Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Facilitate” is an active verb, not a weasel word.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Bark louder, little dog.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Republicans do not trust women.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Anne Laurie is a fucking hero in so many ways. ~ Betty Cracker

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

This blog will pay for itself.

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / LGBTQ Rights / LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights / Monday Evening Happy Stuff Open Thread

Monday Evening Happy Stuff Open Thread

by | 206 Comments

This post is in: , , , ,



(Of course, the Arkansas legislature is expected to override Hutchinson’s veto, but his willingness to stand up for basic decency remains an indication that public pressure does work.)

And this is 17 minutes of fun…

Reader Interactions

206Comments

  1. 1.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    “That time when Glenn Greenwald gave an interview to Howard Kurtz complaining about the media treatment of Trump supporters, said interview being lovingly retweeted by Limbaugh’s primary assistant and producer….”

    Bo Snerdley
    @BoSnerdley
    ·
    28m
    Howard Kurtz grills Glenn Greenwald for pointing out media’s sick treatment of Trump supporters

    Howard Kurtz grills Glenn Greenwald for pointing out media’s sick treatment of Trump supporters
    bizpacreview.com

  3. 3.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    WASHINGTON — With more than one in 10 households reporting that they lack enough to eat, the Biden administration is accelerating a vast campaign of hunger relief that will temporarily increase assistance by tens of billions of dollars and set the stage for what officials envision as lasting expansions of aid.
    ***

    “We haven’t seen an expansion of food assistance of this magnitude since the founding of the modern food stamp program in 1977,” said James P. Ziliak, an economist at the University of Kentucky who studies nutrition programs. “It’s a profound change.”

    While dollars and decisions are flowing from the Agriculture Department, the tone has been set by President Biden, who issued an executive order in January telling aides to “address the growing hunger crisis” and later lamented the car lines “half a mile each, just to get a box of food.”

    ***

    Combined, monthly aid from the three programs will rise to $930 from $665. Put differently, each person in the home will now receive $10 a day to eat, an increase of 40 percent.
    “That’s a big old jump!” she said, surprised at the news. “It will help tremendously.”

    The Biden effort marks a sharp change from the philosophy of the Trump administration.

    This is a Big Fucking New Deal

  5. 5.

    debbie

    Hutchinson listened to parents and medical experts and found that most of the RWNJ talking points were bullshit. He definitely deserves credit for his veto.

  6. 6.

    Cheryl Rofer

    This is worth noting on the good news front.

    It’s a report on how vaccines are being delivered to the public, how many through which means. There’s a lot of data to be considered. It looks like the FEMA sites are less effective than other means, but the FEMA sites have been operating only a little time.

    If you’re into that sort of thing, you can download the data and make your own conclusions.

    Imagine – an administration actually making the data that they’re working with available to everyone, rather than telling us that they’re doing a great job and shut up.

  8. 8.

    Geminid

     

    @debbie: Arkansas Governor Hutchinson’s statement regarding his veto of the legislature’s anti-transexual law made the radio network news this afternoon. Hutchinson said that he believed that parents and medical professionals were best able to choose what is right for children. I thought this was a good, concise statement of the essential issue.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    @Geminid:

    he believed that parents and medical professionals were best able to choose what is right for children.

    Trade out “women” for parents and “women” for children and you’d have a pretty good policy re: the right to choose.

  10. 10.

    Brachiator

    Ah, the French.

    While in the US, bikers violate isolation rules, and people rush to bars and the beach, the French know how to live it up. From BBC News

    French police have launched an investigation into alleged clandestine fine dining and parties in Paris, revealed in an undercover TV report. 

    French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin ordered the probe, saying such gatherings, breaching Covid lockdown rules, would be “totally unacceptable”.

    A private TV channel, M6, tweeted the undercover film, with the description “caviar, champagne, top chefs’ menus and no masks allowed”.

    France is now in its third lockdown.

    And some fine dining:

    According to the report, the haute cuisine on the menu starts at €160 (£136; $188) and can cost as much as €490 per person.

    The video also shows separate undercover footage of what is apparently a secret dinner party in a luxurious venue. The voice-over says the guests paid €220 per head, and some kissed each other cheek-to-cheek, ignoring all Covid distancing rules.

    Fortunately, some of these folks may end up paying some hefty fines.

     

  11. 11.

    Major Major Major Major

    Happy stuff, you say? Let’s see. The mRNA vaccines continue to be ridiculously effective in the wild. Oh, and the Supreme Court (less Thomas and Alito) decided you can’t copyright an API, which is great news for people who like using software.

  12. 12.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I thought the same. I don’t think Hutchinson would take this reasoning to its logical conclusion, but a majority of Americans do.

  13. 13.

    MomSense

    Oldest and youngest kids have vaccine appointments.  Youngest can only receive Pfizer so that limited our options.  Middle kid in CT cannot get an appointment.  He’s on every list with no luck.  I couldn’t sleep last night so I got on the CT sites looking for options and everything was booked.

  14. 14.

    Brachiator

    SAG Award winners.

    It was a big night for diversity at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, with actors from ethnic minorities winning all four individual film categories for the first time.

    I don’t think I have seen any of the films, apart from “Wonder Woman 1984,” which won for stunt work

    Complete List:

    • Cast in a motion picture – The Trial Of The Chicago 7
    • Male actor in a leading role – Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
    • Female actor in a leading role – Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
    • Male actor in a supporting role – Daniel Kaluuya, Judas And The Black Messiah
    • Female actor in a supporting role – Youn Yuh-jung, Minari
    • Ensemble in a drama series – The Crown
    • Ensemble in a comedy series – Schitt’s Creek
    • Male actor in a drama series – Jason Bateman, Ozark
    • Female actor in a drama series – Gillian Anderson, The Crown
    • Male actor in a comedy series – Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
    • Female actor in a comedy series – Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
    • Male actor in a television movie or miniseries – Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
    • Female actor in a television movie or miniseries – Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit
    • Stunt ensemble in a motion picture – Wonder Woman 1984
    • Stunt ensemble in a comedy or drama series – The Mandalorian

     

  15. 15.

    Anne Laurie

    @Geminid: Back in the day (but you probably remember this, too), we feminists used to point out that a government which could forbid abortions could just as easily turn around and mandate abortions.

    (To which the response from anti-choicer was usually some variation on Yah, but Jeebus wun’n lettum... )

  19. 19.

    WhatsMyNym

    @Major Major Major Major:

    decided you can’t copyright an API

    Not quite, they ruled on a Fair Use issue.

    “Google’s copying of the Java SE API, which included only those lines of code that were needed to allow programmers to put their accrued talents to work in a new and transformative program, was a fair use of that material as a matter of law,” the majority opinion [PDF] says.

    Via The Register

  21. 21.

    Major Major Major Major

    @WhatsMyNym: true they dodged that question and decided you can reimplement one, thanks for the reminder. Breyer’s explanation of what an API is was quite deftly written. Thomas and Alito’s claim that doing so is the same as pirating a novel, on the other hand…

    ETA I had been absolutely dreading this decision so I’m glad it worked out.

  26. 26.

    WhatsMyNym

    @Major Major Major Major:   It is very good news and opens up what you can do legally, but anybody who wants to push it too far will probably have to take it finally to the Supreme Court again.​

  28. 28.

    Martin

    @Cheryl Rofer: I would expect FEMA sites to be pretty ineffective. There’s a lot of social distance from them to the public, but I would also expect FEMA sites to be fillers for gaps in other parts of the distribution system. In other words – I’d expect them to serve the populations that the other mechanisms fail to. By tasking them with the difficult job, we should expect them to be statistically unimpressive, but actually pretty critical.

  29. 29.

    Major Major Major Major

    @WhatsMyNym: I honestly don’t see how reimplementing an API can “go too far”? Breyer makes it clear that he (or clerks etc.) understands declarations vs executable code. And from where I sit this decision doesn’t open up what you can do at all, since people do this all the time, it’s a BS nuisance suit that doesn’t even have anything to do with its original purpose (patents), and has been assumed legal this whole time.

  30. 30.

    Martin

    @Major Major Major Major: This is why I argue that computer science as a dedicated discipline should be quite small. It’s promise lies in domain experts acquiring it as a skillset, not by running zillions of students through it and then dumping them into industries they know nothing about.

    Same holds for law. I’m guessing Breyer has law clerks that understand this stuff, because he sought out clerks that understand this stuff, and either Thomas or Alito didn’t, or that they don’t listen to their clerks on this stuff.

    There’s no fucking way that anyone on the court actually appreciates the role of an API. I would feel much better about USSC rulings if I knew there were teams of advisory lawyers that were domain experts in, say, the internet or programming that were also lawyers. This is why some engineering programs have formed joint degree programs with law schools. We’re already badly failing the policy and legal challenge brought about by zero marginal cost goods because the folks writing and reading the laws don’t know dick about economics (let alone an area of economics that is quite new), and ML and other emerging technologies is going to make this so much worse.

  31. 31.

    Benw

    Miley’s band was tight!

    So many awesome bands are gearing up to put out new music this year: Royal Tusk, Slash, Glorious Sons, Ready the Prince, Brkn Love, just to name a few!

  33. 33.

    Baud

    @Martin:

    and either Thomas or Alito didn’t, or that they don’t listen to their clerks on this stuff.

    They probably voted against Google because the right hates Google for being “biased.”

  34. 34.

    Dan B

    @Martin: Yakima in the heart of Washington’s most productive agricultural region recently got a FEMA vaccination site.  This part of the state had the highest rate of infection particularly among Agricultural workers, many of them Spanish speaking.  It’s been a tough area for the state so is very welcome.  It will deliver 1,200 shots daily.  FEMA gets the tough areas.

  35. 35.

    Mary G

    @Baud: Happy news!

    Chuck Schumer scores a big win as Senate parliamentarian rules that a revised budget resolution may contain budget reconciliation instructions. This will allow Senate Democrats to move two more reconciliation packages in 2020, averting GOP filibusters.— Alex Bolton (@alexanderbolton) April 5, 2021

     Make them YOOGE, Chuck!

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Baud: I saw that Thomas wrote out some faffery today saying that Google and Twitter etc. should be regulated like utilities and be banned from moderating conservative content and also maybe Section 230 is unconstitutional? An extraordinary thinker. Love this new “conservatives for nationalizing the tech industry” movement

    (I didn’t quite understand the point of the document and am on my phone right now…)

  37. 37.

    trollhattan

    @Mary G: 
    President Manchen must be all excited.

    It is a Big Biden Deal though. Double-win if Turtle is having a sad.

  38. 38.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @Baud: ​
      Gotta hand it to Schumer. Appointing Oprah as the parliamentarian was genius. “You get a reconciliation bill and you get one and you get one…”

  39. 39.

    J R in WV

    Lots of good news here. New President welcomes new citizens to their new nation, API can’t be patented/copyrighted, Arkansas might not mess with Trans kids (will wait with baited breath)!

    Miley Cyrus is a great performer, also, thanks for that video!

  41. 41.

    raven

    If Miley rates this definitely does

    North Carolina has promoted longtime assistant Hubert Davis to replace Roy Williams as the Tar Heels’ new head basketball coach, the school announced Monday.

  42. 42.

    jonas

    @Geminid: Indeed. It was also clear from Hutchinson’s remarks that the last thing he wanted right now was to have Arkansas labeled a state full of intolerant, fundamentalist knuckle-draggers. He was listening, as debbie noted, to doctors and parents, but I bet a few of the Walmart heirs were also on the phone telling him to sink this thing now. We’ll see how the override vote goes.

  44. 44.

    jonas

    @Baud: ​
     

    I’m also reading some wingnut pundit was on Fox today calling Dems out for being “puritanical scolds” over the Gaetz case.

    William Bennett, eat your heart out!

  45. 45.

    Michael Cain

    @Major Major Major Major:  Indeed good news, reaffirming a lot of prior case law.  I assume there were friend of the court filings signed by famous CS professors telling the Court, “If you find for Oracle, CS departments might as well close up shop because many of our assignments will require the students to seek out licenses from one or more giant software firms.”
    I have recently retired my Mac and made the leap of faith that I can do all the things I want to do on a Linux machine.  (Full disclosures, there’s been some sort of Linux machine in our household since ’92, and I do have a Windows 10 virtual machine on the box.)  I’m old enough that I can note at least in passing that Linux might have failed if AT&T and SCO had simply said, “The APIs are available to whoever wants to use them.”  The free BSDs might have been serious competition for Linus if they weren’t tied up in court.  (Add-on thought, Linus might well have won anyway because he would accept code from anybody, where the BSD groups had ego issues.)​
    ​
    ​

  47. 47.

    jonas

    Miley Cyrus is a fine entertainer! She hasn’t been on my radar for years, frankly, since that whole swinging-on-a-giant-ball thing many years ago, but she’s got some pipes, even if lip-synced ones. Watching her perform in front of ten people trying to act like they’re at a real concert, tho, is pretty sad. I’m sure she and just about everybody in the entertainment industry can’t wait to be back in front of cheering crowds surging in front of your stage — performers really feed off that energy and doing your set like this must suck.

  48. 48.

    Honus

    Games at 9:30? Who’s brilliant idea was that? I’ll be asleep before Miley Cyrus comes on.

  49. 49.

    Feathers

    For my fellow Ted Lasso fans, the series is currently filming, so they did a short bit with Ted giving a pep talk about being nominated for the SAG Awards : https://youtu.be

    I have a feeling Miley Cyrus will be with us for a long time, because she can actually sing.

  50. 50.

    raven

    @Honus: West Coast,  especially this year. I’ve got the youtube tv and I’ll watch it in the early hours when I awake.

  54. 54.

    Robert Sneddon

    @NotMax: After something happened in 1945 uranium became important for some reason. It was initially thought to be rare and difficult to find so there really were wildcatters going out to locate sources of uranium in deserts across the US and elsewhere.

     

    It turned out when people looked around that uranium ore was actually quite common and readily mined in economically viable concentrations as well as being extracted from the waste heaps of other mining operations. There are even proven processes to extract it from seawater (3.3 parts per billion) although they’re a lot more expensive than regular mining right now.

  55. 55.

    Geminid

    @Dan B: I remember an investigative news report some years ago that said Yakima had the highest per capita rate of anti-depressant prescriptions in the nation. If that is still the case, the locals ought to be able to take this FEMA vaccination site in stride.

    I think the immigrants may be tending the apples, pears and cherries that grow in that area. A lot of Mexican immigrants came to my part of Virginia in the 1960s and 70s, to work in the apple orchards, and many became citizens in the 1980s. I’ve worked with and around some of their children who are moving into and up through the middle class. Many of the immigrant carpenter’s, masons’s and landscaper’s kids are on the same path. My friend Stephanie, a top-notch middle manager, believes that these immigrants’ children will be running this place in ten years.

  56. 56.

    VeniceRiley

    @jonas:

    I’m also reading some wingnut pundit was on Fox today calling Dems out for being “puritanical scolds” over the Gaetz case.

    William Bennett, eat your heart out!

     

    While scolding Jill Biden’s tights in the next breath, no doubt.

  57. 57.

    Anonymous At Work

    Arkansas Lege will take a day to override Hutchinson’s veto.  If the veto override took 2/3 majority, Hutchinson would never have vetoed it.  It’s a blatant and REPEATED maneuver that he uses to seem “respectable” and let the gerrymander Lege take any blame.

    Added bonus, with Biden as President, is that Hutchinson can go on Sunday shows and talk about how he’d do things better and really be a “respectable” alternative and that there are “respectable” Republicans if only Biden would work with them, etc.

    Triple-duty deception.

  58. 58.

    Jeffro

    @raven: our high school alumni page has been falling all over itself congratulating ourselves for knowing Hubert oh and also for his achievement here ;)

  59. 59.

    Dan B

    @Geminid: The stories out of Yakima are that only recently were any Latines elected even though they are a majority.  I hope it continues because there are horror stories.

  64. 64.

    Baud

    Life is so good that Bernie is on Chris Hayes and I don’t even mind.

    ETA: Holy shit! He just suggested incremental reform to improve health care!

    What the fuck Twilight Zone did I fall into?

  65. 65.

    Jeffro

    @raven: true story: my dad actually believes he’s partially the reason that Davis ended up playing in the NBA, had a long and successful career, etc.

    One time, leaving a high school game where Davis had done well but was taxed by an aggressive rival school’s offense, we (almost literally) ran into Davis on the way out.  My dad told him he did great but ‘needed to bulk up, to hold those guys off in the paint’.  Davis was like, “um yeah thanks”.  Like he didn’t already have a bunch of other folks telling him that already (plus a million other tidbits of ‘advice’)

    It’s a running joke in our family, both in this specific case and in our tendency to give unsolicited advice basically to anyone and everyone… =)

  68. 68.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    Wilmer is on Chris Hayes right now talking about this. I’ve never liked him better than I do right now!

  72. 72.

    gbbalto

    @NotMax: There was some legend that in about 1947, some prospector guy went to the HQ of some big mining operation and claimed that he had found a rich uranium deposit on land that they had the mineral rights to, and he was willing to tell them where it was in return for a decent fee.

    They decided “nah” then found out that someone was buying up their shares – the “prospector” – so they started buying and driving up the price – then the “prospector’ sold everything.

    Probably not true, but I would like to think it happened.

  73. 73.

    Jeffro

    Wasn’t Miley Cyrus doing something similar (and similarly horrible) at the Super Bowl with Billy Idol and others?

    Come ON, rawk world, surely we can do better than this!

    (but no need to bring back hair metal, plz)

  74. 74.

    NotMax

    @Jeffro

    Related:

    A Trump-era plan to cut food stamps is now off the table after the Biden administration said it is abandoning a previous plan to tighten work requirements for working-age adults without children. Those restrictions were projected to deny federal food assistance benefits to 700,000 adults, a proposal that had had drawn strong condemnation from anti-hunger advocates.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 24 said it is withdrawing a Trump administration appeal of a federal court ruling that had blocked the planned restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps. Trump officials had filed the appeal in May, two months after the coronavirus pandemic had shuttered the economy and caused millions of people to lose their jobs.
    [snip]
    USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said the rule would have hurt some of the most at-risk adults during the ongoing crisis, such as rural Americans, people of color and those with less than a high school degree, who typically have a tougher time finding employment.

    “The rule would have penalized individuals who were unable to find consistent income, when many low wage jobs have variable hours, and limited to no sick leave,” Vilsack said in a statement.

    The restrictions on food stamps were pursued by former USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue…. Source

  76. 76.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Baud: Yup. For all the blatherskyte about Himself having moved Biden to the left, St Bernard has pretty much adopted Biden’s stance on the biggest non-trump, non-pandemic issue in the Democratic politics. I was a bit surprised it didn’t get more attention

    Bernie Sanders wants to make sweeping changes to Medicare and prescription drug policy — and evade the filibuster to do it.
    The Vermont Independent is urging Democrats to force Medicare to enter into negotiations with drug companies and use that revenue to pay for a huge expansion of the entitlement program. Sanders, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, is aiming to lower Medicare’s eligibility age from 65 to 55 or 60 years old and expand the program to cover dental work, glasses and eye surgeries as well as hearing aids.

  78. 78.

    Redshift

    @Baud:

    Didn’t you hear?  Conservatives hate corporations now because they’re “woke.” 

    “Woke corporate fascism” is the term I see from the wingnut I follow on Twitter.

  79. 79.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Geminid: Not sure how up on this stuff you are, but in general, “transexual” is not a widely used term nowadays and many Transgender people take offense at it.

    “As the GLAAD entry states, “transgender” is an umbrella term while “transsexual” is not. With these terms — and with most terms in the LGBTQ+ lexicon — it’s best not to apply a term to someone unless you know they would use that term. Some people will feel comfortable with “transsexual,” and others will not. If someone does want you to use “transsexual” to refer to them, they will probably let you know. But it’s best to not use it unless you know it’s what someone wants.”

    https://lgbtqexperiment.com/2019/02/14/whats-the-difference-between-transgender-and-transsexual/

  81. 81.

    NotMax

    FYI, from last summer.

    … [HBO’s] The Swamp reveals something about Gaetz’s childhood in its first act that illuminate everything about his strange brand of attention-seeking ambition. No, it’s not that he comes from a long line of public servants. It’s that he grew up in the house used in the Jim Carrey film The Truman Show. You know, the film about a guy who lives his whole life on TV. Today, the house is decorated with a sign not only confirming that it’s the Gaetz family home, but the picture perfect house from the Jim Carrey movie.
    [snip]
    From the get-go, The Swamp makes it clear that Gaetz has built his career around cable news soundbites. He starts his day by putting on makeup, fretting over how much weight he’s lost, and bragging that Ivanka Trump once complimented his shoes. Later he even admits that he strategically looks for the viral news moment during Congressional hearings over diligent work on legislation. And while he boasts that other junior representatives have asked him for advice, Gaetz admits that his high profile makes him a target. We hear death threats, watch him get “milkshaked,” and learn that he can’t eat out often at DC restaurants without causing a scene. You don’t necessarily feel empathy for Gaetz, but the picture of him eating takeout alone in his office is absolutely sad. Source

  82. 82.

    Benw

    @Jeffro: bah. She cranked out some killer rock with a band that delivered. Gatekeeping sucks, particularly against women who want to rock

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    @NotMax:  very good, thank you!

    I am debating just how hard to lean in on the differences between the two parties and wonder aloud which one would be more in line with Jesus’ admonition to “feed the hungry, clothe the naked”, etc.

    Depends on what kinda mood I wake up in tomorrow, I guess.  ;)

  85. 85.

    Princess

    @Cheryl Rofer: I got mine at a FEMA site and they did a great job. They’re doing 6,000 or so a day and I was in and out in half an hour, including the 15 minute wait. And everyone was so nice.

  86. 86.

    Jeffro

    @Benw: Oh please don’t get too bent about it – I have the ‘gate keeping’ power of a piece of old masking tape, and a hard rock cover band is still just a hard rock cover band.  If this is her new schtick then more power to her but sign me up for the next Joan Jett or Billy Idol (or just play the classics)

  89. 89.

    Dan B

    @Mary G: That’s amazing news about a potential vaccine regimen for HIV and other viruses.  And there’s a Seattle connection – Fred Hutch.  It’s only been nearly 40 years.

  90. 90.

    E.

    @Mary G: If that’s true then a crisis like climate change, if actually seen as the crisis it is, can be solved too. So many smart people working hard together for a single purpose. Gives me hope.

  91. 91.

    NotMax

    Couple of other FYIs.

    1)

    The United States on Friday lifted sanctions on International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda that drew international criticism after they were imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump.
    [snip]
    It also removes Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the ICC’s Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, from the Specially Designated Nationals list.

    In a statement, Blinken said the State Department had also terminated a separate 2019 policy on visa restrictions on certain ICC personnel and added: “These decisions reflect our assessment that the measures adopted were inappropriate and ineffective.” Source

    2)

    A once-secret unit within the Guantanamo Bay detention center that had fallen into disrepair has been closed and the prisoners moved to another facility on the American base in Cuba, the U.S. military said Sunday.
    [snip]
    Miami-based Southern Command, which oversees the detention center at the southeastern edge of Cuba, did not say how many prisoners were moved. Officials have previously said about 14 men were held in Camp 7. There are 40 prisoners at Guantanamo. Source

  94. 94.

    Benw

    @Jeffro: no worries, I’m a bit sensitive to negative comments toward women who rock. But you are on the Joan Jett train so cool!

    sign me up for the next Joan Jett or Billy Idol

    Sure!! I’ve found out the last few years that there’s a ton of amazing young rock bands flying below the radar and I’d be more than happy to deluge you with names!

  98. 98.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @NotMax: He starts his day by putting on makeup, fretting over how much weight he’s lost, and bragging that Ivanka Trump once complimented his shoes.

    (very twitter Nixon voice) My god. My god.

  99. 99.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @NotMax:

     You don’t necessarily feel empathy for Gaetz, but the picture of him eating takeout alone in his office is absolutely sad. 

    Really shocked to find out Gaetz was having sex with females. Having a hard time trusting the reporting on this.

  100. 100.

    Martin

    @Mary G: Yeah, a big fucking door has been kicked open. mRNA  vaccines are a game change, and Covid paved the way. Timing just worked out like that.

  101. 101.

    Another Scott

    @Major Major Major Major:  Yup. How could they decide otherwise after the ancient Lotus v Borland case (which, admittedly the SCOTUS tied 4-4 so the lower court ruling stood)? Fundamentally changing the rules about reusing APIs 25 years later would throw the world into chaos.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  102. 102.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Baud:

    More evidence that the whole “cancel culture” complaints of the right were total bad faith BS. They’re so-called “principles” change when circumstances change. Never thought I’d see the day when Republicans attack corporations

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    SNAFU anew.

    Health care company One Medical charged administration fees to some people receiving COVID-19 vaccines in Washington, DC, according to bills reviewed by The Verge. The company runs the COVID-19 vaccination site at DC’s Entertainment and Sports Arena. People vaccinated at this site were also prompted to sign up for a trial account with One Medical to receive the shots.

    One Medical told The Verge in a statement that an error in the billing system led to the charges, that impacted patients “are being notified,” and that they should disregard the bill. “We are monitoring daily to ensure that no new invoices are going out,” One Medical said. Source

    “Disregard this bill” does not preclude its unpaid status rippling through the system, affecting things like someone’s credit history.

  106. 106.

    Benw

    @Jeffro: OK LOL hope these links fucking work

    Metal:

    Royal Tusk, Die Knowing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nozEWyrwzCY

    Gojira, Born for One Thing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p85-KtgDSs

    Rock n roll:

    The Pretty Reckless, And So It Went, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W-nlfhh8Uo

    The Glorious Sons, Kingdom in My Heart, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T08FbFeXcHU

    Brkn Love, Shot Down, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLMzGtZBOI

    Ready the Prince, Regicide, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE30pUPJZm4

    Dirty Honey, Scars, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFbkWqM8iRQ

    Indie/Alt:

    St Vincent, Pay Your Way in Pain, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUTu65AXrJw

    The National, Not in Kansas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hLyVzfGu78

    Bonus elder statesmen:

    Slash (SMKC), Anastasia, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC8EmPA6H6g

    Have fun

  107. 107.

    Benw

    @Jeffro: oh hell, my comment’s in moderation because I put links to the songs in youtube. If it’s not cleared soon, I’ll comment without the links

  108. 108.

    Kay

    For Easter! A day late:

    Olivia Katbi Smith
    @oliviakatbi
    I love Peeps and I heard they were union made so I looked it up and learned that when the workers went on strike in 2016 they chanted “no justice, no Peeps”

  109. 109.

    James E Powell

    @Benw: @Jeffro:

    I’ve been saying for a while that I’d like to hear Miley fronting a hard rock band. New songs, not covers. Of course, she doesn’t take career advice from me. But I bet she could bring hard rock back into the mainstream, if only for a little while.

    As for hair metal, I scorned those bands and their fans when they were all the rage. One of my covid isolation activities was to go back over the whole history of rock & roll. In listening to those bands, at a distance from their appearances and videos, I found a lot more good there than I expected. Hard rock is not everybody’s thing. It’s not really my thing, but there are some really good songs and performances that the outlandishness obscured.

  110. 110.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    @NotMax: ​
      Hard to believe a building would fall apart while under Dump’s management

  111. 111.

    The Dangerman

    This is the game I expected of SC against Gonzaga. Except SC went full Trojan on us.

    Hopefully this game isn’t a complete waste.

  112. 112.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Mary G:

    This is amazing!

    @Martin:

    I think I remember reading there was a lot of skepticism regarding Moderna as a company in the years prior to the pandemic. The naysayers were proved wrong and I think Moderna has a very bright future as a serious biotechnology company. Same goes for Bio-n-tech

  114. 114.

    Benw

    @James E Powell: that’d be nice, the kids rocking these days are just awesome.

    I’d love to hear what 80’s rock stands out to you. I was a fan at the time (you scorned me! haha) and I still love most of it

  116. 116.

    Mary G

    @Martin: Yep, people have been working on mRNA in tiny labs scrounging for money for twenty years to achieve this overnight success. Nobel Committee better recognize.

  121. 121.

    dmsilev

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Going after various types of cancer is what the founders of BioNTech really want to do with their techniques. The ability to crank out COVID vaccines was just a happy side effect.

  122. 122.

    SoupCatcher

    @raven:  The interstate goes through the training area for a small stretch.  I remember driving from Seattle to Walla Walla and stopping around that point to take off my chains.  I hadn’t been there more than a few minutes when a Stater parked behind me.  He didn’t say a word, just walked up, dusted the snow off my rear plate, walked back to his cruiser, and then drove off after a few minutes.

  125. 125.

    jonas

    @NotMax: ​
      One Medical told The Verge in a statement that an error in the billing system led to the charges,

    “Of course now that we’ve been caught, we’re desperately scrambling to cover our asses,” explained a spokesperson….

  128. 128.

    Jeffro

    @James E Powell:As for hair metal, I scorned those bands and their fans when they were all the rage…In listening to those bands, at a distance from their appearances and videos, I found a lot more good there than I expected.

    I think the videos really screwed things up in many ways, for many bands.

    “Separate Ways” by Journey – kickass song, horrendous video.

    “Tears Are Falling” by Kiss – unbelievably great song, world-record awful video.

    And so on.  Like with everything Poison ever did, etc etc

    Hair metal was also bad for all of the knock-off bands each earlier band ‘inspired’ (sometimes within a year or two of the original band hitting it big!)   And yes, Faster Pussycat and Bulletboys, I am talking about you…

  131. 131.

    Benw

    @raven: obviously! Though they got started in the 70’s, is there any uniquely 80’s rock you like? Bon Jovi, GnR? TWISTED SISTER?

  137. 137.

    Martin

    @Martin: Oh, I need to amend this. It sounds like yes, it can work for cancer. What I was missing is that the approach is to take a biopsy of the cancerous bits, then create a mRNA vaccine just for you.

    So no, no generalized vaccine, but an individualized one instead.

  139. 139.

    mrmoshpotato

    Cubs win!  Cubs win!  Cubs win!  Listen to the masked, physically distanced crowd!

  143. 143.

    Jackie

    ESPN is reporting the All Star Game will be held at Colorado’s Coors Field this July.

  145. 145.

    Craig

    @Benw: I’ll just once again highly recommend the documentary We Are Twisted Fucking Sister. Story of a journeyman bar band from Long Island. Documentary covers right up to their first MTV hit. Excellent film making

  148. 148.

    James E Powell

    @Benw:

    I have a list somewhere, but didn’t make a playlist, sadly. The whole thing grew out of arguments with a group of friends. We argue about music when we are not arguing about sports. The starting point was “What defines a power ballad?” which led to “Top ten power ballads” which led to “Which hair metal bands are worthy of a review & reconsideration?” which led to “Are those guys really hair metal?” and so on.

    For the record, I do not consider Van Halen or Guns n’ Roses to be hair metal bands.

    Check out Dokken: Breaking the Chains & In My Dreams. George Lynch is just amazing. Under-appreciated.

  149. 149.

    coin operated

    i remember people loosing their shit when Kurt Russel starred in ‘Used Cars’.  Had to break that mold that Disney had him cast in for years.  Miley and the wrecking ball kinda remind me of this dynamic.  She’s got a world class set of pipes no matter what genre she chooses. Agree with the above…would love to see her front a hard rock band.

  151. 151.

    Ruckus

    @Martin:

    The way it works, what it does, how effective it is. Something not as good in vaccines of the past. This should open up a lot of avenues of research and advancement.

  157. 157.

    Doc Sardonic

    @James E Powell: Hair metal was a term coined by music writers that were too fucking lazy…..looking at you Rolling Stone….to look at the different genres of heavy metal and hard rock. Hair metal was an off shoot of British Glam ie David Bowie, Faces etc and heavy metal. The hair and makeup was basically a marketing tool and device to scare the shit out of the Moral Majority.

  159. 159.

    Doc Sardonic

    @mrmoshpotato: Baylor just flat smoked the Zags…..much like The ‘Zona ladies did UConn. Amazing how the media anointing the winner early can be a motivator.

  162. 162.

    different-church-lady

    Jesus chist, just when I think images of COVID-19 can’t look any creepier, I see an animation of how the fucking thing jiggles…

  164. 164.

    James E Powell

    @Doc Sardonic:

    Agreed. I just don’t know any other way to refer to that era and those bands that appeared from nowhere, were suddenly everywhere, looked & acted alike, then disappeared. These are bands that definitely not heavy metal, though I admit the distinction is mostly “know it when you hear it.” These are pop songs with loud guitars & drums.

    Another band that does some interesting stuff is Britny Fox. I had never heard of them. There is interview with the drummer on youtube talking about howt hey I guess they all hate each other now.

  166. 166.

    cain

    @Benw: ​
     
    I found that a lot of those big hair heavy metal bands have become asshole GOP people. Turns out living a lifestyle of misogyny makes you into a perfect male chauvinist pig in your later years.

  167. 167.

    Doc Sardonic

    @James E Powell: A lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of MTV. Nirvana and grunge hit the scene and suddenly MTV switched gears to skateboards, knit beanies and flannel and poof an entire music genre essentially disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of that was the destruction of many bands due to their careers going poof and the excesses of the day taking it’s toll. Hell, for all intents and purposes Motley Crue is four dudes, four different buses and hotels, can stand each other for the duration of a set.

  169. 169.

    Mary G

    Californios anxious to get the vaccine who can drive to Bakersfield can get one at any age 16+ or residency:

    Just spoke w/Kaiser rep who confirms #COVID19 vax site at Cal State Bakersfield open to all 16 & older. They offer Pfizer, which authorized for use in 16 & 17yo. Kern County residents get priority but walk-ins welcome & waiting about 30 mins or less. https://t.co/wEmPRRAUaI pic.twitter.com/O09GR7X717— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia) April 6, 2021

    The CSUB site is expected to hit a record high today of 2,500 doses administered but can do up to 5,400/day. Told Kaiser rep LA County residents are coming. "That'd be great," he said. "The more people vaccinated, the better." @KNX1070 https://t.co/3jodxCPIVi— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia) April 6, 2021

  171. 171.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Craig: Will not disagree with you on that. It is a wild journey to follow the map from Chubby Checker to Slayer.

  173. 173.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    While Bruins are bears, Bears in the PAC-12 are from NorCal.

    Or as us Cal grads like to say, the Bruins are the baby bears, who copied our fight song, from the University of California, Lower Achievers. ??????

    But at least we both hate USC, right?

  177. 177.

    Benw

    @cain: ugh that sucks

    I follow Axl, Sebastian Bach, Slash, Kirk Hammett and a bunch of other 80’s rockers who are surprisingly woke

  178. 178.

    The Dangerman

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I think UCLA exposed them a bit; I didn’t watch a lot of ball this year but Zags appeared to me to be a bit of smoke and mirrors. Like a magic act; once you see how the trick is done (see Penn and Teller, cups and balls with clear plastic cups) part of the mystery goes away.

    It was a fine run and they are a fine team but when they started claiming best ever, I suspected they would eventually have a game like tonight.

  184. 184.

    The Dangerman

    @Mary G: I got my shot through Loma Linda Medical Center. They have all 3 shots. I got the one and doner Johnson.

    It was ridiculously easy. They are prepped for huge numbers from all appearances but made the appointment this morning for this afternoon. No line at entry, barely a line when you got inside (not at the Hospital; at the University gym), I was done in about 20 minutes and that included the 15 minutes they make you wait to see if you have a reaction.

  186. 186.

    James E Powell

    @Craig:

    The Dolls first album was one of those “few people bought it but those who did formed a band” albums.

    And, yes, I have seen the first two Decline of Western Civilization documentaries. I Think three are streaming on Prime now. I might take another look

    One thing almost all these 80s hard rock guys had in common was that they were very ambitious and hardworking. They were totally committed to being rock stars from a very early age and they just stuck with it. The ones in the Los Angeles area all knew each other and had been in bands together

    They were very devoted, very focused on making it. None of these bands were “a bunch of us in art school were bored, so we started a band” or “my dad runs a huge international modeling agency. I met a guy in school in Switzerland and we started a band.” These guys were more the types who lived on drugs and cereal while sleeping four to a room. One of the guys, I can’t remember which one, walled off his sleeping area with his Marshall stacks.

  191. 191.

    mrmoshpotato

    Via @Green_Footballs

    John Boehner lied about Obama, the stimulus, Keystone pipeline, taxes, federal workers, abortion, and REPEATEDLY spread lies abt the Affordable Care ActBut he called Ted Cruz an asshole, so now otherwise sane people are helping him sell his damn book.https://t.co/XNEGT5adjK— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) April 3, 2021

  192. 192.

    cain

    @Major Major Major Major: ​ Alito and Thomas need to just quit – if at this point you can’t educate yourself on what an api is – we are doomed. An API is nothing like a work of fiction.
    An API is basically the interface how pieces of software talk to each other or how a human can interact with it. Furthermore you how it is implement can be completely be different. ​

    A closer analogy could be a song – the song might be the same but how it is song is completely different and can completely change the meaning of the song.

  193. 193.

    gwangung

    @cain: Conservative wing of the Court consistently embarrasses themselves when it comes to science and technology. I remember how they tried to grapple with evolution vs. creationism, and consistently came off poorly.

  194. 194.

    cain

    @Mary G: ​
     
    Still got to deal with Manchin who I believe is doing performative objections again and getting the rubes all hot and bothered again. He has gotta do that shit for his base.
    But I think it is going to be hard for Manchin going forward.. but I’m glad he’s there and I hope that we can somehow keep the seat for a while longer. Meanwhile we definitely need to find more GOP seats to flip and add D.C. as a representation.

  195. 195.

    Mary G

    @cain: Manchin has said he wants a $3-4 trillion infrastructure bill but doesn’t want to raise the corporate income tax because his CEO daughter made all the money screwing EpiPen users. Biden could close some loopholes and I think has a minimum corporate tax proposal so no multinational corp pays 0. There’s a deal there somewhere.

  196. 196.

    NotMax

    @gwangung

    grapple with evolution vs. creationism

    Which is no different than grappling with product liability vs. gremlins.

  197. 197.

    NotMax

    @Mary G

    From what I’ve seen he’s okay with going from 21% to 25%, objection is to 28%.

    (I hesitate to use the word “raise” and prefer to say “restore the corporate income tax to x%.”)

  198. 198.

    smike

    @cain:

    …Furthermore you how it is implement can be completely be different. ​

    A closer analogy could be a song – the song might be the same but how it is song is completely different and can completely change the meaning of the song.

    I don’t understand what that means, but I find it interesting.

  200. 200.

    James E Powell

    @piratedan:

    I saw the Hives like a million years ago. It was the Veni Vidi Vicious tour. Sahara Hotnights opened. Damn good show.

  204. 204.

    WaterGirl

    @Martin:

    What I was missing is that the approach is to take a biopsy of the cancerous bits, then create a mRNA vaccine just for you.

    That is amazing.  I presume that’s the goal, not something that is possible now.

  206. 206.

    Mart

    @David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: As I recall, horrified at the video of white Appalachian’s without food, Nixon essentially ended hunger in the greatest country in the world. Ain’t that hard to do, just need to get our leaders to recognize half the hungry are white.

Comments are closed.