When Evil Arises in Politics, It's Probably Funded by Koch

That despicable troll is behind a campaign to ensure that more children die of Covid. Oh, of course, they don't put it that way, but that's the result.

They're circulating a template of a letter against mask mandates that is supposedly being put out by some astroturf group called the "Independent Women's Network," which is funded by Charles Koch and a member of another family that is heavily into the propagation of evil, Dick DeVos.

Nothing like a bunch of right-wing batshit rich guys who are using women to push their agendas of disease, polloution, and wrecking the planet for fun and profit.

Caturday

"What, Ma, I'm busy."

Widdle Sammy Alito's Feelings Got Hurt-- Whaaaaaa!

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Thursday defended the Supreme Court’s actions in letting a controversial and restrictive Texas abortion law go into effect, and said criticism of the court’s recent decisions in emergency cases was an attempt to intimidate the justices.

In a speech at the University of Notre Dame, the veteran conservative justice lambasted the use of the term “shadow docket” to describe the emergency applications that come before the court, a process in place for years but which has increased in frequency.

“The catchy and sinister term ‘shadow docket’ has been used to portray the court as having been captured by a dangerous cabal that resorts to sneaky and improper methods to get its ways,” Alito said. “And this portrayal feeds unprecedented efforts to intimidate the court or damage it as an independent institution.”

Awwww, poor Sammy got his feelings hurt by criticism of what the Supremes are doing. Call out the whaabulance!

Here's a suggestion: Grow the fuck up, Sam. This is still a liberal democracy and people have the right to criticise all three branches of government, including Sammy and his co-workers. Maybe he's sensitive because reporters have pointed out that he and his buddies have been using the shadow docket to push the interests of conservative and religious litigants.

If he can't handle the criticism that comes with being a Supreme Court justice, maybe he should find a job where people won't criticise him so much. He could become a professor at some batshit-right-wing school, for example.

Because It's Friday

Clyde's Cider Mill in Stonington, CT, one of the few remaining ones that is still powered by a steam engine:



You'll notice that power is transmitted via overhead pully shafts and large belts:

The opening to the feeding chute was built to 19th Century safety standards:

Apologies to Some Readers

A few comments got caught up in the spam filter and were there for weeks.

I just freed them. If they were yours, my apologies.

Depositing These, Here

Massachusetts Democrats Are Dumber Than a Truckload of Gravel

Massachusetts has banned the purchase of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines within the state since 2004, but after firearms made in the Bay State have been used in multiple mass shootings elsewhere, a group of lawmakers now wants to prevent them from being built here as well.

Several Democrats in the Legislature filed a bill [in April] (HD 4192) that would prohibit Massachusetts companies such as Smith & Wesson, headquartered in Springfield, from manufacturing weapons and devices covered under the existing ban, exempting those that would be sold to law enforcement, the military or foreign governments.

"If we no longer produce and manufacture military-style assault weapons here in Massachusetts and we impact the ability for private citizens to access these weapons, we know there will be fewer mass shootings," said Rep. Marjorie Decker, a Cambridge Democrat and one of the bill's authors. "We know less people will die."

There must be something in the name "Marjorie" that makes politicians so named immune to reality. Apparently, she thinks that if she can get the Commonwealth to make it illegal for S&W to make certain guns in Massachuetts, that S&W will simply get out of the business.

Bad idea, that.

Smith & Wesson have announced that they will be relocating their headquarters to Tennessee in the mid-2020s but will retain [some] operations in Springfield, Massachusetts. The company, founded in the 1850s, has long made Massachusetts its home.

The Springfield facility will keep some of its manufacturing operations including all forging, machining, metal finishing, and assembly of revolvers, with Smith & Wesson confirming that the company will continue to employ over 1,000 employees in Massachusetts. The new site in Maryville, Tennessee will house the company’s headquarters as well as manufacturing processes including plastic injection molding, pistol and long gun assembly, and product distribution.
...
Smith & Wesson are expecting to invest $120 million in the project with construction in Maryville beginning this year and completion scheduled by 2023. The company expects that more than 750 jobs will move from Massachusetts to Tennessee.

Smith & Wesson issued a statement that the guns those Bay State Morons seek to stop them from making comprised 60% of the company's revenue. No company on this planet is going to willingly take that sort of hit when all they have to is move.

And move they shall. Even if this stupid bill fails, the fact that it was even introduced was enough to persuade Smith & Wesson to move a bunch of its manufacturing and assembly work from where they have been doing business for nearly 170 years to a more friendly location.

So, 750 well-paying jobs will leave the state.

It's probably a safe bet that, if it were cost-effective to move their heavy forges, they'd do that, too.

The Vanity of the Donald

A new book by the former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, “I’ll Take Your Questions Now,” revealed some fun facts about Donald J. Trump on Tuesday. One of the biggest bombshells was about the former president’s mysterious visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2019, which Grisham said was for a colonoscopy that Trump stayed conscious for, in part to keep late night television hosts from finding out and making fun of him.

Didn't work.

“I have to say, it gives me a lot of satisfaction, as a late night talk show host, to know that he opted to stay awake while they augered his innards with a sewer snake specifically because he didn’t want us making fun of him,” Jimmy Kimmel said.

Some one-liners:

“The doctors said the hardest thing about giving Trump a colonoscopy was getting the camera around Mike Pence’s nose.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“Yeah, colonoscopy was no big deal — they only found three polyps and Rudy Giuliani.” — JIMMY FALLON

“Oh, my God, that had to be terrible — for the doctor who had to give a colonoscopy while the guy on the table kept screaming about how he won Michigan.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

There is something seriously wrong with that old man, bless his heart. Yet tens of millions people have, essentially, sworn loyalty oaths to him.

Snub Gun Study Group; Free Issue

Their fall issue is a free download.

Time's Up, Rules Change

I've amended the rules.

Election denialism is now beyond the pale. If you can't accept that Joe Biden is the duly-elected President of the United States, if you try to post comments that reflect variations of the GOP's big lie, then your comment will not pass moderation. Keep your Trumpist fascist bullshit on your own blog.

That is all.