"Republicans campaign on the idea that government is incompetent, then they get elected and prove it."
In Trump's second term, the FoodNet program stopped tracking cyclospora. The CDC fired 70% of its parasite tracking team and lost 25% of its employees overall. The FDA lost 20% of its staff. The Department of Agriculture has lost 10% of its staff.
The wheel of the year seems to spin ever faster. It is the time of the Caesar's. We left Julius month and are now into Augustus month, the only two 31 day months back to back. Augustus brought on the end of the Roman Republic and the start of the Roman empire, and Julius played his part as well. Perhaps this August we're witnessing the end of the US empire? The D.C. egos will have a difficult time accepting loses in two wars. I suspect we accelerate our terrorism and covert actions around the world in an attempt to suppress the rise of BRICS+ since we seem incapable of doing it militarily. It's ironic, we declare war on terrorism and become the world's biggest terrorist. Well, on we go through time, and the world is changing quickly. More about those changes below the fold.
Afternoon folks!
This week we've got a whole bunch of great albums starting off with some great Chicago blues from piano player Sunnyland Slim and then an album from guitarist Robert Jr. Lockwood and a live album from Chicago's Siegel-Schwall Band. Moving down to New Orleans we've got a fun album from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Then it's on to the blues-rock department with an album from Wet Willie and we finish up with some rock and roll from The Guess Who.
Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!
Good morning, good people! I hope this OT finds you ll in fine fettle!
This winding down of my legal practice to some sort of limited document producing practice has been interesting.
For example, I am taking on no new clients. That means, I do not attempt to appear in professional clothing. Which means, I wear flip flops, jeans, and tee shirts. Which means, I am wearing tee shirts I have purchased all over the world.
Now, why would I wear a tee that says, "I love Dubai"? Because I walked around a fancy hotel there, beer in one hand, cigarette in the other, amongst Muslim men. I was shocked at how many of them asked to bum a cig.
Brazil, S. Africa, Guatemla, Paris, and on and on. But the one I wore to work gave me pause as I walked out the door. The one from Italy, featuring a drawing with "leonardo" above the tee shirt's perfect redendition of a deVinci drawing. I asked JtC if he thought the full frontal nudity of the male might get me arrested. He said to avoid red necks who might think it was a drawing of Leonardo di Caprio.
I didn't get arrested, and every tee shirt has the potential of starting up an interesting chat with a stranger.
Happy Friday everyone. Welcome to Friday Night Photos your once a week escape from the day to day insanity of the world we live in. Post any photos, memes, music or whatever else you find of interest that helps tune out the madness.
Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. Turned another year older today. Seems like the birthdays are coming around faster every year. On the plus side of the ledger, they're still coming around. On the minus side of the ledger , I'm feeling every one of those years more and more every day.
Did my civic duty and donated blood today. I have a rare form of O+ that the blood bank really likes. Per FDA regulation you can only donate whole blood once every 8 weeks. The blood bank likes my blood so much they call and text me every 8 weeks on the dot to let me know I'm eligible to donate. I'm 2 pints shy of 21 gal. total lifetime donations.
No trip to the fair is complete without going to the fun zone.
Eyes wide shut
Truth is the first casualty of war. Considering propaganda, censorship, and control as factors that blind us from the truth, We The People are left guessing about the real reason/s for the war with Iran. Questions abound in the political corners of the internet, that crown jewel of hypertensive FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). We are bombarded daily by experts who tell us this or tell us that, but, the bottom line is, do any of them, or us, really know why?
One thing is for sure, confusion rules the land.
Please allow me to show you just how confusing it can be.
President Trump (March 2): “Our objectives are clear. First, we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities… and their capacity to produce brand new ones — pretty good ones they make. Second, we’re annihilating their navy… Third, we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon… And finally, we’re ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”
Paul and Fauci... again?
Senator Rand Paul had Dr. Anthony Fauci before a Senate committee to testify about Fauci's actions, etc, during the Covid crisis. Fauci took the 5th over 100 times. And he might face consequences for that.
I guess the Senator, and others with him, are not going to let this all fade away and Fauci creep into history, without a reckoning. I don't know which side, if any, I agree with, but I am kind of enjoying seeing the 'doc' get called out and some of his thoughts exposed. Drop Site News had this to say:
A Senate investigation conducted by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) revealed that Anthony Fauci kept a diary throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, in which his observations often directly contradicted his public messaging about the virus. The junior senator from Kentucky released Fauci’s entries from December 2019 to December 2022 in a thread on X over the weekend. On January 26, 2020, roughly two months before the American public entered quarantine, Fauci wrote, “Now we know the market was not the source, it was the amplifier,” referring to the Wuhan market at which many speculated COVID-19 originated.
