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Jan 13, 2023
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Jan 13, 2023
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Qualified Immunity should be Disqualified everywhere and always.

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"Did you walk to school, or carry your lunch?"

Uh huh. Yup.

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Until I entered HS in a town 8 miles away. 6 miles, I would have walked. 8 is too much. ;-)

Really though, from age 10 (we moved to the edge of the small town my grade school was in [I had previously attended a one-room school house and the first year parents took turns driving kids to the school all 12 of us in grades 1-3]) until 14 and entering HS I also hand-delivered around 50 newspapers on the way to school. Made for a very circuitous walk.

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I know it's hard for those of us of about her age but Lisa Marie Presley's father was a drug addict, she was married to Michael Jackson who was a drug addict, and she was married to Nick Cage who, if not then a drug addict, was surely the sort of companionship that would drive one to drugs. The first two both died of overdoses, Michael in his 50s and The King at _42_. I have a feeling the Banana and Peanut Butter Sammiches on White Bread could also have been a factor.

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Jan 13, 2023
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I believe he's referring to two separate batches in the Wilmington house. One in the "locked garage" and another in a room in the house that no one will reveal. DOCTOR Mama Jill's upholstery closet maybe?

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Jan 13, 2023
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People with EdDs are way more insistent on being called "Dr" than any other people with doctorates. I was sub-teaching once (long story) when a "colleague" (I was only there for a couple of weeks, covering some HS class) who introduced himself as "Dr. So-and-so" and I gave my name everyone uses (not Bob, but common enough) and he said, "Well, Bob, what is your degree in?" I said, "Poli Sci and Statistics." He said, "BA in each?" I said, "No, PhD." He liked to died.

Hey, you can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy.

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Jan 13, 2023
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Agree 100%. I'm reasonably sure "good teaching" can no more be taught than "leadership" no matter what "professionals in those areas think.

I do think attentive may be able to 'learn' to be better teachers or managers (not leaders), but it's the individual doing the learning, not the system or the professor teaching doing it.

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Being ancient, I was one of the last Catholic school classes that was taught almost exclusively by nuns. I am pretty sure that none of them went to college (in some cases, I think colleges weren't invented yet when they were younger). But oddly enough, all of us kids in a blue-collar neighborhood learned enough that we could read and understand a newspaper, write a coherent sentence, and do basic math.

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I've had maybe 6-8 "teaching nuns" go through my State and Local Government class in about 20 years. Most were somewhat older than the average student. Every single one was top notch. (Sacred Heart, if I remember. They were still wearing the habit in 2018 for sure.)

The beautiful young lady who went to Senior Prom with me went into the convent as I left for the military. I was not a Catholic, we just knew and liked each other and were both 'unattached' at the time.

She became a teacher and eventually a Principal in Catholic grade schools. We met again at our 25th class reunion. I asked her what I should call her, and she replied, "I think the last non-relative male who kissed me is entitled to call me by my birth name." Kind of sweet.

I understand she was a helluva teacher and admin. I never doubted it a bit.

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A buddy of mine's wife has an EdD. He literally refers to her as Dr. _____. Absolute cringe.

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I've known maybe 2 EdDs who don't absolutely INSIST on being called Dr. And having attended and taught at 2 of the universities with the biggest Colleges of Education, I've met/known a lot of EdDs.

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Holy crap, never thought about it, but you are absolutely right.

(Though to be kind of fair, it might be because a PhD gets paid more in the "credentials trumps competence" salary structure of schools, so people who'd otherwise be low-key feel that they have to broadcast it.)

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You have no idea how well quite a few public teachers are paid versus the pay at non-elite colleges/universities. At least it seems like that. At the school district I lived in when I still lived in MI, entry level teachers with a BA/BS (way more with the BA) started at $42K+. If they taught there for 20 years and got an EdD on the way, they got over $100K. Plus an incredibly generous benefits package and the ability to retire on a full pension as age 55 if they had 25 years in. [This was later modified to 403b, but that money was not theirs but taxpayers, at around 10% of their salaries.]

Two HS teachers with EdD easily would 'make' $250K/year plus benefits of at least 35% of that more in benefits.

My Full Professor colleagues made about the same, but the benefits ran around 20-25%.

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Chicago Public School teachers w/just a BA get $80K+ with a few years' seniority. So no surprise there.

Adjust professors are basically indentured servants.

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At this point, are we certain there are any Americans left in Afghanistan? the Taliban is many things, but incompetent is not really one of them.

Is Frank Zappa wearing... black face?!?! This calls for some posthumous cancelling. (He also died in his early 50s.)

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Eugene says: "At this point, are we certain there are any Americans left in Afghanistan?"

Pi hears: "They're all Democratic voters now."

"This calls for some posthumous cancelling."

YOU SHALL NOT BLASPHEME THE ZAPPA!!! *high sticks, drops gloves*

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Also on that album - my second fave after double album "Apostrophe/Overnite Sensation" - includes the non-eponymous ditties "Dong Work for Yuda", "Catholic Girls", and "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?"

A Classic.

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*sigh* I'm not even going to edit anymore. Pretend I have a stutter or some $#!+.

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I think I still have "Uncle Meat" in vinyl. Loved it. I have lots of Zappa, but nowhere near all.

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Saw him live 6 times including a stretch of 3 shows in 4 nights at DAR Constitution Hall in DC c1988.

*genuflects*

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I do think you're right about the Taliban. I'm betting they've already killed off many. The only threat to their rule is a group even more fundamentalist.

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I would love to have heard Frank Zappa's opinion on the current Cancel Culture.

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"Look at all those likes and retweets. What a successful congresswoman."

"And I can't deny the fact that you like me! Right now!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQSIIk-_das

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"First of all, first of all, I rent. Period."

Intellect. Dizzying. Truly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwIFMCKlVK8

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"Truly, you have a ditzing intellect."

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I laughed out loud!

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One of my old Am Govt profs always told especially his TAs and his classes, that when you see a "dumb" US Representative, "remember that they were elected by a district of people just like them." Hank Johnson gets re-elected over and over. AOC is just as dumb and way more "with it" in the Tik-Tok Era.

She is even too dumb to suffer Dunning-Kruger.

And there is a reason for truly stupid US Reps, I think. They are generally cats-paws for the parties they represent. They are part of the MOB, plumped up and pushed forward for the benefit of unseen others.

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"too dumb to suffer Dunning-Kruger"

Feels like this should have its own word. *takes stab* SubDunKed... Cortez-Slalwell Effect...

Naaah, that's not it.

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Is it just me or does AOC's confident stupidity make her less pretty every year?

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Jan 13, 2023
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She's a youngish, healthy, regular-featured female with big tits. She's currently hitting the biology-driven attractiveness jackpot. As she ages, she'll come more and more to resemble her inner nature.

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Yes. Maizy Hirono was hot, years ago. Now she looks like the stupid, malicious person she is.

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Seriously? I don't think I've ever seen a picture her when she was young, let alone hot. But anything is possible I suppose.

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For sure something hot about her, but she also strikes me as someone who will kill your dog if she feels slighted.

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She got the "crazy eyes" thing going for sure.

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I tend to think that eventually you have to see "the whole person." Her being kind of stupid wouldn't be quite so bad if she weren't so sure she's smarter that the rest of us, but at some point that attitude is bad for even otherwise attractive people, and we 'see' them with other eyes.

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"the whole person"

I'll go ya one further.

I think that when we're young, maybe even more when You're a Young _Dude_, the pool of partners find attractive enough to ... engage ... is pretty large. Factors such as alcohol, inexperience, and being a Total Horn Dog contribute.

But as we get older, even before we're geriatric but, having seen my mom in her Senior Living Community even then - especially then, when the stuff that really matters matters - what we find attractive in a potential ... engagement partner ... shrinks that pool based on a lot of factors.

Almost all of Those With Whom We'd Do It in the old days are no longer attractive because they fail "the whole person" test. Many or most miserably so. BUT... when you finally start figuring out what matters, it turns out that because we were young and dumb, some of those who we immaturely, unwisely excluded could very well be One With Whom We'd Do It. Like, the Best One For You With Whom To Do It. You love Who You Love.

https://youtu.be/nSRCpertZn8

Or... maybe that's just me. *shrugs*

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... I think I'll push back and grab a coffee. I don't know WTH that came from.

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LOLOLOLOLOLOL.

I was certainly a young horn dog, but my mother once said I dated, and brought home to meet my family a wild assortment of young women (brunette, blond, redhead, tall, short skinny, fat, whatever) but they all had something in common. 1) Smart, in the truest sense. 2) good sense of humor. 3) Active, mentally and physically. 4) some sort of artistic or musical talent. She was totally right. I knew what I wanted in a "mate". I ended up married twice to two fine women who "fit my profile."

OTOH, I did rather a lot of experimentation when I wasn't "attached" to one of them. I'm serially monogamous. "Dumb" girls were just right out. As a colleague once said (We were 'older' single grad students at the time) when asked about what made women attractive, "Intelligence. You gotta talk to them sometime." Other than that, the smart ones are all good.

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Jan 13, 2023
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I hate her but she really was super funny.

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Haven't seen that movie, but whoever wrote that scene knew what they were talking about. OTOH, in real life I would fail to see how she is actually 'helping' the problem of male failure to commit. That is a social problem, not a biological one. Continue bashing males for being shallow and "unnecessary" and see what it will get you.

And I doubt if in that movie she's interested in a fat, ugly, smelly guy. Oddly enough, women can be shallow on a biologic base as well.

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Smart is definitely sexy to a card-carrying nerd like The Pi-ster.

*shakes head* Note to self: You can't give yourself your own nickname. Especially when you're a card-carrying nerd.

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I went to a small HS -- 300 students -- and no one was ever sure if I was a nerd or a geek or a homo or what. I never really got a nickname. Probably a good thing. But when you get a nickname you just have to make it work for you.

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Best takeaways: "The deadly fumes will leave you alone because they’ve seen your rental agreement."

And, this one I'm gonna need some help with - from Joe Biden, "Could my Dad drive a CAR! Oof!" - I'm not quite sure how one 'drives a CAR' with the emphasis on 'CAR'.

Any and all explanations will be considered.

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Jan 13, 2023
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Am I evil if I hope that it's Rosebud Joe really pines for?

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Yes. But it's one of the reasons we love you.

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Absolutely, Jorg.

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Here's a thought - perhaps you could write his speeches! Just think of all the old chestnuts from yesteryear you could revive. YOU could be the next Peggy Noonan. Bill Safire. Dan Schwerin. Jon Favreau.

Course, there is the slight problem that he won't actually read the speech correctly. so 'dog sled' might come out 'cats and dogs' or 'covered wagon' may come out 'little red wagon' - but that's the price of fame & glory. Don't forget about all of us 'little people' who supported and encouraged you at the beginning.

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What I really hate about AOC is that she really represents the quality of the education young Americans get in hypothetically good universities. She apparently learned literally less than nothing in her double major areas. She's a walking, talking blivet.

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Blivet! The Word of the Day! Thank you!

1. anything overfull

2. a program that has been worked on by many poor programmers and is now a mess

3. An electronic signal that is normally high or on, but goes low for a very short period and then

returns to high. A low going spike.

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Back home on the farm, a blivet was defined as "Five pounds of manure in a three pound sack."

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I suspect that Biden isn't the only Dem who might say, "Oops! I just crapped my pants." Top level Dems must be really wondering which is worse, hanging in there with Dementia (and getting worse and GOP investigations coming that HAVE to get some coverage) Joe, or going with Kacklin' Kamala and watching the ensuing bloodbath, either internal or in the 2024 elections.

Can the Dems take another 18 months+ of Joe's increasingly obvious decline, or do they have to try to make a silk purse out of the Kamala sow's ear and watch the Party get torn apart internally. For Kamala already shows signs of refusing to accept 'direction/help' from the real pros and uses personnel from her own oblivious level. I can't imagine her not getting multiple serious challengers if she the POTUS candidate.

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Jan 13, 2023
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Exactly. Someone is actually going to take on the FIRST Idiotic Black "Woman" Vice President in the Dem Primaries?! I think not.

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They're not even close to done with the identity politics yet. We still have to get at least a Secretary-level post to be filled by an Asian Tranny Midget. And that's only three check boxes. Or four if the Tranny part is Trans Male. I think.

*ponders, grabs a handful of kernels from Lillia's bowl, leans back* Mmmmm... Kerry Gold Butta. Nice. Yeah. I'm gonna love watching this.

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"Day 500 of Americans stranded in Afghanistan."

I've been thinking about this as we got closer to this milestone. I'm not sure why this number seems significant, appropriate for comment now but...

I am pretty sure that this is the Most Execrable, Incompetent Military Operational Failure in the History of Military Operational Failures. At a minimum, at least person should've been shamed and fired. Ideally, a bunch of them should be avoiding lampposts and bubbling tar.

Truman fired MacArthur, one of the heroes of the Pacific Theater of WW2 - could almost be said to have "won" that conflict - for basically vocally disagreeing on matters of strategy. He'd banked a lot of respect by We the Little People. It took some balls.

Holy Jeebus, how could no one, not one person have been fired? Or worse?

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Same reason Amos Burnside, one of the the worst, incompetent generals in history (if you can find a book titles "From the Jaws of Victory, give it a read) kept hanging around in the Civil War -- politics at its worst.

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Honestly, I tried to watch Rick and Morty and just couldn't take it. I blamed it on my age. I thought I was just too old to get it. (I know a guy about 55 who still tries to get me to watch, and he's a full professor at a flagship state university.) I just couldn't stand it. But then I didn't like "Frasier" either. Maybe I'm just a bigot.

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Jan 13, 2023
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I liked Cheers and WKRP. I could take Golden Girls. Other than that I had better things to do.

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"Those turkeys are hitting the pavement like bags of wet cement!"

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My father's all time favorite episode of any show. He loved Gordon Jump, and I thought he was having a seizure he laughed so hard at that. He had a soft spot for Les Nessman, too.

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I think it might be mine as well.

PS: Bailey was hotter than Jennifer

See also, Maryann.

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"Those Phone Cops play hard ball!"

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"Who are three people who've never been in my kitchen?"

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I LOVE Rick and Morty...

And Archer.

*cheeks flush*

Despite anything else you might've read here today, most of my brain is still the Brain of a Twelve Year Old Boy.

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My wife LOVES Archer. I can't take all the yelling. I understand why it's delivered that way, and the characters are interestingly compelling, but I would never watch it on my own.

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(Trigger Warning: spicy language to come. Just normal stuff you would hear from a duck who graduated high school in 1985)

There is no such thing as Male Privilege or White Privilege, and I can prove it. But there most certainly is Hot Girl Privilege. Sugar-Tits AOC does fall on the hot girl spectrum, and I am absolutely certain she has gotten the Hot/Cute Girl Privilege pass in life since at least her high school days. That is the only explanation. There is absolutely no way a 300 pound version of AOC gets away with this shit. Say what you want about fat girls, that they love the buffet table, but they need to work extra hard to get thru life. And I'm not just talking about going up the stairs, I mean they need to put more mental energy into things in a way that cute girls can't.

I am absolutely certain the current tempest-in-a-teapot over gas stoves has nothing to do with kids allegedly getting the asthma, let alone dying. Our Leftists don't give one single shit about kids dying. Because if they did, they would care about the children dying everyday in The Congo, mining Cobalt for their precious EV's. I guarantee you this; more children die mining Cobalt in The Congo than all the children in the rest of the world from gas stoves.

No, this is all a way to back-door a ban on gas appliances in the name of the so-called "Climate Crisis." And we all know it. That's why The Left blamed The Right as soon as they finished throwing their temper tantrum.

If you wanna know why the "climate crisis" is really just the earth coming out of the most recent Ice Age... head on over to my Substack and read all about it! (/shameless plug)

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Hot Girls get attention from any straight male between the ages of puberty (and sometimes before) through death, more or less. It's called biology. The most attractive women in any culture (Look up the work of David Buss) will appear to be about 6-16 years past menarche, or the prime child bearing years. It's effin hard-wired. 40/60 waist-to-hips ratio, adequate boobage, regular features and long shiny hair (both indicators of good health, good genetics, and low parasite load) together just scream, "I'm ready to make healthy babies!!" to every fertile male in eyesight.

Biology, just biology.

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And the Leftist Gender-Identitarians are at war with biology.... a war they can not win, no matter how hard they try. You can't make a man a woman nor a woman a man. Neither can you take eons of biological determination and suddenly turn it off. this is their current front in the war on reality, truth and objectivity.

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The transwomen who are unhappy that cis-men won't date them are doomed to never having that happen. It's not a phobia, it's much more deep-seated than that.

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Unless they deceive the men...

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Much like Vegans, they can't seem to shut up about it.

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"There is absolutely no way a 300 pound version of AOC gets away with this shit."

I'd even say if she's just a slightly less breasty, non-Latina - she's made herself into a novelty - with the same teeth, she's still referring to her Mr. Boston's to figure out how to mix a Rum and Coke.

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at 300 pounds she'd be Trigglypuff.

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And I'm glad Treacher cleaned up his act and is still around to write for us. Many, many years ago I had a horrible experience involving pain-killers and alcohol. Having survived it I decide I could do only one, so I chose alcohol. I rarely use any kind of medicine for pain, and I've lived so long I'm no longer even a moderate drinker. I had one beer last Friday, the first alcohol I've had in a month or so.

I don't remember quitting the painkillers (and I was in serious pain -- still am for that matter) being that hard, but it obviously is for too many people.

So I encourage and give props for all those who fight it the hard way. Including smokers. Hang in there, all of you who need support have mine.

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The only thing missing from the BAN GAS STOVES YOU GUYS! debate is the NYT article about the racist, white supremacist history of natural gas.

I have the over/under on that dropping being mid-day tomorrow. Whatchagot?

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Put me down for $20 on Monday morning.

But it's for sure a-comin'.

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Okay, but if we start burning buffalo chips or other manure to cook our food, we'll be charged with cultural appropriation.

Actually, now that I think on it, those individuals claiming descent from various indigenous communities should not be allowed, culturally to use gas or electricity to cook with because that is cultural appropriation on their part. (So is using cell phones.)

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Well, see that would make sense if we didn't live in Clown World. In the Clown World, if weren't for double standards, there'd be no standards.

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Hahaha!

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The Democrat-Media Complex has really streamlined the process of "it's not happening" to "it's happening, and it's good that it's happening" from what used to take months of hemming and hawwing to just a few days now (sometimes even the same day)... now that's progress! As with the Biden thing, my expectations are extremely low that any real resistance will be offered, because every time we have an election where we could hold all these people accountable electorally, the American public is just too apathetic and unconcerned to do anything. They'll have to wait until life goes from merely miserably to downright intolerable before they vote any change.

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Every time I think I don't have to lower my expectations of the performance of Joe Biden I get an unpleasant update.

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