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You are here: Home / Open Threads / If It’s Sunday, It’s the Decaying Carcass of Meet The Press

If It’s Sunday, It’s the Decaying Carcass of Meet The Press

by WaterGirl|  January 30, 20221:57 pm| 275 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Talk About Whatever You Want

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“If It’s Sunday, It’s the Decaying Carcass of Meet The Press”

h/t mrmoshpotato, in a tweet from @MTPPromoBot

Such a perfect description!  Just reading that leaves me outraged at the ridiculously slanted Sunday morning shows.  It used to be the beltway mostly talking to the beltway, but now it’s the beltway promoting outright lies and bullshit talking points for the always-lying and barely-functional carcass of what once was a functional political party.

Speaking of outrage, here’s a photo of a failed bridge support on the Pittsburgh bridge that collapsed this week.

If It's Sunday, It's the Decaying Carcass of Meet The Press
Photo courtesy of BellyCat

Why the renewed outrage on my part?  More information.  This photo was posted in a tweet on Dec 29, 2018 by BellyCat’s friend.  Yet they still allowed a 25-ton bus to travel over a this bridge, apparently every 30 minutes, every single day.  For 3 years.  On a bridge, over a park.

A bridge with a rating of POOR.  A bridge with a 26-ton weigh limit, and a bus with a curb weight of 25 tons.  In case you are wondering, curb weight means without passengers or baggage.  I’m guessing that 12 passengers with briefcases or backpacks would weigh about a ton.  This was an accident waiting to happen.  Literally.  And it seems like there is a lot of blame to go around.

Feel free to use this thread as a sort of pop-up Festivus, or you can talk about puppies and all things wonderful.  Or anything in between.

Totally open thread.

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Next Post: Excellent Read: ‘I Call Bullshit On Rich Dudes Who Cry ‘Censorship’ Non-Stop’ »

Reader Interactions

275Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 2:04 pm

    I’ve always liked Press the Meat.

    I like the classics.

  2. 2.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 2:04 pm

    MTP isn’t called “Meet the Republicans” for nothing!

  3. 3.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    January 30, 2022 at 2:13 pm

    speaking of the Sunday shows, Susan Collins is Concerned-trolling Biden’s USSC nomination already. I wonder if she’d actually vote against the nominee

    Aaron Rupar @atrupar · 3h
    Susan Collins says she’s more concerned about Biden announcing he’ll pick a Black woman than Trump announcing he’d pick a woman because Biden made his announcement when he was a candidate & therefore politicized the process. (Remember Trump’s ACB superspreader event at the WH?)

    Eric Kleefeld@EricKleefeld
    Amazing to watch these people try to explain how Ronald Reagan’s direct promise in the 1980 campaign — “as a candidate,” Susan Collins might say — to appoint a woman to the Supreme Court was totally different from Biden’s promise in 2020 to appoint a Black woman.

    I’ll be interested to see how the FL and NC Republicans play this, how much shit are they willing to stir up

  4. 4.

    Cermet

    January 30, 2022 at 2:13 pm

    First and foremost I am sick of hearing the media say BBB is dead; last I checked, a co-bill that even thugs voted for – about 1.1 trillion if I recall – was passed. We have a great infrastructure bill as law.

    Next, I know putin – ex-KGB souless killer – is a lying and dangerous enemy. That said, we lied to Russia about not expanding NATO after Germany reunited and remained in NATO. Next, Crimea was always a part of Russia since 1784 (or about) and was transferred to Ukraine in 1954. It was mostly ethic Russian. So frankly, it really does belong to Russia.

    Finally, while we helped have a pro-western president elected in Ukraine to get rid of the pro-Russian one, and of late, we have heard about possible NATO expansion via the Ukraine. Frankly, game over for Russia as an independent country if the Ukraine becomes part of NATO. That southern flank is wide open – no major rivers, or even significant hills all the way to St. Petersburg. Russia would be near defenseless if that became NATO territory; this ignores that China shares a huge border with a nearly empty and resource rich Siberia that Russia also has to defend with its not growing population.

    It is insane that Biden doesn’t simply tell putin that we will agree to never expand NATO to include the Ukraine. Besides, if Russia does invade, yes we will cripple Russia’s economy at the cost of Europe’s and even much of ours. That just isn’t worth the cost for a country we really have no real interest in.

  5. 5.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    January 30, 2022 at 2:14 pm

    OT – on the whole Rogan/Spotify thing, this comes from having marketing and MBA assholes misunderstand how the development of users of the platform came to be. A big chunk of those 11 million Rogan listeners were already there for whatever their music preferences had been – and a large chunk aren’t spending all their time listening to his idiot ramblings along with his idiot guests. The big mistake – like Clear Channel with the Limbaugh contract – was paying more than NFL superstar money to someone who doesn’t return that value to the platform in terms of objective dollars. If you remember, Clear Channel basically bankrupted itself over fat boy, and Spotify is doing that with regard to Rogan. It’s sending a lot of its revenue his way – revenue coming from the presence of many, many artists, as opposed to coming from him.

    All it is going to take is the exit of some combo of Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Carmela Cabrera, etc, and Spotify/Rogan will be FUCKED.

  6. 6.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 2:19 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: 
    I really hope this completely tanks whatever “moderate” rep she has in Maine. Not that it would really matter as I’m sure she’ll probably retire by 2026

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 2:22 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    You left out The Wiggles.

    :)

  8. 8.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 2:24 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: The other thing is that Spotify is going to get the stench of thirsty on it and that will reduce their influence and the value of their brand. It really doesn’t take much to do that. A company can still make money but if this makes future prospective talent not want to sign with them, it can be really harmful.

    Brands only move “downmarket”. They don’t move “upmarket”.

  9. 9.

    CaseyL

    January 30, 2022 at 2:26 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  You might be unpleasantly surprised by Maine voters.  I was there for about 2 weeks this past fall, and outside of places like Bangor and Portland, I was amazed and depressed by the prevalence of Trump posters, flags, and bumper stickers.

    I once considered moving there, post-retirement: the small towns are lovely and the housing prices (now soaring) were very reasonable.  But Maine is no longer “Rockefeller GOP,” it’s gone full Trumpy.

    (JanieM, who has lived there for decades, told me she’s seen the same thing, so it’s not just a visitor’s impression.)

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 2:26 pm

    @Suzanne

    “Don’t panic. We’ve still got Ted Nugent!”

    //

  11. 11.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 2:28 pm

    @Cermet: As far as I can tell, nearly everything you wrote after your comment about BBB is dead wrong.  I’m talking about what you wrote about theUkraine, Russia and the US.

  12. 12.

    O. Felix Culpa

    January 30, 2022 at 2:28 pm

    @Cermet: Most, if not all, of your points have already been pointed out as false and/or misleading in previous threads on the topic. Which leads to the conclusion that you’re a non-learning one-note Charlie, if not an actual troll.

  13. 13.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 2:30 pm

    @CaseyL: My aunt lives in Cape Elizabeth, which is a nicer suburb of Portland. She moved there in the mid-90s, when it was affordable, and she rented her house out for a time while working in Boston. And now, just like you said, the real estate is ludicrously expensive there. It’s super-liberal, tho. Most of the liberal places are expensive, because they’re nice places to live.

  14. 14.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 2:32 pm

    @CaseyL:

    Well, Dems did win big there in 2018, so there’s still hope, right?

  15. 15.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 2:32 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Shorter Susan Collins:

    “There is no black woman deserving of being on the Supreme Court.”  (Even with the lower standards that were set by Republicans with the last 3 appointments.)

    There are no quiet parts anymore, they just shout it from the rooftops, even the so-called “moderate” from Maine.

  16. 16.

    artem1s

    January 30, 2022 at 2:33 pm

    It is insane that Biden doesn’t simply tell putin that we will agree to never expand NATO to include the Ukraine.

    It’s insane that anyone thinks this is only up to the US or this administration.  Congress makes treaties not POTUS. Why shouldn’t any sovereign democratic nation be allowed to determine it’s own fate? Why should Ukraine be beholden to something it’s own people didn’t agree to 40 years ago? And NATO isn’t the only problem. They want entry into the EU too. That’s what Putin has his bloomers in a twist about. Sooner or later the lesser state of Russia is going to have wake up to the fact that they aren’t super power anymore. They need to develop some honest to dog diplomacy and figure out how to work with their neighbors rather than threatening them like the mob bosses they are.

  17. 17.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 2:33 pm

    Here’s a picture of the collapse, and also of what it looked like before the collapse (from down in the park if you want to get a scale of how far the bridge fell). Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, Pittsburgh

    Also where did the infrastructure funding go for maintenance? Oh… oh, it went there.

    Aaron D@MrBrownEyes2020

    One of Pittsburgh’s bridges just collapsed so people might find this interesting:

    An official audit in 2019 found that more than $4.2 billion in infrastructure funding had been diverted to give more funding to police.

    #DefundThePolice

    Link to the PA Inspector General audit report: Auditor General DePasquale: PennDOT Audit Finds $4.2 Billion Diverted from Repairing Roads, Bridges Funding could have helped eliminate list of 2,829 structurally deficient bridges

  18. 18.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 2:34 pm

    @NotMax:

    You’re joking, but my impression of The Wiggles is that they’re actually pretty popular. Wouldn’t surprise me if parents let their kids stream The Wiggles, assuming they’re on Spotify, which I would assume they are

  19. 19.

    PaulB

    January 30, 2022 at 2:34 pm

    @Cermet: Finally, while we helped have a pro-western president elected in Ukraine to get rid of the pro-Russian one, and of late, we have heard about possible NATO expansion via the Ukraine.

    There is no “the;” it’s simply Ukraine. And no, we really haven’t heard anything about “possible NATO expansion” other than from Russia, which is lying in order to try to pretend its aggression at the border is justified.

    Frankly, game over for Russia as an independent country if the Ukraine becomes part of NATO.

    Frankly, that statement is likely the dumbest statement I’ll read online today. This doesn’t even warrant a response other than derisive laughter.

    It is insane that Biden doesn’t simply tell putin that we will agree to never expand NATO to include the Ukraine.

    Since it isn’t Biden’s choice to make, and since he couldn’t guarantee it into perpetuity anyway, and since there are no such plans, it would be insane for Biden to tell Putin that, not to mention that it would make absolutely no difference to Putin’s agenda or plans.

    Besides, if Russia does invade, yes we will cripple Russia’s economy at the cost of Europe’s and even much of ours.

    Um … in what way would we our economy be crippled by applying sanctions? Europe would be affected, certainly, but you’re grossly exaggerating the cost there, not to mention ignoring other sanctions that would not have much of an impact at all on Europe or other parts of the world.

    Seriously, this post was just so bad that it calls into question just what you are trying to accomplish here. If you would like to be taken seriously, I’d strongly suggest that you re-evaluate your approach.

  20. 20.

    RandomMonster

    January 30, 2022 at 2:35 pm

    I was a Spotify premium subscriber for at least 10 years. I dropped Facebook because it’s a misinformation profiteer and had no reservations dropping Spotify for the same.

  21. 21.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 2:35 pm

    @NotMax: This is actually really bad for Spotify. Most people who don’t think about marketing don’t really think about it, but not all subscribers are “equal” to a company like Spotify. Companies generally want their consumers to have high social capital, to be “aspirational”. It only takes a few incidents like this for Spotify to lose some luster in that regard. And then one or two high-profile people announce that they’re signing up with a competing service and all of a sudden, Spotify is the service for the unwoke methheads.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 2:35 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Their goal is to get Manchin to get cold feet. They know he’s the only one who makes them relevant.

  23. 23.

    The Dangerman

    January 30, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    I‘ve heard from a friend that MTP is trying to reanimate John McCain. Kinda like Lincoln at Disneyland but more Mavericky.

  24. 24.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 2:37 pm

    I use free Spotify because I found their algorithm to be the best.  But I’m joining the boycott and removing their app.

    I hope I get a statue.

  25. 25.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 30, 2022 at 2:38 pm

    @Cermet:  That said, we lied to Russia about not expanding NATO after Germany reunited and remained in NATO.

    Citation from a reliable source?

    Next, Crimea was always a part of Russia since 1784 (or about) and was transferred to Ukraine in 1954. It was mostly ethic Russian. So frankly, it really does belong to Russia.

    No mention of the forced migration of the Crimean Tatars or Russification?  No mention of the return of the Tatars after 1989?

    I’ll just leave it here because I need to go to the gym, but thanks for giving Putin’s side of the arguments.

  26. 26.

    Ken

    January 30, 2022 at 2:40 pm

    @PaulB: There is no “the;” it’s simply Ukraine.

    I was wondering recently, does it take the article in Russian?

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:40 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    I have the steam iron filled and set to “cotton” and am ready and able to tackle those furrows. I shall take them from “swale” to “prairie” in no time.

  28. 28.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 2:40 pm

    @Baud:

    Oh Christ, that sounds very plausible. If he fucks us on this I swear… ?

    Judges is the one of the few things he hasn’t been a flake on

  29. 29.

    RandomMonster

    January 30, 2022 at 2:40 pm

    @Baud: You can get 3 months of Apple Music for free, but you must act now.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 2:40 pm

    @Leto: Corruption all the way down.

  31. 31.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:41 pm

    @Ken:

    The Gambia wants their article to themselves, thanks very much.

  32. 32.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:41 pm

    @RandomMonster: “Don’t forget, call before midnight.”

  33. 33.

    laura

    January 30, 2022 at 2:42 pm

    OT- I’ve sent an email to a heart health clinic in Jakarta. I’ll report out any/all replies.?

    I’m not sure how else to start looking for someone I don’t really know, but I do know that Amir Khalid is missing and that he is missed.

  34. 34.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:42 pm

    @The Dangerman: A mashup of John McCain [did you know he was a P.O.W.?] and Max Headroom will be must-see teevee.

  35. 35.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 2:44 pm

    @laura:

    Good luck! Hopefully, it’s just a sabbatical he’s taking from BJ

  36. 36.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 2:44 pm

    @Leto:

    Off topic, but you got me (belatedly) interested in Allbirds last night. I’ve seen them around but hadn’t talked to anyone who had them. Did you get the Mizzles or some other model?

  37. 37.

    RandomMonster

    January 30, 2022 at 2:45 pm

    @trollhattan: “We’ll also throw in this five piece set of kitchen knives. Now how much would you pay?!”

  38. 38.

    Edmund Dantes

    January 30, 2022 at 2:46 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: or Trump’s promise to pick from an already decided list if elected.

  39. 39.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 2:47 pm

    @WaterGirl: Pretty much. The roads here are absolutely horrible. Pot holes the size of moon craters, constant construction that’s just never completed, and sections of roadway that more resemble roads in Iraq and Afghanistan. It finally dawned on me why more Americans drive SUVs and trucks: those vehicles are built to handle the impoverished/dilapidated roads we use. There’s a fair chance you could use the entirety of the $1.75T BBB budget just on highway/bridge repair. We double taxed on this: first taxes that we pay for this, then on car repair from the impoverished infrastructure.

    It’s just another data point in a long data set on the living experience here in the US.

  40. 40.

    jonas

    January 30, 2022 at 2:47 pm

    @Cermet: Most of this is, well, wrong. Please go read Timothy Snyder’s recent op-ed in the WaPo that someone (I forget who) linked to earlier this morning, or some of Gin and Tonics posts  from earlier in the week.

  41. 41.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    @Baud:

    When I got my latest phone from Verizon (in 2019!) I got a free Apple Music account with my souped-up plan, but I never got around to activating it. (Mostly listen to SiriusXM, mostly in the car.) Now thinking about firing it up.

    I’ve used (free) Spotify occasionally, but no more.

    And, of course, right now I’m listening to music videos on YouTube, about as low-tech as it gets these days.

    Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower.”

  42. 42.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 30, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    Why the renewed outrage on my part? More information. This photo was posted in a tweet on Dec 29, 2018 by BellyCat’s friend. Yet they still allowed a 25-ton bus to travel over a this bridge, apparently every 30 minutes, every single day. For 3 years. On a bridge, over a park.

    Woah.  That is some bulllllshit.  Bridge falling apart for 3 years?  Meh!

  43. 43.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    @RandomMonster:

    I had Apple Music before. Hated it.

  44. 44.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 30, 2022 at 2:50 pm

    I should’ve noted who retweeted the MTPPromoBot.

  45. 45.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 30, 2022 at 2:50 pm

    @Cermet: Are you going to post this pro-Russian dreck in every thread, every day?

  46. 46.

    James E Powell

    January 30, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    @CaseyL:

    I’m not saying you’re wrong; I’ve never been to Maine. But the prevalence of big flags, signs, and bumper stickers are kind of a Trump thing. Didn’t see it with Bush and for a while anyway, he was way more popular than Trump ever was or will be.

    The people who worship him seem to need to tell the whole world about it and they are looking to identify their fellow bigots and start arguments with those who disagree.

    Cf. The gun lovers who have to let everyone know with signs, bumper stickers, and t-shirts that they love guns and what are you gonna do about it?

  47. 47.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    @trollhattan:

    I’m so old I remember the Argentine (mostly in stuffy British novels).

  48. 48.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    We’ll see.  The only solution is turnout.  Worst result is that Breyer stays on.

  49. 49.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    @RandomMonster:

    Oh man, and mine are so dull.

  50. 50.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    January 30, 2022 at 2:52 pm

    @NotMax:

    “But Rogan came in and explained how having 11M listeners at one time or another on our streaming platform that has thousands of artists play across a 24 hour day was really worth a 100M contract to him. Where could we have gone wrong?

    At least we still have Nugent, Kid Rock and David Allen Coe. That’s enough, right?”

  51. 51.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 2:52 pm

    @Steeplejack: So I have a pair of the Runner-up Mizzles (high top version), Tree Runners, Tree Loungers, and Wool Loungers. Got a specific question, or just want some general info?

  52. 52.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 30, 2022 at 2:52 pm

    @Baud: Beat The Press?  As in Rethuglicans verbally punching the press on camera.  Not any other meaning.

  53. 53.

    zhena gogolia

    January 30, 2022 at 2:52 pm

    @Ken: There are no articles in Russian or Ukrainian (or other Slavic languages except Bulgarian). The rough equivalent in Russian is to use the preposition “v” instead of “na” when speaking about going to or being in the country. If you use “na,” it’s the old-fashioned way, analogous to saying “the Ukraine.”

  54. 54.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 2:53 pm

    @laura:

    I have thought about seeing if there is a Malaysian Press Club or some such, or a journalists’ union, and going from there. I’ll give it a go this week and report back.

  55. 55.

    Spanky

    January 30, 2022 at 2:53 pm

    @laura: Well, you’re looking in the wrong country, for starters. Amir lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    ETA: Didn’t mean to sound dismissive. I just want to warn you that looking in Indonesia is going to waste your time.

  56. 56.

    zhena gogolia

    January 30, 2022 at 2:54 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Yes.

    It’s the reason why I dropped the effort to answer him. No point.

  57. 57.

    Emerald

    January 30, 2022 at 2:54 pm

    @Baud: Frankly, if Manchin votes against the first Black woman for the SCOTUS right after tanking his own bill on voting rights, I doubt he’d enjoy the obvious conclusions that would be right there for anyone to draw.

  58. 58.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:55 pm

    @Steeplejack: ​Heh. I’ve been trying to figure out when it is correct to say “The The Gambia.” e.g., “Today, the The Gambia coast was hit by extremely high tides.”

  59. 59.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 30, 2022 at 2:55 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: @zhena gogolia: A more tedious BiP?

  60. 60.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 30, 2022 at 2:56 pm

    @trollhattan: It’s THEE Gambia.  You know, with a French accent.

  61. 61.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:57 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: Meet “the Press” might get traction. Everybody loves scare quotes.

  62. 62.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 2:57 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: We salute Thee, Gambia!

  63. 63.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 30, 2022 at 2:58 pm

    @Ken: The only Slavic language with articles is Bulgarian.

  64. 64.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    January 30, 2022 at 2:58 pm

    Another OT observation – the Venn diagram between people who whine about the removal of Confederate statues the people who whine about CRT and the ones who are demanding book bans is a perfect circle.

    And when you put that circle over the groups of people who think that criticism of Joe Rogan is censorship, it’s a perfect match.

  65. 65.

    Librarian

    January 30, 2022 at 2:59 pm

    @artem1s: Also, that would be giving Putin a veto over who can join NATO and who can’t.

  66. 66.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 2:59 pm

    @Leto:

    Thanks, that gives me enough to go on. I read the whole thread last night, and I was struck by your saying how comfortable they are. I would probably look at one pair of high-tops and then go from there. Allbirds has a store in Georgetown, if I can rouse myself to make the expedition.

    And for some reason I get promo e-mails from them all the time. Dunno how I picked that up. It’s like barnacles on the hull of a ship.

  67. 67.

    mrmoshpotato

    January 30, 2022 at 3:00 pm

    @Leto:

    Bridge in less collapsed times 

    “Bravo!” caption writer.

  68. 68.

    Spanky

    January 30, 2022 at 3:00 pm

    Wikipedia:

    The name “Gambia” is derived from the Mandinka term Kambra/Kambaa, meaning Gambia River (or possibly from the sacred Serer Gamba,[17] a special type of calabash beaten when a Serer elder dies).[18] Upon independence in 1965, the country used the name the Gambia. Following the proclamation of a republic in 1970, the long-form name of the country became Republic of the Gambia.[19] The administration of Yahya Jammeh changed the long-form name to Islamic Republic of the Gambia in December 2015.[20] On 29 January 2017 President Adama Barrow changed the name back to Republic of the Gambia.[21][22]

    ETA – Removed the too many links that threw this into moderation.

  69. 69.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 3:02 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    “Contrary to reports we dropped him for the infraction of false advertising. Neil’s not young.”

    //

  70. 70.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:02 pm

    @Baud:

    I prefer to watch Faze the Nation. Sen. Snort is a favorite guest.

  71. 71.

    Tony Jay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:03 pm

    @trollhattan:

      “Today, the The Gambia coast was hit by extremely high tides.”

    Surely, “Today, the coast of The Gambia was hit by extremely high tides.”

    Though yes, it is odd to formulate. It’s different for The Rock.

  72. 72.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 3:05 pm

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Another OT observation – the Venn diagram between people who whine about the removal of Confederate statues the people who whine about CRT and the ones who are demanding book bans is a perfect circle.

     
    One of the things that jumped out to me a couple of years ago when we were having a lot of Confederate-statue-removal conversations was that I would say something like, “We can keep the ones that are good and put them in museums,”. And the right wing people who heard that would respond like placing things in museums was the same as throwing them away. Someone even said, “If you put it in a museum, then no one will ever see it,” and that is when it dawned on me that they don’t go to museums. And that was when I decided that their opinions about the importance of learning about history don’t matter at all, since they can’t be bothered to do it. This is why they fight so hard about middle-school reading lists: because they aren’t reading any books after that.

    How many Civil War battlefields have been turned into McMansion developments? Fuck these people.

  73. 73.

    debbie

    January 30, 2022 at 3:07 pm

    @PaulB:

    Consider it could be deliberate.

    What’s far more worrisome than this “no dog in the fight” straw man is that other autocrats see what this autocrat can get away with, so they try the same thing. (China –> Taiwan, just as one example). The world is sliding towards autocracy, and I think we have got to stop that. America and the EU have got to stand up to Putin as a single voice, and whether that’s enough to stop him, we will still have done the right thing.

  74. 74.

    James E Powell

    January 30, 2022 at 3:08 pm

    @Ken:

    Russian doesn’t use articles

    ETA – I see others are quicker. It is a tell with a lot of Russians that years are achieving fluency in English, they will still make errors with the definite/indefinite articles.

  75. 75.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 3:08 pm

    @Tony Jay: The Rock is hit by high tides, but Maui has no issues.

  76. 76.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 3:09 pm

    @Suzanne

    Obligatory-ish.

    ;)

  77. 77.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 3:09 pm

    @Steeplejack: That’s a smart thought, too.

  78. 78.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:12 pm

    @Tony Jay:

    “The Gambian coast.” Just like you would say “the French coast” or “the Spanish coast.” Or “the coast of the Gambia” = “the coast of France,” etc.

    ETA: How come nobody ever gets upset about “the Netherlands”? And remind me why we can’t just call it “Holland.”

  79. 79.

    Tony Jay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:13 pm

    @Leto:

    Oh now, just guess what song I’ve got playing on a loop in my brain.

  80. 80.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 3:14 pm

    @Steeplejack

    The Falklands.

    ;)

  81. 81.

    Kay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:15 pm

    The worst thing Biden could do is get involved with the senate again. No one wants to hear about the Supreme Court nomination process.

    Just get it done. Submit the name and start the hearings. If the far Right can install Barrett in 27 days, Democrats can too. Republicans set the precedent for speedy SCOTUS seatings- it’s their new rule. The other side can use it too. No Supreme Court nominee should any get more inquiry or due diligence than Barrett did. There shouldn’t be two sets of rules.

  82. 82.

    Tony Jay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:19 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    “I’m starting to become concerned about the long term stability of The Gambian coast with all these extremely high tides.”

    Yes. Works for me.

    ETA – I’ve haven’t been concerned with the Netherlands since their great team of the 90s aged out, and Holland is only the most famous part of it.

    ETA2 – A bit like us calling all Americans ‘Yanks’ or ‘Yankee Doodles’. I understand this rubs some Sons of Dixie up the wrong way.

  83. 83.

    soga98

    January 30, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    Don’t forget THEE Ohio State University.

  84. 84.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    @WaterGirl

    Hillary offed Vince Foster. In the conservatory, with the candlestick.

    //

  85. 85.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 30, 2022 at 3:20 pm

    @Steeplejack: The Netherlands is like the United States.  A composite country.  Calling it Holland would be like calling the US New York.

    But you knew that and I am pedanting to procrastinate.

  86. 86.

    Nettoyeur

    January 30, 2022 at 3:22 pm

    @Cermet: Well, Putin has already occupied Belarus. And he has written an article claiming Russia needs to expand to the limits of the Russian Empire in 1917. That means not just Ukraine, but Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland.  Guess why those countries signed up with NATO.

  87. 87.

    JoyceH

    January 30, 2022 at 3:25 pm

    Just FYI, a friend turned me on to this web site, that really drills down COVID info to the community level.

    https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

    Scroll down and click on County View to see what’s going on in your county. Frankly, I was shocked! I was always rather comforted by the knowledge that Virginia has a relatively high vaccination rate. Ha! I should have realized that the high-population, very Blue Northern Virginia was skewing that number. My county? Among eligible population, fully vaccinated is under 44%. And boosters? 5% FIVE! Even over 65 is just two-thirds vaccinated and ten percent boosted. Day-um!

    Reinforces my resolution to live like a hermit for the foreseeable future…

  88. 88.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 3:26 pm

    @debbie:

    Well said and I agree. The US and other aligned nations need to stand up to Putin

  89. 89.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 3:27 pm

    I still don’t understand why it’s The Ohio State University.

  90. 90.

    RandomMonster

    January 30, 2022 at 3:28 pm

    @Baud: I’m trying it out. So far it doesn’t seem worse than Spotify, but then I don’t rely on any algorithms — I just look up albums and play them.

  91. 91.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 3:29 pm

    @RandomMonster:

    It’s been a while, but I didn’t like how the Apple app was laid out and I didn’t like their playlists.

  92. 92.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 3:30 pm

    @Baud: I don’t know, either, but the THEEEE Ohio State grads I have worked with have been giant PITAs and their work did not justify their ego.

  93. 93.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 3:30 pm

    @debbie:

    The world is sliding towards autocracy, and I think we have got to stop that

     
    Down with Autocracy!
    Up with Baudocracy!

  94. 94.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    @JoyceH:

    I’m shocked Ohio has 60% of the population over 5 years of age fully vaccinated

  95. 95.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    @Tony Jay: You’re welcome :)

  96. 96.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:37 pm

    @Tony Jay:

    “Great team of the ’90s.”

    LOL, checks out. Way back in the day I had a coworker who was a fellow soccer fan, and somehow we got on this streak of annoying this other guy in the office with endless discussions of the latest feats of the great (but imaginary) Dutch midfielder Shmecky Dijkstormer. It was a useful way to shut down this other guy’s endless bullshit about everything. Harsh but necessary in a cube-town environment populated by low-EQ programmers.

  97. 97.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 3:37 pm

    @Baud:

    Apparently, this is the reason why:

     Also in 1878, the Ohio legislature recognized an expanded scope for the university by changing its name to “the Ohio State University”. The definite article “the” is part of Ohio State’s legal name; since at least the 1990s, Ohio State alumni, especially NFL players, have emphasized the “the” when referring to their school (“the Ohio State University”).

  98. 98.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 3:38 pm

    @Steeplejack: 

    Shmecky Dijkstormer

    LMMFAO.

  99. 99.

    debbie

    January 30, 2022 at 3:39 pm

    @Baud:

    ??‍♀️

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:40 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You fuck one comma . . .

  101. 101.

    debbie

    January 30, 2022 at 3:41 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Actually, I heard it reported recently that the African American community in my county has really upped their vaccination rate. I’ll see if I can find a link, but I’d like to know what the impetus was for this welcome change.

  102. 102.

    Kay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:43 pm

    Just to give you a sense of the lazy nonsense we’re going to hear about Biden’s nominee:

    Ed Whelan
    @EdWhelanEPPC
    · 2h
    NYT: “Judge Jackson has not yet written a *body* of appeals court opinions expressing a legal philosophy.”
    She in fact hasn’t published a single appellate decision.

    Steve Vladeck
    @steve_vladeck
    Nor did Justice Kagan (who’s turned out fine, by the way).
    And unlike Justice Kagan, Judge Jackson has been a federal district judge for eight years — which is more prior federal judicial experience than Justice Barrett, Chief Justice Roberts, and Justice Thomas *combined.*

    It is just simple fairness that Biden’s nominee be evaluated in comparison to these other people, and she is not going to get that. The longer they’re permitted to delay the worse it will be.
    It’s bad faith. It isn’t going to get better if they’re corrected and informed on the relative levels of experience of their nominees and our nominees. That’s not how bad faith works.

  103. 103.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 3:44 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    So Holland is a Netherland.

  104. 104.

    Tony Jay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:45 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Shmecky Dijkstormer

    Ah, the legendary ‘Elvis of Eindhoven’. That Dutch team’s top scorer both on and off the pitch. Once punched Denis Bergkamp so hard after an away game in Moldova that the Arsenal striker temporarily lost all of his hair and had to wear a wig for a month.

    That’s when football was football. 8-)

  105. 105.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 30, 2022 at 3:46 pm

    @Baud: Yes.

  106. 106.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:47 pm

    I am loving this Jon Hamm ad for Apple TV. Specifically, it is about the first celebrity/​hipster pad I’ve seen where I thought, “I want!”

  107. 107.

    Tony Jay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    @Leto:

    I forgive you. Bang full of top tunes, that film.

  108. 108.

    debbie

    January 30, 2022 at 3:48 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    The state dashboard has all kinds of Ohio-specific metrics. For instance, Omicron’s jumped from 28% to 92% of all cases in just six weeks.

  109. 109.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:50 pm

    @JoyceH:

    Which county are you in (if it doesn’t compromise your opsec)?

    ETA: I live in very blue northern Virginia, and my main COVID strategy is still isolation.

  110. 110.

    terry chay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:53 pm

    @Cermet: we never promised Russia that NATO would not expand eastward.

    read your history before repeating Russian propaganda.

  111. 111.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:53 pm

    @Baud:

    Because they’re pretentious A-holes.

  112. 112.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2022 at 3:54 pm

    Actually, this bridge failure wasn’t an accident at all. Accidents are events which can’t be foreseen, unexpected. shocking. This bridge was doomed at the time that photo was taken, years ago. Yet nothing was done. They didn’t even change the bus schedule/routes to adhere to the new, lower weight limit which the bus violated every 30 minutes daily.

    It isn’t an accident when your tire, running hot under low pressure, blows out on the interstate. It’s your own fault for not getting the low tire seen to when your dash told you the tire pressure was out of spec. It wasn’t an accident when those newly designed Boeing 737-Max airliners were flown into the ground because the auto-pilot device took control away from the actual pilots. Totally expected behavior resulting from cheap design requirements and management misbehavior.

    Quite a bus down in that hollow, also too!! So glad that few injuries occurred as a result of this poor management of the highway infrastructure!

  113. 113.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 3:54 pm

    @Tony Jay: have you seen Encanto? Chocked full of hits from start to finish.

  114. 114.

    The Pale Scot

    January 30, 2022 at 3:55 pm

    @Cermet:

    we lied to Russia about not expanding NATO after Germany reunited and remained in NATO

    That changed after Putiput took power. And really, the relations with other countries will be predicated on the Soviet style neocon boomer fee fees of a neighboring country? For how long? Putin has a nice income stream he could have directed to improving Russian’s lives, he choose to be a crime lord instead so renew “Russian Greatness”. If the Kremlin wasn’t already there there’d be a Russian Speer designing “great works” to show the world the strength of Russian fascism.

    Like Hour of the Dragon, Xaltotun, an ancient sorcerer tries to bring back forgotten empire of Acheron and himself, “yet he was never anything other than a Lich to those who could see”

  115. 115.

    James E Powell

    January 30, 2022 at 3:56 pm

    Lindsey Graham disagrees with Susan Collins & every other Republican saying appointing an African American woman would not be affirmative action.

    Also stans for Michelle Childs. “I can’t think of a better person”

    Republican voters hate him for itm but not matter how much they hate him, I will always hate him more.

  116. 116.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2022 at 3:58 pm

    @Cermet:

    Russian puppet, I had you safely locked away in the pie safe for months, and then, like a fool, took you out based upon nothing, really. I just wanted to take people out and you were swept up in the general amnesty. Sad mistake I won’t repeat.

    Goodbye little Putin Puppet, I won’t be suffering from your cheap propaganda any more!

  117. 117.

    Gin & Tonic

    January 30, 2022 at 3:58 pm

    @Baud: Because it’s in Ohio?

     

  118. 118.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 3:59 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Inorite. This guy had opinions on everything, even on stuff that he obviously knew nothing about, and this was about the only reliable way to shut him up. He probably suspected we were bullshitting him, but he didn’t dare call us out, because soccer. European soccer! (This was back in the actual ’90s.)

  119. 119.

    Tony Jay

    January 30, 2022 at 3:59 pm

    @Leto:

    First of Disney’s next-gen animated movies where the Disney Princess is decidedly not the main protagonist. We all really enjoyed it.

  120. 120.

    zhena gogolia

    January 30, 2022 at 4:02 pm

    @Leto: Same composer as Moana, I’m sure you know: Lin-Manuel Miranda.

  121. 121.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 30, 2022 at 4:02 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Okay, now do Indiana of Pennsylvania.

  122. 122.

    Lapassionara

    January 30, 2022 at 4:04 pm

    @James E Powell: Michelle Childs was a few years after me in law school, and she was the real deal then and is the real deal now. I have no doubt that Lindsey played a role in having her appointed to the District Court in SC, and I am not surprised that he is supporting her now.

    Politics is very strange in SC.

  123. 123.

    laura

    January 30, 2022 at 4:04 pm

    @Spanky: i much appreciate the correction as a bear of little brain.

  124. 124.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 4:04 pm

    @Tony Jay:

    You remember! Good to find a fellow fan. ?

  125. 125.

    JoyceH

    January 30, 2022 at 4:06 pm

    @Steeplejack: I’m in King George. Very red. What I once heard an Obama campaign worker call an ‘arrow’ county. They categorized the state by ‘shield counties’, ‘sword counties’, and ‘arrow counties’. Shield counties are blue, you defend them. Sword counties are purple, it’s hand to hand combat. Arrow counties are red – you just shoot arrows into it and try to pick off some votes. We’re an arrow county. SIGH.

  126. 126.

    Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)

    January 30, 2022 at 4:08 pm

    The program is called “Be Depressed” in the Rasputin household

  127. 127.

    Kent

    January 30, 2022 at 4:08 pm

    @Cermet:Finally, while we helped have a pro-western president elected in Ukraine to get rid of the pro-Russian one, and of late, we have heard about possible NATO expansion via the Ukraine. Frankly, game over for Russia as an independent country if the Ukraine becomes part of NATO. That southern flank is wide open – no major rivers, or even significant hills all the way to St. Petersburg. Russia would be near defenseless if that became NATO territory

    That’s what the Germans thought too, until Stalingrad and Kursk happened.  Napoleon also ran into a little trouble.

    If Russia collapses as an independent country it will have nothing to do with NATO land armies or other outsiders invading southern Russia.  It will be because it collapses of it’s own accord and flies apart into different ethnic partitions.

  128. 128.

    Kent

    January 30, 2022 at 4:10 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Or Miami University in Ohio.

  129. 129.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 4:11 pm

    @Steeplejack: I hate that dude. I’ve known many of him. Every one is terrible and obnoxious.

  130. 130.

    Kalakal

    January 30, 2022 at 4:11 pm

    @Cermet: Are you serious?

    If the criteria for ‘ownership’ of a territory is that you invaded and occupied it at any time before 1784 and managed to hang on to it till the 1950s it’s a big “Welcome Back” to all the European empires. As for Crimea being ethnically Russian, yeah deporting large numbers of the inhabitants and installing colonists will do that for you.

    Merely compounds the original crime.

  131. 131.

    audax major

    January 30, 2022 at 4:14 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Serbo-Croatian (Serbian and Croatian, these days, I suppose) has/have a definite article.   Not sure about Slovenian.

  132. 132.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 4:14 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Man, that guy really knows how to write. He’s def not throwing away his shot.

    I’ll see myself out.

  133. 133.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2022 at 4:15 pm

    @JoyceH:

    Thanks for the link. I’ve seen a few more deaths in our home county, not a surprise. The only reason our county has a relatively low number of cases and deaths is that most residents never leave the county for any reason other than an EMT ride to a hospital.

  134. 134.

    Daoud bin Daoud

    January 30, 2022 at 4:15 pm

    • @Suzanne: Spotify looks to be the next Napster.
  135. 135.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 4:16 pm

    @JoyceH:

    Nice country! Drove through there last summer on the way to Colonial Beach with my brother. And I love the “arrow county” explanation.

  136. 136.

    Kent

    January 30, 2022 at 4:18 pm

    @Suzanne:@Baud: I don’t know, either, but the THEEEE Ohio State grads I have worked with have been giant PITAs and their work did not justify their ego.

    It’s kind of like all the New Yorkers who like to talk about “THE CITY”

    I went to college at Reed College in Portland OR back in the 1980s and there were a lot of upper-class New York Jewish intellectual types going there.  They would inevitably sit around at parties and classes talking about THE CITY as if there was only one city in the world and the rest of us living here in the west coast who have never even been to NYC would know what they are talking about and acknowledge their cultural superiority.    I found it equal parts amusing and condescending.  Just like the Harvard grads who say “I went to school in Boston”

  137. 137.

    trollhattan

    January 30, 2022 at 4:18 pm

    @debbie:

    IDK if our CA county is representative of anywhere else–the vaccination rates among ethnic groups are close to on par, other than Asian and Hawaiian-Pacific Islander, which are far higher percentages (89% 81%, respectively). They bend the county totals up, because the Asian population is also large.

    Has been lots of outreach to historically underserved populations and that may explain why we don’t have any severely under-vaccinated groups. We still need to be better, though, if this is ever going away.

  138. 138.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 4:18 pm

    @Daoud bin Daoud:

    Still a long way to go before that happens.

  139. 139.

    Kay

    January 30, 2022 at 4:19 pm

    @James E Powell:

    It’s a real burden we put on black people, making them navigate, mediate and then soothe the monthly nervous breakdown the United States has over race. It’s exhausting to watch and I don’t even have to do it.

    If she can’t have a fair process then at least make it an efficient process. They’ll write the same editorials in 30 days that they would have written in 60 or 90. They’ll have to step up production :)

  140. 140.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 4:24 pm

    @Suzanne:

    In my field (software) it was guys who thought that because they were good at one thing (coding—not always true, by the way) their analytical skills automatically applied to everything else. They were like the physicists of the sloppy business world. XKCD on it, as usual. Plus, I did mention low EQ, right?

    I’m sure you’ve got your share in architecture, and as a woman you probably get the benefit of their insights even more.

  141. 141.

    Kent

    January 30, 2022 at 4:25 pm

    @Kay: No matter who Biden nominates, they will be demagogued to death by the GOP, either to (1) torpedo the nomination and claim a win over Biden, or more likely (2) stir up shit with their own base for political gain and fundraising dollars.

    Biden could nominate Merrick Garland who is as uber-qualified white guy as they come and they would still find plenty of bullshit to fling against the wall.

    If there is any benefit to the upcoming racist temper tantrum that will no doubt occur, is that it will once again clarify to people of color what the differences are between the parties.  As if they need more reminders.

  142. 142.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:25 pm

    @audax major: Hi there.  Your first comment has to be manually approved before it shows up for everyone.  Now that I have approved your comment, future comments should be visible right away.

    Welcome!

    (I will delete your second version of the same message.)

  143. 143.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:27 pm

    @laura: Some of us are not great with geography.  Like me!  I assume you will try again to make contact, this time in Malaysia?  I really appreciate that you’re doing this.

  144. 144.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:28 pm

    @Daoud bin Daoud: Remind me what happened with Napster?

  145. 145.

    The Pale Scot

    January 30, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    @laura:

    I posted this earlier

    https://www.mandevilleconservatory.com/main/faculty-member/amir-khalid/

    Could be

  146. 146.

    J R in WV

    January 30, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    Regarding The Ohio State U, what about Ohio University of Athens, Ohio. A real school.

    I also love Indiana U of PA, worked with a guy from Pittsburgh who graduated there, he was a good guy. Some years back some goofball in our Leg decided that all the WV State Colleges should be Universities, even though none of them offered post grad work nor terminal degrees. Sad.

  147. 147.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 4:31 pm

    @Kent: I find it weird that anyone over age 25 would ever even mention where they went to school. It strikes me like being proud of your soccer participation trophy. Like, really?!

  148. 148.

    Omnes Omnibus

    January 30, 2022 at 4:31 pm

    @The Pale Scot: Not him.

  149. 149.

    raven

    January 30, 2022 at 4:32 pm

    @Suzanne: Sheeet, Go Illini, Go Dawgs!!!!

  150. 150.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 4:35 pm

    @The Pale Scot:

    Not the same guy. Our Amir didn’t take up the guitar until a few years ago, after his “medical retirement.” He was a working journalist for many years.​

    ETA: This reminds me that one of my concerns is that “Amir Khalid” will turn out to be the equivalent of “John Smith” in Malaysia. And it might not even be his real name, of course.

  151. 151.

    Scout211

    January 30, 2022 at 4:35 pm

    Since I don’t do social media, I get my memes and tweets when they get posted here.

    I don’t know from Reddit or subreddit but I am enjoying reading Kos’ regular series that highlights one of the Herman Cain award recipients. He also has a Sunday post with pro-Vaxx memes that rival the anti-vaxx ones, like the one below: Link

    Both the vaccinated and unvaccinated can catch COVID.

    Both Serena Williams and I can play tennis.

  152. 152.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    @The Pale Scot: Not sure if you saw my reply last time.

    Faculty: Faculty since March 2018

    It has been my impression that Amir was not working, so I don’t know that this is likely to be him.  But there sure is a lot of guitar in there!

  153. 153.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:36 pm

    @Steeplejack: I think it’s smart for you to look into the journalism aspect.

  154. 154.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:38 pm

    I would like to report that my kitties refuse to pay any attention to the new battery-operated “feather comes out of the holes” toy.

  155. 155.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 4:38 pm

    @Steeplejack: In architecture, we get the joyful experience of hiring consulting engineers who them get pissed about some element of the design, as if making the building entail minimal engineering (and their job easier) is my highest good. The most recent example of this is a structural engineer who doesn’t like where we’re putting the MRIs in the hospital because he wants them at the perimeter of the building to reduce vibration in the slab and make it easier to install the magnet. We’re putting it in the middle because it’s adjacent to trauma and elevators, which makes better operational sense and will enhance efficiency. The engineer will have to design a stiffer slab. But I’m just a dumb girl who doesn’t know how to build stuff.

  156. 156.

    Kay

    January 30, 2022 at 4:39 pm

    @Kent:

     Merrick Garland

    Merrick Garland wouldn’t be subjected to every pundits “meditations on Race In America” for months – the same opinions over and over again for the last 50 years- and then expected to somehow “sell” us all on a black female justice. I think it’s a much bigger burden. Let’s not make her carry it longer than absolutely necessary.

  157. 157.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 4:40 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    But, what is more important, do they enjoy the box it came in?

  158. 158.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:40 pm

    @NotMax: I have been meaning to try to catch you.  I left you a comment in Friday’s “slow news day” thread.

    It’s comment #90 if you want to check it out.

  159. 159.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 4:41 pm

    @Steeplejack: Sadly, no, but good thought!

    It was a small side-open box, nothing they could climb into.  Double fail!

  160. 160.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 4:42 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Plus I’m sure when you explain it to him he’s barely listening, if at all.

  161. 161.

    Scout211

    January 30, 2022 at 4:42 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Maybe spice it up with a little catnip or treats that cause them to be  more interested?

  162. 162.

    zhena gogolia

    January 30, 2022 at 4:43 pm

    @audax major: They DO?? First I’ve heard of it.

  163. 163.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 4:43 pm

    @Suzanne

    Compromise. Move the elevators.

    :)

  164. 164.

    pluky

    January 30, 2022 at 4:44 pm

    @Ken: IIRC Russian lacks definite articles. The tell for a Slavophone is in the use of prepositions. One can say either “in Ukraine” or “on Ukraine. The “on” construction is equivalent to use of “the” in other language families.

  165. 165.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 4:47 pm

    @Steeplejack: I had a mechanical engineer one time, in front of a room full of other people, wrinkle up his nose and ask me why I didn’t move THAT over THERE and flip THAT THING with this OTHER THING and on and on and on, all because it would make his duct run shorter, and I said to him, “Because we design good buildings here, not cheap crap.”  I cannot stand nerd men. All of the arrogance and the myopia.

  166. 166.

    debbie

    January 30, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    @trollhattan:

    I think extensive outreach is what happened here too. Certainly beats having to fake empathy toward the anti-vaxxers.

  167. 167.

    BlueGuitarist

    January 30, 2022 at 4:53 pm

     

    @Kay:

    Durbin used the phrase “Amy Coney Barrett test” to refer to getting the confirmation done in 27 days. Also said that a nominee who had recently been before the committee could be approved quickly.

  168. 168.

    Grumpy Old Railroader

    January 30, 2022 at 4:54 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: The only Slavic language with articles is Bulgarian.

    Wait. Why do articles even matter? It is not The Bulgaria, The Canada, The Mexico, The France etc.

  169. 169.

    Sure Lurkalot

    January 30, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    @Baud: I just activated my free 6 months of Apple Music that I got from Verizon when I purchased a new phone. I waited for my Amazon Prime Music subscription to expire 1st.

    I have been picking albums and not playlists or algorithms. It’s ok so far. Amazon Prime Music had shitty playlists imho.

    Who knows where I’ll go in July after the freebie expires.

  170. 170.

    The Pale Scot

    January 30, 2022 at 4:55 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I was figuring he might not be teaching at the Singapore conservatory, it would have been nice.

     

    Ok, so anybody leaving the apt/house give ur ph# to Watergirl, just in case :)

  171. 171.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 4:56 pm

    @Grumpy Old Railroader:

    Isn’t it The France in French?

  172. 172.

    BellyCat

    January 30, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    @Leto: Seriously!?!? Funding for infrastructure repair went to the police?!?!  That explains the swanky Pittsburgh Police Command Center parked next to the bridge collapse site at present.

  173. 173.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Yeah, if you know what album you want I suppose it’s all the same.

  174. 174.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    @Tony Jay:

    That’s when football was football.

    True. I remember when Shmecky “accidentally” followed through on a tackle and kicked Vinnie Jones in the groin so hard that he cried on national TV. And no card issued! Adroit.

  175. 175.

    The Pale Scot

    January 30, 2022 at 4:59 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Function AND Form?

    Waz dat??

  176. 176.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 5:00 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    On some of the Verizon plans the free Apple Music account is permanent. I seem to remember I went for the cheapest one that had that; it wasn’t much more expensive than the next one down.

  177. 177.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 5:02 pm

    Tracking a misbegotten plan brought up earlier.

    The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are reportedly looking for alternatives to the controversial facial recognition software ID.me, according to a report by Bloomberg. As Bloomberg notes, the agencies didn’t cite a reason for the possible change, and also didn’t mention any privacy concerns about the service. Source

  178. 178.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 5:03 pm

    @BellyCat: yup. Your friend’s picture made it into the comments on that Imgur post. Second top comment. They might as well have just made a big bonfire with that money they gave to the cops, ala The Dark Knight. Same effect. We’re not safer, crime levels are the same, yet our broken ass roads are still gobbling up suspensions, car rims, tires… I’d demand some accountability for that waste but with the R legislature we’ll never see it.

  179. 179.

    frosty

    January 30, 2022 at 5:03 pm

    @Steeplejack: Ms F swears by Allbirds. I don’t think she has any other kind of shoe now.

  180. 180.

    Scout211

    January 30, 2022 at 5:03 pm

    So does this sound like anything will actually be changing on Spotify?  Link

     

    Based on the feedback over the last several weeks, it’s become clear to me that we have an obligation to do more to provide balance and access to widely-accepted information from the medical and scientific communities guiding us through this unprecedented time. These issues are incredibly complex. We’ve heard you – especially those from the medical and scientific communities – and are taking the following steps:

    Today we are publishing our long-standing Platform Rules. These policies were developed by our internal team in concert with a number of outside experts and are updated regularly to reflect the changing safety landscape. These are rules of the road to guide all of our creators—from those we work with exclusively to those whose work is shared across multiple platforms. You can now find them on our newsroom, and they’ll live permanently on the main Spotify website. They are being localized into various languages to help our users understand how Spotify assesses all content on our platform.

    We are working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19. This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources. This new effort to combat misinformation will roll out to countries around the world in the coming days. To our knowledge, this content advisory is the first of its kind by a major podcast platform. 

    We will also begin testing ways to highlight our Platform Rules in our creator and publisher tools to raise awareness around what’s acceptable and help creators understand their accountability for the content they post on our platform. This is in addition to the terms that creators and publishers agree to governing their use of our services.

  181. 181.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I have 3 people in the pie palace. If you want take a guess who.

    Hint – before today I had 2.

  182. 182.

    Nettoyeur

    January 30, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    • @Kent: Moscow led Russia/USSR has, over the last hundred years.  managed to get the Poles, Finns, Latvians. Lithuanians, Estonians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Chechens, Czechs, Slovaks, Romanians, Crimean Tatars to hate them. Because millions of deaths, deportation and mind deadening repression. The Kazakhs are strategically quiet about it, but Stalin policies killed off over 30% of them in the 1930s, so I bet there is hate below the surface, there too. The Hungarians used to hate the Russians, too, but the there seems to be some Orban-Putin bromance these days. To the Kremlin, however, all these centrifugal movements justify crackdown and invasion not outreach.
  183. 183.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 5:10 pm

    @Scout211: I’ll say no. It’s adding a rating system to disinformation. The disinformation is still there and being spread. The warnings don’t actually help. Deplatforming disinformation propagators/creators is the only way. Force that fuck to join the rest of the crazies over at Telegram, or Periscope, or whatever the hell those cesspools are that they reside.

  184. 184.

    Kay

    January 30, 2022 at 5:11 pm

    @BlueGuitarist:

    Good. Chop chop. Biden can’t be bogged down in the senate again. He needs to be out presidenting and reminding people why they voted for him. When he goes up the midterms get better for all of them, so they all have an interest in his success. Call him when it’s done.

  185. 185.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 5:12 pm

    @Steeplejack: @Suzanne:

    What she says: [something very professional]

    What he hears: “blah blah blah [stupid girl] blah blah blah”

  186. 186.

    Scout211

    January 30, 2022 at 5:13 pm

    @Leto:

    Thank you. It just read like confusing corporate-speak to me to make it appear as though actions would be taken. Thank you for your translation.

  187. 187.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 5:13 pm

    @frosty:

    Thanks, good to know. I have one female friend who got a pair (as a gift) and returned them. But it might have been because they were a gift; she is incredibly finicky about clothing and personal possessions.

  188. 188.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 5:14 pm

    @Scout211:

    Interesting how they came out with that minutes after I deleted their app.

  189. 189.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 5:17 pm

    @Scout211: Based on that, I would say ‘no’.  Looks like they want to give the appearance of being responsive and responsible, but they appear not to be changing anything meaningful.

    Fuck Spotify, I hope they crash and burn over this.

  190. 190.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 5:17 pm

    @Scout211:

    Some obscure band will get booted because of a stupid lyric in one song, but Joe Rogan will keep chugging along.

  191. 191.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 5:19 pm

    @Baud:

    Right on, Baud! ✊

  192. 192.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 5:19 pm

    @Scout211: like this part:

    We are working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19. This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources.

    Nobody going to Joe Rogan is going to click on those outside links. That audience is already set in their beliefs. If you’re “Joe curios”, you’re also not going to click to an outside link. All that information is already there in the public. It’s easy to access. Idk, they have a $100M deal with him so good luck with that.

  193. 193.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 5:20 pm

    @Baud: Hahaha

  194. 194.

    Uncle Cosmo

    January 30, 2022 at 5:22 pm

    @audax major: Serbo-Croatian (Serbian and Croatian, these days, I suppose) has/have a definite article.

    ​Nope, sorry.

    You might be confusing demonstrative pronouns with definite articles. In Czech (for example), which has neither definite nor indefinite** articles, these are sometimes used to distinguish a particular thing or item from others of the same type (“this [right here]” vs “that [over there]”, etc.). I believe this is the case for most Slavic languages that lack definite articles.***

    BTW, and FYI, the Serbs and Croats have been trying desperately for decades now to divide their common language into two separate ones, with minimal success. They (as well as variations found in Bosnia and Crna Gora [Montenegro]) remain in essence mutually comprehensible dialects – srpskohrvatski in Serbia and hrvatosrpski in Croatia differ by alphabet (Cyrillic vs. Latin, respectively), maybe 50 common words (e.g. hleb vs kruh [bread], voz vs vlak [railroad train]), and one syllable inserted in Croatia (rijeka [river] vs reka in Serbia).

    ** All except Bulgarian, IIRC – and there the article is found attached to the end of the word. (I used to call the steps for a Bulgarian dance for our folkdance performing group – prvata, fterata, treta, chtvertita – “the first, the second, the third, the fourth” step.

    ***I believe in most Slavic languages if an indefinite article is needed a form of “one” is used – in Czech, jeden/jedna/jedno.​​​​​​​

  195. 195.

    debbie

    January 30, 2022 at 5:23 pm

    @Leto:

    What if they used a descriptor like unverified or unproven?

  196. 196.

    Ksmiami

    January 30, 2022 at 5:24 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo: hmm my cousins all speak a Dalmatian dialect of Hrvatska- it really sounds like Italian

  197. 197.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    While on the subject of music, any recommendations for reputable places from which to purchase new CDs? Those with selections besides rock/rap/hippy-hoppy much preferred.

  198. 198.

    sdhays

    January 30, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    @Baud: I’m not a big fan of algorithms, but I will say that Spotify’s advertisement algorithms got better, or less terrible in recent years. Years ago, the free tier was almost unlistenable since you could be listening to something from one genre and then be hammered with an advertisement to listen to some god-awful new album of some shitty artist in a genre that is totally incompatible with what you were listening to.

    For example, you could be listening to classical music, and then they’d try to entice you to listen to some death metal band you’ve never heard of and nothing at all in your listening history could ever suggest that you would interested in trying that shit out. And they’d run the same ad, over and over and over again.

  199. 199.

    Sure Lurkalot

    January 30, 2022 at 5:29 pm

    @Steeplejack: It appears Verizon’s Apple Music offer is now 6 months…you just got a better deal a couple of years ago.

    Maybe I wasn’t listening carefully but my understanding was that the freebies (Apple Music, Disney+ and Hulu would last the length of the contract, but no, they all expire after 6 months.  They also tried to renege on a $600 credit for my old phone which was clearly spelled out on the receipt. It took about 8 hours on the phone (no, not exaggerating) to get that “back”.

    Caveat emptor!

  200. 200.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 5:30 pm

    @debbie: sure, they can do that. Give a 5 second message saying that these claims are “unverified”, or whatever, but then the next two hours is Joe spewing whatever batshit crazy stuff he’s talking about. Ivermectin, mango berry colostomies, urine cocktail recipes, and whatever else the new grift of the day/week is. Deplatforming is the only answer, but they’re not going to do that with him because they already handed him $100M to spew his bullshit on their platform. Greed wins out over ethics.

  201. 201.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    That bridge has been falling apart for over 3 yrs. Even in snow country it takes longer than that for steel beams to rust out to nothing. It’s been downgraded to this load limit for 3 yrs. Which of course was just a bit too high a limit. But from the looks of those beams, when it fell down it’s weight limit was less than the concrete that made up the rest of the bridge weighed.

  202. 202.

    geg6

    January 30, 2022 at 5:33 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Cleo says send it her way.  She’d love a second.

  203. 203.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 5:33 pm

    @sdhays:

    The only Spotify ads I’ve noticed recently aren’t for music at all, but Facebook ads touting what good corporate citizens they are.

  204. 204.

    Sure Lurkalot

    January 30, 2022 at 5:33 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    What she says: [something very professional]

    What he hears: “blah blah blah [stupid girl] blah blah blah”

    Same.as.it.ever.was.

  205. 205.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 5:34 pm

    @geg6: Did you do anything special to get her to look at it?

    I also haven’t really figured out the middle button.  I can get it to turn off, but is there a trick to the knowing which speed is which?

    Mostly unrelated, has the cat food arrived?

  206. 206.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 5:35 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot: And it’s not just guys!  Some women are that way about other women. ?‍♀️

  207. 207.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 5:35 pm

    @Leto:

    Greed wins out over ethics.

    Greed can make them a profit, ethics gets them what?

    Can they take ethics to the bank? I think not.

  208. 208.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 5:35 pm

    @NotMax: Amazon still sells music via CD. Not sure if you’re looking for a different online store, or a physical store there on the island.

  209. 209.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 5:36 pm

    @Baud: That’s right up there with telling someone how important you are.  If you have to tell people you’re a leader, pro tip: you’re not.

    *Not in any way in reference to your presidential campaign!  That’s a completely different thing! :-)

  210. 210.

    Sure Lurkalot

    January 30, 2022 at 5:37 pm

    @Leto: I agree. They’re going to sell the tainted food, it’s up to you to determine if you want to eat it.

    About Allbirds which I’ve looked at so many times…how are they in terms of support? They look so comfortable.…

  211. 211.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 5:37 pm

    @Ruckus: wouldn’t a larger listening base make them more money? Wouldn’t more artists on their service, which would equate to more listeners, make them more money? They can def take ethics to the bank. They’re choosing not to, and that’s their choice to make. I guess long term we’ll see how that plays out.

  212. 212.

    Suzanne

    January 30, 2022 at 5:37 pm

    @The Pale Scot:

    Function AND Form?

    Waz dat??

     

    It’s not even that! It’s function and function! Like, in more technical building types, where specialized and technical operations are performed — like healthcare delivery, or airplanes come and go, or an intense manufacturing process, or whatever — there is heavy emphasis on planning in addition to the aesthetic/tectonic architecture. (FWIW, this is what I do, I’m a healthcare planner and architect.) Planning is basically the discipline of architecture and landscape architecture that puts things next to or far away from other things, makes sure spaces are the right size and configuration, designs flow to and through a space, ingress and egress, regulatory compliance, and then only once those things are figured out, then do we engineer the damn thing. If you get the planning wrong, you can usually never fix it, because so much design and construction happens once the plan is set. We really start the engineering once we figure out what the hell we’re building. So these dipshit engineers come in months if not years after we do all of this work, which is incredibly technical, and then they want to throw it all out because they don’t understand it and they just want their little part to be easier.

    Like, we don’t put the airplane gate next to the loading dock for a critical reason, dumbass. Even though it might be cheaper or save you a column.

  213. 213.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 5:40 pm

    @Leto>

    Yeah. However the prices there for new ones (at least those I’ve looked at) are redonkulous. Asking about other online retailers anyone may have had good experiences with.

  214. 214.

    Spanky

    January 30, 2022 at 5:40 pm

    RIP Johnny Fever.

    NEW YORK —

    Howard Hesseman, who played the radio disc jockey Johnny Fever on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” and the actor-turned-history teacher Charlie Moore on “Head of the Class,” has died. He was 81.

    Hesseman died Saturday in Los Angeles due to complications from colon surgery, his manager Robbie Kass said Sunday.

  215. 215.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    @Spanky:

    Greatest DJ ever.

  216. 216.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 5:42 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot: I think they have good support. Not a high arch, but the footbed molds really well so def supportive.

  217. 217.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    Baud! 20XX!: Do you know who I am?

  218. 218.

    schrodingers_cat

    January 30, 2022 at 5:44 pm

    Today is the 74th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Unfortunately, the ideology that led to his assassination is on the ascendant in India right now. His assassin is celebrated among the circles that Modi and his inner circle is drawn from. Though even  Modi has to hypocritically invoke Gandhi when he is abroad.

    I made a Twitter thread about it. Take a look (it has pics) 

  219. 219.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 5:44 pm

    @Baud: hahaha

  220. 220.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    ?

  221. 221.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 5:46 pm

    @Baud

    BOOGER!

  222. 222.

    Uncle Cosmo

    January 30, 2022 at 5:47 pm

    @Ksmiami: ​Wouldn’t surprise me at all if lots of loanwords and even intonation mimic Italian – they’re only a hop, skip & jump across the Adriatic.

    (Cuts both ways too. I read somewhere that Molise, which sits right about midcalf on The Boot, has the second largest number of Slavic-speaking communities among all the provinces of Italy – only Friuli in the northeast, next to Slovenia, has more. Would anyone be seriously surprised if, when the Ottomans came roaring through the Balkans in the 14th century, anyone near the Dalmatian coast with access to a boat chose to paddle themselves and their families across?)

    (ETA: Also remember that most of the Dalmatian coast was Venetian until the Turks arrived. Marco Polo came from Korčula, the largest island over there, and the beautiful city of Dubrovnik was formerly the merchant republic of Ragusa [from which derives the English word argosy].)​

  223. 223.

    Dopey-o

    January 30, 2022 at 5:47 pm

    @Suzanne: We’re putting it in the middle because it’s adjacent to trauma and elevators, which makes better operational sense and will enhance efficiency. The engineer will have to design a stiffer slab. But I’m just a dumb girl who doesn’t know how to build stuff.

    It’s always a circulation problem. IMHO.

  224. 224.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 5:49 pm

    @Baud:

    Isn’t touting on FB how good a corporate citizen you are, absolute proof of actually how bad you are in everyone else’s terms?

  225. 225.

    zhena gogolia

    January 30, 2022 at 5:49 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot: They don’t look too supportive to me. That’s kind of a deal-breaker.

  226. 226.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 5:52 pm

    @Leto:

    Musical artists come and go, music tastes come and go.

    Hate never leaves. It just finds different victims.

    Political stupidity is even more everlasting.

  227. 227.

    Chris T.

    January 30, 2022 at 5:59 pm

    @CaseyL:

    the small towns [in Maine] are lovely and the housing prices (now soaring) were very reasonable.

    Alas, house prices are soaring everywhere right now (at least in the US).  We’ll see if this continues once the “supply chain” issues are sorted.

    Meanwhile, here in semi-rural-ish northwestern WA state, we have our little liberal enclaves in the sea of more reddish stuff.  Nothing as bad as eastern WA though…

  228. 228.

    BeautifulPlumage

    January 30, 2022 at 6:08 pm

    @NotMax:  I like Sketchers for comfort & durability, but I buy women’s flats, boots, and one sneaker style. I’ve mostly purchased at their outlet store. I’m hard on shoes but these have durable soles and support. I’m on my second pairs of my fave boots ands flats; the first pairs lasted 6-7 years.

    ETA: I got 3 pairs via their website in 2020 and had no problems ordering or receiving YMMV

  229. 229.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 6:12 pm

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Quick look at the Verizon site:

    Apple Music is included with Get More Unlimited. You get a 6-month free trial with our current Play More Unlimited, Start Unlimited and Do More Unlimited.

    The Disney Bundle is included with our current Get More Unlimited and Play More Unlimited. Disney+ on us for 6 months is included with our current Do More Unlimited and Start Unlimited.

    Looks like there’s still an option to get Apple Music for free. But it may work out better to pay for it separately.

    Hmm, now I’m wondering whether I might want to upgrade to the plan to also get the Disney bundle for free. ?

  230. 230.

    The Pale Scot

    January 30, 2022 at 6:12 pm

    @Uncle Cosmo:

    You Can Go With This, You Can Go With That..

  231. 231.

    sab

    January 30, 2022 at 6:16 pm

    @Leto: A nice Democratic volunteer called me from Texas to talk up the Infrastructure Bill. I told her I was all in favor of it because I had replaced all four tires in the last two years. I’d rather pay taxes and have decent roads. Cost is probably the same, but much more convenient to know when the bill is coming due and to not have to go out to the tire store.

  232. 232.

    pat

    January 30, 2022 at 6:16 pm

    @Ruckus:

    I remember seeing that photo in the first reports of the bridge collapse and I recall that it was of a DIFFERENT BRIDGE.

    But of course I could be wrong…….

  233. 233.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    January 30, 2022 at 6:17 pm

    The Bengals are going to the Super Bowl

  234. 234.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 6:20 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): our son wasn’t even a twinkle in our eyes the last time they were in the playoffs, let alone the SB. Just crazy. This game is also the perfect example about why the coin flip moaning is just silly.

  235. 235.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 6:21 pm

    @NotMax:

    I haven’t bought from them in a while, but Barnes & Noble was pretty good for on-line CD sales.

  236. 236.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 6:25 pm

    @sab: two weeks ago I had to replace two of my cars rims because after living here for 4 years, they were so warped out of shape that it was killing my tires. The other two rims need to be replaced, but I can delay that for just a bit. $1200 for that. We drove that car all over Europe. All over the UK, Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Less than 18 months back in the States and PA’s roads did that. The service tech sent me a video, showing the wheels rotations, and one is just this crazy wobble that’s immediately apparent.

    Like you said, rather pay more in taxes to have better roads. Ofc I also want the funds to go to infrastructure and not cops. Also want the rich to actually pay their fucking share. 1 thing at a time, I guess.

  237. 237.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 6:25 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Oh wow.  They came back.  Kind of rooting for them since they’re the most sad sack team, historically.

  238. 238.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 6:27 pm

    @pat:

    You’re not crazy. I saw an initial tweet that said that photo was of a different bridge. But apparently it is the one that collapsed.

  239. 239.

    NotMax

    January 30, 2022 at 6:28 pm

    @BeautifulPlumage

    ???

    I was talking about CDs.

  240. 240.

    japa21

    January 30, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    @Baud: Last week and this week have been full of unbelievable finishes.  Not sure if LA-SF can match it.

  241. 241.

    sab

    January 30, 2022 at 6:30 pm

    @Baud: Some geniuses on their Board of Trustees got huffy amany years ago about Ohio University getting to call itself Ohio University although it is older than OSU. OSU came very close to suing OU to get it to cease and desist using the Ohio name. Then wiser heads prevailed, since they could have lost and possibly lost their own right to use Ohio name.

    So they came up with The Ohio State University to emphasize that they were bigger and more important than Ohio University, just in case there was any doubt.

  242. 242.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    @japa21:

    Yeah, couldn’t have scripted it any better.

  243. 243.

    Baud

    January 30, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    @sab:

    Now that makes sense.

  244. 244.

    germy

    January 30, 2022 at 6:33 pm

    SNL did the bad dog Badminster Dog Show:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y4tw9DcnUs&t=151s

    Some bad dog categories are “Mean” “Shaky” etc.

  245. 245.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 30, 2022 at 6:37 pm

    @JoyceH: ​
     

    I was always rather comforted by the knowledge that Virginia has a relatively high vaccination rate. Ha! I should have realized that the high-population, very Blue Northern Virginia was skewing that number. My county? Among eligible population, fully vaccinated is under 44%. And boosters? 5% FIVE! Even over 65 is just two-thirds vaccinated and ten percent boosted. Day-um!

    I know, right? I lived in the Virginia half of Bristol VA/TN for five years back in the ’90s, and I don’t want to even think about what it’s like down there in terms of vaccinations and mask usage.

    Except you got me looking, and even Washington County (the county surrounding the city of Bristol, which like a lot of VA towns, is its own county) has a much higher vaccination rate than King George. Not a good rate, mind you, just easily clearing the low bar set by your county.

  246. 246.

    BeautifulPlumage

    January 30, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    @NotMax: Haha, I fucked up. I thought that was part of the allbirds shoe conversation. Sorry!

  247. 247.

    debbie

    January 30, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    @sab:

    They almost took me to court. Years ago, I designed a poster for the Parents Association, incorporating that block O into the design. Unbeknownst to me and the Parents Association, the university had copyrighted it. The association finally got them to relent, telling them multiple times that they were in fact a university department.  ??‍♀️

  248. 248.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 6:41 pm

    @NotMax:

    I buy from Zappos, which is owned by Amazon. (not a plus in my book, but good prices, good service)

    I’ve always had shoe purchasing issues, when I was a kid I had to wear orthopedic shoes, you know those clunky things kids made fun of… I still have the same feet, just a few decades older and I find shoes that work for me on Zappos at not totally ridiculous prices, that actually are normal human shoes.

  249. 249.

    burnspbesq

    January 30, 2022 at 6:42 pm

    @Steeplejack:

    Off topic, but you got me (belatedly) interested in Allbirds last night. I’ve seen them around but hadn’t talked to anyone who had them.

    I have a pair of the original style. I don’t have much occasion to wear them, but they are absurdly comfortable and look good with jeans.

  250. 250.

    burnspbesq

    January 30, 2022 at 6:46 pm

    I took a pass on Spotify a long time ago, because they generally treat artists like shit, and at the time Tidal’s sound quality was noticeably better. Never had occasion to revisit that decision, and certainly won’t now.

  251. 251.

    Chris T.

    January 30, 2022 at 6:46 pm

    I don’t know much about shoes but I have … unusually shaped feet, I guess? Anyway I need widths, and a lot of sneaker-y shoes just don’t do that, but New Balance shoes do come in widths and hence fit a lot better for me.  It was kind of a revelation, when someone said “go there and try those shoes” and I did.

  252. 252.

    Leto

    January 30, 2022 at 6:48 pm

    @NotMax: I don’t know how this was turned into shoe advice, but I’m loving it.

  253. 253.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 30, 2022 at 6:48 pm

    @Baud:  I hope I get a statue.

    100 years from now: “Mommy, why is there a statue of a man without pants?”

  254. 254.

    lowtechcyclist

    January 30, 2022 at 6:51 pm

    @Ruckus: ​
     

    I buy from Zappos, which is owned by Amazon.

    This is the sort of thing that I can’t understand how it’s not an antitrust violation. Amazon buys up all sorts of companies that compete with it to varying modest degrees. (They bought and ruined Woot!, unfortunately.) And apparently it’s all legal, or being treated as such.

  255. 255.

    zhena gogolia

    January 30, 2022 at 6:52 pm

    @Leto: NotMax is going to buy some new shoes whether he likes it or not!

  256. 256.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    January 30, 2022 at 6:56 pm

    Someone tell me why the news media isn’t reporting on the critical donkey shortage with respect to the Democratic Party. So many asses are trying to kill people with Covid-19, well, party mascot, but no, they are too horrified by the visible asses to use one of them – especially not with the bad fuzzy fungus on its head.

  257. 257.

    The Thin Black Duke

    January 30, 2022 at 6:57 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Fuck.

  258. 258.

    burnspbesq

    January 30, 2022 at 6:59 pm

    @Tony Jay:

    That’s when football was football.

    Canada tried to bring those days back today, the referee mostly let them, and we had no answer.

  259. 259.

    burnspbesq

    January 30, 2022 at 7:04 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    One of my favorite words is “desuetude,” and it has accurately described the state of antitrust enforcement in this country since Charlie Brown foolishly raised the white flag and allowed the dismemberment of the Bell System.

  260. 260.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 7:05 pm

    @pat:

    Bridges with steel support usually fail from support rusting, made worse in areas that salt the roads for traction. But steel support is easier, faster to build and likely cheaper so in many lower traffic areas, steel it is. Also concrete bridges have steel in them for concrete reenforcement and if that gets wet over time it can rust as well, which ends eventually in the same manner as a steel support bridge. Oh and if you don’t know an earthquake can knock down bridges far faster than it takes one to rust out…..

  261. 261.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 7:12 pm

    @lowtechcyclist:

    As @burnspbesq: points out, antitrust works out wonderful for us and not so much for big business, which is why big businesses dislike antitrust. I hate Amazon, and by extension, Zappos but in this day and age, their ability to sell things at a price and available level that no one else can is what makes us hate them – most reason, no availability from anyone else or a lot higher price – and makes them money, hand over whatever.

  262. 262.

    Old School

    January 30, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    @NotMax: Amazon, Target, Walmart and Barnes & Noble are all big retailers that sell CDs online.  I’m sure you find some independent stores that ship online, but my local store doesn’t.

  263. 263.

    frosty

    January 30, 2022 at 7:21 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: And when he’s done he can do California of Pennsylvania.

  264. 264.

    Steeplejack

    January 30, 2022 at 7:22 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    Thanks for the input.

  265. 265.

    Ruckus

    January 30, 2022 at 7:23 pm

    @Leto:

    Like you said, rather pay more in taxes to have better roads. Ofc I also want the funds to go to infrastructure and not cops. Also want the rich to actually pay their fucking share. 1 thing at a time, I guess.

    No. Just fucking no.

    Rip off that band aid, one fell, fast swoop. The rich are, for the most part, fucking us. In numerous ways. Rip off that band aid, put their asses and wallets in the hands of the people they have been fucking for a very long time. Make them pay their fair share. They will still be rich, like the rich were during/after WWII. 90% tax rate for the uber wealthy caught us up on the cost of WWII pretty damn quick, and the wealthy still were rather wealthy afterwards, because 10% of a shit ton of money is still a shit ton. Now this isn’t war but they have been screwing us for some time and it’s time they got theirs. And we get ours.

  266. 266.

    Reverse tool order

    January 30, 2022 at 7:46 pm

    @Chris T.:

    Check out the Dunham Shoes division as well, for more extra wide or extra narrow shoes, sandals, or boots.Especially at online stores specializing in wide, narrow, & big sizes.

    I can wear some of Dunham’s widest sandals, but have to go to Mt Emey or Drew for closed shoes or boots. You would not think the box for a pair of 15 by 9E shoes is a shoe box.

  267. 267.

    WaterGirl

    January 30, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    @Reverse tool order: I think WordPress thought you were a spammer trying to sell shoes, boots, sandals, etc.  :-)

    You have been un-spammed.

  268. 268.

    Kathleen

    January 30, 2022 at 8:04 pm

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): YESSSSSSSSS! WHO DEY!!!

  269. 269.

    smedley the uncertain

    January 30, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    @Scout211: No

  270. 270.

    brantl

    January 30, 2022 at 9:13 pm

    @Baud: Because egotistical assholes go there, and are alumni, and insist it’s THE OHIO STATE.

  271. 271.

    Miss Bee

    January 30, 2022 at 9:21 pm

    @Ken:  Russian doesn’t use articles, so no.

     

    Seriously.  I want green car.  Please pass me salt.  I used to live in blue house, etc. etc.

     

    @Ken:

  272. 272.

    Miss Bee

    January 30, 2022 at 9:30 pm

    @Grumpy Old Railroader:

     

    So it absolutely positively not THE Ukraine since Russian has no words for “the.”

     

    Did Boris Badonov ever use the word “the”?

  273. 273.

    burnspbesq

    January 30, 2022 at 10:57 pm

    @brantl:

    Name a school that doesn’t have alumni it would like you to forget about.

  274. 274.

    Dopey-o

    January 30, 2022 at 11:09 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Twitter thread re: Gandhi.

    https://twitter.com/ManyWorlds1Cat/status/1487918524047712258

    i have been curious about the modern worship of Gandhi’s killer. I got as far as the Hitler link, before twitter blocked me.

    Have you posted this somewhere else?

  275. 275.

    Freemark

    January 31, 2022 at 1:16 am

    @BellyCat:  Actually it went to rural areas so they could have free policing.

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