Gromnir

the frustrating part o' the debates 'bout immigration is that most of it is theatre. immigrants (particularly illegals) do statistical less crime than the overall US population and when the trump administration allowed individual states to reject relocated immigrants, not a single state, red or blue, rejected. places like utah were desperate in need o' the kinda labor those undocumented-and-waiting-trial immigrants were willing to do. etc. is a whole lotta legit concern regarding illegal immigration but somehow whichever party is current anti-immigration manages to set the agenda, so instead o' talking real, we talk about ultra-expensive and pointless wall boondoggles, while pretending that undocumented immigrants willing to take near minimum wage jobs picking strawberries or working in poultry processing plants somehow hurts the white working class population. and scaring old people with anecdotal stories about venezuelan and mexican rapists is oh so helpful when trying to have a meaningful discussion about immigration, yes? https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/12/21/what-ronald-reagan-actually-said-about-border-security-according-history-not-donald-trump/ Bush said immigration policy needed to be “sensitive” and “understanding” toward the “really honorable, decent, family-loving people” that had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without documentation. Reagan echoed that sentiment. “Rather than talking about putting up a fence, why don’t we work out some recognition of our mutual problems, make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit,” he said. “And then while they’re working and earning here, they pay taxes here. And when they want to go back they can go back.” The border, he said, should be open “both ways” — and border security policy should take into account the economic challenges facing Mexico. again, am agreeing that there is a whole lotta serious issues involving immigration, but is almost never the stuff we see our elected representatives discuss. frightening people with bogus arguments and misleading crime numbers results in more reliable campaign contributions than does explaining how difficult it is to tackle problems which has existed for many decades. HA! Good Fun!

minor quibble: we would say that the difference is that under trump, the human travesties became policy goals. from a 2019 Gromnir post: "however, before people get too angry at barr and trump, ms. fabian, the lawyer for doj in our clips, argued another flores case three years ago and it were even more disturbing. a woman who were trying to instigate a hunger strike in protest o' conditions at a detainment facility had her child seperated from her and the child placed in solitary confinement. fabian tried to argue such treatment were perfect acceptable under the flores settlement. separate and isolate child were a legit response to insurrection by the mother o' the child. 2015 were obama administration, and while there were not a general policy o' child separations in spite o' trump claims, clearly it did happen in more than a couple instances." have also posted the following a couple times: "not just kids. "'cause is not criminal trial with criminal trial protections, those seeking asylum is not granted real protections and is often given what amounts to a sham trial." ... "ps the last Two presidential administrations has been abominable and arguable inhumane when dealing with the immigration crisis. the trump admin has been orders o' magnitude worse than obama, but the previous President would not be comfortable talking 'bout his immigration record. the obama doj, just one example, argued it were appropriate to use solitary confinement to punish mothers who went on a hunger strike in response to mistreatment o' themselves and their children while being detained on immigration issues. obama's doj argued the moms were inciting disobedience and as were civil, they didn't have criminal rights, so... " ok, the thing is, as much as am having criticized the obama administration, what trump did different is that he and his nativist cronies made suffering the point o' their policies. the goal for the trump admin, with stephen miller as architect o' the scheme, were to make conditions bad enough that illegal US immigration, which btw had been decreasing steadily for decades, would be an act only the most desperate would even contemplate. under trump, human rights travesties were the point. aside, and this will bother many, am thinking some o' the tragedy regarding illegal immigrants is functional unavoidable and the goal should be to limit as 'posed to expecting elimination o' the problems. as a practical matter, it is impossible to make illegal border crossing criminal 'cause we already see backlogs of eight years in many jurisdictions. imagine if each immigrant had to be given a jury trial? can't do it. the problem is the immigrants don't get criminal defendant protections. 'course trump is also the guy who were suggesting the US should invade venezuela, while active working to destabilize the south american regime. pretend as if the US ain't at least part to blame for the massive uptick in venezuelan refugees is requiring a level o' willful obtuse am unable to manage. regardless, US immigration, like US health care, is complex issues with a whole lotta different parts... and Gromnir is old enough to recall a time when democrats and republicans were polar opposites on the issue. keep in mind trumpy fear mongering about illegals stealing jobs from working class americans and the largely imaginary crime stat hobgoblins shared at fox news were mainstays o' the democrat platform well into the 80s. please recall that working class whites were worried about such back in the 60s and at the time those individuals were dependable democrat voters. example: am having previous mentioned how Barbara Jordan is kinda a personal role model for Gromnir. her positions on immigration might be considered too harsh by current gop standards. even so, as disappointed as Gromnir were with all three recent administrations, trump were a notable outlier and not just 'cause trump appears proud o' the human suffering brought about during his term. human travesty were a conscious goal under trump. HA! Good Fun!

HA! Good Fun!

so the companion o' the fifth dlc is named penta? am assuming pentatonic scale will be relevant someway/somehow. how droll (<--sarcasm.) am also gonna go way out on a limb and guess class is bard. now if penta played a hurdy gurdy, kazoo or euphonium, we might be intrigued. the flute in the image looks modern, so why not a euphonium? HA! Good Fun!

am tending to agree, but whenever we ask the trespassing cervids for id, they either ignore us, or they give us a tough-guy glare which would make just about any mafia button man envious. our local deer population has almost zero fear o' canines or humans. as such am unable to say with certainty if the two images depict the same interloper. regardless, our community needs to think about importing a wolf pack or two. oh sure, most o' the neighborhood felines would go missing before the deer problem were solved, but if you are gonna make an omelet, right? am joking about the wolves. HA! Good Fun!

and today it is almost always a doe outside our office, but in early autumn the bucks monopolize the spot. HA! Good Fun!

is not as if am unable to afford lamb, but am marveling at how expensive it has become. when the cost o' lamb first began to skyrocket here in ca, we held out hope the increase were temporary. we thought positive, and anticipated the price would get more reasonable in a few months... or six months... or maybe next year? no? we like lamb a whole lot, but am always feeling like most lamb cuts is a splurge kinda ingredient perhaps 'cause am so old am recalling when a can o' coke cost twenty-five cents and rack o' lamb were maybe $3 per pound? that said, our frugality don't prevent us from cooking a nice leg o' lamb or the like at least a couple times per year, but is almost always a special occasion. however, lamb breast is typical less than half the cost o' even shoulder chops, and particular for stews and the like, the breast is an ideal cut with plenty o' connective tissue. lamb breast is also fantastic smoked or roasted. seeing as how am having become such a cheap bastard in our declining years, and 'cause we do like lamb, we buy lamb breast surprising often. HA! Good Fun!

made not osso bucco. nowadays we avoid veal, so we made with oxtails... osso coda? also, we didn't use polenta and instead went with a yukon gold mashed potato side for which we used a potato ricer to get extra smooth. roasted broccolini were the handwave inclusion o' something leafy and green allowing us to pretend the meal were at least somewhat healthy. best part o' the meal were the fact our dinner guest were an acquaintance with whom we felt comfortable enough to suck on our oxtail bones. edit: for lunch we made pasta pomodoro. we used fresh cherry and roma tomatoes from a local farm. am mentioning our lunch 'cause o' how we now ordinary cook pasta such as spaghetti or linguine, which is to use minimal water and to cook in a twelve inch skillet. a twelve inch skillet is the perfect diameter for spaghetti and it takes far less time to cook pasta in the skillet as you are using considerable less water. chances are when am having brought the pasta to just shy o' al dente, we have only a smidge more pasta water than needed to finish off our sauce. am using a non-stick pan for our pasta when am making tomato sauces 'cause it is non reactive. for today's lunch, when the pasta were near done, we add the sauce, fresh basil and microplaned parmesan to the off-heat skillet. residual heat from the sauce and the pan finished cooking the pasta and the starchy pasta water and cheese thickened up the sauce. HA! Good Fun! ps chances are most folks reading is already aware, but counter-intuitive, a bit of starchy pasta water will thicken a tomato sauce.

don't wanna make this politics side-track, but we will note our position remains unchanged and am thinking if you wouldn't trust a person to drive an auto or operate a gas stove 'cause o' concerns about cognitive impairment, then occupying an article I, II, or III office should also be recognized as unreasonable. there is gonna be some unspecific point at which a person cannot do the job no more. seeing as is so difficult to identify that point, am thinking the obvious solution is to choose an arbitrary age as the cut off for those serving in article I, II or III offices. 'course such a change would take an amendment, so... as to new blood and perspectives? nope. is not how democracy works. if the people want moribund representatives with old blood, and they cast votes for such representatives, then they should get the representatives they chose. furthermore it should be axiomatic that there is nothing inherent better about younger or newer perspectives. that said, am personal a champion o' young and stoopid even so, is nothing inherent better about new or young pov and for those who support democracy, some kinda preferential regard for new blood would be antithetical. regardless o' the duration o' her tenure, at the end feinstein were too old and is unfortunate that her legacy were marred by what she could no longer do in her last couple years as 'posed to all she had accomplished in many decades o' service. HA! Good Fun!

the qualifiers is noteworthy as you didn't mention one o' 'em when you marveled at her 868 year tenure, yes? as kp would say, "naughty." again, the duration o' her tenure is not all that remarkable, unless you start adding qualifiers. however, as already stated, am recognizing what is kinda surprising just how not unusual is the duration o' her tenure. HA! Good Fun!

with enough qualifiers, any statement may be true. as far as tenure durations, she might be top ten o' Congressmen who's last name begins with an "F." pelosi has served longer albeit in the house. is also at least three men current in the senate who has served longer. feinstein did serve longer than any other California senator and she were also the longest serving woman senator, but again, the hyperbolic 868 years bit ignores the admitted surprising reality that feinstein is way down the list o' longest tenures... somewhere in the 150 range? 'cause she were so old and clear enfeebled, is perhaps easy to overlook just how not unique were the duration o' her tenure. HA! Good Fun!

as hard as it might be to believe, feinstein don't even crack the top 100 longest serving Congressman list. HA! Good Fun!

Play The Lamplighters League Free Demo starting tomorrow, September 28 HA! Good Fun!

the greatest story ever told had one o' the more bloated casts am able to recollect, and it weren't a comedy like mad, mad, mad, mad, world where an overstuffed cast is part o' the joke. while judas is pivotal in greatest story, he don't get a heck o' a lot o' screen time, and by the time you get to judas is a possibility you are exhausted. george stevens tried to tell the entirety o' the jesus story from birth to ascension. were impossible to give any character other than jesus much development. also, greatest story is arguable more respectful o' source material than most other cinematic religious epics, but that also meant it could be a bit dry for substantial portions o' the film. even so, david mccallum stood out for us in a film with a legion o' academy award winning performers. no small task. HA! Good Fun!

New York judge rules Trump committed fraud while building real estate empire "Engoron ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York. The judge said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee the Trump Organization’s operations." first, this is so not in our wheelhouse. as such am not pretending we got more knowledge or expertise than fox news, cnn or washington post sources. however, is our opinion fox and other news outlets understates the disillusion aspect. ain't just that trump won't be able to do business in ny if this holds. is our understanding that banks, insurers and the like who wanna do business in ny will no longer be able to do business with trump. as such this is gonna prevent trump from doing biz with virtual every major bank and insurer. however, there will be appeals and trump also has a lawsuit claiming Judge engoron through various inactions and actions is preventing trump from mounting a defense. the lawsuit involving the Judge could delay or alter proceedings. an appellate court is set to decide the lawsuit this thursday? regardless, trump corp goes into disillusion receivership w/i ten days, which is functional an extension o' the current receivership the court already ordered. HA! Good Fun!

literal haven't heard this song since the old dr. demento days, and back then am recollecting it as an accordion solo. the contribution o' @majestic made us 'member something moldering away in the cobweb filled corners o' our cranium. HA! Good Fun!

am having three subscriptions... four if you count amazon prime. it is an admitted waste o' money to keep the subscriptions given the fact we ain't watched a complete show since... andor? better call saul and andor were the last two shows we watched to the final episodes. am having watched one-to-three episodes o' a whole bunch o' series post andor, but nothing has held our attention for almost a full year. is not a curmudgeon thing neither. we don't sit at home staring at our blank tv screen lamenting the good old days o' tv. it ain't as if we believe tv has gotten worse. it's just been kinda a personal tv dry spell for us and we got enough movies and other entertainment (pc games and the like) to keep us distracted when we ain't doing something more constructive. HA! Good Fun!

we were interested, but somebody with similar taste in flicks to us saw it and told us mad god woulda' been an intriguing visual spectacle if it were edited down to twenty minutes... or less. for our friend, mad god were too much shock value w/o enough substance to carry it for a feature length offering. we will likely see it eventual, but am not a dedicated fan o' grotesque horror and if am unwilling to put up with james joyce being conscious obtuse, then is almost zero chance we will will grant phil tippett more leeway. HA! Good Fun!

that makes more sense, though one wonders how azdeus coworkers recognize comedic sign language efforts, unless they is all well-versed in sign language. HA! Good Fun!

am always thinking o' him first for his role in the great escape, and then as judas in the greatest story ever told. the man from uncle were a smidge before our time and in our locales it didn't get the syndication reruns the way many other shows o' the same time period did, not that we had regular access to tv until the early 80s. as such, we hardly saw any uncle stuff until we were already in our thirties. cool show though. oh well. HA! Good Fun!

am not sure why we expect different. if you were talking about a group o' school-aged kids teasing somebody with a disability, we would not be shocked 'cause kids is all sociopaths until their brain develops, and full brain development don't happen for a few not-adults until they hit their early twenties. we coached football (american) and mock trial at the high school level, and it always bothered us when we saw kids channeling lord of the flies in real-time. if one snot-nosed brat had asperger's syndrome, a speech impediment or even a skin condition, the other kids would find ways subtle and overt to make the weak or different kid suffer. am assuming azdeus does not work with a bunch o' adolescents. no excuses. aside, we spoke with our home and auto insurance guy today. we made minor adjustments to our coverage on three properties. no biggie. however our agent waited until the end o' the call to let us know that in less than six months we could expect a ~30% rate jump. explanation for the anticipated larger bill were the combination o' increasing natural disaster frequency coupled with inflation. according to our agent, most major insurance carriers were gonna be adopting something close to 30%. 'course is not as if most landlords is gonna just eat that additional cost. rents is gonna increase proportional, if not more. incomes hardly change at all, but the cost o' everything else increases? HA! Good Fun!

aside, north dakota is the only state which doesn't do registration for voting and instead uses id exclusive. multiple courts determined the north dakota solution is a transparent effort at suppressing votes o' indigenous peoples. in all fairness, nd had been doing an id requirement since the late 1940s or early 50s and while there were problems, the scheme weren't particular discriminatory. https://www.npr.org/2020/02/14/806083852/north-dakota-and-native-american-tribes-settle-voter-id-lawsuits While Native Americans in North Dakota are roughly 5% of the state's population, the voting bloc was instrumental in securing a narrow victory for former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat, in 2012, according to The Bismarck Tribune. Following the election, the paper notes, the Republican-controlled legislature decided to no longer allow voters without proper state-issued ID from casting ballots simply "by signing an affidavit attesting to their eligibility." regardless, universal id requirement is most certain not a solution in and o' itself. similar, the id requirement, as were the case in nd, is frequent used in predictable gop voter suppression schemes. but again, id is not the fundamental problem. the issue is people. as long as you got people running the system, some o' them is gonna try and find a way to make the system work better for their side/group. there is almost never a simple solution to enduring social, cultural, economic and political problems, 'cause at their core, the problems and solutions depend on people. have said more than once, am not a fan o' crt in total, but am genuine wishing the nightmare o' a few boardies were a reality. for all its faults, crt challenges students to dispassionate and objective consider those laws which disproportionate advantage the dominant cultural group. yeah, is too ez to fall into the trap o' seeing every law which benefits the dominant cultural group as "racist," though crt should simultaneous diminish the stigma o' the "racist" label itself. also, crt don't end with identifying bad/racist laws. is not all that difficult to identify laws which benefit the dominant group and are intended to do so. go on social media and announce that sb 202 or north dakota voter id is bad should not be the end o' the analysis. the tough part is producing change. crt recognizes change almost never occurs 'cause the dominant group were made to feel bad about a law, rule or scheme. regardless, am not seeing a real downside to ubiquitous teaching o' crt at the university level, and while am dubious o' the value in high schools, we wouldn't be afeared o' mandatory crt curriculum neither. HA! Good Fun!

gonna disagree. happens often. am personal extreme consistent and have used the simpsons clip for king more than once. how many times in the wotr thread(s) did we make functional identical posts, particular when responding to complaints about poe and deadfire o' all things. were same complaints, so same response. if there is a a crpg romance discussion and Gromnir makes the bad choice to respond, you will once again get our views on bg2 romances and ravel from ps:t. same bat time... hans blix, crt, free speech in europe, etc. y'know how often we invoke groundhog day on this board? sure, once we used a clip to show the curious physical and behavioral similarities 'tween ned ryerson and gordon sondland but that were an exception to our typical invocation o' the film. am having observed, more than once, most o' our posts qualify as spam. the terrible reality is, if you got a good enough memory, you will not be shocked by how often the exact same conversations occur, sometimes only months apart. recommendation: roll with it. HA! Good Fun!

admitted both parties has long histories o' individuals, groups and even leadership as a whole advocating voter suppression efforts. however, since Gromnir were o' age to vote, the gop has been the party most obvious involved in or complicit with coordinated efforts to prevent minorities and young people from voting. most such schemes is state level endeavors, but national level republicans who condemn those inequitable activities is too few and far between. one o' the main reasons why Gromnir, in spite o' our conservative voting patterns, never considered registering as a republican is 'cause we had seen too many gop voter suppression schemes. yeah, big tent was the gop mantra at the national level for many decades, but willful ignoring what were actual happening, particular in southern states, were too much hypocrisy for us to ignore. HA! Good Fun! ps even in georgia, fraudulent voter registration efforts is criminal and am suspecting the numbers o' people successful denied the vote through such means is gonna be low, particular in recent years when something like 40 states (including georgia but not mississippi) have online voter registration. is tougher to scam young people into believing they has been registered when there is online access to registration status. am not saying amentep described activities don't still happen, but the more effective means for the gop is to do legal as with more than a couple o' the provisions o' sb 202.

... is kp, so our assumption were "weird" were the flick's most outstanding quality. am not having seen el conde, but given kp approval our starting point is the belief the movie makes naked lunch and un chien andalou feel tame in the comparison. slight hyperbole. slight. HA! Good Fun!