Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers: “The Black Rats of London” - 9/28/16 - Portland, OR

Music • Views: 27,484

YouTube

Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers performing “Black Rats Of London” on September 28, 2016 in Portland, OR. Enjoy downloads from other live shows at http://brucehornsbylive.com/

Lyrics:

In our beautiful pursuit of manifest destiny
We give ourselves great credit, we thank the Good Lord so earnestly
But something’s been omitted by the writers of history
Now stand up all unsung heroes who made this world for you and me

Night crawlers cleared the forests of seedlings, nuts and leaves
And everything everywhere dried up and the natives got the dry heaves
Mosquitoes brought malaria and bees brought their hives
And the Indians got less scarier with yellow skin and eyes

Hoorah, hooray, the black rats of London
They crossed the sea for you and me
Let’s raise a glass so thankfully

Hail, hail, hooray, the black rats of London
Made the long treacherous passage to
Spread their natural juices, a gift to you, a gift to you

Parasites decimated the red army of Cornwallis and his flock
Standing weakly on Yorktown battlefield with measles and small pox
Horses, hogs, chickens and dogs and John Rolfe’s prized worms
Divine intervention, bacterial strains from imported English dirt

Hoorah, hooray, the black rats of London
They crossed the sea for you and me
Let’s raise a glass so thankfully

Hail, hail, hooray, the black rats of London
Made the long treacherous passage to
Spread their natural juices, a gift to you

Natural juices, yes a gift to you
Hoorah, hooray, hoorah, hooray
Hail, hail, hooray, hoorah, hooray, ray, ray, ray

Hoorah, hooray, the black rats of London
They crossed the sea for you and me
Let’s raise a glass so thankfully

Hail, hail, hooray, the black rats of London
They made the long treacherous passage to
Spread their natural juices, a gift to you

The black rats of London
They crossed the sea for you and me
Let’s raise a glass so thankfully

Hail, hooray, the black rats of London
Made the long treacherous passage to
Spread their natural juices, a gift to you, yes a gift to you

Pat yourself on the back, you did a great job
And the black rats of London made such a glorious, vicious mob
Sorry Renee it’s just not true, parameciums have feelings too

Where were the black rats when we needed them the most?
There were slave owners to infect
And the Joe Mengeles of the American West

Jump to bottom

392 comments
1
Belafon  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:15:36pm
2
I Would Prefer Not To  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:19:00pm

Who is Cathedral Engineer? The avatar looks like Michael Tracy and that bothers me.

3
Belafon  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:22:26pm
4
Charles Johnson  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:22:52pm
5
b.d. (Follow science, survive and vote!)  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:23:51pm

Time for Listerine to make a comeback

6
Citizen K  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:25:38pm

Caught at the tail end of the last thread:

Breed says SF’s PPE orders have been diverted to France and ‘confiscated’ by FEMA

San Francisco Mayor London Breed explained the city’s difficulties in acquiring personal protective equipment for local hospitals in a press conference Friday, saying city officials’ orders for gowns and other safety items have been diverted to other countries and U.S. cities.

San Francisco has successfully purchased 15 million pieces of PPE, and received others from the federal government or from companies like Flexport and Facebook, but it’s not enough.

“We’ve had issues of our orders being relocated by our suppliers in China,” she said. “For example, we had isolation gowns on their way to San Francisco and they were diverted to France. We’ve had situations when things we’ve ordered that have gone through Customs were confiscated by FEMA to be diverted to other locations. We know everyone is dealing with a serious challenge. Through Customs, we’ve had situations where those items have been taken and put out on the market for the highest bidder, putting cities against cities and states against states.”

Breed’s statement Friday echoed similar observations made by U.S. political leaders in recent weeks. She added that the fact she and other local and state governments are having to fight to secure PPE at this point of the coronavirus outbreak “blows my mind,” but she nevertheless wanted residents to better understand why the process of buying such supplies has not been straightforward.

Once again…this is mob extortion shit right here.

7
b.d. (Follow science, survive and vote!)  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:34:54pm

These are messed up times and the GOP is f*cked.

They spent the 1st part of the day trying to explain how, and mocking libs, that we already inhale disinfectants, then Trump said he was kidding which blew their laughable defense out of the water.

The drinking Lysol thing is not a meme that will go away….ever.

Trump’s old folk base are set on a fixed income and don’t care if things open up, they would rather they don’t because they are rightfully scared. Trump’s base aren’t planning on going to Lollapalooza.

This country is screwed because of the GOP and the GOP will pay price smaller than they deserve.

8
Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:37:57pm

Grocery store report:

The paper aisle is still almost all barren. Yesterday there was some tp, house brand, at least 50 shelf-feet (stacked three high per shelf), left over from a large load that must have arrived on Wednesday. It was all gone today. But there was some super-cheap no-brand, not much left, that must have arrived over night. Oh, and a few rolls of off-brand paper towels, so whatever arrived overnight was mostly sold out.

Rest of the store is stocked ok. Still no H2O2 on the shelf. Also, there has been a run on vitamin C, none of the store-brand in stock and very little of the name brand. Still on the shelves is vit D. Buyers don’t seem aware that the latter is as important if not more so than the former.

Frozen dinner aisle still spotty. I guess that with all the fast food places shut down (or mostly so) that people are now going for the frozen food.

America 2020: toilet paper is the most desired product in the stores.

9
jaunte  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:38:22pm
10
jaunte  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:38:50pm

WHO ALLOWED TRUMP TO THINK HE WAS COMPETENT

11
Eclectic Cyborg  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:40:54pm

re: #10 jaunte

WHO ALLOWED TRUMP TO THINK HE WAS COMPETENT

Fox News.

12
Florida Panhandler  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:56:02pm

re: #7 b.d. (Follow science, survive and vote!)

In this election it is important for Democrats to directly tie every single Republican to Trump because they are fact, directly tied. This election decides the fate of this country for the next 30_40 years. Our Kakistocracy is already here under Trump I. Full-on and wholesale remake of this country will be done under Trump II with injecting bleach, staring at the Sun, and complete alienation from traditional allies and embracing narcissistic dictators with no remorse as the encore.

13
fern01  Apr 24, 2020 • 6:57:13pm

re: #4 Charles Johnson

If there were any enterprising reporters left, they would have President Obama’s daily schedules to show the difference - but that would be too easy.

14
makeitstop  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:02:55pm
15
Dread Pirate  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:22:43pm
16
KingKenrod  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:26:06pm

re: #2 I Would Prefer Not To

Who is Cathedral Engineer? The avatar looks like Michael Tracy and that bothers me.

He’s ghost Michael Tracey, from that time Maxine Waters murdered him.

17
EPR-radar  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:28:59pm

re: #9 jaunte

For fuck’s sake. Trump is a flaming idiot and all the world knows it.

It is literally impossible to tell something to a flaming idiot such that it won’t be butchered when the flaming idiot tries to regurgitate. That’s basically a defining trait of an idiot.

Plus, you know, Trump lacking object permanence is also a problem here, but one thing at a time.

18
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:30:15pm

re: #8 Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus

Grocery store report:

The paper aisle is still almost all barren. Yesterday there was some tp, house brand, at least 50 shelf-feet (stacked three high per shelf), left over from a large load that must have arrived on Wednesday. It was all gone today. But there was some super-cheap no-brand, not much left, that must have arrived over night. Oh, and a few rolls of off-brand paper towels, so whatever arrived overnight was mostly sold out.

Rest of the store is stocked ok. Still no H2O2 on the shelf. Also, there has been a run on vitamin C, none of the store-brand in stock and very little of the name brand. Still on the shelves is vit D. Buyers don’t seem aware that the latter is as important if not more so than the former.

Frozen dinner aisle still spotty. I guess that with all the fast food places shut down (or mostly so) that people are now going for the frozen food.

America 2020: toilet paper is the most desired product in the stores.

During Communist times, the lines for toilet paper at Soviet stores were a running joke in western media. To such a level have the Republican traitors and their naked emperor brought us.

19
EPR-radar  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:30:56pm

re: #14 makeitstop

I was wondering when bleach enemas would become a thing. It’s as disgusting as it is inevitable, given that we have president Trump and the nationwide toilet paper thing.

20
EPR-radar  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:33:04pm

re: #18 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

During Communist times, the lines for toilet paper at Soviet stores were a running joke in western media. To such a level have the Republican traitors and their naked emperor brought us.

Assuming no major disruptions in the TP supply chain, this nationwide shortage of TP has no real-world cause and is instead due to irrational mob behavior.

21
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:34:46pm

re: #20 EPR-radar

Assuming no major disruptions in the TP supply chain, this nationwide shortage of TP has no real-world cause and is instead due to irrational mob behavior.

Well, I said Republican.

22
William Lewis  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:37:23pm

I have an overnight shift tonight so I didn’t do too much today. I played with photoshop a bit as I shared earlier and tried to take a nap a couple of times. It was pay day so I paid rent, electricity, pawn shop interest and picked up a few groceries. Ended up with all of $2 left in the bank account but OTOH when I get home from work in the morning, there are the Other Needed Supplies that I picked up.

23
Jay C  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:37:30pm

re: #20 EPR-radar

Assuming no major disruptions in the TP supply chain, this nationwide shortage of TP has no real-world cause and is instead due to irrational mob behavior.

Of course: thankfully, the COVID-19 spread isn’t so bad that toilet-paper mills around the country have had to shut down (unlike packing-houses) - shortages seem to be due mainly to panic-buying/hoarding on the retail end.

Which seems to be quite variable by region: the drugstore across the street from us has been chock-full of TP (even our preferred brand) all week. And paper towels as well (even if mostly house-brand).

24
Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:38:26pm

re: #15 Dread Pirate

All parked neatly in a geometric pattern:

25
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:38:30pm

re: #20 EPR-radar

Assuming no major disruptions in the TP supply chain, this nationwide shortage of TP has no real-world cause and is instead due to irrational mob behavior.

I was kinda wondering about that. It’s been almost 6 weeks - I would’ve assumed that any additional supply would’ve balanced the system by now. I was at the grocery store earlier and saw the paper aisle about half-stocked. I guess people are still stockpiling even long after it’s been proven that stockpiling is stupid and that they can’t return it.

26
Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:41:35pm

Even more are parked offshore of Galveston.

27
Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:45:48pm

re: #25 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

It’s quite the show. I guess most people must go to the toilet at work and now, sitting at home, they discover they actually have to buy tp rather than use the tp at their job?

28
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:47:05pm

Calling it night Lizards. Remember, don’t drink the bleach and never ever, shove a fish up your ass.

Don’t Shove A Fish Up Your Ass

29
A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:50:43pm

re: #20 EPR-radar

Assuming no major disruptions in the TP supply chain, this nationwide shortage of TP has no real-world cause and is instead due to irrational mob behavior.

Not entirely. In other times, stores, restaurants, workplaces, etc., had their own TP, and it was either single sheets or huge rolls. So there’s an increase in the demand for household stuff and no easy way to switch production from the not-needed types.

Of course, some of it is irrational hoarding (or would-be TP sharks hoping to overcharge their neighbors).

30
DodgerFan1988  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:51:59pm

Yeah, 50,000 dead Americans is real funny, you fucking ghoul.
31
jaunte  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:56:15pm
32
I Would Prefer Not To  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:57:57pm

re: #31 jaunte

[Embedded content]

Ingrham is a fucking zombie. Almost nothing will kill her.

33
jaunte  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:58:32pm

Chaos agents.

34
Dread Pirate  Apr 24, 2020 • 7:59:27pm
35
EPR-radar  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:00:50pm

re: #30 DodgerFan1988

[Embedded content]

Yeah, 50,000 dead Americans is real funny, you fucking ghoul.

Shitbirds like this Fox News host really should get covid19 and live long while losing most of their lung function.

36
Teukka  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:03:12pm

37
jaunte  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:03:18pm

re: #30 DodgerFan1988

Hard to believe anyone listens to Greg Gutfeld’s jackass pronouncements about “what matters.”

38
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:09:53pm
39
Charles Johnson  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:16:10pm
40
BlueSpotinAL  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:21:44pm

Found out today that a good acquaintance from professional meetings died Mar 7 of covid 19, followed shortly by his wife a few days later. I think he lived in northern New Jersey.

41
A Mom Anon  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:25:51pm

re: #39 Charles Johnson

We had a husky when my son was in early elementary school,about 20 yrs ago. Blade the wonder dog. He loved bubbles. He would literally do flips for them.

42
makeitstop  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:28:52pm
43
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 24, 2020 • 8:54:59pm

I’m not sure how I feel about this guy but this is some thread. It’s all sourced, so. Wow. Just wow.

44
Eclectic Cyborg  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:05:35pm

re: #42 makeitstop

Imagine the looks on the faces of the Lysol PR guys after they heard what Trump said.

45
Amory Blaine  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:21:04pm

I’m unable to find photos of the armed nutjobs from today’s Madison protest at any MSM site for some reason. The police did not enforce the 6 ft rule nor make any arrests.

46
Amory Blaine  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:29:38pm

re: #45 Amory Blaine

My bad, Dailfail has a bunch.

The right wing has invested a lot of time and money here.

47
Amory Blaine  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:30:17pm

48
Renaissance_Man  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:31:43pm

re: #46 Amory Blaine

My bad, Dailfail has a bunch.

[Embedded content]

The right wing has invested a lot of time and money here.

It’s things like this that demonstrate clearly why America has failed as a nation. Its laws simply do not apply to white people. And thus the white criminals that run it will never, ever face any consequences, because the moment they do, it’s not America.

49
Amory Blaine  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:35:03pm

If you can be identified as participating in this illegal gathering (no permit) you should be quarantined from work or other crucial activities.

50
William Lewis  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:43:43pm

re: #46 Amory Blaine

My bad, Dailfail has a bunch.

[Embedded content]

The right wing has invested a lot of time and money here.

Anyone carrying a firearm at low ready should have been arrested and charged with brandishing.

51
Amory Blaine  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:44:21pm

Katie Rosenberg, the new mayor of Wausau, Wisconsin, isn’t Jewish. But anti-Semites don’t seem to care.

Katie Rosenberg likely would have made headlines in any case for being elected mayor of Wausau, a small city in central Wisconsin. She’s 36, for one thing, young for an executive, and she’s a Democrat who ousted a GOP incumbent in what turned out to be a surprising blue wave election…

“A lot of people assume I am Jewish and I don’t see any reason to correct them because a lot of it comes in the form of anti-Semitism,” she said.

Rosenberg had plenty of examples.

“The majority of it is online via Twitter or Facebook. It’s usually name-calling (I am sure you know all the anti-Semitic names) and I block or delete them,” she said in a Twitter direct message exchange. “Last summer I had some guy (obviously drunk) come up to me and tell me that I was trying to ‘Jew’ him.”

52
goddamnedfrank  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:50:15pm
53
EPR-radar  Apr 24, 2020 • 9:52:17pm

re: #52 goddamnedfrank

Trump is more like an opportunistic infection coming along to kill a patient that is already nearly-dead of a decades-long prion disease.

Here, of course, movement conservatism is the prion.

54
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:10:14pm

Well, we’re fuqued.

Ricketts relaxes health measures in Panhandle (Goes to the Scottsbluff, Nebr. Star-Herald)

He said earlier he would relax measures in some health districts. He relaxed them in many districts.

On Friday, April 24, Gov. Pete Ricketts announced relaxed health measures in many health districts throughout the state, including the Panhandle Public Health District, new direct health measures will open up religious services, allow elective surgeries to take place and salons, restaurants and daycare facilities to expand some offerings.

The measures will be effective May 4, Panhandle Public Health District Director Kim Engel said during Friday’s daily briefing.

Engel said that Ricketts has indicated that he’ll be implementing changes gradually, phasing changes in two-week increments to ensure that the spread of the coranavirus is limited and cases in the state do not climb.

As directed health measures are relaxed, Engel said, “We’ll see what happens,” saying that people are still urged to practice good hygiene, social distancing and taking measures such as wearing cloth masks when out in the public.

(more)

Oh good, our public health district director wants to experiment on us. Conservatives are genocidaires.

55
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:15:34pm

Nebraska:

Positive tests: 2,421 (+608 since yesterday)
Deaths: 50 (+3)

Conservatism kills.

56
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:19:39pm

Panhandle:

40 cases (+1, Scott’s Bluff County)
26 recovered

2/3 are women.
Largest age group 40-49
pphd.org

57
Dave In Austin  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:19:40pm
58
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:22:32pm
59
Dread Pirate  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:26:53pm
60
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:34:23pm

re: #59 Dread Pirate

It looks very much like the CSS Virginia with the angled outer hull.

en.wikipedia.org

For the Virginia the design was to deflect artillery.
For the Zumwalt the design is to deflect radar.

The Navy, reinventing the angle. /s

61
teleskiguy  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:37:27pm

“The Kook.” A Different Kind of Ski Film

62
Dave In Austin  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:38:03pm

Cory Wong & Metropole Orkest “Want Me Back” (feat. Cody Fry)

63
Kilroy was here  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:44:57pm

re: #59 Dread Pirate

Laid down in 2011.
Launched in 2013
Commission in 2016
Cost.. $4.4 billion
It mounts 2 155mm Cannon - but the ammo for them was cancelled in 2016 and the navy has no replacements planned.

Zumwalt’s first commanding officer was Captain James A. Kirk.

64
Belafon  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:48:21pm

I guess he’s finally realizing he’s losing it (mainly, control of the questions):

65
I Would Prefer Not To  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:53:15pm

He’s going to hold a rally. 2 weeks max.

66
Targetpractice  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:54:03pm

re: #59 Dread Pirate

[Embedded content]

Ah, the Navy’s white elephant.

67
Dave In Austin  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:55:23pm

Better (Live) - Cody Fry, Cory Wong, & Dynamo

68
goddamnedfrank  Apr 24, 2020 • 10:58:25pm

re: #59 Dread Pirate

[Embedded content]

A ship with two main guns that it will never, ever be able to fire because the ammunition ended up being too insanely expensive to actually procure.

An absolutely unbelievable clusterfuck, and somehow fitting that the Navy should take delivery of this turd in the final year of Trump’s disastrous Presidency.

69
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:06:41pm

I’m going to have to go back and read my copy of the Principia Discordia again.

It’s amazing how more sane that is than our current governmental hellscape.

70
Jay C  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:09:37pm

re: #68 goddamnedfrank

A ship with two main guns that it will never, ever be able to fire because the ammunition ended up being too insanely expensive to actually procure.

An absolutely unbelievable clusterfuck, and somehow fitting that the Navy should take delivery of this turd in the final year of Trump’s disastrous Presidency.

Maybe USS Boondoggle would have been a better name for it?

Hadn’t realized that bit about its “main gun” - maybe they can go back to charging them by ramming loose powder down the barrel like in the Good Old Navy Days?

Also, wasn’t the Zumwalt class supposed to have been dozens of ships, but because of budget overruns, they’ve only been able to build (?) three?

ADD: just checked Wiki: yes 32 planned, three completed.

71
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:12:09pm

Thread, four tweets, plus unthreaded additions:

72
teleskiguy  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:16:14pm
73
Dread Pirate  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:18:23pm

re: #71 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Thread, four tweets, plus unthreaded additions:

[Embedded content]

Rich people problems.

74
goddamnedfrank  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:18:37pm

re: #70 Jay C

Maybe USS Boondoggle would have been a better name for it?

Hadn’t realized that bit about its “main gun” - maybe they can go back to charging them by ramming loose powder down the barrel like in the Good Old Navy Days?

Also, wasn’t the Zumwalt class supposed to have been a dozen or so ships, but because of budget overruns, they’ve only been able to build (?) three?

“Main gun” was probably the wrong term for me to apply to a gun on a guided missile destroyer. But they designed a whole new 6 inch system that is never going to be put on any other ship because chemically accelerated ship’s guns are already obsolete and railguns aren’t quite there yet. The ammo order got cancelled when the Zumwalt line got reduced to 3 ships and the cost per round shot up over $800K.

The Zumwalt design was cooked up when a bunch of idiots got worried that the extinction of battleships meant the loss of ability to quickly bring indirect naval fire to bear on inland targets.

75
Dr Lizardo  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:32:47pm

re: #72 teleskiguy

Donald Trump says only incantations from the Necronomicon can cure COVID-19 and also close the gate before Yog-Sototh can enter.

“The Dunwich Horror” by Joseph Diaz

BTW, that’s an excellent bit of artwork - perfectly captures the climax of the story.

76
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:35:16pm

Sidney (Nebr.) Regional Medical Center announced its first Covid-19 case in their convalescent facility. The person was tested solely on one symptom, a sore throat.

With that, they’ve announced they are accepting no new residents and are also shutting out their hospice programme to new referrals.

77
Targetpractice  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:48:27pm

re: #74 goddamnedfrank

“Main gun” is probably the wrong term for a gun on a guided missile destroyer, but they designed a whole new 6 inch system that is never going to be put on any other ship because chemically fired ship’s guns are already obsolete and railguns aren’t quite there yet. The ammo order got cancelled when the Zumwalt line got reduced to 3 ships and the cost per round shot up over $800K.

The Zumwalt design was cooked up when a bunch of idiots got worried about the extinction of battleships the loss of ability to quickly bring indirect naval fire to bear on inland targets.

That bunch of idiots being Congress, the Marine Corps, and (to a smaller degree) the Army. The Zumwalts were supposed to total 96 ships, with the plan being to roll them into service as the Arleigh Burkes came up for retirement. But between the guns, the radars, the Vertical Launch System, and all the assorted “future-proofing,” that ships became so expensive that they finally cut the number down to 3. Problem is that economies of scale then kicked the project in the ass, as the bean-counters ran the numbers on not only manufacturing the shells for each ship, but maintaining a ready inventory in case of war, and realized that they could have a whole new fleet of Burkes for the same cost.

So now you have ships with useless guns, fitted with radars that are turning out not to be as capable as they were sold to be, and carrying anti-ship missiles which were developed when Ford was in office. The only reason they haven’t killed the whole program outright is because the Navy retired and donated the Iowas before Congress realized they’d been hoodwinked.

78
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:51:48pm
79
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 24, 2020 • 11:56:15pm

My wife is watching conspiracy theory videos on YouTube tonight regarding the Unified Wingnut Theory of Everything, in which CERN, black holes, Lizard People, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Illuminati, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (really), and aliens are all part of a Jewish atheist plot to suck us into an “alternative reality vortex.”

She says I should already know about this as I am part of the CFR and should get the weekly agenda on taking over the world. She sent this along to my best friend from the Navy, who is a physicist who was sent by the VA to CERN for an internship.

80
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:03:29am

For such a powerful shadowy organisation, the Council on Foreign Relations is pretty cheap with the swag. All they’ve ever sent me is a cloth tote bag (like a common NPR) and an aluminum coffee mug with their logo. They’re always late with my copy of the agenda to take over the world.

When I was on the village board, I used to take my coffee in the CFR mug, mostly because we had a conspiratorial-minded member on the board and the cup and my membership would spin him up.

81
Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:17:01am

Macaques SLAP Squirrels And Steal Their Food | Primates | BBC Earth

82
Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:19:16am

Frank Sinatra - Nice ‘n’ Easy (2020 Mix / Audio)

83
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:26:18am

John Oliver called bleach drinking back on March 1.

84
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:36:06am

Lauren Duca claims Facebook blocked an advert buy from her promoting her newsletter because it was too political.

laurenduca.substack.com

85
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:39:15am
86
Targetpractice  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:40:18am

re: #85 Anymouse 🌹🏡

[Embedded content]

Pat probably also thinks a female orgasm is a myth.

87
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:45:49am

re: #86 Targetpractice

Pat probably also thinks a female orgasm is a myth.

88
Dave In Austin  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:57:07am

Good show for background……

VULFPECK /// Live at Madison Square Garden

89
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:03:24am

KCBS:
Harold Reid, Statler Brothers bass singer, dies at 80

STAUNTON, Va. (AP) — Harold Reid, who sang bass for the Grammy-winning country group the Statler Brothers, has died after a long battle with kidney failure. He was 80.

(more)

(2:19)

Flowers on the Wall

90
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:08:06am

re: #89 Anymouse 🌹🏡

This song definitely fits the age of social distancing.

91
goddamnedfrank  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:10:28am
92
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:21:21am

(2:52)

I’ll Go To My Grave Loving You

93
Teukka  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:39:01am

This day in history:
April 25, 1933, a law was introduced that restricted the opportunities of Jews for higher education in Nazi Germany. The law was created after the so-called “Aryan clause”, the first anti-Jewish regulation that was introduced on April 7, 1933 and meant that Jews could be dismissed from state and public services for no reason.
Photo: A Jewish shop in Heilbronn, Germany on boycott day, April 1, 1933.
Photo: Yad Vashem, courtesy of Stadtarchiv Heilbronn.

Instagram

Dagens datum: 25 april 1933 infördes en lag som begränsade judars möjligheter till högre utbildning i Nazityskland. Lagen tillkom efter den sk ”ariska klausulen”, den första anti-judiska förordningen som infördes 7 april 1933 och innebar att judar kunde avskedas från statliga och offentliga tjänster utan anledning.
Läs mer om de första anti-judiska åtgärderna i och med att nazisterna kom till makten 1933 på länken under profilen @levandehistoria
levandehistoria.se
#historia #andravärldskriget #förintelsen
Foto: En judisk butik i Heilbronn i Tyskland på bojkottdagen den 1 april 1933. Foto: Yad Vashem, med tillstånd från Stadtarchiv Heilbronn.

94
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 3:19:36am

re: #85 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Oral sex with women causes it? I’m saved!!

I believe that Pat Robertson quote came from a parody site.

95
Eric The Fruit Bat  Apr 25, 2020 • 3:31:31am

re: #94 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I believe that Robertson said it was the gays and abortion.

96
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 3:34:13am

re: #95 Eric The Fruit Bat

I believe that Robertson said it was the gays and abortion.

He has been a parody of himself for years now…

97
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 3:39:39am

Friday Fun Time (goes to Juanita Jean’s, more there)

Okay, Alfredo over at the Dairy Queen found something fun for your locked-in weekend. The Trump Campaign spent $137,000 last month trying to silence two women.

According to FEC reports by the Trump campaign, it was a great month for Trump’s lawyers. Take a look (link at JJs).

LaRocca Hornik is representing the Trump campaign in the Jessica Denson and A.J. Delgado sex discrimination cases in the Southern District of New York.

And they’re losing.

Badly. I mean, Lysol in your veins badly.

98
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 4:07:31am

(video, 1:03 plus text, CNN)

Abigail Disney on Disney furloughs: ‘What the actual f—-‘?

99
Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus  Apr 25, 2020 • 4:22:55am

Stanford@Home: Steve Sano performs ‘Nocturne’

100
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Apr 25, 2020 • 4:28:52am

101
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 4:29:25am

re: #98 Anymouse 🌹🏡

(video, 1:03 plus text, CNN)

Abigail Disney on Disney furloughs: ‘What the actual f—-‘?

Disney tries to market itself as the very embodiment of American Dreams and values.

We see what lies behind it.

102
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 4:39:53am

re: #101 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Disney tries to market itself as the very embodiment of American Dreams and values.

We see what lies behind it.

Abigail Disney has a charitable foundation in New York City called the Daphne Foundation, which funds organisations who help people affected by violence, poverty, or discrimination.

She also is part of an organisation called Patriotic Millionaires, which calls for tax hikes on the extremely wealthy. She is a regular outspoken critic of the company co-founded by her grandfather.

103
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 4:55:58am

CBS is getting dragged now for magic-balance fairying Trump’s bullshyte statements about treatments for Covid-19. I guess they didn’t learn from the New York Times.

104
Alephnaught  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:15:31am

Popular brand of bleach in the UK:

105
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:21:17am

The press is going to normalise all of this. Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Jones (R-93rd district) wrote a nice article for the Washington Post.

Why I joined the reopening protests

This week, I stood on the steps of the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., joined by hundreds of fellow citizens at the peaceful “Reopen PA” rally. Voices cheered, car horns honked and flags waved. While critics will undoubtedly focus on the shortage of masks and lack of social distancing, I saw the best of America: people exercising their rights to free speech and assembly in defense of economic liberty.

(more)

Where peaceful substitutes for the word terrorists (protestors with long guns)

106
Decatur Deb  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:33:56am

Sittin’ here on a fine Saturday, patriotically huffing Lysol spray.

107
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:40:50am

Ah, home again from the hotel to the magic incantation “It’s 5:00 somewhere” and a brew in hand.

108
lawhawk  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:41:02am

re: #60 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Tumbledown hull design. There’s critics out there who think this is a mistake as it may not be able to handle heavy sea conditions. There’s also concerns that its gun and mission are screwed up because the railgun it was meant to carry is still nowhere near ready. And the convention gun was supposed to have a special long range round that never got done, so its reach is severely limited.

It’s a ship without a mission.

109
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:42:27am

re: #71 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Thread, four tweets, plus unthreaded additions:

[Embedded content]

Everything about Uber is horrible. From day one Uber has been the worst. The people in the office are horrible. The company policies are horrible. Literally from their inception.

This is hardly unexpected.

Uber is like Facebook. It should die 1000 deaths.

110
makeitstop  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:43:47am

re: #108 lawhawk

Tumbledown hull design. There’s critics out there who think this is a mistake as it may not be able to handle heavy sea conditions. There’s also concerns that its gun and mission are screwed up because the railgun it was meant to carry is still nowhere near ready. And the convention gun was supposed to have a special long range round that never got done, so its reach is severely limited.

It’s a ship without a mission.

It was 5:00 just a little while ago, you’re good.

111
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:44:13am

re: #109 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

Everything about Uber is horrible. From day one Uber has been the worst. The people in the office are horrible. The company policies are horrible. Literally from their inception.

This is hardly unexpected.

Uber is like Facebook. It should die 1000 deaths.

Uber drivers are just placeholders while they get the marketing infrastructure set up and then replace them with self-driving cars. That is why they have no interest in their drivers’ welfare.

112
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:45:02am

re: #108 lawhawk

Tumbledown hull design. There’s critics out there who think this is a mistake as it may not be able to handle heavy sea conditions.

I thought that was all about decreasing its visibility on radar. Was that not the big selling point of the Z class?

113
steve_davis  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:48:08am

re: #8 Love-Child of Cassandra and Sisyphus

Grocery store report:

The paper aisle is still almost all barren. Yesterday there was some tp, house brand, at least 50 shelf-feet (stacked three high per shelf), left over from a large load that must have arrived on Wednesday. It was all gone today. But there was some super-cheap no-brand, not much left, that must have arrived over night. Oh, and a few rolls of off-brand paper towels, so whatever arrived overnight was mostly sold out.

Rest of the store is stocked ok. Still no H2O2 on the shelf. Also, there has been a run on vitamin C, none of the store-brand in stock and very little of the name brand. Still on the shelves is vit D. Buyers don’t seem aware that the latter is as important if not more so than the former.

[Embedded content]

Frozen dinner aisle still spotty. I guess that with all the fast food places shut down (or mostly so) that people are now going for the frozen food.

America 2020: toilet paper is the most desired product in the stores.

I’m doing okay on finding t.v. dinners. Even meat is back, at least temporarily. The cleaning/tp/scott towels aisle looks like something from a book on the weaknesses of central planning. I’m hoping if I join the communist party I’ll get access to what I assume are the party-member stores with the bottles of hand sanitizer.

114
jeffreyw  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:48:48am

Mizz Cardinal instructs the Wait Staff

Good morning!

115
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:50:36am

re: #77 Targetpractice

That bunch of idiots being Congress, the Marine Corps, and (to a smaller degree) the Army. The Zumwalts were supposed to total 96 ships, with the plan being to roll them into service as the Arleigh Burkes came up for retirement. But between the guns, the radars, the Vertical Launch System, and all the assorted “future-proofing,” that ships became so expensive that they finally cut the number down to 3. Problem is that economies of scale then kicked the project in the ass, as the bean-counters ran the numbers on not only manufacturing the shells for each ship, but maintaining a ready inventory in case of war, and realized that they could have a whole new fleet of Burkes for the same cost.

So now you have ships with useless guns, fitted with radars that are turning out not to be as capable as they were sold to be, and carrying anti-ship missiles which were developed when Ford was in office. The only reason they haven’t killed the whole program outright is because the Navy retired and donated the Iowas before Congress realized they’d been hoodwinked.

That’s what I found most amazing by even just a quick browse through the wiki on the Zumwalt-class ships: I mean, I can understand the idea of spending money (even on the vastly-bloated scale of U.S. Defense projects) on developing new ideas and new systems for naval applications: it just seems that with the Zumwalts, all those billions have been spent to produce new systems that only work grossly sub-optimally, where they work at all.
American Exceptionalism!

116
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:54:57am

re: #115 Jay C

That’s what I found most amazing by even just a quick browse through the wiki on the Zumwalt-class ships: I mean, I can understand the idea of spending money (even on the vastly-bloated scale of U.S. Defense projects) on developing new ideas and new systems for naval applications: it just seems that with the Zumwalts, all those billions have been spent to produce new systems that only work grossly sub-optimally, where they work at all.
American Exceptionalism!

Zumwalt is to the Navy what the Osprey and the Sergeant York were to the USAF and Army.

I remember Reagan telling us that we cannot solve social problems by throwing money at them, but there seems to be no military problem that cannot be solved by throwing more money at it…

117
lawhawk  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:56:17am

re: #112 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

That was one of the drivers for it. They prioritized the shape to minimize radar cross section, which is why even the gun emplacements are contained within structures to deflect radar.

But the real issue is that it’s a ship whose armaments aren’t exactly needed or useful based on what’s available today.

118
Targetpractice  Apr 25, 2020 • 5:56:34am

re: #115 Jay C

That’s what I found most amazing by even just a quick browse through the wiki on the Zumwalt-class ships: I mean, I can understand the idea of spending money (even on the vastly-bloated scale of U.S. Defense projects) on developing new ideas and new systems for naval applications: it just seems that with the Zumwalts, all those billions have been spent to produce new systems that only work grossly sub-optimally, where they work at all.
American Exceptionalism!

It wouldn’t be the first such system in American history, and most definitely is not the last. Hell, the Navy spent the better part of two decades getting missiles to the point where they could actually start living up to the promises of replacing guns as the primary armament of surface combat.

You could argue that the same thing is happening with the Ford class, with reports that the new JFK is proceeding faster and with fewer issues than her elder sister has had. And when they start working on Enterprise, she’ll likely benefit from lessons learned from her older sisters. That’s the way things work with the Navy, every ship a collection of lessons learned from those that came before it. What works, what doesn’t, and everything in-between will end up going into the next ship.

119
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:00:05am

There are historical precedents for the Zumwalt class of ships… The USS Vesuvius (1888) springs to mind as do the Omaha class “scout” cruisers of WWI time frame. There is no new thing under the Sun and the Navy or Army or Air Farce can always find ways to waste money. I personally find the Zumwalt to be less a waste of money than the F-35 “Gutlass Cutlass Junior” program because eventually they can retrofit better weapons and electronics on the Zumwalts and learn lessons for the next generation of warship.

120
lawhawk  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:00:18am

re: #116 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Zuwalt is to the Navy what the Osprey and the Sergeant York were to the USAF and Army.

I remember Reagan telling us that we cannot solve social problems by throwing money at them, but there seems to be no military problem that cannot be solved by throwing more money at it…

The Osprey was a system ahead of its time - it lacked the computer tech needed to make it safe to fly in transition state (where it switches from vertical to horizontal flight. That’s where so many of the crashes took place early in its program life. The craft are far more reliable now.

The Pentagon Wars are just as relevant today as it was when it was first released as a movie. Same issues and same money no object treatment.

121
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:01:41am

re: #120 lawhawk

The Pentagon Wars are just as relevant today as it was when it was first released as a movie. Same issues and same money no object treatment.

Point is that the Defense Industry is also a welfare state for college-educated engineers and business administrators, the sort of people who could not possibly prosper in our economy otherwise, while also a federal revenue-sharing plan for less skilled workers, providing services especially in infrastructure and job-poor rural areas.

122
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:03:16am

re: #111 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Uber drivers are just placeholders while they get the marketing infrastructure set up and then replace them with self-driving cars. That is why they have no interest in their drivers’ welfare.

It’s beyond the drivers, it’s the entire Uber corporate culture. Everything about Uber sucks.

123
Belafon  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:04:50am

re: #121 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Point is that the Defense Industry is also a welfare state for college-educated engineers and business administrators, the sort of people who could not possibly prosper in our economy otherwise…

And who hate big government. I work at one of those places, and there plenty of Republicans there that have never had any other job.

124
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:06:20am

re: #118 Targetpractice

That’s the way things work with the Navy, every ship a collection of lessons learned from those that came before it. What works, what doesn’t, and everything in-between will end up going into the next ship.

Assuming, of course, that one can afford to build that “next ship”.
Maybe I’m just hopelessly “civilian” in outlook, but I would have thought that stuff that “ doesn’t work” would get excluded from the development process. But then, I recalled the ancient saying which is probably still true today ( and in vastly more applications):

” There’s the right way, there’s the wrong way, and there’s the Navy way”

125
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:06:20am

re: #122 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

It’s beyond the drivers, it’s the entire Uber corporate culture. Everything about Uber sucks.

I have had no direct dealings with it (Germany does not allow Uber because is lacks the requisite umlauts, I guess), but it seems to sell the notion of “be en entrepreneur and you own boss” while offering the reality of being the lowest on the totem poll working a zero-hours contract with no benefits.

Which is of course the ideal situation for any company owner.

126
plansbandc  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:07:02am

re: #89 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Love this song so much. Such a perfect little hooky tune.

127
Targetpractice  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:10:20am

re: #124 Jay C

Assuming, of course, that one can afford to build that “next ship”.
Maybe I’m just hopelessly “civilian” in outlook, but I would have thought that stuff that “ doesn’t work” would get excluded from the development process. But then, I recalled the ancient saying which is probably still true today ( and in vastly more applications):

” There’s the right way, there’s the wrong way, and there’s the Navy way”

The failure of the Zumwalts has led the Navy to start building a new “flight” (generation) of Arleigh Burkes. And really, there’s no reason to do anything else, since the design itself is still sound in the 21st century. So they’ll update the design, perhaps incorporating some of the ideas from the Zumwalt, and use the time afforded to work on a new “from scratch” design for later.

128
steve_davis  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:13:25am

re: #75 Dr Lizardo

Donald Trump says only incantations from the Necronomicon can cure COVID-19 and also close the gate before Yog-Sototh can enter.

[Embedded content]

BTW, that’s an excellent bit of artwork - perfectly captures the climax of the story.

Dunwich Horror. You cannot defeat me! Except apparently with small print, which actually states this is the Dunwich Horror. (sigh).

129
plansbandc  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:14:17am
130
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:20:15am
131
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:22:09am

re: #127 Targetpractice

The failure of the Zumwalts has led the Navy to start building a new “flight” (generation) of Arleigh Burkes. And really, there’s no reason to do anything else, since the design itself is still sound in the 21st century. So they’ll update the design, perhaps incorporating some of the ideas from the Zumwalt, and use the time afforded to work on a new “from scratch” design for later.

The downsizing of the Ticonderoga from a good but oversized and overpriced cruiser to an excellent near perfectly balanced design for current technology in the Arleigh Burkes was, frankly, the USNs finest idea since the end of WWII. The fact that they managed to name them for one of the Navy’s greatest fighters is a great touch.

132
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:23:15am

re: #129 plansbandc

[Embedded content]

That is absolutely wonderful! I wonder if Cooper’s fascination with water comes from his being a Sphinx - maybe the lack of fur gets him over the usual feline aquaphobia?

Although I wouldn’t take a bath with Cooper - happy little swimmer or not - without making sure his claws were very-well trimmed…

133
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:23:46am

re: #125 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I have had no direct dealings with it (Germany does not allow Uber because is lacks the requisite umlauts, I guess), but it seems to sell the notion of “be en entrepreneur and you own boss” while offering the reality of being the lowest on the totem poll working a zero-hours contract with no benefits.

Which is of course the ideal situation for any company owner.

Uber had to replace its CEO because the culture was so toxic headhunters couldn’t get people to even interview there. It was so bad Uber employees weren’t using Uber on their resumes.

Ted Bundy would have been like, nah, I’ll pass.

134
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:23:56am

re: #130 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

current RealClearPolitics battleground state polling averages:

AZ: Biden +4.4
FL: Biden +3.2
MI: Biden +5.5
NC: Trump +1.3
PA: Biden +6.7
WI: Biden +2.7

I trust that our media will do their best to even things out. What interest do they have in replacing a ratings-generating scandalous reality TV star with a competent politician with a long and venerable history of public service?

135
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:24:46am

re: #132 Jay C

That is absolutely wonderful! I wonder if Cooper’s fascination with water comes from his being a Sphinx - maybe the lack of fur gets him over the usual feline aquaphobia?

Although I wouldn’t take a bath with Cooper - happy little swimmer or not - without making sure his claws were very-well trimmed…

A story by Claude Bawls….

136
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:26:40am

re: #124 Jay C

Assuming, of course, that one can afford to build that “next ship”.
Maybe I’m just hopelessly “civilian” in outlook, but I would have thought that stuff that “ doesn’t work” would get excluded from the development process. But then, I recalled the ancient saying which is probably still true today ( and in vastly more applications):

” There’s the right way, there’s the wrong way, and there’s the Navy way”

And the fallacy of sunk cost is nowhere more evident than the Department of Defense.

“We already spent $100,000,000 on this weapons development programme, we can’t stop it now!”

137
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:27:02am

re: #112 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I thought that was all about decreasing its visibility on radar. Was that not the big selling point of the Z class?

Tumblehome is the method to reducing the visibility by deflecting the radar signal up.

However, tumblehome does affect the ship’s stability as compared to the traditional shapes. Especially if there is any sort of damage and the ship sinks lower into the water.

(Drach video on French pre-dreadnoughts. Kings of the tumblehome.)

French Pre-Dreadnoughts - When Hotels go to War

138
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:27:58am

re: #129 plansbandc

That face!! ❤️💋❤️💋❤️

He’s so cute.

139
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:28:17am

re: #133 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

Uber had to replace its CEO because the culture was so toxic headhunters couldn’t get people to even interview there. It was so bad Uber employees weren’t using Uber on their resumes.

Ted Bundy would have been like, nah, I’ll pass.

The series of rapes in Uber cars didn’t help, nor the accusations of sexual harassment at the company headquarters.

140
Teukka  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:28:52am

Trigger Warning:

Click to Reveal
141
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:29:44am

re: #115 Jay C

That’s what I found most amazing by even just a quick browse through the wiki on the Zumwalt-class ships: I mean, I can understand the idea of spending money (even on the vastly-bloated scale of U.S. Defense projects) on developing new ideas and new systems for naval applications: it just seems that with the Zumwalts, all those billions have been spent to produce new systems that only work grossly sub-optimally, where they work at all.
American Exceptionalism!

You generally have to sink the money into building stuff to see if the systems work (see US submarines pre-WW2 and also in the early nuclear sub era.) But in the modern day do you think Congress was going to sink billions into a prototype destroyer design for which only 1-2 would be built? (Especially when there was a looming need to replace the Burkes en masse shortly.) And combine that with all the money being put into the LCS (Littorial Combat Ship) as well.

142
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:32:26am

re: #140 Teukka

Heh. I like that one.

143
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:35:48am

re: #140 Teukka

Woo-geneering is proven FACT. I’ve had to sell stupid cables because the buyer of the speakers expected them. But I still haven’t sold any of these.

144
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:40:25am

In some older news I’m sure all of you will be shocked by, Dennis Prager is an audiophile. He writes in a Surround Sound of Sophistry.

145
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:40:59am

re: #137 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Any Drac video is an auto upding.

146
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:41:31am

re: #136 Anymouse 🌹🏡

And the fallacy of sunk cost is nowhere more evident than the Department of Defense.

“We already spent $100,000,000 on this weapons development programme, we can’t stop it now!”

The fallacy of sunk costs is the very basis of warfare: “Thousands have fallen already, we have to keep fighting so they will not have died in vain!”

147
Eric The Fruit Bat  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:42:11am

re: #140 Teukka

Tee-hee….

Reminds me of the $500 Denon AK-dL1 audiophile Ethernet cable…

148
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:42:19am

re: #145 William Lewis

Any Drac video is an auto upding.

Though since he doesn’t delve much past 1950 we won’t see a video from him on the Zumwalt anytime soon.

149
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:42:35am

re: #141 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

You generally have to sink the money into building stuff to see if the systems work (see US submarines pre-WW2 and also in the early nuclear sub era.) But in the modern day do you think Congress was going to sink billions into a prototype destroyer design for which only 1-2 would be built? (Especially when there was a looming need to replace the Burkes en masse shortly.) And combine that with all the money being put into the LCS (Littorial Combat Ship) as well.

Oy. The LCS makes the Zumwalt look like well spent fiscal sanity. That’s a really nasty rats nest and unlike the Zumwalts I doubt they’ll ever be retrofitted into something that is actually useful for the USN.

150
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:43:49am

re: #148 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Though since he doesn’t delve much past 1950 we won’t see a video from him on the Zumwalt anytime soon.

That is about when my interest in military technology ends.

151
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:44:06am

Trump:. The imbleachment

152
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:45:01am

More trump: the imbleachment

153
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:45:34am

re: #151 I Don’t Take Responsibility At All (dangerman)

Trump:. The imbleachment

So this is Trump’s brain having a “dialogue” with the information that it was just exposed to?

154
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:47:38am

re: #143 BigPapa

Woo-geneering is proven FACT. I’ve had to sell stupid cables because the buyer of the speakers expected them. But I still haven’t sold any of these.

Only place I’ve seen it in real life (I don’t do expensive stereos) is with guitar cables. Gold tips, yada yada. Maybe it’s my punk roots showing through but I’ve gotten just as good use out of the cheapest Fender brand knock off.

155
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:57:45am

re: #151 I Don’t Take Responsibility At All (dangerman)

Trump:. The imbleachment

[Embedded content]

And that he is getting “new information” a few minutes before a late afternoon press briefing says a lot about how much information he is paying to his job. The NYT article on his day-to-day activity schedule and desire for the afternoon “rally lite” bully pulpit where he can play at being in charge and then ramble on through his current list of grievances.

He might cut back on appearances for a day or three, but he’ll be back in full swing within a week or so unless they manage to get him a full-scale rally set up by mid-May. (And the excuse that he’s cutting back due to “being past the worst part of the virus” is a huge load of BS as well.)

156
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:58:40am

There’s a value to gold: it’s the least oxidative metal. And it looks purdy. Silver the most conductive, but it oxidizes. Copper the best balance of both including cost.

I see no technical need for cable stands other than management or presentation. Management meaning, lots of wires, keeping them organized so no inductance.

But speaker wires on a floor? LOL.

157
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:00:58am

re: #156 BigPapa

There’s a value to gold: it’s the least oxidative metal. And it looks purdy. Silver the most conductive, but it oxidizes. Copper the best balance of both including cost.

I see no technical need for cable stands other than management or presentation. Management meaning, lots of wires, keeping them organized so no inductance.

But speaker wires on a floor? LOL.

The perfect is the enemy of the good enough. Plus you need to look at the whole system as a whole since a “perfect” sub-system means jack (pun intended) if it’s quality is way above what the other sub-systems are producing and handling.

158
makeitstop  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:06:50am

re: #153 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

So this is Trump’s brain having a “dialogue” with the information that it was just exposed to?

His whole spiel telling the doctors to ‘look into it’ was a prime example of someone who doesn’t know anything pretending he does. Note that he says ‘interesting’ a lot, as if he’s some goddamn big brain toying with a concept in his head.

And he loves the sound of his own voice so much, once he starts rolling he can’t bring himself to shut the fuck up.

159
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:06:59am

re: #157 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

The perfect is the enemy of the good enough. Plus you need to look at the whole system as a whole since a “perfect” sub-system means jack (pun intended) if it’s quality is way above what the other sub-systems are producing and handling.

INORIGHT? If you’re going to go there, you need to redo the electrical wiring in your house and get a new power pole.

Once or twice a year I get a kick out of reading up on this stuff. It never dissapoints. I’m sure there’s a metaphor for a convo going from military spending to audiophile woo but I’m not hearing it.

160
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:08:55am

Lengthy story at the link (I hate RawStory).
politico.com

161
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:10:03am

re: #158 makeitstop

His whole spiel telling the doctors to ‘look into it’ was a prime example of someone who doesn’t know anything pretending he does. Note that he says ‘interesting’ a lot, as if he’s some goddamn big brain toying with a concept in his head.

And he loves the sound of his own voice so much, once he starts rolling he can’t bring himself to shut the fuck up.

There is method to this meandering: whatever anybody comes up with, he can claim that he originally had the idea.

And of course, his supporters will pick it up and run with it and soon it will become RW doctrine.

162
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:10:18am

re: #158 makeitstop

His whole spiel telling the doctors to ‘look into it’ was a prime example of someone who doesn’t know anything pretending he does. Note that he says ‘interesting’ a lot, as if he’s some goddamn big brain toying with a concept in his head.

And he loves the sound of his own voice so much, once he starts rolling he can’t bring himself to shut the fuck up.

And my point while arguing this incident with apologists elsewhere was that the briefing is not where you discuss “we should look into” ideas with the doctors and response team. That’s stuff you do elsewhere. So his little asides were theater at the very least.

(And Dr Birx should have swallowed her pride or fear or whatever at some point and simply said “that is not a good idea” rather than just nodding along.)

163
Teukka  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:15:28am

re: #142 William Lewis

Heh. I like that one.

re: #143 BigPapa

Woo-geneering is proven FACT. I’ve had to sell stupid cables because the buyer of the speakers expected them. But I still haven’t sold any of these.

O.O $75-ish for wooden standoffs?

re: #147 Eric The Fruit Bat

Tee-hee….

Reminds me of the $500 Demon AK-dL1 audiophile Ethernet cable…

Yeah, while when you’re educated in electronics, you know that the best is to use Cat 6 or Cat 7 STP (not FTP) properly grounded and terminated for ethernet, and plain #18 AWG mains cable for powers up to 150W or so (TL;DR is to crunch the numbers as to how much current it will pass, and overdesign by 33% to 100% depending on criticality).

164
makeitstop  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:16:28am

re: #162 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

And my point while arguing this incident with apologists elsewhere was that the briefing is not where you discuss “we should look into” ideas with the doctors and response team. That’s stuff you do elsewhere. So his little asides were theater at the very least.

(And Dr Birx should have swallowed her pride or fear or whatever at some point and simply said “that is not a good idea” rather than just nodding along.)

Someone on Twitter made a point about Birx - that she’s obviously smitten with Trump, and she’s letting that cloud her judgement. It amazes me that she’s shredding her reputation in real time because she wants so badly to placate him. What a shame.

165
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:26:33am

re: #163 Teukka

O.O $75-ish for wooden standoffs?

They’re imported. I got a set for my computer power cord and WiFi router cable too.

Yeah, while when you’re educated in electronics, you know that the best is to use Cat 6 or Cat 7 STP (not FTP) properly grounded and terminated for ethernet, and plain #18 AWG mains cable for powers up to 150W or so (TL;DR is to crunch the numbers as to how much current it will pass, and overdesign by 33% to 100% depending on criticality).

CAT5 speaker cables.

I used to post as AVS forms but after so many times of people asking your advice only to have some other yokel say ‘my buddy who’s a contractor had his smart tecchy son do it this way and saved a bunch of money. Kids these days know all this stuff’ you’re sorta at a point of fukital.

166
Renaissance_Man  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:30:09am

re: #164 makeitstop

Someone on Twitter made a point about Birx - that she’s obviously smitten with Trump, and she’s letting that cloud her judgement. It amazes me that she’s shredding her reputation in real time because she wants so badly to placate him. What a shame.

I think it’s not a disease specific to her. America as a whole will attempt to normalise anything, anything, that trashy, clownish white people do or say. It’s a national pathology. It manifests in the news media, where these people are given outsize mouthpieces and influence, and their stupidity passed off as charming idiosyncracies. It manifests in entertainment, with reality TV and Tiger King. And it manifests in politics, QED. White people can’t commit crimes, be punished, or even worse, be ignored. Their talent is their whiteness, and American culture cannot shun or marginalise them because they are nobility. I imagine it is not dissimilar to how the aristocracy was treated in feudal or Victorian times - they are your betters, and so what they say and do cannot be too far outside the norm. Except nowadays, the only qualification is skin colour.

167
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:35:56am

168
A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:38:24am

re: #114 jeffreyw

[Embedded content]

Good morning!

Western good morning!

169
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:42:16am
170
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:44:21am

re: #169 jaunte

[Embedded content]

Can probably stick up a GoFundMe and raise more money as a martyr than the business would bring in.

171
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:46:40am

Morning Lizardim from the gloriously spring-like wild north country. How go things among the lizardfolk on this beautiful day?

172
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:47:43am

re: #171 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Morning Lizardim from the gloriously spring-like wild north country. How go things among the lizardfolk on this beautiful day?

Cats fed, coffee drunk, windows open (sunny and 50s-low 60s today), and thinking about going out for a walk.

173
A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:48:11am

re: #130 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

[Embedded content]

Looks like MI and PA are outside the margin of error. Keep on pushing!

174
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:48:51am

re: #172 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Cats fed, coffee drunk, windows open (sunny and 50s-low 60s today), and thinking about going out for a walk.

Pretty much the same here. I might get the lawn mower out and chop up the leaves Mrs. Fish raked out of the garden bed from last fall.

175
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:48:56am

re: #169 jaunte

Has already or soon will be approached by one of the shadow astroturf lawyer groups that will mount a defense in media and the courts for free. Think of Gay Marriage Cake all over again.

176
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:49:05am

re: #171 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

70º and sunny with a light breeze here in Southeast Texas.

177
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:50:32am

re: #171 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Morning Lizardim from the gloriously spring-like wild north country. How go things among the lizardfolk on this beautiful day?

Couple of beers, some rum, a good conversation about navy ships, all in all it’s a good morning. I’ll crawl off to bed soon enough.

178
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:51:01am

re: #176 jaunte

70º and sunny with a light breeze here in Southeast Texas.

55 degrees F (12.8 degrees C) here in the derp central of Minnesota, with a projected high just shy of 70 (68 degrees F, 20 degrees C).

179
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:51:02am

re: #144 BigPapa

In some older news I’m sure all of you will be shocked by, Dennis Prager is an audiophile. He writes in a Surround Sound of Sophistry.

Pretty sure any that the poster says after :

Prager’s column on how he justifies his spending on good equipment is a must read for both audiophiles and their significant others! Prager is a great thinker…I’ve been a listener for 25 years now.

Is rendered moot.

180
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:51:53am

re: #174 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Pretty much the same here. I might get the lawn mower out and chop up the leaves Mrs. Fish raked out of the garden bed from last fall.

Good idea. Need to sort out seeds and get the planting pots weeded out. A good morning/early afternoon to get the herb garden going. (I already have two catnip plants that started up on their own in separate pots.)

We approve of this initiative

(not one of my cats - neighbor cat of the place I used to live in in Philly.)

181
Belafon  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:53:13am

re: #169 jaunte

We need to use the amber solution from Fringe.

182
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:53:17am

re: #180 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Our catnip grows semi-wild in our former fire pit in the back yard. Our outdoor cat, Moonshine - whom we have been bringing inside to cuddle with us lately now that our elder indoor cats are both gone - is very appreciative of this arrangement.

183
sagehen  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:53:47am

re: #146 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

The fallacy of sunk costs is the very basis of warfare: “Thousands have fallen already, we have to keep fighting so they will not have died in vain!”

“How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”

184
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:55:12am

There’s a guy who has been doing guitar learning videos for ages. He’s doing some learning videos for younger viewers now. Here’s a pure cute video on drums from him.

Mr. Jonathan Sings! Episode 5

185
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:55:24am

re: #182 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Our catnip grows semi-wild in our former fire pit in the back yard. Our outdoor cat, Moonshine - whom we have been bringing inside to cuddle with us lately now that our elder indoor cats are both gone - is very appreciative of this arrangement.

If I see the nip plants getting picked on I’ll put some wire up to protect them somewhat. Two cats seen outside a few times that belong to a neighbor - one of them chases the squirrels. Though I’ve seen generally that if the plant leaves aren’t bruised cats usually leave them alone for the most part.

186
So Cal Greek Hippie  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:55:48am

Off topic photos of fungus growth in a peach tree log in my backyard

187
mmmirele  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:56:23am

re: #111 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Uber drivers are just placeholders while they get the marketing infrastructure set up and then replace them with self-driving cars. That is why they have no interest in their drivers’ welfare.

Yeah, well we found out here in Arizona what that meant. Uber brought its whole self-driving car operation here because Doug Ducey, product of the GOP Governor Factory, thought it would be super-great to have all these autonomous cars zipping around without much supervision at all. And then a woman crossing a street at night got killed. It took that to get Ducey to say, well…maybe not, and then Uber withdrew its program from here.

I have no idea if Uber moved its testing operation elsewhere, I have not heard.

188
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:56:47am

re: #169 jaunte

[Embedded content]

That worked out really well for the stupid twit here in Idaho. Worked so well she is already making apologies for being a stupid twit.

Meridian mom apologizes for trespassing arrest, says she wasn’t there to make a political statement

MERIDIAN, Idaho — The woman arrested on Tuesday afternoon for trespassing at a Meridian Park during Idaho’s stay-at-home order has apologized to the police officer who arrested her. She also made statements that contradict what happened at Kleiner Park and blamed the stress of being stuck at home with her kids for what happened.

edited to add this.

(And lying her ass off in the process)

According to Boise State Public Radio, the Boise affiliate of NPR, reports that Brady is part of several anti-vaccine groups - Idahoans for Vaccine Freedom and Health Freedom Idaho.

The protest that Brady and others attended was a planned event, which Brady said wasn’t the case.

189
Belafon  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:57:05am

re: #136 Anymouse 🌹🏡

And the fallacy of sunk cost is nowhere more evident than the Department of Defense.

“We already spent $100,000,000 on this weapons development programme, we can’t stop it now!”

We also have a corporate culture, a other Republican thing, that says every investment must produce a profitable output. There cannot be failures.

190
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:57:19am

re: #186 So Cal Greek Hippie

Trametes versicolor (Turkey tail) fungus?

Actually used in traditional Chinese medicine.

191
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:58:00am

re: #188 Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire

‘I needed to make some adjustments in my medication’

192
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:59:43am

re: #156 BigPapa

There’s a value to gold: it’s the least oxidative metal. And it looks purdy. Silver the most conductive, but it oxidizes. Copper the best balance of both including cost.

I see no technical need for cable stands other than management or presentation. Management meaning, lots of wires, keeping them organized so no inductance.

But speaker wires on a floor? LOL.

Cable management is achieved through zip-ties or velcro stripes. Off the floor by using a staple gun if you’re sane and careful or plastic loop cable tacks.

193
A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!  Apr 25, 2020 • 7:59:48am

re: #188 Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire

That worked out really well for the stupid twit her in Idaho. Worked so well she is already making apologies for being a stupid twit.

Meridian mom apologizes for trespassing arrest, says she wasn’t there to make a political statement

MERIDIAN, Idaho — The woman arrested on Tuesday afternoon for trespassing at a Meridian Park during Idaho’s stay-at-home order has apologized to the police officer who arrested her. She also made statements that contradict what happened at Kleiner Park and blamed the stress of being stuck at home with her kids for what happened.

That’s a sorry-not-sorry if I ever saw one.

194
So Cal Greek Hippie  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:01:25am

re: #190 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

I think so. They grew quickly just the other day. That log has been there for six years and this was unprecedented growth. Interesting about medical properties— good topic for further research

195
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:01:52am

re: #185 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

If I see the nip plants getting picked on I’ll put some wire up to protect them somewhat. Two cats seen outside a few times that belong to a neighbor - one of them chases the squirrels. Though I’ve seen generally that if the plant leaves aren’t bruised cats usually leave them alone for the most part.

We have a small population of feral cats in the area - some are clearly former house pets, as they don’t react as strongly to people. I saw one a few nights ago when Moonshine spotted it through the door; she started hissing at the door from the inside, and I turned on the outside light and there it was, a beautiful white and orange long-hair that quickly vanished.

196
Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:02:56am

Reload 188re: #193 A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!

That’s a sorry-not-sorry if I ever saw one.

Yep. She’s trying to keep her ass out of jail.

197
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:03:19am

re: #194 So Cal Greek Hippie

I think so. They grew quickly just the other day. That log has been there for six years and this was unprecedented growth. Interesting about medical properties— good topic for further research

Well the fungus has been growing for years. You’re just seeing the fruiting body now.

198
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:03:35am

re: #188 Michele: Out of the closet, Into the fire

Yes, I saw that video. Astroturfed libertarian privilege on display.

199
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:04:45am

re: #195 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

We have a small population of feral cats in the area - some are clearly former house pets, as they don’t react as strongly to people. I saw one a few nights ago when Moonshine spotted it through the door; she started hissing at the door from the inside, and I turned on the outside light and there it was, a beautiful white and orange long-hair that quickly vanished.

I’ve seen a few cats outdoors around here since I moved out this way. Owned by residents of the complex as far as I know. There are probably ferals about, but there are also foxes around as well.

200
Belafon  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:04:49am

Check out the right door window:

We’re in Texas.

201
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:11:31am

re: #199 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

I’ve seen a few cats outdoors around here since I moved out this way. Owned by residents of the complex as far as I know. There are probably ferals about, but there are also foxes around as well.

I have seen a couple of foxes in the area, but not usually in the neighborhood. Our plague is raccoons. The damn things love cat food and give no fucks.

202
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:13:39am

re: #201 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

I have seen a couple of foxes in the area, but not usually in the neighborhood. Our plague is raccoons. The damn things love cat food and give no fucks.

God invented the 12 gauge to deal with Satan’s invention of the Raccoon. Preferably double barrel and loaded with buck shot…

203
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:13:40am

re: #201 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

I have seen a couple of foxes in the area, but not usually in the neighborhood. Our plague is raccoons. The damn things love cat food and give no fucks.

We have them in our village. An immigrant invasive species along with the Nile geese.

204
LadyBehir  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:15:18am

re: #181 Belafon

Can we use it on one of Trump’s press briefings? Or one of his rallies?

205
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:18:35am

This thread. I’m dying!!

206
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:23:15am

re: #205 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

This thread. I’m dying!!

Ok, I’ll bite…

“I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual. He didn’t sound right. His footsteps fell more heavily, jauntily, and he whistled. A new guy. He whistled his way to my office door, then fell silent for a moment. Then he laughed.

And then the dragons arrived.”

Scary part is that if you recognise that opening, you’ll find that perfectly believable…

207
Eric The Fruit Bat  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:23:16am

re: #163 Teukka

O.O $75-ish for wooden standoffs?

It gets worse….czech out the Shun Mook Mpingo discs.

I remember reading glowing reviews of this in Stereophile.

208
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:26:59am

re: #205 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

“On an exceptionally hot evening early in July a young man came out of the garret in which he lodged in S. Place and walked slowly, as though in hesitation, towards K. bridge. And then the dragons arrived”.

209
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:27:22am

re: #206 William Lewis

Ok, I’ll bite…

“I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual. He didn’t sound right. His footsteps fell more heavily, jauntily, and he whistled. A new guy. He whistled his way to my office door, then fell silent for a moment. Then he laughed.

And then the dragons arrived.”

Scary part is that if you recognise that opening, you’ll find that perfectly believable…

What book is that from?

210
plansbandc  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:30:30am

re: #171 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Dog walked and fed. Coffee and oatmeal consumed. Fifty degrees right now, looking for a high of 67 or so.

Thinking about making a big salad for dinner.

211
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:32:29am

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. And then the dragons arrived.”

Hardly seems out of place at all, how about:

“We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. And then the dragons arrived.”

again, you might hardly notice. Lessee,

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. And then the dragons arrived.”

212
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:35:16am

re: #209 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

What book is that from?

“Storm Front” the first book of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden books. He’s a wizard. In Chicago. Defending mortals against supernatural threats. Of course the one time he talks to a dragon, the dragon is so powerful that NO ONE else in the series could touch it.

OTOH, his best friend, Michael, a Knight of the Cross, saved his “to be” wife by killing a Dragon.

Not sure which that’s supposed to show as the really bad assed…

213
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:37:21am

re: #197 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Well the fungus has been growing for years. You’re just seeing the fruiting body now.

There fungi that are the largest creatures on the planet. Old, too.

The largest terrestrial organism on the planet is a fungus called Armillaria solidipes – or honey fungus. The largest honey fungus identified in North America is in Oregon. It measures 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) across! That’s considerably bigger than the biggest giant sequoia or African elephant. Scientists also believe that this particular honey fungus may be over 2,000 years old. The next largest honey fungus is in the neighboring state of Washington.

214
plansbandc  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:39:08am

It was a dark and stormy night. A maid screamed, the door slammed. Suddenly a pirate ship appeared above the horizon. And then the dragons arrived.

(Snoopy with a big nod to Bulwer-Lytton)

215
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:41:03am

re: #207 Eric The Fruit Bat

It gets worse….czech out the Shun Mook Mpingo discs.

I remember reading glowing reviews of this in Stereophile.

Damn, out of stock. And used, no less.

216
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:43:38am

re: #212 William Lewis

I’ve looked at that series and was nervous for some reason. After they good?

217
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:51:16am

re: #216 Colère Tueur de Lapin

I’ve looked at that series and was nervous for some reason. After they good?

Exquisite. Probably the best genre books I’ve read since Lois McMasters Bujold’s Vorkosigan books. If you do read them, be sure to read the short story collections. There are significant revelations in them.

They are one of the few sets of genre books - any genre - that I consider to be literature. Marlowe. Vorkosigan. Dresden. Lightweight in many ways to be sure but it’s like Gilbert & Sullivan vs. Opera. I’ll take the G&S any day :D

It’s a good time to read the series - the next book is due out in July and then another in September. There has been a number of years since the most recent book Skin Game.

218
Colère Tueur de Lapin  Apr 25, 2020 • 8:55:52am

re: #217 William Lewis

Awesome. Thanks.

219
retired cynic  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:03:34am

re: #217 William Lewis

Thanks. I bought the first one, and will give it a go. As a Nook book, it was only $2.99, so what’s not to like?

220
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:04:37am

The towers of Zenith aspired above the morning mist; austere towers of steel and cement and limestone, sturdy as cliffs and delicate as silver rods, and then the dragons arrived.

221
retired cynic  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:05:39am

Florida voting rights trial to be argued online, SPLC

When the Southern Poverty Law Center goes to trial next week over a law undercutting the biggest expansion of suffrage since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the judge will not be on the bench, but in a remote location, staring at his computer screen.

So they are going ahead!

222
Amory Blaine  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:06:26am

Mayor won’t say how many Patrick Cudahy plant workers have coronavirus as OSHA opens investigation into safety practices

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is opening a new investigation into the COVID-19 safety practices of the Patrick Cudahy/Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant after a worker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel his concerns about unsafe work conditions at the plant.

Smithfield Foods announced last week that it would start shutting down the plant to sanitize the premises after several workers tested positive for coronavirus, but some departments are still operating.

And Cudahy Mayor Thomas Pavlic and Smithfield Foods refuse to provide the number of plant workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

223
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:07:07am

re: #219 retired cynic

Thanks. I bought the first one, and will give it a go. As a Nook book, it was only $2.99, so what’s not to like?

I’ll just say his books get MUCH better the further in the series you go. And they start good :D

224
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:08:23am

re: #222 Amory Blaine

Mayor won’t say how many Patrick Cudahy plant workers have coronavirus as OSHA opens investigation into safety practices

He knows that Trump likes to keep the numbers low…

225
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:11:20am

re: #212 William Lewis

“Storm Front” the first book of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden books. He’s a wizard. In Chicago. Defending mortals against supernatural threats. Of course the one time he talks to a dragon, the dragon is so powerful that NO ONE else in the series could touch it.

OTOH, his best friend, Michael, a Knight of the Cross, saved his “to be” wife by killing a Dragon.

Not sure which that’s supposed to show as the really bad assed…

I so love the Harry Dresden series. I used to have the full season of the TV show, too. They never should have cancelled that show. It got better with every episode.

226
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:18:14am
227
NetworkKed  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:28:44am

I kind of bounced off the Dresden series after four or five books. He’s a likable main character but the setting is just painful and book after book seems to be just be about dumping impossible crap on the guy. The writing is fine, but it’s a particular flavor of Mary Sue that I just don’t deal with well.

YMMV.

I started reading the Anita Blake books a little before that (don’t laugh) and while I have massive frustrations with where that series has gone (I don’t need THAT much porn text, thank you) the supernatural setting and generally more-realistic heroic “mode” make for a much more appealing ascent-to-power narrative than Dresden. I won’t claim it’s literature, oh no, but it’s good reading.

Fair warning if anyone goes looking for these books: The first ten books are relatively straight horror-crime, but after Obsidian Butterfly it goes heavily softcore.

And full agree on Lois McMaster Bujold - modern classics all the way around.

228
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:39:53am

From the “big if true” files:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s health is reportedly in a vegetative state after undergoing a failed cardiovascular procedure earlier this month, according to the medical team treating him.

Amid conflicting reports about Kim’s health, Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Gendai reported on Friday that a Chinese medical team member on the mission to North Korea briefly explained the situation to its senior writer, Kondm Daisuke.

The medical expert said during a visit to the countryside earlier this month, Kim clutched his chest and fell to the ground. A doctor accompanying Kim immediately carried out CPR and took him to a nearby hospital for emergency care.

China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on him, according to four people familiar with the situation.

Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health. However Shukan Gendai’s report claims they were called to the leader’s aid by his accompanying doctor after the incident.

jpost.com

Czech media is reporting the same - that Kim Jong-un is now in a vegetative state.

229
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:43:30am

re: #227 NetworkKed

I kind of bounced off the Dresden series after four or five books. He’s a likable main character but the setting is just painful and book after book seems to be just be about dumping impossible crap on the guy. The writing is fine, but it’s a particular flavor of Mary Sue that I just don’t deal with well.

YMMV.
(Snip)
And full agree on Lois McMaster Bujold - modern classics all the way around.

I can get where you’re coming from. I still enjoy them so I’m a happy camper in that respect :D

230
PhillyPretzel  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:44:50am

re: #228 Dr Lizardo

So if true do you think S Korea would be interested in moving in on this window of opportunity. Or will it be China that moves south.

231
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:47:55am

re: #230 PhillyPretzel

So if true do you think S Korea would be interested in moving in on this window of opportunity. Or will it be China that moves south.

Hard to say. Who would succeed Kim Jong-un? I’ve heard his sister is the next in line, but given the rather murky nature of the DPRK’s government, it’s not so easy to say if there’s a clear line of succession.

South Korea may well beef up their side of the DMZ, fearing possible instability and/or a wave of refugees. I really don’t know what China would do….it’s in their interests to keep North Korea stable, as they see it as a buffer zone between them and the American-allied ROK.

232
retired cynic  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:48:01am

Trump says he will block coronavirus aid for U.S. Postal Service if it doesn’t hike prices immediately
The president said the postal agency should quadruple its package delivery prices, otherwise he would block congressionally approved funding

“[Trump] is interposing his own flawed judgment for a very complex, technical enterprise that serves at least a $2 trillion industry,” said Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), who chairs the House subcommittee in charge of postal oversight. “It’s one of the most important services in America. It serves every business and every household and it has a workforce of 630,000 people who put themselves at risk every day on behalf of the American population. And he’s willing to risk it all because he’s got a bugaboo in his mind that Jeff Bezos and Amazon are getting a good deal.”

F*ck Tr*mp

233
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:52:01am
Rumours are intensifying about Kim Jong-un’s condition as a Chinese team including health care experts is dispatched into North Korea to treat him, Reuters reports.

The trip by Chinese doctors and officials to Pyongyang comes after reports the North Korean leader was in a critical condition after cardiovascular surgery.

A delegation including the medical staff and led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday.

nzherald.co.nz

234
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:54:10am

re: #230 PhillyPretzel

So if true do you think S Korea would be interested in moving in on this window of opportunity. Or will it be China that moves south.

Depends on what sort of succession mechanisms (or lack thereof) the North Korean state has in place.
Just offhand, I’d go with “lack of”, and figure that the likeliest outcome should L’il Rocket Man kick the bucket is going to some sort of military junta (?) taking over til they can find a successor to the Kim dynasty.
And in ANY case, the odds for it becoming a blood-splattered shitshow are regretfully high…..

From what I’ve read, neither China nor South Korea really want to have much, if anything, to do with NK: China because “failed state full of lunatic foreigners”, and the ROK because ‘failed state full of lunatics”.

235
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:57:26am

From Reuters:

China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.

The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader. Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health.

A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighbouring North Korea.

The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

reuters.com

236
A Cranky One  Apr 25, 2020 • 9:58:52am

re: #163 Teukka

I’ve designed and built a lot of amps and speakers over the years. As you note, for speaker cables, you simply need sufficient size for the max current along with minimal capacitance and inductance (to avoid altering the signal).

From an engineering perspective, here is what most audiophiles just don’t understand. Almost all loudspeakers have a voice coil that converts the electrical signal into the mechanical energy to move the speaker cone. When you look at a typical speaker, the voice coil is in the center, covered with a dust cap. The dust cap (bulge in the center) is wider than the voice coil, which should give you an idea of the size of the voice coil.

Here is what the voice coil for a woofer looks like:

All of the current driving the loudspeaker goes through that wire inside of the speaker. It’s not magic wire and it’s tiny compared to the huge wires folks run to their speakers.

The point being that a lot of so-called magic wires are like fire hoses feeding a yard hose.

237
William Lewis  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:00:22am

Oh sweet Christ, this changes everything…

Young and middle-aged people, barely sick with covid-19, are dying from strokes

Thomas Oxley wasn’t even on call the day he received the page to come to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital in Manhattan. There weren’t enough doctors to treat all the emergency stroke patients, and he was needed in the operating room.

The patient’s chart appeared unremarkable at first glance. He took no medications and had no history of chronic conditions. He had been feeling fine, hanging out at home during the lockdown like the rest of the country, when suddenly, he had trouble talking and moving the right side of his body. Imaging showed a large blockage on the left side of his head.

Oxley gasped when he got to the patient’s age and covid-19 status: 44, positive.

The man was among several recent stroke patients in their 30s to 40s who were all infected with the coronavirus. The median age for that type of severe stroke is 74.

AD
As Oxley, an interventional neurologist, began the procedure to remove the clot, he observed something he had never seen before. On the monitors, the brain typically shows up as a tangle of black squiggles — “like a can of spaghetti,” he said — that provide a map of blood vessels. A clot shows up as a blank spot. As he used a needlelike device to pull out the clot, he saw new clots forming in real-time around it.

“This is crazy,” he remembers telling his boss.

Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

Stroke surge
Reports of strokes in the young and middle-aged — not just at Mount Sinai, but also in many other hospitals in communities hit hard by the novel coronavirus — are the latest twist in our evolving understanding of its connected disease, covid-19. Even as the virus has infected nearly 2.8 million people worldwide and killed about 195,000 as of Friday, its biological mechanisms continue to elude top scientific minds. Once thought to be a pathogen that primarily attacks the lungs, it has turned out to be a much more formidable foe — impacting nearly every major organ system in the body.

AD
Until recently, there was little hard data on strokes and covid-19.

There was one report out of Wuhan, China, that showed that some hospitalized patients had experienced strokes, with many being seriously ill and elderly. But the linkage was considered more of “a clinical hunch by a lot of really smart people,” said Sherry H-Y Chou, a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center neurologist and critical care doctor.

Now for the first time, three large U.S. medical centers are preparing to publish data on the stroke phenomenon. The numbers are small, only a few dozen per location, but they provide new insights into what the virus does to our bodies.

Coronavirus destroys lungs. But doctors are finding its damage in kidneys, hearts and elsewhere.

A stroke, which is a sudden interruption the blood supply, is a complex problem with numerous causes and presentations. It can be caused by heart problems, clogged arteries due to cholesterol, even substance abuse. Mini-strokes often don’t cause permanent damage and can resolve on their own within 24 hours. But bigger ones can be catastrophic.

AD
The analyses suggest coronavirus patients are mostly experiencing the deadliest type of stroke. Known as large vessel occlusions, or LVOs, they can obliterate large parts of the brain responsible for movement, speech and decision-making in one blow because they are in the main blood-supplying arteries.

Many researchers suspect strokes in covid-19 patients may be a direct consequence of blood problems that are producing clots all over some people’s bodies.

Clots that form on vessel walls fly upward. One that started in the calves might migrate to the lungs, causing a blockage called a pulmonary embolism that arrests breathing — a known cause of death in covid-19 patients. Clots in or near the heart might lead to a heart attack, another common cause of death. Anything above that would probably go to the brain, leading to a stroke.

AD
Robert Stevens, a critical care doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, called strokes “one of the most dramatic manifestations” of the blood-clotting issues. “We’ve also taken care of patients in their 30s with stroke and covid, and this was extremely surprising,” he said.

Many doctors expressed worry that as the New York City Fire Department was picking up four times as many people who died at home as normal during the peak of infection that some of the dead had suffered sudden strokes. The truth may never be known because few autopsies were conducted.

Chou said one question is whether the clotting is because of a direct attack on the blood vessels, or a “friendly-fire problem” caused by the patient’s immune response.

“In your body’s attempt to fight off the virus, does the immune response end up hurting your brain?” she asked. Chou is hoping to answer such questions through a review of strokes and other neurological complications in thousands of covid-19 patients treated at 68 medical centers in 17 countries.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, which operates 14 medical centers in Philadelphia, and NYU Langone Health in New York City, found that 12 of their patients treated for large blood blockages in their brains during a three-week period had the virus. Forty percent were under 50, and they had few or no risk factors. Their paper is under review by a medical journal, said Pascal Jabbour, a neurosurgeon at Thomas Jefferson.

AD
Jabbour and his co-author Eytan Raz, an assistant professor of neuroradiology at NYU Langone, said that strokes in covid-19 patients challenge conventional thinking. “We are used to thinking of 60 as a young patient when it comes to large vessel occlusions,” Raz said of the deadliest strokes. “We have never seen so many in their 50s, 40s and late 30s.”

Raz wondered whether they are seeing more young patients because they are more resistant than the elderly to the respiratory distress caused by covid-19: “So they survive the lung side, and in time develop other issues.”

A mysterious blood-clotting complication is killing coronavirus patients

Jabbour said many cases he has treated have unusual characteristics. Brain clots usually appear in the arteries, which carry blood away from the heart. But in covid-19 patients, he is also seeing them in the veins, which carry blood in the opposite direction and are trickier to treat. Some patients are also developing more than one large clot in their heads, which is highly unusual.

AD
“We’ll be treating a blood vessel and it will go fine, but then the patient will have a major stroke” because of a clot in another part of the brain, he said.

The 33-year-old
At Mount Sinai, the largest medical system in New York City, physician-researcher J Mocco said the number of patients coming in with large blood blockages in their brains doubled during the three weeks of the covid-19 surge to more than 32, even as the number of other emergencies fell. More than half of were covid-19 positive.

It isn’t just the number of patients that was unusual. The first wave of the pandemic has hit the elderly and those with heart disease, diabetes, obesity or other preexisting conditions disproportionately. The covid-19 patients treated for stroke at Mount Sinai were younger and mostly without risk factors.

AD
On average, the covid-19 stroke patients were 15 years younger than stroke patients without the virus.

“These are people among the least likely statistically to have a stroke,” Mocco said.

Mocco, who has spent his career studying strokes and how to treat them, said he was “completely shocked” by the analysis. He noted the link between covid-19 and stroke “is one of the clearest and most profound correlations I’ve come across.”

“This is much too powerful of a signal to be chance or happenstance,” he said.

In a letter to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine next week, the Mount Sinai team details five case studies of young patients who had strokes at home from March 23 to April 7. They make for difficult reading: The victims’ ages are 33, 37, 39, 44 and 49, and they were all home when they began to experience sudden symptoms, including slurred speech, confusion, drooping on one side of the face and a dead feeling in one arm.

AD
One died, two are still hospitalized, one was released to rehabilitation, and one was released home to the care of his brother. Only one of the five, a 33-year-old woman, is able to speak.

Oxley, the interventional neurologist, said one striking aspect of the cases is how long many waited before seeking emergency care.

The 33-year-old woman was previously healthy but had a cough and headache for about a week. Over the course of 28 hours, she noticed her speech was slurred and that she was going numb and weak on her left side but, the researchers wrote, “delayed seeking emergency care due to fear of the covid-19 outbreak.”

It turned out she was already infected.

By the time she arrived at the hospital, a CT scan showed she had two clots in her brain and patchy “ground glass” in her lungs — the opacity in CT scans that is a hallmark of covid-19 infection. She was given two different types of therapy to try to break up the clots and by Day 10, she was well enough to be discharged.

Oxley said the most important thing for people to understand is that large strokes are very treatable. Doctors are often able to reopen blocked blood vessels through techniques such as pulling out clots or inserting stents. But it has to be done quickly, ideally within six hours, but no longer than 24 hours: “The message we are trying to get out is if you have symptoms of stroke, you need to call the ambulance urgently. “

As for the 44-year-old man Oxley was treating, doctors were able to remove the large clot that day in late March, but the patient is still struggling. As of this week, a little over a month after he arrived in the emergency room, he is still hospitalized.

238
PhillyPretzel  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:02:25am

re: #237 William Lewis

Yes. I saw that in the Washington Post in the e-mail they sent me. This is not good at all.

239
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:05:23am
240
Eventual Carrion  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:07:31am

re: #57 Dave In Austin

[Embedded content]

Sorry for any possible children they may hatch.

241
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:08:03am

Federal American Grill in Memorial reopens for in-dining service Friday against Hidalgo order

Deciding stay-at-home orders are government overreach, Houston restaurant owner Matt Brice reopened Federal American Grill at 8731 Katy Freeway for in-dining service. He risked a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail for defying Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s order that closed many businesses, including dine-in restaurants and bars, until April 30.
chron.com

Jail him.

242
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:14:37am

I’ve been weirded out by Michael Moore for some time but it now seems to come full circle. Do people change or is this a super long play ratfuquery?

243
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:15:22am

re: #151 I Don’t Take Responsibility At All (dangerman)

Trump:. The imbleachment

Trump’s Medical Quackery Exposes the Press’ Both-Sides Quackery (goes to emptywheel)

Last night, an increasingly desperate President went on live TV and advised that people might try ingesting disinfectant to cure COVID-19.

The comment has elicited justifiable uproar. It renewed questions about how long Trump’s medical experts, Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, can remain on stage while he touts junk cures (this video capturing Birx’s response is painful). It sparked a fascinating thread from former Special Envoy on ISIS, Brett McGurk, explaining how Trump’s instability makes it impossible to credibly advise him:

You can’t stay above crazy: On any issue, the crazy will catch up to you
There’s no policy: You’re always a Tweet away from all going sideways
You can’t speak credibly: Since there’s no policy, nobody speaks credibly for our country
Diplomacy is impossible: Foreign parties know that only Trump counts and he changes on a whim
You may need to resign: In any senior role, your integrity will be tested

(more)

244
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:17:48am

re: #243 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Trump’s Medical Quackery Exposes the Press’ Both-Sides Quackery (goes to emptywheel)

(more)

It simply shows that the news wants to keep Trump on at all costs because he brings in ratings. To them, that is more important than responsible government in times of a crisis

245
A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:17:58am

re: #238 PhillyPretzel

Yes. I saw that in the Washington Post in the e-mail they sent me. This is not good at all.

From the CDC:

Sinus and ear infections are examples of moderate complications from flu, while pneumonia is a serious flu complication that can result from either influenza virus infection alone or from co-infection of flu virus and bacteria. Other possible serious complications triggered by flu can include inflammation of the heart (myocarditis), brain (encephalitis) or muscle (myositis, rhabdomyolysis) tissues, and multi-organ failure (for example, respiratory and kidney failure). Flu virus infection of the respiratory tract can trigger an extreme inflammatory response in the body and can lead to sepsis, the body’s life-threatening response to infection. Flu also can make chronic medical problems worse. For example, people with asthma may experience asthma attacks while they have flu, and people with chronic heart disease may experience a worsening of this condition triggered by flu.

In other words, we don’t know enough about covid-19 to say a whole lot, but the numbers here aren’t big enough to be really concerning. (Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a doctor.)

246
Hecuba's daughter  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:20:43am

re: #43 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

I’m not sure how I feel about this guy but this is some thread. It’s all sourced, so. Wow. Just wow.

[Embedded content]

There seem to be several flaws in this whole thread, possibly with Seth but also with the original sources:

1. Thinking that Trump can recall or accept anything he’s been told that conflicts with anything his “big” brain believes. He has his body of ingrained truths and nothing that clashes with them will be processed. So claiming Trump’s been told something is irrelevant — unless it’s something simple in accord with his existing beliefs
2. Why did the others who were supposedly informed about this in November — Israel, NATO — not take measures early on? They aren’t run by ignorant morons. Or are they? Or were they making the tragic assumption that if there were a serious problem, the United States would take the lead in addressing it? That after repeated demonstrations of Trump’s unfitness were they still deluded enough to believe our institutions would react appropriately despite Trump’s indifference?

I don’t understand why Spain, France, Germany and even the UK would not have reacted early if their leaders had been informed back in November.

247
A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:23:54am

re: #246 Hecuba’s daughter

Thank you for reading that so I don’t have to.

248
Florida Panhandler  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:25:48am

249
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:28:48am

re: #214 plansbandc

It was a dark and stormy night. A maid screamed, the door slammed. Suddenly a pirate ship appeared above the horizon. And then the dragons arrived.

(Snoopy with a big nod to Bulwer-Lytton)

One fish two fish red fish blue fish. And then the dragons arrived

It’s was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and then the dragons arrived

Call me Ishmael. And then…

250
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:30:26am

re: #164 makeitstop

Someone on Twitter made a point about Birx - that she’s obviously smitten with Trump, and she’s letting that cloud her judgement. It amazes me that she’s shredding her reputation in real time because she wants so badly to placate him. What a shame.

She is a Republican first and a physician second. She will uphold her conservative religious faith over medical facts. She is no different than any other religious apologist.

251
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:32:15am

re: #239 jaunte

[Embedded content]

Then he should also be quite happy with being arrested and fined.

That he’s doing civil disobedience over something pretty stupid seems to be par for the course for white Republicans.

252
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:34:40am

re: #251 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Then he should also be quite happy with being arrested and fined.

That he’s doing civil disobedience over something pretty stupid seems to be par for the course for white Republicans.

As well as their facile ( and disgracefully faulty ) references to Civil Rights icons…

253
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:35:16am

Chester County, PA COVID-19 data as of yesterday:

Confirmed cases: 1174 (+72)
Tests: 5788 (+190)
Deaths: 82 (+5)

Took 13 days to double from ~570 cases.

254
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:37:17am

re: #187 mmmirele

Yeah, well we found out here in Arizona what that meant. Uber brought its whole self-driving car operation here because Doug Ducey, product of the GOP Governor Factory, thought it would be super-great to have all these autonomous cars zipping around without much supervision at all. And then a woman crossing a street at night got killed. It took that to get Ducey to say, well…maybe not, and then Uber withdrew its program from here.

I have no idea if Uber moved its testing operation elsewhere, I have not heard.

Uber has resumed testing its self-driving cars in San Francisco (The Verge, March 10, 2020)

Only two cars and only during daylight hours.

255
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:37:18am

OK…

“Mr Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. And then the dragons came.”

256
Ace-o-aces  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:37:54am
257
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:39:02am

re: #246 Hecuba’s daughter

I get what you’re saying and I’m not a fan of Seth myself. Of what you noted only France and Germany are meaningful, IMHO. Look what the UK did after the shit hit the fan.

At this point in time, who’s paying attention to anything coming from the US? We didn’t have boots on the ground at that point and China being China… What’s even reliable?

To address the key point, #2: even now, countries are, for the most part, trying to balance lives vs economic activity. Who was going to act early on before everything happened?

This isn’t to give Seth a thumbs up or down (I kinda tend to thumbs down him generally), but I still found the thread fascinating.

258
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:40:16am

“In that pleasant district of merry England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest, covering the greatest of the beautiful hills and valleys which lie between Sheffield and the pleasant town of Doncaster. And then the dragons came.”

(Ivanhoe)

259
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:40:59am

re: #251 FFL (GOP Delenda Est)

Then he should also be quite happy with being arrested and fined.

That he’s doing civil disobedience over something pretty stupid seems to be par for the course for white Republicans.

Wait.
Civil disobedience means consequences????

260
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:42:36am

re: #259 I Don’t Take Responsibility At All (dangerman)

Wait.
Civil disobedience means consequences????

Not for the privileged. That the the core belief of the Sovereign Citizens movement.

261
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:42:48am

re: #259 I Don’t Take Responsibility At All (dangerman)

Wait.
Civil disobedience means consequences????

Nope.
Not for white Republicans.
It’s right there in the Constitution (somewhere) …

262
Hecuba's daughter  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:43:07am

re: #237 William Lewis

Oh sweet Christ, this changes everything…

Young and middle-aged people, barely sick with covid-19, are dying from strokes

There is also this other issue that was discussed a few days ago on Chris Hayes:nytimes.com

263
Rightwingconspirator  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:44:05am

re: #242 BigPapa

It’s worth repeating the Michael Moore gets too much respect for being right once and wrong ten times. And counting.

264
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:46:28am

re: #263 Rightwingconspirator

It’s worth repeating the Michael Moore gets too much respect for being right once and wrong ten times. And counting.

Which is why I ignored him when he wrote an article in the summer of 2016 about how Trump could win the Presidency, something that a lot of people did not see possible.

265
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:47:15am

re: #264 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Which is why I ignored him when he wrote an article in the summer of 2016 about how Trump could win the Presidency, something that a lot of people did not see possible.

Bill Mitchell predicted Trump would win the presidency. So…

266
BeachDem  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:48:32am

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. And then the dragons came.

267
Hecuba's daughter  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:50:07am

re: #239 jaunte

The racism runs deep in these people. There is a big difference between (a) a group of people being deprived of their rights solely because of their race and (b) the entire population, without regard to race, gender, or social status being forced to endure hardships to protect everyone from a deadly pandemic.

268
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:51:53am

re: #265 BigPapa

Bill Mitchell predicted Trump would win the presidency. So…

The RNC had a sound plan: carry the states they won in 2012 (no problem there) and make sure they had pluralities in OH, PA, MI and WI. It worked. They didn’t even need Florida.

Voter suppression and foreign meddling contributed in those key states, and voter apathy/indifference turned out to be an effective means of suppressing Democratic turnout, while Trump supporters could be counted on to turn out rabidly and in droves.

269
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:52:23am

re: #267 Hecuba’s daughter

The Audacity of Caucasity Part 2: The Whiteception Bugaloo

270
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:52:56am

re: #267 Hecuba’s daughter

The racism runs deep in these people. There is a big difference between (a) a group of people being deprived of their rights solely because of their race and (b) the entire population, without regard to race, gender, or social status being forced to endure hardships to protect everyone from a deadly pandemic.

To them social distancing, like the Civil Rights Act, is something forced on them by a meddlesome and unwanted Federal Government.

271
Omar Comin’ Yo  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:53:39am

Last night I won the PowerBall and then the dragons came.

272
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:54:26am

re: #268 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

I think, quite simply, they used Russa/Cambridge Analytica to chip away at the firewall states, and it just barely worked. Which means, it worked.

Pauly Walnuts was feeding Russia RNC polling data for some time before and after he was on Trump’s campaign.

273
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:54:52am

“On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor. And then the dragons came.

274
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:55:50am

Afternoon Lizardim. I spent some time out in the gorgeous sun, cleaning a gutter, getting the lawn mower ready and mulching down a pile of leaves, and cleaning the battery terminal in my formerly-daily driver. Now I’m definitely spent and planning on being a potato for the rest of the day.

275
A hollow Gandalfian voice says, VOTE, you fools!  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:55:56am

re: #263 Rightwingconspirator

It’s worth repeating the Michael Moore gets too much respect for being right once and wrong ten times. And counting.

This isn’t actually a Michael Moore film. He backed it and is now promoting it.

276
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 10:59:51am

re: #239 jaunte

The Rosa Parks comparison has come up frequently across the USA with these asshat entitled plague-spreading lawbreakers. I get the impression this is coördinated Astroturfing as well.

277
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:01:01am

In the beginning, God created Heaven and the Earth. And then the dragons came.

278
A Cranky One  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:02:57am

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And then the dragons arrived.

279
Dread Pirate  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:03:32am
280
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:04:28am

All this happened, more or less. And then the dragons came.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. And then…

281
Citizen K  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:04:49am

Quelle surprise, NYTImes continues to normalize and give lipservice to the ‘protests’ courtesy of the Bretbug. With extra “New York Isn’t REAL America!” flavor to boot.

282
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:05:05am

re: #271 Omar Comin’ Yo

Last night I won the PowerBall and then the dragons came.

That works be my life story in 11 words.

283
Hecuba's daughter  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:07:29am

re: #278 A Cranky One

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. And then the dragons arrived.

Dawned on me — all these stories will ultimately descend into “Reign of Fire”. No matter what the first line of the book may have been, the rest of the screenplay will be identical!

284
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:07:36am
285
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:07:37am

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Then the dragons came.

286
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:07:47am

re: #267 Hecuba’s daughter

The racism runs deep in these people. There is a big difference between (a) a group of people being deprived of their rights solely because of their race and (b) the entire population, without regard to race, gender, or social status being forced to endure hardships to protect everyone from a deadly pandemic.

They also conveniently omit the part that ***she was arrested***

287
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:07:47am

In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Then the dragons came.

288
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:08:50am

“TOM!”

No answer.

“TOM!”

No answer.

“What’s gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!”

And then the dragons came.

289
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:08:55am

re: #277 Barefoot Grin

You beat me to it.

290
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:13:08am

ACT I
SCENE I. Elsinore. A platform before the castle.
FRANCISCO at his post.
And then the dragons came

291
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:13:13am

Questions on whether Birx is a conservative or a physician? She went on FOX to defend Trump’s remarks. If she was just trying to be “the adult in the room” or correct him behind the scenes, she could have done either of those things. Instead, she gave a full defence of Trump.

Jesse Watter’s show (0:24)

292
Dread Pirate  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:14:33am
293
A Cranky One  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:14:50am

Socks
Box
Knox
Knox in box.
Fox in socks.
Knox on fox
In socks in box.
Socks on Knox
And Knox in box.
Fox in socks
On box on Knox.
Chicks with bricks come.
Chicks with blocks come.
And then the dragons came.

294
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:16:24am

“Their tactics are sophisticated, and their activity is becoming more difficult to monitor, partly due to the use of private messaging apps to share disinformation and propaganda. We’re seeing the dissemination of material claiming that immigrants spread coronavirus, and that authoritarian regimes outperform western liberal democracies in tackling the health crisis.”

Not good. Not good at all.

295
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:17:33am

re: #291 Anymouse 🌹🏡

She’s not a victim, she’s an enabler.

296
PhillyPretzel  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:18:08am

Honor Harrington walked into the shooting range with her pulsar. Then the dragon came in and was shredded by Her Grace.

297
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:19:49am

re: #292 Dread Pirate

298
Dread Pirate  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:19:53am
299
Ace Rothstein  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:20:39am

re: #298 Dread Pirate

Who the fuck is that old man?

300
Citizen K  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:21:23am

re: #281 Citizen K

301
A Cranky One  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:23:00am

The haunting moans rumbled through the hills, morphing into hideous shrieks and a chest pounding thumping, like a thunderstorm controlled by mad gods. And then the dragons came.

Finally, blessed silence. Bob hated mating season.

302
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:23:06am

At the far end of town where the Grickle-grass grows and the wind smells slow-and-sour when it blows and no
birds ever sing excepting old crows… is the Street of the Lifted Lorax. And then the dragons came.

303
Citizen K  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:25:42am

re: #297 Anymouse 🌹🏡

It’s funny how they never had that kind of awe for the Women’s March or the Inauguration Protests, or even protests against ICE.

Only conservative protests are valid and worth praise, and only conservative outrage is worth respect and recognition.

304
Hecuba's daughter  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:26:57am

re: #291 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Questions on whether Birx is a conservative or a physician? She went on FOX to defend Trump’s remarks. If she was just trying to be “the adult in the room” or correct him behind the scenes, she could have done either of those things. Instead, she gave a full defence of Trump.

Jesse Watter’s show (0:24)

[Embedded content]

Given her long pre-Trump distinguished career under both Democrats and Republicans, I think she is just trying to do what the original “Anonymous” essay claimed: being an adult to save this nation, while coddling the toddler-in-chief to prevent him from harming the nation even further. The later Anonymous book (which I did not read, so may be mistaken on this) however screamed that the house is on fire and no adults were left to protect us. Birx thinks naively that there are adults left in the medical community and she is doing her best to navigate a thin line there. She and Fauci are terrified of what will happen to this nation if they are forced out.

305
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:30:06am

Regarding Kim Jong-un and his currently unknown fate, I’m seeing that TMZ (of all places) is reporting he’s dead.

On the one hand….yeah, it’s TMZ. On the other hand, I can’t think of when they’ve been wrong about a celebrity (or in this case, a well-known individual) death. It’s almost like they get scoops straight from the Grim Reaper.

306
NO SMOCKING GUN!  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:33:05am
307
Hecuba's daughter  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:34:29am

re: #305 Dr Lizardo

Regarding Kim Jong-un and his currently unknown fate, I’m seeing that TMZ (of all places) is reporting he’s dead.

On the one hand….yeah, it’s TMZ. On the other hand, I can’t think of when they’ve been wrong about a celebrity (or in this case, a well-known individual) death. It’s almost like they get scoops straight from the Grim Reaper.

TMZ was the first to report on Kobe Bryant. Maybe little sister has won the battle and is now in solid control of the nation.

308
Florida Panhandler  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:34:39am

re: #291 Anymouse 🌹🏡

dictionary.com

sycophant [ sik-uh-fuhnt, -fant, sahy-kuh- ]
Noun
a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

We are dealing with the first Full-on banana republic administration in US history. There will be more. Every time a Republican administration is in office this is the new template that will be used.

309
NO SMOCKING GUN!  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:35:03am

re: #304 Hecuba’s daughter

Given her long pre-Trump distinguished career under both Democrats and Republicans, I think she is just trying to do what the original “Anonymous” essay claimed: being an adult to save this nation, while coddling the toddler-in-chief to prevent him from harming the nation even further. The later Anonymous book (which I did not read, so may be mistaken on this) however screamed that the house is on fire and no adults were left to protect us. Birx thinks naively that there are adults left in the medical community and she is doing her best to navigate a thin line there. She and Fauci are terrified of what will happen to this nation if they are forced out.

I have full confidence that Jared and Dr. Oz can fill their roles superbly.

310
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:37:50am

re: #276 Anymouse 🌹🏡

The Rosa Parks comparison has come up frequently across the USA with these asshat entitled plague-spreading lawbreakers. I get the impression this is coördinated Astroturfing as well.

I see all those conservatives clamoring to name post offices, streets and public plazas after Rosa Parks, because Freedom.

311
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:39:17am

New numbers: Continuing a trend, for the third straight day, a new high in tested cases, 2810, putting the total at 56597. New positives also high, 244, up to 3446. 23 dead, also a high, up to 244. Looking at the charts I have on my spreadsheet indicates very clearly that we are still on the leading edge of the curve, but we have been maintaining a new-positive rate of around 10% for the last two weeks, which would be very good news if we can keep that number once large-scale testing ramps up. I started hearing advertisements on the radio for how to go and get tested; if my company is serious about sending us back to the office, I may find a testing facility and get the antibody test.

312
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:41:34am

re: #307 Hecuba’s daughter

TMZ was the first to report on Kobe Bryant. Maybe little sister has won the battle and is now in solid control of the nation.

A distinct possibility, actually. I would imagine that if he’d suddenly dropped dead, or perhaps died on the operating table, a power struggle would almost certainly ensue.

I recall that it was 51 hours between the time Kim Jong-il died and the time it was officially reported in North Korean media. So it’s entirely possible that if Kim Jong-un is dead, we might not hear about it for a couple days or so.

313
retired cynic  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:41:58am

The Rude Pundit revisits the Cuomo press conference that battered Mitch McConnell. With Joy.

Andrew Cuomo Fucks Mitch McConnell’s Shit Up

McConnell seeks to divide the nation, as does Trump. Cuomo wants them to know that there is a literal price for doing it.

314
Citizen K  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:48:15am

Wow. So FEMA not only is stealing from the states for Jared’s extortion racket, they’re stealing from other federal depts. as well.

It’s a Mobocracy.

315
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:48:41am

re: #311 Quoth the raven, Covfefe.

Three more cases announced here in Scott’s Bluff County: a woman in her forties, a girl under eighteen, and a boy under eighteen.

316
goddamnedfrank  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:50:49am

If you’ve got a few bucks to spare and want to watch something different I suggest streaming Police Beat.

317
calochortus  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:53:01am

re: #314 Citizen K

Wow. So FEMA not only is stealing from the states for Jared’s extortion racket, they’re stealing from other federal depts. as well.

[Embedded content]

It’s a Mobocracy.

Jared looks terrible. I mean, I’m OK with that, but what has happened to him?

318
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 11:58:16am

re: #314 Citizen K

Wow. So FEMA not only is stealing from the states for Jared’s extortion racket, they’re stealing from other federal depts. as well.

It’s a Mobocracy.

That’s nice. The party which claims to “support the troops” stealing from disabled or combat veterans.

I’ll have to talk to my primary care nurse (who lives across the street from me) and ask her if she’s having trouble with this at the clinic.

319
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:00:11pm

re: #314 Citizen K

320
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:04:35pm

Today’s poll in the newspaper: One in six Americans have been thrown out of work due to the coronavirus outbreak. Are you among the Americans who had to file for unemployment due to Covid-19?

So far it’s
39 No
1 Yes

321
Rightwingconspirator  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:10:52pm

re: #320 Anymouse 🌹🏡

Today’s poll in the newspaper: One in six Americans have been thrown out of work due to the coronavirus outbreak. Are you among the Americans who had to file for unemployment due to Covid-19?

So far it’s
39 No
1 Yes

Vote for me. I’m down two jobs and one 1099 gig.

322
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:13:12pm

Race was still a requirement on birth certificates in the state I was born in, but geez this is even awful for the Jim Crow era.

323
Dave In Austin  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:14:06pm

Any thoughts on if Lil’ Kim is done and the Sister unacceptable to the power structure that the Military kills the family off and installs a Premier?

324
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:18:12pm

re: #323 Dave In Austin

Any thoughts on if Lil’ Kim is done and the Sister unacceptable to the power structure that the Military kills the family off and installs a Premier?

all speculation right now, we have no reliable sources on NK and if our own intelligence people know anything, they are not about to let on…

325
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:19:01pm

Advert, 0:15

326
A Cranky One  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:21:41pm

327
Belafon  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:23:51pm
328
Eventual Carrion  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:25:00pm

re: #205 Yeah Sure WhatEVs

This thread. I’m dying!!

[Embedded content]

Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing. And then the dragons arrived.

329
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:25:10pm

re: #324 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

all speculation right now, we have no reliable sources on NK and if our own intelligence people know anything, they are not about to let on…

That’s just it - we have no reliable sources in the DPRK. It’s all just rumor and speculation. The only way we’ll know with any certainty is if either he turns up walking around and is filmed or photographed, or if North Korean media makes a death announcement. I suppose we could try to look for any unusual or uncharacteristic military maneuvers, particularly near the DMZ, but that’s about it.

330
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:25:20pm

Firesign Theater:

“While I don’t want to sanction stupidity as our national sport, I have to admire this little man’s dogged nerve and rubber determination.”

331
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:26:16pm

re: #329 Dr Lizardo

That’s just it - we have no reliable sources in the DPRK. It’s all just rumor and speculation. The only way we’ll know with any certainty is if either he turns up walking around and is filmed or photographed, or if North Korean media makes a death announcement. I suppose we could try to look for any unusual or uncharacteristic military maneuvers, particularly near the DMZ, but that’s about it.

Or perhaps prominent officials start to go missing.

332
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:27:13pm

re: #331 Barefoot Grin

Or perhaps prominent officials start to go missing.

Yeah, that’d be another sign of a changing of the guard in North Korea.

333
Yeah Sure WhatEVs  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:28:39pm

re: #308 Florida Panhandler

dictionary.com

sycophant [ sik-uh-fuhnt, -fant, sahy-kuh- ]
Noun
a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

We are dealing with the first Full-on banana republic administration in US history. There will be more. Every time a Republican administration is in office this is the new template that will be used.

Which is why there must be accountability and severe repercussions.

334
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:36:30pm

On the “and then the dragons came,” I am not going to go into my collection of trashy erotic Romance novels for inspiration here.

335
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:40:19pm

I left the hide-out for the first time in a month today, to pick up a package and get a few things at Walmart. The place was overrun with Putin suicide troops and Golden Calf sacrifice volunteers, ie morons and denialists agggresively showing their “independence” and “freedom” by not wearing masks or gloves, and looking around like they were daring some busybody to try to save their lives. I said nothing to them, of course, but I did wear a mask and gloves and would have worn a full bio-hazard suit if I had one.
Btw, I drove the Rolls-Royce because it hasn’t been out in a while and it is a very nice day. One guy asked me if I was a doctor.

336
plansbandc  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:40:56pm

Suddenly a pirate ship appeared on the horizon. Over the horizon might be a bit tricky.

Ah well.

337
danarchy  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:41:16pm

re: #329 Dr Lizardo

That’s just it - we have no reliable sources in the DPRK. It’s all just rumor and speculation. The only way we’ll know with any certainty is if either he turns up walking around and is filmed or photographed, or if North Korean media makes a death announcement. I suppose we could try to look for any unusual or uncharacteristic military maneuvers, particularly near the DMZ, but that’s about it.

I know we don’t have much in the way of human intelligence, but I would be sorely disappointed if our intelligence community isn’t all up in their shit electronically.

338
jaunte  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:41:53pm

re: #335 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

How often do you have to drive it to keep it in shape?

339
Belafon  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:42:39pm

re: #334 Anymouse 🌹🏡

On the “and then the dragons came,” I am not going to go into my collection of trashy erotic Romance novels for inspiration here.

I would read some that involved dragons.

340
Sherlock Hound  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:44:09pm

re: #328 Eventual Carrion

In an expensive, but seedy, bar on Jackson’s Whole, Miles Vorkosigan was playing Admiral Naismith. He was impatiently waiting for Bel, his associate.
Then the dragons came.

341
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:44:20pm

re: #332 Dr Lizardo

Yeah, that’d be another sign of a changing of the guard in North Korea.

Have you read the Inspector O novels?

342
sagehen  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:45:11pm

re: #334 Anymouse 🌹🏡

On the “and then the dragons came,” I am not going to go into my collection of trashy erotic Romance novels for inspiration here.

But dinosaur porn “and then the dragons came”, I’d be all in on that. The fan art would be spectacular…

343
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:46:47pm

re: #337 danarchy

I know we don’t have much in the way of human intelligence, but I would be sorely disappointed if our intelligence community isn’t all up in their shit electronically.

Oh, I’m sure the intel agencies (and not just ours) probably do their utmost to gather as much SIGINT as possible. That obviously would be another way to find out if something was up - look for unusual electronic traffic, particularly from their military or intelligence services, maybe their diplomatic corps as well. If Kim Jong-un dropped dead, those groups would be among the first notified, I’d imagine.

344
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:47:18pm

re: #341 Barefoot Grin

Have you read the Inspector O novels?

No, never have.

345
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:47:22pm

re: #339 Belafon

I would read some that involved dragons.

Best Dragon Shapeshifter Romance Novels (Goodreads)

346
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:50:03pm

re: #344 Dr Lizardo

No, never have.

They’re written by a former intelligence officer who supposedly has about as much understanding of inside machinations in NK as any US officer; he writes under the pseudonym James Church. I found them interesting, but of course there’s a lot of room for imagination since so little is known with any confidence.

James Church also contributes to this site:

38north.org

347
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:51:15pm

re: #334 Anymouse 🌹🏡

On the “and then the dragons came,” I am not going to go into my collection of trashy erotic Romance novels for inspiration here.

for obvious reasons

348
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:52:46pm

A bit more regarding North Korea and the murky situation there.

A special train possibly belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was spotted this week at a resort town in the country, according to satellite images reviewed by a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, amid conflicting reports about Kim’s health and whereabouts.

The monitoring project, 38 North, said in its report on Saturday that the train was parked at the “leadership station” in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. The station is reserved for the use of the Kim family, it said.

Though the group said it was probably Kim Jong Un’s train, Reuters has not been able to confirm that independently, or whether he was in Wonsan.

“The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” the report said.

Speculation about Kim’s health first arose due to his absence from the anniversary of the birthday of North Korea’s founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.

China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.

reuters.com

It’s possible that he might’ve bugged out of Pyongyang - and highly likely he did if there was a major (and so far, unreported) COVID-19 outbreak in the capital. He could easily ride out an outbreak at the Wonsan compound.

349
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:54:42pm

re: #338 jaunte

How often do you have to drive it to keep it in shape?

Don’t really know, it hasn’t complained yet but I am a considerate owner. My daughter told me to call her right away if it does start talking to me, something about involuntary commitment.
RR does recommend putting oil in the cylinders if you’re going to store it for more than a month. This would no doubt produce a spectacular Spitfire/Hurricane style smokey start up once you cranked it again. I start it once a week and back it out of the garage to balance the tire load. It still runs like a champ at 142,000 miles. Heads have never been off. This is not a big deal for a modern car. For one made in 1968, it is phenomenol.

350
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:54:54pm

re: #346 Barefoot Grin

They’re written by a former intelligence officer who supposedly has about as much understanding of inside machinations in NK as any US officer; he writes under the pseudonym James Church. I found them interesting, but of course there’s a lot of room for imagination since so little is known with any confidence.

James Church also contributes to this site:

38north.org

I’ll have to check that out. Sounds interesting.

351
PhillyPretzel  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:55:15pm

re: #348 Dr Lizardo

That is another possibility. As you said murky. Time will tell.

352
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:56:51pm

re: #348 Dr Lizardo

It’s possible that [Kim] might’ve bugged out of Pyongyang - and highly likely he did if there was a major (and so far, unreported) COVID-19 outbreak in the capital. He could easily ride out an outbreak at the Wonsan compound.

Better Wonsan than Wisconsin…

353
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 12:59:29pm

Conservatism never sleeps when things need to be censored:

LGBTQ children’s books face record calls for bans in US libraries (The Guardian)

Attempts to remove books from libraries across the US rose almost a fifth last year, with children’s books featuring LGBTQ characters making up 80% of the most challenged books.

The American Library Association’s annual list of the most challenged books in public, school and academic libraries was topped by Alex Gino’s George, which has made the top 10 every year since it was published in 2015. Objections to the book, about a child who “knows she’s not a boy”, cited sexual references and conflict with “traditional family structure”, with some saying schools and libraries should not “put books in a child’s hand that require discussion”.

(more)

354
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:01:07pm

re: #349 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

Don’t really know, it hasn’t complained yet but I am a considerate owner. My daughter told me to call her right away if it does start talking to me, something about involuntary commitment.
RR does recommend putting oil in the cylinders if you’re going to store it for more than a month. This would no doubt produce a spectacular Spitfire/Hurricane style smokey start up once you cranked it again. I start it once a week and back it out of the garage to balance the tire load. It still runs like a champ at 142,000 miles. Heads have never been off. This is not a big deal for a modern car. For one made in 1968, it is phenomenol.

Your vanity plate doesn’t say “ NOS4A2”, does it?

1968: Silver Shadow?

355
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:03:58pm

re: #350 Dr Lizardo

I’ll have to check that out. Sounds interesting.

Prague features as a spy meet-up place in at least one.

356
BlueSpotinAL  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:04:09pm

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. And then the dragons came.

357
Decatur Deb  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:06:43pm

Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
And then the dragons came.

358
BlueSpotinAL  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:07:12pm

re: #335 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

I left the hide-out for the first time in a month today, to pick up a package and get a few things at Walmart. The place was overrun with Putin suicide troops and Golden Calf sacrifice volunteers, ie morons and denialists agggresively showing their “independence” and “freedom” by not wearing masks or gloves, and looking around like they were daring some busybody to try to save their lives. I said nothing to them, of course, but I did wear a mask and gloves and would have worn a full bio-hazard suit if I had one.
Btw, I drove the Rolls-Royce because it hasn’t been out in a while and it is a very nice day. One guy asked me if I was a doctor.

Should have told him you owned a toilet paper factory.

359
Disloyal Archangel  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:07:20pm
360
Quoth the raven, Covfefe.  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:08:02pm

re: #357 Decatur Deb

Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
And then the dragons came.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore -
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Then the dragons came.

361
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:10:42pm
362
goddamnedfrank  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:13:32pm
363
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:15:33pm

re: #362 goddamnedfrank

Someone would go to the beach to try to drink it.

364
Backwoods_Sleuth  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:16:34pm

re: #231 Dr Lizardo

Hard to say. Who would succeed Kim Jong-un? I’ve heard his sister is the next in line, but given the rather murky nature of the DPRK’s government, it’s not so easy to say if there’s a clear line of succession.

South Korea may well beef up their side of the DMZ, fearing possible instability and/or a wave of refugees. I really don’t know what China would do….it’s in their interests to keep North Korea stable, as they see it as a buffer zone between them and the American-allied ROK.

doesn’t he have a child?
I seem to recall that happening about 10 years ago

365
Welcome to The Imbleachment (dangerman)  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:17:24pm

a lady walked out of home depot in front of me today

she was wearing a mask and some kind of rubber-ish gloves

three steps out the door she takes her mask off and starts scratching / rubbing her face…with the gloved hands

all i could think of was ‘made it out of the store alive so i must be ok” or something similar

i realize that anything is better than nothing
and we arent experts
and mostly arent even aware of what we’re doing - being the amateurs we are

still, it sometimes strikes me as a weird sort of amusement.

like when i see someone wearing their mask over the mouth but not the nose.

366
Dr Lizardo  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:20:13pm

re: #364 Backwoods_Sleuth

doesn’t he have a child?
I seem to recall that happening about 10 years ago

He might - I honestly don’t recall.

On that note, time to call it a day. Have a good one, Lizards and stay healthy.

367
Barefoot Grin  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:24:25pm

Fuck:

368
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:24:58pm

re: #354 Jay C

Your vanity plate doesn’t say “ NOS4A2”, does it?

1968: Silver Shadow?

No on the plate. It is indeed a Silver Shadow. As is traditional in British automotive circles, this was severely criticized by traditionalists when it first appeared in 1964. One valid criticism is what looks like technical complexity for its own sake rather than any genuine functional purpose. The Citroen designed brake system might be necessary on, say, a Mirage 2000, but it is pointless on a car. A full brake job costs around 10K. Fortunately it is fairly durable. The most gadgety gadget was probably the original gear selector. This used an ordinary column-mounted gear quadrant to operate an electrical switch to control a remote servo-motor that actually changed the transmission gears. This could easily have been done by connecting the column quadrant directly to the transmission, as with practically all other cars. The previous owner had this fail once. Outraged, he had replaced it with a normal gear selector. The latter was salvaged from a quintessential Republican car, a Buick Electra, which, in true Republican fashion, had sacrificed itself for the benefit of its betters.

369
Backwoods_Sleuth  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:26:54pm

re: #239 jaunte

[Embedded content]

I am the last person to fat shame anyone, but this guy…

370
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:27:33pm

My god sister posted some Right Wing Light bullshit on Facebook again so I made another Page.

371
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:27:40pm

re: #366 Dr Lizardo

He might - I honestly don’t recall.

On that note, time to call it a day. Have a good one, Lizards and stay healthy.

I wouldn’t think any of Kim’s children are old enough to be seriously considered for a leadership position: Kim himself is only in his mid-30s * and probably hasn’t been married all that long. But as usual with NK, personal details are (deliberately, apparently) always shrouded in conjecture.

* While his birthday is generally accepted as January 8, the year is in some doubt: Kim Jong-un is either 36, 37 or 38 depending on the source.

372
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:27:48pm

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
And then the dragons came again.

373
Teddy's Person  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:28:22pm

re: #364 Backwoods_Sleuth

doesn’t he have a child?
I seem to recall that happening about 10 years ago

What we know about Kim Jong Un’s 3 possible heirs

For a family wanting to hold onto hereditary power, they’re sure secret about their kids.

374
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:29:23pm

re: #373 Teddy’s Person

What we know about Kim Jong Un’s 3 possible heirs

For a family wanting to hold onto hereditary power, they’re sure secret about their kids.

Well, he still hasn’t decided which ones to cull and which ones to promote…

375
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:29:45pm
376
LeftyRambles2413 (HappyWarrior)  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:31:58pm

re: #367 Barefoot Grin

Fuck:

[Embedded content]

I wouldn’t be surprised if they try something with Taiwan next.

377
Backwoods_Sleuth  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:32:54pm

re: #269 BigPapa

The Audacity of Caucasity Part 2: The Whiteception Bugaloo

and then the dragons arrived…

378
LeftyRambles2413 (HappyWarrior)  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:33:53pm

re: #364 Backwoods_Sleuth

doesn’t he have a child?
I seem to recall that happening about 10 years ago

Per BBC you’re correct bbc.com

379
Jay C  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:36:46pm

re: #368 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

No on the plate. It is indeed a Silver Shadow. As is traditional in British automotive circles, this was severely criticized by traditionalists when it first appeared in 1964. One valid criticism is what looks like technical complexity for its own sake rather than any genuine functional purpose. The Citroen designed brake system might be necessary on, say, a Mirage 2000, but it is pointless on a car. A full brake job costs around 10K. Fortunately it is fairly durable. The most gadgety gadget was probably the original gear selector. This used an ordinary column-mounted gear quadrant to operate an electrical switch to control a remote servo-motor that actually changed the transmission gears. This could easily have been done by connecting the column quadrant directly to the transmission, as with practically all other cars. The previous owner had this fail once. Outraged, he had replaced it with a normal gear selector. The latter was salvaged from a quintessential Republican car, a Buick Electra, which, in true Republican fashion, had sacrificed itself for the benefit of its betters.

My mother had a Shadow for many years: it was a 1966 model, which I think was the intro year of that style. Most of the auto press concluded that it looked like it had been styled after the Nash Rambler: a judgement that, in retrospect, wasn’t too far off the mark. But yeah, driving once a week (even if just around the block) was what it took. But even then, the thing would usually start up and run fine every time, no matter how long it had sat. Which of course, was only what one would expect from RR….

380
Dave In Austin  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:36:51pm
381
Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:38:56pm

That is no country for old men.
And then the dragons came.

382
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:40:12pm

re: #370 BigPapa

My god sister posted some Right Wing Light bullshit on Facebook again so I made another Page.

That’s a good vivisection of your sister’s post, with the “reasonable middle ground” shown as the same conservative/libertarian crap with nicer words and no guns.

383
PhillyPretzel  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:40:35pm

re: #381 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light))

Buck did not read newspapers … and then the dragons came.

384
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:41:37pm
385
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:44:24pm

Figured this was coming after Gov. Ricketts decided to go the Trumpian route and “open everything up.”

Stand by for Roman Catholic churches to become hotspots in Nebraska. I imagine if a so-called mainline church is itching to open up, most all of them will (including the church across the street from my house).

386
BigPapa  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:44:26pm

re: #382 Anymouse 🌹🏡

That’s a good vivisection of your sister’s post, with the “reasonable middle ground” shown as the same conservative/libertarian crap with nicer words and no guns.

Thanks for that. I think part of our problem is giving a vocal minority ‘extra credit’ by Both Sides. You’re the minority, Both Sides gives you extra credence, then you plant a flag in the perceived new middle.

The Both Sides Kobayashi Maru I’m quite proud of.

387
Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:46:42pm

re: #383 PhillyPretzel

Buck did not read newspapers … and then the dragons came.

Could we add video blurbs?
Radio host Alex Jones leads chants of “Arrest Bill Gates” at #ReopenAmerica protest in Austin, Texas……….and then the dragons came.

388
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:47:37pm

“This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.” And then the dragons came.—The Princess Bride

389
Anymouse 🌹🏡  Apr 25, 2020 • 1:48:11pm

re: #387 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

Could we add video blurbs?
Radio host Alex Jones leads chants of “Arrest Bill Gates” at #ReopenAmerica protest in Austin, Texas……….and then the dragons came.

If they carried off Alex Jones, I’d be fine with that.

390
Rightwingconspirator  Apr 25, 2020 • 2:19:17pm

re: #370 BigPapa

My god sister posted some Right Wing Light bullshit on Facebook again so I made another Page.

Reason is never the hero is it?

391
Eventual Carrion  Apr 25, 2020 • 3:52:03pm

re: #298 Dread Pirate

[Embedded content]

Yeah, cause I caught cancer from my neighbor at the lawn party. Fucking idiot.

392
FFL (GOP Delenda Est)  Apr 25, 2020 • 6:44:53pm

re: #335 Shiplord Kirel, Friend of Moose and Squirrel

I left the hide-out for the first time in a month today, to pick up a package and get a few things at Walmart. The place was overrun with Putin suicide troops and Golden Calf sacrifice volunteers, ie morons and denialists agggresively showing their “independence” and “freedom” by not wearing masks or gloves, and looking around like they were daring some busybody to try to save their lives. I said nothing to them, of course, but I did wear a mask and gloves and would have worn a full bio-hazard suit if I had one.
Btw, I drove the Rolls-Royce because it hasn’t been out in a while and it is a very nice day. One guy asked me if I was a doctor.

And then the dragons arrived.


This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh