Democrats Announce A Do-Nothing Governor For A Do-Nothing Response

The Democrats, in their wisdom have announced that Michigan's governor Gretchen Whitmer will deliver the response to President Trump's State of the Union speech.

Well, after an impeachment that will accomplish nothing, they might as well have their response delivered by a governor who has accomplished nothing.

The Detroit News: Whitmer set to deliver Democratic response to Trump's State of Union address

The best part so far:

The response is usually given by an elected official whom opposition party officials tag as a rising star.

If Whitmer, after trying and failing to give Michigan the highest gas tax in the nation and not accomplishing much, if at all since is a rising star among Democrats, their bench is all sorts of weak.

Hickory Dickory Dark, The Clock Has Jumped The Shark

Since the fear of an all-out nuclear war has declined since the end of the Cold War, the Bureau of Atomic Scientists are in a desperate search for relevance and craving attention.

With a flourish of the dramatic, and massively overstating reality, they announced that this year Doomsday Clock moves closest to midnight in 73-year history.

Blink.

Yep, right now, according to the BAS we're at this very moment the closest we've come to annihilation ever.

As if.

With the threat of total nuclear annihilation at one of its lowest levels ever, with decent relations between the US and Russia, missiles off alert launch-on-warning status, the Bureau of Atomic scientists chose to advance the clock to the closest it has ever been to scary midnight, past even the highest tensions of the Cold War.

Why? Mission creep.

It's no longer all-out nuclear war they're warning about, but instead they've announced it's due to climate change and governments failing to do what they feel is good policy. Yes really from their FAQ:

In 2020, the Science and Security Board set the time to 100 seconds to midnight, largely because of worldwide governmental dysfunction in dealing with global threats. Before 2020, the closest the hand was set to midnight was two minutes; in 1953, after the United States and the Soviet Union each tested their first thermonuclear weapons within six months of one another, and 2018, largely due to nuclear risk and the rising threat of climate change.

Verily, the Bureau of Atomic Scientists' clock has just officially jumped the shark.

Abby's First Independent Drive

Her first drive as driver-in-command, with no parent or other controlling authority present, she chose to take her sister to Starbucks for some sister time sitting down with a couple hot chockys and enjoying her first trip.

While only a mile and a half from the house, both parental units were a bit nervous, especially as that area is right by a busy intersection and there's a lot of idiot drivers in that area.

She made it there and back with no problems (we knew that would be the case, but you worry anyways) and she enjoyed her independence in doing so.

A couple hours later she took her sister to her Volleyball team practice at school. Again a close trip but again without any parental guidance, and on the way back completely alone in the car.

As expected, she did it with aplomb and no issues.

The kid is sure growing up fast, heck they both are.

Archaeological Discovery: Volcanic Eruptions Can Turn Your Brain Into Glass

Everyone has heard of Pompeii, fewer of Herculaneum, another city also buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in October 79 AD.

Herculaneum, on the other hand, is less well-known, mainly because while Pompeii got the ash of about 4-6 meters worth which was easier to remove, Herculaneum got 25 meters of ash and was buried beneath it, along with a heavy pyroclastic surge that instantly toasted the remaining inhabitants but unlike at Pompeii it carbonized and preserved wood in objects such as roofs, beds and doors but turned the people there into skeletons rather than covering them in ash as at Pompeii.

Lots of interesting discoveries have come from both Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Herculaneum has surviving two-story Roman villas, as well as some preserved scrolls that scientists are still trying to be able to safely unroll and read, and many other well-preserved ancient artifacts.

The most recent discovery is that the pyroclastic flow didn't just kill people at Herculaneum by heat, it killed them with so much immediate heat that it vitrified the victim's brains, turning their brains into glass.

The Detroit News: Mount Vesuvius blast turned ancient victim’s brain to glass

Stephen King And Ilhan Omar: The Wages Of Intersectional Wokeness

Stephen King, while otherwise a pretty conventional leftist, managed to step into controversy by failing to be sufficiently woke when he claimed he looks for quality in stories, not diversity uber alles.

This had lead to a firestorm of criticism against him by the woke left for his failure to kneel at the altar of diversity.

Some of those outraged are certainly off in far left field indeed.

Pluralist: Muslim Writer Rages at Stephen King Because No One Would Publish Her Ilhan Omar Children’s Book

So this writer is trying to grab on the coattails of the Stephen King controversy to complain that her children's story about Ilhan Omar is not getting published. Because a renowned horror writer who has sold millions of copies and an unknown woke children's author are totes the same thing. Under the left's concept of quality and diversity she would be considered comparable, so there's always that.

However I don't think her failure can be laid at the feet of Stephen King or even a lack of publisher woke-ness in an way shape or form.

Instead, I suspect its far less about racism but instead about quality because no one wants to buy a children's book with an ending that reads:

And so she [Ilhan Omar] married her brother and another man at the same time and they all lived happily ever after (until the affair and she got PTSD)....

I just don't see much of a market for that.

Stupid Criminals: How To Not Talk Yourself Out Of A Ticket

Americans have the right to remain silent, but most, while having that right, really lack the ability.

Generally, when you're caught speeding, it's unlikely you will be able to talk your way out of the ticket.

Most people just accept the fact they were speeding, take the ticket and deal with it.

Some people try to talk their way out of it.

And a minority of complete morons manage while trying to "talk their way out of it" to dig themselves in way deeper as did today's example of a stupid criminals:

The Detroit News: Driver threatens to kill officer, burn down police station after he clocks 130 mph on I-75, police say

Because nothing helps you win friends, influence people, and not get yourself out of a ticket like threatening the cop who gave you the ticket. It's a real winning strategy.

As one may expect, and to no one's surprise, such a threat really didn't improve the situation.

The driver was charged with reckless driving, having no operator’s license, hindering and obstructing a police officer, and intimidation – threatening to burn a police facility, authorities said.

Quite an effective way to talk yourself up from a civil infraction into a whole pack of misdemeanors, which could have also had a felony tacked on had the prosecutors or police felt like doing so.

Next time, try being polite and see how that goes.

Ghosting In Facebook Marketplace

People in general are indeed strange folks.

I have an item up for sale on Facebook marketplace and I've been getting some weird results.

On multiple occasions people have contacted and offered a reasonable amount for it below the listing price, which I accepted.

Some make an offer and then back out when it is accepted.

But others, once they agree on the price then ghost away and never bother to complete the sale, wasting everyone's time and not so much as a "I changed my mind message".

Some have been so nice as to arrange a time to pick it up and then never show at the time nor contact again which is even more annoying.

So ghosting is apparently an acceptable thing to do on social media marketplaces after agreeing to buy something. Ah well, people are indeed strange.

Apparently facebookers don't go by the offer--acceptance--contract--follow-through model of getting things done, which is irksome.

Getting A Drivers Licenses From The Secretary Of State

In all the excitement of Abby passing her test, I forgot to relate the customer service experience at the Secretary of State (think DMV to you non-Michiganians) when we went in to get her license.

First, the SOS office (an apt acronym) is rather Soviet in efficiency: You have to stand in a line in order to get in a line. Yes, really.

So we stood in line for quite awhile, just to get a number for our spot in the line to be served. Then we waited in line some more.

Time passed rather slowly and it was well over an hour and a half before we got to get her the license.

Interestingly, the Secretary of States office had a new smell throughout it that was new since we were last there when she got her learners permit and we got to enjoy it the whole time we waited there.

The skunky smell of marijuana absolutely pervaded the place.

Now that marijuana is legal in Michigan, people seem to have no problem stinking up the place.

You'd think now it was legal they'd buy some less malodorous stuff. Also, its kinda both gutsy and dumb to show up to get your license renewed absolutely reeking of weed, especially with no driving under the influence posters festtoned on the walls. Then again, it probably was hilarious for them to get their license photos taken while stoned, 'cause being stoned and driving go together just great, right?

There's been no time to develop an etiquette on legal marijuana usage in Michigan yet, and it shows.

But, one would think having the courtesy not to cause everyone around you to get a contact high, in a government office no less, from how much skunky scent you're giving off would be an easy one to figure out. I mean, if there was a cop outside when the users left pretty sure it would be an easy for the officer to follow his nose and end up giving them a driving under the influence charge the second they got behind the wheel.

Ah well, temporary paper license finally in hand with the real one to follow by mail, fresh cold air awaited outside.

Funny How That Always Manages To Happen Under Socialism

The daughter of the socialist dictator of Angola now just happens to be the richest woman in Africa with a net worth of $2 Billion.

BBC News: Isabel dos Santos: Africa's richest woman 'ripped off Angola'

As you can read in the article, she didn't exactly make it via investments, but by standard socialist corruption.

I'm sure you're as shocked and surprised as I am to learn that socialist dictators, while claiming to be for the people, still somehow manage to rip their nation's riches off to feather their own families' nests and leaver their people in poverty.

She joins Hugo Chavez's daughter among others of the children of Socialist leaders that manage to make it big by ripping off their own nations and getting the ill-gotten gains from their dictator parents under the banner of Socialism and equality.

Funny how that happens, eh?

New Fresh Delivery Services?

While walking the dog, in the chilly early morning today, I saw a rather curious sight:

I'm not sure if it's Amazon or Shipt that began offering delivery of turkeys right to your door, but there they are, waiting for the homeowner to let them in and warm them up.

Can't get fresher turkey than that.