I dunno. It feels more dire by the fucking day, to be honest. Has anyone seen Stephen Miller's plan to create a division of the army for mass deportations? I don't want to start sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but it's hard not to believe at this point.

Think they'll give them seven pointed stars to wear?

Wood Goblin wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 9:23 pm

cakes wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 9:04 pm RFK announced as Sec. Of HHS. Wants to immediately stop drug and infectious disease research.

So far we got a sexual predator under ethics investigation for AG, a Fox News morning show hosr heading the Dept of Defense, a possible Russian plant in charge of National Security, and a complete wackjob in charge of Health and Human Services.

Well, there won't be much of an electorate left after this cabinet gets their way. I mean, it's a great strategy if you want to loot the Treasury, but not great outside of that.

Remember when W appointed an incompetent, work-phobic crony to run FEMA, and then a disaster happened?

Imagine that, times everyone.

it's trickled down to the ground level. they are still throwing fema workers under the bus. we have learned nothing since katrina.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 11:27 pm All of these picks are total ego-maniacs without many common goals other than the complete and total fellation of Trumpf. I think we'll see a repeat of last time where they don't actually do anything and the biggest problem is the judicial picks...

... except this time they have the whole DC shebang so who fucking knows.

The idiocy/evil multipliers worry me.

For example, here in CA, and also in parts of WA and OR, we have Pertussis/Whooping Cough outbreaks (got a notice from school today). It's probably from inconsistent vaccination, which is bad enough, but the border security nutjobs are going to make a lot of vulnerable people afraid to seek medical care. The effects on public health (because bacteria and viruses don't care who's a legal citizen of wherever) won't be great (again).

cakes wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 11:41 pm https://abcnews.go.com/US/governors-ann ... =115805249

Fuck Polis tho

https://x.com/jaredpolis/status/1857173250586911189

AdamN wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:44 am

cakes wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 11:41 pm https://abcnews.go.com/US/governors-ann ... =115805249

Fuck Polis tho

https://x.com/jaredpolis/status/1857173250586911189

I knew very little about this guy, but it's disheartening to know that CO is basically governed by a male Jenny McCarthy.

The Republic of Georgia and its struggle to export better, less industrial wines that reflect its own culture and aesthetics. As opposed to the sweet plonk that goes to the Russian market. A quality vs. quantity discussion and quite similar to sentiments stirring in Ukraine well before Russia invaded Crimea in retaliation:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/20/worl ... tions.html

"The situation in Kakheti and other wine-producing regions of Georgia reflects a country long torn between great power interests. Many people, particularly younger ones and those living in big cities, want to forge closer ties with Europe, where they see their political future. Others believe it is important to maintain economic stability and therefore stay close to Russia.

The fortunes of Georgia’s winemakers have long been tied to Russia, their biggest market, and one that has grown since sanctions linked to the war in Ukraine cut off a flow of Italian and French wines.

Now many winemakers say it’s time to break that dependence, which comes with considerable political risk, and focus more on European and American markets.... When Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, individual winemaking was prohibited, though many Georgians still produced wine in their cellars, mainly for personal use. Wine manufactured at Soviet factories was typically of low quality and usually sweet....

Over the past two decades, Mr. Joseph said he witnessed a major transformation of the Georgian wine industry. While the industrial production of cheap wines surged, enthusiasts using traditional methods began making smaller quantities of higher quality wine mostly sold in the West.... “The Russian market is an easy market because our wines are well-known and winemakers don’t need to invest money to increase awareness,” Mr. Dakishvili said. “At the same time it is very unstable for political reasons.”

In 2006, following a deterioration in relations between the Kremlin and a new pro-Western government in Tbilisi, Russia banned imports of Georgian wine. The ban lasted seven years, forcing many wineries in Kakheti into bankruptcy. But others were motivated to innovate and seek out other markets....

For the most part, the wines sold to Russia are sweeter and cheaper varieties sold in bulk that might go for a few dollars per bottle in a supermarket, a fraction of prices in boutique wine shops in the West.

“A good direction is getting away from the Russian market” and looking for more profitable outlets, said Tina Kezeli, the head of Georgia’s wine association.

That is partly because, she said, the Russian market “has always been very political,” including a ban on Georgian wines by Moscow after a dispute between the two countries in the 2000s. In Russia, she said, “everything is used as a tool: Either you behave or we close the market.”"

Krev wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 2:43 pm

AdamN wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:44 am

cakes wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2024 11:41 pm https://abcnews.go.com/US/governors-ann ... =115805249

Fuck Polis tho

https://x.com/jaredpolis/status/1857173250586911189

I knew very little about this guy, but it's disheartening to know that CO is basically governed by a male Jenny McCarthy.

He's been a fairly good governor for us. His covid response was good. This is a weird turn. I suspect Kennedy tickled something in his personal beliefs that he's kept on the DL for professional/political reasons.

Oh to be a fly on the wall at Trumps first cabinet meeting. It’s a who’s who of the most craven and stupid people in the country. All of them will hate each other and fight like rats in a sack. The dumb level is even higher than last time.

Dr Oz has to be the funniest so far. I’m waiting for Dr Phil to be appointed Director of the CIA.