Gromnir

corporal? HA! Good Fun! ps don't make the mistake o' referring to marines as soldiers.

new patch fewer fixes than anticipated, but am knowing is typical a few corrective measures which go unpublished. will maybe give the dlcs a shot now that there has been a couple patches. HA! Good Fun!

"potential" is key word for payments for donating genetic material. first, most people is rejected as donors. am recalling is less than 5% acceptance, which makes it tougher to be a donor than is getting into cal tech. second, near half money possible for donations is paid once your offering is actual utilized. am suspecting if you is a 6'4" white guy with mensa credentials you could possible make $26k per year. maybe. third, you is asked to abstain from sex three days prior to a donation, which for a young man 'tween 18 and 35 who is amongst that 5% group, abstaining is kinda tougher than it sounds. if your counts decrease, your donation is rejected and you do not get paid, so the three day guideline is functional a requirement. HA! Good Fun!

speaking o' interesting, how exact is israel occupying palestine? ask self when when were the s'posed initial israeli invasion of palestine. as for some folks talking genocide by israel, will once again observe the strong population growth o' the peoples in gaza and the so-called occupied territories, which at the very least, given israeli capabilities, suggests they ain't trying to bring 'bout the destruction o' a people, yes? by comparison, am suspecting the population growth for ukraine is not gonna look so good for 2022. the killing o' the reporter is likely a terrible accident, but as usual am gonna wait for details. is weird how no matter how many times same situations arise, we nevertheless get folks with same instinctive need to react reflexive. am also not recalling the building the ap needed evacuate *gasp* were "suddenly" discovered to be a hamas stronghold. is unsurprising israel never offered details regarding the existence o' hamas intelligence assets in the building. that said, we wouldn't be shocked if israel had decided that given al jazeera acting as an intelligence gathering arm for qatar backed entities is hardly a controversial position, they would destroy their gaza headquarters. not legal, but were bloodless. am not condoning btw, but on the scorecard o' evils attributed to israel, and has been more than a few genuine bad acts, that one were extreme minor. every few years, israelis reach a limit as to numbers o' gaza launched rocket attacks they is willing to suffer and decide the five minutes o' western infamy they endure for stomping out hamas in gaza (or hezbollah to the north) cells is worth the body count and bad press, and their calculus thus far appears to be a valid approach to maintaining the status quo... and status quo is best possible outcome at this point considering the last legit efforts for peace were 2000 and since then neither israelis or arabs has had real serious interest in revisiting long-term peace solutions. HA! Good Fun!

and our point was your misinterpretation o' what we said. to varying degrees, near all US Presidents could be described as racists, but am thinking it should be obvious that observation, w/o context, is meaningless. btw, is kinda starting point o' crt that racism is normal and if is evil, then is an inherent evil o' human nature. brookings site offers good insights. is easier for Gromnir to embrace foundations o' crt 'cause while you are selective pretending not to recall, is Gromnir who suggests state o' nature is brutal and that is 'cause o' inherent flaws in all men. you are the one who curious believes politicians is unique subject to flaw... particular major party politicians. and you are serious misrepresenting your own past observations/claims. how many times has you suggested it makes no difference which you choose as 'tween lesser and greater evils? they are all bad. self paralysis resulting from convincing self choice 'tween evils don't matter? so again, is only funny 'cause you misinterpreted. our observation were in response to your less than meaningful descriptor o' woodrow wilson. is Gromnir who has always made clear that given the magnitude o' the job and the challenges presented, US Presidents and Congressmen is near always gonna come outta the wash looking dirty and unsuited for the job. Presidents were never s'posed to do what we want 'em to do, so is hardly shocking when they fail to meet expectations. is not 'cause they is bad (edit: though is no question at least a few potus has been undeniable corrupt) they fail to meet gd expectations but rather 'cause they is men, human beings. spam. has us chasing you as you chase your tail? more fool us. HA! Good Fun!

am knowing there is no sympathy for landlords hereabouts, but both o' our current tenants (sadly, our best tenant, the butcher, moved and we sold the property in question. no more free meat to make up the difference in rent) whom we provided more than a year advanced warning we would not be renewing leases, has informed us they ain't gonna be moving out by may 31 and june 30 respective. ... at minimum is gonna take us 60 days to evict 'em, if we choose to do so. one o' the tenants is 85. am kicking an 85 year old woman out on the street? for chrissakes, we know her daughter lives w/i 2 kilometers and her sons are both in the sacramento valley. is not as if she has no family, but either our tenant refuses to move in with family or they don't wanna take her in, and her health/physical mobility is limited such that she no longer cooks for herself and family needs come check on her daily. 'course if we don't sell soon, the market is likely to change dramatic, which is exact what we anticipated. the thing is, if we let our tenants stay and collect rent after the end o' the lease, then am effective creating a new month-to-month lease, which means we are required to add another sixty days notice before starting the aforementioned eviction efforts; 120 days becomes the new minimum time frame to be rid o' would be squatters if we take rent. as such it makes more sense to not collect rent. how long am s'posed to not collect rents? we were also serious considering moving into one o' our two remaining rental homes as our current place is too big by far for one person... even if is one person and multiple dogs. so yeah, am not expecting sympathy, but we never expected both remaining tenants would screw us after we gave 'em years o' significant discounted rent and an extra long advanced warning on non-renewal o' lease. no good deed... HA! Good Fun!

laughy gif but am knowing you believe it, so... gd likes to ignore the substantial degrees o' variation. convinces self biden is no more corrupt or skeevy than trump? sure. andrew johnson and jimmy carter were both democrats and supporters o' racist policies during their political careers, but am suspecting even gd would agree the degree o' villainy those two Presidents displayed as it pertains to equitable treatment o' race were vast different in terms o' scale. nevertheless, 'cause is convenient and supports gd worldview, he simplifies to they are all bad. @Hurlsnotcontribution is noteworthy as it provides balanced context for lbj. converse, label a late 19th century and early 20th century US politician as racist and a believer in eugenics is less than helpful w/o context. is unfortunate but am suspecting such labels would apply in varying degrees to at least 90% o' US politicians circa 1910s. is not that woodrow wilson were racist and a believer in eugenics which made him a bad guy by the standards o' his day but rather the degree o' his belief and the efforts to which he attempted to have US policy reflect his racist beliefs. however, so is no misunderstanding, woodrow wilson were indeed vile. the following is woodrow wilson quotes used in the film, birth of a nation: Adventurers swarmed out of the North, as much the enemies of one race as of the other, to cozen, beguile, and use the Negroes.…In the villages the Negroes were the office holders, men who knew none of the uses of authority, except its insolences. The Policy of the congressional leaders wrought…a veritable overthrow of civilization in the South.…in their determination to "put the white South under the heel of the black South." The white men of the South were aroused by the mere instinct of self-preservation to rid themselves, by fair means or foul, of the intolerable burden of governments sustained by the votes of ignorant negroes and conducted in the interest of adventurers. *shrug* regardless, as is typical, gd jokes... but not really. HA! Good Fun!

racism were an official part o' the democrat national platform post civil war (andrew johnson arguable being our most racist President evar) 'til fdr, who himself were a running mate o' the venomously racist james cox, initiated japanese internment by executive order, and ignored jim crow laws. and let's not forget how truman, lbj and jimmy carter all at least flirted with the kkk during their political careers. 'course most (all?) republicans were racist, but the party platform were at least offering a nod to a paternalistic view o' post civil war racial inclusivity. have also mentioned more than once how american eugenics inspired euro fascists and not the other way around. it is not hard to find advocates o' eugenics from both sides o' the aisle for that sin as well, particular 'mongst the so-called intellectuals o' the late 19th and early 20th century. HA! Good Fun!

have been perpetual kinda dumbstruck by how few lessons were learned from the great recession. HA! Good Fun!

overlooked this. apologies. cast iron retains heat, but takes longer than the other choices to arrive at the temp you want and a pot or pan may have hot spots. takes a bit more skill and patience. stainless steel is a nice option as has higher conductivity than iron and is durable (no or minimal warping and unlike iron it isn't gonna crack) as well as light. aluminum is light and cheap and generally sucks compared to the other options, but good and thick aluminum is gonna heat as even as will a cheap layer o' copper. copper, btw, has fantastic conductivity (and anti microbial properties btw which is why adding a layer o' copper were so popular for the hulls seagoing vessels until cheaper paint solutions were discovered) but is difficult to keep looking pretty, is expensive and is not as durable... 'course you won't see all-copper pots and pans. will see pots an pans with a layer o' copper and the cheap stuff has a crap layer which is existing for no reason save for appearances. the sooper expensive copper actual includes a literal silver lining for even better conductivity. the qualities o' cookware is also gonna be dependent on your burner-type. for example, electric and non-induction hops/burners is gonna nullify some o' the benefits o' high-end cookware anyways and is why we initial asked 'bout your cooking surface. HA! Good Fun!

bad math. bill clinton only left office in 2001. 'course for @Guard Dog, woodrow wilson would be the most likely bearer o' the potus antichrist title, with the rest getting no more than a collective, "they are all bad." personal, am thinking calvin coolidge, donald trump, james buchanan, william harrison, thomas jefferson and andrew jackson deserve mention way before regan. btw, is more than a few o' our scholarly indian acquaintances who insist abraham lincoln and ulysses s. grant is among the most vile holders o' the potus office, and is tough to argue they is wrong if you look at the situation through a lens colored by the indigenous people's experience. every generation o' young americans needs a potus antichrist. from a european or canadian pov, am suspecting every post woodrow wilson potus (lending some credence to guard dog's position btw) has had the antichrist label hung on them for a time by some significant number... though obama benefits from a curious get out of jail free pass from all too many euros and kandians. HA! Good Fun!

@Guard Dogam a big fan o' cast iron cookware, and the enameled choices is not particular high maintenance. unfortunate, is a whole lotta terrible enameled iron. ironic, am also thinking some o' the problem with naked cast iron is people put in too much maintenance. the urge to clean is good, but cast iron don't want you to scrub and it dislikes anything but most minimal soap. this is why we got a dedicated fish pan. the fish gets into the carbon surface and stays there until you cook something else... multiple something elses and at high temps to boot. so, we got a dedicated 10" cast iron skillet which we use for cooking fish on our outdoor grill. am knowing folks who literal have special cast iron pans which they will only cook a single dish and they has done so for decades. am not quite so finicky so yeah, every year or so we do need season the non enameled skillets, but otherwise, is not too bad. ... hadn't really considered previous, but particular considering @Bartimaeus concerns, am suspecting a good litmus test for a non-stick pan is to check and see if it is induction capable. if you got a meaningful stainless steel base, is gonna work with induction. am suspecting is uncommon a terrible nonstick pan is gonna have a stainless steel base. HA! Good Fun!

observations: is best not to go super expensive 'cause even the best non-stick pan is gonna wear out in a few years (as such, buying a set o' non-stick is kinda silly. choose a couple pieces you know you will need replace.) ceramic actual wears out quicker go above medium or medium-high is verboten even in 2022 you are gonna want a durable reinforced stainless steel base to avoid the warping which annoys bartimaeus HA! Good Fun!

well, there were some kinda brainfart with this. simple breakdown: for nonstick am recommending the aforementioned zwilling (madura or forte). for cast iron, we recommend lodge. for stainless steel, made in is our first choice, but all clad and misen (5-ply for both brands) is comparable and as we noted, our 3-ply all clad is more than satisfactory. side note: have seen misen sets, which is already reasonable priced, offered shocking cheap, particular during the holidays. we rare want sets which invariably include items we will never use, but if you are willing to be patient, is likely you find a nice misen deal at some point. costco also does all-clad deals from time-to-time, but is ordinarily the large sets which is having special deals and we never need a full set these days. HA! Good Fun! ps misen cookware is made in china, so...

t-fal (tefal not US) is subject to the warping bartimeaus references. HA! Good Fun!

what do you want? non-stick? pretty? stainless steel? what is your cooking surface? a cast iron pan, properly seasoned, will cover most needs save eggs. cast iron is oven safe and a lodge cast iron skillet is extreme cheap and will outlive you if proper care is practiced. a cast iron enameled dutch oven (the 7.5 qt doubles as a stock pot) and braiser is also less than obvious workhorses which will handle most needs, are oven safe, distribute heat like a dream and is durable. 'course they is heavy, which is also part o' what makes 'em such effective cooking implements. with a cast iron skillet, braiser and large dutch oven, add a non-stick pan or two and most o' your cooking needs is gonna be covered. you may buy lodge for 1/3 to 1/4 o' le creuset but the difference in quality is not extreme. for most stuff not in the cast iron or non stick we use made in, but is not a great value pick. more reasonable, for non-stick, am gonna admit we love these: https://www.zwilling.com/us/zwilling/cookware/madura-plus/ these pans is heavy and durable. am s'posing if we didn't have our made in pots and pans we would go all clad or misen for any nonstick needs. we also have a bunch o' 3-ply all clad, and have little room for complaint, but our made in is the gear we use nowadays. HA! Good Fun! ps carbon steel is kinda the new thing and am admitted curious, but we got little personal experience with decent carbon steel cookware.

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one thing to clear up is the misunderstanding 'bout J. Alito comments. have already commented we do not share Alito's faith in a history and tradition analysis, but is nothing inherent political 'bout it save how in practice it inevitably favours conservative interests. interpret a law is the role o' a Justice, and what objective measures is there for doing so? to question the traditions and history o' a law to give words meaning when the law were penned? tradition and history leading up to 1791 and 1868 is gonna necessarily exclude a whole lotta people, nevertheless, is not inherent political to decide such is a good approach to interpreting laws. Alito has been consistent with this nonsense and we got a low opinion for his legal and history scholarship, but am thinking is self serving o' liberals to dismiss Alito opinions as political motivated. oh, and so is clear, am most assured not an Alito supporter, mcconnell comments as you note is staking out a an irrefutable fact followed by a functional impossibility sans change to filibuster, a change am suspecting he would avoid even if republicans gain control o' the senate just so republicans would have an excuse as to why in spite o' their best efforts, they could not create a national ban on abortion. is the same kinda political strategy which went into the faux fight v. roe which has existed for five decades. and fair enough on ted cruz, but he is a senator from texas, so his constituency is the folks who created the heretofore improbable bounty scheme which gave private citizens the right to sue those individuals who aided in abortion. however, ted is most assured not a doofus even if he inexplicable shows he has limited people skills and an utter contempt for those he s'posed represents. ted cruz is arguable a superior legal authority than at least four o' the Justices current sitting on the Court and only two is clear outta his league. he wears cowboy boots and says stuff which resonates with the qanon and maga crowd. he is also as mercenary as mitch mcconnell with having the skill to pull off the machinations, but is only a handful o' people in Congress with as big a brain as ted cruz. HA! Good Fun!

we poach eggs frequent in part thanks to the bag hack. makes easier particular if am doing many at one time. for large numbers, we use different colored twist ties on the bags so we know the order in which our eggs went in the pot. we should learn a blender approach for hollandaise, but the reason we don't learn is literal 'cause we enjoy hollandaise too much. we got a glass bowl which works ideal as a jerry-rigged double boiler over one o' our sauce pans and we has become quite adept at hollandaise, but is nevertheless a bit more time consuming and finicky than the fool-proof blender methods we has seen recommended. problem is we would likely have hollandaise on something at least once a week if were ez to make in our blender. am recollecting shady is not a personal fan o' eggs, so is nice you did the eggs benedict for the missus. HA! Good Fun!

hard to believe the rock n' roll hall o' fame continues to snub pat benatar. shameful. converse, how many people here may name a paul butterfield blues band tune... other than Gromnir? heck, elvin bishop goes into the hall of fame in 2016 a year after the paul butterfield blues band which he were a member. am kinda a fan o' paul butterfield (harmonica) and elvin bishop (guitar) but even we can't explain how they get a hall o' fame nod and pat benatar does not. HA! Good Fun!

not sure where the disconnect is. first, don't confuse gop goals with the motives o' Justices or legal scholars opposed to roe. sure there is overlap, but not in the way you likely believe. roe is a particular noteworthy example 'cause as has been stated previous, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, previous to becoming a Justice, were public critical o' roe. lawrence tribe, perhaps the most recognized Constitutional law scholar in the country, and a liberal firebrand nowadays, were excoriating the reasoning o' the roe majority and concurrences in the decade after it were decided. legal philosophy is not same as party affiliation... which is why justice thomas' fall has been so disappointing. most Justices don't give a fig for politics, at least not where it conflicts with their legal philosophy. also, as we noted already, republicans is not monolithic. mitch mcconnell did not want a real roe fight, even if he deserves as much credit for making the overturning o' roe possible as any Justice. mitch still won't talk 'bout the implications o' roe. what is ted cruz talking 'bout today? the leak. again, 'cause may have gone unnoticed, polls show americans as a whole is overwhelming in favour o' maintaining roe, and mitch and other republicans concerned with winning back Congress and the Presidency is as aware o' that fact as anybody. sure, to keep the evangelicals happy, folks who has shown in the past they has questionable party loyalty, mitch and other national republicans put on a good show o' fighting for the demise o' roe, but killing roe is bad politics given the fact it galvanizes typical torpid democrats (as trump's mishandling o' covid did) and recognizing that near 50% o' republicans in fact support some kinda right to abortion. 'course the 50/50 split is not a thing in many red states, which is why we specific observed national republicans were having a different pov o' roe compared to those in states such as texas and louisiana. yeah, we has noted how 'cause o' our curious republican system o' democracy functions, the far-right has gained increasing and disproportionate influence in the gop. american politics as a whole has become increasing polarized in the last decade. the republican party has struggled with keeping working class whites, but trump came along and changed the dynamic. the one signature legislative effort passed during the trump administration were a tax cut which largely benefited the rich. nevertheless, when republican leaders criticized trump for january 6 on the days following the insurrection, the following happened: the thing is, is doubtful much more than half o' those folks calling graham a traitor wanted roe overturned. polls suggest is ~50%. again, so is clear, am not suggesting all republicans are disappointed by the prospect o' roe being overturned. particular for catholics and evangelicals who is convinced abortion represents mass murder on a scale measured in the thousands, overturning roe were a deadly serious issue and they will continue to fight in every state to undermine abortion protections. the thing is, other than a couple notable examples such as J. kavanaugh, thomas, and J. sotomayor, politics is a tertiary concern at best. and nationally, is no battle republicans wanna be embroiled when they maybe have 50% o' their own party supporting and democrats overwhelming oppose. is not good politics. heck, even joe rogan expressed his support for a woman's right to choose, although he clear weren't educated as to what the right actual entails. nevertheless, rogan's curious brand o' politics resonates with a whole lotta young and male republicans, more so than does mitch mcconnell or marjorie taylor greene. republicans are divided on roe. is why it is not an issue most national republicans want to fight. edit to avoid a double-post: while this kinda protest, as long as it stays on public streets and remains non-violent, is perfect legal, it is nevertheless unfortunate. the polarization o' national politics has brought us back to the bad old days o' the 1920s or 1850s. no doubt many believe J. Kavanaugh deserves this treatment, but consider your reaction if a maga crowd were protesting outside the home o' aoc or J. Sotomayor. HA! Good Fun! ps so it is clear, as much as am thinking most republicans have not wanted a real abortion fight, and they most definite don't want it to be a defining issue in the upcoming midterms, am thinking it is too late to take a more moderate stance. roe being overturned means the gop politicians needs pick a side and is gonna be impossible to sudden go pro choice after public advocating pro life.

After the leaked Roe opinion, Justice Thomas says the Supreme Court can't be bullied "We are becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don't like," Thomas said. ... Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show The messages, which do not directly reference Justice Thomas or the Supreme Court, show for the first time how Ginni Thomas used her access to Trump’s inner circle to promote and seek to guide the president’s strategy to overturn the election results — and how receptive and grateful Meadows said he was to receive her advice. Among Thomas’s stated goals in the messages was for lawyer Sidney Powell, who promoted incendiary and unsupported claims about the election, to be “the lead and the face” of Trump’s legal team. Legal Scholars Are Shocked By Ginni Thomas’s “Stop the Steal” Texts Richard Hasen, an expert in election law who teaches at the University of California, Irvine, also believes that Justice Thomas should never have participated in the case weighing whether Congress had the right to review Trump’s papers. Hasen told me, “Given Ginni Thomas’s deep involvement in trying to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election based upon outlandish claims of voter fraud, and her work on this with not only activists but the former President’s chief of staff, Justice Thomas should not have heard any cases” involving disputes over the 2020 election or Congress’s investigation of the January 6th riots. It has now become clear, Hasen said, that “his spouse’s reputation, and even potential liability, is at stake.” is it possible justice thomas don't realize his comments would at best ring hollow given his wife's involvement in the Stop The Steal movement? regardless, the bullying thomas believes is current directed at The Court in the wake o' alito's leaked opinion is precise the kinda political free speech even his narrow reading o' the First Amendment is designed to protect. but perhaps we missed the hundreds and thousands o' roe supporters who stormed the United States Supreme Court building in a bid to prevent the draft opinion from becoming a final ruling? our opinion o' justice thomas has been complete altered these last couple o' years. pre 2016-17 thomas had earned our grudging respect for his role as a consistent and principled judge if not his skill as a justice o' The Court. 2022 thomas leaves us with feelings o' mild disgust given his new role as a partisan creature who obvious has no sense o' self awareness. HA! Good Fun!

since 2019, crime has increased in the US regardless o' whether is democrat or republican jurisdictions, so a bit o' the conservative wailing 'bout crime in california or democrat run cities is misleading. fbi and other law enforcement agencies predicted a pandemic related upturn in crime, so... duh. that being said, the post floyd responses by municipalities to address law enforcement concerns has exacerbated issues in a few burgs 'round the nation. expected post pandemic increases coupled with inefficiency due to changing policies and personnel is a double hit. as often as not, the changes made by cities were warranted and overdue, but is not ez to sell unavoidable costs of change... which is precise why meaningful change is so rare in politics. have linked articles in the past o' this thread showing how efforts to restructure law enforcement is not a one-year exercise but more a long-term goal. is ez to blame on defund (fox news exploits every opportunity to do so) but perhaps the biggest reason for more crime is inevitable resistance from police and their unions to change, at times requiring near complete change in personnel. those d-bag cops who contributed to the culture o' casual violence which resulted in the death o' george floyd (and the countless episodes o' excessive violence short o' homicide levels not captured by a bystander with a phone) become angry and indignant when is suggested that changes is warranted and all too often they decide en masse decide to quit or they silent protest by refusing to get outta their vehicles and actual do their jobs... is easier to ride out a a few years 'til they hit their 20. even before floyd, what happened in baltimore post freddie gray (2015) is illustrative o' obstacles facing a department attempting to bring change to law enforcement. 'course if you live somewhere which is seeing crime rates rise, being told things will get better, maybe better, in a couple years after they get worse is hardly reassuring news and a less than popular pitch for a politician. ny rejected progressive and principled candidates and instead chose a doofus for mayor, a tough-on-crime doofus. not a surprise and democrats nationwide need take notice. HA! Good Fun! ps keep in mind am not suggesting all cops is bad. am knowing such is a popular position on this board, but am not one o' those people.

recent reads we would recommend: At a shameful detention camp, an improbable football team Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924-1965 disappointed with the following: Empire of Guns: The Violent Making of the Industrial Revolution a hard read with little payoff HA! Good Fun!