Everybody Is A Lying, Cheating Crook

Epecially the wealthy fucking pigs who have already stolen billions from you. Greed never stops, does it?

As noted at the end here.

The NBA has ordered the Clippers to forfeit five first-round draft picks in future NBA drafts, along with paying the $30 million fine.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended from all league and team activities for one year as a result of his involvement in helping Leonard obtain income opportunities and approving business deals that violated the circumvention rules.

Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker has been suspended without pay for one year after being found culpable for her role in the impermissible endorsement arrangements and for providing false and misleading statements to investigators.

Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank has been suspended without pay for six months for his involvement in the endorsement arrangements and for approving impermissible expenses incurred by Leonard.

Are there no firing squads? These people need to be made into a glaring example that the rich will not get away w/ their constant cheating. First Sicko Sterling, now this baldhead crook. As pathetic as everything & every one else.

[Los Angeles Magazine]

How Many Times Must I Tell You Cretins NOT To Buy From Amazon?

That's US$20 billion (W/ a "B"!) stolen from small businesses & your sorry asses!

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

The FTC and 22 state AGs sue Amazon, alleging it “secretly and systematically overcharged” advertisers more than $20B since 2019 by using “hidden surcharges”

Dave Michaels / Wall Street Journal:   The FTC and 20+ state AGs sue Amazon for allegedly making tens of billions over seven years by manipulating ad prices on its retail platform

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:   FTC, states plan lawsuit against Amazon over ad price fixing

Angela Palumbo / Barron's Online:   Amazon Stock Falls After FTC Lawsuit Over Advertising Prices

Reuters:   Amazon sued by U.S. FTC, over 20 states alleging company deceived advertisers

About Amazon:   Amazon's response to the FTC's lawsuit regarding Sponsored Ads

Financial Times:   US regulator sues Amazon for manipulating advertising prices

Forbes:   FTC Files Lawsuit Against Amazon Alleging Manipulative Ad Prices

Aimee Picchi / CBS News:   FTC and 22 states sue Amazon over alleged secret ad surcharge scheme

Bloomberg Law:   Amazon Sued by FTC Over Claims It Misled Advertisers on Pricing

Anzar Mehraj / Reuters:   FTC to file lawsuit alleging Amazon deceived advertisers, WSJ reports

Andrew Ferguson / @afergusonftc:   Digital markets play a critical role in the American economy—but they only work when participants can trust that powerful tech platforms play by the same rules as everyone else. That trust is foundational. Today, the Trump FTC—joined by 22 states—filed suit alleging that Amazon

IJR News:   FTC plans lawsuit against Amazon over ad pricing

@ftc:   FTC, states sue Amazon over secret ad surcharge scheme. FTC and 22 state attorneys general allege Amazon concealed unfair charges in its digital advertising auction pricing: https://www.ftc.gov/...

Tyler Durden / ZeroHedge News:   Amazon Shares Tumble Amid News Of FTC ‘Advertiser Deception’ Lawsuit

Federal Trade Commission:   FTC, States Sue Amazon Over Secret Ad Surcharge Scheme

Karen Weise / New York Times:   F.T.C. and 22 States Claim in Lawsuit That Amazon Secretly Inflated Ad Prices

While working the wage-slaves in their warehouses to early graves. Give Bezos all your money, sucker-ass chumps! Somehow, he deserves it, not you!

More Melting To Follow?

How many fucking sheep will die before anyone does anything? Rhetorical question. Obviously, no one is going to do a damn thing & you're all going to drown or boil soon.

Beef In The News

None Dare Call It Communism!

Comrades! Glorious News! By decree of the People’s Beef Committee, 300,000 metric tons of ground beef shall enter tariff-free for 90 days, priced 25% below the capitalist market. Thus shall the workers eat, the ranchers prosper, and the Great American Herd rise again!

“Conservative lawmakers and pundits alike spoke out on the internet Friday after President Donald Trump announced a new deal that will temporarily lift certain tariffs on ground beef imports, with Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) warning ‘this will further harm’ American ranchers, ‘most of whom are MAGA Republicans,'”Mediaite

Mediaite: Fox’s Tomi Lahren torches Trump over new policy to “import a bunch of foreign beef.”

Apparently, by Sen. Sheehy's logic, it's perfectly fine if non-MAGA citizens are harmed. Will this beef be reserved for MAGA states, then? Another argument for reverse immigration: Back to the Auld Sod for you, bog-monkey!

Anonymous quote from Earth-Bound Misfit. Also, Political Wire.

Friday Exhaustion

"Sorry, babe, I just can't get it on anymore ..."

The Hell's Going On Down South?

Another Huge Quake Kills Hundreds

C'mon planet, wake up some volcanoes while you're at it.

Still Beat

And dead inside.

It's certainly a world of shit & pain, & needs to be completely refurbished, by force. How else?

Big Ball Of Gas

There's a song for everything.

Danger UXB

Hey, where's all das wasser?

Any Questions?

DEBUNKED: Why This Pro-Israel NYT Columnist Is WRONG About Gaza by Mehdi Hasan

Mehdi brings receipts to rebut Bret Stephens’s viral argument and explains why Israel is undeniably committing genocide in Gaza.

Read on Substack

Please stop typing "brings receipts" or whatever. It's stupid. Call them the facts, or the truth. Thank you. Also: Expected to embed the video, not a link to it! Want those clicks, don't you?

You can scroll two items down for more facts.

Probably Not

Sudden thought while looking at the rolling stock on the flex-track: I could make a yard here.

The space might not work, however, & I'd only have to "invest" a couple of hundred dollars (minimum) in turn-outs,
so nagonna happen.

Friday (Festive) Freak Out

Seven-twelfths through another horrid yr.; lively yourselves up while you can.No, I've no idea what the video has to do w/ the song.

Friday The 31st: End Of A Horrible Month

Brick. From the Int'l. Review of Music.

Local luminary, author of Brick's Picks for the L.A. Weekly & other writing, drummer & one-time friend Phillip "Brick" Wahl up & died, unexpectedly to me at least, leaving his wife of many yrs. Phyllis, his brother Lex & many friends. For many yrs. Brick & Phyll hosted a bash the Saturday night before Xmas, an obligatory gathering. I've no words, but here are a few. Search results.

And Jennifer Finch, bassist of L7 & photog, at 59, of "aggressive" brain cancer. She stopped by bar-be-ques at my party house w/ band-mate Suzi Gardner a couple of times, & rehearsed a rasslin' women event conceived & directed by Tequila Mockingbird on cardboard spread over the living room floor. People on F-book who knew her were quite broken up. Rolling Stone.

In a 2017 Rolling Stone profile of the band, she was described as “an ill-behaved and untrained bassist who added instant verve to their live act.”

Rest of the month: Studio tenor giant Plas Johnson, who made 92, & a few others who created good stuff & lived into their late seventies & eighties.

Nowhere Is Safe: There Is No Escape

Hemant Mehta / Friendly Atheist:

Christian preachers are turning airplanes into unwanted worship services  —  Evangelists are exploiting captive audiences who can't walk away—and broadcasting it online  —  What is it about being in an enclosed space, surrounded by people who can't escape, that makes evangelical Christians even more insufferable than usual?

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:   Evangelicals are force-feeding sermons to air travelers: ‘I just love a captive audience’

All of this reeks of Christian privilege. These kinds of stunts would never be tolerated—even for a moment—if the evangelists weren’t Christian.

It’s telling that these Christians believe a captive audience is the best way to spread their message. They’re basically admitting other people wouldn’t listen to them otherwise. The only thing they accomplish with their impromptu sermons is reminding people why they should avoid Christians when they have the option.

Are there no Air Marshals? Damn jet travel. W/ a nice four-engine turboprop the 'plane could be slowed enough that such people could be safely tossed out an open door.

Hot Rails To Hell ...

... Are Actually Hot!

Spent almost an hr. post-shooting fiddling w/ sectional & flex-track before suspending operations. But one line is almost going & I've proved w/ geometric logic it won't need added feeds.

Other modeling stuff:

Also, at some point you need to decide if you are content being a casual recreationalist or if you want to move to the next level. It’s your call. No judgement. That said, if you want to move forward, you need to get out of your comfort zone, buy that sixty-buck airbrush, and get comfortable with it.

Easy, Lance. Sounds a bit judgemental to me who, picky as I am, fully intend to remain in my "casual recreationalist comfort zone". No desire to obtain an air-brush, but I did click the "sixty-buck airbrush" link out of curiosity, to find it's a) Amazon; b) $199.99, not any "sixty bucks". Ha!

Don't have the space, don't need the noise.

I'll stick w/ washes & powders; my primary interest in weathering is eliminating gloss & shine on rolling stock, not creating1:87 works of art. Avoided a soldering iron so far too, but if the track continues its recalcitrance ...

Dry Heat

Temperature & humidity in the bunker earlier.

Currently 58% humidity, 86°F (30°C). Don't make me no never mind. Haven't broken a sweat or broken out the fan yet. If you can't take the heat ...

Dust Bowl II On The Way?

The original:

National Drought Mitigation Center

You'll all be vegetarians soon, & vegans before you know it, because all the livestock will be dead.

Continuing Red Scare

Grasping At Straws

Hailey Bullis / Washington Examiner:
Memo urges Republicans to tie Democrats to communism
Charlie McCarthy / NewsMax.com:   Report: GOP Memo Says to Tie Democrats to Communism

From digby, Lumpy sez the commies want to blow up Mt. Rushmore while spewing the usual contradictory, inane & illogical bullshit.

Trump says communists are trying to blow up Mount Rushmore pic.twitter.com/rh7y9KPPGR

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 22, 2026

The only "Commies" Trump should worry about are post-Communist China & their economic powerhouse that Fat Don furthers every day w/ his pathetic ignorance, incompetence & flailing about.

Today's Dull

Almost three insufferable hrs. in the outside world & nothing happened beyond flashing lights.

"America Needs A New Red Scare"

Triggered Much? Bugger Off, You Twits!

Fox News:

Leftist streamer sparks online firestorm over speech to College Dems in Mao-style suit: 'They're communists'  —  The far-left influencer told students ‘no more to Democrats who compromise’ while dressed like the communist dictator  —  Far-left political influencer Hasan Piker sparked heated backlash …

Robby Soave / Reason:   Socialist Influencer Hasan Piker Is Praising Mao. Here's the Truth About Chinese Communism.

David Harsanyi / Washington Examiner:   America needs a new Red Scare

William A. Jacobson / Legal Insurrection:   College Democrats Wildly Cheered as Hasan Piker Bashed America, Israel, and Dems Who Compromise

Mike LaChance / The Gateway Pundit:   Radical Leftist Influencer Hasan Piker Calls Mass Murderer Mao Zedong ‘One of the Great Leaders of This World’ (VIDEO)

Olivia Rondeau / Breitbart:   Communist Streamer Hasan Piker Berates Moderates While Dressed as Mao Zedong

Avery Hill / The Post Millennial:   Hasan Piker praises mass murderer Mao Zedong—80 MILLION Chinese people were killed under his Cultural Revolution

Sam J. / twitchy.com:   Let's GOOO! Lily Tang Williams, Who Grew Up Under Mao Zedong, Challenges Hasan Piker to Debate Marxism

Dmitri Bolt / Townhall:   Hasan Piker Declares an Ideological Purge of the Democratic Party—Dressed Like Mao in Fiery Speech

Are you scared yet? They need the sheep to be frightened. Interesting note: Should really be known as the Zhongshan or Sun Yat-sen suit.