From Pine View Farm

Virtually Speaking 0

Factory worker at lunch saying,

Via Job’s Anger.

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Rings around the White House 0

Couple sitting at ringside at a circus.  Husband asks,

Via Juanita Jean.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Rear your children to be polite.

A 4-year-old Wheatfield boy died Saturday after he accidentally shot himself at a babysitter’s house in unincorporated Crown Point, officials said.

(snip)

. . . he found a handgun in a case under a bed in an upstairs bedroom.

“The boy was able to open the case and handled the firearm, at which time the handgun fired a single round, fatally striking the boy,” Back said in the release.

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QOTD 0

Len Deighton:

In Mexico an air conditioner is called a politician because it makes a lot of noise but doesn’t work very well.

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All a-Flutter 4

I believe that this is a viceroy butterfly.

Viceroy butterfly


Click for a larger image.

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The Panderers’ Party (Updated) 0

In the Portland Press-Herald, Roger Bowen reflects on the Republican Party’s denial of objective facts. He starts with Republicans’ denial of climate change, when is already affecting Maine’s lobster industry, and moves on to other issues. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):

Misrepresenting the science of climate change, claiming it is a “hoax” and telling untruths to bolster the party base are the tactics Trump’s Republican Party has employed with foolish consistency to the acclaim of little minds.

No surprise – America’s voting public is polarized, and partisan stances on climate change is but one example. . . .

To deny climate change is to repudiate the former president, much in the same way as to deny the beneficial effects of Obamacare, such as providing health insurance for the poor, is seen as an opportunity to reverse Obama’s success. If today’s Republican Party stands for anything, it stands for undoing Obama’s contributions to advancing the public good.

Finish reading this post »

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Opportunity Costs 0

What Noz said.

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Customer Satisfaction 0

A retired attorney in Virginia Beach is so incensed that Republicans couldn’t repeal the Affordable Care Act that he’s suing to get political donations back, accusing the GOP of fraud and racketeering.

Bob Heghmann, 70, filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court, saying the national and Virginia Republican parties and some GOP leaders raised millions of dollars in campaign funds while knowing they weren’t going to be able to overturn the law also known as Obamacare.

This suit doesn’t have a prayer, of course, as it is completely detached from objective reality.

As are most Trump supporters.

Details at the link.

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How Stuff Works, Faking the News Dept. 0

At The Local, James Savage recounts how that website got embroiled in a fake news story. A snippet; follow the link for the full story (emphasis added):

As I woke up on the last day of my holiday, I started getting messages from journalists at Al Jazeera and the BBC, asking me to confirm a report on The Local. According to them, we’d run an interview with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, who had said Saudi Arabia and six other Middle Eastern countries were demanding Qatar be stripped of the World Cup.

The story was piffle. And despite appearances, it was not on The Local. Someone had cloned The Local, using a similar web address, and had published the story. Reuters and other international media had picked it up and re-reported it, citing The Local. The story didn’t sound outlandish and its apparent appearance in mainstream media gave it credibility.

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again.

It beats the hell out of me how persons will unquestioningly believe stuff they see on their computer tablets when they would unhesitatingly question the same stuff if Moses brought it down from Mt. Sinai on stone tablets.

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A Question of Identity 0

In a larger column about the apparent survival of the Affordable Care Act, despite Mitch McConnell’s machinations, Paul Krugman serves up this gem:

Whenever I see someone castigating liberals for engaging in identity politics, I wonder what such people imagine the right has been doing all these years.

Follow the link for the rest.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Practice makes polite.

Investigators say a St. Johns County man was killed by a “long distance shot.”

It happened at a trailer down a dirt road off State Road 16 in an area with a lot of trees and open land around it.

A family member went to check the property and discovered 51-year-old Chester Ratliff’s body on July 30, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators believe it was an “accidental” shooting.

(snip)

Several neighbors told Action News Jax it’s not uncommon for people in this area to shoot target practice in their backyards.

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Invincibility 0

Donald Trump to Superman:  My superpower?  I'm immune to reality.

Via Juanita Jean.

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“In the Pentagon, There Was General Consternation (and His Entire Staff)” 0

I’d be happier if Farron gave the source of the report to which he prefers, but I have found his facts to have been reliable in the pasto

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QOTD 0

Jimmy Stewart:

I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years, and I’m happy, Doctor, I finally won out over it.

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“The Apes Are Already Here” 0

Pauly Shore channels Steven Miller (warning: language):

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DudeBros 0

Well, there is some good news.

A Brooklyn jury deliberated five days before finding Shkreli guilty on three of eight counts. He had been charged with securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Prosecutors had accused Shkreli of repeatedly misleading investors about what he was doing with their money. Mostly, he was blowing it with horrible stock picks, forcing him to cook up a scheme to recover millions in losses, they said.

Much more at the link. The story does not mention a sentencing date.

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The New Party of the Old Confederacy 0

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Yippee-ki-yi-yay! Be polite to bovines!

Local cattle ranches in Eddy County were plagued in recent months by the fatal shootings of several cows.

On Wednesday, the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office announced another six cattle on two separate properties were shot and killed.

Investigators were called to the scene on Aug. 1 in the 600 block of Angel Ranch Road, police said.

The cows were found dead at the scene from gunshot wounds, read an Eddy County Sheriff’s Office news release.

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Trumpling Lady Liberty 0

Statue of Liberty with revised poem: Send me your Mar-a-Largo bellboys, Mar-a-Largo concierges, Mar-a-Largo housekeepers, Mar-a-Largo valets, Mar-a-Largo room service, and Mar-a-Largo topiary trimmers, AND THAT'S IT!!! as Donald Trump says,


Click for the original image.

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The Bickersons Go Electronic 0

El Reg reports:

A fella in the US is suing his ex?wife, alleging she broke federal wiretapping and privacy laws by snooping on his email during their divorce.

The case, just kicked off in an Illinois district court after six years of wrangling, pits Barry Epstein against his former spouse of 46 years, Paula Epstein, who filed for divorce in 2011. During their separation, Paula obtained, read and used his emails as leverage to get a favorable settlement, it is claimed.

Frankly, I don’t see how the “wiretapping” allegations can hold water between a married couple, even if they were in the midst of a divorce, but I do find it disturbing if, as clained, she shared communications between her husband and his lawyer with her own lawyer. I find even more disturbing that her lawyer didn’t tell her to stop.

Then, again, she may have done none of these things. It may just be the husband flailing about. Lots of flailing goes on during bitter divorces.

More at the link. Learn about and listen to the Bickersons. (Audio is in RealPlayer format.)

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