Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[iam416]

Quick summary - this week (and it's only Friday):

*The Chairman blamed Rs for inflation because Rs did not pass The Chairman's additional $3T of spending. I'm not making this up;

*The Chairman and the Energy twatwaffle from M, blamed the oil companies for the lack of refining capacity, which, per The Chairman's own administation numbers is at around 96%. The only answer -- and the one pushed -- is to invest billions to build more refinery capacity. The Chairman and his M Energy Twatwaffle then said they hope oil is out of business or transititoning out of business in 10 years (probably 8, really, since that's the magical climate change date from the UN);

*We had an all-time record number of immigrants stopped at the border in May. All-time. Meanwhile, as far as I can tell, The Chairman's Media BLACK OUT of the border is still in effect and folks at, e.g., "Democracy dies in DARKNESS" still don't care one lick;

*The most likely alternative to this fucking economic and policy illiteracy is still (a) desperately clinging to a narrative that only does him harm and the majority of the country is ready to move on from; and (b) a complete twatwaffle;

*Under The Chairman's reign, AlabamAlum was able to procure malort and Old Style and generally debauch the Mobile Riviera; and finally, and perhaps worst...

*The Wizard is still at-large and at least offering for sale "food" that most Sudanese refugees would politely pass on.

So, yeah, we're fucked.

And while not of this week's news, The Media almost completely ignored an assassination plot against Justice Kav. I say "almost completely" because the NYT did see fit to include a miniscule blurb on the matter on A20.

[iam416]

A company spent roughly $100M in plans, studies and other permitting nonsense over 20 years to get to a final vote on building a desalinization plant in Huntington Beach. Even Gavin Newsome supported it. The final answer.... 11-0 to the "hell fucking no" side. https://calcoastnews.com/2022/05/cal...-plant-permit/

Just something to remember this summer when you read about droughts in California. You may also want to remember how impossible it is to build new reservoirs there. Is water important? Apparently, no.

[Jeff Buchanan]

11-0 to the "hell fucking no" side.

Have to read the article at the link to get the full gist of the stupidity of that vote. This isn't about environmentalists v. capitalists. It's about pure stupid.

I have a lawyer friend who has practiced water law in the west for 30 years and approaching 80 is still fiercely at it. In short his mission is to help industries that mine, pump oil or use water to find a balance between environmental concerns and best practices for survival of the human race and the economy that feeds, fuels and waters it.

Of course, despite the clarity of his legal arguments and ability to articulate reasonable positions, he's been labeled a right wing extremist. This sentence in the linked article sums up environmental idiocy:

Environmentalists opposed the planned desalination plant, arguing it would kill billions of tiny marine organisms by drawing in large amounts of ocean water and releasing salty discharge back into the ocean. The affected organisms make up the base of the food chain along a large swath of the coast, environmentalists say.

I'm sure the contingent of idiots that based their no votes on the permit for the plant had a host of collaborating idiots who had the "science" to back the stupidity up. And the supportors of the plant permit had this to say:

“California continues to face a punishing drought, with no end in sight,” the company said in the statement. “Every day, we see new calls for conservation as reservoir levels drop to dangerous lows. We firmly believe that this desalination project would have created a sustainable, drought-tolerant source of water.”

There is a reason that the United States is failing and it is the left's continuing assault on sensibility and reasonableness in pursuing policies that make core American values sustainable.

[iam416]

It's so stupid. As a follow-on point, Israel operates 5 desalinization plants and is now water-independent...in a fucking desert. In fact, they export excess water. Anway, numerous studies have been done on the effects on marine life and the answer has come back -- not much. Almost zero on the intake portion--some slight impact on the expulsion portion (from the force).

The refusal to build new reservoirs is even sillier. They haven't built a new reservoir in that state since the 70s (I think -- if not, then it's close).

California (and every other arid Western State) ought to be all-in on an all-hands-on-deck water approach. Neither desalinization nor reservoirs are a singular answer, but they ought to be part of an overall comprehensive plan to provide water. It's quintessentially PROG -- and I really, really, really mean that -- that California opts from drought so as to not disrupt "marine life" or whatever other ecosystem might get bumped around. It's the same type of people that ask an actual US Court of Law to say that a fucking elephant has habeius corpus rights. Again, I wish I was making that up.

[iam416]

There is a reason that the United States is failing and it is the left's continuing assault on sensibility and reasonableness in pursuing policies that make core American values sustainable.

In the most general terms, "The Left" is openly and reflexively hostile to ANYTHING American. Full stop. They are openly hostile to liberal economics. They are openly hostile to individualism. They are openly hostile to even human "primacy." They are openly hostile to the Constitution. They are openly hostile to the Founders. They are openly hostile to the nation's entire history. The are openly hostile to "colonialist" views on gender. They are openly hostile to, well, you name it...

They very much want to remake the US into some sort of communist/technocractic/elite-run state.

Now, who is in "the Left" is up for debate. E.g., DSL and even CGVT, while openly and obviously Ds, are almost certainly not for this nonsense. Or at least they think the vast majority is nonsense. HOWEVER, as I've said before, I think there's a definite tail wagging the dog situation going on w/ the Ds and I think there's almost no question that the Party is inching closer to, well, the dog wagging the tail on a lot of this shit.

And, of course, the Rs have a gigantic pile of issues, too. I'm happy to discuss that and have. But, the Ds...man...I dunno...I think they're on that road and not much short of multiple blistering electoral defeats is going to put the brakes on.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Wait ...... the Kremlin has alleged that it destroyed a warehouse where western weapons were stored near the port of Odesa presumably containing Harpoon missiles........ probably NOT:

Ukraine’s navy has claimed it has struck the Russian rescue tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh, which it says was in the process of the “transportation of ammunition, weapons and personnel of the Black Sea Fleet to Snake Island.” Ukraine’s armed forces strategic communications directorate said the tug boat was hit with two Harpoon missiles. If so, that would mark the first time Ukraine has said it hit a Russian vessel with this type of western-supplied anti-ship rockets.

Lavarof did an interview with the BBC yesterday that was fact checked and found the usual bull-shit Russian spokespersons are advancing to be factually lacking in substance. Lavorof claimed that the invasion of Ukraine was a defensive, last resort operation to prevent Ukraine from being absorbed into NATO. He played off the Pope's comments on Sunday that Russia "may have been provoked." Like I said, Putin's propaganda is well scripted and his lies are often hard to debunk at face.

Going on right now, the EU Commission has agreed to fast track Ukraine as a member of the EU. What does this mean? he EU is a consortium of countries that agree to abide by an established set of principals mostly involving trade and a unified currency. Of course, the UK opted out on the grounds that some of the EU's labor provisions were unacceptable - these are decidedly left leaning. Ukraine, would, over time become a trading partner and supposedly conform with other UE member state's policies. They are a long ways away from cleaning up their act as a representative nation of liberal democratic principles.

Naturally, the Kremlin sees this as a covert move that creates a military threat to Russia's sovereignty. The only threat to Russian sovereignty right now is Vladimir Putin and his dangerous imperial views of Russia's place on the global stage. Once Russian citizens start to realize the lies Putin has been pushing and the extreme damage his geopolitical adventurism has cost the average Russian, he won't survive. It's going to take a while because Putin and his collaborators aren't stupid and have figured out ways to buffer the impact of sanctions - short term. Mid and long term, probably by this fall, that shit is going to be outed.

[AlabamAlum]

The 17th day of June, year of our Lord, Two Thousand-Twenty-Two and you are all, ALL, still insufferable gasbags. (Especially Talent).

Also, I’m hungover as fuck. The world is dark, achy, miserable place.

[iam416]

The general prescription for a Chicago-style hangover is more Malort. It's a cure-all tonic with delightful forward notes of Pledge and Death.

[AlabamAlum]

It makes me sick just thinking of attempting to ingest more of that rancid kerosene.

[Hannibal]

In the most general terms, "The Left" is openly and reflexively hostile to ANYTHING American. Full stop. They are openly hostile to liberal economics. They are openly hostile to individualism. They are openly hostile to even human "primacy." They are openly hostile to the Constitution. They are openly hostile to the Founders. They are openly hostile to the nation's entire history. The are openly hostile to "colonialist" views on gender. They are openly hostile to, well, you name it...

They very much want to remake the US into some sort of communist/technocractic/elite-run state..

You voted for it.

[Tom W]

Environmentalists opposed the planned desalination plant, arguing it would kill billions of tiny marine organisms by drawing in large amounts of ocean water and releasing salty discharge back into the ocean. The affected organisms make up the base of the food chain along a large swath of the coast, environmentalists say.

Can't help but think of Soylent Green on that one.. Which isn't a documentary and is a better movie than just about anything DSL babbles on about in that other thread.

[Dr. Strangelove]

It makes me sick just thinking of attempting to ingest more of that rancid kerosene.

God bless Carl Jeppson

[iam416]

You voted for it.

Unfortunately, the Rs had a colossal fucking asshat screaming STEAL and it cost them not one, but two Senate seats when 1 was all they needed.

I do acknowledge that I didn't correctly assess the choice as being between an incompetent, incoherent imbecile beholdent to the Left vs an incompetent, incoherent imbecile beholdent to his own ego.

I did give The Chairman slightly more credit. I might have even given DJT slightly more credit. I was obviously wrong on both counts.

[THE_WIZARD_]

...clowns to the left of me...jokers to the right...

[Da Geezer]

Unfortunately, the Rs had a colossal fucking asshat screaming STEAL and it cost them not one, but two Senate seats when 1 was all they needed.

I do acknowledge that I didn't correctly assess the choice as being between an incompetent, incoherent imbecile beholdent to the Left vs an incompetent, incoherent imbecile beholdent to his own ego.

I did give The Chairman slightly more credit. I might have even given DJT slightly more credit. I was obviously wrong on both counts.

And you will vote D in 2024. Remember that prediction.