I played simulator golf with my brother and nephew this morning. Not nearly as good as real golf but it's February in Chicago, so whaddya gonna do?
Sunday is church, some handyman work around the house, and the Super Bowl. I don't really have a rooting interest, so I'll just hope for a competitive game.
If you're looking for an interesting, and topical, novel, I can't recommend Lionel Shriver's The Mandibles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandibles
People of a certain political persuasion have been saying that government needs to be "ran" like a business (I can't tell you how much the use of the wrong tense in this phrase grates on my ears.), which is fine on the face of it. Everyone knows running a business entails growing revenue, right? Then you ask them what needs to be cut and it's always a program that doesn't touch them and which amounts to 0.000000001% of the budget. Every day, Gene Wilder's little soliloquy in Blazing Saddles becomes truer and truer.
https://youtu.be/KHJbSvidohg?feature=shared
The bottom line is if we want a CEO in the White House, DJT is about the last guy I'd pick.
One would hope. Status quo ante goes back 235 years. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things that's spelled out quite clearly for all to see, especially those that take an oath to the damn thing.
"Take the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem. Long pages in “The Message” are devoted to the (unfortunately very real) horrors of the occupation – the humiliating roadblocks, where Palestinians traveling to visit relatives, go to work, or see a doctor, are forced to spend hours by the wayside, imploring indifferent or sadistic soldiers to be allowed to pass; home searches in the middle of the night; home destruction (even of poor cave-dwellers, as in Susiya); mass arrests and the occasional killing, usually unintended, of innocents; no-go areas for Palestinian vehicles.
I, too, lament these often draconian, always oppressive measures. But..."
Isn't that currently the case, unless you count pro forma statements from Biden about how bad Israel's behavior was that were roundly ignored by everyone?
I was thinking about "emergency" tariffs this morning. I've been keeping books for 25 years and I'm struggling to come up with any sort of accounting emergency. Hell's bells, Congress passed the declaration of war on Japan on Dec. 8, about 24 hours after the Pearl Harbor attack. They can act when they want to.
Perhaps Congress could pass a law forbidding itself from delegating its powers to anyone.
I'll stand firm in my conviction. If people want to make the efforts of DJT and his ilk easier, this kind of thing will continue to happen. We can whine about it on the internet, or we can actually do something about it.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “Kansas City wants to Score the first Threepeat against the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans”
That last meaningless KC TD made people with 2-0 squares extremely happy.
On “Keynesian Beauty Contests, Schelling Points, and the Omnicause”
It is kind of embarrassing that the American people have allowed Congress to reduce itself to a sycophantic rubber stamp over the years.
On “Weekend Plans Post: The Longest Month”
Can't recommend highly enough! Oy.
"
I played simulator golf with my brother and nephew this morning. Not nearly as good as real golf but it's February in Chicago, so whaddya gonna do?
Sunday is church, some handyman work around the house, and the Super Bowl. I don't really have a rooting interest, so I'll just hope for a competitive game.
If you're looking for an interesting, and topical, novel, I can't recommend Lionel Shriver's The Mandibles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandibles
On “Keynesian Beauty Contests, Schelling Points, and the Omnicause”
People of a certain political persuasion have been saying that government needs to be "ran" like a business (I can't tell you how much the use of the wrong tense in this phrase grates on my ears.), which is fine on the face of it. Everyone knows running a business entails growing revenue, right? Then you ask them what needs to be cut and it's always a program that doesn't touch them and which amounts to 0.000000001% of the budget. Every day, Gene Wilder's little soliloquy in Blazing Saddles becomes truer and truer.
https://youtu.be/KHJbSvidohg?feature=shared
The bottom line is if we want a CEO in the White House, DJT is about the last guy I'd pick.
"
It is every American’s 1st Amendment right to advocate for a king, sir.
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/3/2025”
One would hope. Status quo ante goes back 235 years. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things that's spelled out quite clearly for all to see, especially those that take an oath to the damn thing.
"
"Take the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem. Long pages in “The Message” are devoted to the (unfortunately very real) horrors of the occupation – the humiliating roadblocks, where Palestinians traveling to visit relatives, go to work, or see a doctor, are forced to spend hours by the wayside, imploring indifferent or sadistic soldiers to be allowed to pass; home searches in the middle of the night; home destruction (even of poor cave-dwellers, as in Susiya); mass arrests and the occasional killing, usually unintended, of innocents; no-go areas for Palestinian vehicles.
I, too, lament these often draconian, always oppressive measures. But..."
There's always one of those.
On “Keynesian Beauty Contests, Schelling Points, and the Omnicause”
Damn, the Nuremberg defense already?
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/3/2025”
Just a subset of those who are shaking their heads.
Is there a legal explanation for how Trump amassed his fortune?
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Maybe I'm just out of the loop here, but the cited reason is Mexican drug cartels. Are they really that big a problem for this country?
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FAA
On “Welcome to the Quagmire”
If what we're seeing is Israel acting with restraint, then the rest of the Middle East is in big trouble.
"
Isn't that currently the case, unless you count pro forma statements from Biden about how bad Israel's behavior was that were roundly ignored by everyone?
"
OK, 2.
"
I can think of one.
On “Open Mic for the week of 2/3/2025”
Eh, English is good enough for 'em. In between stopping the 12 ounces of fentanyl a week I can study up on citizenship.
"
Where do I apply to be Canada's fentanyl czar? According to the BBC, 32 whole pounds were seized at the Canadian border last year.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg93nn1e6go
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"Went"
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As soon as one of the broccoli heads within Elon's ambit starts to look up the deets of his OnlyFans crushes.
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https://archive.is/wdSPN
Can't see any comments, but here's the article.
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Good Lord.
"
I was thinking about "emergency" tariffs this morning. I've been keeping books for 25 years and I'm struggling to come up with any sort of accounting emergency. Hell's bells, Congress passed the declaration of war on Japan on Dec. 8, about 24 hours after the Pearl Harbor attack. They can act when they want to.
Perhaps Congress could pass a law forbidding itself from delegating its powers to anyone.
On “Open Mic for the week of 1/27/2025”
Whoosh! Stupid internet.
"
I'll stand firm in my conviction. If people want to make the efforts of DJT and his ilk easier, this kind of thing will continue to happen. We can whine about it on the internet, or we can actually do something about it.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.