new development in of itself.

        1. Heroic Mulatto

          Trump is a reaction to the left’s tactics

          This assumes that Trump is not of the “Left”. In a sane world, collectivist populism would neatly fall under the “left wing”, at least economically.

          But alas, “fiscal conservatives” are extinct, their fire has gone out of the universe. We, my friend, are all that’s left of their religion.

          1. Scruffy Nerfherder

            Fair enough. He is a 90’s Democrat after all.

            I was referring more to his style.

          2. Heroic Mulatto

            But could his style even be replicated by someone who was sincerely an individualist and believer in the free market? To do what he does, you have to view groups of people as “tribes” and pit them against each other. Trump was raised in a city built by Tammany Hall – it’s in his blood. But what about someone from the Frontier?

          3. Scruffy Nerfherder

            No. I wasn’t claiming he was an individualist. Just a pragmatist who believes that working the system is the only way to get ahead. I can’t ever see anyone who was successful in New York or New Jersey being an individualist, their economic and political systems prevent it.

  41. The Late P Brooks

    If the left gets power, senate, house, and the presidency, I see a large scale change coming – as if the Republicans (or conservative or whomever) are fighting a losing rearguard action against gun control, 1st Amendment rights, Republicanism, Federalism, etc

    Listening to the gibbering of the Democrats and their flunkies in the press, I honestly think the Constitution will be under serious assault the next time they get their mitts on the levers of power.

    1. creech

      Agreed, and I’m afraid the arc of history favors a swing back to totalitarianism.

      1. The old Calvin Coolidge quote comes to mind:

        If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.

        1. juris imprudent

          Thanks. I tracked that down to the Coolidge Foundation; how I hadn’t ever visited that website previously is a shame-inducing mystery.

        2. Charlie Suet

          Wikipedia tells us that historians rank Coolidge as a “below-average” President. The article goes on to show him being awesome in practically every area.

          1. Suthenboy

            Yep. In my estimation Coolidge is more than just above average. He is at the top of my list. Imagine where we would be if every president were like him. It would likely be a truly free country.

        3. Gustave Lytton

          And Coolidge started off as a Progressive politician (when progressives were wings in both parties).

  42. The Late P Brooks

    Obligatory disclaimer- I am not a Trumpista in any sense other than entertainment value. Seeing the hysterical reactions to his “bottomless depravity” amuses the shit out of me.

    The greatest strength and virtue of this nation is its resilience. Obama didn’t destroy the country. Neither will Trump.

    1. Old Man With Candy

      The greatest strength and virtue of this nation is its resilience. Obama didn’t destroy the country. Neither will Trump.

      Something I say over and over, which never fails to piss off any remaining proggie friends we have.

      /looks around

      Huh, seems quiet around here. Must have worked.

      1. juris imprudent

        I’ve been saying something similar since the Clinton Admin – “the nation has survived worse”.

        Sadly this seems to have been taken as a challenge.

  43. The Late P Brooks

    When the recount dust finally settles, maybe someone will analyze where those 30-35 seats were flipped and why.

    People keep talking about how this was the biggest swing since the 70s. A bunch of sitting Republicans did not run for re-election; I wonder how that fits in.

    1. Raven Nation

      “A bunch of sitting Republicans did not run for re-election”

      Hard to know how that goes: usually when a number of sitting pols retire, it’s because they see a loss coming anyway.

  44. The Late P Brooks

    From the KDW piece Tundra linked:

    There isn’t much of enduring interest in that story: Feckless and hysterical young Caitlyns have been going all rage-monkey from coast to coast for a good bit now, and one might get a feel for the level of maturity at play here by meditating on the fact that a grown-ass woman of legal voting age was walking around drinking chocolate milk. Caitlyns gotta Caitlyn, I suppose.

    I have been known to indulge in a little chocolate milk, now and then.

    Fuck off, Junior.

    1. Suthenboy

      “…drinking chocolate milk…”

      I have no idea what that means.

      1. Yusef drives a Kia

        missing out, that’s what you heard

  45. The Late P Brooks

    There is NO significant segment of the electorate that doesn’t want to shove something down your throat, that is willing to live and let live and mind their own business.

    Exactly. Nobody ever ran for office so he could leave me the fuck alone. And that’s who the people vote for.

    1. AlmightyJB

      Something always MUST be done. I think it’s the media that drives most of that. The sheep just follow. If you had a media reporting facts and perspective instead of turning everything “bad” or things they disapprove of into a crisis needing immediate government intervention, you may see a different electorate. Although, if the media weren’t fanning the flames, the politicians surely would to show how “crucial” it is that you vote for them. Of course an honest media would expose that hyperbole as well.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        I would be curious to know what the political leanings of your typical J-School faculty are. I’ll bet they’re 90% plus prog.

      2. juris imprudent

        You know where you would find that kind of media? In bankruptcy court. People wouldn’t buy it. They buy today exactly what they want.

        If you’ve read Hoffer, you should be able to see this.

  46. Scruffy Nerfherder

    Question for our resident ammo nerd

    Have you heard of this and what do you think about it?

    https://www.shellshocktechnologies.com/technology/

    1. Suthenboy

      I have seen those before. Their only claim is that they function better. At .10c /each the price is pretty good but I suspect that is a break into the market price. It will go up later. New 9mm brass is a bit more expensive. Once fired brass is around .06c each.
      I probably wont try it because then I have to add new reloading tools, which is why I dont buy any guns in calibers I dont already own. I dont need to start buying yet more tools.
      If anyone wants to try them I would like to see a review.

    2. Fourscore

      If its as advertised sounds wonderful. Looks like it would be extremely expensive for the average reloader. The high pressures may present a serious problem in many guns. Like every thing else, tradeoffs, IMHO.

  47. Hyperion

    “Hey, we haven’t heard about the caravan in a while. I was worried that they had been Cindy Sheehaned. So it’s a relief when brief news items pop up at convenient times.”

    Don’t need them right now, we’ve already figured out how to rig elections this time. But they’re on to us. Next time we’ll need all those caravan peeps to vote illegally so that we can be a bit more stealthy, now that they’re on to us.

  48. The Late P Brooks

    what do you think about it?

    Never heard of it. I like the part about being able to pick up your “brass” with a magnet.

    1. Gustave Lytton

      Not sure about the FOS backstory, but that’s awful. Hope all glibs & lurkers are safe?

  49. Count Potato

    “Democrats: ‘If We Lost, the Voters Must Be Racist’

    Storyline A: “We didn’t lose!” Storyline B: “If we did lose, it’s because you’re a racist!”

    The Democratic party’s transformation into an undergraduate intersectionality seminar at Oberlin is proceeding at a remarkable pace. The party’s current strategy is to scream “Racist!” at people voting for Mia Love and Tim Scott while insisting that Jared Kushner’s father-in-law and Benjamin Netanyahu’s best political friend is a scheming anti-Semite.

    At issue is the defeat of Andrew Gillum in the Florida governor’s race and of Stacey Abrams in the Georgia governor’s race. Democrats are busily trying to undo those defeats as of this writing (Florida Democrats have a real knack for suddenly discovering caches of ballots from sympathetic voters at the opportune moment) while simultaneously arguing that the reason these two candidates failed is that they are black, and that Donald Trump’s America is just one tweet away from repealing the 13th Amendment.”

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/democrats-if-we-lost-the-voters-must-be-racist/

    1. Hyperion

      It didn’t take them long from blaming everything on white men to now blaming everything on white women. Any of the other groups get too out of line, they’ll be next on the bad people list. We’re for equality! And against racism! Yeah, go fuck yourself.

    2. Luther Baldwin

      Abrams, who once was photographed proudly burning a Georgia state flag, ran a similarly hard-left campaign in Georgia, suggesting from the get-go that opposition to her agenda was founded in racism.

      She sounds nice.

      1. Hyperion

        I would ask myself how it is that people actually get convinced to vote for these leftist idiots. But I already know the answer, public education.

        1. Suthenboy

          Haven’t you seen the ‘man on the street’ interviews? Most people are morons. I dont mean just politically, I mean real, no-shit morons. I’d like to think they only publish the idiots and edit out the smart ones but when I am out and about myself and talk to people I dont think they have to do much editing.

          This is one of my favorites

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKYfarmt-N4

          “Do y ou have any republican friends?”
          “No. I only like people that think like I do because I am open minded.”

    3. Suthenboy

      The left in general and thus the Democratic party is morally bankrupt. It is no accident that indoctrinating someone with leftism is known as demoralization. That isnt even our term, it’s their term. The left is morally bankrupt by design. Nothing they say can be taken seriously.

      They lost because deplorables are racist? Yeah, whatever. Go fuck yourself.

      1. Hyperion

        “The left in general and thus the Democratic party is morally bankrupt.”

        To some of us, yeah. Not to themselves. To their particularly annoying brand of Postmodernism, not at all. It’s perfectly moral to want to save you from the evils of Western civilization, along with it’s most heinous institutions of traditional family, science, and Wipipo.

        1. Suthenboy

          They are the same always and everywhere. Thinking they are making the world a better place by shooting women and children in the head and shoving them into mass graves.
          They will do it here if they get the chance.

          Never give up your guns.

          1. Hyperion

            “shooting women and children in the head and shoving them into mass graves.”

            I mean, they wouldn’t do that for meanness or anything, like Trump would. Only for the good of us all.

  50. The Late P Brooks

    Our inexorable slide into fascism.

    To suggest that any one cause accounted for the rise of fascism goes too far, for the Great Depression, anti-Semitism, the fear of communism and weak political institutions were also to blame. But as writers like Diarmuid Jeffreys and Daniel Crane have detailed, extreme economic concentration does create conditions ripe for dictatorship.

    It is a story that should sound uncomfortably familiar: An economic crisis yields widespread economic suffering, feeding an appetite for a nationalistic and extremist leader. The leader rides to power promising a return to national greatness, deliverance from economic suffering and the defeat of enemies foreign and domestic (including big business). Yet in reality, the leader seeks alliances with large enterprises and the great monopolies, so long as they obey him, for each has something the other wants: He gets their loyalty, and they avoid democratic accountability.

    There are many differences between the situation in 1930s and our predicament today. But given what we know, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that we are conducting a dangerous economic and political experiment: We have chosen to weaken the laws — the antitrust laws — that are meant to resist the concentration of economic power in the United States and around the world.

    Yes, yes, of course. It’s all Trump’s fault, I’m sure.

    Of course, having watched Atlas Shrugged last night, I cannot help thinking about the breakup of Reardon’s business in furtherance of the wishes of his sclerotic “competitors”.

    Also, there’s that thing about google, et al, buying up their successful “competitors” in order to squelch competition when many, if not most, of those software developers started out with the express intent of creating something those guys would want to buy.

    1. Hyperion

      “the fear of communism”

      Silly people, why would people fear something that has led to mass misery, poverty, and the death of more than 100 million people over the last century? I don’t get it.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        The biggest lie of the last century was that communism wasn’t a real threat. It was all unfounded crazy ass McCarthyism.

        RIP Larry McDonald.

        1. Hyperion

          Some days I miss that guy and wish he was on a witch hunt right now to find some commies in Congress. Especially the House after December. He’d actually find a shitload of them.

          1. Gustave Lytton

            Sorry, RIP Larry McDonald (D-Ga). Don’t want to go all MSM on the missing party affiliation.

    2. Suthenboy

      I am guessing if I dig into that they have an answer to the specter of fascism and I bet I can guess what it is.

    3. Akira

      The leader rides to power promising a return to national greatness, deliverance from economic suffering and the defeat of enemies foreign and domestic (including big business). Yet in reality, the leader seeks alliances with large enterprises and the great monopolies, so long as they obey him, for each has something the other wants: He gets their loyalty, and they avoid democratic accountability.

      But enough about Barack Obama…

  51. Sean

    I just saw a clip from “becoming Michelle obama”
    They’re gonna run her for 2020, aren’t they?

    1. Hyperion

      It’s Beta’s turn!

      *News alert, Sept 2019*

      “Michelle and Beta, the two top runners in the 2020 presidential race have not been seen for more than 2 weeks now. Hillary, who is now the front runner, has made a statement saying it will be her first mission to get to the bottom of this, right after she is sworn into office”.

      1. Akira

        + 4 gunshot wounds to the back of the head in an apparent suicide

    2. Suthenboy

      That’s just who we need for president – someone who publicly scolds a 20 y/o for eating a hamburger.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        That’s the campaign ad that should run over and over.

        1. Suthenboy

          Now see…that makes me want hamburgers tonight. I dont even have to consult the wife, she will eat hamburgers any time.

          *goes to take out ground beef to thaw*

  52. The Late P Brooks

    They’re gonna run her for 2020, aren’t they?

    Just what I need. More condescending lectures from some woman I never ever would have heard of if she hadn’t won some sort of marriage lottery.

    1. Gustave Lytton

      I hope her political aspirations choke on an egg mcmuffin.

    2. Akira

      I hope they do run her in 2020. It would basically be electoral suicide. Every time I’ve seen her, she looks sick as fuck. There would probably be even more “collapsing and being hustled into a van by Secret Service” incidents.

      Plus, she’ll have an even harder time running against Trump since the economy seems to be doing well (not that it’s 100% to his credit) and the apocalyptic predictions of a Trump presidency have not come true.