Commenter Archive

Comments by Slade the Leveller in reply to Jaybird*

On “Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25

I'm looking at retirement in the next couple of years, so I switched to mostly cash a few weeks back.

The last time we saw anything this idiotic was Smoot-Hawley. At least that was voted on by Congress, so the perpetrators could be gotten rid of in a couple years. Now that Congress has inexplicably ceded that authority to the president, we have 4 years of this idiocy.

On “Read It For Yourself: How Trump Admin Defines “Gang Members” For Deportation

8 points of a possible 87 will get you labelled as a TDA member. We already have several examples of people being deported because of tattoos that have nothing whatsoever to do with that gang. Plus, comment 1 states that even a low score doesn't disqualify for consideration as an enemy alien.

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts

Not only that, the law cited requires "a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government". Further, it allows only for deportation of males.

Aside from relying on a 2 century old law, the current administration isn't even following it. They'll most likely continue on this lawless path because the people they're intent on deporting are unsympathetic. The Trump administration is not intent on following the law, it's just looking for grist for the social media mill.

On “Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25

I believe that is Russ Vought's stated goal, unless I am remembering wrong.

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Isn't that what a blacklist is? Now that the word is out on Dr. Liu, it'd take a pretty brave outfit, which surely seem to be in short supply these days, to engage her as a speaker now.

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It's a Hollywood blacklist redux. How long before we revive HUAC?

"Are you now, or have you ever been, in opposition to the war in the Palestinian territories?"

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The string "uncertain" occurs 34 times in that Fed report. If we want the government to be "ran like a business" as DJT's supporters so often say, I'd say creating uncertainty is the last thing the administration would want to create. That's just me spitballing, however.

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Does that guy ever sleep?

On “The Greatest Strike in History

Of course, I immediately thought of this: https://youtu.be/R3niGu9d_pY?si=WfjnKok5O-2d4tX-

(Just a few years after Ty Cobb.)

On “Weekend Plans Post: Pantherine Vandals

OK, that sounds a lot less interesting. Perhaps even less so than actual musical theater.

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Imagine your library job is to sit there while someone watches a taped play. It's a theater kid's dream job.

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A few years ago, we went to the movie theater to see a Metropolitan Opera simulcast of Porgy and Bess. I don't remember how many cameras were used, but the sound was great. And I got to eat some popcorn.

On “Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25

Right? Racistly? (Though I'm not quite sure what racism has directly to do with a country actively working against scientific research.)

On “Martin Niemöller, and Who First They Came For

"You want to be gay in some small German town…well, people would probably pretty strongly suggest you move to Berlin."

I daresay you could substitute nearly any country for Germany and pick that country's largest city for people to move to. Even now, 100 years after Weimar.

On “Opening Day at the Church of Baseball

Agreed! I'm with Schilling on the shift rule, too. The shift was a bunter's paradise. Too bad no one knows how to do it anymore.

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There was some nice discussion on the baseball forum about how to counter the dependency on strike outs (and the proliferation of pitchers needing TJ surgery). One guy came up with what I thought was a nice solution: penalize teams whose pitchers don't go a certain (longish, like 6-7) number of innings by taking away their DH after the starter is removed.

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Isn't Team Red supposed to be an improvement over Team Blue?

On “A Loaf of Bread, a Container of Milk, and a Stick of Butter

When I was about 5, we lived about a block from a corner grocery (which have sadly disappeared in this city). My mom sent me there to buy some buns, either hamburger or hot dog, and I bought the wrong one. I had to bring them back and the storekeeper yelled at me. That happened 55 years ago!

I also remember it being at the end of the earth. I went back just a few years ago, and you could see the store from our back porch.

On “Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens

Tremendously deep. Many people have said.

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It sure didn't take long for this administration to become the Deep State, did it?

On “Open Mic for the week of 3/24/25

Perception is reality in this case. It's easy to equate the 2 cases. If one side wants to point a finger at the other, it better have clean hands.

If the Dem's held the Hill right now, you'd better believe there'd be hearing. Alas!

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It's bad. The Dems handwaving away of Hilary's private server is the only arrow the other side will need in its quiver to brush this one aside. Judging by r/Conservative, that's already the mindset.

On “Bowling — Balling Up the Score

My son was a high school bowler who graduated in 2014. Even then automatic scoring had taken its toll on the ability to keep score.

On “Signal Controversy Over Houthi Strikes Deepens

"the latter ones also happen to be ones where you cannot possibly add journalists to it by mistake."

Like the ones the government already has for handling communications like this. People are ultimately lazy, and this little escapade is just one of the more egregious demonstrations of that.

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