Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

There are a lot more evil idiots than evil geniuses.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

The snowflake in chief appeared visibly frustrated when questioned by a reporter about egg prices.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

We need to vote them all out and restore sane Democratic government.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

You are here: Home / Politics / domestic terrorists / Friday Evening Open Thread: The Way We Live Now, Domestic Terrorists Edition

Friday Evening Open Thread: The Way We Live Now, Domestic Terrorists Edition

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In DC, it would seem, domestic terrorism has become what storrowing is in Boston — a mild, possibly risible inconvenience, suitable for a quickie filler on the local news if nothing more urgent comes up. Dude had issues — what better way to attract attention?

Speaking of would-be terrorists, Rep. Brooks may not belong in prison, but he certainly doesn’t belong in Congress:

… Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), have largely remained silent about Brooks’s tweet. Only Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who has been an outspoken critic of Trump and has for months urged his party — in vain — to distance itself from the former president, blasted Brooks’s statement as “evil.”

“The GOP has a decision to make,” Kinzinger tweeted. “Are we going to be the party that keeps stoking sympathy for domestic terrorists and pushes out truth, or finally take a stand for truth. I’ve made my decision, so has Mo. Now it’s up to GOP conference leadership to make theirs.”

Representatives for McCarthy did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement Friday, Brooks called the allegations “bunk.”…

Brooks is running for the U.S. Senate, seeking to replace Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), who is retiring.

Reader Interactions

105Comments

  3. 3.

    sab

    I cannot believe I am saying this, but if they killed a couple of these white guys, and then withheld their names to the press, it would probably all go away. “Plea for attention fails. Pleader dead.”

  4. 4.

    trollhattan

    “They call me Deacon Blues.”

    Fuck you and your Crimson-Tide loving ass, “senator.”

  5. 5.

    Steeplejack

    Florida Man!

    Former Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan spent $75k of public tax dollars to order a life-size bronze statue of himself last year before the end of his final term in office.

    Morgan defended the decision, saying it was not that big of a deal.
    https://t.co/Ec9Xtr69Xg

    — Scott Greenfield (@ScottGreenfield) August 19, 2021

  6. 6.

    Another Scott

    Speaking of combatting terrorists, this seems to be important.

    (This is about the nearly-complete Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and others.)

    Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate on Blocking Property with Respect to Certain Russian Energy Export Pipelines
    AUGUST 20, 2021
    •
    PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS
    Dear Madam Speaker: (Dear Madam President:)

    Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order in order to take additional steps regarding certain Russian energy export pipelines to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14024 of April 15, 2021, with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States posed by specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation.

    The order responds to certain Russian energy pipeline projects intended to expand Russia’s influence over Europe’s energy resources that would weaken European energy security — including that of Ukraine and Eastern flank NATO and EU countries — and thereby threatens the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. The order blocks the property and interests in property of foreign persons identified by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, in a report to the Congress pursuant to the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act of 2019 (Title LXXV, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, Public Law 116-92), as amended by section 1242 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283) (PEESA), for engaging in certain activities or providing certain services to facilitate construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, among others. I have determined that it is necessary to block the property and interests in property of such persons unless a national interest waiver under section 7503(f) of PEESA has been issued for such persons.

    I have delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA and PEESA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the order. All executive departments and agencies are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order.

    I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.

    Sincerely,

    JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

    (Emphasis added.)

    [ conspiracy ] See, Afghanistan was all about the pipeline just like Q said!!11 [ /conspiracy ]

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  7. 7.

    mrmoshpotato

    @smith:

    I thought the same. It could hardly be more predictable. Have the writers lost the will to live? 

    No.  They’re just staying true to the characters of the Trump-humping fascist trash.

  8. 8.

    trollhattan

    @Steeplejack: Surprised it wasn’t a giant bronze dong. On second thought….

    We need to do something about these rogue sheriffs. Right after we fix Republicans, I guess.

  9. 9.

    dr. bloor

    @trollhattan: I’d hope he’s planning on going to Trump’s rally in Alabama next week, but you know he’s had his sorry hypocritical ass vaccinated.

  11. 11.

    different-church-lady

    “Are we going to be the party that keeps stoking sympathy for domestic terrorists and pushes out truth, or finally take a stand for truth. I’ve made my decision.

    “And that decision is to go right on being a member of the party that stokes sympathy for domestic terrorist and pushes out the truth.”

  13. 13.

    Ken

    Speaking of Alabama, I see that it’s shifted back into the bruise-red “Severe” category on covidactnow.org, as has Arkansas. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida remain in the category — I think we’re coming up on four weeks for Louisiana and Florida. Still, priorities.

  19. 19.

    smith

    OT — some good news: It looks like there were more than 1M covid shots today, the second day in a row.

  20. 20.

    Bill Arnold

    In tech news, via DPRK News:

    African-American plutocrat Eli Musk unveils revolutionary Robot, capable of complex tasks such as explaining philosophy to women, filing lawsuits against critics, and smoking the “ganja” weed. pic.twitter.com/IAbcsdrlKe
    — DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) August 20, 2021

  22. 22.

    dr. bloor

    @zhena gogolia: Long gas lines and empty paper towel pallets at BJ’s this afternoon.  Did Trump actually persuade folks that paper towels are some sort of useful commodity in a hurricane?

  23. 23.

    Steeplejack

    Speaking of domestic terrorism . . .

    Reuters:

    The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials.

    Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations.

    Twitter weighs in with some good threads:

    You didn’t need some mass coordinated conspiracy before hand. If people ACTUALLY BELIEVED the lies they were hearing from Trump and regurgitating on social media, what happened on Jan. 6 makes perfect sense. They thought this was 1776 2.0! What, they’re just gonna hold a sign?
    https://t.co/gTPn5TdQFN

    — Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 20, 2021

    Southpaw (minimizing links for FYWP):

    Another way to say this is it was organized primarily by the former president’s and his allies’ disciplined, repetitive, and overt public messaging, which the FBI doesn’t like to count.

    How did all these fanatics know to assemble in DC on 1/6, the day of the certification? Trump publicly invited them, promising a “wild” time.

    How did they know to converge on the Capitol and fight for him? Trump told them to in a public speech; he said he’d be going with them.

    The rally was timed and the speakers’ exhortations tuned to deliver a mob of fanatics to the doors of the Capitol at the hour Congress took up the certification—which Trump had been obsessing about interrupting for weeks beforehand—but apparently that’s too obvious for the FBI.

    Anyways, we’ll find out in two years that the investigators never checked anyone in the White House’s emails or texts because the DOJ has a policy. Clear enough how it goes from here.

    Maha:

    You mean they all didn’t get together in a boardroom and say “Let’s insurrect!” and then sign contracts?

  26. 26.

    zhena gogolia

    @dr. bloor: It’s weird what people fixate on. We have plenty of eggs, bread, and TP right now. Will that keep a tree from falling on the house?

  29. 29.

    Cacti

    I knew it was a Trumper yesterday the moment I saw that:

    1. Police were negotiating with him, and
    2. He was threatening to blow up a library

    Betcha 5 bucks he called it the Liberry of Congress.

  30. 30.

    Kathleen

    Bringing topic up from downstairs about ABC’s transcript that featured Joe Biden’t stuttering during interview with George StuffItUpYourAss because I’m so spitting angry. Here’s a link to the Twitter thread with examples from the transcript (like wha wha what):

    https://twitter.com/edabny62/status/1428834774722957321

    And if you go to the @ABC page you will more outrageous examples.

  32. 32.

    NotMax

    Open Thread?

    Sling this week rolled out their revamped GUI.

    Overthought and cumbersome the first two descriptions which came to mind. Bells and whistles are fine for New Year’s celebrations, not so much for freaking simply finding something to watch.

    NotMax-o-meter rating: C+.

  35. 35.

    Kathleen

    @Kay: I’m thinking it is. Have you ever seen that in a transcript? Even people who don’t stutter can hem and haw and uh but I never see that. I’m so damned angry.

  36. 36.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    I think it’s a change. As I said in the earlier thread, usually they edit out people’s uh‘s and ah‘s—and also clean up their grammar a tiny bit if there’s something really confusing.

    Former newspaper reporter here. I would never have transcribed an interviewee’s stuttering unless it was essential to the story.

  37. 37.

    Eunicecycle

    @Kathleen: Me too! My granddaughter stutters and I see how frustrating it is for her. Even though she’s only 4, she is getting speech therapy through the public schools. It is heartening to me to see Joe Biden overcoming his stutter to become the President! But then I see people make fun of him and see ridiculous stunts like this.

  39. 39.

    Another Scott

    @Steeplejack: The Reuters headline and opening grafs are too credulous even considering the rest of their own story:

    Prosecutors have filed conspiracy charges against 40 of those defendants, alleging that they engaged in some degree of planning before the attack.

    They alleged that one Proud Boy leader recruited members and urged them to stockpile bulletproof vests and other military-style equipment in the weeks before the attack and on Jan. 6 sent members forward with a plan to split into groups and make multiple entries to the Capitol.

    But that obviously doesn’t count.

    (groucho-roll-eyes.gif)

    The “MAGA Civil War January 6, 2021” sweatshirts were just a coincidence, also too. These people were just out for a stroll.

    (sigh)

    The unidentified RWNJ law enforcement types who try to pre-emptively spin the news are a threat to us all.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  40. 40.

    Kathleen

    @Eunicecycle: I am just furious. It’s so unnecessary and cruel. I hope your granddaughter never has to endure this type of cruelty. These people are monsters.

  42. 42.

    piratedan

    @Steeplejack: that’s some Darth Vader killed Annikin Skywalker level of a “certain POV” action going on there with Reuters and the FBI methinks when it comes to describe what took place..

    The part that I find worrisome… is that someone chose to represent “their story” this way and that it likely passed thru an editor, who also said that this should be published and they wonder why people decry the state of journalism… just as much bad faith in the presentation of the information here as we get from the GOP arguing any damn position about every damn thing…

    waiting for the inevitable mistrial due to a lack of an Oxford comma that’s sure to follow….

  43. 43.

    VeniceRiley

    There was a story yesterday or the day before about a 1/6er about to be sentenced that afternoon in a plea deal and, luckily, amateur sleuths scoured video until they found him … punching an officer of the Cap Police. They sent it to the judge and prosecutors. Hope those prosecutors were suitably embarrassed when the judge delayed the sentencing. The traitor’s lawyer was portraying him as rather a bystander.

    Do better, DOJ and FBI, or total keyboard warriors will make fools of you.

  45. 45.

    topclimber

    @Steeplejack: Ah, but it is essential. Biden is stuttering because he is under stress with the Afghanistan thing–he even said there were 300 troops in the Afghan army at his press conference instead of 300K!

    Of course, he might have been talking about how many you could actually count on in a fight.

    Be that as it may,  the stuttering proves it that he is in over his aging head. Just because what he says makes sense, stutter or not, is no reason not to undercut him. After all, the first thing that goes with senility is phonetic fluency…kinda.

  46. 46.

    Subsole

    @piratedan:

    Do they wonder, though?

    I don’t see behavior consistent with wonder.

    I see the behavior of overpaid, underqualified folks who have decided that liberals should be neither seen nor heard, and they are by god gonna put us back where they think we belong.

  49. 49.

    debbie

    @dr. bloor:

    I can’t keep track of all these bombers. Is this the one that whined he needed his mind medicine, or was that a different bomber?

  50. 50.

    piratedan

    @Subsole: I often think the same thing…. I do wonder about the intelligence level and commitment that we place in people… you look at the reporting that took place during the scandal with TFG pressuring Ukraine to dummy up an investigation that was about to become HRC e-mails 2, (Ukrainian Boogaloo) regarding Hunter Biden cast as the maguffin when certain people blew up their fucking narrative.

    We watch twitter threads unroll with documents that show people doing certain illegal shit, on paper, signed by the perpetrators themselves; their own testimony showing that they have more than one paymaster and a history of perfidy and bad faith and outrageous lying and these guys keep trying to 1984 for us into disbelieving what our eyes see and minds understand.

    I’m tired of the bad faith, I’m tired of the gross misrepresentation and I’m tired of narratives coming before proof/truth.

  53. 53.

    Subsole

    @piratedan:

    Best description I saw:

    These people grew up telling us they were gonna be the next Woodward and Bernstein. Then, when confronted with a regime 100 times more corrupt than Nixon and Reagan combined, they didn’t report it as such: they spoiler-tagged it.

  54. 54.

    different-church-lady

    @Steeplejack:

    If people ACTUALLY BELIEVED the lies they were hearing from Trump and regurgitating on social media, what happened on Jan. 6 makes perfect sense.

    Somewhere recently I read there’s a term for this kind of thing: the despot doesn’t actually come right out and say “Kill all the Eskimos,” but everyone understands that’s what he’s saying and a whole lot of Eskimos wind up dead. Can’t remember if it was LGM (in one of their more helpful moments as of late) or perhaps our own Adam Silverman?

  59. 59.

    gene108

    Excellent summary from Kurt Eichenwald on decisions the US made over the last 1 year in Afghanistan. Read the whole thing

    Ok, since no one seems to know any of the history of Afghanistan before this week, a refresher:
    2/29/20: There are 13,000 US troops there. Trump reaches deal with Taliban. Agrees Afghanistan Gov, which is not part of deal, will release 5,000 Taliban fighters. Requires Taliban…1

    …to take action against al Qaeda, not to attack US troops or coalition forces, or launch high-profile attacks.
    3/1/20: Afghan president freaks out, says US has no authority to commit to release prisoners held by Afghanistan. (Trump Admin forces it to happen anyway.)
    …2

    Despite there agreement not to attack any provincial capitals, Taliban unilaterally attacks Afghan forces in Helmand province.
    3/19/2020: DOD IG says U.S. cut troop levels by more than 4,000, even though “Taliban escalated violence further after signing the agreement”…3

     

    https://mobile.twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/1428850557582729217

  62. 62.

    burnspbesq

    If Mo Brooks wants to experience “dictatorial socialism” up close and personal, I will gladly buy him a one-way ticket to Minsk or Yangon, his choice.

  64. 64.

    different-church-lady

    @Ksmiami: Are you kidding? We’re liberals: the whole thing will come to a grinding halt while we argue about whether the word pike is gendered.

  65. 65.

    Another Scott

    @gene108: Kurt is good, but I think he’s wrong here.  Getting out was the right thing to do.  Delaying the withdrawal because the Taliban wasn’t keeping to the terms just means that we would be there indefinitely.  What incentive did the Taliban have not to do what they wanted to foreigners who were fighting them and not leaving?  They were winning.

    Of course it was a bad deal.  Of course TFG was incompetent and malicious.  We still needed to get out.

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  66. 66.

    ET

    @Cacti: Actually my understanding is that he thought there were 2 Capitols and he was just at one of them.

    When will feds and police start profiling white men. Never is supposed since many of them are white and/or come from the same poison tree.

  67. 67.

    Uncle Omar

    If Floyd Roy had been of African descent a sniper would have picked him off before the negotiations could even be contemplated.  Just sayin’.

  69. 69.

    gene108

    @Another Scott:

    My take on Kurt’s point is that by remaining at the same troop levels supporting the ANA, in 2020, when the Taliban violated the agreement, we may have been able to reach a political settlement, rather than a total collapse.

    With only 2500 troops in Afghanistan, there’s not a lot of options on the table, even if we set the remaining draw down on status goals and not a timeline.

    Trump did not leave Biden with any good options.

    The ANA and police forces did fight prior to the current collapse. Their dead are about on par or a bit higher than U.S. troop losses in Vietnam.  From what I have read, a few months ago, about police forces trying to secure provincial capitals, the security forces were willing to fight, if they got support and needed reinforcements. In many places, the Taliban concentrated their forces to numerically overwhelm local security forces, before moving on to the next target and leaving a smaller force behind.

    Some police forces held out as long as possible, but surrendered as reinforcements did not come, and they ran out of ammo. The Afghan government could not coordinate how to manage effective counterattacks in the spring, if they actually tried.

  74. 74.

    Nutmeg again

    Can-openers on Storrow (what we always called them) are just folks who don’t understand low bridges. They aren’t actively trying to wreck American democracy, or kill people because they voted (one time?) and didn’t get the result they wanted. So, yes, both stupid. But one malicious, and one really not.

  75. 75.

    Shana

    There’s a bridge in Davenport IA across the Mississippi from my home town that’s relatively low and frequently traps trucks like the one in Boston. I remember a particular accident when I was in high school with a truck full of Milky Way and Snickers bars that got “storrowed” and all the candy bars ended up strewn over the street. They call it the “truck eating bridge” there.

  76. 76.

    Mary G

    @Another Scott: Hooray! Uber, Instacart, DoorDash, and others spent a shitload of money to get that passed, but it’s only a Superior court, which despite its name is the bottom rung of the ladder. The appeal will probably be filed Monday at 9 am sharp. Still, more legal fees ahead, and from this it looks like their lawyers aren’t the sharpest Crayons in the box.

  79. 79.

    Scout211

    @Another Scott: more details

    https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article253647838.html

    A California judge on Friday ruled that a 2020 ballot measure exempting rideshare and food delivery drivers from a state labor law is unconstitutional because it infringes on the Legislature’s power to set workplace standards.

    Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch wrote Proposition 22 is unconstitutional because “it limits the power of a future Legislature to define app-based drivers as workers subject to workers’ compensation law.” That makes the entire ballot measure unenforceable, Roesch said.

  81. 81.

    Dan B

    @dr. bloor: The Alabama town (Cullman?) where TFG is having his rally has proclaimed an emergency.  I believe there are no ICU beds left in the state.  The only way they open up is if a patient dies.

  84. 84.

    rikyrah

    A co-worker had been out of our office on assignment for the last 10 weeks. He stopped by to catch up.

    Him: “Do you go out?”

    Me: ” Outside of to and from work? And doctor’s appointments? No. ”

    Him:.” The grocery store?”

    Me: ” Delivery”

    He went on to express relief, because he thinks people have gone crazy. He told me of all the gatherings people have invited him too, and he has been, nope…not now.

    He was like…all these folks talking about how they just got back from Florida and Texas, and do I want to come over ..he was like HELL NO.

    His fiance is a nurse…and, he’s like, the stories that she tells him..about people his age (mid 30’s) and younger…

    We just shook our heads.

    We will travel in 2022.?

  85. 85.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Kay: They usually cleaned up the Trump transcripts considerably. And tried to organize them into making some kind of sense, injecting their own thoughts on what Trump meant to say.

    I’m not kidding. That they used to protect Trump and are now changing the policy to make Biden look bad should tell you a lot.

  86. 86.

    BruceJ

    Look, White terrorists can blow up entire city blocks with truck bombs without the word “terrorist” being appplied; it’s all ‘disturbed individual‘ this and ‘mental health issues‘ that.

    Basically the rule is “White folks” cannot possibly be terrorists.  TO THIS DAY the Klan is called ‘a hate group’ instead of a terrorist organization that conducted bombings, murders and lynchings by the thousands.

  88. 88.

    Another Scott

    @MisterForkbeard: It was that way from the beginning.  IIRC, and I think I do, the transcripts of TFG’s campaign announcement speech (after the escalator ride) on places like Fox didn’t include the “Mexican rapists” lines).

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  89. 89.

    BruceJ

    @rikyrah: Just today we got an invite from the Dean of the college where I work, inviting us to the new academic year social on September 6th, to be held in a restaurant.

    This is a health sciences college.

    In a county where, as of Wednesday, 348 of 356 total ICU beds were filled and we had yet another doubling of hospitalizations…

    Fortunately I am not in that strata of employees expected to attend, so I don’t have to go.

  90. 90.

    prostratedragon

    @NotMax:  I’m finding similar objections to recent upgrades of a few GUIs I use, which once did their simple tasks simply and effectively. Must be the new thing this year.

  91. 91.

    Dan B

    @dmsilev: First I read 1000 manatees blossoming – you know, Floriduh Man-atees.

    Then I thought that “1000 mandates” was somehow adjacent to ‘OnlyFans’ or Grindr.  Had to look up what you were responding to.  I think I got it on the third attempt.

    Ha!

  92. 92.

    Another Scott

    Scoop: Multiple House Dem moderates have fielded calls from DCCC that they took as a warning they could be cut off financially if they oppose the budget next week. https://t.co/wK4UtHZjj8

    — Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) August 20, 2021

    Good, good. If you’re part of a team, you fight for the team especially when it matters. Actions have consequences.

    (via LOLGOP)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  93. 93.

    prostratedragon

    @Kathleen:  What are they, 8-year-olds or something? I had a couple of schoolmates with stutters, and that shit had pretty much stopped even on the playground by 3rd or 4th grade.

  94. 94.

    Shalimar

    @Steeplejack: There were 2 statues.  He also commisioned a statue of the lieutenant who led the canine unit, along with his dog. The $75k was for both statues.  The former sheriff has agreed to pay for his statue but not the one of man and dog.

    Escambia county is the heart of Matt Gaetz’s district, because of course it is.

  99. 99.

    Mary G

    @Fair Economist: It just passed last November, so I don’t think it’s had time to work all the way through. Somebody may have asked for an injunction. I don’t remember and am too tired to look it up.

  101. 101.

    Feckless

    Yes there was a republican terrorist in the capital claiming to have a bomb yesterday but we should spend a couple trillion dollars more to make sure that Afghanistan never ever harbors a terrorist again because it’s on the other side of the world versus DC which is you know here.

    Change the name back to the department of war because it sure isn’t defending anybody.

  102. 102.

    J R in WV

    @zhena gogolia:

    It’s weird what people fixate on. We have plenty of eggs, bread, and TP right now. Will that keep a tree from falling on the house?

    According to our personal experience in a house with all the regular emergency supplies in the basement — NOPE!

    No amount of paper product, bread, eggs, milk, will hinder the tree aimed at your roof. So I dunno why people hoard these simple items.

    ETA> Well, I guess on second thought a warehouse-sized pile of paper products in the perfect spot might slow the impact of the tree hitting the house… but no one sane would acquire that much paper!

  103. 103.

    J R in WV

    OK, two bronze statues for $75K — wonder how much the actual artiste got? OR was it a 3-D printer mold kinda gig?
    Asked Wife  if she wants a bronze statue, both of us, 3 dogs 2 cats down by the county road, with lights and a stereo playing Johnny Cash 24/7 !!
    I can’t sell it to her, tho. Nope she says! No imagination… we could be famous!! Atlas Obscura here we come… nope!​

  104. 104.

    Procopius

    @topclimber:

    Of course, he might have been talking about how many you could actually count on in a fight.

    Or he might have been talking about how many were actually getting paid and fed. We’ve been getting reports for 20 years that many were “ghost” soldiers, just names on the company rolls so the commanders could collect their pay and rations. These reports have been coming out every. damned. year from SIGAR. No one was ever interested enough to make a fuss until now. Pepe Escobar reports in the Asia Times that the soldiers who did exist had not received their salary for months, so the Taliban just paid them not to fight.

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