Leopard: I will eat your face
Bank analysts: Our baseline assumes no face-eating
Leopard: Chomp chomp chomp— Paul Krugman (@pkrugman.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 12:12 PM
There’s people who are going to be hurt by Trump/Musk tariffs who don’t deserve it. But, I suspect, the people most offended by any economic pain are gonna be Trump voters and Trump enablers…
Here’s a problem w Nazi comparisons (& a reason to not despair):
When the Nazis took over they had 2m SA stormtroopers. Many were WWI combat veterans. That’d be like 10 million street fighters, many unemployed, hardened by participating in 15 years of political violence, fighting for Musk & Trump/1— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:09 PM
On top of the huge force of street fighters, Hitler took charge of a civil service filled with conservative German nationalists. He purged Jews & political opponents, but that was <10%, & he didn’t eliminate huge parts of the state apparatus & services. In fact, the bureaucracy got larger…/2
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:14 PM
…under the Nazis, bc they essentially added party operatives in to the existing bureaucracy.
And for everyday life, if you weren’t Jewish or gay or a political opponent of the Nazis or a trade unionists for a few years your life probably got materially better. Govt spending (much of it military)/3
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:18 PM
…helped lift Germany out of the depression. That’s the opposite of causing a recession or worse.
Most regimes consolidate power. But they typically do it in steps, & they try to avoid inflicting pain on the mass of the population. What Musk/Trump are doing is pissing off or even hurting…/4
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM
…much of their political base.
Of course, that gets at a fundamental difference here vs most authoritarian regimes: this is an evolving oligarchy. And there aren’t many examples of that in modern history. There’s no mass movement to destroy the administrative state, none of this is in response…/5
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:25 PM
…to a cataclysmic event or rapid modernization or anything like that. There isn’t mass support for what they’re doing, & it’s going to hurt nearly everyone, even the very wealthy, bc Musk/Trump are stupid & they don’t have a largely allied bureaucracy.
They’re going to be hugely unpopular…/6
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:29 PM
…& even dictatorships are sensitive to public opinion. And these guys are too stupid to do any of this well.
They’re evil & their incompetence is dangerous. But they don’t have the political support or apparatus to impose much. Our struggle is to keep them from stealing & breaking everything /7
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:35 PM
They love trolling & being indignant. Few get off their couch.
— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) February 1, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Baud
Just close your eyes and think of slave labor.
NotMax
Open thread?
Now that’s more than odd.
Scrolling down the various offerings to see what may be new, what’s the first thing showing on Prime’s “Military and War TV” category?
The supermarionation kids’ show Fireball XL-5.
NotMax
From downstairs.
Frontloading as a strategy in advance of tariffs.
Not something businesses dealing in perishable goods such as restaurant and grocer suppliers can do.
schrodingers_cat
I agree with Dana Houle.
Putting this here so more people will see it.
OT: Question for the hive mind. Any suggestions for a new cable modem? I am retiring my 8 year old Arris gateway.
Also is a gateway better (modem+ router) or is it better to get both separately? Wirecutter says getting two separate devices is better. Any recommendations, suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks!
different-church-lady
HOLY FUCKING GOD WE’RE DEBATING WHETHER THESE NAZIS ARE AS BAD AS THE LAST NAZIS!!!!
Sister Golden Bear
CDC orders mass retraction and revision of submitted research across all science and medicine journals. Banned terms must be scrubbed.
They want our very existence erased.
Nukular Biskits
Good evenin’, ya’ll.
Finally got a bit of a break … didn’t have to work a +12 hour day.
But … the hotel has shitty internet service, making it hard to keep up with youse guys.
Lobo
@Sister Golden Bear: Now are those terms banned under Sex Crimes or Thought Crimes under the Thought Police from the Ministry of Truth?
Gin & Tonic
My SIL teaches piano. One of his students lost her mother and sister in the DCA crash. You never get trained for that sort of thing.
NotMax
@Nukular Biskits
Better connection in the bar?
;)
Eolirin
You know it occurs to me that the tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports are so far reaching and so difficult to increase domestic production on that they basically constitute a sudden shift to European style VAT as a way to raise revenue.
I don’t think people are going to be very happy with that here.
Nina
Wait until those Wall Street analysts realize they can no longer rely on the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Spanky
So it’s the first of the month. Usually the time for WIC and ?? to hit people’s bank accounts. Anyone hear of any missed deposits?
bbleh
Our struggle is to keep them from stealing & breaking everything.
This to me is the most serious challenge. And as part of “breaking” I would include specifically “fundamentally corrupting.”
Many — I’d say most, and certainly including the Senile Old Orange Guy — are basically in smash-and-grab mode. But the zealots are on Missions, and their Missions differ. I’m particularly worried about (1) plutocratic takeover of regulatory agencies (the well-known “regulatory capture” problem, see eg mine safety regulation in West Virginia) and (2) further authoritarian/Dominionist takeover of law-enforcement agencies (Federalist Society et al.)
Assuming the incompetence isn’t so bad as to cause the structure of government largely to collapse — which alas is not a sure bet — we’ll survive the looting and the wanton cruelty, albeit at a terrible cost. But there will be significant long-term damage in any case, and our lives will be the worse for it for at least a generation.
(This has been your Sunshine Report.)
different-church-lady
@Nina: Hell, wait until they realize the Dollar is worthless.
Another Scott
@schrodingers_cat: We bought an Arris S33 (DOCSIS 3.1) modem from Amazon in April 2023. It’s been fine.
You want at least DOCSIS 3.1, and 4.0 is out now (at some providers, anyway). (Faster speeds).
Check with your provider – some modems can do telephony and some can’t, if you also have your phone with your internet company. Make sure you get one that meets your needs.
The hardest thing about the upgrade is that (at least with Cox) I always have to call them to do the changeover because the “self-service” stuff doesn’t ever work. And usually having to go to “level 2” to get a tech who can do the magic to get it start talking to their network. But it usually only takes an hour or so if I call late on a weekend.
Our networking hardware beyond that is a Deco mesh system from TP-Link. It works well and has been upgraded over the years (X90 stuff now). Make sure you keep it updated, whatever you get.
HTH a little.
Best wishes,
Scott.
cmorenc
Trump is getting a huge assist so far from having a narrow, but fearfully timid GOP majority in both houses. What we Ds sorely need is to regain more structural leverage that includes re-converting some areas that have drifted in a reddish direction. Can the tangible negative fallout from Trump’s damage inflicted on people who voted for him be effectively used to re-orient them into opposition?
frosty
@Nukular Biskits: How’s the cell service? Can you use your phone as a hotspot?
hells littlest angel
This is written on a medium designed for people who will sit for hours scrolling their phones.
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: I’d get separate devices. The modem is pretty straightforward, but there’s a lot more variation in routers/WiFi setups, and a lot of that depends on things like how big your home is, how many connected devices your household has, etc. Better to have the modem just supply an Ethernet connection and then figure out the right router solution than try to find an all in one which works for your needs.
bbleh
@Sister Golden Bear: they want us back in the closet, where we belong. And all the dusky types and uppity wimmin back where THEY belong. Something something Founding Fathers something Scripture something.
I think the practical effect on science will be, good science will have substantially less money behind it for a while. But I don’t think that — contra politics — there will be much if any backsliding.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
These people are deeply stupid
dmsilev
@different-church-lady: The Past Nazis definitely had better fashion sense.
Jay
Posting this infographic here, (as well) for those who haven’t seen it.
It tracks the changes year by year from 2001 to 2023 in Global Trade patterns from the US to China.
interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/china-versus-america-on-global-trade/
Not many majority Global Trading Partners left with the US anymore, there won’t be any by the end of the Dolt 47 Tariff regime.
Lobo
Thoughtcrime is the offense of thinking in ways not approved by the ruling
IngsocRepublican party.WaterGirl
@different-church-lady: My thought exactly! But it looks better in all caps.
dmsilev
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
“’It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”—Upton Sinclair.
If the rich and powerful who both head up the banks and make up their Very Wealthy Clients don’t want to understand the implications of Trump, the analysts will take note.
Suzanne
@Gin & Tonic: One of Mr. Suzanne’s students lost her father in the crash, as well. Apparently there was a group of hunters on the plane. It’s such a tragedy, and of course, FFOTUS is making it worse.
gene108
Republicans have enough conservative Christian religious fanatics in their party that questioning them is questioning the word of god, never mind the innumerable differences in Christianity between various denominations.
Popular support is secondary to doctrinal purity that believers must observe, and non-believers are forced to obey.
TONYG
@Gin & Tonic: That is horrible. I’m still waiting for a clear explanation of why the U.S. Army thought that it was a good idea to hold Blackhawk helicopter training exercises in the vicinity of commercial airline flight paths. I’m sure that Mr. Hegseth will get right on that as soon as he sobers up.
lowtechcyclist
Here’s the thing about expecting normies to understand what they were voting for: those JP Morgan economists are paid well to pay attention to stuff like this, and they didn’t see it coming.
I mean, yeah, the Morgan econ guys totally should have seen a realistic possibility that a vengeance and retribution cult might do things that overrode its willingness to give blowjobs to the oligarchs, because such emotions get in the way of rational thinking. And so laugh at those dumb shits all you want to, because they missed seeing things that it was their job to see and make sense of.
But cut some slack to those who didn’t get to spend their work time trying to make sense of Trump.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@gene108:
They’ll force me to do jack shit
Nukular Biskits
So, here’s what I did in the few moments I had this week to call my two Republican US Senators and one Republican US Rep.
Called my US Rep. Three times. Was “disconnected” after being “placed on hold” each time after asking why Rep. Mike Ezell, former sheriff with many years in law enforcement, supported Donald Trump’s pardon of the J6 rioters who attacked the US Capitol. After last “disconnect”, called back, had call answered but no one said anything.
Called my junior US Senator (and Bible-thumpin’ Confederate apologist), Cindy Hyde-Smith. Asked why she supported the pardons and the suspension of Congressionally-allocated funds for WIC, SNAP, the NIH, etc. Staffer said he was unaware of the Senator’s position on those issues to which I responded she’d had more than a few days (and more than a week in the case of the J6 pardons) to come to position and I, as a constituent, was entitled to an answer. The staffer assured me he’d have someone call me back to which I replied that I already knew from experience no one in the Senator’s office was ever going to return my call with an actual answer to my question and that I would call back in a couple of days expecting an actual answer.
Called my senior US Senator (and defense hawk) Roger Wicker (who is now chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee), and asked the same question. The staffer immediately attempted to correct me, stating that the senator had expressed no such support to which I immediately pointed out the senator had ample opportunity to publicly air his opposition and had apparently decided to not do so, thus effectively sanctioning the Trump Admin’s actions (i.e.; silence is complicity). I left him with the same demand that I get an answer the next time I called and that said answer should not be a boilerplate “your concerns are important to me”.
Folks, I’m pissed.
Nukular Biskits
@NotMax:
Unfortunately, a Residence Inn. No bar. :>(
But, I did stop by BevMo today after my grocery run.
Nukular Biskits
@Nina:
This.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@dmsilev:
I guess they thought they were going to get 2016 Trump
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Nukular Biskits:
Good for you!
Nukular Biskits
@frosty:
Yeah, but given how long I’ve been out here (and will be at least another couple of weeks), I’m reluctant to do that.
Plus, I usually post from my laptop, not mobile, and Windows is notorious for sucking up bandwidth when it can for updates, etc.
H.E.Wolf
I refute it thus:
rarehistoricalphotos.com/laughing-at-auschwitz-1942/
Nukular Biskits
@dmsilev:
I must be tired. I swear I read that twice and saw Pasta Nazis.
Sister Golden Bear
@bbleh:
More like they want us dead.
SpaceUnit
I am very much not-reassured by Dana Houle’s take.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@lowtechcyclist:
It’s not like Trump made it a secret of what he was going to do. If they choose to stick their heads in the sand and ignore what he, his campaign, and surrogates actually said he’d do, that’s their fault
Lobo
Because everything is upside down, crazy and absurd. I bring you the following song to lift your spirits: For the Love of Big Brother
Yes, my mind is on 1984. Are we really that far away from it?
bbleh
@TONYG: it’s been that way for a looooong time, as anyone who’s ever lived near the Potomac in DC can attest. And pilots and ATCs and air safety people have been screaming about it for years, especially as the ATC staffing problem has got worse.
But I wouldn’t look for any kind of serious, transparent accountability in this case. There are too many institutional and political incentives to divert and/or bury the story. The Senile Orange Guy has tried a couple throwaways already — first it was DEI, then it was the helicopter pilot (not sure whether it was a Trans person or a woman, but we’re definitely looking into it). And now please if you would all pay attention to the idiotic tariffs we’ve just imposed, thank you.
(As to Hegseth, there’s been a lot of worry expressed that a lot of the military might be sympathetic to a Trump-led authoritarian takeover, and for sure there are some who would, but I almost can’t imagine a worse pick for SecDef in that regard.)
Starfish (she/her)
@Gin & Tonic: Oh! That is really tough!
How does her student feel about it? Are lessons a welcome part of routine and a distraction from the rest of things that are a mess, or are they not feeling it?
TBone
I came across a word in German I hadn’t seen so I looked it up. Dolchstoßlegende
And learned (during the short time I’ve had to FA online today).
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stab-in-the-back_myth
I haven’t had time to fully delve yet, but this is fascinating and relevant, I think.
WaterGirl
@Gin & Tonic: Imagine losing a loved one in that crash and seeing that awful display from the First Felon.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@bbleh:
Why didn’t Biden’s FAA do anything about it? Surely they didn’t need Congress?
I don’t think the NTSB is going to stop looking into one of the deadliest air disasters since 2001
Ohio Mom
I’m still stuck on Musk’s hack into the Social Security records.
Are we all going to experience all kinds of identity theft for the rest of our lives? (already lived through that once.)
Are our benefits going to be toyed with? What is Musk going to do with it?!!!
This is the genie out of the bottle, there is no going back.
I also feel for the SSA employees. They are already understaffed and now they have to deal with everything that will be cascading out of this security breach.
RaflW
I may well go back to Costco tomorrow to buy more non-perishable or at least long-dated groceries. And gas up the car, even though it’s not that low.
It sounds like the Canadians are resolute that they’re going to fight fire with fire. I’d imagine the new, smart Mexican leader will chart a good path too. (At least as good as can be in a trade war that will hurt lots of folks, but I mean like “not capitulate to nonsense”).
Jay
@TONYG:
They aren’t just any training flights, they are Executive Transport training flights, you know the helicopters that whisk the High and the Mighty in and out of DC.
Melancholy Jaques
@schrodingers_cat:
Dana Houle is not wrong, but the real problem with Nazi comparisons is that they don’t have the impact that we would expect Nazi comparisons to have. Maybe Nazi comparisons are played out and we need something more recent, something that does have impact.
WaterGirl
@bbleh:
Not quite sure what you mean by worse there, as it could be taken two ways. Guessing you mean that even those who might be sympathetic to a Trump-led authoritarian takeover of the military would be disgusted by Hegseth, which would make that takeover less successful?
Suzanne
@Nukular Biskits:
Well, good on you for calling.
I was traveling this week, but I called my Rep and Fetterman last week. I know I should call McCormick’s office, but I’m dreading it. I’ll call on Monday.
Starfish (she/her)
@SpaceUnit: From the outside, it appears that the banker bros and the other finance bros are not on the Trump train. They like to make money, and Trump is interfering with their ability to do that.
Jamie Dimond told them to kiss his ass on the DEI nonsense.
I am encouraged that the finance bros are being critical.
Most of the econ blogs I used to follow were crazy rightwingers. Are there any that are okay and not a bunch of rightwingers?
Peke Daddy
@Sister Golden Bear: Hostile takeover of language and vocabulary.
TBone
@different-church-lady:
See comment #47 for parallel parable about rewriting history and, well, everything else…like science.
bbleh
@WaterGirl: right, sorry — was just about to modify comment. He’s a public disgrace, and that’s really off-putting to a lot of military folks, which I think would materially weaken any potential support for some Trump-led quasi-revolution.
Ohio Mom
@Jay: Makes me wonder how different that map would look of that Trans-Pacific trade agreement had happened.
Starfish (she/her)
@Nukular Biskits: I called my mom who did not vote in that last election, and she was pissed too. She said she knows some Mexican American who is getting pulled over for racial profiling. Dude is carrying his birth certificate with him in addition to his license. The police are telling him that is not enough so he is going to go get a passport now.
She said the people around her cannot take the lightest criticism of Trump. I hope it is because they know they screwed up.
Given that Mike Ezell’s office does not know how to answer phones, write some letters and find out if they know how to read.
I think organized letter writing, as in meeting with friends to do it, helps build political opposition. But it can be tough to find friends to do this with.
WaterGirl
@SpaceUnit:
You mean “these Nazis aren’t going to be as bad as the last ones” isn’t the take one would hope for?
Quinerly
May have been posted. I took a mental health day and did a news black out until about an hr ago.
The female helicopter pilot’s name and background released. I made the mistake of reading the comments in The New York Post. She’s being vilified over there.
newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article299571934.html?utm_campaign=trueanthem…
PsiFighter37
It’s not a good feeling to root for another country (allies, no less) to hit America back hard in an economic fashion. The fun times we live in.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@RaflW:
An effect of all this uncertainty makes it difficult to make plans for future, such education/career plans, retirement planning, and major purchases, etc.
I saw at least two idiots today with Trump gear, a 30-40 something father with his son in a hideous Trump 2024 Christmas sweater and then a 60-something guy with a hat with a photo of the first Trump assassination attempt, where he had his stupid fist raised. Guy wears it every time I see him. He looks like a fucking doofus. I noticed he had a GM jacket on one day, so apparently he was an auto worker at one point.
I just want to scream at these people
frosty
@Nukular Biskits: That didn’t make sense to me. Apologies if you already know all of this. When you use the phone as a hotspot it becomes the wi-fi provider; no need to surf B-J on mobile, you can use the laptop with the hotspot wi-fi.
We use a Jetpack on the road; same idea with dedicated hardware. When we’ve overused it and Verizon throttles it back we go to the phones.
You’ll need unlimited data on your phone contract, probably.
ETA: It all depends on good cell service, obvs.
Nukular Biskits
@Suzanne:
When I get back home, I’m planning on visiting their respective offices and asking even more questions, including why none of them will hold “town hall meetings”.
Sister Golden Bear
@TONYG:
They were following an FAA-approved helicopter transit path through that airspace. Whether there should be one is a different question, and there’s been numerous concerns raised about that airspace being dangerously overcrowded.
That said, while as typically happens with airplane crashes, there’s multiple holes in the Swiss cheese that lined up (I’ve talked about the details in previous threads) — and the most likely scenario is the helo accidentally focused on the jet behind the doomed plane, which was landing on a different runway. But… had the helo stayed within its required 200 ceiling max for that part of the route, it would be a near miss. (It climbed past 300 feet and hit the jet somewhere between 300-400 feet.) Why the helo unexpectedly climbed at the last minute is one of the key unanswered questions at this point.
So while obviously it was a tragic outcome, there was nothing inherently out of the ordinary for the helo flying that route.
FWIW, only experienced helicopter pilots are allowed to fly that route because the difficulty involved. I know the pilot in command was doing a “checkride,” where he was being assessed, but I don’t know if it was a general qualification/re-qualification or specially to be approved to fly that route.
Horrible incident but nothing nefarious or negligent about the helo flying that route in itself.
Lyrebird
@Sister Golden Bear:
I hope you are right. I hope it is like when the Westboro Baptist horror show came to New Hampshire to protest some inside baseball progress in a different religtion, Episcopalians electing a gay bishop. Many otherwise oblivious undergrads at the state u thronged the event in their “Gay? Fine by me!” t shirts (link to a different school, same shirt) ETA: they showed up to block the Westboro haters
In the same vein, I hope lots of air traffic and airline people who might normally lean right wing but have some decency were horrified by the disgusting response to the air tragedy. I hope it weakens the fascist use of DEI as something horrible.
SuzieC
@Ohio Mom: That is the question that haunts me too. What does he intend to do with the information? Loot the treasury? Intercept the flow of benefit checks? Investigate recipients for thoughtcrimes?
Jay
@Quinerly:
Never read the Post, and never read the comments.
frosty
@Nukular Biskits: In my few years of calling, I’ve talked to a real person once, maybe twice. Never from a Senator, just from my Republican rep.
I’ll get back on the phone again as soon as I draft a new script*. Like, Senator, you voted to confirm the Treasury Secretary and he just handed the keys to the vault to Musk. What do you plan to do about that now?
* For me, I gotta have it written down to leave a coherent voicemail message.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Quinerly:
JFC, can’t they even wait for the NTSB to finish it’s investigation? It could take months or years to conclude the factors that caused the crash, most of them likely having little to do with pilot error
Like, and even she did make a mistake, there’s plenty of male pilots that have made errors that led to tragedy
Ohio Mom
@Starfish (she/her): Atrios (who has a PhD in economics) likes the Calculated Risk blog and The Big Picture, BarryRitholtz’s blog. Both are usually too technical for me.
Then there’s Paul Krugman, who probably isn’t technical enough to count as an econmics blog. I think of him as a general pundit.
SpaceUnit
@Starfish (she/her):
Paul Krugman was featured here on BJ recently. He’s probably the only economist blogger I would trust right now.
Everybody else seems to be the frog in the boiling water.
RaflW
@Suzanne: I called Sen. Tina Smith’s office twice, Sen. Klobuchar once, emailed Rep. Omar, and using the zip for our WI cabin, called Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Bryan Steil.
Messages varied, but in general it was: WTF is happening, this “pause” chaos is unacceptable. (For the Dem senators, I focused on being more clear that Trump’s cabinet choices are all bad.)
bbleh
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I would assume there WILL be a factual accounting, something like (speculating from what I”ve seen so far) the helicopter was out of position, various monitoring and warning systems were inoperative or insufficient, the pilot was operating under visual flight rules and apparently was unable to avoid the collision — all entirely correct and very mechanical. But to TONYG’s point, I would guess there will be little or no mention of why military training flights operate in such a crowded airspace, and even if it’s alluded to — perhaps some mention of the general overcrowding of that particular space, or perhaps of the staffing problems at that particular ATC facility — either those more fundamental issues will go unaddressed (perhaps because of editing) or any relevant recommendations will be ignored.
Quinerly
@Jay:
I know. The NY Post had more pictures. That’s what pulled me in. I was weak.
tobie
I wish I could say people care about what’s going on at Treadury and OPM right now but they don’t. But hit ’em with stagflation and they’ll wake up. It’s a pity the rest of us are going to suffer too.
Starfish (she/her)
@frosty: My experience with Mississippi politicians is that no one is doing any pro-active constituent outreach like town halls or monthly calls where they call everyone’s phone and you hear someone’s crazy nana ask the most rambling question or anything so you have to go haunt them and MAYBE you get to talk to a staffer.
Nukular Biskits
@frosty:
No apologies required. Yeah, I may come across as a Luddite but I’m not … LOL!
I actually do use my phone’s hotspot feature at night when I’m reading my Kindle in bed. It’s bizarre but the hotel’s wifi signal drops off precipitously the 15 feet between where my laptop is sitting on the desk in the “living area” and where the nightstand by the bed is.
And, if I know Ms. Biskits (this plan is hers), we probably do have unlimited* data but I’m old school and remember the day of ridiculous charges when you exceeded your data limit.
*Unlimited being a relative term, depending on your provider and plan.
Sister Golden Bear
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
The FAA can’t just unilaterally do stuff. Well, at least they couldn’t in prior administrations.
Buttigieg asked for additional funding for more air traffic controllers, including DCA. Congress denied it. Congress also approved a bill — over the objections of the FAA and the two VA senators — to allow even more flights out of DCA.
Because Congress critters are addicted to the easy access to DCA and don’t want to have to drive out to Dulles.
Bostondreams
Bristish Columbia removes ‘red state’ liquor from government stores and bans their sale.
SpaceUnit
@WaterGirl:
Houle’s critical mistake is in not recognizing that today’s fascists think that Hitler didn’t go far enough.
We’re basically on a ride that ain’t got no brakes.
Nukular Biskits
@frosty:
I try to have the major points written down in front of me as well.
One other thing: As I think I mentioned earlier this week in a fly-by post, Hyde-Smith’s offices weren’t answering any of her calls, in DC or the in-state offices. My guess is that they were getting a LOT of angry calls.
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
She wasn’t the Pilot. It was a male Pilot with 500 hours on the stick, a male Pilot/Instructor with 1000 hours in the copilots seat. She was just an observer.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@Ohio Mom: All questions going through my mind this year. Spouse and I live on SS and our Navy pensions. Get health care at the VA including the prescriptions I need to not die of a stroke. Was really hoping not to experience a second global pandemic the first one was enough fun. Going to go find a new series to watch. Maybe Rogue Heroes Bonus Nazi punching!
Quinerly
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I guess you have read that originally her family didn’t want the Army to release her name and info about her. Family changed their minds.
And there was this:
“A rumor spread on Thursday that a female transgender soldier by the name of Jo Ellis was the mystery pilot.”
thedailybeast.com/family-of-female-pilot-in-dc-crash-asks-army-to-keep-name-under-wraps/
frosty
@Nukular Biskits: Okay, Mr. Nukular Luddite, here’s more advice. I found out I can download 4 or 5 books to my Kindle from Libby, put it on Airplane Mode, send them back to the library and take as long as I want to read them. Just don’t toggle Airplane off and hit Sync before you’re done!
So basically, I’m never online when I’m reading it.
Mai Naem mobil
I filled gas today. Paid $3.39. I know the gas station I was at is pretty much the lowest in town so it’s not like I went to a high price gas station. I haven’t filled gas for probably ~10 days. I’ve been paying ~$3.00. I so wanted a sticker with tfg’s ugly mug and an ‘I did this =>’ right next to it. Anyhoo, there was no gradual increase here. 40c right off the bat? I don’t think people are going to like this at all.
different-church-lady
@dmsilev:
frosty
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):Congress is the reason National Airport hasn’t been closed and redeveloped. They like their flights just a few minutes from the office. Dulles and BWI are So. Far. Away (sob).
The delegations from Maryland and Virginia repeatedly unanimously write bills to close the airport but their colleagues won’t do it.
@Sister Golden Bear:
Yep
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish (she/her):
To my knowledge, neither Roger Wicker nor Cindy Hyde-Smith have EVER held a public-invited event where constituents could directly speak to, criticize, question them. Ever.
Rep. Ezell has held, I think, a grand total of two townhall meetings both in the middle of the work day at the nether regions of his district (in BFE, MS). I suspect that was intentional as he knew only retirees and business owners would be able to attend, not the average working stiff.
I submit they do NOT want to hear from actual living/breathing Mississippians who aren’t donating to their campaigns or who agree with them ideologically.
Suzanne
@RaflW: I usually call the local offices, and I have better luck getting a person. Sometimes I get spitty when I leave messages. I remember once Mr. Suzanne walked in while I was leaving a message for Martha McSally, and after I hung up, he was like, “Oh, damn….”
I didn’t do as much volunteering, phone calling, etc. as I should have this cycle. I feel somewhat guilty about it. In past cycles, I have been much more active.
Ohio Mom
@Sister Golden Bear: Ohio Dad and I had that conversation earlier today. He lived in Northern Virginia for close to twenty years and insists the Baltimore airport is less driving time. So that makes two airports Congress critters refuse to use.
Ksmiami
@Starfish (she/her): Krugman, Brad Delong
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jay:
That makes it even worse. She wasn’t even flying the thing, wasn’t even the instructor, and the chuds are attacking her. That’s despicable. So much for “don’t speak ill of the dead”
@Quinerly:
I’d heard about that. It’s as predictable as it as sad. I wonder if the family regrets releasing her name now
different-church-lady
@Starfish (she/her): Fuck, when you’ve lost Jamie Dimond…
Quinerly
@Jay:
“Lobach was one of two pilots on the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in the American Airlines flight around 9 p.m. Wednesday while performing a training mission, according to the Army. Both aircraft fell into the Potomac River, and all 67 people about the flight died, the Associated Press reported.”
different-church-lady
@Starfish (she/her):
TURN THE HEAT UP.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Sister Golden Bear:
@frosty:
Thanks for the info. So those members of Congress are collectively responsible for those people’s deaths
prostratedragon
Live stream of Trudeau press conference in response to tariff announcement. He hadn’t arrived yet as of a couple minutes ago.
schrodingers_cat
@dmsilev: I would say 10 connected devices and about 1800 sqft two story home. Do you think I need a mesh system or is a router enough.
Nukular Biskits
@frosty:
You use your Kindle for reading?!?!?!?!?!?!?! LOL!
I mostly use my Kindle Fire while laying in bed to peruse mindless stupid memes over at memebase.com, icanhas.cheezburger.com and failblog.cheezburger.com.
After a day of dealing with technical stuff, all I want is mindless fun entertainment to wind down.
Quinerly
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
From the piece:
“Lobach was one of two pilots on the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in the American Airlines flight around 9 p.m. Wednesday while performing a training mission, according to the Army……. the Associated Press reported.”
Note that there was a Biden WH connection also.
Nukular Biskits
@different-church-lady:
MORE!
Matt McIrvin
@Melancholy Jaques: We’re looking at some unholy combination of the Confederate States of America, a Mafia bust-out and Pol Pot’s Cambodia.
Renie
So now JPMorgan economists are concerned about the tariffs. It was just a week ago Jamie Diamond was telling everyone to ‘chill’ out about the tariffs. Guess if it hurts their bottom line, a different story comes out.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Starfish (she/her):
How is that not enough?
ETA: I don’t have a US passport. All I have is my DL and a certified copy of my Certificate of Live Birth. I mean I’m a white guy, so obviously I don’t face the kind of risks this guy does, but if they can do it to him, why couldn’t they do it to me if I were deemed an enemy of the state?
Miss Bianca
@Gin & Tonic: OMG. :(
Suzanne
In terms of economics blogs, I will note that I read Marginal Revolution every once in a while, but that’s because I want to surveil the crazy right wing. They’re so freaked out about birth rates and feminism.
I have historically tried to keep tabs on the crazy — most especially Rod Dreher. It takes a toll on me!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Quinerly:
Of course there was. The family shouldn’t have agreed to release her name
Martin
Of course they did. But the upside of Trump breaking the economy the way they wanted it broken was good enough that the downside of breaking the economy the way they didn’t want it broken was worth the gamble. If they are saying they didn’t see it coming, they’re lying. Of course they did. They just didn’t think it was likely he would do the thing he said he would do.
Jay
@Quinerly:
There were 3 crew, 2 Pilots and a Pilot/Instructor on board.
She was not at the stick, all the Army is confirming is that she was a pilot, was onboard, and one of the dead.
MagdaInBlack
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Because there are no longer rules.
Another Scott
@Sister Golden Bear: +1
The altitude question is key, AFAICS.
Lots and lots of helicopters and Ospreys and similar things use that route along the river every day. FAA – Baltimore-Washington Helicopter Route Map (3 page .pdf). (The 3rd page shows the 6 DC routes.)
Most of them fly low – below 200 feet – when anywhere near DCA, for very good reasons. :-(
Of course they have to have training flights to do it, because it is an important route for VIPs and because there are so many rules about the airspace in DC.
I know the professionals will do their best to get to the bottom of what happened and why and what to do to prevent it (or something like it) from happening again. I do worry, though, that Donnie will take a Sharpie to it because he already told everyone that it was *** and everyone knows he’s never wrong about anything.
Grr…
Peace and comfort to the innocents.
:-(
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Driver’s Licenses don’t denote Citizenship, they are valid as a form of ID, (as to whom you are) and that you are Licensed to operate a motor vehicle.
For the second part of the question is, they can. They have already tried to claim that a Military ID was fake, the DL was fake, and the Passport was fake.
But you can pass the paperbag test, so you are good for now
Glory b
For Black History month and in my city, Freedom House Ambulance Service began the first paramedic service.
bsky.app/profile/cwebbonline.com/post/3lh4rtxurhk2g
gene108
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Waiting doesn’t drive the political narrative. Republicans have been blurting out their ideas before facts are in for years. Trump is next level in making statements based on lies that set what people talk about, especially his cultists.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jay:
It’s enough for voting. It serves as valid state ID. I even have the star on it that allows you to fly and enter federal buildings.
Quinerly
@Jay:
Well, everything I have read about the other 2 on board has been misleading. Not here to argue. I guess you are saying O’Hara was “on the stick.”
The other 2 in the helicopter:
“Ryan O’Hara, a husband with a 1-year-old son, was the crew chief of the helicopter………”
“Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves of Mississippi was another crew member onboard the helicopter……”
Forbes
Starfish (she/her)
@Ohio Mom: Thank you. I follow Calculated Risk. I just added The Big Picture back to my reading.
Geminid
@Renie: I wonder how the New York Stock Exchange will react on Monday to this weekend’s news, including Friday night’s. Not well, I suspect. I guess we’ll know something in 37 hours.
Trump shifted his approach on Covid in March of 2020, when the stock market started crashing. That was an easy adjustment, though. He’s gone too far now to shift so easily.
Miss Bianca
@different-church-lady: You mean, the same Jamie Dimond who said we should all just “get over it” about tariffs? Or do I have him confused with some other big bankster?
Gin & Tonic
@Starfish (she/her): He said the student insisted on playing today. I suspect it brought her some solace.
Miss Bianca
@Martin: Why is it that nobody believes the Democrats when they say they’re going to do something to help them, but also never believe the Republicans when they say they’re going to do something to hurt them?
Jay
@Quinerly:
So you have an Enhanced Drivers License.
Not many do.
Sister Golden Bear
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): @bbleh:
The consensus from various pilot analyses I’ve seen (plus my own knowledge from being a licensed drone pilot, which covers much of the same core knowledge as regular pilots) is that this is what happened:
Mai Naem mobil
It’s Jamie Dimon not Diamond and the guy has zero principles. He’ll suck up to whoever is in office. He sucked up big time to Obama. Anyhow, he’s getting up their in age. I wouldn’t be surprised if he retires and gets his golden parachute in the next couple of years. At the end of the day he’s got enough money that if something happens he and his extended family can move to some safe western country without issues.
Quinerly
@Jay:
Enhanced driver’s license? Nope.
WaterGirl
@Nukular Biskits: I think I like angry Nukular Biskits!
Jay
@Quinerly:
Things change as actual facts come in.
Matt McIrvin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
They will if the NTSB no longer exists, which may well be coming.
Suzanne
@Miss Bianca: I think it’s because Republicans have their own version of hopium.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Geminid:
I checked in on the Bogleheads forum I used to lurk on a few years back. It’s pretty much crickets city on those tariffs, because that’s a “political topic” and thus off limits:
In a thread about the impact of the tariffs before it was locked, a regular had this to say:
We’ll see how well that works out for him.
I have investments in a Roth IRA, invested in the Vanguard Target 2060 fund, with a 90/10 breakdown. 60/40 US/Intl stocks and some other breakdown between global and US bonds
Nukular Biskits
@WaterGirl:
“That’s my secret, Captain. I’m always angry.”
ETA: If I didn’t have to work to pay my bills, I’d be far more involved in civic activities and be harassing elected officials every single day of the week.
Geminid
@Sister Golden Bear: One thing that struck me in videos of the collision was how many lights there were on either side of the river and how bright they were.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Quinerly:
I think Jay meant that as a reply to me
Quinerly
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
All good. I’m out. Have a nice weekend.
Nukular Biskits
@Quinerly:
You as well.
Jay
@Quinerly:
mostpolicyinitiative.org/science-note/citizenship-marking-on-drivers-licenses/
In some states, (19) you are not required to provide proof of lawful status or a SSN, to get a drivers license. They are marked as “Not for Federal Purposes”.
Pretty sure that in those 19 States ICE won’t take them as any kinda proof of anything.
Ruckus
@dmsilev:
I did separate and it works really well. I could likely improve on 9 yr old electronics but it’s working as well as new.
Renie
@Geminid:
Stock market reaction is one of my concerns. My husband and I are retired with a pension, SS and an IRA which was a 401(k). We have the IRA 70/30 but even that conservative I am worried. The 2008 recession hit the market hard and it took us several years to get back where we were in 2008.
Suzanne
@Nukular Biskits:
Damn jobs. ;)
Sister Golden Bear
@Another Scott: FYI, for those looking at the aeronautical chart you shared, the helo was following Route 1, which turns into Route 4, along the east side of the Potomac.
Runway 10, the original runway 5432 was supposed to land at, is the runway pointing NNE, and runway 33, where it was rerouted to, is the runway pointing NNW.
Hopefully that’ll make it easier to follow my detailed post about what seems to have happened.
Gloria DryGarden
@Gin & Tonic: That makes it hit even harder doesn’t it? I’m so sorry. These proximal losses, someone you know who knows someone who was close, it ripples out into the community. Thank you for telling us.
Sister Golden Bear
@Geminid: The abundance of city lights around the airport are one of the things that people raised safety concerns about. It’s really easy to lose track of other air traffic at night in those conditions.
Ohio Mom
@prostratedragon: I watched part of that — once Trudeau started taking questions and everything was in French, I bowed out.
I wish Canada luck in their effort to tough love some sense into Trump and the rest of us USAians. Lord knows our country needs an intervention.
Two other thoughts, the speech really brought home that lots of economic pain is on the way for everyone on both sides of the border. And I was reminded of all the anti-Spanish, Learn to talk English feeling one comes across here in the U.S. when I saw how gracefully and effortlessly two languages can be officially accommodated.
Sister Golden Bear
@Gin & Tonic: @Suzanne:
I’m so sorry to hear that.
Quinerly
@Jay:
I really have no idea why you are commenting to me about my IDs.
Gloria DryGarden
@Sister Golden Bear: will the black box have the information of why they suddenly rose above the 200 foot limit?
It sounds like a lot of glare and lights and a need to have 180+ vision, which I imagine one person can’t monitor while piloting..
tobie
@Geminid: People with large portfolios will likely get their orders in early to short the market. The rest of us with 401Ks will lose.
I’m still grappling with what all this means. 70% of US crude comes from Canada and Mexico. Even a 10% tariff will be a shock to the economy. Ayayay.
Starfish (she/her)
@Suzanne: Yes. All my econ blogs were “surveillance of the crazies” type stuff. The YouTube algorithm started putting me down a “freak out about birth rates” rabbit hole. First it starts with Japan and moves on to freaking out about other countries, and eventually it is like “Woah, this is white supremacy.”
Renie
@Mai Naem mobil:
Don’t you think “Diamond” is more appropriate? LOL He had a cancer scare about ten years ago and then emergency heart surgery. There’s speculation he may step down within the next 3 years. He’s 74. He’ll be sitting comfortably regardless of an economic crach.
Starfish (she/her)
@Miss Bianca: Democrats have completely abandoned some areas of the country OR left those areas to incompetent state parties. When a party does that, no one hears them.
Suzanne
@Starfish (she/her): The birth rate thing is twofold: white supremacy, of course, but also a desire to push women out of public life and back into full-time mothering, homemaking, and financial dependency.
Geminid
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): You might take a hit on your investments. You should still be ok in the long run as long as you keep your job. A lot of people might not.
Nelle
@Gloria DryGarden: I grew up in Wichita and am really hearing the ripples of this crash into the community. One of my friends was the teacher and mentor to the young woman about to begin teaching at Howard Law School, a civil rights attorney.
chemiclord
This administration seems like it is trying to prove that fascists really just want the hatred and demonizing of minorities without making their lives at least marginally better in the process.
Like they think that the Nazis mistake was actually making a swath of middle-class people better off by accident.
Starfish (she/her)
@Mai Naem mobil: Ooh, sorry. I added a ‘d’
Nelle
@Sister Golden Bear: When younger, we used to fly in and out of Seattle, Portland, Midway in Chicago, and a few other airports at night. I always found it a challenge to separate out the lights. With more towers with blinking lights, particularly red ones, it is even more so. (We were always in small, private planes, and you better believe that, while I wasn’t the pilot, I was scanning the environment.)
frosty
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): AFAIK a Certificate of Live Birth is not a birth certificate. You need to get one from the Secretary of State of your birth state. It will have a raised seal. The one the hospital gives out is not a legal document.
ETA: Get a passport. You’ll be required to have a legal birth certificate to get one. Costs $130.
ETA2: You need one to visit Canada these days. If they let us visit any more, that is.
Starfish (she/her)
@Quinerly: It probably started with what I was saying about people being stopped to have their IDs checked?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Geminid:
“As long as I keep my job. A lot of people might not”? That’s not very comforting
cmorenc
@bbleh: That’s exactly why Trump picked and.leaned heavily on GOP Senators to vote to affirm – Trump wants a SOD who will tamp down on any military leaders who resist Trump’s use and deployments of troops.
Doc Sardonic
@schrodingers_cat: I use a Netgear Orbi mesh set up, works fairly well, but doesn’t damages things I would like but that is my fault for not digging deeply enough into the specs. One thing I do like is it is the router and 2 satellites, has eliminated the dead spot in my downstairs shop.
Nukular Biskits
@Suzanne:
Oh, the good works I could do … (and the absolute political rat-fucking I would do) if I ever win Powerball or Megamillions!
Geminid
@tobie: That 70% figure must be for imports, not total supplies. The US itself is the largest oil producer globally, pumping 13+ million barrels a day. Last I looked Saudi Arabia and Russia produced a little under 10 million bbl/day.
But this tariff willl still increase gasoline prices. That is, at until we enter a recession.
Captain C
@Martin:
Or that they could stop him in time.
Jay
@Gloria DryGarden:
Last night you asked me if is was Canadian “Conservative” ideas heading south.
It’s not. Since the late 70’s Canadian “Conservative” political parties, Federal and Provincial have been bringing Republican party economists, strategists, consultants, politicians, members of the Federalist Society and other Reich Wing Think Tanks up to Canada to consult, speak at conferences, give training sessions, etc.
Basically, what the ReThugs get away with in the US, say, now, shows up in Canada at the Federal and Provincial level, about 4 years later, (although it is speeding up).
As a result we had a “Trans Panic” in New Brunswick, where the Conservative Premier tried to legislate bathroom bills in schools, gender in sports, pronoun usage, you know, all the usual.
There was only 1 Trans student in all of New Brunswick.
Teachers and parents shut it down and the Cons were ousted in a landslide, because rather than dealing with the real issues facing New Brunswick, ( it is one of Canada’s poorest Provinces), the Con’s spent all their time pounding the “Trans Panic”.
Saskatchewan had a Trans Panic as well, (3 Trans students and 2 Spirit People) in the Province, but Saskatchewan is “our” Alberta Wannabe.
I guess DEI will be their next try at the ring.
Jay
@Quinerly:
As Baud pointed out, I meant the reply for Baud and his question on how a DL was not “good enough” ID if you are any shade past off white.
Gloria DryGarden
@Nelle: i read about her. She sounded like an amazing woman. I am so saddened by this.
Chills and goosebumps, crying all over again.
It makes sense that the witchita community is reeling from this.
Kayla Rudbek
@SpaceUnit: I would tentatively add Brad DeLong to the list of trusted economists (he seemed to be sensible when I read his blog in the past)
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jay:
I think you meant me?
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Yeah, sorry, all thumbs today.
Mai Naem mobil
Can we discuss how tfg goes from looking regular to gaunt sized one day and then all swollen the next day? I don’t think you can give somebody diuretics/steroids to that level. I thought maybe it was lighting or something but he really seems to be going from dehydrated to swollen.
Sister Golden Bear
@Gloria DryGarden:
Maybe, maybe not. I don’t know what military aircraft, in particular helicopters, have in way of black boxes. (Any AF jackals want to clarify?)
But assuming that the helo had one, it’ll give more details about the exact flight path. My prior comments were based on flight tracking info which only showed 100-foot increments and was difficult to read when the helo/airplane tracks overlapped.
As to why it changed altitude, we won’t know unless there’s something on the cockpit voice recorder that provides clues.
It’s frankly really weird that the helo climbed. The charts — which the pilots would’ve reviewed beforehand — would’ve clearly shown the max 200-foot ceiling height, and they also would’ve known they were flying below a landing approach. So if they did spot 5432 at the last minute, the appropriate evasive maneuver would’ve been to dive to lower altitude. Albeit, doing that at night, over a river (i.e. a surface with fewer visual clues about your height), would’ve been a bit hairy.
John S.
@TBone:
Oh yeah, Dolchstoßlegende is one of those lovely antisemitic tropes they cooked up after WWI.
Nazis of today still love trotting out a good ol’ stab-in-the-back story to explain their utter failure.
Darkrose
@Spanky: My wife is pretty freaked out because her SSDI payment should drop later this week.
Geminid
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): You seem to be in a recession-resistant sector of the economy, but it’s not recession-proof. So be careful and do your best to stay in good physical health.
And try not to worry. Worrying never helped me, and I never saw it help anyone else either.
Glory b
Here’s a long thread listing the many actions Dems at all levels, nonprofits, unions, etc, (with Dem support) are doing, for the “Do Something!” folks who are too busy grousing to notice…
bsky.app/profile/lisamikolajczyk.bsky.social/post/3lh5c7a7pjc2i
Gloria DryGarden
@Jay: thanks for clarifying.
So we’re exporting our right wingers to transmit methods and pov, like a disease vector into Canada. Only invited. That’s unpleasant. I wonder if a lot of Canadians aren’t disturbed by that.
Good for New Brunswick, I’m glad they succeeded in stopping that anti trans stuff.
I wish more people here understood that the trans thing is just a fake issue to distract us from the real problems that need to get attention and solutions.
what does it mean when S province ( can’t spell it yet) wants to be Alberta?
I replied to you some last night but you had, understandably, already left.
WaterGirl
@Nukular Biskits: We could put up a GoFundMe and you could quit your job. :-)
Sister Golden Bear
@Gloria DryGarden:
It’s difficult, which is why the co-pilot is tasked with keeping a look out. The pilot in command also is supposed to check for other aircraft, but their main focus is on flying.
But if they were using night vision goggles,* the goggles limit peripheral vision and flatten depth perception. It’s often a factor in military helo crashes at night, especially if the helos were flying close to the terrain.
*The Army confirmed the googles were on board, but I’ve not seen confirmation of whether they were being used.
SpaceUnit
@Kayla Rudbek:
That name rings a bell, but I can’t place it. What is his platform?
Gloria DryGarden
@Sister Golden Bear: I agree it Is really weird, and outside of the usual protocol. I wonder if someone reached, or twitched or had a spasm, and bumped the stick, or altitude adjustment button. Certainly they weren’t reaching for their coffee in such a congested area. I hope we find out.
you can tell i don’t know the parts of a helicopter.
Jay
@Gloria DryGarden:
Alberta is Canada’s Texass, or Floriduh!
The Official Alberta Prayer is “Please Dear God, give us another oil boom, we promise we won’t piss it away like the last 3 times”.
It’s redneck central. Saskatchewan is a redneck wannabe, but they have Potash, not oil.
tobie
@Glory b: im not on BlueSky so can’t read the list but I’m glad to know such a list is out there.
Stuart in Austin
@Sister Golden Bear: They have mandated newspeak! We have reached 1984 forty years late.
Gloria DryGarden
@Sister Golden Bear: depth perception can really F one up. I know when a car ahead of me has only one tail light, or it’s a motorcycle, it’s very hard to understand their distance from me, and I have to double my attention, when I’m driving at night.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Geminid:
Not to reveal too much about myself, but I guess grocery retail could be considered “recession-resistant”?
I’ll try not to worry. But it’s hard especially when my parents are in their 60s. When they retire, they’ll rely heavily on Social Security
I’m young and will probably be OK, but it’s not like they could easily start over again if they had to
prostratedragon
@Glory b:
Interesting story, thanks! The mention of Pittsburgh Hill District reminded me of a collection of photos I ran into once, when the internet and I were both young and fresh, of photos by the journalist Charles “Teenie” Harris. A large set of them has been digitized and is archived by the Carnegie Museum of Art. The effort has been supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, for those who are tracjing what things some people think of as waste.
Gloria DryGarden
@Jay: like Oklahoma, perhaps. Texas, Jr, sort of.
thx.
Leto
@Sister Golden Bear:
Summoned! It had one and should record the same information as the civilian counterpart, so I believe cockpit communications as well. I’m interested in why the chopper went up as well. Hopefully we get some answers when they download the data.
Edit:
This information should be part of their flight plan, and the planning they did back at their squadron. If they were going to utilize their NVGs for training during the flight, it would’ve been documented.
ArchTeryx
@Gloria DryGarden: Alberta is the Texas of Canada. All hat and no cattle, extraction based economy, environmental wasteland, and extremely right wing government. Saskatchewan, which is a lightly populated farming providence, wants to be Alberta.
There is a great old Arrogant Worms / Captain Tractor song called The Last Saskatchewan Pirate that makes fun of both their right wing policies and where they eventually lead. Both hilarious and sad.
Kayla Rudbek
@SpaceUnit: he’s over at substack now, he used to run his own blog https://braddelong.substack.com
Gloria DryGarden
Hey y’all, I just got an email from mobilize indivisible. They are doing a training Monday on how we can fight back. I find their zooms to be full of calm clear strategizing, which gives me glimpses of hope.
I signed up. It’s Monday 8 pm EST. Here’s the link, if anyone is interested:
Register for training
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@frosty:
I actually did about 14 years ago. I requested a copy/abstract of the offical one on file from my birth state’s Vital Records agency so I could get my DL.
But probably something worth getting for sure
Sister Golden Bear
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): @frosty:
It’s also well worth getting a passport wallet card as well, which is only about an extra $20. The wallet card is less useful since it’s intended for crossing the land borders of Canada and Mexico (can’t use it for other borders, nor flights to/from other countries). But since it’s wallet-sized, it’s far more convenient to carry with you everyday.
FWIW, when I’ve travelled overseas, I left my passport in the hotel safe, and carried the wallet card with me (in a hidden wallet). Some countries technically require you to carry your passport at all times, but I figure it’s enough to satisfy the local police while I explain that my actual passport is at the hotel. Fortunately, I’ve never had to put this to the test. Also, it provides a back up in case you ever lose your passport. You’ll still need to get a new one issued to get home, but it’s really helpful for verifying your identity.
Sister Golden Bear
@Stuart in Austin: Doubleplus bad.
Darkrose
@Sister Golden Bear: One of my co-workers lived in Washington and went to school at the University of Vancouver. She used a passport card; never needed her actual passport when she took the ferry.
Last year, when we went to a conference in Toronto, she pulled out her wallet card, and was politely asked for her actual passport. Fortunately she had it, but she hadn’t realized that you needed the full thing for air travel.
Darkrose
@Sister Golden Bear: Doubleplusungood.
Gloria DryGarden
@ArchTeryx: imagine wanting to be like that? To be Texas? Yikes. Are you in Canada? Do you know some of what we say and know about Texas, in the US?
Simple stuff, Bible Belt. The main publisher of k-12 textbooks. Textbook content controlled to an extent, by religious right. For example trying to get creationism into biology texts!
when we moved to Colorado I was in high school, and the first thing my new friends did was inculcate me in anti – Texas thinking. A lot of jokes were told.
I read an article once that joked that a lot of people were coming to a conference in Colorado, more people than in a Texas high school marching band.
Around here, that’s seen as an acceptable joke. Amusing, but silly, and we all know lovely good people from Texas. Bu5 Colorado has apparently had a bunch of big money oil guys up her buying up land and buildings and causing resentment. I’m out of the loop, so I don’t know where that stands now.
SpaceUnit
@Kayla Rudbek:
Thanks. I’ll give him a look.
Geminid
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I hope your parents will be ok. You will be so long as you stay healthy.
It’s never a bad time to walk more, maybe buy some dumbells and do some light lifting. That will stand you in good stead whether your hours get cut back or you get a promotion.
Sister Golden Bear
@Leto: It was a checkride flight for night ops to evaluate the pilot’s skills, so my assumption is they were using night-vision goggles. But I’m trying to be careful about what known vs. what’s speculation.
Nukular Biskits
@WaterGirl:
I’m not sure Ms. Biskits would go for that!
Martin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Neither drivers license or birth certificate are federal ID and therefore neither proves citizenship. Pretty clearly the feds are taking a hard line on what kind of proof of citizenship they’ll accept and it’s a passport or maybe a federal employee ID.
All ID is a chain of trust, that originates with the birth certificate, but any entity is likely to only trust the ID they issue.
I’ve falsified birth certificates for people before. It’s not hard. The only birth certificate the feds trust are the ones they’ve agreed are legitimate and have issued their own ID (passport) against.
mrmoshpotato
@different-church-lady:
Apparently so. 🤦♂️
Leto
@Sister Golden Bear: Understood, I’m basically doing the same as you.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Martin:
Not even Enhanced DLs? Those allow the holder to enter federal buildings/facilities, such as courthouses and airports
Jay
It’s funny how little the Trumpists know about Canada.
At the end of WWII, the 1st Canadian Parachute Brigade and the Loyal Essex stopped a Soviet Invasion of Denmark.
Pretty sure which side we will pick in Dolt 47 vs. Greenland.
We were also in a border conflict with Denmark for 40 years.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisky_War
frosty
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I saw that you had the Enhanced DL = Real ID and figured you must have gotten the legal birth certificate. No need for a passport then except for travel outside North America.
Now returning to minding my own business. :-)
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
mostpolicyinitiative.org/science-note/citizenship-marking-on-drivers-licenses
Leto
I don’t think this has been discussed tonight, but if it has apologies:
DOGE Staff Had Questions About the ‘Resign’ Email. Their New HR Chief Dodged Them
“I think the information that you’re going to have about this is available to you right now,” Stephanie Holmes told workers at Elon Musk’s DOGE who pressed for detail on offers of “deferred resignation.”
She did not circle back. But yeah, as we know, it’s a shitshow, probably illegal, and it’s just like Twitter. Awesome way to run a government. Like a business.
brantl
@TONYG: so, never?
ColoradoGuy
@Ohio Mom: At a guess, Musk and his tech allies will set up a Chinese-style Social Credit System to give an overall political score to everyone’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. This score is then applied to Federal payments on a sliding scale, so hard-core MAGA get 400%, while Democratic activists get 25%, or less.
Illegal as hell? Absolutely. But the Dominionist Court has already pre-approved anything they come up with.
Princess
@Jay: Sure, it’s Canada’s Texas. But its previous premier was a member of the NDP (which is, for the Americans, the furthest left major party). So even it isn’t exactly Texas.
tobie
@Geminid: Yes, it’s imports but it’s not a trivial amount, which is why the tariff on crude is less than that on other imports. Goods and services across the board will go up because moving goods to market will cost more.
NotMax
@Leto
The gang that couldn’t Pooty-poot straight.
//
Gloria DryGarden
@Jay: I don’t think the trumpists have any idea about current or past alliances, and how much our world today depends on the soldiers in past wars.
in fact, I think a lot of them have never left the country, speak only one language, and don’t understand the rest of the world exists. Might not read maps, or understand much world history, either.
Could there be a connection between not understanding that allies depend on each other and and helped each other in the past, and the American idea of rugged individualism, and every man for himself, pulling himself up by his bootstraps?
It seems 47 himself has very little concept of alliance, or two way respect, or diplomacy and interdependence.
Leto
This is a really good article (People magazine doing better reporting on this those other asswipes):
When an Army Major Came Out as Transgender, the Military Embraced Her. Soon, the Pentagon May Not (Exclusive)
“THE WAY I THINK OF THIS IS, WE TRAIN FOR UNCERTAINTY,” ARMY MAJ. ALIVIA STEHLIK TELLS PEOPLE, ADDING THAT UNLESS SHE AND OTHER TRANS TROOPS ARE REMOVED FROM THE FORCE, “WE’RE GOING TO STICK AROUND AND DO OUR JOB”
Martin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): RealID licenses ar recognized by TSA, and presumably should be good for other agencies, but unless Congress says that ICE/BP must recognize them, it’ll be discretionary to the head of the agency – and the little dog killer is going to take the least charitable path possible.
Jay
@Princess: Yeah, it’s not exactly Texass, it only takes 20 years of Con mismanagement to bring in a one term NDP or Liberal Government to fix everything, which they can’t in 4 years.
Trudeau bought them the Trans Mountain Pipeline, at a couple dozen billion dollar overpay, forced through construction against local and Indigenous rights*, screwed over BC’s Refineries, and they still hate his guts.
*Trudeau created a special division of the RCMP, which uses illegal methods and military hardware, just to “protect” unpopular energy projects on Alberta’s behalf and the right to rape Indigenous women in remote communities, by the project workers.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Jay:
Thanks. Enhanced DL/REAL ID would probably be just as a good as a US passport I’m assuming, then
@ColoradoGuy:
And if you don’t have social media or FB/Twitter?
@frosty:
No problem. Thanks for the suggestion, anyway
@Geminid:
I appreciate that.
Jay
Dolt 45’s own USMCA, (that replaced NAFTA) is now dead as a doornail, because of Dolt 47’s tariffs.
There will never be another one.
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Only in the US, and at Canadian and Mexican border crossings, with a caveat,
In the US you will have to pass the PaperBag test first.
different-church-lady
@MagdaInBlack: Oh there’s still rules. It’s just that they get made up on the spot.
different-church-lady
@Miss Bianca: Cults are not known for their logical consistency.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Martin:
Do you think it’d be prudent to get a US Passport, even if one isn’t a POC?
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
I would, and a Passport Card
You are at the “papers” stage of fascism.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, …
Interesting, if true.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Soprano2
@Gin & Tonic: I’m sorry, that’s terrible.
Martin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yes.
Martin
@Jay: I wouldn’t count on Mexico and Canada agreeing to remain in this program when the Trump admin is giving them nothing in return.
Marc
@Sister Golden Bear: Just to amplify something you said, one of the things that is drummed into ones head continuously during flight training is that the plane that is going to collide with you will appear to be stationary relative to the sky or ground. I used to fly gliders from an airport north of Lake Tahoe to the mountain ranges southwest of Reno. One day I was flying a two-seat glider with a friend (we both had 1000+ flight hours at the time) on a bright sunny day and as we were crossing south of Reno at 15K feet, Reno Departure suddenly calls us glider 25H traffic at 10 o’clock SWxxx 737, passing through twelve thousand feet, do you have him in sight? We looked and looked and we could not see it, then we started hearing the engines and they were getting louder. When we finally did pick it out against ground, it felt like it filled half our our field of view and was aimed directly at us. I didn’t want to climb/dive/turn at that point as it could easily make matters worse, so I just rocked the wings (which were 65 feet long). The pilot either saw us or his collision avoidance system went off, as he immediately leveled out, passed maybe 500 feet below, then with a huge roar started climbing again once past us. We were both rather shaken, to say the least.
The other thing most people don’t realize is that altimeters don’t measure altitude, they measure pressure. So you need to set the altimeter to a specific pressure based on some reporting station. If your setting is different than the other aircraft, then they will be seeing a different altitude for the same height (radar tracks report height relative to the tower’s current setting). The difference can easily be a few hundred feet if the altimeters are set to two different stations. One of the first things they’ll check is what altimeter settings the two aircraft were using, they can tell even if the altimeters have been almost completely smashed.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Martin:
Out of curiosity, what’s your reasoning? I “pass the paper bag test” ie. am white, male, cis, etc and was born here. What would I have to worry about, realistically?
scav
@Gloria DryGarden: Alliances? I doubt they even have the concept of friendship along those lines. Nor the merest inking that their holy rugged bootstrap levitation doesn’t necessarily involve kicking others to get ahead.
Martin
@Geminid: The US is also one of the largest exporters. The US is the largest oil refiner in the world, and Canada and Mexico don’t really have the ability to refine the garbage oil that comes out of Alberta or some of the stuff out of Mexico. But the US is great at refining shitty oil. So we tend to export the good oil we pump, import low grade oil, refine it, and sell it back to other countries.
The US has the capacity to be energy independent despite what the GOP says – and we are if you treat refined products as fungible. The only reason we import is either regional imbalances (not wanting to pump over the rockies) or to have enough excess to export.
But it doesn’t matter if domestic production isn’t taxed, oil and refined products are commodity markets – they’ll all get priced the same, which means domestic oil and its refined products will get more expensive – unless Trump plans to pull us out of the global oil market and wipe out the dollar as the global reserve currency. That move will get some energy CEOs to shoot Trump themselves.
Martin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): What makes you think they are being honest about their intentions here? Once you have this infrastructure to hold people away from accountability, they can throw anyone into it based on anything they want, including political views.
Put another way – they’ve already held US citizens, in just the first 48 hours.
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
ICE has deported US Citizens, ( white) in the past.
Then, there is the vid from a couple of days ago, of unmarked cars, no license plates, pulling over a vehicle, unmarked people in tactical gear with weapons, no ICE markings, no Police, no FBI, grabbing the driver, loading them into an unmarked SUV, and driving away, with the owners car.
It’s a great time in the US to be a kidnapper, highwayman or serial killer.
Nettoyeur
@Eolirin: A 20% VAT allows big income tax cuts, which benefit rich people.
Jay
@Martin:
The “light oil” that the US produces, can’t be used to make diesel or gas. It requires a percentage of “heavy oil” which the US does not produce in any quantity, so Mexican and Canadian oil is needed.
Or Venezuelan oil.
Apparently there is a sanctions busting deal in the works between Dolt 47 and Venezuela.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Martin:
@Jay:
In that case, what difference would holding a US Passport make if they’re even willing to hold clearly white, English speaking people with American accents? They could just seize the passport and make you disappear.
ETA: a concealed firearm would be more useful
Kelly
I think a lot of them have never left their home county, let alone the country
Jay
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Theoretically, an ICE asshole will take a pause and hesitate at a US Passport, for now.
Until Dolt 47 indemnifies them from all consequences and the White Supremacy Court approves it.
Doug R
@NotMax:
Bought my California rice last week and a box of California oranges yesterday.
Nettoyeur
@Mai Naem mobil: Edema. Used to be called dropsy. Can be sign of: heart and circulatory problems, kidney or liver problems, drug side effects. Not good.
Nettoyeur
@RaflW: If tariffs go thru, get ready for market correction trending toward recession, supply chain problems, stagflation, unemployment.
Kayla Rudbek
@Kelly: and their family trees are a straight line
Kelly
@Marc: I once saw an airliner’s landing lights hanging apparently motionless amongst the stars from my backyard. The motionless lights started about like a dim star then grew brighter and brighter for 10~20 seconds. I thought I was witnessing a supernova. I figured it out when the airliner turned toward the PDX.
Martin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): These things happen in degrees. If my boss comes to me and says that per US law, only passports are acceptable as proof of citizenship, I may not like it, but I’ll probably continue to do my job. If my boss comes to me and says ‘detain them even with a passport if they have a BLM sticker on their car’ I’m not going to do that. That doesn’t happen until legislation passes or until I get sufficiently scared of my own safety or I decide that’s a dandy idea and go along.
It takes time to go from the former to the latter, and it takes longer if there is public pushback. Eventually you might wind up at the latter, but until we get there the passport will provide some protection.
Jacqueline Squid Onassis
They’re certainly going to try their best to erase us. Unfortunately for them, we can’t be erased.
Jay
On the Retail Grocery thing being Recession proof,
yes, and no and then,……….
If you have food on the shelf but few can afford it, the store can do with less staff.
ruZZian pensioners are currently visiting grocery stores as if they were museums, walking up and down the isles, displaying all the stuff they can’t afford.
If you don’t have food on the shelf, the store needs less staff, from receiving to cashiers.
And then in the US you have the “Shoplifter Panic”. All retailers cut staff, “shrinkage” went up a bit, and the Corps created a panic.
No, shoplifting wasn’t up.
Yes, fewer staff meant receiving and inventory got fu’d up, because people couldn’t do their jobs,
And yes, putting stuff behind lock and key, when you have no staff, tends to impact sales.
So, tariffs, Retail employees can expect to get screwed three ways from Sunday.
Martin
@Jay: A lot of the reported shrinkage during the shoplifter panic was employee based shrinkage. Brick and mortar retailers are struggling, they cut staff and pay, fewer staff means fewer eyes observing and you make up the pay by pocketing stuff of value. And locking it up doesn’t help when it’s the person with the key stealing it.
This cycle has been known forever.
BlueGuitarist
Cheryl Rofer reposted on BlueSky, Gen. Michael Hayden
Wtaf?
Gvg
@different-church-lady: no we are hoping these nazis are screwing themselves up faster and more visibly before we have to endure 10 plus years of hell then rebuild if we can.
so worse in an incompetent way but not yet in a succeeded in killing millions of people so grotesquely that they had few imitators for longer than usual in human history. There is more brutality than it’s sane to dwell on in history.
I can’t believe how ignorant and stupid he is, and the other ones too. Rich business men who don’t understand the most basic facts of a world economy. I want them to lose all their money. I want Musk to lose it and Trump treat him like garbage, not just Trump, then I want Trump to stand trial finally. Fair trials.
Haven’t yet seen the leopard eating faces of the religious yet. I also want them to find out WHY the separation of church and state is about protecting religion and they are opening a door to their own injury.
NotMax
Looks as if the main hard drive on the computer bought the farm so I may not be around for a while.
Y’all play nice.
Gvg
@Sister Golden Bear: unless someone works for the federal government, I think that is flat illegal and someone will have to lead the fight, but it can’t be allowed to stand.
I am not sure about the government employee.
The corrupt supremacy court is a problem. We have got to do something about them. And I do mean if they rule in ways that are clearly not constitutional, but claim it is, we are going to have to start saying they are liars and need to be removed for cause. I mean people have accepted rulings we didn’t like before but we could follow the reasoning mostly and most lawyers agreed once it was explained etc….not lately though. And trying to say the bill of rights doesn’t say what it has always said would be something we need to say “we don’t believe you”
Marc
The Nerd Reich: The Network State Coup is Happening Right Now
Jay
@Martin:
Worked Retail, pre Covid, through covid. Ran inventory in Tech for over a decade.
Most Retail stores don’t do A,B,C cycle counts, (A is 10% of inventory, 80% of value, B is 40% of inventory, 15% of value, C is 50% of inventory, 5% of value).
A items should get counted once a week. B items, once a month, C items, once every 4 months. Any significant shortage should be audited.
At the Orange, once a year, Western Inventory Services would be brought in to do a count. WIC employs part time, students basically. They couldn’t tell the difference between a table saw and a box cutter.
So yeah, inventory was fucked,
A classic example, was Seasonal, noticing that they had 12 skids of softwood pellets for pellet stoves, but none in seasonal. Turns out, they were in lumber, (night crew), but only found out when I went looking after work for kitty litter, after they had written it off as “shrinkage”.
At the Orange, over 90% of “shrinkage” was screwed up receiving, misplaced items, ( every thing was supposed to have a location code), etc.
Decades earlier, before I worked at Orange, I went into an Orange, to buy a pressure equalizing tank.
Found one in plumbing. Not in stock.
Took me 40 minutes to point out I had it in my hands, had a barcode and SKU, but they insisted I couldn’t buy it because they didn’t have any.
When I started at Orange, on paper, they had no dead tools. They had 97, stored in two containers and a tarp tent. The WIC “crew” just went down the lines going, yeah, that’s a rototiller, tick, even though it didn’t work and was at best, good for parts.
Gretchen
A federal employee I know says they’ve had more inquiries this week about joining the union than they have people in the union. Expects membership to quadruple by the end of the month.
Gloria DryGarden
Yes.
Yes they can.
There were a few countries in South America where being disappeared was a thing, in the 70s. If they suspected a person of any dissidence or disagreement with the government. There are novels about it, and songs. A stadium full of desaparecidos in Argentina. It also went on in Uruguay and I’m pretty sure In Chile. (Autocorrect didn’t know that’s a proper name and needs a capital letter)
I’ve met people, I’ve heard stories of people leaving the country with 24 hours notice, stories whispered at night away from buildings, because it was still going on. I lived in Uruguay for a year around that time. It’s very real.
All this to say, yeah, they can just pick you up and you disappear. Other countries have done it.
I’m sure you can think of a few that do it in today’s world.
Thor Heyerdahl
I had a flight connecting through Newark with United to Central America. I decided to cancel the flight and take the flight credit – and fly for a bit more money but direct from Canada.
With all the shit that’s happening with the FAA – it’s making me pay attention to flight congestion at low altitudes that I never thought about much before.
Fair Economist
@Jay:
Legendary.
Fair Economist
@Mai Naem mobil:
Diuretics can do that.
rikyrah
@Sister Golden Bear:
😢😢😢😢
Citizen Alan
@gene108: Christianity is in serious decline as young people turn away from it. After another 10 years of this shit, Christianity will be HATED by a non-trivial percentage of the nation. At this point, I’m willing to look any Evangelical straight in the eye and say “I assume you’re anti-choice because you want there to be a large pool of vulnerable children for your youth ministers to molest.”
Thor Heyerdahl
Milo Minderbinder in real life.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
I have to return to the US in April. Not by choice, but by medical necessity. And now I’m wondering if the US will hold together that long or if there’ll be chaos or war or something else that’ll keep me away and force me to accept the alternative (which in my case is death).
TBone
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: you have my sincere best hopes for a successful return and treatment. We’ll be here, trying to keep the lights on.
mark
In western Washington 100% of our natural gas is supplied by Canada.
TBone
@Gloria DryGarden: when we did it not long ago, it was called “extraordinary renditioning” under George W. Bush. To “black sites” (“secret” prisons in other countries).
Some mighty fancy words to describe illegal kidnapping.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition
I remember a bunch of “new words” from that time. Detainee is one.
sab
OT Shy little Echo was bugging me on yet another morning (is 3:30 next morning or late night before) . I have finally (eight months into our relationship) realized that she doesn’t want hugs or petting. She wants treats in her usual spot where the other cats won’t notice her chowing down.
She got what she wanted so the house is quiet and I can go back to sleep
ETA She likes hugs and petting in general. At 3 am she wants treats.
MagdaInBlack
@sab: That is my Gordita: after yowling as only a Siamese can yowl, she is currently standing under the coffee table having her treats and will then retire back this weeks box of choice.
And I’m having wake’n’bake.
sab
@mark: That is yikes territory.
I hope Dana Houle is right and these guys will fail because they hurt everyone but Muskrats, but I agree with Kay. Where the fuck are the Republicans? “Law and order, family values, conservative …whatever.” They pretended they had values, but they actually are just hogs at the public and private ( Think Tank) troughs.
MagdaInBlack
@MagdaInBlack: and some Johnny Rivers
youtube.com/watch?v=Xa9vWVEYojg
TBone
Today’s letter by Heather Cox Richardson is one for the books. She is so good at what she does. Don’t read it if you’re feeling nervous today.
Snippet:
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-1-2025
I have my Big Girl pants on today. And my anti-gravity chinstrap.
I’m gonna need ’em.
sab
@MagdaInBlack: Our Shadow is gorgeous and grey with dark green eyes, but when she opens her mouth we hear her siamese ancestry.
My late much lamented StarScream (a tuxedo) got his name from his siamese genes. He was a big tuxedo, but his green eyes were a bit crossed, and he sure could yowl. Especially in the middle of the night.
Gretchen
@sab: My view as a former night shift worker is that, if I haven’t been to sleep yet, it’s still Saturday. Only when I’ve gone to sleep and awakened again is it Sunday. This is in conflict with my husband, who falls asleep at 8 pm and wakes up at 4am, thinking it’s now tomorrow, Sunday. I’m still awake, thinking it’s still yesterday, Saturday. We each are sure that we are correct.
TBone
Mood music this morning with Jimi Hendrix. Hard to choose a fave, but this is one of them!
m.youtube.com/watch?v=hHFFy-JdTWo
Also too
m.youtube.com/watch?v=-E2A60WslXg
sab
@TBone: Hendrix died in his 30s 50+ years ago and we are still listening to him. My stepkids in their late thirties still listen. He died before their parents had even met.
sab
New thread up with gorgeous photos from DanB garden.
Shalimar
@Jay: If they don’t have any, that means you must have brought that one in yourself for a refund. Just tell them you changed your mind and ask if you can take it.
frosty
@BlueGuitarist: I should have gone to see this museum before now. I’ve read a lot of the histories and memoirs of the women code breakers in WWII. We couldn’t have done it without them. This move is sickening.
TBone
@sab: he is a most amazing musician, I used to have posters of him all over my bedroom!
TBone
So … even with puppy pee pads underneath, both cats managed to “miss” the new low step litterbox I have in my bathroom for Noah’s convenience, soak the rug, get litter clumped to the side of the tub & where it meets the hardwood floor AND my fucking toilet in that room is now suddenly leaking rusty water through rusted out tank bolts. I need to know WHO thought it was a good idea to put NEW hardwood floors IN A BATHROOM! Puppy pee pads now surrounding MY toilet too hahahahaha!!!
THANK YOU SAB for helping me avert yet another disaster in the making!
I have now taped pee pads in place to protect EVERYTHING until I can get a plumber AND A HOT BATH in my jet tub, mama needs one soooo badly.
Barry
@lowtechcyclist: IMHO, those analysts were internally muzzled, if for no other reason than the risk models would be blowing up.
Lacuna Synecdoche
@Eolirin:
I’ve been thinking the same thing for a while now, that tariff increases this broad are going to constitute a back-door VAT.
In Europe, though, they get away with it because VAT’s are largely used to fund social safety-net spending. Republicans, instead, are planning to use their back-door VAT to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Like you, I don’t think that’s going to play well with US consumers.
Quinerly
@Marc:
Thanks for posting this piece.
TONYG
My adult sons do not work in finance (although they know people their age who do). My younger son (the more outspoken of the two) has long been of the opinion that “Wall Street” “finance wizards” are usually dumb guys with inherited wealth, who see no downside to pissing away other people’s money. That boy might be right.
TONYG
@Lacuna Synecdoche: That’s right. The tariffs are effectively massive sales taxes (that will fund income tax cuts). Tax the poor and the (shrinking) middle class more, and tax the rich less. A feature not a bug.
WaterGirl
@Bruce K in ATH-GR: So scary, I’m sorry you have to worry about this.
JustRuss
@Starfish (she/her): Meanwhile, my Democratic senator is barnstorming the state, 3 town halls yesterday and 2 more today. Thank you Jeff Merkley.
Shana
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone: If you can deal with subtitles I recommend korean dramas. There are hundreds on Netflix and come in a variety of genres: romance, history, mystery, zombie, etc. they’re generally a 16 episode season of 1 hour episodes. Grand fun and a good distraction
Kayla Rudbek
@TONYG: in undergrad, we would joke about engineering being the pre-business major