That’s a clever birb. Budgies sort of look like a tennis ball’s in bird form.
House Speaker talk continues.
Who is Mike Johnson?
To know a man, show us his enemies? And friends?
On Wednesday, ex-Speaker McCarthy threw his support behind Johnson, calling him “a friend, fighter, and principled conservative” who “has my full support.”
Yet, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on CNN that Johnson “appears to be an extreme-right wing ideologue,” citing Johnson’s previous positions on abortion, Social Security, and the 2020 election.
“Those are extreme views,” he said, adding that Democrats “would have been open to” empowering Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC), the speaker pro tempore, as a bipartisan olive branch to reopen the House and avert the election of a ‘far-right speaker.’
Yet Johnson’s also “one of the smartest and most principled opponents of the US Security State (CIA/FBI) and its attempt to control online political speech,” according to Glenn Greenwald.
Johnson has the right enemies…and friends, methinks.
Hakeem Jeffries’ calling Johnson an “extreme right-wing ideologue” is an endorsement of Johnson’s candidacy for me.
And Glenn Greenwald’s saying that Johnson is a principled and smart opponent of the US Security State is also an endorsement.
Fingers crossed.
Israel Attacks Hospital story gets a mea culpa from the NYTimes, days after its lethal journalism has done its dirty work.
The NYTimes says it shouldn’t rely on Hamas for body counts. From the Hollywood Reporter:
N.Y. Times Says It Was “Incorrect” to Rely on Hamas Claims to Wrongly Blame Israel for Gaza Hospital Blast
The Hollywood Reporter ^ | OCTOBER 23, 2023 | Etan Vlessing
“Times editors should have taken more care with the initial presentation” of the Oct. 17 Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion in Gaza City — caused by a misfired rocket aimed at Israel — the marquee newspaper said in a statement.
The New York Times has said it was wrong to “heavily” rely on claims by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas that Israel was to blame for the Oct. 17 Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, without first verifying those claims.
“The Times’ initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials, and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast. However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert and social media channels — relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was,” the N.Y Times said in an editor’s note shared on its Instagram account.
The marquee U.S. newspaper is the latest major media outlet to concede that its early and fast-shifting reporting on the deadly Gaza City hospital blast relied on Palestinian sources, where follow-up coverage and investigations revealed the cause was a misfired rocket aimed at Israel.
NY Times is not happy that they got called out for pushing a lie. They will continue to lie but with more subtlety in the future?
The NYT was able to hold out for nearly a week.
Once they saw all the damage they managed to cause they understood they could “apologize”—mea culpa but hey not really our fault… since we were misled….
Heh, the best of all worlds: We smeared ‘‘em but good but we’re not to blame not really…
you should see how they applaud themselves for their diligence,
of course friedman was a pioneer in misreporting the fraternal bloodletting at shatila,
It just occurred to me; auto manufacturers are missing a H-U-G-E opportunity to exploit their advantage.
We are living in the worst era of automobile design since automobiles were introduced. The decades of the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s all saw incredible designs by incredible designers. Many of those designs are still revered as classics and sell for multiples of the cars’ original costs at auctions.
Why is auto design so boring today? Congress enacted CAFE standards for fleet average miles per gallon in 1975 and it’s been downhill since; with nearly each, subsequent administration increasing requirements. There is a reason airplanes and submarines look like they do; aero/hydro dynamics. For this same reason every modern automobile looks like an aspirin tablet. No more hood ornaments, let alone a chrome tailfin.
With electric vehicle manufacture automobile manufacturers are equally obsessed with aerodynamics. Less air resistance means more range and range is all anyone seems to care about with electric vehicles.
But Congress doesn’t mandate miles per gallon for electric vehicles because there are no gallons. There are a lot of people who would gladly sacrifice range for style! Most all electric vehicles currently (get it? “current?!”) get over 200 miles on a charge. How many people drive more than 200 miles/day, on average? Almost none.
Have some fun car companies! Let your designers go wild! Put some fins on those electric cars! Hood ornaments! Running boards! A rumble seat! A chrome luggage rack on the trunk! Make it cool to drive an electric vehicle! Unless Congress changes something (and they won’t), internal combustion car drivers are destined to a future of driving aspirin tablets. EV drivers can be the cool kids on the block! How about, bumper sticker sized LED screens on the actual bumpers that allow the driver to design their own bumper stickers? Go to the dealers app store and download clever bumper stickers!
And, I know what you’re thinking, “Sure Rufus, I don’t need to go further than 200 miles most days, but sometimes I do need maximum range to visit grandma or go to the lake.” Well, how about this, car designers? Make some of those non-aerodynamic features retractable. They already make retractable hood ornaments. Give the driver a button and allow him or her to choose which features he or she wants to display on any given day. People love features and toggle switches!
Part two of Rufus’s free advice to auto manufacturers that will result in billions of revenue for any company who takes the advice:
Make an inexpensive, simple, basic electric pick-up truck that is easily modifiable and customizable. Make an inexpensive, simple, basic convertible 2 seat sedan that is easily modifiable and customizable.
There is a decent percentage of the population that loves to tinker and customize their cars. This was extremely common for most of the 20th century when automobiles were fairly easy to work on. Even now, with new cars with complex computer systems and engine compartments so cramped you have to lift the engine to change a spark plug; young people customize their cars. They add sound systems and light affects. They even reprogram the onboard computers to increase the fuel air mix.
When auto manufacturers made cheap, tiny pick-up trucks Americans bought the h*ll out of ’em. They customized them. Kept them running forever (you still see them on the road and they sell for a premium on the used market).
Tesla and other manufacturers are embracing a “subscription” type model. Everything, even software upgrades, have to come from the manufacturer and many require monthly or annual subscription fees. It makes sense from a revenue standpoint, but there is a huge, underserved market of people who like to do their own stuff and want the ability to tinker and make their car their own. Tesla and other manufacturers could easily make a smaller, niche product line for that consumer. There is already a small contingent of clever tinkerers “jail breaking” their Teslas and bragging about their custom modifications to compatriots in online forums. Why not make something for those people, the people so passionate about your product that they master it?
Well, how about this, car designers? Make some of those non-aerodynamic features retractable. They already make retractable hood ornaments. Give the driver a button and allow him or her to choose which features he or she wants to display on any given day. People love features and toggle switches!
Finally. I always wanted James Bond’s Aston Martin.
Me too, mikeski! Or the other cool car author Ian Fleming brought us, Caractacus Pott’s fine, four fendered friend!
Sanctimonious narcissist Barrack H. Obama is concern trolling that Israel’s blockade of Gaza may “harden Palestinian attitudes for generations”. Oh no! Not that! Obama’s long held, poorly concealed antipathy towards Israel certainly is tedious. But then again Obama in general is a tedious bore who far too many fools and knaves still revoltingly admire.
cdrsalamander on the Hamas (Iranian proxie) war and US DOD planning (or his assessment)
@Kate, Glad to hear that. At minimum it’s one less depressing story to focus on.
Sanctimonious narcissist Barrack H. Obama is concern trolling that Israel’s blockade of Gaza may “harden Palestinian attitudes for generations”. Oh no! Not that!
Huh. No one ever seems to worry about Israeli attitudes hardening for 10 minutes, let alone “generations”, in response to Hamas’ depravity.
There have been pogroms against Jews in the area since the 1920s, in recent history. “Hardening Palestinian attitudes” could hardly get worse. Let the citizens of Gaza vomit out Hamas and things would get better for everyone. Many of them are saying they prefer to die. Well, this is a choice they can make.
@Rufus T. Firefly:
Bwahahaha! Your post reminded me of my old Ford SUV (Excursion?), a big ol’ bruiser all the kids in my stunt show called “The White Rhino” because it was white, its high step-up and an absolute beast of a work truck (frequently hauled the entire group and weapons at once).
So…
I went to a junk yard friend, grabbed the luggage carriage from a 70’s station wagon, got out my equipment, attached that, took some sheet steel and paint and made a pair of ears & attached them at the windshield’s lower corners then a horn, front middle of the lid.
The kids went berserk the first weekend they saw it.
Commenters here bring so much humor and wisdom to these pages that it’s hard not to just join in on the revelry. But here’s a serious question for commenters here:
Has anyone else noted the frequent appearance of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at President Biden’s side? This strikes me as unusual: I can’t remember the name of any other Commerce Secretary, nor their face. But Raymond has been beside Biden at Cabinet meetings, speeches, and other events. Is she a deep thinker on policy? A Registered Nurse? Has good-smelling hair? What gives. Please subbest some possible answers.
Kate:
That is certainly good news, we have a Speaker!
Regarding the Pali’s and their history of pogroms, Ministry of Truth by western media? The Pali’s aren’t ashamed of it IIRC.
Very funny! I literally laughed out loud when I read your comment. (I guess that would be: llol)
Well played!!
Oligonicella,
That is very funny and clever!
OPTIMISM ON THE Domestic Home Front? Our views hitting the court dockets? Seriously? YES.
Is Trump’s prosecution lawful and Constitutional? His lawyers have been burrowing in and yielding solid grounds to think not.
Trump’s lawyers have been busy filing MOTIONS to dismiss on various grounds, such as Presidential Immunity (prosecutor Jack Smith replied to this one only yesterday). While Gouviea goes through these recent filings elsewhere on YouTube with more to come, the best place to start is this one on broad Constitutional grounds, which is about half an hour long.
“Trump’s MOTHERLOAD of Dismissal Filings,” A Read-through with lawyer Robert Gouviea, 25Oct23
Be joyful and fight on with good hearts! These have sure cheered me up,
@Rufus:
To conclude the White Rhino’s life tale:
I ran that thing (bought used from a landscaping company) for around 15 years. And with all the gear hauling and other things I did, I ran it hard.
I replaced the front suspension, engine that threw a rod, had the tranny (Pardon, the trans-donethework.) worked on, all the brakes completely and part of the drive shaft. I think in that order. (Probably more.)
I finally sold the thing to a guy because the actual frame finally rusted in half.
He cut the Rhino in half and made a trailer out of it.
Try all that with a new truck without going broke.
“harden Palestinian attitudes”
Instead of beheading babies they will feed them into wood chippers.
Caroline Glick is great but she is mistaken to say Obama “betrayed” Israel. That would imply he was ever anything but implacably anti-Zionist in the first place.
The NYT will continue to lie about Israel, count on it.
Is the US economy soon to roll over into recession? EVERYTHING in this nation hinges on the question. Predicted for 20 months, when is it coming?
The consumer has stretched out credit to record heights. And now world-wide luxury brands are crying “uncle!” in the face of the rich who are now shrinking spending on luxury clothes as well as cars like Tesla and Porsche. And since consumption is two-thirds of USGDP, recession may be only months away.
But it isn’t the real problem. The issue is that recession will multiply the costs of Federal borrowing, making it unsustainable. And that why the change of Speaker in the House may be the key to turning away from the financial crash, because the cliff is near!
I’m drawing on finance and investment guru’s who add numbers to explain the Debt Monster, or “Doom Loop” as they call it, where Federal borrowing costs consume vast proportions of GDP, resulting in an Argentina like collapse, (where poverty has reached over 40%, officially).
We’re already facing debt growing larger than Defense spending, which has never happened before except during the pandemic and the Great Recession, 2008-9. What is coming will be worse.
This past month has seen Federal borrowing rising by $500 billion in a single month, amounting to a total of 33.5 trillion dollars right now.
Simon Black writes: “It’s worth noting that the national debt has already increased more than $500 BILLION just so far this MONTH. So this addiction to debt and spending does not seem to be abating anytime soon.
“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – who was formerly the head of the Federal Reserve – went so far as to say that America ‘can certainly” afford to fund two wars at the same time, i.e. both Ukraine and Israel. There’s simply no instinct for restraint.”
There is no apparent political will in DC to divert us from a devastating game of chicken, flirting with the cliff and complete economic collapse in 2024. Think of 2008. The tools that worked last time will not work this time because they’ve been used up.
DOOM LOOP AND 20% of GDP debt service levels is COMING WITH RECESSION IN 2024.
The Unprecedented Fiscal “Doom Loop” is Getting Worse
By Lawrence Lepard, EXCERPT below:
US FISCAL DOOM LOOP GETS WORSE
In our view, the biggest elephant in the room is the US Fiscal Doom Loop. To refresh: US Government spending is out of control, and there appears to be very little political will to stop it.
As the chart below shows, Government spending is up 14% yoy and tax receipts are down 7% yoy [a 21% gap=Total Deficit Spending]. Fiscal year ended September 2023 is projected to have a deficit of over $2 Billion (or roughly 8% of GDP). In the past, deficits of this magnitude only materialized during significant downturns like the bursting of the Dotcom Bubble, the 2008 GFC and the COVID crisis. It is unprecedented to have deficits of this magnitude with the economy and employment being relatively strong.
One can only imagine where the deficit goes when the FED’s monetary jihad of rapid rate increases tips the economy over. Past economic downturns typically have increased the deficit/GDP ratio by 8-14%.
So as the economy moves into recession in 2024 (as we believe), the US could be looking at deficits as high as 20% of GDP ($5 Trillion) if the economy slows dramatically.
The reason we see it as a “doom loop” is that the current $33.5 Trillion of Federal Debt is continually costing more to service. The Fed’s rapid increase of interest rates, and elimination of Quantitative Easing (e.g., Fed buying Treasury bonds) has impacted US Treasury interest costs.
Interest expense on the Federal Debt now exceeds our substantial annual national defense spending of $816B as well as every other category except Social Security and Medicare.
The Doom Loop occurs as higher interest costs drive higher deficits, forcing the Government to sell more bonds to finance the same. Ceteris paribus, more bond sales lead to higher interest rates which then increase the deficit further. Repeat until there is no market for the bonds. Of course, at that point the Fed is forced to step in and become the buyer of last resort for the bonds to keep the bond market functioning….
Today alone, interest rates for Federal debt is flirting with 5% — up shy of 0.25%.
And this is why the change-over in House Speaker and House leadership was necessary — and may finally change the course of this careening car of state from the cliff of Federal bankruptcy.
How many balls could a budgie budge if a budgie could budge balls?
Q: Hey, you know what ALWAYS succeeds?
A: A toothless budgie.
And, in lighter news, The Left, once again, get hoisted on their own petards.
Here’s one from “The Book of Lies” by occultist Aleister Crowley:
________________________________
THE WAY TO SUCCEED — AND THE WAY TO SUCK EGGS!
This is the Holy Hexagram.
Plunge from the height, O God, and interlock with Man!
Plunge from the height, O Man, and interlock with Beast!
The Red Triangle is the descending tongue of grace; the Blue Triangle is the ascending tongue of prayer.
This Interchange, the Double Gift of Tongues, the Word of Double Power — ABRAHADABRA! — is the sign of the GREAT WORK, for the GREAT WORK is accomplished in Silence. And behold, is not that Word equal to Cheth, that is Cancer, whose Sigil is 69?
This Work also eats up itself, accomplishes its own end, nourishes the worker, leaves no seed, is perfect in itself.
Sorry to post news about an active shooter here, but it doesn’t fit in any other thread: CNN is reporting that 16 people “are dead in multiple shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night, according to multiple law enforcement sources. Fifty to 60 people are injured in the incidents, though it’s unclear how many are injured due to gunfire, the sources told CNN. A suspect remains at large, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook.”
The alleged perp looks like a middle-aged white male, as nearly as I can tell from the photo on the transcript:
Back on topic. Long gone but not forgotten is the Parrot Jungle in Miami. They had a huge collection of all different varieties of parrots, some of which flew free all around the grounds. The highlight of any trip was the show where the parrots would do tricks. One of our favorites was the huge parrot wearing roller skates, skating back and forth on a high wire to music.
Update on post about the active shooter in Maine: death toll is now up to 22 persons:
I was impressed with the budgie’s perseverance in trying to perch/walk on the tennis ball, even nudging it out from under a table to keep going. One could compare him to a bronc rider (get back on the hoss that throw’d ya), but the way he just seemed to enjoy the challenge was like the riders in this article which came up in my viewing today.
@ OBH > ‘The Left, once again, get hoisted on their own petards.”
The best line from the post on Penn State is at the end, winning narrowly among many fine contenders. (the long excerpt is for context)
It is not clear whether the faculty senate will apply its stentorian defense of free speech to Wax, who spent the past year feuding with the body over what she says is a rigged adjudication process. And Magill, Penn’s embattled president, has in recent days taken a more muddled line on free expression, writing that “hateful speech has no place at Penn.” That statement, which came after the donor revolt began, seemed designed to stem the bleeding from the university’s coffers and quell calls for her resignation.
But while some donors have attacked Penn’s decision to host September’s Palestine Writes festival, most have not called for anti-Semitic speakers to be canceled. The problem, they say, is that the school failed to condemn those speakers until it was pressured to do so, using free speech as an excuse for equivocation.
“The Administration has shown no leadership, moral courage or an ability to distinguish between what is clearly right and clearly wrong,” Jonathon Jacobson, who founded the investment firm Highsage Ventures, told Magill in an email. “Hiding behind free speech, which I am a huge advocate of, as an excuse for your fecklessness is laughable.”
Without referring to Wax by name, other donors have attacked the double standard her case seems to illustrate.
“I’m 100% for free speech,” Asness told Penn in a letter, “but not asymmetrical free speech where some have it and some don’t. Imagine Penn’s action if that event was as anti-anyone else other than Jews!? Hiding behind ‘free speech’ when it is a right only embraced for antisemites and other fellow travelers is not ok.”
According to our host and several commenters, the spoiler of House unity is Matt Gaetz. Likewise, the media faithfully echoed that message. So, how were the tables turned?
Yesterday morning, before the vote for Speaker, Matt Gaetz explains that the most divisive force remaining…these last weeks was…Kevin McCarthy.
He tells a dramatic and compelling account to Steve Bannon of how the Republican House finally unites, at last, over Mike Johnson.
Gaetz explains that the K-Street lobbyists are now wailing and gnashing their teeth, as McCarthy “the swamp creature” repeatedly showed his true colours and the R House conference abandoned him because he was bent on manipulative schemes to defeat all rivals and to mount a come p-back as Speaker of the House.
McCarthy’s schemes failed and he was resoundingly rejected, as the MAGA-influenced Representatives carried out their duties.
If journalism is the first draft of history, then Matt Gaetz is the real honest deal. Give his interview a listen! American Greatness feature a cut-to-the chase news story headline, “McCarthy Tried to Sabotage Vote For New House Speaker Mike Johnson.”
@ TJ in re Gaetz’s claims: interesting news, assuming we can believe Gaetz, but objections to his story should surface soon if there are any.
The part about Johnson refusing to go along with the secret polls as were held previously (especially the one kicking Jordan to the curb) fits with my perception of co-ordinated obstruction by the McCarthy faction.
Gaetz, as quoted at GP:
Ultimately, McCarthy gets 43 to vote for him on a secret ballot, but Mike Johnson gets a majority.
And then he (Mike Johnson?) says, you know what I want? I want a roll call vote so that those 43 would have to announce themselves as being for a candidate who wasn’t even running instead of a unifying force like Mike Johnson. And when we called for the roll call. Do you know how many people voted for Kevin McCarthy? Zero!
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That’s a clever birb. Budgies sort of look like a tennis ball’s in bird form.
House Speaker talk continues.
Who is Mike Johnson?
To know a man, show us his enemies? And friends?
On Wednesday, ex-Speaker McCarthy threw his support behind Johnson, calling him “a friend, fighter, and principled conservative” who “has my full support.”
Yet, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on CNN that Johnson “appears to be an extreme-right wing ideologue,” citing Johnson’s previous positions on abortion, Social Security, and the 2020 election.
“Those are extreme views,” he said, adding that Democrats “would have been open to” empowering Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC), the speaker pro tempore, as a bipartisan olive branch to reopen the House and avert the election of a ‘far-right speaker.’
Yet Johnson’s also “one of the smartest and most principled opponents of the US Security State (CIA/FBI) and its attempt to control online political speech,” according to Glenn Greenwald.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/house-vote-republican-mike-johnson-speaker
Johnson has the right enemies…and friends, methinks.
Hakeem Jeffries’ calling Johnson an “extreme right-wing ideologue” is an endorsement of Johnson’s candidacy for me.
And Glenn Greenwald’s saying that Johnson is a principled and smart opponent of the US Security State is also an endorsement.
Fingers crossed.
Israel Attacks Hospital story gets a mea culpa from the NYTimes, days after its lethal journalism has done its dirty work.
The NYTimes says it shouldn’t rely on Hamas for body counts. From the Hollywood Reporter:
N.Y. Times Says It Was “Incorrect” to Rely on Hamas Claims to Wrongly Blame Israel for Gaza Hospital Blast
The Hollywood Reporter ^ | OCTOBER 23, 2023 | Etan Vlessing
“Times editors should have taken more care with the initial presentation” of the Oct. 17 Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion in Gaza City — caused by a misfired rocket aimed at Israel — the marquee newspaper said in a statement.
The New York Times has said it was wrong to “heavily” rely on claims by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas that Israel was to blame for the Oct. 17 Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, without first verifying those claims.
“The Times’ initial accounts attributed the claim of Israeli responsibility to Palestinian officials, and noted that the Israeli military said it was investigating the blast. However, the early versions of the coverage — and the prominence it received in a headline, news alert and social media channels — relied too heavily on claims by Hamas, and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was,” the N.Y Times said in an editor’s note shared on its Instagram account.
The marquee U.S. newspaper is the latest major media outlet to concede that its early and fast-shifting reporting on the deadly Gaza City hospital blast relied on Palestinian sources, where follow-up coverage and investigations revealed the cause was a misfired rocket aimed at Israel.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/new-york-times-gaza-hospital-blast-reporting-hamas-israel-1235624756/
That birdy is on the ball!
Play or a workout?
NY Times is not happy that they got called out for pushing a lie. They will continue to lie but with more subtlety in the future?
The NYT was able to hold out for nearly a week.
Once they saw all the damage they managed to cause they understood they could “apologize”—mea culpa but hey not really our fault… since we were misled….
Heh, the best of all worlds: We smeared ‘‘em but good but we’re not to blame not really…
you should see how they applaud themselves for their diligence,
of course friedman was a pioneer in misreporting the fraternal bloodletting at shatila,
It just occurred to me; auto manufacturers are missing a H-U-G-E opportunity to exploit their advantage.
We are living in the worst era of automobile design since automobiles were introduced. The decades of the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s all saw incredible designs by incredible designers. Many of those designs are still revered as classics and sell for multiples of the cars’ original costs at auctions.
Why is auto design so boring today? Congress enacted CAFE standards for fleet average miles per gallon in 1975 and it’s been downhill since; with nearly each, subsequent administration increasing requirements. There is a reason airplanes and submarines look like they do; aero/hydro dynamics. For this same reason every modern automobile looks like an aspirin tablet. No more hood ornaments, let alone a chrome tailfin.
With electric vehicle manufacture automobile manufacturers are equally obsessed with aerodynamics. Less air resistance means more range and range is all anyone seems to care about with electric vehicles.
But Congress doesn’t mandate miles per gallon for electric vehicles because there are no gallons. There are a lot of people who would gladly sacrifice range for style! Most all electric vehicles currently (get it? “current?!”) get over 200 miles on a charge. How many people drive more than 200 miles/day, on average? Almost none.
Have some fun car companies! Let your designers go wild! Put some fins on those electric cars! Hood ornaments! Running boards! A rumble seat! A chrome luggage rack on the trunk! Make it cool to drive an electric vehicle! Unless Congress changes something (and they won’t), internal combustion car drivers are destined to a future of driving aspirin tablets. EV drivers can be the cool kids on the block! How about, bumper sticker sized LED screens on the actual bumpers that allow the driver to design their own bumper stickers? Go to the dealers app store and download clever bumper stickers!
And, I know what you’re thinking, “Sure Rufus, I don’t need to go further than 200 miles most days, but sometimes I do need maximum range to visit grandma or go to the lake.” Well, how about this, car designers? Make some of those non-aerodynamic features retractable. They already make retractable hood ornaments. Give the driver a button and allow him or her to choose which features he or she wants to display on any given day. People love features and toggle switches!
Part two of Rufus’s free advice to auto manufacturers that will result in billions of revenue for any company who takes the advice:
Make an inexpensive, simple, basic electric pick-up truck that is easily modifiable and customizable. Make an inexpensive, simple, basic convertible 2 seat sedan that is easily modifiable and customizable.
There is a decent percentage of the population that loves to tinker and customize their cars. This was extremely common for most of the 20th century when automobiles were fairly easy to work on. Even now, with new cars with complex computer systems and engine compartments so cramped you have to lift the engine to change a spark plug; young people customize their cars. They add sound systems and light affects. They even reprogram the onboard computers to increase the fuel air mix.
When auto manufacturers made cheap, tiny pick-up trucks Americans bought the h*ll out of ’em. They customized them. Kept them running forever (you still see them on the road and they sell for a premium on the used market).
Tesla and other manufacturers are embracing a “subscription” type model. Everything, even software upgrades, have to come from the manufacturer and many require monthly or annual subscription fees. It makes sense from a revenue standpoint, but there is a huge, underserved market of people who like to do their own stuff and want the ability to tinker and make their car their own. Tesla and other manufacturers could easily make a smaller, niche product line for that consumer. There is already a small contingent of clever tinkerers “jail breaking” their Teslas and bragging about their custom modifications to compatriots in online forums. Why not make something for those people, the people so passionate about your product that they master it?
Well, how about this, car designers? Make some of those non-aerodynamic features retractable. They already make retractable hood ornaments. Give the driver a button and allow him or her to choose which features he or she wants to display on any given day. People love features and toggle switches!
Finally. I always wanted James Bond’s Aston Martin.
Me too, mikeski! Or the other cool car author Ian Fleming brought us, Caractacus Pott’s fine, four fendered friend!
Sanctimonious narcissist Barrack H. Obama is concern trolling that Israel’s blockade of Gaza may “harden Palestinian attitudes for generations”. Oh no! Not that! Obama’s long held, poorly concealed antipathy towards Israel certainly is tedious. But then again Obama in general is a tedious bore who far too many fools and knaves still revoltingly admire.
cdrsalamander on the Hamas (Iranian proxie) war and US DOD planning (or his assessment)
https://cdrsalamander.substack.com/p/do-we-give-them-the-war-they-want
Habemus Speaker! Mike Johnson, R-LA, 220 votes.
@Kate, Glad to hear that. At minimum it’s one less depressing story to focus on.
Sanctimonious narcissist Barrack H. Obama is concern trolling that Israel’s blockade of Gaza may “harden Palestinian attitudes for generations”. Oh no! Not that!
Huh. No one ever seems to worry about Israeli attitudes hardening for 10 minutes, let alone “generations”, in response to Hamas’ depravity.
There have been pogroms against Jews in the area since the 1920s, in recent history. “Hardening Palestinian attitudes” could hardly get worse. Let the citizens of Gaza vomit out Hamas and things would get better for everyone. Many of them are saying they prefer to die. Well, this is a choice they can make.
@Rufus T. Firefly:
Bwahahaha! Your post reminded me of my old Ford SUV (Excursion?), a big ol’ bruiser all the kids in my stunt show called “The White Rhino” because it was white, its high step-up and an absolute beast of a work truck (frequently hauled the entire group and weapons at once).
So…
I went to a junk yard friend, grabbed the luggage carriage from a 70’s station wagon, got out my equipment, attached that, took some sheet steel and paint and made a pair of ears & attached them at the windshield’s lower corners then a horn, front middle of the lid.
The kids went berserk the first weekend they saw it.
Commenters here bring so much humor and wisdom to these pages that it’s hard not to just join in on the revelry. But here’s a serious question for commenters here:
Has anyone else noted the frequent appearance of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at President Biden’s side? This strikes me as unusual: I can’t remember the name of any other Commerce Secretary, nor their face. But Raymond has been beside Biden at Cabinet meetings, speeches, and other events. Is she a deep thinker on policy? A Registered Nurse? Has good-smelling hair? What gives. Please subbest some possible answers.
Kate:
That is certainly good news, we have a Speaker!
Regarding the Pali’s and their history of pogroms, Ministry of Truth by western media? The Pali’s aren’t ashamed of it IIRC.
Caroline Glick Show, “Obama and the UN Betray Israel . . . Again”:
https://youtu.be/drfOR5M-jd0?si=cYiPtQPejP8OTrjt
Kate,
Habemus Speaker!
Very funny! I literally laughed out loud when I read your comment. (I guess that would be: llol)
Well played!!
Oligonicella,
That is very funny and clever!
OPTIMISM ON THE Domestic Home Front? Our views hitting the court dockets? Seriously? YES.
Is Trump’s prosecution lawful and Constitutional? His lawyers have been burrowing in and yielding solid grounds to think not.
Trump’s lawyers have been busy filing MOTIONS to dismiss on various grounds, such as Presidential Immunity (prosecutor Jack Smith replied to this one only yesterday). While Gouviea goes through these recent filings elsewhere on YouTube with more to come, the best place to start is this one on broad Constitutional grounds, which is about half an hour long.
“Trump’s MOTHERLOAD of Dismissal Filings,” A Read-through with lawyer Robert Gouviea, 25Oct23
https://youtu.be/-_1NzcCDmHM?si=VokxiySK20IeZCMP
Be joyful and fight on with good hearts! These have sure cheered me up,
@Rufus:
To conclude the White Rhino’s life tale:
I ran that thing (bought used from a landscaping company) for around 15 years. And with all the gear hauling and other things I did, I ran it hard.
I replaced the front suspension, engine that threw a rod, had the tranny (Pardon, the trans-donethework.) worked on, all the brakes completely and part of the drive shaft. I think in that order. (Probably more.)
I finally sold the thing to a guy because the actual frame finally rusted in half.
He cut the Rhino in half and made a trailer out of it.
Try all that with a new truck without going broke.
“harden Palestinian attitudes”
Instead of beheading babies they will feed them into wood chippers.
Caroline Glick is great but she is mistaken to say Obama “betrayed” Israel. That would imply he was ever anything but implacably anti-Zionist in the first place.
The NYT will continue to lie about Israel, count on it.
Is the US economy soon to roll over into recession? EVERYTHING in this nation hinges on the question. Predicted for 20 months, when is it coming?
The consumer has stretched out credit to record heights. And now world-wide luxury brands are crying “uncle!” in the face of the rich who are now shrinking spending on luxury clothes as well as cars like Tesla and Porsche. And since consumption is two-thirds of USGDP, recession may be only months away.
But it isn’t the real problem. The issue is that recession will multiply the costs of Federal borrowing, making it unsustainable. And that why the change of Speaker in the House may be the key to turning away from the financial crash, because the cliff is near!
I’m drawing on finance and investment guru’s who add numbers to explain the Debt Monster, or “Doom Loop” as they call it, where Federal borrowing costs consume vast proportions of GDP, resulting in an Argentina like collapse, (where poverty has reached over 40%, officially).
We’re already facing debt growing larger than Defense spending, which has never happened before except during the pandemic and the Great Recession, 2008-9. What is coming will be worse.
This past month has seen Federal borrowing rising by $500 billion in a single month, amounting to a total of 33.5 trillion dollars right now.
Simon Black writes: “It’s worth noting that the national debt has already increased more than $500 BILLION just so far this MONTH. So this addiction to debt and spending does not seem to be abating anytime soon.
“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – who was formerly the head of the Federal Reserve – went so far as to say that America ‘can certainly” afford to fund two wars at the same time, i.e. both Ukraine and Israel. There’s simply no instinct for restraint.”
There is no apparent political will in DC to divert us from a devastating game of chicken, flirting with the cliff and complete economic collapse in 2024. Think of 2008. The tools that worked last time will not work this time because they’ve been used up.
DOOM LOOP AND 20% of GDP debt service levels is COMING WITH RECESSION IN 2024.
The Unprecedented Fiscal “Doom Loop” is Getting Worse
By Lawrence Lepard, EXCERPT below:
US FISCAL DOOM LOOP GETS WORSE
In our view, the biggest elephant in the room is the US Fiscal Doom Loop. To refresh: US Government spending is out of control, and there appears to be very little political will to stop it.
As the chart below shows, Government spending is up 14% yoy and tax receipts are down 7% yoy [a 21% gap=Total Deficit Spending]. Fiscal year ended September 2023 is projected to have a deficit of over $2 Billion (or roughly 8% of GDP). In the past, deficits of this magnitude only materialized during significant downturns like the bursting of the Dotcom Bubble, the 2008 GFC and the COVID crisis. It is unprecedented to have deficits of this magnitude with the economy and employment being relatively strong.
One can only imagine where the deficit goes when the FED’s monetary jihad of rapid rate increases tips the economy over. Past economic downturns typically have increased the deficit/GDP ratio by 8-14%.
So as the economy moves into recession in 2024 (as we believe), the US could be looking at deficits as high as 20% of GDP ($5 Trillion) if the economy slows dramatically.
The reason we see it as a “doom loop” is that the current $33.5 Trillion of Federal Debt is continually costing more to service. The Fed’s rapid increase of interest rates, and elimination of Quantitative Easing (e.g., Fed buying Treasury bonds) has impacted US Treasury interest costs.
Interest expense on the Federal Debt now exceeds our substantial annual national defense spending of $816B as well as every other category except Social Security and Medicare.
The Doom Loop occurs as higher interest costs drive higher deficits, forcing the Government to sell more bonds to finance the same. Ceteris paribus, more bond sales lead to higher interest rates which then increase the deficit further. Repeat until there is no market for the bonds. Of course, at that point the Fed is forced to step in and become the buyer of last resort for the bonds to keep the bond market functioning….
Government bond sales (which drive interest rates higher) are crowding out the debt markets. This is going to have to change or the financial markets as we know them are going to collapse. The only issue is the time scale.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/unprecedented-fiscal-doom-loop-getting-worse
Today alone, interest rates for Federal debt is flirting with 5% — up shy of 0.25%.
And this is why the change-over in House Speaker and House leadership was necessary — and may finally change the course of this careening car of state from the cliff of Federal bankruptcy.
How many balls could a budgie budge if a budgie could budge balls?
Q: Hey, you know what ALWAYS succeeds?
A: A toothless budgie.
And, in lighter news, The Left, once again, get hoisted on their own petards.
How Penn’s Anti-Semitism Controversy Could Make It Harder To Fire a Controversial Professor
https://freebeacon.com/campus/how-penns-anti-semitism-controversy-could-make-it-harder-to-fire-a-controversial-professor/
Q: Hey, you know what ALWAYS succeeds?
OBloodyHell:
Ho-ho-ho!
Here’s one from “The Book of Lies” by occultist Aleister Crowley:
________________________________
THE WAY TO SUCCEED — AND THE WAY TO SUCK EGGS!
This is the Holy Hexagram.
Plunge from the height, O God, and interlock with Man!
Plunge from the height, O Man, and interlock with Beast!
The Red Triangle is the descending tongue of grace; the Blue Triangle is the ascending tongue of prayer.
This Interchange, the Double Gift of Tongues, the Word of Double Power — ABRAHADABRA! — is the sign of the GREAT WORK, for the GREAT WORK is accomplished in Silence. And behold, is not that Word equal to Cheth, that is Cancer, whose Sigil is 69?
This Work also eats up itself, accomplishes its own end, nourishes the worker, leaves no seed, is perfect in itself.
Little children, love one another!
–Alesiter Crowley, “The Book of Lies, Chapter 69”
https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/crowley/lies/72.htm
________________________________
Note the chapter number.
Little children, love one another!
Sorry to post news about an active shooter here, but it doesn’t fit in any other thread: CNN is reporting that 16 people “are dead in multiple shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night, according to multiple law enforcement sources. Fifty to 60 people are injured in the incidents, though it’s unclear how many are injured due to gunfire, the sources told CNN. A suspect remains at large, the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on Facebook.”
The alleged perp looks like a middle-aged white male, as nearly as I can tell from the photo on the transcript:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/25/us/lewiston-maine-shooting
Any of you know more about this?
Back on topic. Long gone but not forgotten is the Parrot Jungle in Miami. They had a huge collection of all different varieties of parrots, some of which flew free all around the grounds. The highlight of any trip was the show where the parrots would do tricks. One of our favorites was the huge parrot wearing roller skates, skating back and forth on a high wire to music.
Update on post about the active shooter in Maine: death toll is now up to 22 persons:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/live-blog/active-shooter-incident-reported-lewiston-maine-live-updates-rcna122249
I was impressed with the budgie’s perseverance in trying to perch/walk on the tennis ball, even nudging it out from under a table to keep going. One could compare him to a bronc rider (get back on the hoss that throw’d ya), but the way he just seemed to enjoy the challenge was like the riders in this article which came up in my viewing today.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/penny-farthing-race
“The Quirky Victorian Invention That Inspired a Risky Race
Competitors battle it out from seven feet in the air.”
The penny-farthing bike is the one with the huge front wheel and tiny back one.
Many of the racers wear Victorian-era clothing.
I just put up this post on the Lewiston shooting.
@ OBH > ‘The Left, once again, get hoisted on their own petards.”
The best line from the post on Penn State is at the end, winning narrowly among many fine contenders. (the long excerpt is for context)
According to our host and several commenters, the spoiler of House unity is Matt Gaetz. Likewise, the media faithfully echoed that message. So, how were the tables turned?
Yesterday morning, before the vote for Speaker, Matt Gaetz explains that the most divisive force remaining…these last weeks was…Kevin McCarthy.
He tells a dramatic and compelling account to Steve Bannon of how the Republican House finally unites, at last, over Mike Johnson.
Gaetz explains that the K-Street lobbyists are now wailing and gnashing their teeth, as McCarthy “the swamp creature” repeatedly showed his true colours and the R House conference abandoned him because he was bent on manipulative schemes to defeat all rivals and to mount a come p-back as Speaker of the House.
McCarthy’s schemes failed and he was resoundingly rejected, as the MAGA-influenced Representatives carried out their duties.
If journalism is the first draft of history, then Matt Gaetz is the real honest deal. Give his interview a listen! American Greatness feature a cut-to-the chase news story headline, “McCarthy Tried to Sabotage Vote For New House Speaker Mike Johnson.”
VIDEO at the Gateway Pundit, with a fuller transcription of Gaetz story.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/10/must-see-matt-gaetz-gives-dirty-details-behind/
Or VIDEO at American Greatness with significantly less text:
https://amgreatness.com/2023/10/25/gaetz-mccarthy-tried-to-sabotage-vote-for-new-house-speaker-mike-johnson/
@ TJ in re Gaetz’s claims: interesting news, assuming we can believe Gaetz, but objections to his story should surface soon if there are any.
The part about Johnson refusing to go along with the secret polls as were held previously (especially the one kicking Jordan to the curb) fits with my perception of co-ordinated obstruction by the McCarthy faction.
Gaetz, as quoted at GP: