Current Economic Situation

From the customer before me: Two pints of Ben & Jerry's® & 22.3 oz. of Screamin' Sicilian Pizza®, US$20.97, put on a Mastercard. Yup, 21 bucks of debt for a junk food dinner & dessert. Making America Healthy Again!!

In other consumption news, purchased a 200 sq. ft. box of Kroger Aluminum Foil® for eight bones from a guy selling them from a folding table under an awning on the sidewalk. Retail at Ralphs: US$13.99! Six dollars saved, & I s'pose, open to charges of receiving stolen property & aiding & abetting. Come & get me, coppers!

How About Telling The Truth Instead Of "Talking"?

J.B. Shurk / American Thinker:
We Need To Talk About Democrats  —  People who celebrate political violence cannot be trusted. —  Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...  Fifteen years ago, a dark movie called We Need to Talk about Kevin told the story of a mother struggling to understand why her sociopathic teenaged son had gone on a murder spree at home and at school. In the same vein, we need to talk about Democrats.

O.K., let's "talk".

NH Libertarian Party endorses ‘assassination’ of elected Democrats

Do take a peep at The American Thinker. (Whose logo, disappointingly, is no longer Uncle Sam dropping a load on a tree stump.)

Many interesting items. Example:

Woke 1.0: A history of the world’s most Satanic movement in pictures
By Jeremy Egerer | Woke people are going to have to prove they’re not woke anymore if they want to return to polite society.

Th' hell? What peculiar planet or dimension do these crazed weirdoes live on or in? Certainly not this one.

The Wiki notes:

In the aftermath of Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 U.S. presidential election American Thinker published a variety of articles that had claims of election fraud. Faced with a lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, [co-founder] Lifson acknowledged that the site had relied upon "discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories".American Thinker likewise admitted that its election claims were "completely false and have no basis in fact" and that "it was wrong for us to publish these false statements."

Absolutely trustworthy.

[New Hampshire Public Radio item from Political Wire.]

Musical Interlude

There are many versions of "Slave Driver".Wage-slave until you drop dead. Then imagine how cheap your funeral will be in the booming economy. Win-win!

Dr Oz: "I'll give you a number you'll never forget -- if we can get the average American to be so healthy, so with it, so vital that they just want to work a little longer, it's worth a trillion dollars to the US economy"

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 19, 2026 at 7:30 AM

I'd like to know if Dr. Oz has ever done physical labor in his life. Fuck him & the bullshit economy, which benefits only the already over-monied.

Further hypocrisy: Why aren't Republicans tarring this bastard w/ their Muslim/Islamist brush, as they do to virtually every other Mohammaden? "Making America Healthy Again" sounds like Sharia Law to me. Brought to our limited attention by MPS.

The Sheep Look Up

Fall-in-line idiot at the end doesn't quite get how it all works, does he?

Anybody got any diesel?

Burning Sage Saturday

One classic & a tolerably stupid Todd Rundgren production, recently & often heard over & over & over in truncated &/or covered forms in adverts on the telly.NB: Hank Snow (The Singing Ranger) is Canadian, b. 1914 in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia. He penned both the above classic* & "I'm Movin' On", which were enough for a lifetime career. Go Canada!!Still don't get it. Are ancient tunes less expensive, or are ad agency music directors admitting that today's music sucks may not even be up to yesterday's drivel?

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*Originally from an Australian number. Hank changed the locations.

Sure, I'll Believe Anything

Fox News:

GOP lawmakers pump brakes on Trump's $5K check promise: ‘Where are you getting the money?’  —  President Donald Trump's promise of a big payout for Americans if Republicans win the midterms is getting a rocky reception on Capitol Hill.  —  Several Republicans outright oppose the $5,000 check promise …

Matt Weidinger / Washington Examiner:   Don't count on those $5,000 Trump dividend checks

Count in one hand & crap in the other; see which piles up sooner: Shit, or Fat Donnie's bribe money. Cultist cretins & suckers. It'd be funny if any of the chumps figured it out. They couldn't be any denser.

Get Up Stand Up!

People are tired of taking crap. Block those roads, & whack a copper for me!

What initially started as a peaceful demonstration at Victoria Square later descended into chaos as protest participants clashed with security forces and tried to block surrounding roads. (AP Video and Production by Nicolae Dumitrache)

Th' hell's the Romanian gummint doing to Romanian farmers? Doesn't the power structure like to eat?

The G.O.P.: Ignorant Fools

Why you're broke & in debt (and why you deserve to be if you vote Republican):

He [Trump] believed it because conservatives believe stupid, simplistic things about how the capitalist economy works. They believe that if you just let the free market do its thing, wonders will arise and all will be well. They believe this first and foremost because their big-money donors tell them to believe it. But they also believe it because the economists—or more precisely, the economists they prefer to listen to—say so, and they must know what they’re talking about.

[...]

But longer term, the Democrats need to do much more. It would be great if they nominated a presidential candidate in 2028 who had the guts and the rhetorical skill to indict not just Trump but conservatism and traditional economics more generally. It’s not an accident that the last three (now four) GOP presidents have wrecked the economy: Bush, Bush, Trump, and Trump. It’s not a coincidence that the last five recessions, and seven of the last eight, going all the way back to Richard Nixon, have hit during Republican presidencies. Republicans screw up the economy, and they screw it up because they believe in economic fairy tales that fit on a bumper sticker and sound plausible to most people but that ignore the world’s deep complexity and irrationality, and the constancy of the reality that no one, not even a president of the United States, has perfect information.

And you know the fucking sheep will elect another retarded Republican soon enough & you'll be screwed again. (Hope it's not too soon; & that I won't be here when it does happen.)

Gentrificaton Is Genocide

Killing for Moses, the Kushners & Trump's other slumlord buddies. Proud of yourselves? (Apparently no one was killed in this example, just shot in the leg.)

Some resist.Just not Americans or Israelis.

Actually, Should Read "Twice-Convicted Sex Offender"

Kee-rist on a kee-rutch, how many times do I have to embed a version of "Hypocrites" here? Haven't heard this one.And let's call these sickos sex criminals instead of "offenders". Or we could say "rapists". Murderers, for example, are seldom known as "offenders".

Convicted sex offender offered opening prayer at rally for GOP Senate nominee in North Carolina

A pastor kicked off a recent campaign stop for Michael Whatley, the Republican nominee for Senate, with a prayer that asked God to bestow “integrity and honesty” upon the event and to right wrongs “hammered down on the conservative movement.”

The prayer was hardly unusual by North Carolina political standards. What was surprising was the man who delivered it. Pastor Daimon L. King is a registered sex offender, twice sentenced to prison for convictions involving children, according to state and court records.

[...]

Some 30 years ago, King was a marching band assistant at a high school outside Raleigh when he was charged with statutory rape and indecent liberties with a 15-year-old student, The News & Observer reported at the time. King, then 31, was convicted in 1998 and served nearly five years in prison before being paroled, according to state department of corrections records.

In 2010, he pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage female relative and served close to three years in prison, state records show.

King is required under North Carolina law to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

[...]

Democrats have blasted Whatley over association with another convicted sex offender

Since March, Whatley has been dogged over his ties to West, who served as a congressional district committee chair in the state GOP when Whatley was chairman.

West, a former small-town police officer, was convicted of five counts of indecent liberties with a child and served six years in prison, corrections records show.

Rapists under color of authority, yet.

[The AP]

Get Away From Me, You Loathsome Bastard!

Nowhere is safe. Can't even watch model railroading videos w/o this bullshit being shoved in my face.Much more appropriate transportation for his bruised lumpiness.

Can't wait to see his rotting corpse hauled to the boneyard in this coffin by the renumbered 8647 loco.

The pricks at UP have painted three locos to "pay tribute to our nation’s presidents". (Tribute* indeed: Apparently this 4547 abomination is the Union Pacific sucking up to Fats to get their purchase of Norfolk Southern approved.) The other two are "tribute" to Abraham Lincoln & oil man G.H.W. Bush, the one-term 41st Pres. who lost to Slick Willie. That's some accomplishment. F.D.R.? J.F.K.? Demoncrats, obviously. No more UP rolling stock on the layout; they're not getting a penny in licensing from me. 

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*Per Merriam-Webster: "Historical Payment: Wealth or valuables given by a weaker nation or group to a dominant power as a sign of submission or to ensure peace."

Summer Re-Run

Apparently From Late May 2016. Anyone remember a "War On Suburbia"?

They must've been really scared of something to have come up w/ this absurdity. "Diabolical" alright. Ten yrs. later, they've completely lost their minds. Everyone to the left of Attila, King of the Huns, is now a Satan-worshipping Muslim Comm-u-niss, if not demon-possessed or a literal demon. Try to reconcile those three "belief systems".

Saturday Night At The Movies

I stand 100% w/ our relatives, friends & neighbors in Canada in their struggle w/ the idiots in the current Republican regime & its active attempts to destroy North America*.Interesting that Charles Smiley Presents released this ©2009 compilation just five days ago.

Also of interest? Two of the Class I railroads operating in these United Snakes are Canadian.

Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway trade the top spot depending on the metric used. Based on the most recent full-year data (2024):

• Union Pacific Railroad – $24.3 Billion Revenue, 32,100 route miles, 32,400 employees
• BNSF Railway – $23.4 Billion Revenue, 32,500 route miles, 41,000 employees
• Canadian National Railway – $17.1 Billion Revenue (CAD), 20,000 route miles, 24,000 employees
• CSX Transportation – $14.5 Billion Revenue, 21,000 route miles, 20,900 employees
• CPKC – $14.2 Billion Revenue, 20,000 route miles, 20,000 employees
• Norfolk Southern Railway – $12.1 Billion Revenue, 19,400 route miles, 19,600 employees
The 2023 CPKC merger significantly reshaped the competitive landscape. Before the merger, Kansas City Southern was the smallest Class I with revenues of just $2.75 billion and 4,000 route miles. The combined CPKC is now comparable in size to CSX and CN, making the six freight Class I railroads much more evenly matched than at any time in modern history.

If you didn't figure it out, the CP in CPKC is Canadian Pacific. That 2023 merger was the result of CP purchasing the KCS from NdeM, the national railroad of Mexico. Them furriners have a stranglehold on us! What will happen when Yank farmers run out of fertilizer & whatnot because of tariffs & oil scarcity? We won't be able to afford Canadian imports either!

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*Does that make me a traitor? I hope so. Slap the bracelets on, G-Men!

Money-Grubbing Corporations Betray Their Workers On "Labor" Day

Fuck you, greedy Nazi pigs! Workers get to work an extra day. You think the Bosses are in their offices in their cushy chairs? And the office workers who do no physical labor or interact w/ consuming sheep daily get a day off/three-day wknd. Not that they're free: The sheep w/ time off must consume during every free moment they have, or the system breaks down. Every last one of you a sucker-ass chump who buys into the lie!

What’s open on Labor Day? Most retailers. Closed? Government, banks and the stock market.

We'll give Costco credit for closing.

Don't get you fucking lemmings who insist on travelling during holiday wknds. either. Frankly, I'd be terribly amused if there were a hideous crash between two aircraft that resulted in 1,000+ deaths, because I am reduced to a bloodthirsty ghoul who wants only to see others suffer as he has suffered. Like this:As we make America great again by returning to the 1950s, you can expect more of the above, & it'll be well-deserved!

Yet Another Voice In The Wilderness

Who wouldn't be?

Pause OpenAI, now

Quite simply, they can no longer be trusted.

As if anyone can. Nonetheless ...

What has really chilled me this morning—and what moved to write this call to pause OpenAI—is not just Achiam’s chilling note but the revelation that there has been yet another incident.

Another OpenAI rogue agent incident has been discovered: agents broke out, hijacked a German website, and turned it into a message board for other agents.

OpenAI officials "learned of the incident weeks ago but kept it under wraps". pic.twitter.com/iW7mo2O6Aq

— Shakeel (@ShakeelHashim) September 4, 2026

Because X-Twitter sucks more than Twitter.

Which OpenAI apparently tried to keep quiet. For weeks.

Not to worry, folks; it's like the global warming hoax - just people making money fear-mongering.

[Marcus on AI]

How Many Times Must I Tell You Cretins NOT To Buy From Amazon?

That's US$20 billion (W/ a "B"!) stolen from small businesses & your sorry asses!

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

The FTC and 22 state AGs sue Amazon, alleging it “secretly and systematically overcharged” advertisers more than $20B since 2019 by using “hidden surcharges”

Dave Michaels / Wall Street Journal:   The FTC and 20+ state AGs sue Amazon for allegedly making tens of billions over seven years by manipulating ad prices on its retail platform

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:   FTC, states plan lawsuit against Amazon over ad price fixing

Angela Palumbo / Barron's Online:   Amazon Stock Falls After FTC Lawsuit Over Advertising Prices

Reuters:   Amazon sued by U.S. FTC, over 20 states alleging company deceived advertisers

About Amazon:   Amazon's response to the FTC's lawsuit regarding Sponsored Ads

Financial Times:   US regulator sues Amazon for manipulating advertising prices

Forbes:   FTC Files Lawsuit Against Amazon Alleging Manipulative Ad Prices

Aimee Picchi / CBS News:   FTC and 22 states sue Amazon over alleged secret ad surcharge scheme

Bloomberg Law:   Amazon Sued by FTC Over Claims It Misled Advertisers on Pricing

Anzar Mehraj / Reuters:   FTC to file lawsuit alleging Amazon deceived advertisers, WSJ reports

Andrew Ferguson / @afergusonftc:   Digital markets play a critical role in the American economy—but they only work when participants can trust that powerful tech platforms play by the same rules as everyone else. That trust is foundational. Today, the Trump FTC—joined by 22 states—filed suit alleging that Amazon

IJR News:   FTC plans lawsuit against Amazon over ad pricing

@ftc:   FTC, states sue Amazon over secret ad surcharge scheme. FTC and 22 state attorneys general allege Amazon concealed unfair charges in its digital advertising auction pricing: https://www.ftc.gov/...

Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge News:   Amazon Shares Tumble Amid News Of FTC ‘Advertiser Deception’ Lawsuit

Federal Trade Commission:   FTC, States Sue Amazon Over Secret Ad Surcharge Scheme

Karen Weise / New York Times:   F.T.C. and 22 States Claim in Lawsuit That Amazon Secretly Inflated Ad Prices

While working the wage-slaves in their warehouses to early graves. Give Bezos all your money, sucker-ass chumps! Somehow, he deserves it, not you!

It's On Him Alright

No Gates or Brin in the rogue's gallery? Off w/ all their heads anyway!

Stolen from Ten Bears as I am too lazy, unmotivated & exhausted to look for the "funny".

A Brace Of Earworms

Yea, 'though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Still I & I will fear no evil
Still I & I will fear no evil Jah shall not fight the righteous by day
Jah shall not fight the righteous by day
But the wicked he will smite by nightWhenever the fuck you're ready, Jah! We wait, but our patience grows thin.

250 Yrs. Of Disposable Crap

50 yrs. later, everything is at least 50 times worse.

These are among the items that have shaped the nation.
Here are their stories.

On the United States' 250th birthday, "American Objects" chronicles items that have impacted the culture.
Keep tuning in for tales of new objects as the year unfolds.

One could do worse things on a late-August Sunday than look at some of these objects. Here are three: Comic books. The baseball. Whites-Only signs.

Here's a New One: "Leninist Capitalism"

Or "Stalinist Capitalism"

Why Are We (and Were We) in Vietnam?

Today on TAP: The nation that defeated the U.S. 50 years ago now has the largest trade surplus with us of any nation.

A quarter-century ago, when advocates of normalizing trade relations with China insisted that doing so would compel China to transform itself into a democracy, America’s unions, a number of social democrats (including at the Prospect), and a smattering of China hands (James Mann in particular) called that argument a non sequitur: Capitalism had co-existed with right-wing authoritarianism and dictatorship, and would with its left-wing (or ostensibly left-wing) counterparts, too. Today, Leninist one-party rule (or in China, neo-Stalinist one-leader rule) gets along just fine with the C-suites of America’s corporations and banks, for the same reason that Wall Street prefers production in “right-to-work” states: the absence of worker power and the ensuing low levels of workers’ wages.

Meet the new boss, chumps!

I know one of the major Murkin model railroad manufacturers (w/ SoCal roots; started at a hobby shop on Hollywood Blvd.) has moved most if not all its production from China to Vietnam. Great fucking job, from Eisenhower through Kennedy, Johnson & Nixon.

Ha ha. Defeated in war & then in economic competition. Tell us again how the Democrats are all "Commies" & you're all for "free markets" you corporate fellow travelers. We won't be free until we've purified this evil species by eliminating the highly functioning psychopaths.