Friday, October 20, 2023

Pumpkins!

 





 

28 comments:

  1. One year we grew some great big pumpkins--way too big to carry; had to roll them to where we carved them into jack-o-lanterns. Good fun.
    ----Alan

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  2. {listener}

    Product Warning: Late Thursday afternoon, I got the high dose flu shot they give to seniors. Now I’m sitting up with nausea.
    Wil got his shot Tuesday with no ill effects at all, so I wasn’t expecting this.
    Anyone else have negative effects?

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    Replies
    1. Not here; that sounds strange to me as a side effect of vaccination.
      ----Alan

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    2. {listener}
      Actually, nausea is on the list of possible side effects.

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  3. Why are bed bugs so difficult to deal with? [Click] Evolution of resistance to pyrethoid insecticides. A new fungal insecticide has been developed. I wonder if they might be lured to their deaths by something that emits carbon dioxide— like dry ice, say.
    —Alan

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  4. Rolling Stone: Team Trump Never Dreamed Sidney Powell Would Flip on Them [Click] “She was the ultimate MAGA conspiracy theorist. Then she got charged with being part of a criminal conspiracy, and her tune started to change”
    —Alan

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  5. Replies
    1. The Navy Criminal Investigation Service has had some shocking scandals in recent times; my experiences with them did not leave me impressed. I remember when they tried to pin the gun turret explosion on the Iowa on a supposedly disgruntled gun crew member. I am also reminded of the man in Texas convicted of killing his family by setting fire to their house, based on what later was shown to be junk science. The Imperial Japanese Navy similarly tried to blame the loss of the battleship Mutsu (it was destroyed in port by a magazine explosion) on a disgruntled gun crew member until they decided to just hush the whole thing up, never mind the unstable secondary ammunition or smoke consistent with it burning that was seen before the explosion.
      ---Alan

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  6. House Republicans Dump Jim Jordan
    October 20, 2023 By Taegan Goddard

    Rep. Jim Jordan (R-CO) lost a secret ballot and is no longer the speaker designate for the House Republicans, Punchbowl News reports.
    The vote was 86 in favor of keeping Jordan, 112 in favor of moving on to someone else and 5 voting present.
    Lawmakers are going home for the weekend. Republicans will hold a candidate forum Monday night with another vote for speaker on Tuesday.

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    1. If a Democratic majority did all this, can you imagine the filth and abuse that would be pouring out of Republicans?

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    2. {listener}

      Too true.

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  7. A Party Unfit For Government
    October 20, 2023 By Taegan Goddard

    Andrew Sullivan: “I know you know this, but it’s still vital to remember that a major political party is backing this incoherent, unhinged, fact-free narcissist to be president of the United States. It is therefore no surprise to discover that the same party is completely incapable of forming a stable majority in the House of Representatives because it too is incoherent, divided, unhinged, and narcissistic.”

    “We’ve never had this amount of time without a Speaker in the history of the House. But then we’ve never had a majority party as utterly vacuous as this one.”

    ---Alan

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    1. Historical note: the last Whig Speaker of the House, Howell Cobb, was elected on the 63rd ballot.
      —Alan

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    2. Great! Previews of coming attractions.

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    3. The big difference IMO is that when Cobb was Speaker (1849-51) the US was very far from a great power.
      ---Alan

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  8. Best of luck with your story submission, Bill!

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  9. Trump Fined for Violating Gag Order
    October 20, 2023 By Taegan Goddard

    The judge presiding over the civil fraud trial of Donald Trump fined the former president $5,000 on Friday for violating the terms of a gag order imposed this month, the New York Times reports.
    ---Alan

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    1. Trump Fined $5,000 for Breaking Gag Order by Leaving Abusive Post Online [Click] “Justice Engoron said he had imposed only a “nominal” $5,000 fine because it was Mr. Trump’s first violation and an unintentional error, but he warned that additional infractions would merit harsher punishments.

      “Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions,” Justice Engoron wrote. He said possible punishments included steeper fines, holding Mr. Trump in contempt of court and “possibly imprisoning him.”

      The judge added that, “In the current overheated climate, incendiary untruths can, and in some cases already have, led to serious physical harm, and worse.”

      —Alan

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  10. BREAKING: CHESEBRO REACHES PLEA DEAL IN GEORGIA RICO CASE [Click] Just as jury selection was beginning. This means that the other co-conspirators will not get a preview of how the prosecution will be presenting its case.
    —Alan

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    1. Thanks, Alan. Last I heard, he had not copped a plea. It's good that Trump's lawyers won't get a preview.

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    2. I wonder how many will turn state's evidence before the prosecutors say "Thanks but no thanks, we have all the information we need." Well, we will see.
      ----Alan

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  11. Trump Asks Judge to Pause Gag Order [Click] I have a portrait of Abraham Lincoln that says she won’t.
    —Alan

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    1. She actually did…temporarily…while he makes his appeal. It’s his specialty.

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    2. I am surprised. Abe too.
      ---Alan

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