The DBD is a W4C community space. An oasis, if you will, away from the unwashed masses of the front page. Say something nice about one of the cities on this list.
The current dominant variant BA.2.12.1 is on the decline. Unfortunately, BA.4 and BA.5 are vectoring to become the dominant strain in the US. Unfortunately, they are spreading because they are better at evading antibody defense via vaccination/previous-inflection and it is shown to be more dangerous in hamster trials.
Now if you'd like to have a logical explanation/ How I happened on this elegant syncopation/ I will say without a moment of hesitation / There is just one place / That can light my face /
Baltimore - great aquarium, lovely federal architecture neighborhood, good Italian food, M&T stadium is a surprisingly good place to watch a soccer game, crucially not Philadelphia
Pittsburgh - really cool setting with the confluence of the rivers, everyone I’ve ever met from the Burgh has been a mensch (almost certainly a coincidence but still), at least one museum not named after Andrew Carnegie, crucially not Philadelphia
New Orleans - I have a soft spot for New Orleans, the garden district is quite lovely, big fan of the food, less of a fan of the other visitors getting wrecked, rather like say Palm Springs there’s that frisson that comes from “building here was a bad idea,” you really have to see the Mississippi to appreciate the scale of it, and the city has some value as the canary in the coal mine that this country will let even a largely unique historical gem die if that’s what it takes to continue business as usual. (Also not Philadelphia)
I feel like Pittsburgh is actually a city that's been on a rise for awhile. Affordable, quite beautiful and they really support and fund the arts. Fairly isolated though.
I also enjoyed my visit to Baltimore. Great baseball stadium. I had a dinner at a local seafood restaurant (tearing into some crabs) and the owners were really friendly, especially after they learned we were from San Francisco. Lots of questions and discussion about what the two cities were like.
Which doesn’t require much of a trip given the relative lack of zoning / repurposing of the areas around mansions that were originally for slave housing.
One of the top five orchestras (and they backed up Michael Jackson in the Free Willy song), good mix of architecture, fun ballparks, strong hospital system, on the water, eclectic food scene stemming from different immigrant groups over the decades, best corned beef sandwich for the meat eaters, and birthplace of...
Had a friend who had a nice house in Shaker Heights, I guess it's a well-heeled area of the city. He spent most of time on his boat in the Florida Keys and Bahamas, and summers at the place in Cleveland. I was hoping he'd invest in a fund we were setting up, but he ended up passing on the opportunity. That's my one and only trip to Cleveland.
There are so many worse people that I'm trying not to cannibalize progressives, but I agree on Ginsburg refusing to retire. And that's why I'm not posting that image of her necklace with I DISSENT.
Biden should push to add four justices to the Court. Really, nothing to lose. At this point, there is no reason to believe that conservative-appointed justices will not dominate the SCOTUS for decades and the SCOTUS has lost any credibility it had left. From McConnell blocking a vote on Garland, the rush to appoint RBG's successor, to the revelations regarding Ginni Thomas, the thin veneer protecting the SCOTUS an independent institution immune from politics has been stripped away. I used to think it imprudent to do anything that threw the credibility of the institution into question. Now I don't give a f**k!
Biden and the Democrats should push for anything and everything to delegitimize this Court. They are radical right-wingers way out of step with the American mainstream, and they very clearly demonstrated that this week.
I've been inclined to agree ever since Moscow Mitch blocked Merrick Garland's nomination.
Let's stop the pretense that there's any chance of a meeting of the minds in the political arena, much less any sort of meaningful compromise. In case anyone hasn't noticed, so-called "conservatives" have been waging war on democracy and inclusion since Dwight Eisenhower left office.
Between the SCOTUS ruling yesterday on guns, the SCOTUS ruling today on abortion and the J6 committee hearings, democrats and progressives better show the fuck up for these midterms and 2024.
I don’t want to hear no nonsense that a democratic candidate is “boring” or just like a “Republican” or isn’t “progressive” enough for the rest of my fucking life.
I wish this were the answer. We have a serious institutional issue here. Between the electoral college and overrepresentation of minority states via the US Senate, a minority of Americans have the ability to lock down then POTUS, Senate, and SCOTUS, as the prior two select and confirm the latter.
A few blocks before I got home this morning I saw a tiny, white-haired lady who looked to be in her seventies or eighties. She was carrying a Ukrainian flag and a sign that said Stand With Ukraine and was walking in the direction of the Ukrainian Embassy. It was a nice vibe. A block later I saw a fat, dumpy guy wearing a Let's Go Brandon t-shirt. Vibe ruined.
I’m not a lawyer so I can’t complain about the specifics of recent Supreme Court decisions, but I was having a couple of drinks with several neighbors last night who are lawyers and they seemed unimpressed for professional reasons.
My brother, as I believe I have mentioned, works in the federal building in downtown Portland - he got a message last night saying that they were expecting 1) a decision on the abortion case today, and 2) shenanigans outside the building afterwards, so work at home today.
For the layperson, I think a simple way to grasp these decisions is in how the court frames the question presented. Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas are pretty good illustrations. In upholding an anti-sodomy law, the Court in Bowers asked whether sodomy between two homosexuals was a historically protected activity. An obvious no. In Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned Bowers 17 years later, the Court asked whether, criminalizing consensual, same sex intercourse, the state violated an individual's right to privacy. An obvious yes. If couched in terms of privacy interests, the interpretation of the Constitution becomes much more expansive and much more aligned with individual liberties. If couched in a historical reference to a country with a history of abusing civil liberties, the result allows much more state intrusion into individual liberties: It becomes self reinforcing.
Absolutely. I think that Thomas does exactly what the Ninth Amendment expressly prohibits: denies or disparages those rights not enumerated in the Constitution but retained by the people. Privacy is such a right.
Even if Thomas didn't explicitly call out Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell (which he did), he signaled his intent to assault those earlier decisions based on his view that they were wrongly decided by application of the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment.
It is hard to fathom that someone in his position in 2022 could be so damn regressive. That dude must carry so much unprocessed trauma to be so regressive and draconian in his vision of the treatment and rights of individuals in our country. It is appalling.
He's lazy and corrupt too. Never asks questions during arguments. Won't recuse himself even though his wife is obviously implicated in the Jan 6 investigation.
Crap. Aside from the obvious reasons for disappointment, outrage, fear, etc., I fear for my afternoon commute. I guess I should plan to walk to a BART station that is not my usual boarding point.
I write to you from the bottom of the 2nd inning in the series finale of the San Francisco Giants against the Atlanta Braves. First pitch was nearly an hour ago. I am on my couch picking at grocery store sushi. The bases are loaded. The Braves are already up 5-1. Alex Wood has thrown 30 pitches without recording an out, spending most of his time pounding his cleats into the hardening clay of the pitcher’s mound in mounting frustration. Slider after errant slider is spiked in the dirt.
Update: Zach Littell has relieved Wood and earned two outs on two pitches. Life is funny sometimes. Often cruel. I can only imagine the damage Alex Wood is causing to the visitor’s clubhouse right now.
3rd inning. Darin Ruf has grounded into the Giants third double play. Somehow San Francisco has “outhit” the Braves these first innings: 6 hits to 4. All singles. All erased after routine ground balls to middle infielders. My sushi is done. Minor acid reflux experienced. Or is it heartburn?
Dodgers hitters found their way at Great American Ball Park, sweeping away the Reds both in the series and on the season with a 10-5 win on getaway day Thursday in Cincinnati.
Five home runs, a new season high, paced the offense, one from a red-hot star heading into his much-hyped weekend, and two others from a pair of slumping hitters. The scoring outburst, plating runs in eight consecutive innings, also overcame outs on the bases and some shaky bullpen work by the Dodgers.
Freddie Freeman has a red carpet and a World Series ring waiting for him in Atlanta this weekend, sure to be filled with ovations, hugs, and tears. He heads into the weekend scorching hot, including a two-run home run in the third inning on Thursday.
Mrs Slug has been happy that the Warriors won the NBA Finals for two reasons - (1) the Warriors won and (2) it meant that Jeopardy would return to Channel 7 on a regular basis.
She's been disappointed that the Stanley Cup Finals and *last night's* NBA Draft have interrupted he Jeopardy viewing. I'd commiserate except that I've been watching The West Wing lately. Last night I watched "Gone Quiet" (S3E6) and "The Indians in the Lobby" (S3E7).
A's Montas took a no-hitter into the eighth vs. the Mariners. AJ Puk takes over with a 1-0 lead into the ninth and proceed to lose the game 2-1 on two wild pitches.
Seth Brown took a called strike three outside the zone to end the game. He enjoyed the call so much that he invited the umpire's parents for carnal relations.
Ukraine/Russia
There are unsubstantiated reports that Russia has ordered general mobilization of war in one of its five military districts (Western).
Came across this in my feed, and I love it so much https://www.etsy.com/listing/1132851215/theythem-causing-mayhem-nonbinary-pride?ref=shop_review
DBD AV Club
Watched the first 3 episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Enjoyed it. The little girl that plays Leia is cute and does a really good job.
3rd episode of For All Mankind was exciting, this season is moving faster.
Good to hear. I wasn’t blown away by S3E1, but then I wasn’t for E1 of S1 or S2 either.
Might wait til the season is over and binge. But don’t think I have that much self control ;-)
Thanks for allowing me to post about something other than SCOTUS!
Today in Covid
The current dominant variant BA.2.12.1 is on the decline. Unfortunately, BA.4 and BA.5 are vectoring to become the dominant strain in the US. Unfortunately, they are spreading because they are better at evading antibody defense via vaccination/previous-inflection and it is shown to be more dangerous in hamster trials.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/ba-4-ba-5-will-soon-be-dominant-in-the-us-heres-what-that-means/
@Good thing we aren't hamsters@
Nah, we're just guinea pigs. ;-)
Something nice about the cities in population decline
Now if you'd like to have a logical explanation/ How I happened on this elegant syncopation/ I will say without a moment of hesitation / There is just one place / That can light my face /
Gary, Indiana
Are you sure?
Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York, or Rome, but
Gary, Indiana?
Baltimore - great aquarium, lovely federal architecture neighborhood, good Italian food, M&T stadium is a surprisingly good place to watch a soccer game, crucially not Philadelphia
Pittsburgh - really cool setting with the confluence of the rivers, everyone I’ve ever met from the Burgh has been a mensch (almost certainly a coincidence but still), at least one museum not named after Andrew Carnegie, crucially not Philadelphia
New Orleans - I have a soft spot for New Orleans, the garden district is quite lovely, big fan of the food, less of a fan of the other visitors getting wrecked, rather like say Palm Springs there’s that frisson that comes from “building here was a bad idea,” you really have to see the Mississippi to appreciate the scale of it, and the city has some value as the canary in the coal mine that this country will let even a largely unique historical gem die if that’s what it takes to continue business as usual. (Also not Philadelphia)
I feel like all of these cities have something to offer and could make a comeback at any point. Not really sure why they haven't.
I feel like Pittsburgh is actually a city that's been on a rise for awhile. Affordable, quite beautiful and they really support and fund the arts. Fairly isolated though.
I also enjoyed my visit to Baltimore. Great baseball stadium. I had a dinner at a local seafood restaurant (tearing into some crabs) and the owners were really friendly, especially after they learned we were from San Francisco. Lots of questions and discussion about what the two cities were like.
In small doses New Orleans can be fun place to visit.
I have a number of friends who live or have lived there. They all have loved it.
Fun to visit but a hard place to live year round because of the hurricanes.
and the abject poverty once you step out of the "good areas"
Which doesn’t require much of a trip given the relative lack of zoning / repurposing of the areas around mansions that were originally for slave housing.
Cleveland was ok. Rock and Roll hall of fame was worth seeing.
Might have been there where I saw Jimi Hendrix's drawing of a Cal football player.
Cleveland Rocks!
One of the top five orchestras (and they backed up Michael Jackson in the Free Willy song), good mix of architecture, fun ballparks, strong hospital system, on the water, eclectic food scene stemming from different immigrant groups over the decades, best corned beef sandwich for the meat eaters, and birthplace of...
ME!
Had a friend who had a nice house in Shaker Heights, I guess it's a well-heeled area of the city. He spent most of time on his boat in the Florida Keys and Bahamas, and summers at the place in Cleveland. I was hoping he'd invest in a fund we were setting up, but he ended up passing on the opportunity. That's my one and only trip to Cleveland.
Baltimore's ample shoreline means that it is very beautiful at night
Front page
The what now?
Fucking SCOTUS!! Well, 2/3 of it.
But I think this might not have happened with a 5-4 court. At least Roberts might have hesitated more.
I think Ginsburg’s legacy gets tainted by this. Her refusal to retire when Obama was President.
There are so many worse people that I'm trying not to cannibalize progressives, but I agree on Ginsburg refusing to retire. And that's why I'm not posting that image of her necklace with I DISSENT.
Biden should push to add four justices to the Court. Really, nothing to lose. At this point, there is no reason to believe that conservative-appointed justices will not dominate the SCOTUS for decades and the SCOTUS has lost any credibility it had left. From McConnell blocking a vote on Garland, the rush to appoint RBG's successor, to the revelations regarding Ginni Thomas, the thin veneer protecting the SCOTUS an independent institution immune from politics has been stripped away. I used to think it imprudent to do anything that threw the credibility of the institution into question. Now I don't give a f**k!
Biden and the Democrats should push for anything and everything to delegitimize this Court. They are radical right-wingers way out of step with the American mainstream, and they very clearly demonstrated that this week.
I've been inclined to agree ever since Moscow Mitch blocked Merrick Garland's nomination.
Let's stop the pretense that there's any chance of a meeting of the minds in the political arena, much less any sort of meaningful compromise. In case anyone hasn't noticed, so-called "conservatives" have been waging war on democracy and inclusion since Dwight Eisenhower left office.
Decline
The Decline - NOFX
One of the best, if not the best, punk song of all time IMHO
Edward Gibbon.
Supposedly not a very good book, I have a illustrated copy, but never read it.
For an 18th century book it's not bad but he does really rely on some discredited sources such as the Historia Augusta.
I mean I’m 51 so it’s all kind of in decline
As someone in the future, allow me to say that it's possible to slow the decline. Baby steps make big strides.
Elsewhere in college
POLITICS GO HERE
I’m sitting in a kids amusement park in Japan watching my daughter and trying not to cry.
Between the SCOTUS ruling yesterday on guns, the SCOTUS ruling today on abortion and the J6 committee hearings, democrats and progressives better show the fuck up for these midterms and 2024.
I don’t want to hear no nonsense that a democratic candidate is “boring” or just like a “Republican” or isn’t “progressive” enough for the rest of my fucking life.
Burn down the patriarchy. Burn down the white supremacists buying brown children.
Oh they won’t buy them.
I wish this were the answer. We have a serious institutional issue here. Between the electoral college and overrepresentation of minority states via the US Senate, a minority of Americans have the ability to lock down then POTUS, Senate, and SCOTUS, as the prior two select and confirm the latter.
Don't forget about House gerrymandering! They can do it there too.
A few blocks before I got home this morning I saw a tiny, white-haired lady who looked to be in her seventies or eighties. She was carrying a Ukrainian flag and a sign that said Stand With Ukraine and was walking in the direction of the Ukrainian Embassy. It was a nice vibe. A block later I saw a fat, dumpy guy wearing a Let's Go Brandon t-shirt. Vibe ruined.
I’m not a lawyer so I can’t complain about the specifics of recent Supreme Court decisions, but I was having a couple of drinks with several neighbors last night who are lawyers and they seemed unimpressed for professional reasons.
My brother, as I believe I have mentioned, works in the federal building in downtown Portland - he got a message last night saying that they were expecting 1) a decision on the abortion case today, and 2) shenanigans outside the building afterwards, so work at home today.
For the layperson, I think a simple way to grasp these decisions is in how the court frames the question presented. Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas are pretty good illustrations. In upholding an anti-sodomy law, the Court in Bowers asked whether sodomy between two homosexuals was a historically protected activity. An obvious no. In Lawrence v. Texas, which overturned Bowers 17 years later, the Court asked whether, criminalizing consensual, same sex intercourse, the state violated an individual's right to privacy. An obvious yes. If couched in terms of privacy interests, the interpretation of the Constitution becomes much more expansive and much more aligned with individual liberties. If couched in a historical reference to a country with a history of abusing civil liberties, the result allows much more state intrusion into individual liberties: It becomes self reinforcing.
Thomas has already made his thoughts known https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1540341275219591168?s=21&t=Sx2AAXowtBw37N_hI8jKDA
Seems like condoms and vasectomies could be outlawed if he had his choice.
Absolutely. I think that Thomas does exactly what the Ninth Amendment expressly prohibits: denies or disparages those rights not enumerated in the Constitution but retained by the people. Privacy is such a right.
Even if Thomas didn't explicitly call out Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell (which he did), he signaled his intent to assault those earlier decisions based on his view that they were wrongly decided by application of the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment.
Yup.
and don't forget about gay marriage.
Worst justice of my lifetime.
It is hard to fathom that someone in his position in 2022 could be so damn regressive. That dude must carry so much unprocessed trauma to be so regressive and draconian in his vision of the treatment and rights of individuals in our country. It is appalling.
or he's just an asshole.
He's lazy and corrupt too. Never asks questions during arguments. Won't recuse himself even though his wife is obviously implicated in the Jan 6 investigation.
Uggh...this is so bad.
Aaaaand if you needed confirmation, here it is -
Supreme Court strikes down abortion protection (front page banner)
Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protection for abortion
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/24/supreme-court-abortion-ruling/
"Settled law", my ass. Lying sons of a bitches. If you lie to Congress as a SCOTUS judge, you should be impeached.
Crap. Aside from the obvious reasons for disappointment, outrage, fear, etc., I fear for my afternoon commute. I guess I should plan to walk to a BART station that is not my usual boarding point.
Eff Samuel Alito and his cohort.
The following congressmen sought pardons from Trump:
Rep Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Rep Scott Perry (R-PA)
Rep Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA)
Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
The following congressman sought a blanket pardon for all congressmen who objected to AZ and PA votes:
Rep Mo Brooks (R-AL)
I knew somebody a fraudster who pocketed $50 million in investor money who was headed to a federal facility until Trump pardoned him. Disgraceful.
A relative?
No.
If you had to ask for a pardon, you should be thrown out of office.
https://twitter.com/NotHoodlum/status/1540115231803953152
PRO
Giants turn blow-out loss into achingly-close loss just for fun
https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2022/6/23/23180607/mlb-recap-san-francisco-giants-atlanta-braves-joc-pederson
I write to you from the bottom of the 2nd inning in the series finale of the San Francisco Giants against the Atlanta Braves. First pitch was nearly an hour ago. I am on my couch picking at grocery store sushi. The bases are loaded. The Braves are already up 5-1. Alex Wood has thrown 30 pitches without recording an out, spending most of his time pounding his cleats into the hardening clay of the pitcher’s mound in mounting frustration. Slider after errant slider is spiked in the dirt.
Update: Zach Littell has relieved Wood and earned two outs on two pitches. Life is funny sometimes. Often cruel. I can only imagine the damage Alex Wood is causing to the visitor’s clubhouse right now.
3rd inning. Darin Ruf has grounded into the Giants third double play. Somehow San Francisco has “outhit” the Braves these first innings: 6 hits to 4. All singles. All erased after routine ground balls to middle infielders. My sushi is done. Minor acid reflux experienced. Or is it heartburn?
Dodgers overpower Reds to finish off season sweep
https://www.truebluela.com/2022/6/23/23179823/dodgers-home-runs-scoring-outburst-reds-sweep
Dodgers hitters found their way at Great American Ball Park, sweeping away the Reds both in the series and on the season with a 10-5 win on getaway day Thursday in Cincinnati.
Five home runs, a new season high, paced the offense, one from a red-hot star heading into his much-hyped weekend, and two others from a pair of slumping hitters. The scoring outburst, plating runs in eight consecutive innings, also overcame outs on the bases and some shaky bullpen work by the Dodgers.
Freddie Freeman has a red carpet and a World Series ring waiting for him in Atlanta this weekend, sure to be filled with ovations, hugs, and tears. He heads into the weekend scorching hot, including a two-run home run in the third inning on Thursday.
Maybe that big blast gets Muncy going
Hopefully. I think he had 3 hits? It was the Reds but Bellinger, Muncy, and Justin Turner all had 3 hits. They were struggling before this.
Hunter Greene is a good young arm.
Paolo Banchero and his purple suit get drafted #1
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34139008/orlando-magic-make-duke-paolo-banchero-no-1-pick-2022-nba-draft
Mrs Slug has been happy that the Warriors won the NBA Finals for two reasons - (1) the Warriors won and (2) it meant that Jeopardy would return to Channel 7 on a regular basis.
She's been disappointed that the Stanley Cup Finals and *last night's* NBA Draft have interrupted he Jeopardy viewing. I'd commiserate except that I've been watching The West Wing lately. Last night I watched "Gone Quiet" (S3E6) and "The Indians in the Lobby" (S3E7).
A's Montas took a no-hitter into the eighth vs. the Mariners. AJ Puk takes over with a 1-0 lead into the ninth and proceed to lose the game 2-1 on two wild pitches.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401355284
Seth Brown took a called strike three outside the zone to end the game. He enjoyed the call so much that he invited the umpire's parents for carnal relations.
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1540103036076531714
Horrific. The A's season has turned into a chamber of horrors. It's so bad that Edgar Allen Poe would write about it.
CAL
Luke Duncan, Miramonte QB, commits to fucla. Musgrave, where are you and what are you doing?
Nice write up at The Athletic on Cal's State of the Program
https://theathletic.com/3374559/2022/06/24/cal-football-roster-schedule-justin-wilcox/
Paywall
get a sub
Go Cal State!
Go Bears!!!