2014—Oh, yes, the date the US State Department, backed by the Clandestine Service, began operating under the present mandate (+10% for the Big Guy) in Ukraine. I don’t have a problem with Pedo Joe pardoning his son. He put his drug-addicted son in the position and used him like a pawn. The pardon needs to cover the whole scam.
What about Clean Coal?
According to Tony Campbell, CEO of Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative, the coal power plant’s operator, the cost of complying with the EPA could exceed 10 billion dollars—more than double the value he says they own. America gets about 80 percent of its energy from fossil fuels, while renewables provide 13 percent. Energy producers say the new EPA mandate could lead to critical energy shortages and increased customer costs.
Tony Campbell: Our balance sheet’s only $3.8 billion, 3.9 billion dollars. Well, how are we going to afford that? Our current average residential member is about a bill of about $157 a month. After we build all this, it will be somewhere between $257 and $308 a month, and our end consumers won’t be able to afford that.
Tony Campbell: Many people think that we’re misguided, and we believe we’re all in on coal. We’re not attached to coal at the hip. What we are connected to is the reliability that it supplies right now. It’s going to take time to prove this out. So here’s my hypothesis. Hey, we continue to put more renewables in and then we throttle our plants back, and then when it gets really cold or really hot in seasons, we run them harder, run them up to speed. We keep them alive because if we close them, they’re going to be torn down. We closed one 1950s vintage coal plant, and we wanted to keep it alive for five years, but we found out after two years that it had just started falling apart. They’ll deteriorate quickly if you don’t use them, like anything else.
Almost 160,000 coal plants retired in the U.S. between 2000 and 2023, with cheaper forms of energy, like natural gas, driving many of the decisions.
But shutting down too quickly has proven difficult in Germany. After an aggressive government plan to close its coal plants, Germany restarted 27 of them in 2022 and 2023 amid an energy crisis.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the retirement of 31 coal-fired plants was recently delayed or reversed by public utility operators and regulators across 13 states to address reliability concerns. That number is expected to grow in the short term if the EPA rule is not withdrawn or overturned.
Bullet Points:
** Motorcycle riding with LL. (All the way to Fire Lake) It’s getting too cold to ride the She-Devil anymore this season. I don’t take the Ducati out onto icy roads. There is a trip to Southern Arizona (hauling the scooter in a trailer to warmer climes) this winter. The Diavel needs exercise.
** Dating WSF – in Colorado. It must be a video clip from last summer because the water is liquid, not solid.
** The late George Carlin discusses one of his most outstanding achievements.
** Valuable pro-tip for marriage.
** Kamala on a drunken rant after the election. She’s going to end up as a wino on the skids, using the only proven skill set she has for Sawbucks before it’s over.
** Is everything made up of electromagnetic strings vibrating in eleven-dimensional space?
** Excellent choice, you complete fool. With you out of the genepool, there will be one less brainwashed idiot who thinks human beings are in control of the climate. You are in a Cult. It is good you will not reproduce.
** Will it be the end of Planned Parenthood? Elsa weighs in.
Monday Meme
I took them in Southern Mexico/Guatemala, Belize, Africa, and Asia. You had to fart with extreme caution. Sharting ended badly with a Mississippi mudslide. Some learned to clench so hard as they ran for a toilet that they are still able to crack walnuts with their ass cheeks decades later. No medals or ribbons were awarded for the skillset acquired under ‘fire.’
Zeihan Commentary
“China doesn’t even crack the top ten list of foreign investors in Mexico. There are regulations for the origins of goods outlined in NAFTA 2 that China can’t bypass (and the person who negotiated these rules will likely be in Trump’s cabinet). Any significant investments by China would be outed by business leaders in Mexico (so we don’t need to stress about stuff happening beneath our noses).
“The Chinese system declines, as does their global influence. If they do somehow manage to make investments in the region, it’s only going to help the North American industrial base prepare for China’s collapse. At least this is a good thought experiment reminding us that the US needs to focus on building its industrial capacity.”
I have a mixed view of Peter Zeihan, but I think he’s right in the analysis above.
What about the Keystone Pipeline?
(More here) President Trump will authorize construction to resume on the program that Pedo Joe scrapped, but is it too far gone to be revived? The article referenced offers some insight and some challenges.
Citing unnamed sources, Politico reported that Trump plans to take the action on his first day in office. While the news has been met with excitement over the jobs and economic activity it would bring, experts say Biden’s decision to kill the project has likely destroyed any chance it will ever be built. The decision may also impact large energy projects well into the future.
Repairing the damage caused by the Biden regime will take time at home and abroad. Four years may not be enough.
***
Try a Little Tenderness?
h/t Frank
Mary Shelley once said, “The story of villains is much more entertaining than that of heroes because monsters are not born. They are made.” They do not emerge from the void or darkness by themselves, but they are shaped by circumstances, by the wounds of the world around them. They reflect the deepest human pain, rejection, loneliness, and misunderstanding. A hero is defined by his acts of bravery, but a villain is the result of a heart that was once pure and ended up corrupted. In their tragedy, the monsters show us what could happen to us all if the world turned its back on us.”
That said, you still need to burn the witch.
Identify the Feature Film
A
She was a lot of trouble. (based on a true story)
B
Another true story
C
D
Candygram for DRJIM – Set in Colorado
E
F
Much has been made of this on the blog recently, but this is one more stab and possibly the last one on the topic for some time. Name the film series and the character.
G
It’s only easy if you’ve seen the film.
H
Parting Shot
A Crisis in Red China?
End
“If [O’Toole] had been any prettier in that, it’d have been Florence of Arabia.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. (/sarc)
There was more than a rumor at the time that T. E. Lawrence fancied a young Arab boy. It may have been circulated by a jealous British officer or it might be true. I frankly don’t care, but it’s out there.
Lawrence’s famous
“I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands
And wrote my will across the sky with stars”
Was supposedly written to that boy.
I’ve read Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and as you point out, there are indications in that book. I found it interesting that Ridley Scott had the (evil) robot David watching Lawrence of Arabia on the trip to meet the Engineers.
As you say. It might have been circulated by a jealous British officer. Having witnessed professional jealousy by others to others firsthand, and been on the receiving end of it myself, I can see this happening quite easily. Also, one has to take in to account the cultural mindset of the British officer “class” of the time. An understanding of any culture, other than their own, in this case Arab culture, and more specifically Bedouin tribal culture, would have been sadly lacking.
Cultural awareness, and an understanding , whether one agrees with them or not, of others cultural norms (of foreign cultures) is, in my experience, sadly lacking in both officers and enlisted/other ranks in most of Big Army of whichever nation. Having said this, it is my understanding that, in the Australian Army nowadays, officers must speak an accredited foreign language to be promoted from Captain to Major. RCC will probably correct me if my understanding of this is wrong. A classic example of a lack of understanding of cultural norms, which usually involved Special Forces men punching the lights out of some denizen of Big Army who had chosen to cast aspersions on the Special Forces mans masculinity, was the Vietnamese males habit of holding hands with other males. Vietnamese society, in the mid-1960s, was very class stratified, with strict rules of behaviour, the more so in the upper-middle and higher classes. Public displays of affection, such as holding hands or hugging between members of the opposite sex, were taboo. Regarding these two they were not taboo between members of the same sex. This public hand holding, between males, was not, as the unenlightened assumed, a display of homosexuality. It was an accepted norm.
Yes, I know some may come up with photographs or experiences of overt, in some cases over the top, displays of affection and mode of dress, by bar girls towards or with, their clients, following the build-up of Big Army. What one has to understand here is that these girls were operating way outside the accepted normal rules of Vietnamese society. In virtually all cases, after mid-1965, these bar girls were uneducated peasants from the countryside, who, for whatever reason, usually their villages had been destroyed by artillery or bombing and their families were dead or dispersed, had migrated to the larger towns and cities, and their ideas of dress and deportment, designed to make themselves attractive to foreign military men, were gained from watching television and movies.
The Wind and the Lion
Florence of …
C picture doesn’t come up
The Postman
Private Benjamin
??
Excalibur
Bad Santa
I checked at this end and the picture came up for C. The whole cyber continuity thing can be vexing. F should have been an easy one. Think on it.
F: Kosh, Babylon 5
Absolutely
Kosh, when he/she/it first appears out of the encounter suit to rescue Sheridan who was falling from the spine monorail after a bomb went off in the car formerly occupied by said Sheridan.
–
Everyone with a lick of good saw their version of an angel. Poor Lando, catspaw of the Shadows, saw nothing.
–
That set of scenes was impressive the first time I saw it on the tv. Even better when watching it on DVD and I could pause and rewind and catch all the little fiddly-bits that were in and around the main characters.
Lando redeemed himself.
A is the The Wind and the Lion
B is Lawrence of Arabia
C The Hurt Locker
D?
E Private Benjamin
F?
Yes, C is the Hurt Locker.
Identify the Feature Film:
A. The Wind and the Lion
B. Lawrence of Arabia
C. The Hurt Locker
D. The Postman
E. Private Benjamin
F. I must have been upgrading software when this was brought up.
G. Excalibur
H. Bad Santa
What was Kosh’s name again :)
Thanks for the Babylon 5 hint. What I thought perhaps was a jawbone is Kosh’s encounter suit.
Well, which Kosh? Is it the good Kosh or the bad Kosh?
–
Then there’s Zathras, or is it Zathras, or possibly Zathras, maybe Zathras????
–
And then, who’s The One? Is that person The One or Not The One?
–
Sooo many conundrums in that show…
My favorite scene from The Wind and Lion was where the Marines pay a visit to the palace.
Mine too. In truth, I liked the whole film. Brian Kieth was brilliant as Pres. Roosevelt.
+1
Oh, heck yeah!
–
With the Naval crew carrying a machine gun.
–
All at a brisk jog.
–
“40 Days in Peking” is another excellent Pre-WWII Marine movie. Love the defense of the Legations.
Mefloquine Mondays never did much to me except weird dreams…
But, that isn’t to say I didn’t hate them with a purple passion.
Two of my team members had “less than optimal” responses to Mefloquine.
I became a day care manager for two really weird adolescents who Hated each other.
The really uncomfortable part was that one of these medically induced toddlers was my Commanding Officer.
Due to the problems and reactions like this, AND the fact that we were not officially a Malaria endemic country (That was next door to us),
TPTB decided to end Mef Mondays several months before I rotated back home.
Helpfully the mosquitoes did NOT respect the border guards and invaded so that I brought home a present for Christmas.
Do you know how hard it is to get Chloroquine in North Texas?
MSG Grumpy
It’s covered under TriCare. I have a prescription from a work trip to Nigeria on the back of my pill shelf from about a decade ago. I’m sure that it’s well out of date by now.
Identify the Feature Film:
A. The Wind and the Lion
B. Lawrence of Arabia
C. The Hurt Locker
D. The Postman
E. Private Benjamin
F. Pendle Hill UFO
G. Excalibur
H. Bad Santa
X2
I never saw The Wind and Lion, can’t stream it for free but the library has it.
When Kosh came out of his suit, that was unexpected! Bigtime unexpected!! B5 was a good story.
And Lando didn’t see anything.
The Pill: you ain’t lyin’ about the effects.
Malaria or chronic – issues. You’ve been dealt from the bottom of the deck when it’s both.
Good Pro-Tip on the Malaria prophylactic, never knew…if I ever went to Mexico (nope, nada) I’d be adding Depends to the gear kit.
***
Private B- “I’m not supposed to be here!” Heh…how many have said that day one in boot camp (never had that “experience” but if I had decided that route I’d work to be all in).
***
Pardon- Yeah…that. Cheats will always cheat, betting if you found a grade school playmate from Scanton they say Ol’ Corrupt Joe was no different back then…’zebra/stripes’….and the son emulates the father, forced into it or not he enjoyed the largess. Prison should be in his future.
***
EPA/Coal- Stigall just played a clip with Maher chatting with a totally tone deaf 86 yo Jane Fonda about California’s massive regulation idiocracy: “I had to replace my garage door, it required a permit and three inspections. That’s ridiculous…if I want to replace my garage door with my money I shouldn’t need some bureaucrats permission.”
JF: “Oh, I didn’t know…but isn’t that for your safety?”.
To that end – reducing asinine regulation that messes with the supply/demand cycle – disband the EPA – OR – make Campbell the head of it WHILE maintaining his Kentucky Coal position. Heck, while Trump and his X-Team is providing a much needed FedGov enema, might as well toss the Energy Department for good measure…yet another black hole sucking the life out of America while costing We The People more of what’s left of our earned cash.
***
Great marital advice, right up there with “You need to calm down.” (Pro-Tip: Best to say, “Your new jewelry box is ready for sanding in the Shop”…while quickly exiting.)
Most of Mexico is okay. When you get down on the southern border in Chiapas, you are in the zone. I was involved in the Mexican civil war with the Zapatistas. I’ve mentioned it here on the blog before, and it doesn’t need repeating. MexGov asked USGov for help since the rebels’ weapons were smuggled south by Jesuits.
I don’t know, Sicario basically sealed the deal for me, then again it was Juarez. Brother dives, enjoyed Cabo area for years, didn’t venture too far out of town tho.
I used to have that job.
–
Cabo (BC-Sur) is across the Sea of Cortez from Sinaloa (Sin). Make of that what you will.
BTW, brother suggested The Diplomat series, British, Keri Russell plays our gal….looks promising.
I watched it. I like Keri Russell. Rufus Sewell (plays her husband) has a more fun role. I don’t like it nearly as much as the Lioness series or Landman.
Lioness is “a bit more hard hitting” action…as expected from The Colonies vs. The Motherland.
The latest SC decision that made the Chevron doctrine history should be the death knell for the EPA. Regulators would have coal plants designed like our Obamaesque gas cans and dishwashers.
And front loading washing machines…because they know better than actual design engineers at Kenmore (altho, Speed Queen told them to go pound sand…as everyone in our energy sector and product manufacturers should do).
I love my 20+ year old Speed Queen washer and dryer. Just had to replace the heating element. All metal gears and heavy drive belts and stainless steel tubs.
I hope so.
Prophylactics; Barbara O’Neil is being dubbed with A.I. distractions. Follow the $. Jethro Klaus’s book “Back to Eden ” is an encyclopedia handbook we’ve used for decades. He’s is akin to the natural remedies Barbara offers. Among them being the enema effects of various treatments.
The effects of the ivermectin as a prophylactic for viruses have been mild for me compared to experiences shared today. After being around a nephew with walking Pneumonia, and started feeling achey i just started a regiment. The price of Hydoxycloriquin in Mexico has risen exponentially. ( 2020 and 2023 visits to Baja and Sonora)
Artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) are now most used.
” If ACT is unavailable and the infection occurred in an area with chloroquine resistance, atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone), a combination of quinine (Qualaquin) plus tetracycline, doxycycline, or clindamycin (Cleocin) should be used. Mefloquine is a treatment of last resort.” Source: American Academy of Family Physicians.
All these are anti parasite meds that work, as well as the horse paste I use.
When we were first married, my love used to try to tell me “Calm down, love! It’s a good day! No one’s shooting at you!”
.
He was completely sincere. It helped not a whit when I had a fresh adrenal dump. It’s why I call him my Calmer Half… and yet. and yet. Fourteen years later, I find myself with a quietly panicking student pilot, and what do I tell him? “Calm down, kid. It’s a good day. No one’s shooting at you.”
…it doesn’t work on women. On a guy getting his civilian ratings on his GI bill? Man, that was apparently the magic phrase, because he took a deep breath, and perked right up. “You’re right, ma’am! Easy day!”
Even in the world of the internet at our fingertips, the power of the media to indoctrinate Americans is amazing. Coal is dirty. Oil is running out. The earth is over populated. CO2 is dangerous to the earth. All are believed true by those who slept through high school.
About 15 years ago, I was flying from Miami to NYC JFK in a middle seat. The window seat was occupied by a power plant manager who enjoyed talking about his business and the inadequacies of renewable energy. While we were talking, he pointed out the window and asked if I could see the power plant with two new stacks. That was his plant, the cleanest coal burning plant in the US rivaling gas fired plant emissions. He had been ordered to shut down the plant because it was coal fired.
Fast forward to today, Washington state ordered their primary energy provider to divest itself from coal fired plants almost immediately and gas fired plants in the future. That company gets about 40% of their power from hydroelectric dams that the greens and others want to breach. Currently, the renewable assets in the PNW cannot support a fraction of the need, but the elected officials can’t see that fact. Maybe they are planning to bump most of us off so they can enjoy the scenery themselves. And the thought of starting Three Mile Island up again to only power a Microsoft operation is not considered unusual, earth damaging, or dangerous by the officials. Strange times we live in.
Right on Dave. Depopulation is the agenda of self preservation and the “demolition party”. Best by product from coal plants? Fly ash. Gonna replace those concrete high rises with renewable bamboo?
It seems like one would have to masturbate *an awful lot* for it to
affect Army fitness tests,,, I mean, what – they’re dehydrated? On
sick call for severe chafing? Both arms too tired to lift rifle (you’d think
the arms would just get stronger?) ?
*
Alternately… just WTF is the PLA requiring in it’s fitness tests?
*
– Kle.
>you’d think the arms would just get stronger?
—
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2305
Pretty sure he was more embarrassed to admit it was a fireworks accident.
In the feature film, FULL METAL JACKET, “Handjob” was shipped out (mentioned but not seen on screen) for masturbating “at least 8 times a day”. I have no idea what the threshold number would be to get a Section 8. Maybe 8 is your lucky number. Is it number of completions, duration, intensity or a combination of all three? Is there a combat medic on the blog who might be able to cut to the chase for us? The French had Bordelles Mobile de Campagne (mobile military brothels) to allow service members to fire a shot (friendly shot) when needed. At Dien Bien Phu, they shipped in girls from Mama Dai’s whorehouse to handle the needs of service members. Patton wanted to bring in the practice of “a whorehouse in every regiment” but Big Army intervened.
_
Those of you who served in South Korea will recall the “haircuts” on base back before the wives put a stop to it.
Those haircuts were available in the late 70s, You had to know where…
Bad Santa. Thornton is in a new series “Landman”. Here’s a clip (F-bomb alert)–
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auQfXObDddI
—-
—-
Young fat Chinese. Perhaps. I would think they have many to choose from. Those in the photo appear to be drilling with SKS’s. Masturbation? Wouldn’t surprise me. What’s the ratio of men to women there these days?
In some areas and age frameworks 75% males to 25% females.
That swing set clip looks like my neighbor across the hall. I still have 70% of my hair.
Apologies – a simple case of misidentification.
I’m guessing the Frankenstein meme was from one of the other Franks who hang out here?
True. There is more than one Frank on this blog. Disturbingly there is also more than one Larry.
There’s another blog where I started posting as Anonymous because there were too many Franks to keep track of.
You could also change your name to something in the way that the Beans became the Lord High Executioner on this blog. The title, “Cotton pickin, finger lickin, chicken plucker” comes to mind (say it fast ten times) but it is too long for practical daily use and was created by the Smothers Brothers (RIP Tom). The Secret Service code name for Ronald Reagan was “Rawhide” and he’s no longer using it. Up to you.
And if anyone gives you a handle, don’t, for the love of God, protest said handle, as the next one will be much much worse. Said handle can be changed by others, which is how I got the LHE added to me.
You earned LHE.
re Shelley: “The story of villains is much more entertaining than that of heroes because monsters are not born. They are made.” They do not emerge from the void or darkness by themselves, but they are shaped by circumstances, by the wounds of the world around them. They reflect the deepest human pain, rejection, loneliness, and misunderstanding. A hero is defined by his acts of bravery, but a villain is the result of a heart that was once pure and ended up corrupted. In their tragedy, the monsters show us what could happen to us all if the world turned its back on us.”
—
This sort of soft-hearted nonsense is what give ammunition for those who want to repeal the 19th Amendment. (Not that I am one of them.)
“Sympathy for the devil” is all fine and good, but sometimes perfect understanding does not cast out hate. Sometimes when you really understand what truly motivates someone, then you really really want them dead, and their line extirpated out to third-degree cousins. Failure to eradicate such monsters is the cross-generational version of “mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent,” only here the innocent are your as-yet unborn descendants. Frankly, if you can’t name a few names that have wrought such evil, you’re not paying attention (to put the kindest possible interpretation on it). Some hearts were NEVER pure. Some people(s) are just assholes.
—
Now, the manufactured thing does have SOME truth to it. Take a child. Tell him from birth that he is oppressed by a cruel oppressor. For No Reason At All, of course. Teach him paranoia, teach him to fear and hate everyone not of his culture/tribe. Teach him that murdering his supposed oppressors is only fair and just. In fact, teach him that G-d wills it and that he has divine license. And apart from murder, deception, lying, stealing, all those are fully justified against the “subhuman monsters” who oppress him. Maybe that child WAS pure of soul at birth, but by the time he reaches puberty, he’s not going to be repairable. So yeah, maybe that monster was MADE and not born. (Just like a rabid dog was once a good boy, but you can’t un-rabid a hydrophobic dog. More’s the pity.) Now imagine a culture that transmits these “values” (anti-values) across generations. Actually, you don’t have to imagine. Such a culture exists on the shores of the Mediterranean, and it’s a real mess. I suspect that’s a major reason why no Arab state wants to take in large numbers of Palestinians. (Who did you THINK I was talking about?) Frankly, I doubt many (certainly not most) Palestinians are like what I described, but how can you vet out the corrupted ones? I’m sure there are many such cultural examples across time and geography.
—
“the monsters show us what could happen to us all if the world turned its back on us.”
Nonsense. This is bullshit. Some people are just plain bad, and will be villains even if they never suffered. Others bear terrible suffering without ever losing their decency, their humanity. Not every bad person has victimhood in his past, and even if he did, it’s no excuse. And sometimes the world turns its back on you because you are a weirdo and a jerk. We owe civility to others. We don’t owe them friendship, chumhood, acceptance. Toleration is generally a good thing, but sometimes we don’t even owe people that.
There is one theory to describe sociopathic creeps – and it’s a genuine theory that is taught (in some places) in higher education. It’s called the “asshole theory.” It goes like this, “Some people are simply born assholes.”
–
“Though shalt not suffer a witch to live.” – Exodus 22:18 – What was true in the days of Moses is true today.
I’ve heard it said that some people, when meeting an asshole, become a hemorrhoid in order to irritate him/her…
I differentiate between good people and bad people in this way. Good people are reluctant to hurt others/do them harm. They realize that at times, it will happen but work to minimize it and mitigate it because they don’t want to do it. Bad people hurt good people and enjoy it. That’s about it.
Actually assholes are the first recognizable structure in a developing fetus… Yes, at one time we all were just an asshole, some of us never matured beyond that.
Yeah but she’s OUR witch and we want her back……
Mike_C. One needs to remember that there are just some people out there that need killing.
X2
Heh, managed to dodge ‘that’ particular bullet over the years, and SO glad I never took that pill. The long term effects are STILL biting folks in the ass, both literally and figuratively!
@Mike_C- You must have been a blast in senior English. Great peeling apart there, and…agree. (Not that you need my agreement, but that was epically stated.)
@LL- Had to look it up, Message, ESV, etc, use the term “sorceress”…”witch” is better to grasp the meaning. GNT is more direct, “Put to death any woman who practices magic”. GNT version must have been translated by some guy from Philly, straight to the point, no mincing.
I’m sure that we could find a drumhead somewhere to create an official trial held by the vigilance committee before pronouncing sentence, but, yeah. God’s word.
Senior HS? As you can imagine, that sort of stuff didn’t go over so well considering I grew up in a liberal college town where the publik skool teachurs had the politics you’d expect. (I did have a few EXCELLENT teachers, but the political bias was strong and nearly uniform across all subjects.) I’d generally learned already to tone it down by 17/18, but not perfectly, alas. And now that I’m in my “sixth decade” I still slip up. Sigh.
Thank you, Larry. I read the excerpt of your blog on the malaria pill aloud to my husband, and then tried hard to hold back the flood of giggles as he waxed most eloquent about the drawbacks of the malaria pill, and segued into an ode to the comparative joys of hydroxychloroquine.
.
I’m used to mosquitoes by the thousands and the tens of thousands (tundra being a fancy word for usually-frozen swamp), but the carrying diseases is a new and unhappy revelation now that I’ve moved the land of warm winters and West Nile virus.