wolfriverjoe

Had an interesting experience this morning. I got 'snuck up' on by an Amazon truck. Super quiet. On the side, near the bottom was a 'powered by Rivian' badge. I asked the driver as he was hopping out. Full electric. He said it suits the job perfectly. A quick search found this: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g42063896/rivian-amazon-edv-delivery-van-black-friday/ Turns out they've been around for a bit over a year. Pretty damned cool.

Who? Biden has a LOT going for him. The Ds just need to start shouting it from the rooftops. And equally, start calling out all the Rs who are claiming credit for the projects being financed by the Infrastructure Act... That they voted against.

One interesting thing is that the Apollo 1 fire, Challenger explosion and Columbia reentry disintegration all had the same root cause: Overconfidence. Refusing to believe that the problems they KNEW about would come back and bite them in the ass. Apollo 1 was a piece of junk. Cobbled together, with some REALLY shoddy wiring. They knew (or should have known) that a spark was almost inevitable. And that a spark in the (unnecessary for that test) 100% oxygen atmosphere would be catastrophic. Challenger was flown in weather conditions outside what was allowed. The engineers at Morton Thiokol TOLD NASA officials that it was too cold. And they flew anyway. NASA had seen insulation from the External Tank fall off and hit the shuttle a few times. They KNEW it could damage the heat shielding tiles. In fact, they suspected it had done so on the Columbia, but chose not to look too closely. In all three cases, they chose to ignore clear indications of danger, thinking 'it can't happen'.

Very. He politely, succinctly, intelligently, articulately dismantled the 'question' the reporter was trying to 'gotcha' him with. Not the first time he's done that. Yet on Tuesday, you wrote: His voice isn't the best. Other than that, I wouldn't call him 'feeble' or 'tottering'. The way he handled Empty Gee heckling him at the State of the Union was similar to this. Both Marcon of France and Putler have said more than once that negotiating with Biden requires one to be on their "A Game'. When an ally and an adversary say the same thing, I tend to believe it. There are things about him I don't really like. He's said stuff in the past which was really dumb. But he's been one of the most effective Presidents we've had in office in a LOOONG time. The amount of legislation he's gotten passed is incredible. The effect those have had is more so. The recovery from the Covid recession is very impressive. Jobs are back, inflation here in the US is way down, especially compared to the rest of the world.

'Cuz they're paying him to spout that crap.

Pffft. Bugs Bunny did drag. A LOT. Flip Wilson did 'Geraldine' in drag back in the 70s... On National Television. Harvey Korman did quite a few characters in drag on the Carol Burnette show back in the 70s... Again on National Television. There were more, but I can't remember details at the moment.

As opposed to fucking idiotic? Bobo & Empty Gee are simply following in the footsteps of Sarah Palin.

To be a bit pedantic, we didn't evolve from apes. We ARE apes. All of the apes evolved from a common ancestor a few million years ago. Just like all the primates (longer time frame). Just like all the mammals (even longer). Just like all life on earth (longer yet).

Gotta wonder how many of those were killed by Russian 'barrier troops', who murder other Russians who retreat.

Actually, it's because of the death grip Trump has on the Republican party. He's really the only viable candidate right now (and for the forseeable future). Most of the other 'candidates' are vying for the VP slot. Given how close Pence came to a 'necktie party' on Jan 6, I can't understand why they'd want it, but then again, they're pretty stupid. Biden has done an amazing job so far, but he's really never been super popular. I'm not a big fan of him, despite his successes. I'm far more of a fan than I was in 2020, but that's still not all that much. That's why "generic Democrat" did better in one of the polls than Biden. HOWEVER... There's no way I won't vote for Biden if he's the candidate. Even if Trump isn't. As I've said more than once, I'd vote for Howdy Doody, with Clarabelle the Clown as his running mate over ANY R candidate. I don't think I'm alone in that.

Oh come on. He's showed multiple times that he can't represent a percentage as a decimal. Funny how it always is a mistake that makes his position look better.

Think? Do you have any evidence he actually thinks? All I've seen is parroting Russian propaganda and Fox "news' talking points. Which is kind of redundant because they are virtually identical.

We do? I have yet to see anything but baseless accusations.

Ukraine is not free from corruption. But they're a LOOOOOOOONG way from what Russia is. To pretend there is any comparison any more is rather silly. As far as making demands on Russia? Maybe. Maybe not. It's not entirely out of the question that the military finally says 'fuck you, we quit'. The Russian navy has left Sevastapol. Which means they've basically abandoned the western Black Sea. Any time they sail, they get hit. So they really don't go out much. The army is trying to retake various areas in the east. They make small gains, then Ukraine takes the territory back. During which the Russians suffer horrific losses. The Ukrainians are suffering losses too, but nowhere near as bad. This is where western equipment is making a difference. While western supplied tanks and infantry fighting vehicles are getting hit, damaged and (a few) destroyed, the number of crew members getting killed or even seriously hurt is miniscule. OTOH, there was a Russian attack near Avdivka. They lost so many tanks & IFVs that their infantry was attacking unsupported. That is, without any tank or IFV support. So they died in numbers reported to rival the Bakmuht debacle. Near Kherson, the Ukrainians have established positions on the east bank of the Dnipro river. This is pretty big. If they can establish a good crossing, and get significant equipment across, the Russians are in trouble. If they can break through the lines, the Russians are seriously fucked. That's why the Russians are putting so many assets into defending it. One advantage the Ukrainians hold it the lay of the land. West bank has hills, east is flat. Ukraine has put tanks and artillery on the higher hills that have clear line of sight to the Russian positions. So the Russians have to hide in their trenches and bunkers, hoping not to get blown up by a direct hit. This allows the Ukrainians crossing the river an easier time. I don't have a crystal ball. I don't even have access to decent information on what's really going on. But all the info I can find makes it pretty clear that Russia is losing. Badly. It's not in 'advances' or 'territory recaptured'. But in damage done, equipment destroyed, troops killed, that sort of thing.

That's true of many international borders. Ukraine's stated goal is to expel all Russians from Ukrainian territory. They want the 2014 borders. With current drone tech, it wouldn't be all that hard to police & enforce. Depending on how Russia ends up at the end of everything, it may not be hard at all. Putin likely won't survive a loss to Ukraine (as in 'no longer alive'). Whatever/whoever takes over MAY want to be sure no more hostilities take place. I can see the potential for Ukraine to demand a DMZ a certain distance into Russia. Say 20 miles. No military personnel or equipment. Drone surveillance to enforce it. Any tanks, armored vehicles, artillery or groups of military personnel over a certain size are subject to HIMARS attack. Although there would be no motive for Ukraine to invade Russia, it could be a reciprocal DMZ (20 miles both sides of the border).

Russia 'bled & weakened itself quite effectively. The corruption and 'kleptocracy' left the '2nd most powerful military in the world' a hollow shell They couldn't even drive a convoy to Kyiv. The tires on the wheeled vehicles were so old they disintegrated. 'Cuz the commanders stole the money for maintenance. Right now, the west is disposing of a LOT of old and outdated ordinance by giving it to Ukraine. The 'cost' has already been paid. I've seen it suggested that proper disposal of a lot of that stuff would have cost a fair amount of money. Not as much as shipping it over there, but a significant portion. Of course, Russia is also 'disposing' of old ordinance. The difference, however is that the 'storage' conditions in Russia are questionable. Artillery rounds are a good example. Many are failing to explode in midair as they are supposed to. The fuses have degraded. Some don't explode at all. Some fall short (landing on their own troops). Some just explode in the barrel of the gun (destroying the gun and killing the crew in the process). Ukraine is making slow progress, but it's progress. Russia is barely hanging on, and losing an incredible amount of troops and equipment in the process. Nobody knows just how long either Russia or Ukraine can continue. The answer to that will determine the outcome of the war (yeah, Captain Obvious at your service).

Seen elsewhere: It's rather interesting that they blame Harris for 'sleeping her way to the top', while simultaneously ignoring the reciprocal claim that her bosses illegally ignored seniority and merit and allowed her to use sex to bribe her way to promotion.

And that's different than EVERYTHING else he posts in what way??

Lots of R congresscritters are pretending they were in favor of stuff that is working well. Of course, like always, they're lying through their teeth. Fortunately, a lot of Ds are calling them out on it. https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2023-07-06/biden-gleefully-calls-out-gop-for-rejecting-funding-embracing-spending

There were a lot of prominent Americans who were Nazi supporters in the 30s. One of the most notable was Charles Lindbergh. He even visited Germany to see their progress in aviation. Apparently he didn't understand what they were really up to. https://jhvonline.com/nazi-supporters-in-the-us-before-the-war-p25236-152.htm The rally shown in the above post was the biggest. The video doesn't show the protestors outside. There were a LOT of them. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-nazism-and-madison-square-garden

Bit of thread necromancy, but this is current. Derek Chauvin was transferred to a federal prison in Arizona. As many prisons are dealing with, FCI Tuscon is short staffed and has suffered 'security lapses' (a prisoner pulled a gun on a visitor about a year ago). Chauvin was placed in General Population, over the objections of his attorney. That was a pretty stupid move. A former cop in GenPop is in serious danger. So, not surprisingly, Chauvin was stabbed on Friday. Reportedly suffered 'serious injuries'. Part of me wonders if it was a chest wound, and if he said "I can't breathe" at any point. Story (lots out there to choose from):https://apnews.com/article/derek-chauvin-george-floyd-prison-stabbing-f24cde6aa28877d034530c2dc40ef7ea

In a blatant exercise of partisan corruption, the Rs in Georgia decided to form a 'commission' to regulate prosecutors. While supposedly aimed at trying to: The reality was that it was aimed directly at prosecutor Willis, who is prosecuting Trump. Source:https://apnews.com/article/brian-kemp-georgia-prosecutor-district-attorney-remove-7987cd538ab3ccdc713ae4d2b2aec32b Fortunately, the Georgia Supreme Court saw through the sham and said basically that this is outside their purview. https://apnews.com/article/georgia-prosecutors-district-attorneys-fani-willis-trump-c8cd9469a7b5bca6ff139d32cf6f9ce2 There was a very real threat that Georgia Rs would be able to remove Willis and thwart Trump's prosecution (and all the others). Not the end of it, but a good sign that the judiciary isn't going to let the Rs just do whatever.

Seen elsewhere: "Fox has done to our parents' brains all that they claimed video games would do to ours."

Where are all the "I did that" stickers?

I fully agree that a full blown dictatorship is more likely this time. The "Freedumb Caucus" is full blown Fascists. The R leadership and their '2025 plan' is clearly going to destroy our democracy if they're allowed to implement it. My point is that Trump has spouted authoritarian garbage from the beginning. Anyone who paid attention could see that.