1/ Florida really has the Governor it deserves.......what a scumbag.....will NOT admit he's wrong....
In the two years since Ron DeSantis signed legislation sparking a tidal wave of book-banning in Florida’s classrooms, the Republican governor has blamed the ensuing chaos on a succession of foils – including teachers, librarians, the news media and political opponents.
Now, another group has joined those in his crosshairs: school principals. A proposed new rule by an education standards committee led by a DeSantis loyalist seeks to impose penalties on administrators deemed to have obstructed the state’s view of what students should be reading.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/12/ron-desantis-florida-book-bans-backlash-analysis
2/ Of course they did!
The SNL cold open was the SOTU and Republican response, and it's wonderful....with a very special guest star playing Katie Britt.....
3/ For a conservative commentary on SOTU, you can't get better than Andrew Sullivan.....
Yes, he did. That’s the core headline. Biden had to convince the American public, and to some extent the world, that he retains the vigor and marbles of his former self. And this he largely accomplished.
He still looks very old though. The first thought I had watching him emerge into the House was that he looks less like Biden than someone wearing a Biden Halloween mask. The features are all there in some kind of uncanny valley, buoyed by fillers, stretched by Botox into a mask whose weirdness hovers somewhere between Joan Rivers and John Kerry, the pure black raisin-eyes peering from within the carved carapace of what was once a face. The Botox is so severe that he has a habit of looking and listening to someone without any measurable change in expression, as if frozen until his mouth can prove he’s not a mannequin. That gives him the open-mouthed squint expression that makes him seem angry at something and yet clueless about why at the same time.
4/ The Republican response to Biden's SOTU was Alabama Senator Katie Britt, and it was
an unmitigated disaster...he he he....
Katie Britt’s Republican response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address drew reactions ranging from the baffled to the satirical to the appalled, even among fellow rightwingers.
“What the hell am I watching right now?” an unnamed Trump adviser toldRolling Stone.
“It’s one of our biggest disasters ever,” another unnamed Republican strategist told the Daily Beast.
Delivering the official State of the Union response can be a thankless task, as the former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal and the Florida senator Marco Rubio, deliverers of previously panned speeches, would ruefully attest.
5/ Tom Tomorrow - over and over and over.....
6/ Bob Lefsetz watched SOTU.....
I normally don’t watch it. But I was on my iPad just as it was beginning and watched the video on the “Wall Street Journal” app while I skimmed the Apple News.
And I was impressed. With what Biden was saying, as well as his sense of humor.
But then he was heckled by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Now in light of Trump, commentators have reached back in history, to the 1800s, to point out similar craziness.
I wasn’t alive back then, and neither was Biden. And I lived through the sixties, and I protested, but my parents taught me how to behave, how to have respect, or to not show up at all. Everyone has their turn, let the other speak and then you’ll get your chance. But if you keep shouting out while another person speaks it devolves into chaos, and the people watching the shenanigans wonder where you’re coming from, who you are, what your motivation is.
https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2024/03/07/the-state-of-the-union-3/
7/ Somewhere in an alternate universe.....
8/ Think we had a warm winter? Yup, we did......
The US has just experienced its hottest ever winter, with record-breaking temperatures driving away snow and ice and causing the coldest months to feel bizarrely balmy in many parts of the country.
9/ How EV's have gone wrong.....[or will soon]....
10/ Thomas Friedman in the Times on a shadow conflict we are engaged in with Iran.....interesting.....
it's often been said that the most dangerous hot spot in the world is the waterway between Taiwan and mainland China, where the Chinese Navy and Air Force flex their muscles every day to try to intimidate Taiwan — while the U.S. Navy patrols nearby. I wonder. There is actually a stable balance of deterrence there right now. You could hold a friendly regatta in the Taiwan Straits compared to where I just visited.
I spent two days last week hopscotching in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter among seven U.S. military bases in western Jordan and eastern Syria with America’s senior Middle East Centcom commander, Gen. Michael Kurilla. There is no equilibrium here. What you have, instead, is the other Middle East war that began shortly after the tragic Israel-Hamas war that broke out on Oct. 7.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/05/opinion/biden-iran-middle-east.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
12/ The quiet way low wage workers are exploited in the country....a disgusting story, squeeze squeeze.....
Back in 2018, with an eye to writing a novel about low-wage work in America, I got a job at a big-box store near the Catskills in New York, where I live. I was on the team that unloaded the truck of new merchandise each day at 4 a.m.
We were supposed to empty the truck in under an hour. Given how little we made — I was paid $12.25 an hour, which I was told was the standard starting pay — I was surprised how much my co-workers cared about making the unload time. They took a kind of bitter pride in their efficiency, and it rubbed off on me. I dreaded making a mistake that would slow us down as we worked together to get 1,500 to 2,500 boxes off the truck and sorted onto pallets each morning. When the last box rolled out of the truck, we would spread out in groups of two or three for the rest of our four-hour shift and shelve the items from the boxes we just unloaded.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/19/opinion/part-time-workers-usa.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
13/ Weekend Update #1.....very, very good!
14/. This really sounds like it might be true.....Russia and Saudi Arabia will make gas
prices balloon in September to affect the election....
Have you noticed gas prices are rising? Get ready: you ain’t seen nothing yet.
The bloodthirsty leader of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia loves his dictatorial soul-mate Donald Trump and is today setting the stage to intervene in November’s election in a big way, much like he did with a smaller test run during the fall of 2022 when he drove US gas prices up above $5, forcing President Biden to release oil from the US strategic petroleum reserve.
As Stanley Reed reported for the Business pages of The New York Times three days ago:
“Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Sunday that it would extend [their one-million-barrels-a-day] cuts in oil production through June, noting that it was acting ‘in coordination with some’ other states.”
That “other state” would be their OPEC+ partner Russia, which also announced last weekend a simultaneous production cut of 471,000 barrels a day. Putin wants Trump back in the White House, too.
15/. Jon Stewart is human......keep a dry eye watching this tribute to "Dipper".
16/. So who posted Trump's $91 million bond? Chubb security on behalf of ?????......
17/. How to pack for a two week trip.....
Ask any frequent traveler their rules for a trip, and you’ll likely hear the same advice: Never check a bag. Carry-on only. But fitting everything you need, especially for a longer stay, into one small suitcase and one handbag or backpack requires some ingenuity: The maximum dimensions for luggage going into most overhead bins are 22 by 14 by 9 inches, and though the majority of domestic flights don’t have — or at least don’t enforce — weight limits, some international and trans-Pacific flights do (certain Delta flights to Asia, for example, have a limit of 22 pounds, while Hawaiian Airlines’s maximum is 25 pounds). The payoff, if you do get it right: quicker airport experiences that don’t involve the risk of lost luggage and, upon arrival, fewer decisions about
18/. Michael Che gets the treatment from a ....pregnant stingray? Amusing....
19/. Only in Alabama.....
20/. The Times picks the best movies on Amazon....
As Netflix pours more of its resources into original content, Amazon Prime Video is picking up the slack, adding new movies for its subscribers each month. Its catalog has grown so impressive, in fact, that it’s a bit overwhelming — and at the same time, movies that are included with a Prime subscription regularly change status, becoming available only for rental or purchase. It’s a lot to sift through, so we’ve plucked out 100 of the absolute best movies included with a Prime subscription right now, to be updated as new information is made available.
21/. Amusing.....and true!
22/. Dune #2 - an amazing movie.....
T
he second part of Denis Villeneuve’s monumental Dune adaptation lands with a sternum-juddering crash; it’s another shroom of a film, an epic sci-fi hallucination whose images speak of fascism and imperialism, of guerrilla resistance and romance. Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel – working with co-writer Jon Spaihts – draws on David Lean, George Lucas and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator in the (perhaps inevitable) mega-stadium combat scene with the tiny billions of CGI crowds in the bleachers. But he really has made it all his own: secular political cruelty meets Indigenous people’s struggle in those vast mysterious planetscapes. The sound design throbs and drones in this film’s bloodstream, lending a queasy frisson to its extraordinary visual spectacle and the recurrent horror-fetish BDSM chic which appears to govern so much intergalactic-wrongdoer style.
23/. This sounds like a must see - "Mary And George", coming in April.....Julianne Moore too!
Note this is the first five star review I have ever seen from the Guardian....
F
or those of us who have gazed at our children and thought, “Miraculous fruit of my loins, blood of my blood, bone of my bone – how can I best monetise you?” Ladies, we have our answer. Mary Villiers, played with gorgeous relish by Julianne Moore, is here to show us the way.Mary & George is the tale of the former – born into 17th-century social nothingness – who uses the latter, her preternaturally handsome second son (played beautifully in all senses by Nicholas Galitzine), to secure the family fortunes in the most gloriously audacious manner. Based on The King’s Assassin, Benjamin Woolley’s nonfiction account of a family that makes the Borgias look like the Waltons, and written by DC Moore (Temple, Killing Eve), it is more fun than I can possibly tell you. It has the narrative rigour of The Favourite, the disciplined panache of The Great, just a dash of The Tudors’ excess and enough sex to keep Bridgerton fans happy too. This is a great combination.
Today's sexy joke
An Italian man said, "Last week, my wife and I had great sex.
I rubbed her body all over with olive oil, we made passionate love, and she screamed for five full minutes at the end."
The Frenchman boasted, "Last week when my wife and I had sex, I rubbed her body all over wiz butter.
We zen made passionate love and she screamed for fifteen minutes."
The Jewish man said, "Well, last week my wife and I also had sex.
I rubbed her body all over with schmaltz.
We made love, and she screamed for over six hours." The other two were stunned.
The amazed Frenchman asked, "What could you have possibly done to make your wife scream for six hours?"
Said the Jewish man, "I wiped my hands on the bedspread."
Today's Europe joke
Bob Hill and his new wife Betty were vacationing in Europe.. Oh by the way did I tell you they were vacationing in Europe?
Bob Hill and his new wife Betty were vacationing in Europe... as it happens, near Transylvania .
They were driving in a rental car along a rather deserted highway.
It was late and raining very hard. Bob could barely see the road in front of the car.
Suddenly the car skids out of control! Bob attempts to control the car, but to no avail!
The car swerves and smashes into a tree.
Moments later, Bob shakes his head to clear the fog.
Dazed, he looks over at the passenger seat and sees his wife unconscious, with her head bleeding!
Despite the rain and unfamiliar countryside, Bob knows he has to get her medical assistance.
Bob carefully picks his wife up and begins trudging down the road.
After a short while, he sees a light.
He heads towards the light, which is coming from a large, old house.
He approaches the door and knocks.
A minute passes. A small, hunched man opens the door.
Bob immediately blurts, "Hello, my name is Bob Hill, and this is my wife Betty.
We've been in a terrible accident, and my wife has been seriously hurt. Can I please use your phone?"
"I'm sorry," replied the hunchback, "but we don't have a phone.
My master is a doctor; come in and I will get him!"
An older man comes down the stairs.
"I'm afraid my assistant may have misled you.
I am not a medical doctor; I am a scientist.. However, it is many miles to the nearest clinic, and I have had a basic medical training.
I will see what I can do. Igor, bring them down to the laboratory."
With that, Igor picks up Betty and carries her downstairs, with Bob following closely.
Igor places Betty on a table in the lab.
Bob collapses from exhaustion and his own injuries, so Igor places Bob on an adjoining table.
After a brief examination, Igor's master looks worried.
"Things are serious, Igor. Prepare a transfusion."
Igor and his master work feverishly, but to no avail. Bob and Betty Hill are no more.
The Hills' deaths upset Igor's master greatly.
Wearily, he climbs the steps to his conservatory, which houses his grand piano.
For it is here that he has always found solace.
He begins to play, and a stirring, almost haunting melody fills the house.
Meanwhile, Igor is still in the lab tidying up.
His eyes catch movement, and he notices the fingers on Betty's hand twitch, keeping time to the haunting piano music..
Stunned, he watches as Bob's arm begins to rise, marking the beat!
He is further amazed as Betty and Bob both sit up straight!
Unable to contain himself, he dashes up the stairs to the conservatory.
He bursts in and shouts to his master:
"Master, Master! ..... The Hills are alive with the sound of music!"
Today's joke you won't hate me for, like the last one....
A nice, calm, and respectable lady went into the pharmacy, walked up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his eyes, and said, “I would like to buy some cyanide.” The pharmacist asked, “Why in the world do you need cyanide?”
The lady replied, “I need it to poison my husband.”
The pharmacist’s eyes got big and he exclaimed, “Lord have mercy! I can’t give you cyanide to kill your husband. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cyanide!”
The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist’s wife.
The pharmacist looked at the picture and said,
“You didn’t tell me you had a prescription.”
Today's work joke
An employee is absent.
The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent without giving any prior notice.
Needing to have an urgent work problem resolved, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted by a child's whispered, "Hello."
"Is your Daddy home?" he asked.
"Yes," whispered the little voice.
The child whispered, "No."
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"
Again the small voice whispered, "No."
Hoping there was someone with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anyone else there?"
"Yes," whispered the child, "A policeman."
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"
"No, he's busy," whispered the child.
"Talking to Mommy and Daddy and the neighbours," came the whispered answer.
Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"A helicopter," answered the whispering voice.
"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, "The search team just landed a helicopter."
Alarmed, confused, and a little frustrated, the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"
Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle..."Me!"
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