Just another gem of a day here, and I went to the community pool for two hours and then came home and Joelle and I drove to Gilbert to some BBQ joint in Gilbert for what was some pretty middling food that was way overpriced and the place was too clean and cutesy and felt like Joanna Gaines had been let loose, I dunno. I guess the best way I could describe it is imagine a mormon influencer opened a bbq place in Provo. It wasn’t terrible, and I did enjoy the pinto beans, but this was not the best bbq I have ever had. Also the parking lot was filled with pick up trucks and dudes who look like they regularly say “Let’s go Brandon.” Basically I need my bbq to be better, the joint to be older and dirtier, and the service has to be more interested in pushing out food than trying to talk to me.
Came home, and scanned the news, and loved this big bit of fuck around and find out:
A day after learning definitively that the US government had purchased the former Big Lots Distribution Center property, Tremont Township supervisors lamented about the likely loss in property tax revenue at their regular monthly meeting.
On Tuesday, the supervisors noted that Big Lots had contributed a significant portion of the township’s budget. Since the federal government is exempt from paying property taxes on parcels it owns, Tremont Township is looking at an approximate $195,000 loss annually.
“There’s a lot of money we lose,” supervisor Larry Bender said. “It’s a significant portion of the Township budget. That’s the only thing we had in our township is Big Lots. We’ll have to watch whatever we do, whatever we spend.”
They look exactly like you would expect them to look:
Congrats guys, now you have no tax money and a concentration camp. Great work.
Looks like the bustout is complete:
Will Lewis, the embattled chief executive and publisher of The Washington Post, has stepped down, the company announced Saturday.
Mr. Lewis said in a statement that he had made the difficult decision “in order to ensure the sustainable future of The Post.” His farewell email, which was terse, thanked only Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Post, and did not mention any journalists at the newspaper.
Mr. Lewis stepped down days after the company undertook a significant round of layoffs that cut 30 percent of the staff — more than 300 journalists — setting off widespread recrimination from current and former Post employees. Marty Baron, the celebrated former editor of The Post, called it one of the “darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations.”
For 1/1000 of his wealth none of this had to happen. Great job, Jeff.
One of my favorite arguments with Joelle was a while back us sitting on the back patio.
Joelle: “Oh look at the lovebirds”
Me: “you mean those parrots?”
Joelle- “They’re lovebirds.”
Me- “Joelle- I have been watching them for a month- they are parrots”
Joelle- “I have been living here for 20 years, those are lovebirds.”
Me: “As sure as I am named John Cole and am sitting here, those are parrots I even looked up what food to get for parrots the other day”
“oh god dammit.”
Adam talked about the Gabbard scandal earlier, which is quite something, and there is another scandal blasting through the news right now:
Hours after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good inside her S.U.V. on a Minneapolis street last month, a senior federal prosecutor in Minnesota sought a warrant to search the vehicle for evidence in what he expected would be a standard civil rights investigation into the agent’s use of force.
The prosecutor, Joseph H. Thompson, wrote in an email to colleagues that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a state agency that specializes in investigating police shootings, would team up with the F.B.I. to determine whether the shooting had been justified and lawful or had violated Ms. Good’s civil rights.
But later that week, as F.B.I. agents equipped with a signed warrant prepared to document blood spatter and bullet holes in Ms. Good’s S.U.V., they received orders to stop, according to several people with knowledge of the events who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The orders, they said, came from senior officials, including Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, several of whom worried that pursuing a civil rights investigation — by using a warrant obtained on that basis — would contradict President Trump’s claim that Ms. Good “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer” who fired at her as she drove her vehicle.
I just don’t know how Republicans sleep at night.
I think I have rambled enough tonight. I am gonna go suck up the last little bit of sunlight and watch the birds, and then Joelle and I are going to hop between the Olympics and House of Dragons. The new Game of Thrones show a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is so damned good and Joelle liked it so much that I have eased her into the GoT universe and she is now hooked on House of Dragons.
Maybe munch on some leftover bbq. And no I am not gonna name the place because I trash-talked above because Idon’t want to throw that kind of energy out there and maybe a lot of people like it and I don’t want to fuck with their happiness or make them to feel the urge to defend their tastes. Not tonight, at least.
Be cool.
A Brief Attempt to Explain the Gabbard Imbroglio
HinTN
Just like your mama told you, Cole. If you cannot say something good… (Bitching about the quality of product at an anonymous joint don’t violate that rule!) Cheers to you and your great days.
lowtechcyclist
We can’t do an investigation that might find facts that contradict Dear Leader. Nosirree.
Good Lord, we’ve got the sort of tinpot dictator that we used to make fun of banana republics when they had ones like this.
John Revolta
Yez are both right! Happy ending!
mouse on a moose
As someone who lives in the valley, I really want to know which bbq place it was. And please say it wasn’t Caldwell County Mexi-Q.
suzanne
I am not a big BBQ fan, but my friends who are really like Little Miss BBQ.
Gilbert is where all the Mormons went when they thought Mesa had too many Mexicans. It used to all be farms and now it is all suburban sprawl and it sucks.
TONYG
“I just don’t know how Republicans sleep at night.” I think that they sleep just fine. They are psychopaths who don’t care about human life.
Jay
bsky.app/profile/nkalamb.bsky.social/post/3mebyh5lyb22j
bsky.app/profile/nkalamb.bsky.social/post/3mebyhxvsqc2j
lowtechcyclist
According to Wikipedia, Tremont Township, PA, has 95 households, population 280. My neighborhood has over 200 households.
I don’t know how Pennsylvania’s local governments work, but wouldn’t the county (Schuylkill) maintain the roads and whatnot? Not sure what this township that has way fewer households than my HOA needs to be spending money on in the first place.
Baud
John Cole
@suzanne: this explains so much
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
I adopted a lovebird years ago, thinking if would be sweet (lovebird!). Turns out they form tight mating bonds, but are little parrots with all the attitude that implies. LOL.
Chetan Murthy
In 1979 in
WeatherfordEast Incest TX, the best BBQ was this little place called Alex’s outside of town. It was basically an addition to the guy’s house. He served 11am-2pm each weekday, and that was that. You got there during those hours, or you were S.O.L. It was a labor of love: it was never very busy.cmorenc
The current Fox news site is even more nauseously propagandistic than usual – Trump’s vile racist video gets a secondary blip, noting that it had been taken down and some GOP senators had been critical, but meantime more prominently how ice protesters were drawing noise complaints from neighborhoods about the whistles and shouting, and how the Minneapolis mayor’s support for liberal agitators is responsible for the city’s failure to return to a peaceful state. And on and on ad nauseam in similar vein about other stuff.
lowtechcyclist
@Jay:
I can only hope that Minnesota is able to investigate this horrible crime, and identify and charge the perpetrators and put them in prison for the rest of their lives.
It won’t heal the appalling damage they did to this man, but if there are no meaningful consequences, there will be no stopping them and other ICE and CBP agents from doing more of the same.
Steve in the ATL
JFC. So many posts of serious substance on a Saturday! It’s hard to even care about curling now! Ok, (1) I do not care in the least about curling, though I do occasionally buy a box of Timbits, and (2) I no longer care about splitting infinitives—English is not Latin no matter how much some 19th century pendejo wanted it to be.
Rule of thumb: never get barbecue west of the Mississippi or north of the Mason-Dixon. And not EVER in North Carolina. And I don’t want to hear any BS about Kansas City or Texas brisket. And, as you suggested, never eat BBQ at a place that passes its health inspection.
suzanne
@John Cole: Liberty Market is a good restaurant.
Steve LaBonne
Gee, something about this post made me want to share an Ogden Nash poem, “Advice to Husbands”.
To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.
Baud
Gretchen
I’ve wondered if Trump has blackmail material on Bezos – maybe he’s somewhere in the Epstein files? And ordered him to destroy the Post. There’s no reason, with the amount of money he has, to do this besides deliberate destruction.
Steve in the ATL
@Chetan Murthy: I’ve played golf in weatherford and also been in a wedding there. The course was so-so, though I’ve played worse. The wedding was at the Baptist church downtown so another groomsman and I for bored by the Baptist/Republican preacher and slipped out during the ceremony to eat chili cheese dogs at Krystal. Were we sober? Obviously not since we ate at Krystal
TL, DR: like you, I have seen enough of weatherford for this lifetime!
lowtechcyclist
@Chetan Murthy: Reminds me of my favorite local carryout, here in northern Calvert County, MD. It’s a little joint called Pinky’s in a tiny strip mall that’s only open four evenings a week, closing at 8pm on Thursday through Saturday, and at 6pm on Sunday. Best to call in your order at least a half-hour before closing. But the food is wonderful, a mix of Southern, soul, and New Orleans.
Old Dan and Little Ann
Some comments in the early thread reminded me of the story from last week. My class of second graders got about 20 graphic novels of a book titled Dogman. Don’t ask. So I had a little Dog Man reading party in my classroom. After about 5 minutes they started giggling and one of the boys asked me if these books were appropriate. I asked him to bring his book to me so I could figure out what the hell he was talking about. On the very first page, one of the characters was reading his own book in the illustration. The illustration of his book was.. Moby Dick. Don’t ever change, second graders.
Steve LaBonne
@Gretchen: He does seem like the type. On the other hand, needing Trump to get gubmint contracts for Blue Origin might be sufficient explanation.
Steve in the ATL
@Baud: I’ve ridden Italian railroads. Another explanation would be “working as usual.”
cmorenc
The concept of a “barbecue joint” in most of the country, especially the western half of the country, is very different than what it means in North Carolina – where it is implicitly understood to mean specializing in finely shredded slow-pit-cooked pork and fried or bbq chicken. If you ever pass along I-95 near Wilson, NC, the small detour to Parkers bbq using hwy 264 to old 301 is definitely worth your time. Get the combo bbq/fried chicken plate with iced tea – best fried chicken in the world, and the bbq is legendary too. Be forewarned that the take cash only, but there is an ATM on-premises.
Jay
There is some good Southern Style BBQ “joints” in Vancouver, BC, way north of the Mason/Dixon Line, they are all run by political refugee’s from Dixie.
Jay
@Steve in the ATL:
Sabotage involved burning down a signals box, (that is an ALESH specialty, used in Crimea and Russia as a cheap and quick way to sabotage ruZZian war efforts), cutting the cables that transmitted real time data on trains speeds and locations, and planting an IED under the tracks.
cmorenc
@Steve in the ATL: You are dead-wrong recommending against NC bbq – although like any cuisine there are always places that are very sub-par examples better avoided. OTOH if you had the misfortune to have your impression formed by stumbling into “western nc” aka “Lexington” style, which is basted in a tomato ketchup-y sauce, I agree that variety is truly vile. My recommendation is for eastern NC style, which is a mild peppery-style baste that is not heavy-handed at all unless you elect to add vinegary-pepper sauce or texas pete at the table after you are served.
HinTN
@cmorenc: There’s that business of Carolina sauce… Fried chicken in down with
@cmorenc: and answered. Could be satisfactory.
Suzanne
@Old Dan and Little Ann: You could tell them about Henderson County Chair Dick Bigger, Jr., who has endorsed Raja Krishnamoorthi for Congress.
Eyeroller
@Gretchen: No need for conspiracy theories, IMHO. Bezos “thought it would be fun to run a newspaper” (vz. Citizen Kane) but he expected it to make money. Line goes up, and such. And it was not making as much money as he wanted so it is treated like any other money-losing business run by private equity.
The sad thing is that Bezos has plenty of money to have set up a foundation to endow the Post indefinitely, with a relatively small fraction of his fortune, but line has to go up, most billionaires don’t care about the greater good.
Suzanne
My problem with BBQ is that I always feel like I need to take a shower after.
Socolofi
@Gretchen: It’s not a blackmail thing, and Bezos actually has been attempted to be blackmailed before and not only went all in “here’s what they’re trying to do” but seriously went after the blackmailers. Led to the outing of his affair with his now wife, and it was her brother who got the sex pics, but he is the kinda guy that doesn’t put up with that shit.
This said, I’ve stated earlier that it’s far more a result of simple disinterest. It’s not fun for him anymore and he’s finding out that owning a newspaper that he wanted to earn trust (an Amazon thing) with the people, given who he put in charge and decisions he makes, is doing the exact opposite. Which kills it.
So, he’s pretty much distanced himself from it, letting whomever run it, told ’em to fix it with what they had. Bit of a suicide run IMHO. It’s ending up exactly where everyone could have predicted.
HinTN
@Jay: There’s a refugee Tennessean in Kingman, AZ, who, last I checked, produced pretty damn good pulled pork. It used to be called Rednecks BBQ.
Jay
@lowtechcyclist:
I have little faith remaining in the US Justice system or it’s politics.
Eyeroller
@Steve LaBonne: That could partly or maybe entirely explain the rightward shift of the editorials, but not really why he would want to destroy the paper. I don’t even think he was explicitly intending to destroy it–he’s just behaving like most private equity types.
NeenerNeener
And now for something completely different:
tumblr.com/shy-and-reserved/807934692635672576/goon-i-cant-breathe
Jay
@Suzanne:
That’s what wet naps are for.
Or Orange Cleaner WetWipes if you are messy.
Mechanic’s use them to get grease off their hands.
@HinTN:
Best fried chicken close to us is by Mary and her partner, Alice, who got burned out of their restaurant in Little Rock.
Old Dan and Little Ann
@Suzanne: That would make for a good Google slide presentation.
Mike
You need to go to Honey Bear’s – their motto is “You don’t need no teeth to eat our meat.” What more do you need to know . . .
cmorenc
@Suzanne: Hard not to notice the demographic overlap between too many your fellow patrons in many bbq joins and the waiting room in a cardiac clinic, which gives an unhealthy vibe to the experience.
Suzanne
On an Olympics note, I am currently doing a few household tasks while watching women’s ski jumping. The talking heads are trying to discuss the penis-injection “scandal” without actually explaining it. Just said something like, “The issue with the suit fitting, of course, that only affects the men”. LAWL.
When I was in Austria in 2009, I went to two different ski jumps. I would not attempt it for a million dollars. That is the absolute craziest shit.
Kayla Rudbek
@lowtechcyclist: roads, sewers, schools
piratedan
well, if you’re trundling around the Tucson neighborhood and if you’re in the Marana area there’s Lil’ Abner’s that serves a pretty decent western BBQ. Nothing fancy, just red and white checkered vinyl tablecloths. Decent food and all the ambiance you could ask for from what seems like a converted stable with a courtyard. Could combine it with a day trip to the quietly underrated Catalina State Park.
Chetan Murthy
@Suzanne: y’know, I don’t follow spectator sports at all. But I hear that Lindsay Vonn (sp?) tore her ACL completely (and -recently-), and she’s gonna try to win in some ski event even still. I mean ….. that seems foolhardy, though I guess I get it. It’s her only chance. I recently read a Nancy Kress sci-fi story about ballet dancers and bio-enhancement, and it’s like that: you’ll -anything- to be able to perform at the highest level. -Anything-.
Eyeroller
@cmorenc: My barbecue is Texas and it is beef. Never pork. Chicken is OK but second class. Sausage is the only pork product allowed. Sauce is tomato based. Mustard is just among the seasonings.
Nobody puts coleslaw on the sandwich.
If one likes coleslaw on the sandwich I don’t judge. It’s an issue of personal preference. But I have seen some people say that one should never put mayonnaise on barbecue. Like, what do you think cole slaw is? It’s mayonnaise with some shredded cabbage.
frosty
@lowtechcyclist: PA is not Maryland or Virginia. Having lived or worked in all three, my understanding is that the only thing the County has responsibility for in PA is courts, and maybe planning. The state and the boroughs/townships/cities Public Works Departments maintain everything else. If it’s not a state road, it’s up to the locals.
Tremont is fucked.
Jay
@Suzanne:
It’s not just a Men’s issue. Suit fitment is closely regulated to try to keep the contests, “fairer”. A bigger. looser suit, results in lower airspeeds, greater lift, and greater drag. 2cm of loose material in the suit results in 6.5% greater distance with the same jumper and same ramp speeds.
Over the years, several teams have been caught “cheating”. This year Norway got caught with extra material in the downstairs department, and tried to justify on the basis of “greater junk” sizes.
Steve LaBonne
@Eyeroller: My thinking is that Trump hates WaPo so destroying it may please him. But it certainly could be that people who have more money than God can’t stand to lose even a small fraction of it. Which of course is a mental illness.
Another Scott
@Eyeroller: +1
Bezos got to play hero in buying the WP from the Graham family in 2013. And he got to play fixer in trying to turn it around a couple of time. And he got to play Charles Foster Kane for a while. And he got to put his gigantic thumb on the scale in 2024 to try to protect his other giant business interests. And he’s killing what’s left of the paper in the process.
If the 2013 purchase really was about “saving” the WP, he could indeed have set up a foundation for it and walked away. As it stands now, he (it seems to me) clearly doesn’t want it to be “saved”, and indeed he’ll probably never sell it as long as 47 and the GQP are in power. He wants it to be a mouthpiece for information that he thinks will serve his other gigantic business interests in dealing with them.
FWIW.
Best of luck to the good reporters, photographers, editors, etc., who are affected by this chaos. It didn’t have to be this way, but it’s not surprising (and maybe Bezos gave those good reporters 13 more years of incomes and experiences that will help them in their future endeavors).
Best wishes,
Scott.
Jay
@Eyeroller:
Brisket, Baby Back or Pulled Pork, that’s it.
Brisket with sides, mashed potatoes, cornbread,
Baby Back, Baker, Grilled corn,
Pulled Pork on Poutine, fries, cheese curds, beef gravy.
Sauce, thick and caramelized, not on the side.
Fight me.
Odie Hugh Manatee
That picture of the guys with long faces made my day a bit brighter. Thank you! Those are the faces of conservative know-it-alls and better-than-yous who can’t be told that they are wrong about anything, coming to the realization that they got exactly what they voted for and yet they can’t attack the people who did this to them because they are on the same side… lo-fucking-l!
Trump is fucking his base and it’s frustrating the fuck out of them because to attack Trump’s policies is to attack Dear Leader, something that could put them at odds with others in their community. There are no Democrats to blame here and some even realize that the Democrats are the only ones who are trying to stop the crazy.
All I can say to all of this is “Burn baby burn!”. May they continue to get exactly what they voted for, good and hard.
I hope everyone who voted for Harris is having nice evening! Back to working on the Mustang… electrical upgrades (lighting and front harness). Spring is coming and got to have the fun car ready for fun!
lowtechcyclist
@Kayla Rudbek:
See, that’s the sort of thing I’d figure would have to be handled at the county level. <100 households is way too small for their own school system, or to pay for maintaining whatever sort of road network is needed in their 24 square miles. It's just too small a tax base for practically any of the necessities.
frosty
@Suzanne:
Yeah, at least BASE jumpers have a parachute! Watched those guys at the New River Gorge bridge a couple of years ago. Insane!
Suzanne
@Jay: I don’t think that significant numbers of women athletes are injecting their penises with hyaluronic acid to get more lift.
Phylllis
@Steve in the ATL: I saw a brief Tiktok explainer about curling scoring and now it’s kind of ruined for me. I liked it better when I had no idea what the hell was going on.
frosty
@Kayla Rudbek: Schools are a different tax. Property tax goes to the locals, school tax to the (sub-County) district. Locals have an income tax, too. Water, sewer, and refuse are paid quarterly, not from taxes.
Maryland expatriates say PA taxes are lower. Sure, the state income taxes are lower. BUT THERE ARE SO MANY OTHERS!!!!!
frosty
@piratedan:
Catalina State Park was one of our favorites when we spent a COVID month in Arizona. Fool Hollow was a close second.
Just look at that parking lot
I reading about the scandal that hit curling in 2015. A company created a new type head for the broom that had bristles allowing for greater manipulation of the stone.Looks like the offending players raised suspicions when they went from middling players up to the top.
The CBC did a podcast all about it. It’s called Broomgate: A Curling Scandal. A lot of Canadian imagination sure went into that title. Anyway, looks like it has five episodes. The first one is called : The Mystery Broom.
Cheating in curling? My world is shattered.
lowtechcyclist
@frosty:
Thanks for the explanation. Clearly they are fucked.
Still strikes me as insane to dump the burdens of government on a governmental unit that tiny, but it is what it is.
frosty
@Another Scott: The Post staff need to head north and ask the Baltimore Banner owners, management, and staff how they put their (digital) paper together. The majority of them are expatriates from the Baltimore Sun. Purchased and ruined by Tribune and subsequent owners.
Jay
@lowtechcyclist:
Geoduck
I will forever wonder why so many people go so rabidly insane over what constitutes “real BBQ.” Call it what you want, eat it, it tastes good.
Speaking of bizarre fixations, I check CNN.com to see what the outrage of the day is, and for the last couple of weeks every day their main story has been about some random missing person/possible kidnapping case. They generally have links to more important stuff, but this one dumb story is always front and center.
frosty
@lowtechcyclist: School districts usually include several local governments. It’s a different layer of jurisdictions. My county has 16 school districts. Muncipalities are one city, 37 boroughs, and 35 townships.
danielx
Last few days: Yet another episode of These Fuckin’ People.
Jay
@Suzanne:
The do the same for the “mound”, causes swelling at time of scanning.
Keep in mind, they don’t do this for competition, they do it pre-competition, so once their suits are approved and secured, but worn in competition, there is that little bit of loose fabric.
So far, this year, it has only been Norway that has been “caught”.
p.a.
I may be a freak in that I like the membrane left on porkribs. When done right (or maybe not right but overcooked?) I like the parchment-like texture it takes on; how it peels off and the mouth feel.
Generally like pretty much all types of meats, dry rub> sauce in general but not always. Don’t like the white Alabama? sauce, don’t like sweet sauce. Brisket is usually one of the meats, and while I’m pro pork too, when a place has beef ribs 🤤
Collards always. Not big on mac/cheese. Slaw (which can be vinegar, not just mayo.) bbq beans. NO SUGAR cornbread.
Suzanne
@Jay: Yeah, well, the media is referring to it as “Crotch-gate” and I hereby declare myself done with the -gate suffix. We’ve reached the nadir. It’s not hot or funny, it’s cringey.
danielx
@Geoduck:
Not to sound like Goodie Twoshoes, but it is kind of a big deal to the people involved. That being said, it is a pattern.
Jay
@Geoduck:
So, one of The Elites, The Cool Kids, The Entitled.
scav
Portrait of three guys realizing they’re the ones being drowned in the proverbial bathtub.
Chetan Murthy
@Suzanne: there’s a thing in this story that I don’t understand. It seems difficult to believe that The amount of extra cloth from just a little increase in girth of the member, could really improve ski jumping performance. I mean it’s a few square centimeters. articles I read said that a 5% increase in the area of the suit could have a significant impact on performance, but we’re not talking about 5% here. So I do wonder what percentage increase in the area of the suit. Are these cheaters actually achieving with this hack?
Harrison Wesley
@Suzanne: I really don’t get it. The thrill of victory achieved by sticking an acid-filled needle into one’s penis eludes me. Perhaps I’m too sensitive about what I’ve got;a poor thing, but mine own.
surfk9
@frosty: Are you talking about Fool Hollow in Show Low?
Jay
@Chetan Murthy:
There is a requirement that the suits be skin tight to a measurable extent.
The reason why, is that loose fabric, acts as a “squirrel suit”.
Because the suits are made of a stretchy fabric, spandex blends, there are only a few places on the body where you can achieve the “shrink” effect, swelling a part when the suit is being fitted, not being swollen when it’s competition time.
If you can do both the crotch and the armpits, you can, for the same ramp speeds, technique, jump. up to 7.5% farther,
That’s like coming up with a cheat in the 50 metre race that knocks 0.5 seconds off your time. You go from being a member of the pack to The GOAT.
Chetan Murthy
@Jay: do you know what contribution the crotch provides? Just curious.
Gin & Tonic
@lowtechcyclist:
This is something that I think varies by state. In RI, while there are counties, they are almost non-existent in terms of government services – the only thing I can think of at the county level is courts. Everything else is either town or state. Roads are classified as state or town roads, with maintenance by the appropriate body; schools and police departments are by town. When my daughter moved to Maryland to take a job as a schoolteacher, I sort of joked that while my town may have 200 elementary school teachers, the county that employs my daughter has 200 elementary schools. Kind of different scale.
swiftfox
@Steve in the ATL: Craig’s BBQ, DeValls Bluff, Arkansas
Suzanne
@Chetan Murthy:
PHRASING.
Harrison Wesley
Some may think Dick Bigger does not exist. They may well believe that Dick Trickle never existed.
cmorenc
@Geoduck: Far too high a % of news stories on the CNN site are behind a subscription paywall, aside from just the headline. Not sure whether if you are a subscriber you still get ads once inside the paywall.
different-church-lady
@Chetan Murthy:
@Suzanne: What the hell has happened to education in this country?
TS
@lowtechcyclist: They would spend their money on L.E. Every excuse for a town in the US has police/LE to make sure they raise money from people driving through.
laura
@Suzanne: That’s how you know you done it right. It’s the sage smudge of the sensual and gustatory pleasures of the table.
Jay
@Chetan Murthy:
It’s not the percentage of the crotch area, it’s the aerodynamic effects.
So, if you are a Base Jumper, take a running start, position your body properly in flight, you will get a “distance out” effect of 4X your best running broad jump on a 2,000 metre jump. So, maybe 3.6 metres.
If you do the same thing, wearing a half Squirrel Suit, where there are fabric panels between your waist and wrists, and a fabric panel that goes ankle to ankle and up to the crotch, the same flight position will give you a “distance out” effect of 1.5 to 2.1 kilometres dependent on other factors, like body size.
Given the armpit and crotch cheat improves distance by up to 7.5%, I would guess that the crotch effect results in up to a 2.5% improvement, dependent on the size of the swelling at fitment time.
It’s not the craziest, or most long term health “cheat” that teams, programs or athletes have engaged in for a tiny increase in performance
Size and shape of ski’s is also closely regulated as they are a major part of the flight “suit” for ski jumping.
RevRick
@lowtechcyclist: It’s Pennsylvania stupidity. We vie with New Jersey for having ridiculously small political entities. In horse-and-buggy days they made some sense, because much of PA is ridge and valley territory, which makes travel difficult. Our blogmaster can tell you all about that.
Anyway, much of Pennsylvania is in economic and demographic decline, parts of which have never recovered from the Great Depression. Schuykill County is one of those former coal mining areas. The only parts of the state that show real vitality are the Southeast quadrant and Pittsburgh.
mrmoshpotato
In dirt-filled coffins?
Craig
A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms is outstanding. Nice simple writing, great acting and perfect pacing dropping us off at just the right point at the end of each episode.
gene108
@lowtechcyclist:
The underlying fact of politics during my 51 years alive is holding the corrupt accountable, especially the president, only happens when right-wing men demand it.
Otherwise right-wingers circle the wagons to protect their presidents. They did this with Bush, Jr. after 9/11.
They did this in 2016 with Donald Trump by refusing to back the findings Russia pursued a disinformation campaign to benefit his electoral chances.
I feel Trump 2.0 is the natural evolution of where Republicans have been heading after Watergate took down Nixon.
I mean the only reason anything was done to try and get the Epstein files released is because a bunch of right-wing men, who had dedicated the past decade to unearthing an international child sex trafficking ring, thought the Epstein files would blow the lid off the conspiracy, and thought Trump was on their side to “save the children”.
Jay
@Geoduck:
In many areas of the US, mostly the Eastern South, BBQ is a regional religion. It’s not just “food”.
It’s like mayo vs Miracle Whip, Old Bay vs. Cajun vs Creole.
frosty
@surfk9:
Yes, Fool Hollow SP in Show Low, that’s the one. Great campsites. Nice lake, good location.
Another Scott
Meanwhile, …
+35 swing to Team D. Pretty good!
Forward!!
(via Cheryl Rofer)
Best wishes,
Scott.
BlueGuitarist
@Jay:
first read about that Minneapolis horror story in an essay someone linked to here, “Minneapolis, inside the economic blockade zone where we are pioneering nonviolence, whistle edition,” which I found compelling.
https://deardara.com/so/adPmSCLoz?languageTag=en&cid=87d950fa-ce67-4a75-b818-cd52e0aaf67a
Chief Oshkosh
@Steve LaBonne:
Nash knows pash
Sister Golden Bear
@Suzanne:
Boob injections would confer similar suit-fitting advantages, but I assume the women competitors are smart enough not to pump the up girls full of paraffin. Or they’re just better at not getting caught.,,,
BlueGuitarist
@Another Scott:
thanks for posting that good news!!
Louisiana’s R governor appointed the Democratic incumbent to a state commissioner job (alcohol & tobacco control) to open up the seat.
(district includes Plaquemine, which I remember from the Randy Newman song, “Louisiana”)
BlueGuitarist
@frosty:
The 51st News seems very good for DC news (I’m not local)
On BlueSky @51st.news or
51st.news/
Chief Oshkosh
@gene108: Reagan never suffered a second for Iran-Contra. Hell, he should’ve been nailed prior to the election due to fucking around with the hostage situation.
And Bush I was knee deep in both. Never touched him.
So, corrupt, criminal, and every single fucking chance they get, they blow the budget.
But they’re the guys who are all lawnorder and the best for the economy and the best at rooting out fraud and are the best at foreign policy.
mrmoshpotato
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
The Trump trash shitstains never thought their Dear Leader would eat their faces!
Fat, orange fascist loves their faces like he loves stuffing a Big Mac or burnt steak with ketchup into his face.
2liberal
@John Revolta:
according to Wikipedia those lovebirds all reside in Africa. No mention of Arizona
bluefoot
@Baud: jfc these people are monsters. I can’t even.
NotMax
Beware psittacosis.
Just sayin’.
The Republic of Stupidity
And in other news…
‘Kid Rock-Led ‘Rock the Country’ Festival Canceled in SC After Nearly All Performers Pull Out’
Finally, something to point and laugh about…
Couldn’t happen to a more deserving asshat…
karlo
Long-time Valley guy (me) recommends JL Smokehouse down in Phoenix. It’s on east Broadway near 20th street. Something tells me it’s more your kind of place than Little Miss (which is fine, but has far too many young professional types as customers).
Another favorite is Eric’s Family Barbecue, way out west in Avondale. Expensive but damn good.
Someone also recommended Honey Bears, which is also fine (haven’t been there in years, though, but it’s the king of place that never changes — I hope).
RaflW
For what it’s worth, AUSA Joseph Thompson quit the job around Jan 15th in one of the waves of departures from the Minnesota office. So at least in his case, he did see the bullshit from the Admin and say “nope.”
smike
@Suzanne: Is that a bad thing? I’m reading it kind of like, “Whew, I could use a cigarette after that!”
IOW, I enjoyed the intensity of that…
JCJ
@Suzanne: way late, but if you care here is a good explanation of “Crotch-Gate”
youtu.be/qXgirEiIDfE?si=akeG-iZ6xgBdOOxF
Westyny
@Suzanne: It’s THAT good!
NotMax
@JCJ
The angle of the dangle corresponds to the drift of the lift.
:)
Fair Economist
@Another Scott: I’m not sure about the “Trump carried the district by 13” claim. I can’t actually find a source. In the last contested election, in 2019, Democrats got 56% of the vote and the Republican got 19%. The Democratic incumbent didn’t even get a challenger in 2023.
Apparently the Louisiana governor appointed the Democrat to a state position to open the seat. I’m starting to wonder if “Trump won the district” is just Republican propagandist nonsense and we’re seeing another case of believing their own bullshit.
(Note: 55% -> 67% is still a nice shift).
Mel
Red Barn BBQ in Tompkinsville, Ky.
Get the half chicken, a cup of extra sauce, and enjoy! It’s a kicky red vinegar based sauce, and it is addictive!
They used to do a pulled chicken bbq sandwich platter. Utterly delicious.
For pulled pork and a thicker, tomato based sauce, Eli’s in Cincinnati is good eating.
Princess
@Gretchen: You are too kind to Bezos by assuming his inclination would be to have a viable and accurate newspaper. He bought the Post to promote a pro-billionaire agenda. If the Post can’t be viable that way second best for him is to torch it. Not everything is about Trump. Trump is a symptom of what ails the US; not the disease.
pluky
@2liberal: I presume feral population established from escaped pet imports. A common thing in locations warm enough for their survival.
Aha!
maricopaaudubon.org/peachfaced-lovebird
prostratedragon
@Suzanne: “The agony of defeat” was illustrated by a wouldbe ski jumper who, fortunately, survived.
JustSomeFlyover
@Gretchen: Eh. What, of any consequence, would affect a plutocrat like Bezos? They’re all untouchable. Are people really going to quit Amazon in such numbers that it materially affects its revenue? (Ok, so maybe a few old evangelicals might get the winds if it was a live boy….but definitely not a dead girl.)
WaterGirl
@JustSomeFlyover: Welcome!
Paul in KY
@Chetan Murthy: There’s a little shack in Greenville, AL that is sorta like that. Husband & wife operation. Sell till sold out.
Paul in KY
@Steve in the ATL: Green Street Smoked Meats in Chicago says ‘Here, hold my beer
Paul in KY
@Chetan Murthy: She was a bit high on her own supply, IMO.
Paul in KY
@Jay: I think they should make them wear same stuff they wear in CC skiing and speed skating.
Paul in KY
@Suzanne: Think the bulge acts like a little stabilizing fin.
Paul in KY
@Harrison Wesley: They ski jump, unforced. Acid into dick is nothing.
If pole vaulting is too weenie a sport for you…
Paul in KY
@Chief Oshkosh: Pres. Carter’s campaign should have been a bit more ontheball about ratfucking opportunities.
Paul in KY
@Mel: If you’re in Lexington, try either Blue Door Smokehouse or LX BBQ.