Ready or not, it’s coming. Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images
It seems almost certain that the new Omicron COVID variant will soon become dominant in the United States. And though it is not yet clear just how much severe illness that will cause, it is also not at all clear what tools we have left at this point in the pandemic to really slow transmission and lessen the impact of the coming wave.
2/ Kelloggs, the horrible cereal company, skewered.....
3/. Chauncey DeVega in Salon with the premise democracy is in a doom loop. It sure seems that way, doesn't it.....
Dems seem paralysed by fear....
America is trapped in a democracy doom loop. Neofascism is ascendant. A form of path dependency is setting in, whereby at almost every key decision point Democratic leadership, the country's elites as a group, the press and even the American people as a whole are making the wrong choices.
4/. The SNL cold open, with Kate McKinnon back as Dr. Faici - pretty good, an amusing 6 minutes....
5/. Andrew Sullivan shreds the media theory that all "black and brown" people think the same and all vote Democratic come what may....
Good article.........
Of all the acronyms, euphemisms and sophisms pioneered by critical theory, one of the most revealing is the term “black and brown people.” You hear it all the time now. Whether it’s about “the lack of Black and brown representation in Hollywood,” vaccine hesitancy in “Black and brown neighborhoods in large cities,” the right to vote for “Black and brown people,” or “allyship between Black and brown people,” the “B&b” formula is now yet another ubiquitous media virtue-signal.
6/. SNl's "living Christmas Cards" - very good, five minutes....
7/. If you get Heather Cox Richardson's newsletter you will have seen this most disturbing post, giving a historic perspective of what the Supreme Court is really up to. The extreme right wing Justices want to get our society governed by an "originalist" view of the Constitution, which will basically destroy our civil rights.
An important, serious and eye opening article.
Today, in Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, the Supreme Court undermined the federal protection of civil rights that has shaped our world since the 1950s.
The case asked whether opponents of Texas’s S.B. 8, the so-called Heartbeat Bill, could bring a federal case to block the law, which gets around normal challenges by putting private individuals, rather than the state itself, in charge of enforcing it. By a vote of 5 to 4, the court said they could sue, but it limited that ability so severely that the law itself will remain largely intact.
8/. Weekend Update #1 - the lads are in a strange mood this week.....but it's always good - 4 minutes....
Weekend Update #2 - 2 minutes....
9/. Bob Lefsetz with a ray of hope in this era of political gloom.....is Gavin Newsom our best chance?
“In Response to Texas abortion ban, Newsom calls for similar restrictions on assault weapons”: https://lat.ms/3yiFIaF
This is how you run for President.
Two can play this game. For decades the Republicans have been defining the game, with the Democrats too afraid to take action, for fear of alienating some centrist defector who is never coming back to the party anyway. Biden wanted kumbaya with the opposing party and all he ended up with was wasted time and anemic poll numbers. Because it’s no longer business as usual in the U.S. anymore, it’s WAR!
10/. Brian Williams' final monologue....
11/. Loudoun County Virginia was the center of the rout that made Youngkin Governor over McAuliffe.....and everything the media told you
about why the Democrats lost is BS.
Matt Taibbi has written a 4 part series of investigative journalism on how our media distorts everything.....
Very interesting indeed, and I guarantee you will read facts you haven't seen before
Part 1 - Loudoun County....
Part One: “The Inconvenient Minority.”
November 2, 2021, Election night, town of Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia. Thanks to a years-long media furor over what one former school official here described through a fatalistic laugh as “all the things,” this wealthy northern Virginia county is ground zero of the American culture war tonight. The nation’s most-watched race this evening is a fight for the Virginia governor’s office between a favored Democrat, longtime Bill and Hillary Clinton aide and oft-flummoxed oratorial liability Terry McAuliffe, and the Republican underdog, an aw-shucks private equity vampire turned earnest education advocate named Glenn Youngkin.
12/. SNL's parody of the idiocy of TikTok.....four fast minutes....
13/. Frank Bruni on how Democrats are their own worst enemies.....
The other day, something extraordinary happened. I went six hours — maybe even seven — without seeing anything on the internet about what a disaster Kamala Harris is.
I must have been haunting the wrong sites. I’d clearly failed to check in with Twitter.
14/. And a more forceful story on the same lines.....Democrats have awful friends in the media....
America got some very good news this week, with the Labor Department reporting that it's seeing the lowest jobless claims since 1969. In a functioning political system, this good news would translate into praise for the Democrats and their leader, President Joe Biden. But this is not a functioning political system. The Democrats have awful friends. They minimize or ignore the party's accomplishments. They amplify the party's flaws while minimizing the flaws of their opponents.
15/. This is the trailer for "Some Kind Of Heaven", a documentary about The Villages produced by Darren Aranofsky.
It's available on Hulu for free, and you can get it on Amazon for $4.99...
A review by Roger Ebert.....
16/. Trailer for the "Matrix Resurrections".....looks amazing, hope it is!
Coming in December....
17/. Like sci-fi? This looks pretty good! "Station Eleven" on HBO....
The timing of HBO Max’s Station Eleven is either unfortunate or spectacular, depending how you look at it. The 10-part adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel’s acclaimed novel, about the aftermath of a flu pandemic that wipes out most of humanity, arrives while we are still fretting about the impact each new Covid variant will have on our lives. Many viewers may simply not have the tolerance for scenes where people cough in public spaces, hoard supplies, or debate the efficacy of masks against an airborne plague.
Today's video - mainly for guys, but ladies if you are interested in detail this is super intricate......
Rube Goldberg would have been proud of these people....
http://twistedsifter.com/videos/magnet-and-marble-rube-goldberg-machine-by-kaplamino/
Today's Obituary joke
Anyone who has had to write an obituary for a loved one knows how challenging it can be.Here it one in its entirety:
He assures us he is gone
William Ziegler escaped this mortal realm on Friday, July 29, 2016 at the age of 69.
We think he did it on purpose to avoid having to make a decision in the pending presidential election.
He leaves behind four children, five grandchildren, and the potted meat industry, for which he was an unofficial spokesman until dietary restrictions forced him to eat real food.
William volunteered for service in the United States Navy at the ripe old age of 17 and immediately realized he didn’t much enjoy being bossed around. He only stuck it out for one war.
Before his discharge, however, the government exchanged numerous ribbons and medals for various honorable acts.
Upon his return to the City of New Orleans in 1971, thinking it best to keep an eye on him, government officials hired William as a fireman.
After twenty-five years, he suddenly realized that running away from burning buildings made more sense than running toward them. He promptly retired.
Looking back, William stated that there was no better group of morons and mental patients than those he had the privilege of serving with (except Bob, he never liked you, Bob).
Following his wishes, there will not be a service, but wellwishers are encouraged to write a note of farewell on a Schaefer Light beer can and drink it in his honor.
He was never one for sentiment or religiosity, but he wanted you to know that if he owes you a beer, and if you can find him in Heaven, he will gladly allow you to buy him another.
He can likely be found forwarding tasteless internet jokes (check your spam folder, but don’t open these at work). Expect to find an alcoholic dog named Judge passed out at his feet. Unlike previous times, this is not a ploy to avoid creditors or old girlfriends. He assures us that he is gone. He will be greatly missed.
Today's 5 undeniable facts joke
A wise person once said
1. We all love to spend money buying new clothes but we never realize
that the best moments in life are enjoyed without clothes.
2. Having a cold drink on hot day with a few friends is nice, but
having a hot friend on a cold night after a few drinks - PRICELESS.
3. Breaking News: Condoms don't guarantee safe sex anymore. A friend
of mine was wearing one when he was shot dead by the woman's husband.
4. Arguing over a girl's bust size is like choosing between Molson,
Heineken, Carlsberg, & Budweiser. Men may state their preferences,
but will grab whatever is available.
AND...
5. I haven't verified this on Snopes, but it sounds legit --- A recent
study found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer
than the men who mention it.
Today's philosophical jokes....
Every box of raisins is a tragic tale of grapes that could have been wine
Theme parks can snap a crystal-clear picture of you on a roller coaster going 70 mph, but bank cameras can't get a clear shot of a robber standing still.
Someone posted that they had just made synonym buns. I replied, "you mean just like the ones that grammar used to make?" I am now blocked.
Dear paranoid people who check behind their shower curtains for murderers .. if you do find one, what's your plan?
The more I get to know people, the more I realize why Noah only let animals on the boat.
Facial recognition software can pick a person out of a crowd but the vending machine at work can't recognize a dollar bill with a bent corner.
When all this pandemic stuff is over, I still plan to wear a mask. It hides the perpetual look of annoyance I have for most people.
I never make the same mistake twice. I do it like, five or six times, you know, to make sure.
Someone just honked to get me out of my parking space faster. so now I just have to sit here until both of us are dead.
My train of thought derailed. There were no survivors.
If you see someone buying candy, popcorn, and a soda at the movies, they are a drug dealer. There's no other explanation for that type of income
After a year of this pandemic, I'm either going out for ice cream or to commit a felony. I'll decide in the car.
I know it's time to clean out my purse when my car assumes it's an extra passenger who isn't wearing a seat belt.
Do not vaccinate health care workers first. If it fails, we're all in trouble. Vaccinate the politicians first. If we lose a few of them, it won't matter.
In the 1980s I fell off my bike and hurt my knee. I'm telling you this now because we didn't have social media then.
Some people seem to have aged like fine wine. I aged like milk ... I got sour and chunky.
Dear Sneeze: If you're going to happen, happen. Don't just put a stupid look on my face and then leave.
Vegetarians live up to nine years longer than meat-eaters. Nine horrible, worthless, baconless years...
We all know Albert Einstein was a genius. but his brother Frank was a monster.
