A Large Regular

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Unemployment rate projections by country in 2023. Looks encouraging.

- Joe Rogan explains the origin of the Proud Boys

- The War in Ukraine in 8 photos

- US can't keep up with China's warship building. This is a problem (although are you surprised at an Admiral arguing for a larger Navy?). 

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- I think this is a good idea. If the Bigfoot Hunting Licenses were suitable for framing I'd consider buying one.

- Medal of Honor winner among those who attended Washington protest 

- Keep an eye on the India-China tensions. This rivalry could heat up in quick order.

- Blue States COVID restrictions are killing jobs. "The average unemployment in the 10 least-restrictive states is 4.7% - well below the national average of 6.7%... Among the states with the most restrictions, the unemployment rate is an average of 7.1%." 

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

One probable outcome of the combination of COVID-19 economic effects and Seattle's CHOP debacle is the chances of Seattle getting another NBA team have probably been flushed down the toilet. Any pro sports team expansion is probably not happening now and even if it were why would the NBA go to a city whose existing businesses will soon be fleeing?.. This was no coincidence. "10 states had unemployment rates in May above 15%. They are all states with Democratic governors, with the exception of deep-blue Massachusetts with its liberal Republican governor, Charlie Baker."...  And speaking of Seattle's CHOP - yesterday I saw that both CHOP and Jay Cutler were trending on Twitter. How funny would have been if this was because Jay Cutler was filming a new reality show about him living in the autonomous zone and not giving a shit about anything. They could call it The Ultimate Nihilist... And speaking of protests - how funny would it be if it turns out the attacks on statues in Washington DC and Philly were underwritten by the Boston Chamber of Commerce as a way to increase the value of Boston's Freedom Trail business... "What I've learned in my life is if someone is acting badly, they're in pain. It's a really simple rule, they're either scared or in pain." -Sebastian Junger...

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

As a reminder - just 10-years ago there was real concern that the unemployment rate under Obama was going to reach 10%. How soon we forget... "God is an intelligible sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere." - The Book of Twenty-Four Philosophers...  Cool - "Carmen" on the ukulele. Very talented artist... Learned this weekend that Bad Company is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How is this possible? It's like learning that Carlton Fisk is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame...  Thinking of writing a series of books called The Adventures of Olive Picasso. It would be about an anorexic world famous artist and her yacht enthusiast boyfriend with massive forearms and their (mis)adventures... Ernest Hemingway on alcohol and ending the "mechanical oppression"... Baphomet's Hangover would be a good name for a band or fantasy football team... 

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- This is disturbing - America's ghost legions of idle men

- This woman kicks ass (literally)

- Good question

- X-37B Military Space Plane wings past 400 days on latest mystery mission. I'm fascinated by this stuff. Am I too old to sign up for the Space Force?

- Interesting - treating peanut allergies with peanuts

- In other space news - the BepiColumbo mission to Mercury blasted off this week

- Just want Yankees fans to know that the feeling is mutual

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The trick is to just breathe. Ed Latimore reviews the Wim Hof method.

- Robot bees for exploring the surface of Mars (Marsbees - get it!)

- Very cool story - the mobster who bought his son a hockey team. They really should make this into a movie.

- Heh Heh

- Interesting view from Canada that says Canada should scrap NAFTA and instead rekindle what was once a special relationship with the US

- Dr Rhonda Patrick suggests this antioxidant might help old blood vessels seem younger

- 14 States hit record low unemployment. I have to wonder if this is due in part to the way unemployment is measured being changed under the Obama Administration. They tried to make the numbers not look so bad but now is that why they look so good?

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Potemkin Olympics one-year later - Russia is a mess

- The Taiwan animators take on Super Bowl 49 - doesn't disappoint.

- Encouraging news on Gordie Howe. Just encouraging in general - adult stem cells are the shit!

- This is so awesome!

- 5.6% Unemployment is one big lie

- Not to stereotype but yeah - this is pretty much how all Boston fans felt about the Super Bowl (NSFW language)

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- This Ghostbusters cartoon is touching

- Interesting theory about who Andy's mom really was in the Toy Story movies

- Nice story about Nick Francona going from Marine scout-sniper unit leader in Afghanistan to the Angels front office

- The kind of economic stats the MSM doesn't seem to want to acknowledge

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

With everyone focused on the IRS scandal which keeps getting worse and worse - this would be a good time for Hillary Clinton to come clean on Benghazi. She can say that she was trying to protect the President and regrets her actions. She could say that she was confused about the expectations from this administration versus those of her husband. People would accept that...  The NCAA is looking worse and worse regarding U Miami and using Nevin Shapiro as their star witness... This may be a little thing but I'm really not a fan of parents telling kids "Don't you dare" as a warning. Don't you want your kids to dare? especially to dream?...  I think Adrian Beltre not wanting to be touched on his head and his teammates doing it anyway is funny. That's something a little brother would do to a big brother... With Elementary done for the season and the new season of Sherlock not showing in the US until September - I'm having some Sherlock Holmes withdrawal... Wow - this pinpointed map of unemployment is incredible. Look at how employment seems to end at the borders of California.

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Michael Oher still looking after his Blind Side little brother

Unemployment drops in every state that elected a Republican governor in 2010

Meanwhile the Obama Administration keeps telling people not to read too much into monthly unemployment numbers. How come those Republican governors don't have to warn people not to read too much into things?

Personally when I re-tell this joke I'm going to change the redneck into an Irishman

Game of Friends

Scary

This interactive map charts unemployment from January 2007 to September 2009. It's scary. Like seeing some sort of mutant virus take over the country.

HT Instapundit

The 10% Tripwire

Mark Penn argues that 10% unemployment is a psychological tripwire number that has "the potential to undermine the hard-won confidence enjoyed by the Obama administration." I agree that 10% unemployment would be both a real problem and a psychological watershed but I don't agree that President Obama has any "hard-won confidence" from the American people. More like squandered mis-placed enthusiasm. Penn then goes on to argue that if that 10% number became a reality - then President Obama could be forced into the following course of action:

First, the administration could pitch another stimulus package, in the form of direct, immediate tax rebates or some other, more tangible, measures, such as increased federal money to cash-starved states and localities. The Republicans are now on record in opposition to any stimulus. So they would be forced to vote against temporary tax cuts or money to the states, votes that could be problematic for them in the midterms.

Yeah another stimulus package because the first one worked so well. Second - Republicans would be right to be against throwing more money (that we don't have by the way) at the problem but not against tax cuts. Can Mark Penn be that thick?