GIVE TIL IT HURTS!

The leopard polecat never changes his spots

Be it federal, state, or local, Government is a right bastard. You should never, ever trust it, it’s always a mistake.

Liquor Regulators Are Seeking Revenge on Bars That Broke Pandemic Rules
“The people who violated the governor’s mandates and orders should face some consequences,” a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board member said in 2022.

During the height of the pandemic summer of 2020, the proprietors of the Burning Bridge Tavern worked with local officials in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, to host a series of outdoor gatherings for the community.

For their trouble, the bar’s owners got slapped with a series of citations by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), the government agency that oversees and manages the sale of alcohol in the state. The citations were ticky-tack offenses, according to Burning Bridge’s chief financial officer, Mike Butler. Twice, the bar was cited for noise violations because they’d allowed a band playing at the gathering to plug into the tavern’s electricity supply. Another offense occurred when the owners and some family members were drinking inside the tavern, which was closed to the public, during a period when indoor dining was prohibited.

A frustrating situation, but not the end of the world. Burning Bridge’s owners paid the fines associated with the citations and assumed that was that. But then the bar had to renew its liquor license.

Fines, be assured, that amounted to thousands of dollars— dollars already hard to come by in the best of times given the extremely thin profit margins all bars and restaurants struggle with in normal times, orders of magnitude moreso under the draconian and entirely contra-Constitutional FauxVid rules of play.

Not the end of the world, perhaps, but having worked in a good few of them over the years I can tell you with absolute certainty that in the bar/restaurant business there simply ain’t no such thing as “extra money.” But as if all that weren’t enough:

“They denied it. They said, ‘Oh, you’re the guys that got all those citations,'” Butler says. “It was a real gut punch.”

Turns out, over the past two years the PLCB has pushed dozens of Pennsylvania establishments that racked up pandemic-​related citations to sign “conditional licensing agreements” to renew their liquor permits. In some cases, those agreements have forced the sale of licenses—but in most cases, as with Burning Bridge, they’ve added additional conditions to the license that could prevent a future renewal from being approved.

While the PLCB cannot revoke existing licenses, the board is empowered to object to the renewal of a license or to demand the license can only be renewed conditionally. “In extreme cases,” PLCB Press Secretary Shawn Kelly says, the PLCB can force the sale of a liquor license, though the board only pursues that option when “there is an operational and citation history that calls for such an agreement.”

Even though Burning Bridge’s owners weren’t forced to sell their license, Butler says signing the conditional licensing agreement has come with real costs: The bar’s insurance premium tripled as a result of being viewed as a greater risk.

Assuming BBT isn’t part of a bar/restaurant chain, the owners don’t by any stretch have what you might call deep pockets. So taken altogether, the bruising punishment inflicted by the state of Pennsylvania might NOT be “the end of the world” for them, no. But it could very well be the end of their sojourn in the bar biz.

As I always say, seems like there ought to be some way we could thank the “people” responsible adequately for it. I just can’t for the life of me imagine what it might be.

Update! Can’t leave out the closing ‘graph, which sums up the whole contretemps perfectly.

“The feeling was that our government really isn’t working to try and help us,” says Butler. “At this point, it feels like they’re coming after us.”

A-yup. That’s because they, y’know, ARE. You now, and eventually all the rest of us right along with you. Unpleasant as that is to get our heads around, as difficult as it can be for Real Americans naturally inclined to patriotism and faith in their institutions to choke down and accept, that’s the ugly reality nonetheless. The harder we resist admitting it to ourselves, the rougher it’s going to be when we do come around at last.

Which, sooner or later, one way or another, we’re all gonna have to, like it or not. Think of oversized, intrusive, all-powerful government as a sickness with only one effective treatment. It’s some bad, bad medicine—sure to leave a bitter taste that will linger for a long, long time—but before we can hope to be cured, the body politic fully restored to health, a full dose is going to have to be swallowed.

Q: Is EVERY liberal a liar?

A: Yes. Yes, they are. In fact, as I’ve long maintained, if it wasn’t for lies, they wouldn’t have anything whatsoever to say.

Which, you gotta admit, would be a most welcome change of pace.

Shocking never-before-seen documents from an ongoing trial concerning allegedly stolen Eagles lyrics shine new light on an infamous night in 1980 when Don Henley was arrested after a teen overdosed at his home.

Henley has always maintained that the overdose happened during a going-away party packed with crew members as the band began a lengthy post-’70s hiatus. Henley was charged with giving cocaine to a minor, but said he took the rap to protect the others. He also has maintained that he never had sex with the teen.

“There were roadies and guys in my house – we were having a farewell to the Eagles,” Henley told GQ in 1991. “I got all of them out of the house; I took complete blame for everything. I was stupid; I could have flushed ev erything down the toilet. I didn’t want this girl dying in my house. I wanted to get her medical at tention. I did what I thought was best, and I paid the price.”

A contemporary letter written by Henley to a Santa Monica probation officer, now introduced into evidence in the unrelated current trial, tells a very different story.

Oh, that’s putting it mildly, I’ll tell ya that much for nothing. Read on for the rest of the sorry, sordid story. Then go ahead and smash all your Eagles records to bits, and make a big bonfire with the shards. If you have any Eagles rekkids, that is; never could stand that band, except perhaps for “Witchy Woman,” which I haven’t heard in years and can’t honestly say I’’ve missed. So how best to dispose of my Eagles collection is not really a problem for moi.

Via Ace, who is every bit as disgusted as you and/or I.

As I read this story, I wondered if this scumbag pedophile — and he is a pedophile; there is no mistaking a fourteen year old girl for an adult — wrote “Dirty Laundry” as his “I’m the real victim here” cri de coeur.

Apparently, he did just that. The song is the whine of a pedophile who’s angry that he got caught.

He’s a dick with ears, that’s what, and always was.

Update! Now Joe Walsh, on the other hand

Joe Walsh of The Eagles executed the greatest prank in the history of pranks.

The Eagles had just completed a concert in Oakland, California. ‘The Day on The Green’ was a yearly concert sponsored by promoter Bill Graham which was held at The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Following a night of boozing with the group, crew, and associates, Don Henley became unconscious and Joe Walsh tried to grant him a circumcision. The attempt was carried out badly, giving Henley scarred for the rest of his life and bending to the left.

“I don’t know what I was thinking” said Walsh, “I was out of my mind a lot back then. I had just finished super gluing all the furniture to the ceiling and I was feeling bored. It was about 4AM and it was just Me, Mick Jones of Foreigner and Steve Miller still awake. Henley was passed out naked on the floor. His junk looked like bazooka joe wearing a turtle neck so I figured I would help him out and remedy the situation. I got out my trusty old Swiss army knife and went to work on him. I got half way through and realized I had no idea what I was doing. The knife was old, dull and rusty. The knife got stuck and Steve Miller pulled the rest off with a pliers.”

The following morning Henley awakened squirming in discomfort with his crap swaddled in gauze and duct tape. “I had no idea what happened,” said Henley “then I heard Miller and Walsh giggling uncontrollably in the other room. I was rushed to the hospital and I am now scarred for life, but it was all good clean fun. I can pee around corners now. That Walsh is an interesting bunch of guys.”

Heh. Serves the old pedophile right.

Walsh, of course, has always been known for the many pranks he’s perpetrated on his bandmates and crew, including but not limited to the time he glued the heavy curtains shut in a hotel room shared by two of his road crew, endarkening the room so’s they’d sleep right through bus call the next morning, then calling them on the phone last minute and shrieking hysterically, demanding to know where the hell they were at and what the hell they thought they were doing, because dammit, this bus was fucking leaving!

Needless to say, the hapless roadies came scrambling downstairs to the lobby in utter panic—all disheveled and only semi-awake, trying to pull whatever clothes they could on as they raced out to the tour bus, swearing blood-curdling threats of vengeance while Walsh and the rest of the entourage collapsed in gales of raucous hilarity.

Always did like Walsh, going back to his days with the James Gang, although I must confess I wouldn’t much care to tour with the guy, in any capacity or role.

Man, dig them groovy threads!

Behind the Hollywood scenes

Two wonderful backstage tales via KT.


The story continues from there, to wind up in a place you probably wouldn’t expect: Bronson and Russell skateboarding together all over the studio lot, in open defiance of insurance regs against it. Good, good stuff. Next up: how Bugs Bunny saved Mel Blanc’s life.


The follow-on dialogue is priceless.


Heh. I can think of but one way to respond to that.

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The shakiest guns in the, umm, East

Q: Are cops in FLA the worst in the known universe?

A: Apparently, yes. Yes, they are.

Cop resigns after mistaking falling acorn for gunshot, firing at unarmed suspect cuffed in patrol car
A Florida cop resigned after opening fire on an unarmed black man who was handcuffed in his patrol car — because he confused the sound of an acorn hitting the vehicle with a muffled gunshot.

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Jesse Hernandez handed in his badge in December following the Nov. 12 Fort Walton Beach incident, officials said Friday.

Sgt. Beth Roberts, who also opened fire, was exonerated in an internal investigation and remained on the job, according to police.

The suspect, Marquis Jackson, was luckily uninjured, but the “situation was traumatic” for him, police acknowledged.

The video of the incident is…well, quite frankly, it’s pathetic.


If you look closely, you can see the falling acorn highlighted against one of the light-grey rowhouses in the background, just before it hits the roof and scares Officer Pissypants out of his meager wits. Next up, vid of the other trigger-happy Deppity Dawg blasting away in “support” of her panicky fellow Offissa Pupp and likewise hitting nothing much.


Uh huh, luckily. A pair of regular Deadeye Dicks, these two. And just never anybody mind that these shooty-shooty knuckleheads popped off thirty rounds most ricky-tick (depending on issue mag capacity, natch; it coulda been sixty)—smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood, mind—at a handcuffed “shooter” who, presumably, had been patted down by Sooperdoopercop before he was ever put into the patrol car, thus already verified to be unarmed.

Presumably.

So guess what the PD review board “investigation” concluded regarding this disgraceful fiasco? Go on, guess. I dares ya.

Investigators concluded that Hernandez was culpable for a “policy violation regarding excessive use of control to resistance,” but that Roberts’ “use of deadly force was objectively reasonable.”

No criminal charges were filed against either officer.

Yeah, I thought not. But…“control to resistance”? SRSLY?!? There WAS NO resistance, of any kind. How the hell could there have been? The “shooter” was securely cuffed and locked in the squad car’s perp seat, behind the standard doors without handles, therefore posed no conceivable threat to anybody, badged/heeled or no.

Meanwhile, according to another Tweet I saw, Marquis Jackson (who will doubtless be known as “Lucky” to the other hoodrats forevermore), was cleared of his vengeful ex-ho’s firearms-possession accusations against him.

So at the end of the day it’s a happy ending, I suppose: Hernandez is off the force and out of a job he was manifestly unsuited for, and Jackson is none the worse for wear. Well, apart from the heart-attack-inducing levels of stress brought on by being the helpless, immobilized schnook used for target practice during a hot-range double mag-dump by two (2) cops, neither of whom had any business ever being handed a badge and a gun in the first place, that is.

For 2A folks as well, there’s a cherry on top of this shit sundae: we can take some small comfort that if it’s timorous, overwrought, weak-sister incompetents such as Hernandez and Roberts who’ll be tasked with tippy-toeing door to door to confiscate the guns, then we probably don’t have a whole hell of a lot to worry about. They simply ain’t gonna be up to it, and if any hot-lead-exchange should break out, the Keystone Kops demonstrably couldn’t hit the broad side of a bull’s ass with a baseball bat if you gave ‘em three tries at it. The most serious hazard to firearms enthusiasts in such an eventuality will be parting a floating rib from its moorings, from laughing so damned hard at them.

I dunno, though; kinda makes me wonder if there might not be something to all that angst, dread, and fear the boogs have for years claimed to suffer from merely being in the general vicinity of uniformed 5-0 after all, though I’ve always dismissed that shit out of hand until now. Either way, somewhere out there the infamous “Broward Coward” must be breathing a deep sigh of relief at seeing this mind-bending clusterfuck, secure in the knowledge that he’s at last been outdone by the Excessively Dynamic Duo© and their assclownish antics.

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About those various “national anthems”

Aesop would like a quiet word.

Pardon us for not noticing this egregious public jackassery before now, having paid no interest nor attention whatsoever to yesterday’s Sportsbowl. But reportedly, they had someone singing some alleged “Black National Anthem”.

Which leads us, inexorably, to the obvious question:

When and where did anyone grant independence to some part of the United States, and declare the new nation of Ni**erstan, Welfaria, Jigaboola, or Jimbobwe established?

There are, when last we looked, literally dozens of black national anthems. In countries from Sudan to South Africa, and Liberia to Somalia. Also, doubtless, in Haiti and Jamaica. Was one of these countries’ anthems selected? If so, for what reason? Did a football team from Nigeria make it to the Superbowl this year, without us hearing about it?

Furthermore, the republic already having a national anthem, anyone at that contest possessed of American citizenship who didn’t boo, catcall, and throw things at the announcers box throughout any poseur anthem should be stripped of citizenship and deported.

And if, as has frequently been the case, taking a knee during the actual National Anthem is acceptable for Activists Of Color, then by all means, white people dropping their trousers and slapping their naked asscheeks in the direction of Wakanda should be an appropriate protest for playing this Ode To Buckwheat any time, anywhere.

Personally, I lost interest and tuned out this year’s Stuporbowl after the team captains met at midfield for the traditional wiping of their asses with the US flag, right as they were tying the white family of four to the back bumper of an old pickup for the traditional dragging around the perimeter of the field for five (5) laps, to the elated roars of the mostly-Blaque throng.

Hey, when the nig-nogs insist that “it’s a black thing, you wouldn’t understand,” I’m more than happy to take that axiom to heart and apply it to the Nigger Felons League championship extravaganza. If I want to have some friends over to eat nachos and drink beer, I don’t have to have some bullshit “Big Game” blaring from my TeeWee all day long to do it.

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Fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke

Comedian David Lucas gives ‘em hell. Rather, he gives ‘em the plain and simple truth, and they think it’s hell.

‘I like Kyle Rittenhouse too!’ Comedian rips on George Floyd, black audience members storm out
Representing exhibit A in the case of why those readily triggered shouldn’t go to live comedy shows, David Lucas doubled down on controversy after daring to invoke the name of George Floyd during a set at the Kansas City Funny Bone.

The standup star, who built a career on MTV’s “Yo Momma” and later on the All Def Digital program “Roast Me” before opening for the likes of Joe Rogan and Louis CK, recently shared a video of an incident from a January performance where an interaction with a heckler went too far for some black audience members.

In a snippet of the incident shared by The Post Millenial’s senior editor Andy Ngô, Lucas had just finished unsuccessfully trying to talk an audience member to come on stage to get roasted and said, “All these f*ckin’ good a** white people at my show and you want to show them the reason George Floyd got his neck kneeled on?”

“Don’t ‘oo’ at that joke. It’s just a joke man. I would have never kneeled on George Floyd’s neck,” the comedian said as the audience had mixed reactions. “I would have shot that n*gga.”

A back-and-forth proceeded before the first of several audience members decided to bail on the rest of the performance with one man asserting to Lucas, “You need to know about George Floyd before you get yo a** up there talking about him. You really stoop low to be funny don’t you know that.”

“It’s called comedy,” the comedian replied before another group felt he “took it too far” and chafed at the jokes.

“I can tell you voted for Biden,” Lucas ripped as one woman made a production of leaving the show. “You already bought that VIP ticket. I already got that $42.”

“Buy a t-shirt on the way out too. I got a Make America Roast Again shirt in the style of Trump,” the comedian added.

With another parting shot, he riled those offended by jokes about the May 2020 death of Floyd in police custody by calling back to an incident that happened amid the ensuing riots and said, “I like Kyle Rittenhouse too!”

In sharing over 16 minutes of the show on YouTube, Lucas had titled the video “Controversial Joke Infuriates Crowd, Show Spirals Out of Control,” and days after it was posted, the same attitude that led to the walkouts had him pointing out on Facebook, “[I’m] currently getting ‘Cancelled’ for a joke, and i do not apologize about the joke at All, i will continue to joke about Everything.”

Good on ya, Dave, you damned sure got the right idea about what cutting-edge comedy is supposed to be all about—NOTHING sacred, NOTHING out of bounds, NOTHING off limits, NO bridge too far, NO topic too hot to touch. Shouldn’t oughta have bought a ticket if they can’t handle the ride. Keep sticking to your guns no matter what, it really is the only way.

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Another day…

…another deranged “transgender” Manwoman© shooting up the place.

Here’s Everything We Know About the Megachurch Shooter
The now-deceased gunman who opened fire inside a famous Texas megachurch run by Joel Osteen Sunday afternoon has been identified as an identity-switching Hispanic woman with pro-Palestine, antisemitic beliefs.

36-year-old Genesse Ivonne Moreno, a biological female who used multiple male aliases, was wearing a trench coat when she entered the Houston-based Lakewood Church with two rifles, a backpack, and a young child by her side around 2 p.m. Sunday.

According to Commander Christopher Hassig of HPD’s homicide division during Monday’s press conference, the sticker simply stated “Palestine” on the long gun’s buttstock. In addition to the Anderson-manufacturing AR-15, which she used to carry out the church shooting, Moreno possessed a .22 caliber rifle by Blue Line Solutions on her person, but it was not fired at the time.

Authorities have also uncovered “antisemitic writings” in Moreno’s possession.

Hassig said police believe there was “a familiar dispute” that took place between her ex-husband and her ex-husband’s family. “Some of those individuals are Jewish. So, we believe that might possibly be where all of this stems from,” Hassig stated.

Dayumm, a possible self-gassing Jew for the Nutjob Trifecta too? I admit, I did NOT see that coming.

There were two victims injured: The seven-year-old boy, allegedly used as a human shield, was hit during the exchange of gunfire and taken to Texas Children’s Hospital in critical condition; a 57-year-old man, an innocent bystander, was shot in the leg.

The child caught in the crossfire suffered a gunshot to the head and remains hospitalized.

Moreno is the child’s biological mother. She’s posted “#momlife” and “#motherandson” content with pictures of a boy in her care.

In the past, Moreno assumed the altar-ego Jeffery Escalante as well as other male-presenting personas.

Moreno’s Facebook page—which expressed leftist, anti-police views—has since been scrubbed. Moreno’s since-deleted Instagram account featured posts of her cleaning an AR-15 and donating money to Lakewood Church. There, she uploaded a screenshot of the contribution’s confirmation. “[A]s for me and my household…I will honor and bless my church,” Moreno wrote on Instagram.

In the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election, Moreno supported socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). “I WANT HIM IN THE OFFICE AS THE US PRESIDENT,” she wrote in an Instagram post, uploading a photograph of Sanders on the campaign trail.

Arrest records show she was an El Salvadoran immigrant.

Jesus tapdancin’ Christ, is there any present-day socio/political/personal pathology this pluperfect looney-tooney doesn’t represent? Of course you know what this means, right? To wit: all normal, sane Real Americans who never shot anybody and never will must yield up their 2A rights immediately so something like this can never, ever happen again. Best-case scenario: the whole sad, sorry story will be alacritously hurled down the memory hole in 3…2…1…

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HORRIBLE news

So my good friend BCE’s lovely wife, a truly sweet, good-hearted woman I’ve had the good fortune to meet IRL a few times, is laid up with breast cancer. Their insurance situation is not all that might be wished, so BC’s throwing a GoFundMe to help ensure she gets the care she needs, and asked me to mention it here. What I think I’m gonna do today and tomorrow is whip up some kind of image to put up in the right sidebar for ‘em. Much love and positive thoughts for both of ‘em from here.

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Predator popped

Admittedly, I am of two minds on this one. Two at least, maybe more.

Minnesota mom arrested for alleged sexual romp with two boys, 15, after spat with hubby
From hot tub to hotel room, a Minnesota mom was arrested for alleged criminal sexual conduct with two boys she claimed “she wasn’t going to go through with.”

Marital issues were reportedly blamed for 39-year-old Allison Leigh Schardin’s alleged felonies in mid-January when her family found themselves staying at the same hotel as a visiting hockey team. According to a report from the Star Tribune, after being arrested Thursday the mother of two young sons admitted to sexual contact with two 15-year-old boys she’d engaged with in a poolside chat.

Faced with third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, Schardin was said to have been discussing her marital problems with team players visiting from Colorado while she, her husband and their children were having a staycation in Roseville on Jan. 14.

When the players had returned to their rooms, the Blaine, Minnesota mom was said to have sent a Snapchat asking if she could join them.

Once there, she was said to have started talking with the boys about “sex and stuff,” got into bed with two of the boys and questioned them about their sexual activity. It was then that she allegedly performed sexual acts on them and asked them to perform sexual acts on her while a third boy was said to have watched, according to the Tribune.

If convicted, the maximum sentence for the third-degree criminal sexual conduct included up to 15 years imprisonment and/or a fine up $30,000 while the penalty for fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct maxed out at ten years imprisonment and/or a fine up to $20,000.

Her first court appearance was scheduled for Monday.

Okay, okay, I realize it was wrong of this dame to betray the trust bestowed on her by the Minneapolitans who put her in a position of responsibility she was patently unsuited for. I get all that, honestly I do. Nonetheless, I also remember what I was like when I was a fifteen-year-old boy; after seeing Schardin’s pic, I also know how delighted I would’ve been to…well, just take a look yourself.

See what I mean? At fifteen, if I’d had a romp with a hottie like that I woulda been fairly busting with pride, eager to dash right out and brag about the experience to any and every one of my peers who was willing to hear me out, right down to the last sweaty detail. I’m sure my mom and dad would’ve felt otherwise about it, of course, and would certainly have made their displeasure known to every authority figure within reach. But still.

The boys will have a ready-made audience at their high school, waiting for them with bated breath. They’ll be at the center of a sizable crowd whenever the grown-ups aren’t around, all a-twitter and expectant, primed to hear the thrilling tale told again and again. Hell, all the other boys will treat them like heroes, I don’t doubt. A solid percentage of the girls will probably despise them, sincerely and heatedly. Many will act as if they do for appearance’s sake, but will secretly find the taboo tryst darkly exciting, even compelling, ample cause not to shun them but to quietly seek them out.

As the old-school bikers liked to say, the ladies do love an outlaw, like a little boy loves a stray dog. From my own life-experience, I can confirm that this assessment is essentially true and accurate, if perhaps not universally so. As y’all CF Lifers© may recall, I effusively sung a jubilee of praise for such ladies many years back, in the post that first brought this humble, hitherto-unknown little websty to prominence when my friend and fellow OG-blogger Stephen Green linked to it at his pre-PJM Vodkapundit hang.

15 years and/or 30k? A felony, ferchrissake? All this for taking advantage—however unrighteous—of teenage horndogs who I guaran-damn-tee you do NOT see themselves as “victims” in any way, shape, or form, and probably never will? Who will more likely cherish fond memories of their youthful illicit adventure for the rest of their days; won’t be haunted by a moment’s remorse or regret; and will smile softly and slyly to themselves every time the memory pops into mind?

I dunno. As wrong as this MILF’s actions were; as psychologically/emotionally askew as she appears to be; as surpassingly unwise, injudicious, and just plain reckless as she inarguably is, that seems to me a mite harsh. If the punishment is supposed to fit the crime, I’m thinking the scales are way out of balance in this particular instance. Could be that’s just me though, I do admit it. But still.

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During Blaque Hissreh Mumf ‘n’ sheeit?

An insult, if you like.

Squatters take over 1,200 homes in Atlanta, open illegal strip clubs and terrorize neighbors: ‘Is this even America?’
Squatters are ruining entire neighborhoods in Atlanta and police response to evict is so slow, some homeowners have resorted to paying nuisances to leave.

Brazen squatters even opened an illegal strip club on a property they had taken over — one of the 1,200 homes which has been squatted in the city, according to the National Rental Home Council (NRHC) trade group.

“I’d be terrified in Atlanta to lease out one of my properties,” Matt Urbanski, who manages a local home-cleaning company, told Bloomberg.

Urbanski’s company cleans out homes for corporate landlords, and in some cases has to remove squatters’ possessions.

Recently one of his employees was shot after attempting to remove intruders from a property.

Simon Frost, CEO of large-scale landlord Tiber Capital Group, said there have been incidents of unlawful occupants brandishing weapons and threatening neighbors, which affects the safety of neighborhoods and other residents, according to Bloomberg.

Evicting squatters in Atlanta is tough, involving negotiating court backlogs and strained police resources.

Gee, Atlanta being Atlanta—“The city too busy to hate,” as they used to like to say of themselves—one wonders how those police resources might have become so “strained.” This next is the part I like best.

In October, an Atlanta neighborhood found itself at the center of a scandal involving squatters who transformed a home into an illegal strip club, complete with weekend parties and even live horses on the property.

Live horses?

‘Nuff said.

Update! Forgot to include the link, fixed now, with my apologies. Got way too many irons in the fire this evening, I’m afraid.

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SO, how’s that 15-20 buck an hour minimum wage working out for ya, anyway?

NOT. TOO. GOOD.

McDonald’s CEO promises ‘affordability’ amid backlash over $18 Big Mac combos, $6 hash browns
McDonald’s CEO admitted the burger giant’s sales have taken a hit as jacked-up menu prices have turned off core customers — and signaled the chain plans to focus on “affordability” this year.

The Chicago-based fast-food behemoth — which has lately taken heat over a Big Mac combo meal priced at nearly $18 — said its global same-store sales in the latest quarter had grown just 3.4%, falling short of the 4.7% growth Wall Street had expected.

The lackluster quarter — which the company also blamed on conflict in the Middle East that has slammed franchisees overseas — sent McDonald’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange tumbling nearly 4%, to $285.97, at Monday’s close.

“I think what you’re going to see as you head into 2024 is probably more attention to what I would describe as affordability,” McDonald’s chief executive Chris Kempczinski said on a Monday earnings call with analysts.

In particular, low income customers making less than $45,000 per year have largely stopped ordering from McDonald’s. Pummeled by inflation, they’re eating at home more frequently as grocery prices come down, Kempczinski admitted.

Last week, a McDonald’s outpost in Connecticut got slammed over its “outrageous pricing” after a customer was charged $7.29 for an Egg McMuffin — and nearly $5.69 for a side of hash browns.

Over the summer, a franchisee in nearby Darien, Conn., was called out for charging $17.59 for Big Mac combo meal. That location also sold a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Bacon meal that came with fries and a soda for $19, according to viral posts.

Experts have also warned that fast food prices could climb even higher as minimum wage hikes are implemented across the country. California’s $20-an-hour minimum wage for fast food workers goes into effect in April.

McDonald’s and Chipotle both announced that they would be hiking the prices of menu items at Golden State locations beginning this year.

Because of COURSE they will. Why wouldn’t they—actually, how could they NOT, if they want to continue to exist and turn even a piddling profit? In the era of Bidenflation and a worthless paper dollar, the idiot protesters demanding fifteen bucks an hour are going to protest themselves right out of a job and onto the unemployment rolls before it’s all said and done, which serves them right if you ask me. May they all have joy of their foolish choice.

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Git-fiddlin’

A fascinating list of the most expensive guitars EVAR, including this one.

5. Reach Out to Asia Fender Stratocaster

Sold: Qatar, 2005
Price: $2,700,000

Unique here in that it was never owned by a superstar, the Reach Out to Asia Strat was auctioned for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

It was a humble Mexican Standard Stratocaster bearing the signatures of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Mark Knopfler, Ray Davies, Liam Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Tony Iommi, Angus and Malcolm Young, Paul McCartney, Sting, Ritchie Blackmore, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams. 

New made-in-Mexico Strats sold for around $350 in 2005, making this objectively the most overpriced axe of all time. 

If 2 million seven sounds a tad extravagant to ya, believe me, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

One of the very best Strats I ever did own was a Mexi-Strat, a Wayne’s World model, incredible as it may seem. Hard as I tried to be one, as desperately as I wanted to be one my whole life, I just never could master the Stratocaster. Me, I’m way more of a Gibson guy, myself. That said, enjoy this vidya of little ol’ moi bashing away on the best guitar I ever did own: a heavily-customized and -tweaked Sam Ash house-brand copy of the grand old Gibson ES5 box, playing a song I’d completely forgotten I wrote until I ran across this h’yar vid just recently.

Good times, good times.

Update! One of the aforementioned tweaks was the replacement of the “master tone” knob, which is pure-tee uselessness defined, with a master volume, which is anything but. The guitar came stock with a volume control for each pickup, which was also extremely useful, but no pickup selector switch, which elevated the master-volume from being merely useful, to damned critical: you needed a way to cut the danged thing off between songs onstage, lest you get either that annoying 40-cycle hum single coil pickups are infamous for, or outright squalling feedback should you be bold enough to remove your damping-hand from the strings for a micro-millisecond, and a quick swipe of that master-volume accomplished that nicely.

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An idea whose time has surely come

Not a sportsball guy by any stretch, so I can’t honestly claim to care one way or the other about what pro athletes (or any athletes, actually) might or might not do, say, or think—or to even to be aware of it, most of the time. But this right here, I support one hundred and ten percent.

Black National Anthem at the Super Bowl
What happens if a white person takes a knee?

The NFL has announced that for the fourth year in a row, the so-called black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” will be performed at the Super Bowl.

It appears we’ve come full circle since the 2004 Democratic National Convention when then-Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama said: “Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us…there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America…We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.”

The national anthem is also the black/white/Asian/Hispanic national anthem. It is the national anthem of every citizen.

As for the black national anthem to be sung at the Super Bowl, what’s next? How about playing the University of Michigan fight song? What happens if at least some players reject the narrative that blacks remain victims and consider the singing of the black national anthem at the Super Bowl divisive?

The first white or black player who takes a knee at the Super Bowl during the “black national anthem” will immediately have the league’s bestselling jersey. As Nike says, “Just do it!”

Yes indeedy. Hell, if this idea should take hold and become a trend—not that it will, natch, because RAYCISS!!!©—I might possibly be persuaded to tune in a game on the TeeWee once in a while again, if only for that.

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Your Celebrity Gall story of the year

Two via Ace: first up, Alyssa Milano self-beclowns in most spectacular fashion.

Alyssa Milano responds after critics slam her as ‘out of touch’ for requesting money for son’s baseball trip
‘Charmed’ star Alyssa Milano shares 12-year-old Milo with husband David Bugliari

Actress Alyssa Milano is responding after angering fans on social media by asking if they could donate to her son’s baseball team.

A day after her donation request, Milano took to X, formerly Twitter, to share that she had gotten a lot of “media inquiries about whether [she has] financially contributed to [her] son’s baseball team.”

“I’ve paid for uniforms for the entire team and coaches, thrown bday parties and sponsor any kid who can’t afford monthly dues,” she wrote Friday. “The kids also do fundraising themselves — car washes, movie nights, and many other fun things! Thank you to all who have contributed to the gofundme! You’ve made things easier for these boys and their families.”

Social media users were confused why Milano was asking her followers for money, when she is a multimillionaire. Milano starred on the hit drama “Charmed” for six seasons, and Bugliari is the co-head of motion picture talent at the management firm Creative Artists Agency.

Many were left wondering “why isn’t Alyssa Milano paying for the trip for the whole team herself,” while others were questioning why the actress is “asking for money from people who can barely buy groceries.”

Gotta say, that question occurred to me also. Next up, Kurt Russell provides the antidote, in most refreshing, no-bullshit fashion.


Most hilarious aspect: the “journalist” doing the interview obviously assumed he had himself a natural “gimme” with a big Hollywood name who was just bound to agree with his hoplophobic views such as Russell—OOOOPS!—but ended up getting his butt in the blades and chawed all to hell and gone instead. Y’know, a lot like Billy Bob Thornton’s poor character did in this solid-gold scene.

“You gonna do something, or just stand there and bleed? No? I didn’t think so.” Priceless, just priceless. Nice to know that the guy who could utter those lines so brilliantly really does have his heart in the right place, and ain’t exactly what you’d call shy about saying so either.

Update! Via brack in the comments: Clay Travis steps up, problem solved. Just one leeeeetle catch…and it’s hilarious.


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Another “food desert” mirage

So first, this happened.

In-N-Out has never closed a location, until now. It cites crime as the problem
New York CNN—In-N-Out is permanently closing one of its restaurants for the first time ever, announcing that its Oakland location will soon shutter because of rampant crime in the California city.

The burger chain said in a statement that “despite taking repeated steps to create safer conditions, our customers and associates are regularly victimized by car break-ins, property damage, theft, and armed robberies.”

The location, which has been open for nearly two decades, will close on March 24. It’s the city’s only In-N-Out and is near the airport.

Crime has indeed substantially increased in Oakland: Burglaries were up 23% and motor vehicle thefts were up 44% in 2023 compared to a year prior, according to Oakland Police Department data obtained by CNN affiliate KGO-TV.

In-N-Out said in a statement that while “several” of its locations have relocated in its 75-year history, the Oakland closure is the first restaurant it has closed.

“We feel the frequency and severity of the crimes being encountered by our customers and associates leave us no alternative,” said Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick, in the statement.

Notably, Warnick said its Oakland location was “busy and profitable,” but it can’t ask its customers or employees to “visit or work in an unsafe environment.” Affected employees, which amount to about 100, will transfer to a nearby restaurant in San Francisco or receive severance.

Then, the reliably-brilliant and hilarious Hodge Twins decided to have way too much fun with it, as is their wont.

Heh. Excellent rip, fellas.

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