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Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

Two weeks from Saturday, and we pull out of New-Friggin’-Jersey.  That can’t come too soon.  We’ll be traveling the week of Memorial Day, stopping in Iowa along the way to visit some family; I’ll try to have regular posts up but may have to resort to some placeholders.  And boy howdy, Colorado may be well and truly Californicated these days, but at least it ain’t New Jersey – yet.

And now…

On To the Links!

We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore!

Turns out elephants and armadillos get sloshed really easily. Who knew?

China’s vanishing trade surplus.

I love the term “Renegade Garden Center.“

“Congress shall make no law” applies to Governors, as well – consult the 14th Amendment, please.  No law means no damn law!

Well, she sure didn’t think that through.

Oh, pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!

A Tale of Two Pandemics.  Complete with Woodstock reference.

“I have to pay my bills.”  In other words, screw you, Mr. Governor, I’m re-opening.

November 2016:  Polls indicate 97% odds of Hillary Clinton winning the election!

The story of horses and humans may have started almost six thousand years ago.

This Week’s Idiots:

Paging Dr. Darwin, Dr. Charles Darwin.

New Hampshire (Former!) State Rep. Richard Komi (D) is an idiot.

Tom Perez is an idiot.

Crazy Eyes is still an idiot.  Furthermore, she’s becoming tedious.

And So…

I don’t have any more deep thoughts for today, so instead, let’s have a reminder of less socially-distanced times from the archives:

And on that sunny note, we return you to your Wednesday, already in progress.

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Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

One thing about this “shelter in place” reaction to the Kung Flu is that I’ve had television news on more than usual.  It’s just as inaccurate, poorly researched and annoying as it ever was and I usually switch over to music by mid-morning, but in the meantime, I’ve been seeing a number of commercials hawking things like hearing aids that inevitably claim the products are “FDA approved,” making it sound like an endorsement.  Bullshit.

What a bucket of crap.  Most people don’t know how the FDA deals with medical devices, but this is my business.  Hearing aids, for example, are Class I (One) devices, not invasive, minimal risk.  The FDA does not approve these devices; all a manufacturer of a Class I device has to do is notify the FDA “we’re making these.”  FDA does not look at the device (unless a safety issue arises in use) and certainly does not approve them; they are regulated under a mass guideline for this type of device, but there is no inspection or approval of any company’s individual device.  The FDA’s stance on these is “…there’s no real risk to public health and safety from these types of devices.”  Never a statement of approval or efficacy.  These companies are peddling horseshit with this “FDA Approved” claim.

So, with that out of the way…

On To the Links!

California’s idiotic law requiring background checks for ammunition sales has been put on hold by a judge.  Good news, everyone!  Or, maybe not.  Bad news, everyone!  But the fat lady ain’t sang yet, so we’ll see.

Osama bin Laden’s backup plan to destroy America:  Make Groper Joe President.

I love a happy ending.

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment.  In 2020.  Flogging.  Banned.  2020.  Want to know when the Kingdom outlawed slavery?  1962.  Fucking savages.

North America is under a lot of stress.  The continent, that is.

RRRUUUUUSSSSSIIIIAAAA!!!

Queen Nancy endorses daffy old Groper Joe – but only after there are no other remaining options.

Also, Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I, Dowager Empress of Chappaqua, also endorses Groper Joe.  Paula Jones was unavailable for comment.

This Weeks Idiots:

Cristina Cuomo is an idiot.

Possibly-senile Groper Joe indulges in idiotic conspiracy theory.  And more of the same.

MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle is an idiot.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib is an idiot.  Hey, at least for once it’s not Occasional Cortex.

And So…

So far it’s been a cold, damp last week of April here in our temporary New Jersey lodgings, making us all the more anxious to pull out of here at the end of May to our own Colorado, where the weather, if not the political climate, is much more to our liking.  But the thing about weather is that, sooner or later, it always improves.   Summer is coming!

Ah, summer!

And on that summery note, we return you to your Wednesday, already in progress.

 

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Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

Things just keep getting more interesting.  The Imperial City has announced that Imperial coronavirus social isolation standards will be extended until April 30th.  Since I can work remote, and since I’m in the medical manufacturing industry, this won’t affect me all that much, aside from (obviously) not being around people as much.  That isolation, of course, does not include my own dear Mrs. Animal, and to my very great fortune, our marriage is such that we are very comfortable being isolated together.

In fact, there are some distinct benefits to this arrangement.

Anyway…

On To the Links!

I love a happy ending.

This in Monday’s New York Post:  Dems need to bench Biden.  No shit.

Speaking of Groper Joe:  He has more problems besides creeping dementia.

Oil prices continue to drop.  Cheap energy is good, but low oil prices are hard on American fracking companies.

“In our pluralistic society we generally try to accommodate how individuals desire to live their lives up to the point where those desires impinge on the other people’s rights,” said Attorney General William P. Barr. “Allowing biological males to compete in all-female sports deprives women of the opportunity to participate fully and fairly in sports and is fundamentally unfair to female athletes.”  About damn time.

Kennedy Center:  Received $25 handout from Queen Nancy.  Kennedy Center to musicians:  Fuck off, you’re fired!

Promising (and in long use) medicine for Kung Flu approved.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Ventilator shortages, it turns out, are nothing new.

Duck!

Duck!

Goose!

Fines and jail for leaving your house without permission.  Because fuck the First Amendment.

Big Brother is watching.  Because fuck the Fourth Amendment.

This Week’s Idiots:

Kathy Griffin is an idiot.

Queen Nancy Pelosi is an idiot.

The legacy media is full of idiots.

Rachel Maddow is an idiot.

China’s wet markets, the probable source of the Kung Flu, are back in business.  Idiots.

With That Said:

Moving soon into Week Three of our self-imposed isolation.

This whole thing is getting a little surreal.  Monday’s announcement has us sorely tempted to negotiate an end to our New Jersey lease and head on home to Colorado for good, since I’m working remote anyway, but the place that sells the luggage trailer we need for the trip is closed, and from what I hear many of the roadside motels we’d need for the trip are closed as well.  So, for the time being, we’re planning to stick it out until the end of May, and see which way the fox jumps.

Anyway, here’ s a Hump Day bonus to cheer us all up.

And so with that, we return you to your Wednesday, already in progress.

Culture, Links, News

Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

Week Two of our own self-isolation is under way.  Down side of this trip home:  The club house and trap stands at the gun club are closed, so no clay birds this trip.

With that said…

On To the Links!

RIP, Kenny Rogers.  I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Rogers once, along about 1990.  Nice man – very down to earth, open, friendly, and very, very conscious of the people that made him the star he was.

Apparently some nutbars are claiming the COVID-19 virus came from space.  Those people really belong in This Week’s Idiots, below, but this article is debunking that claim.

Denver’s own Mike Rosen on the coronavirus.

The President on the coronavirus.

Italy may have turned the corner.

On the other hand, the UK has no First Amendment.

The Saudis and the Russians seem to be engaging in an oil price war.  Well, cheap energy is always good, but this will be hard on American oil companies.

The House of Representatives is condemning the actions of China in this pandemic crisis, and for other things.  The Chinese Communist Party gives not even one single shit.

This Week’s Idiots:

Princess Spreading Bull Warren is an idiot.

Jake Tapper is an idiot.

These people are idiots.

This guy was an idiot.  Paging Dr. Darwin, Dr. Charles Darwin!  Of course, the legacy media covering this are also idiots.

This New York imam is an idiot.

And So…

Our self-imposed national isolation is close to entering Week 3.  My current project has all office personnel, including consultants, working from home.  Mrs. Animal and I are still planning to return to our temporary New Jersey digs on Sunday, mostly because we don’t have another flight to CO scheduled until later April, and I’d prefer to be on hand in case the isolation ends sooner than expected.

But honestly, I don’t see this thing ending before the end of April.  It may well drag on later.  But when it does end, I expect the economy will come back with a roar; pent-up demand is a thing, after all.

So, to cheer us all up with the promise of sunnier things to come, here’s something from the archives:

With that, we return you to your socially distanced Wednesday, already in progress.

Economics, Links, Politics

Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

Last Friday, as usual, Mrs. Animal and yr. obdt. went off to the local grocery store nearest our temporary New Jersey digs to do our normal weekly trading.  As discussed in yesterday’s post, there was, of course, an epic amount of panicky pants-shitting on display.  People were loading up entire shopping carts full of bottled water, apparently not realizing that it’s a virus, not a hurricane, and viruses almost never shut the water systems or electricity off.  Paper products were not to be had.  Frozen and other prepared foods were taking a beating.  What utter stupidity.

With that said…

On To the Links!

Just call him Czar Vladimir I.  Somewhere, Joe Stalin is smiling in admiration.

How do they plan to ban fossil fuels?  Short answer:  They can’t.  Not without some yet-to-be-discovered hypothetical dramatic new technology.  More on this tomorrow.

The Weld County (CO) Sheriff may be challenging Colorado’s rather idiotic red flag law.  This should be interesting.

Three Colorado counties have announced “You know what, fuck the First Amendment!”  Look, avoiding large gatherings, cancelling get-togethers, this is absolutely the prudent thing to do.  But no level of government can mandate that we do so.   Why?  This is why:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Immunizations.

And also this.  The proper response to government overreach like this is, of course, “fuck off, slavers!”

Meanwhile, the reaction to this virus has things shutting down all over.  Reducing interactions is how you beat this thing.

This guy may be the most rational and measured person at any level of government right now.  I’m not sure what that says about everyone else in the Imperial City.

Last Sunday evening saw an epic bout between a daffy old Commie and a senile old man.  It was the Special Olympics of political debates.

I… didn’t understand much of this.  Then again my science background is in biology, not physics.  Ask me to explain allopatric speciation, ring species or r-selected and K-selected reproductive strategies and I’m your guy.  Quarks and dark matter?  Not so much.

Well, this doesn’t sound ominous or anything.

Don’t panic.

This Week’s Idiots:

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) is an idiot.  Twice over, in fact.  Honestly, who keeps sending these lackwits back to Congress?

Bill De Blasio is an idiot.

Champaign, Illinois Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen is an idiot who needs to read the Bill of Rights, to learn how big an idiot she is.

The New York Times’ Charles Blow is (again) an idiot.

And So:

I expect the next few weeks will give us plenty of opportunities for facepalming and bemoaning the stupidity of some of our fellow citizens.  Over the last week or so I’ve been disturbing my own dear Mrs. Animal by facepalming so repeatedly that it is sounding like a round of applause at the Royal Albert Hall.

But that’s OK.  Here’s some bonus totty from the archives to cheer us all up:

And so, we return you to your (probably isolated) Wednesday, already in progress.

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Happy Hump Day!

Today should be the day the impeachment fiasco ends.  And, sadly, the Democratic Senators who are currently running for President (what, like half of them?) will be released on to the campaign trails again, to resume out-promising each other with more and more offerings of Free Shit.  But we’ll comment more on that later.

And now…

On To the Links!

Remember yesterday’s installment?  The Democrat’s 2020 strategy is apparently to insult anyone who disagrees with them.

The oncoming debt wave.  Hunker down!

Denver indulges in an exercise in futility.

Because higher taxes always solve the problem.

President Trump’s 2020 campaign strategy, revealed.  Honestly, the biggest hurdle for the Democrats to overcome is incumbency, traditionally the biggest hurdle for challengers.  The other is the fact that all of their front-runner candidates are nucking futz.

Robert Stacy McCain describes the real-life Blade Runner, now in San Francisco.

The daffy old Bolshevik from Vermont leads the Democrat pack in carbon-spewing private jet travel.  But the rules don’t apply to Top Men!

YOU MANIACS!  YOU BLEW IT ALL UP!  Ah, damn you!  Damn you all to Hell!

Fucking savages.

New York’s “Affordable Housing” makes everything worse.

Germany needs a bigger, stronger army.  Sure, what could possibly go wrong?

Congresswoman Crazy Eyes skipped last night’s State of the Union speech.  The correct answer is “who gives a shit?”

Utter horseshit.

This Week’s Idiots:

OK, only yesterday, I know I expressed my distaste for calling someone stupid because they disagree with someone else.  But let me point out that in this section, I am 1) describing a specific instance in which someone makes a stupid statement or does a stupid thing, rather than calling them stupid in general (even if it may be true) and B) the people in question really did do something that is objectively an act of utter nitwittery.  So, with that said:

Bernie Sanders, the daffy old Bolshevik from Vermont, is an idiot.

Ilhan Omar is an idiot.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) is an idiot.  Seriously, read that statement; it’s a content-free word salad.

And Now…

It’s been a fun week, and more to come.  Watch for that famous/infamous acquittal vote today!

So, on that rather abbreviated note, we return you to your Wednesday, already in progress.

Economics, Links, Politics

Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

The circus in the Imperial City continues apace, China has produced a possible pandemic, some sportsball guy and his daughter was (sadly) killed in a helicopter crash.

On the other hand, the sun still came up this morning; children are still playing, business is still humming, pretty girls haven’t lost their appeal, and back home in Colorado, the mountains are still there, waiting on my next visit.

Sometimes a fella just has to calm down and remind himself to take an even strain, you know?  And, with that said…

On To the Links!

I’ll take “Shit That Never Happened” for $500, Alex.

The House is considering rescinding the ban on earmarks.  Of course they are.

Angling to emigrate to the U.S. for the generous welfare benefits?  Not so fast.

And in that same case, Justice Gorsuch lays a beat-down on some lower-court judges.  About damn time!

I Love a Happy Ending.

Consider the curious case of one Hunter Biden, whose main accomplishments in life have been 1) getting kicked out of the Navy for cocaine use, 2) conducting an affair with his dead brother’s widow, 3) knocking up a stripper, and 4) inexplicably parlaying those previous three assets into a million-dollar-a-year gig with a Ukrainian energy company.  I’m sure his family connections have nothing to do with that last bit.  Now, if his name was Cheney, that’d be a much different story.

(The U.S. Senate):  “Wait, wait – there were eighteen witnesses?”

Gun Dog Magazine is at the 2020 SHOT show, and they are presenting the best upland game shotguns for 2020.  Many nice pieces, but I’ll keep my Citori and my Model 12s.

Peace in our time?

This Week’s Idiots:

The Colorado Legislature in increasingly the habitat of idiots.

David Hogg is an idiot.

Prince Charles is an idiot.

CNN Chief Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin is an idiot.

Need to take away the sting of this week’s idiots?  I think we need to take away the sting of this week’s idiots.  Let’s end the day with some bonus Hump Day totty from the archives.

And Now…

On that toothsome note, we return you to  your Wednesday, already in progress.

Links, News, Politics, Science

Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

And now – on to the links!

Right now, I’d buy Ricky Gervais a beer.  I have no idea who he is, but I’d buy him a beer.

Michael Moore is an idiot.

Alexandria Occasional Cortex is an idiot. (Again.)  And so is her Moron Squad buddy Ilhan Omar.

The first British astronaut is an idiot, and possibly nuts.

Hunter Biden is an idiot.  But not too big an idiot to accept enormous fat sacks of cash from Ukraine and China for having the last name “Biden.”

But wait!  There’s more!  Move over, Hunter Biden:  Chelsea Clinton is also getting rich because of her last name.  Great (non-)work if you can get it, I suppose – and if your last name is Clinton or Biden, you can get it, qualifications or not.

Both old Groper Joe and Her Imperial Majesty Hillary I, Dowager Empress of Chappaqua, are laundering payoffs through their children, and there’s no other way to put it.   What crooked, lying, conniving, hypocritical assholes.

Loony old Auntie Maxine Waters, one of the top five finalists for the Stupidest Member of Congress prize (granted she’s up against some pretty stiff competition), got punked.  Heh heh heh.

Cities are responding to poor people’s lack of purchasing opportunities by campaigning against…  affordable purchasing opportunities.

Is the President holding all the 2020 cards?  Maybe, maybe not, but I’d argue that it’s waaaaay too soon to predict.

There may be active volcanoes on Venus.  I think I’ll pass on going there to see for myself.  Speculative image from the article:

Yeah, no.  To make up for that, here’s something else with a little bit of the same color palette:

And with that, we return you to your Wednesday, already in progress.

Culture, Links, News, Politics, Science

Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

On to the links!

Corey Booker is an idiot.

Chuck Todd is an idiot.

Alexandria Occasional Cortex is an idiot.  (Yes, I know, low-hanging fruit.)

Can you count past infinity?  Common sense says no.  Mathematicians say “it depends.”

The United States is now officially free of measles.  How long it will remain that way is anyone’s guess, between unchecked Third World immigration and the stupidity of anti-vaxxers.

Want to keep flies off  your cows?  Paint them up like zebras.  No shit!  Excerpt, because I found this pretty interesting:

…the researchers painted six Japanese Black cows with black-and-white stripes, which took just five minutes per cow. They then observed the cows for three days, taking high-resolution images of them at regular intervals to count the insects on the animals and also recording any fly-repelling behaviors like leg stamping, tail flicking, and skin twitching. The same cows were also observed for three days with painted-on black stripes (to see if it was the paint chemicals, not the coloring, that repelled flies) and and with no stripes at all.

The apparent effects of the stripes were remarkable. The number of biting flies observed on zebra-striped cows was less than half the number seen on unpainted cows and far less than cows painted with black stripes. Moreover, zebra-striping reduced fly-repelling behaviors by about 20%, indicating that the cows were less bothered by the insects.

Remind me to buy some zebra-stripe shirts before the next time I go fishing in Canada.  Hope it works on mosquitoes.

Have aliens bugged space rocks?  I doubt it, but if we found one – then what?

Impeachment seems to be helping President Trump, not Democrats.  Newt Gingrich was unavailable for comment.

Who doesn’t love a cold one?

Colorado breweries were big winners at the 2019 Great American Beer Fest.  One of the things I like about Colorado, although I confess that the things I dislike about Colorado are catching up with the things I like.

Joe Biden tries to sell us a bill of goods.

Princess Spreading Bull lied about having been fired for being pregnant.  Add that lie to the list, folks.

On that lie-detecting note, we return you to your Wednesday, already in progress.

Links, News

Animal’s Hump Day News

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Happy Hump Day!

I’ve been thinking of making Wednesday links day, instead of scattering them around at random when no particular thing grabs my attention.  I do like to comment on a wide range of things, after all.

So, on Wednesdays here at Animal Magnetism, that’s the new rule – Wednesday is links day, unless something in particular comes up that can’t wait for Thursday, or unless nothing comes up on any other day, or unless I change my mind.

So there.  I’ve made up my mind.  At least until I change it again.

So, on to the links!

Sheila Jackson Lee Is An Idiot.   I know, I know – no news there.

I  honestly don’t think Tulsi Gabbard is an idiot, in spite of disagreeing with her on almost everything; but she’s working hard to change my mind.

An unnamed high school teacher at Cuthbertson High School in North Carolina is an idiot.

The Trump Administration is yanking Californey’s authority to set stricter than Imperial auto emissions rules.  Californey will predictably respond with hysterics and cries about the sky falling.

From the esteemed Robert Stacy McCain:  Import people from Third World shitholes, and they act like they’re in a Third World shithole.  Is anyone surprised?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller?

From The Daley Gator!  Texans at large:  “Murder suspects are walking around free and causing all sorts of trouble!”  Beta O’Rourke:  ***crickets***

Our good friend Jillian Becker on Russia, well worth the read.

Fewer young folks are going hunting.  If you hunt, take a kid hunting!  I’ve got loyal sidekick Rat to my credit – he wasn’t an outdoors type until he and I got to be buddies, now he’s hooked.

And on that note, we return you to your Wednesday, already in progress.