The Neverending Thread for Political Shit

[Swamp]

Softer words or real history?
Kinda reminds me of the PLM flag sticker next to a trump sticker and Jan 6.

PLM?

Police lives matter

[305 Engine]

Couple of articles I found interesting:

https://spectatorworld.com/topic/pentag ... ry-budget/

‘We wasted a lot of money. It wasn’t that people were stupid, and it wasn’t that people didn’t care; it’s just the system almost guarantees failure.’ As example he pointed to a plastic model of a twin-engined transport plane, an Italian G-222, sitting on his windowsill. Twenty of these had been bought for the Afghans at a cost of $500 million. ‘They were the wrong plane for the country, the altitude, the weather. The Afghans couldn’t be trained on them.’ Unable to fly, they had been abandoned as soon as they arrived. Sopko had come across them on the edge of Kabul airport, ‘rusting, with trees growing through them’. No one, he said, had been fired or even disciplined for this initiative, or for any of the similarly blatant examples of squandered money. ‘I doubt that anyone missed a promotion, or even a bonus. Welcome to my world.’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ ... -military/

Hearing his statements, you would be forgiven for thinking the U.S. was getting itself out of another Vietnam War: fantastically dangerous and expensive, achieving nothing, and impossible to sustain. But in truth, U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan formally ended in 2014; troop levels had decreased to about 2,500; and there have been no American combat fatalities since February 2020.

When he became president, Biden took over a relatively low-cost, low-risk presence in Afghanistan that was nevertheless capable of protecting the achievements of the previous 20 years.

The bit in bold really surprised me. Whether the author is wrong about the ongoing financial costs, the argument that withdrawal is justified in order to save American lives looks weaker if there hasn't been a casualty in 18 months.

[phungi]

pfizer

Shouldn’t you leave the p off of this one

it's only a matter of time...

[beantownbubba]

I think it's time for doctors to start prescribing hallucinogens so that we can all match our inner reality to the outer reality. I mean, what the actual fuck people?

Gov.Ron DeSantis announced that regeneron would be made available to Floridians at a specific site in Pembroke Pine. In making the announcement, he actually said this: “Once you are infected, the vaccine is not going to treat the infection, so what are you going to do after that,” DeSantis asked... "Vaccinated or not, we want you to be able to be treated.” My mind is totally blown. The hubris and chutzpah this takes is more than I can measure.

And just to put the cherry on the sundae, the biggest contributor to DeSantis's campaign fund is a large stockholder in the company that makes regeneron. You can't make this stuff up.

Put it all together and we have an interesting, frightening, completely fucked up twist on BY's big pharma theory: Now they and their friendly, cooperative politicians are not only pushing treatment instead of prevention, they're now actively getting people sick and killing them in order to sell them treatments. You can't make this shit up.* Why the citizens of FL are not storming the capital in Tallahassee is beyond me.

Edit: *Well, actually you can make this shit up. It used to be called, ummmm, you know, fiction.

[beantownbubba]

The latest public health advice from officials in MS is, in effect, dont' have a heart attack or get in a car accident anytime soon because the hospitals can't treat you. 'nuff said.

[Jonicont]

The latest public health advice from officials in MS is, in effect, dont' have a heart attack or get in a car accident anytime soon because the hospitals can't treat you. 'nuff said.

It’s like bizarro world in Superman comics

[Cole Younger]

As soon as i saw this i immediately thought of the song My Life by The Game. Not sure why. Was gonna post a video of it, i think its pertinant and worth sharing, plus i just love that song so much, but i read the lyrics and they are cool to read imo.


And I'm grindin' til I'm attacked
They say "You ain't grindin' til you tired"
So I'm grindin' with my eyes wide
Looking to find, a way through the day
A light, for the night
Dear Lord, you've done took so many of my people but I'm just wonderin' why
You haven't taken my life?
Like what the hell am I doing right?
My Life
Take me away from the hood like a state penitentiary
Take me away from the hood in the casket or a Bentley
Take me away
Like I overdosed on cocaine
Or take me away like a bullet from Kurt Cobain
Suicide (suicide, suicide)
I'm from a Windy City, like "Do or Die"
From a block close to where Biggie was crucified
That was Brooklyn's Jesus
Shot for no fuckin' reason
And you wonder why Kanye wears Jesus pieces?
Cause that's Jesus people
And The Game, he's the equal
Hated on so much, "The Passion of Christ" need a sequel
Yeah, like Roc-a-fella needed Sigel
Like I needed my father, but he needed a needle
I need some meditation, so I can leave my people
They askin' "Why?" Why did John Lennon leave The Beatles?
And why every hood nigga feed off evil?
Answer my question before this bullet leave this Desert Eagle
And I'm grindin' til I'm attacked
They say "You ain't grindin' til you tired"
So I'm grindin' with my eyes wide
Looking to find, a way through the day
A light, for the night
Dear Lord, you've done took so many of my people but I'm just wonderin' why
You haven't taken my life?
Like what the hell am I doing right?
My Life
We are not the same, I am a Martian
So approach my Phantom doors with caution
You see them 24's spinnin' I earned them
And I ain't no preacher but here's my Erick Sermon
So eat this black music and tell me how it taste now
And fuck Jesse Jackson cause it ain't about race now
Sometimes I think about my life, with my face down
Then I see my sons and put on that Kanye smile
Damn, I know his momma proud
And since you helped me sell my +Dream+ we can share my momma now
And like M.J.B.: "No More Drama" now
Living the "Good Life", me and Common on common ground
I spit crack, and niggas could drive it out of town
Got a Chris Paul mind state, I'm never out of bounds
My life used to be empty like a Glock without a round
Now my life full, like a chopper with a thousand rounds
And I'm grindin' til I'm attacked
They say "You ain't grindin' til you tired"
So I'm grindin' with my eyes wide
Looking to find, a way through the day
A light, for the night
Dear Lord, you've done took so many of my people but I'm just wonderin' why
You haven't taken my life?
Like what the hell am I doing right?
My Life
Walk through the gates of Hell, see my Impala parked in front
With the high beams on, me and the Devil share chronic blunts
Listening to the "Chronic" album, playing backwards
Shootin' at pictures of Don Imus for target practice
My mind fucked up, so I cover it with a Raider hood
I'm from the city that made you motherfuckers afraid of Suge
Made my grandmother pray for good
And never made her happy, when I bet that new Mercedes could
Ain't no bars, but niggas can't escape the hood
They took so many of my niggas, that I should hate the hood
But it's real niggas like me, that make the hood
Ridin' slow in that Phantom just the way I should
With the top back
In my Sox hat
I'm paid in full, the nigga Alpo couldn't stop that
Even if they brought the nigga 'Pac back
I'd still keep this motherfucker cocked back
And I'm grindin' til I'm attacked
They say "You ain't grindin' til you tired"
So I'm grindin' with my eyes wide
Looking to find, a way through the day
A light, for the night
Dear Lord, you've done took so many of my people but I'm just wonderin' why
You haven't taken my life?
Like what the hell am I doing right?
My Life

Nice. boyyourself and Southern conservative Cole are two of the only people on this board that can reference rap songs. I love it.

Yes its a rap passport. Can i flash it to get into some club that the normies cant get into?

Well in the interest of full disclosure my rap fandom is is sort of a thing of the past mostly because I don’t keep up with it anymore. The advent of mumble rap ruined it for me. Not that there aren’t still talented lyricists out there. There definitely are. If you’re interested in one check out Grizzy Hendrix. His Controversy album is probably the best. I still like the stuff I used to like but rap is so different from just about every other genre as far as older stuff. Artists that prove to be among the best are pretty much celebrated forever but older material while viewed as classic is seen as irrelevant in terms of something to be listened to now. Not that it matters but every ten years styles change so much.

One thing I love about rap is hipsters don’t seem to know what to do with it. They’re quick to tell you they respect it but they don’t know shit about it.

As for entry into a club that “normies” don’t usually get into I don’t know. I know you were kidding but I just like what I like and don’t care whether or not anyone thinks it makes sense. I can put on a Wu Tang album any time and love it and still know the lyrics. Then turn around and listen to Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, and Flatt and Scruggs for the rest of the day.

[boyyourself]

Nice. boyyourself and Southern conservative Cole are two of the only people on this board that can reference rap songs. I love it.

Yes its a rap passport. Can i flash it to get into some club that the normies cant get into?

Well in the interest of full disclosure my rap fandom is is sort of a thing of the past mostly because I don’t keep up with it anymore. The advent of mumble rap ruined it for me. Not that there aren’t still talented lyricists out there. There definitely are. If you’re interested in one check out Grizzy Hendrix. His Controversy album is probably the best. I still like the stuff I used to like but rap is so different from just about every other genre as far as older stuff. Artists that prove to be among the best are pretty much celebrated forever but older material while viewed as classic is seen as irrelevant in terms of something to be listened to now. Not that it matters but every ten years styles change so much.

One thing I love about rap is hipsters don’t seem to know what to do with it. They’re quick to tell you they respect it but they don’t know shit about it.

As for entry into a club that “normies” don’t usually get into I don’t know. I know you were kidding but I just like what I like and don’t care whether or not anyone thinks it makes sense. I can put on a Wu Tang album any time and love it and still know the lyrics. Then turn around and listen to Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, and Flatt and Scruggs for the rest of the day.

I ckecked a little of grizzley hendrix. Like if so far.
Wara from the NBHD is an atl rapper, put out a record called Kidnapped the same year as English Oceans came out, i remember that becauae the Bitter Southerner ranked it higher than eo that year. Ive spun it as much as any record since. Get it

[Cole Younger]

Yes its a rap passport. Can i flash it to get into some club that the normies cant get into?

Well in the interest of full disclosure my rap fandom is is sort of a thing of the past mostly because I don’t keep up with it anymore. The advent of mumble rap ruined it for me. Not that there aren’t still talented lyricists out there. There definitely are. If you’re interested in one check out Grizzy Hendrix. His Controversy album is probably the best. I still like the stuff I used to like but rap is so different from just about every other genre as far as older stuff. Artists that prove to be among the best are pretty much celebrated forever but older material while viewed as classic is seen as irrelevant in terms of something to be listened to now. Not that it matters but every ten years styles change so much.

One thing I love about rap is hipsters don’t seem to know what to do with it. They’re quick to tell you they respect it but they don’t know shit about it.

As for entry into a club that “normies” don’t usually get into I don’t know. I know you were kidding but I just like what I like and don’t care whether or not anyone thinks it makes sense. I can put on a Wu Tang album any time and love it and still know the lyrics. Then turn around and listen to Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, and Flatt and Scruggs for the rest of the day.

I ckecked a little of grizzley hendrix. Like if so far.
Wara from the NBHD is an atl rapper, put out a record called Kidnapped the same year as English Oceans came out, i remember that becauae the Bitter Southerner ranked it higher than eo that year. Ive spun it as much as any record since. Get it

I’ll check it out. Grizzy’s response to Lord Jamar’s constant bitching about Eminem which is clearly jealousy and a way for him to be relevant is one of the best dis tracks you’ll ever hear. Grizzy absolutely shredded him.

[beantownbubba]

I would say this is unbelievable if it weren't so totally believable. This is the system that people are intent on protecting rather than "risk" a public option? This is the system held up as a preferable alternative to Obamacare, Medicare, the Canadian system, the British system, etc etc?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... 029039208a

[chuckrh]

I would say this is unbelievable if it weren't so totally believable. This is the system that people are intent on protecting rather than "risk" a public option? This is the system held up as a preferable alternative to Obamacare, Medicare, the Canadian system, the British system, etc etc?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... 029039208a

It's like a too large part of the country has kool aid (Jonestown flavor) poisoning. That's the part who believe "socialized" medicine is a bad thing. They'd rather give huge amounts of money to all the leeches in the middle who contribute absolutely nothing. As you well know bubba, I have huge amounts of experience dealing with this first hand. It's a full time job fighting about literally thousands of dollars yearly that I've been overcharged through mostly (but not all) insurance companies. & it has turned out I was right 100% of the time. I worry about the very senior citizens & people who aren't very bright who just write a check without questioning anything. It's thievery on an epic scale.

[Mr. B]

I would say this is unbelievable if it weren't so totally believable. This is the system that people are intent on protecting rather than "risk" a public option? This is the system held up as a preferable alternative to Obamacare, Medicare, the Canadian system, the British system, etc etc?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/202 ... 029039208a

It's like a too large part of the country has kool aid (Jonestown flavor) poisoning. That's the part who believe "socialized" medicine is a bad thing. They'd rather give huge amounts of money to all the leeches in the middle who contribute absolutely nothing. As you well know bubba, I have huge amounts of experience dealing with this first hand. It's a full time job fighting about literally thousands of dollars yearly that I've been overcharged through mostly (but not all) insurance companies. & it has turned out I was right 100% of the time. I worry about the very senior citizens & people who aren't very bright who just write a check without questioning anything. It's thievery on an epic scale.

If you wanted to design the most inefficient and illogical way to provide health care, you could not come up with a better way to do so than to simply adopt our current system. And don't get me started about "non-profit" hospitals (who pay no property taxes) with CEOs and upper management making upper six figure salaries and systems that have huge endowments (I said "endowment", insert Beavis and Butthead laugh here).

As to Chuck's point, I handle the medical payments for my family. My wife is a teacher, so we have a solid Blue Cross PPO plan. But between the four of us we have lots of medical conditions leading to lots of appointments, tests, doctor bills etc. We use the same big health care provider for almost all of our treatments. My system is to let the deductibles, co-pays etc. build up for a few months . After it reaches $500 or more, I call up the billing department and pleasantly chat-up whoever answers. After a few minutes, I tell them that their office has always given me a 35% cash discount on the outstanding amounts if I give them a credit card number to pay off those amounts. The employee invariably says "no problem" and reduces my bill by that amount. I "saved" over $1,500 last year alone just by using this system. That's a lot of DBT tee shirts.

[beantownbubba]

I post this more for its applicability to the general concept of "civility" than for the its specific tie to covid, but feel free to take from it what works for you. In any case, well worth reading.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technolo ... 2f470792e9

[beantownbubba]

According to Paul Krugman, the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics employment numbers, released last week, provided the first opportunity to compare the behavior of the unemployed in states that took the enhanced federal benefits and those that didn't. Again according to Krugman, the differences are statistically insignificant, i.e. there is no difference, i.e. there is no benefit in increased employment from reducing benefits. This is consistent with the main school of thought in this academic area but very rarely does one get to make such a direct comparison.

So for no reason at all, the governments of some states (guess which color?) refused free money from the feds (no matching component, no additional administrative burdens, no nothing) that would have gone directly to a number of citizens in their states and simply chose not to. And of course those states did not benefit from the increased spending those extra benefits would have created. Not accepting the Medicaid expansion was bad (because there wasn't even an arguable claim that those benefits reduce incentives to work) but at least there the states had to match some of the increase. In the absence of provable benefits, cutting off the extended unemployment benefits is just plain mean and irrational, hurting some people while benefiting nobody. Is this enough to get the citizens of those states to vote out these particular rascals? I doubt it, but I have to figure sooner or later something is going to break that camel's back. Unless of course Republicans continue to successfully prevent people from voting.

[beantownbubba]

I confess that statistics is not really my thing so I'm confused. Can anyone explain what appear at least to me to be anomalies in the covid data? In particular, why are the death rates so relatively high in northeastern states which is counter to the current narrative about which states are doing better (i.e. more vaccinated people and more masks worn lead to better outcomes) while the rate of coronavirus cases is almost exactly correlated to that narrative (with the notable exception of RI at #1)?

Here's a link to the numbers I'm using but I'm sure there are a number of other sources. https://www.statista.com/statistics/110 ... -by-state/

[Clams]

After it reaches $500 or more, I call up the billing department and pleasantly chat-up whoever answers. After a few minutes, I tell them that their office has always given me a 35% cash discount on the outstanding amounts if I give them a credit card number to pay off those amounts less one cent.

^^^ Fixed that for you. See ya Friday.

[Mr. B]

After it reaches $500 or more, I call up the billing department and pleasantly chat-up whoever answers. After a few minutes, I tell them that their office has always given me a 35% cash discount on the outstanding amounts if I give them a credit card number to pay off those amounts less one cent.

^^^ Fixed that for you. See ya Friday.

What can I say, in your case I just unilaterally decided what discount was appropriate.

[Mundane Mayhem]

I confess that statistics is not really my thing so I'm confused. Can anyone explain what appear at least to me to be anomalies in the covid data? In particular, why are the death rates so relatively high in northeastern states which is counter to the current narrative about which states are doing better (i.e. more vaccinated people and more masks worn lead to better outcomes) while the rate of coronavirus cases is almost exactly correlated to that narrative (with the notable exception of RI at #1)?

Here's a link to the numbers I'm using but I'm sure there are a number of other sources. https://www.statista.com/statistics/110 ... -by-state/

I'm not a statistician either, but looking at the data you linked, I think the "anomalies" can be mostly attributed to the timeframe referenced. Those links present data that are (or appear to be) since the beginning of the pandemic. We know that the pandemic hit the NY/NJ/New England area first and hardest, back when we were totally overwhelmed, had no immunity, and didn't know nearly as much about how to fight this thing or prevent its spread.

So with deaths in particular, a lot of vulnerable people (think 65+) in those states were sitting ducks for this virus. Today, when the Southern states are the epicenter of the pandemic in the US, a lot of the most vulnerable have already been vaccinated, so it stands to reason that their death rate might be much lower on a per capita basis, even if their case rates are high (and climbing). Even though outcomes are worse in much of the South right now, a significant proportion of the population is now protected, which just wasn't the case early on when we were well and truly at the mercy of this virus. At that time, the pandemic happened to be more concentrated in certain urban areas, particularly in the Northeast. Even in the least-vaccinated states, something like 40% of the population is fully vaccinated. Even higher among the groups most likely to die.

That's my best guess, anyway.

At the NYT, you can toggle between all-time and recent trends. I believe the latter captures the past 7 days. It tells a somewhat different story.

[Mundane Mayhem]

n.b., when I tried to paste that NYT link under the post, it simply would not post. When I used the link function, it went right through. Interesting. Something specific to NYT?

[beantownbubba]

I confess that statistics is not really my thing so I'm confused. Can anyone explain what appear at least to me to be anomalies in the covid data? In particular, why are the death rates so relatively high in northeastern states which is counter to the current narrative about which states are doing better (i.e. more vaccinated people and more masks worn lead to better outcomes) while the rate of coronavirus cases is almost exactly correlated to that narrative (with the notable exception of RI at #1)?

Here's a link to the numbers I'm using but I'm sure there are a number of other sources. https://www.statista.com/statistics/110 ... -by-state/

I'm not a statistician either, but looking at the data you linked, I think the "anomalies" can be mostly attributed to the timeframe referenced. Those links present data that are (or appear to be) since the beginning of the pandemic. We know that the pandemic hit the NY/NJ/New England area first and hardest, back when we were totally overwhelmed, had no immunity, and didn't know nearly as much about how to fight this thing or prevent its spread.

So with deaths in particular, a lot of vulnerable people (think 65+) in those states were sitting ducks for this virus. Today, when the Southern states are the epicenter of the pandemic in the US, a lot of the most vulnerable have already been vaccinated, so it stands to reason that their death rate might be much lower on a per capita basis, even if their case rates are high (and climbing). Even though outcomes are worse in much of the South right now, a significant proportion of the population is now protected, which just wasn't the case early on when we were well and truly at the mercy of this virus. At that time, the pandemic happened to be more concentrated in certain urban areas, particularly in the Northeast. Even in the least-vaccinated states, something like 40% of the population is fully vaccinated. Even higher among the groups most likely to die.

That's my best guess, anyway.

At the NYT, you can toggle between all-time and recent trends. I believe the latter captures the past 7 days. It tells a somewhat different story.

Thanks. Makes sense to me and those 14 day numbers certainly back up your explanation, to say nothing of being consistent w/ that narrative thing. Yikes!

On a separate but related subject I still have no idea if I should attend the Greenfield MA festival on Sunday to see DBT. This shit is awfully confusing.

[tinnitus photography]

everyone's risk profile is different, for sure (if you don't agree, just scroll through this thread!). For me, I think that outdoor transmission remains a relatively minor risk, lessened even more if you wear a mask. Bubba, does Green River have a requirement for vaxxed status or negative test prior to entry? That would definitely buy down risk too, but certainly not to zero.

i spent Wed-Mon in Vegas at a music festival that was mostly indoors. and as you'd expect at a metal festival in Vegas, indoor mask compliance at the venues was certainly scattershot. I didn't really bother to wear one outside at the pool stage, but indoors i did pretty much all the time if i wasn't eating or drinking. I feel fine (well, aside from the usual aches and pains of a 4 day music fest) and got tested yesterday and should know my results tmrw. I did actually go to Wilco last night and while that was another outdoor show, I was pretty good about wearing a mask.

just my one and half cents.

[beantownbubba]

everyone's risk profile is different, for sure (if you don't agree, just scroll through this thread!). For me, I think that outdoor transmission remains a relatively minor risk, lessened even more if you wear a mask. Bubba, does Green River have a requirement for vaxxed status or negative test prior to entry? That would definitely buy down risk too, but certainly not to zero.

i spent Wed-Mon in Vegas at a music festival that was mostly indoors. and as you'd expect at a metal festival in Vegas, indoor mask compliance at the venues was certainly scattershot. I didn't really bother to wear one outside at the pool stage, but indoors i did pretty much all the time if i wasn't eating or drinking. I feel fine (well, aside from the usual aches and pains of a 4 day music fest) and got tested yesterday and should know my results tmrw. I did actually go to Wilco last night and while that was another outdoor show, I was pretty good about wearing a mask.

just my one and half cents.

All attendees are "requested" to have evidence of vaccination or a recent negative test and "should" have one or the other. Less than the firm commitment I would prefer but in this area probably close to the same as a requirement. I've also heard good things about the non-crowded nature of the festival w/ a lot of room to isolate pretty much as much as one feels the need for. So as of this moment I'm in, but I guess I won't know for sure until Sunday. Thanks for your thoughts/experiences.

[Cole Younger]

I’m now convinced that if the Waffle House menu was put up on the teleprompter Joe Biden would read it in full and walk away with that stupid self assured smirk on his face convinced he had just given the greatest speech ever. Boy howdy that man is gone.

[John A Arkansawyer]

Here's a thoughtful guy with a shot at one of Missouri's senate seats:

Afghanistan is just a microcosm of a much bigger problem that has led to Americans not trusting the institutions anymore.

And like, why would they, right? I mean, we’ve been told for 20 years that the $2.25 trillion and the 2,500 lives in Afghanistan was worth it. And now the American people can see with their own eyes that the government we supposedly built just, you know, fell in two weeks. And that we spent all that money over there and our government was telling us it was worth it, right, they were telling us it was worth it. Well, how was that worth it? And they spent money there instead of spending money here. And it’s the same in Iraq, right? Like, when you take the $6.4 trillion we spent in Iraq, the Middle East, and Afghanistan together over the last 20 years and you try to tell the American people that that was worth it, and they see what they got out of it—which is essentially nothing—that hurts, right? That undermines the belief that our institutions are working for them, particularly when we’re willing to spend $6.4 trillion there and everybody’s squabbling over spending just one-sixth of that amount here. Like, why would you trust the institution after that?

Here's the start of the op-ed mentioned in the introduction:

What we are seeing in Afghanistan right now shouldn’t shock you. It only seems that way because our institutions are steeped in systematic dishonesty. It doesn’t require a dissertation to explain what you’re seeing. Just two sentences.

One: For 20 years, politicians, elites and D.C. military leaders lied to us about Afghanistan.

Two: What happened last week was inevitable, and anyone saying differently is still lying to you.

[Cole Younger]

Here's a thoughtful guy with a shot at one of Missouri's senate seats:

Afghanistan is just a microcosm of a much bigger problem that has led to Americans not trusting the institutions anymore.

And like, why would they, right? I mean, we’ve been told for 20 years that the $2.25 trillion and the 2,500 lives in Afghanistan was worth it. And now the American people can see with their own eyes that the government we supposedly built just, you know, fell in two weeks. And that we spent all that money over there and our government was telling us it was worth it, right, they were telling us it was worth it. Well, how was that worth it? And they spent money there instead of spending money here. And it’s the same in Iraq, right? Like, when you take the $6.4 trillion we spent in Iraq, the Middle East, and Afghanistan together over the last 20 years and you try to tell the American people that that was worth it, and they see what they got out of it—which is essentially nothing—that hurts, right? That undermines the belief that our institutions are working for them, particularly when we’re willing to spend $6.4 trillion there and everybody’s squabbling over spending just one-sixth of that amount here. Like, why would you trust the institution after that?

Here's the start of the op-ed mentioned in the introduction:

What we are seeing in Afghanistan right now shouldn’t shock you. It only seems that way because our institutions are steeped in systematic dishonesty. It doesn’t require a dissertation to explain what you’re seeing. Just two sentences.

One: For 20 years, politicians, elites and D.C. military leaders lied to us about Afghanistan.

Two: What happened last week was inevitable, and anyone saying differently is still lying to you.

I was in Afghanistan and I agree with every word of this. It pains me to say this but I don’t how you could advise a young person to join our military right now. I’ve never even had that thought before much less said it out loud.

[beantownbubba]

All I've seen is headline level so I don't know the facts and details, so I'll just say for now that I am shocked that Sirhan Sirhan has been granted parole. As far as I've been concerned, he lost any potential right to parole when he had the chutzpah to argue previously that if Bobby Kennedy were around he would support Sirhan's parole application. I assume he is no longer making that particular argument but I really don't know.

[Flea]

All I've seen is headline level so I don't know the facts and details, so I'll just say for now that I am shocked that Sirhan Sirhan has been granted parole. As far as I've been concerned, he lost any potential right to parole when he had the chutzpah to argue previously that if Bobby Kennedy were around he would support Sirhan's parole application. I assume he is no longer making that particular argument but I really don't know.

Wait, what?

[beantownbubba]

All I've seen is headline level so I don't know the facts and details, so I'll just say for now that I am shocked that Sirhan Sirhan has been granted parole. As far as I've been concerned, he lost any potential right to parole when he had the chutzpah to argue previously that if Bobby Kennedy were around he would support Sirhan's parole application. I assume he is no longer making that particular argument but I really don't know.

Wait, what?

True story.

[Mundane Mayhem]

My god. This is heartbreaking. It shouldn’t really be “political shit,” but here we are.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-us-h ... e-illness/

[beantownbubba]

My god. This is heartbreaking. It shouldn’t really be “political shit,” but here we are.

I got nuthin' to add to that.