News Roundup

And on to DaNooz:


...”While it is almost certainly impossible in reality” tells you all you need to know.


...California, Washington and Oregon most likely to be affected, huh?  Hmmm… maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to pooh-pooh it.


...big deal;  we already have them here in Texas, no nukes needed.


...oh, why not? They’ve already made me somewhat allergic to bioethicists — “allergic” in the sense that I want to shoot these particular ones in the face.


...someone remind me:  when was the last time Germans felt this way?  Oh, that’s right:  back in the 1930s and early -40s.

From the Golden Shower State:


...so we’ll give him a fair trial, and then hang him.  Oh, wait...
#California

From the Dept. of Education:


...nothing will happen to the teacher.
#Chicago #TeachersUnion

Our Mother Of The Year Award:


...and a pic of Mommie Dearest should explain it all:

In International Crime News:


...didn’t look under the sofa cushions, eh?

In Sports News:


...heheheh:  “dildo pandemic Oh, and a quick correction:  there’s only one “star” in the WNBA, and it wasn’t Caitlin Clark who was hit by the dildo.

And in Not-So-Entertaining News:


...should have ended about 18 years ago, when he stopped being funny.

And now, the ever-popular and ever-link-free 

 

  ...they’re gay?

And as we follow   over to the golf course:

Paige Spiranac’s skintight golf outfit makes fans beg ‘to play a round’ with her 
...here’s a video, and in case you’ve forgotten who we’re talking about:

So let’s take a hard drive out of the news.

Rejected (Again), With Prejudice

I have told the story before about how, in the days after 9/11, I called up an acquaintance who worked at the Pentagon to see how I could volunteer for the National Guard or similar, to patrol airports or do something equivalent that would involve protecting something or someone.

As it happened, he was busy brushing concrete dust from his hair, in a manner of speaking, and he told me a) that if the ragheads attacked the North Side of Chicago, I’d get a call from him, and b) to fuck off and stop bothering him because he had better things to do than deal with a cranky overweight old fart who couldn’t patrol a living room without frequent rest stops.  (I was 47 years old at the time.)

I mention this tale of woe only because of this development:

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now waiving age limits for new applicants “so even more patriots will qualify to join ICE in its mission to arrest murderers, pedophiles, gang members, rapists, and other criminal illegal aliens from America’s streets.”

Well, even though I’m now a sprightly youngster of 70 — soon to be 71 — that magic phrase “waiving age limits” was like a spur to my civic consciousness, and I thought, “Why the hell not?”

Surely I could do something for the cause, even if it was just working a desk or driving a vehicle, thus freeing up some younger guy to perform, shall we say, more energetic activities?

Alas.  The very next statement from the lovely Kristi ended that little dream:

“All ICE law enforcement recruits will be required to go through medical screening, drug screening, and complete a physical fitness test.”

Ah, shit.  Medical screening:  no problem.  My doctor has assured me that I am, if anything, healthier than I’ve been in over a decade.  Drug screening:  forget that, unless a positive test for BP meds or statins is a disqualifier, I’m good to go.

But a physical fitness test?  Aw, shit.  No way will I get through that, because even though I’ve lost considerable weight (thankee Ozempic), I doubt whether I could do more than a few pushups, and as for running some distance longer than, say, running to catch a bus to the pub, I’m screwed.

As the saying goes:  the spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak — in my case, beyond redemption.

I think I’ll go to the range.

Relativity

Saw this breathless statement over at Insty’s:

Big fat hairy deal.  Only 327x?  Going from memory, let’s look at some relative increases* in the costs of goods and services since the early 1940s, shall we?

Groceries:  353x
Gasoline:  417x
Electricity (when it’s not browning out):  330x
Apartment rental:  472x
Housing cost per sq.ft:  488x
Bourbon whiskey:  270x  (congratulations, Jim Beam;  yours is the only commodity that’s still more-or-less affordable)
Large automobiles:  634x
College tuition:  729x

In fact, our mythical “AI researcher”, even at his current earning level, still won’t be able to buy a car or a house;  rent an apartment;  pay his utility bills;  be able to drive cross-country without taking his bank manager along;  or pay for his kids’ college tuition.

Yet somehow Oppie managed to do all that, and more, on his pitiful Manhattan Project salary.


*Okay, I made all those numbers up, but I bet they aren’t far off the mark.  Hat tip: