The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

I recently spent 90 interminable minutes waiting in line at the United States Customs and Border Protection facility between Canada I-15 and US I-87. Apparently that's a typical wait! There were 10 stations available, but only four were staffed. Oh, there was a "NEXUS" station too, but that looked like it was used about once every five minutes.

Traffic was managed incredibly poorly, because people (assholes) would drive in the unmanned lanes and then cut in at the last minute.

What made it even more frustrating was the abundance of CBP officers waddling around in no apparent hurry. There was a gaggle of them standing on the lawn next to the stations, just shooting the breeze for about 20 minutes. No sense of urgency, no interest in doing a good job. Just collecting a paycheck and a fat pension.

Did I say "waddling?" Why yes...they were uniformly overweight.

This is a major port of entry from Canada to the United States. That these delays are accepted as a matter of course is an embarrassment. We spend $25 billion a year on this crap, and they can't manage to staff a couple of more kiosks on a busy day? This is exactly what our taxes are supposed to pay for!

At the risk of extrapolating wildly, this is indicative of the decay in government competence over the last generation. And let us be honest...it didn't start at a high level to begin with.

But it also speaks to a shift in perspective on the part of government. No longer is there even lip service paid to the quaint idea that our government works for us. Now the overriding attitude is that we are at best inconveniences during the work day, and at worst we are toys to be played with...or tortured.

Sure, a long wait at the border is not the end of the world, but it was an inconvenience to many thousands of travelers, and commerce is certainly slowed by these sorts of delays.

I am sure that there are Powerpoint presentations galore floating between high-ranking officials at CBP about this issue, and absolutely nothing is being done about it, because there is no accountability. They have jobs for life, are insulated from market pressures, and undoubtedly express contempt for those citizens who have the temerity to complain.

This is the Deep State^TM. It's here. It's malign. And it isn't going anywhere.

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter]

Posted by: CBD at 11:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Lazy and unfireable. Nice tandem

Posted by: Kratwurst at May 23, 2024 11:02 AM (nIRE6)

2 Hey have you seen/heard their boss? Mayorkas?

Posted by: BignJames at May 23, 2024 11:02 AM (AwYPR)

3 Morning.

Posted by: Robert at May 23, 2024 11:03 AM (9NIQw)

4 Nooded

Posted by: Kratwurst at May 23, 2024 11:03 AM (nIRE6)

5 At the risk of extrapolating wildly, this is indicative of the decay in government competence over the last generation. And let us be honest...it didn't start at a high level to begin with.
++++
Hard disagree. This particular example is not an example of creeping and compounding incompetence, it's an example of deliberately cultivated malice.

There is nothing worse than coming through US customs or a border if you happen to also be a US citizen. They want to punish you for having had the temerity to depart our glorious soil. Everything about the border - any border - is, for citizens, a damned nightmare. That's on purpose.

Yes, they're *also* incompetent, but I think mere incompetence cannot explain how miserable the process is. Maybe if you're elite and buy CLEAR or somesuch it's better because then you're of the body, but as a rube? Well, "fuck you" is the US government's Uniform Policy on the Treatment of Rubes.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:03 AM (d04cU)

6 Pity there isn't an commonly recognized signal that gets everyone laying in tbeeir horns at the same time.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:04 AM (bvWAj)

7 Try bitching at them. Federal employees love to be bitched at.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at May 23, 2024 11:04 AM (Q4IgG)

8 It can be lunch time

Posted by: Skip at May 23, 2024 11:04 AM (xtpRo)

9 And you got there on a good day probably.

Posted by: Eromero at May 23, 2024 11:04 AM (o2ZRX)

10 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:04 AM (Zz0t1)

11 I recently spent 90 interminable minutes waiting in line at the United States Customs and Border Protection facility between Canada I-15 and US I-87.

Dude! that's a FWP.

Try the SOUTHERN BORDER. At Tijuana, the Sentri line can take an hour or two, the non-Sentri lane can take 3 or 4 hours, easily.

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 23, 2024 11:04 AM (ynpvh)

12 You can bust your ass and do a fantastic job or you can fuck off all day. The pay is the same.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at May 23, 2024 11:04 AM (2UnvF)

13 So were you able to smuggle in the moose or not?

Posted by: sniffybigtoe at May 23, 2024 11:05 AM (0/nHY)

14 Government is an example of mismatch between customer and supplier.

When the customer isn't paying for the good or service, the performance is uniformly bad. Government employees are not paid to take care of customers, but to fulfill quotas and to enforce policies that are designed by people with no idea of how the process should actually work.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (lTGtQ)

15 I had to renew my global entry in person during PDT's tenure, did it at the Sweet Grass MT location. It was a piece of cake to do. Everything under potatus has gone to shit.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (2NHgQ)

16 Good news, everyone! The border crisis is fake!

Chris Murphy
@ChrisMurphyCT
Republicans tried to pass a bill tonight to address the fake "immigrant crime wave" that does not exist and is made up by Republicans to breed fear and resentment of immigrants.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (L/fGl)

17 Come from Mexico, no waiting just waltz across the border , no questions

Posted by: Skip at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (xtpRo)

18 I recently came back from Europe (Heathrow is a shit airport and should be avoided at all costs) and thought I would do myself a favor and download the US CBP MPC app. You fill out a form online upon your arrival and go through a different line and scan your passport and the code from the app and you're good.

Supposed to be a tremendous time saver.

All MPC lines were closed and I had to go through the line and talk to a human who didn't give a shit whether I lived or died.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (Zz0t1)

19 And bureaucracy breeds bureaucracy

Posted by: Skip at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (xtpRo)

20 See also: medical procedures paid for by insurance rather than by the patient.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (lTGtQ)

21 So were you able to smuggle in the moose or not?
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at May 23, 2024 11:05 AM (0/nHY)

Really no need to smuggle it. Just call it your Emotional Support Moose and they'll wave it on through. Easy peasy.

Posted by: Robert at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (9NIQw)

22 I went to Canada recently for a personal trip. The process was night and day.

Outbound to Canada:
1. Drive up to a guard shack lane. Third car in line.
2. Wait total of 5-6 minutes until my turn.
3. Present passport, answer some boilerplate questions.
4. "Welcome to Canada."

Inbound to United States:
1. Drive up to a guard shack lane. About the billionth car in line
2. Wait a total of 75 minutes until my turn
3. Present passport, subject self to intensive and aggressive interrogation, including "gotcha" questions, along with naked and open hostility
4. Passport handed back with a snort of contempt. No "welcome home" or "welcome back" or anything else. Just a snort, a surly shove my passport through the window, and a green "go" light.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (d04cU)

23 Important Willowed:

290 Actually -- I said one of the Mannix girls resembled Kristi Noem but was more voluptuous.
Posted by: Doof

Wow. Sorry I missed that one.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus

https://tinyurl.com/mryp6juf

You can thank me later.

Posted by: A True Bro at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (JCZqz)

24 Taking the ferry from Victoria to serattle, the customs inspection can be equally frustrating, only now you are standing in along slow moving line with the rest if the cattle.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (bvWAj)

25 @ChrisMurphyCT
Republicans tried to pass a bill tonight to address the fake "immigrant crime wave" that does not exist and is made up by Republicans to breed fear and resentment of immigrants.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (L/fGl)

Chris Murphy is a communist lying asshole who should be struck by a train.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (Zz0t1)

26 So were you able to smuggle in the moose or not?
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at May 23, 2024 11:05 AM (0/nHY)

What are you talking a-boot?? He was bringing in mass quantities of the one brand of authentic Canadian maple syrup that he secretly enjoys on French toast.

Posted by: Doof at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (I5AAM)

27 Canada is worse than we are. You can be jailed for saying stuff about others. No way I'm going there or to Mexico either.
Or Hawaii.

Posted by: torabora at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (LrE+o)

28 Here in NC, the license plate/ registration people are private employees and are courteous, quick, and I've never spent more than 10-15 minutes in there.

The drivers license office people are state employees and you can see difference right off the bat. Plan to spend some time.

Posted by: Mega Ultra MAGA Man at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (V5BDR)

29 So were you able to smuggle in the moose or not?
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at May 23, 2024 11:05 AM

I think it was the seal flippers that caused the problem.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (Wnv9h)

30 This is the Deep StateTM. It's here. It's malign.

I don't agree.
The problem is Unions, once they are involved ""work"" becomes the enemy of the Union ""worker"" privileges.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (ui5j4)

31 Chris Murphy is a communist lying asshole who should be struck by a train.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM

Your point is valid.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (Wnv9h)

32 The Federal benefit of Alternative Work Schedules. With them, adequate staffing can become difficult at best.

Try: Preclearance operates at 15 locations worldwide
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance is the strategic stationing of CBP personnel at designated foreign airports to inspect travelers prior to boarding U.S.-bound flights. With Preclearance, travelers then bypass CBP and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspections upon U.S. arrival and proceed directly to their connecting flight or destination.

Posted by: L - If they do it with you, they'll do it to you, too at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (NFX2v)

33 16 Good news, everyone! The border crisis is fake!

Chris Murphy
@ChrisMurphyCT
Republicans tried to pass a bill tonight to address the fake "immigrant crime wave" that does not exist and is made up by Republicans to breed fear and resentment of immigrants.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (L/fGl)

Question: if it's only addressing a fake crime wave, why not just vote for it? It will only impact supposed illegal criminals that do not exist. It's a win-win!

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (KbCG3)

34 I have to admit that the last time I flew, the TSA asshats were polite and almost chatty. Note that was in the pre-check line for serfs who've paid for their rights, not the line for the unwashed, non-paying proles.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (YRsIm)

35 So how was the poutine in Montreal?

Posted by: lost in space at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (glxRK)

36 Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:03 AM (d04cU)

My next paragraph touches on your point...

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (huz07)

37 My favorite "gotcha" question I've ever been asked at a US border was on that recent trip to Canada.

I handed over my passport. My blue passport with "United States of America" printed on its cover.

The guard's first question? "Nationality?"
I looked at him like he was punking me. I actually asked, "huh?"

He got pissed and said, "What is your nationality? Of which country are you a citizen?"
Dude, I handed you a US passport. We don't make a habit out of handing those out to non-citizens.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:09 AM (d04cU)

38 That's bureaucrats all over the country. It's good to remind people as they enter exactly why we want the government doing as little as possible.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at May 23, 2024 11:09 AM (N1DT3)

39 Traffic was managed incredibly poorly, because people (assholes) would drive in the unmanned lanes and then cut in at the last minute.
-------
This is like riding out the turn lanes or entrance ramps, and then shoving your way back into traffic. I call that move "Denvering," because it's endemic there. Every block/ramp, every single time. That, and zoning out at green lights for 10-15sec.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 23, 2024 11:09 AM (0FoWg)

40 This could have been posted as the Sunday FWP thread. Who can afford to travel?

Posted by: Poor, But Proud at May 23, 2024 11:09 AM (V5BDR)

41 Inbound to United States:
1. Drive up to a guard shack lane. About the billionth car in line
2. Wait a total of 75 minutes until my turn
3. Present passport, subject self to intensive and aggressive interrogation, including "gotcha" questions, along with naked and open hostility
4. Passport handed back with a snort of contempt. No "welcome home" or "welcome back" or anything else. Just a snort, a surly shove my passport through the window, and a green "go" light.

Posted by: Joe Mannix

Number 3 is my favorite. You are not the customer, you are the obstacle to going on break.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:09 AM (lTGtQ)

42 We citizens are nothing more than meat sacks with easily infiltrated wallets.

Pay up. Shut up. Die.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (KbCG3)

43 Dude, I handed you a US passport. We don't make a habit out of handing those out to non-citizens.
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:09 AM (d04cU)
----
I'm sure it's only a matter of time...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (si1C0)

44 damned nightmare. That's on purpose.

Yes, they're *also* incompetent, but I think mere incompetence cannot explain how miserable the process is. Maybe if you're elite and buy CLEAR or somesuch it's better because then you're of the body, but as a rube? Well, "fuck you" is the US government's Uniform Policy on the Treatment of Rubes.
Posted by: J

We have to stop defining elite down before we het to defining unused food as elite.

Posted by: N at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (8XibL)

45 I have to admit that the last time I flew, the TSA asshats were polite and almost chatty. Note that was in the pre-check line for serfs who've paid for their rights, not the line for the unwashed, non-paying proles.
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (YRsIm)
++++
Ah, that helps to explain it, I suppose.

But also, tell me that you didn't fly through Logan without telling me that you didn't fly through Logan.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (d04cU)

46 So how was the poutine in Montreal?
Posted by: lost in space at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (glxRK)

Please tell me there's a place up in those parts called "Wang Deen, Sweet Poutine".

Posted by: Doof at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (I5AAM)

47 Hey hombre, Don't cross at the official border crossing. Cross in between, it's quick, no paperwork, No Meal Team Six agents going through your stuff and it's duty free.

I'm an illegal alien criminal and I endorse this message

Posted by: Illegal Aliens , Terrorists, Cartels and Drug Mules at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (cCxiu)

48 This is like riding out the turn lanes or entrance ramps, and then shoving your way back into traffic. I call that move "Denvering," because it's endemic there. Every block/ramp, every single time. That, and zoning out at green lights for 10-15sec.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice

Which, funnily enough, is what actually causes traffic jams, or at least makes them worse, if you look at queuing theory.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (lTGtQ)

49 40 This could have been posted as the Sunday FWP thread. Who can afford to travel?
Posted by: Poor, But Proud

How hare can it be? I have dudes in Dubai offering to fly me out to see them all the time?

Posted by: Hot, young, naive, blonde girl on Instagram at May 23, 2024 11:11 AM (JCZqz)

50 You line up at a border crossing? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Posted by: Juan Jose Martinez-Lopez at May 23, 2024 11:11 AM (Y6Wgg)

51 Dude, I handed you a US passport. We don't make a habit out of handing those out to non-citizens.
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:09 AM (d04cU)

Not yet.

Posted by: Robert at May 23, 2024 11:11 AM (9NIQw)

52 29 So were you able to smuggle in the moose or not?
Posted by: sniffybigtoe at May 23, 2024 11:05 AM

I think it was the seal flippers that caused the problem.
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (Wnv9h)

You're doing it wrong.

Posted by: Guy with 50 pounds of shark fins up his ass at May 23, 2024 11:11 AM (9NIQw)

53 35 So how was the poutine in Montreal?

Posted by: lost in space at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (glxRK)

Montreal is one of the greatest cities ever. Highest concentration of hot chicks I've seen in my life.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:12 AM (KbCG3)

54 My flight out of Atlanta was delayed about 45 minutes this morning because they didn't have enough air traffic controllers, so I definitely feel your pain.

Posted by: Sobek at May 23, 2024 11:13 AM (fDI4t)

55 It's comical that illegals have no problems crossing into the US, but US citizens have to endure the stupidity of the CBP.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at May 23, 2024 11:13 AM (Q4IgG)

56 Posted by: Paul banned at May 23, 2024 11:11 AM (Hf8tY)

You DICK!!!!

Posted by: Jeff Spicoli at May 23, 2024 11:13 AM (Zz0t1)

57 I have to admit that the last time I flew, the TSA asshats were polite and almost chatty.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (YRsIm)

Last time I flew, had to toss my shampoo/body wash from my carry-on.

Posted by: BignJames at May 23, 2024 11:13 AM (AwYPR)

58 ChrisMurphyCT
Republicans tried to pass a bill tonight to address the fake "immigrant crime wave" that does not exist and is made up by Republicans to breed fear and resentment of immigrants.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (L/fGl)

Chris Murphy is a communist lying asshole who should be struck by a train.
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:07 AM (Zz0t1)
***

Hey Chris, how about we make a deal? Anything happens to a member if my family at the hands of an illegal, it gets done to a member of yours? How's that sound?

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:13 AM (bvWAj)

59 Next time avoid all this by going to a small border crossing. You’ll drive an extra 20 mins but save an hour of wait time. Especially in the NE there are border crossings every 10-20 miles.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:13 AM (Y6Wgg)

60 Montreal is one of the greatest cities ever. Highest concentration of hot chicks I've seen in my life.
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:12 AM (KbCG3)

Give yer balls a tug! The ladies of Subury are way hotter!

Posted by: Shoresy at May 23, 2024 11:14 AM (I5AAM)

61 Which, funnily enough, is what actually causes traffic jams, or at least makes them worse, if you look at queuing theory.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (lTGtQ)

Oh... I know. It's the perfect mix of passive-aggression and supine complacency that makes it totally possible to sit in Denver traffic for as long as it took you to get through the rest of the state, and a good piece of KS.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 23, 2024 11:14 AM (0FoWg)

62 Which, funnily enough, is what actually causes traffic jams, or at least makes them worse, if you look at queuing theory.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (lTGtQ)
++++
Oh, yes. "Denvering" (as YD calls it - I call it "competitive merging" because it happens when every car on the road wants to "win" the merge at all costs) causes lockups. "Zippering" or whatever is *much* more efficient in theory, but depends on something on which nobody can ever depend: cooperation.

This is one of the reasons why congestion-control mechanisms for freeway ingress are valuable and actually do work. These are the regular on/off signals at the bottom of the ramp in high-traffic areas. One car per lane every 2-3 seconds is permitted to enter the highway while the entrance ramp acts as a queuing buffer. This system actually works pretty well, annoying as it is to be in the queue.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:14 AM (d04cU)

63 Complex systems require a competent, serious society to make them work.

Our complex systems are not working.

Posted by: JFK at May 23, 2024 11:14 AM (xhfG9)

64 Where'd that sock come from?

Posted by: blaster at May 23, 2024 11:14 AM (xhfG9)

65 Sure, a long wait at the border is not the end of the world, but it was an inconvenience to many thousands of travelers, and commerce is certainly slowed by these sorts of delays.

I am sure that there are Powerpoint presentations galore floating between high-ranking officials at CBP about this issue, and absolutely nothing is being done about it, because there is no accountability.

Trust and believe me, commerce is not slowed. Why? Many, many thousands of dollars are involved in semi and train cars and border fees.

My company runs typically 100 to 200 railcars a week both ways usually running around $500,000 in brokers fees and taxes. Both governments aren't slowing that down.

Now ma & pa in the socks & sandals from Fond du Lac,Wisconsin cruising across for some maple syrup? Yeah. They're waiting in line.

Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (nJUfO)

66
I remember getting grilled going into Canada.
Customs: "What is the nature of your visit."
Me: "To get a good nights sleep and leave tomorrow."

On the way back from Jamaica our plane lost an engine over Cuba and could land in Philly but not be repaired there so they flew us up to Montreal and put all of us Philly peeps in a nice hotel for the night.

Philly customs was a nightmare the next day because they must have brought a drug-sniffing dog in who wasn't happy. So everyone's luggage got pulled out and examined with a fine tooth comb. Over an hour in line.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (RKVpM)

67 Montreal is one of the greatest cities ever. Highest concentration of hot chicks I've seen in my life.
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:12 AM (KbCG3)

Vancouver BC. It's like the Hollywood of Canada.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (bvWAj)

68 46 So how was the poutine in Montreal?
Posted by: lost in space at May 23, 2024 11:08 AM (glxRK)

Please tell me there's a place up in those parts called "Wang Deen, Sweet Poutine".

Posted by: Doof at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (I5AAM)

Sushi place in San Diego:
Miso Harney Sushi...

Place somewhere else:
Phở King Vietnamese Restaurant

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (ynpvh)

69 This is the Deep StateTM. It's here. It's malign. And it isn't going anywhere.

It's sad that I'm truly looking forward to the utimate response to this corruption. So much pent up anger and stress have to to go somewhere, sometime or another. Eventually.

Posted by: BifBewalski at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (MsrgL)

70 He got pissed and said, "What is your nationality? Of which country are you a citizen?"

At least he didn't end the sentence with the preposition. Must have had at least an MA in English Lit.

Posted by: Oddbob at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (/y8xj)

71 Oh CBD ...

Did you hit a hot button with this topic.

Living in Buffalo, and having had a house on the Canadien lake shore, I dealt with this very issue ... daily, during the summer months.

Back in the early 80's through 9/11, crossing the border was a cluster fuq only due to traffic patterns, and the Plaza's on both sides, but the staffing was always pleasant ... especially in the Canadien side.

Post 9/11, everything changed. The US border guards ( of which there were many different Depts. on duty: Dept of Ag; Customs; and one or two others) became surly and belligerent. The Canadien side became less hospitable, but not belligerent (unless you got caught in the French / English lane).

In fact, back in the early days, the Canadien booths were manned by "kids" in the summer. These kids were former caddies at a golf club I played at up in Ridgeway. When ever you'd hit the booths, and one of the kids were on duty, it was always: Hi Mr. Browndog ... playing 18 today? And they always just waived you through, never asking about: Who, What, When, Where, Why.

No longer ....

(cont.)

Posted by: browndog's on a list at May 23, 2024 11:16 AM (TTAGa)

72 Highest concentration of hot chicks I've seen in my life.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:12 AM (KbCG3)

I noticed that!

What the hell is in the water there?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:16 AM (huz07)

73 One car per lane every 2-3 seconds is permitted to enter the highway while the entrance ramp acts as a queuing buffer. This system actually works pretty well, annoying as it is to be in the queue.
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:14 AM (d04cU)

*California's 'The 405' farts in your general direction*

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:16 AM (Zz0t1)

74 Complex systems require a competent, serious society to make them work.

Our complex systems are not working.
Posted by: JFK at May 23, 2024 11:14 AM (xhfG9)
++++
Yup. Complexity can make life better and easier on average, but it takes a monumental effort to maintain it. You have to be up to the task.

Little expression I once heard about how to determine whether something is complex or is merely complicated:
"A car key is simple. A car is complicated. A car in traffic is complex."

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:16 AM (d04cU)

75 Zippering should be encouraged more. It’s inefficient as hell to leave the merging lane wide open.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:16 AM (Y6Wgg)

76 Which, funnily enough, is what actually causes traffic jams, or at least makes them worse, if you look at queuing theory.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:10 AM (lTGtQ)

I seem to remember there having been a study done of this, and, for the assholes who cut in line like that, there's enough saps who let them in that it self-rewarding behavior to be the asshole.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at May 23, 2024 11:17 AM (roA1L)

77 Sushi place in San Diego:
Miso Harney Sushi...

Place somewhere else:
Phở King Vietnamese Restaurant
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (ynpvh)

Miso Phat is some great sushi in Maui.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at May 23, 2024 11:17 AM (N1DT3)

78 Place somewhere else:
Phở King Vietnamese Restaurant
Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (ynpvh)

Place in Seattle area:

What the Phở

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:17 AM (Zz0t1)

79 I want them to install those counterweighted "gate arms" with the diagonal, black & white painted stripes.

Like you see at every German "checkpoint" in all the WWII movies.

No need for Hugo Boss uniforms. Just staff the gates with New Jersey State Troopers. Any difference in appearance is mere happenstance.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at May 23, 2024 11:17 AM (e6UQI)

80 Nice timing. I just finished trying to access my government retirement account, aka a 401k. Every time I have tried to use that website, EVERY FREAKIN' TIME, there is a problem. This time they wanted a passport photo so they could verify me, but of course, after I went to the trouble of taking a picture and trying to upload it, there was a problem, and they're mailing me something by snail mail.

This is what happens when contracts are let and site maintenance is done on the basis of something other than competence.

Posted by: Archimedes at May 23, 2024 11:17 AM (CsUN+)

81 Now, here is a threat (you were warned) ...

https://x.com/JebraFaushay/
status/1793621743485231418

[Don't blow the margins or I am going to start banning people. CBD]

Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (RHGPo)

82
I noticed that!

What the hell is in the water there?
Posted by: Charlie

It is because they wear women's clothes and colors, same as with going from ny, which has hot women, to rodeo drive.

Posted by: N at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (8XibL)

83 At least he didn't end the sentence with the preposition. Must have had at least an MA in English Lit.
Posted by: Oddbob at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (/y8xj)
++++
He probably did. Memory is always rose-tinted.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (d04cU)

84 Maybe if you're elite and buy CLEAR or somesuch it's better because then you're of the body, but as a rube? Well, "fuck you" is the US government's Uniform Policy on the Treatment of Rubes.

Posted by: Joe Mannix

Agree in general, but I don't think Clear is all that expensive. I've got it. Don't remember paying a lot for it.

But it's ultimately a "don't hassle me" tax, and we have far too many of those.

Posted by: Grudge Harbor at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (hCzfy)

85 The "Fat Leonard Scandal" has governmental degradation piling up from every direction.

https://instapundit.com/649277/

Posted by: KT at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (rrtZS)

86 He got pissed and said, "What is your nationality? Of which country are you a citizen?"

The only fucking country to land men on the moon. You figure it out.

Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (nJUfO)

87 CBD -
The border crossing from Niagara Falls into CA, and CA crossing into is also as bad as you describe.

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (N39Ws)

88 76 Zippering should be encouraged more. It’s inefficient as hell to leave the merging lane wide open.
Posted by: Montec

We're not sure exactly what you're talking about, but it sounds HOT!

Posted by: Young lesbian couple scissoring vigorously at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (JCZqz)

89 All this talk about the US -Canadian border brings to mind the movie Canadian Bacon. No great but involved a US president getting into a fight with Canada because his ratings were bad. I wouldn't put it past this administration to use the movie as a how to book given the Pants Shitters ratings

Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (SaBu/)

90 Wymynses in Montreal aren’t really that much hotter from a DNA standpoint. What makes them hot is they care about how they look. They don’t get ft. They put themselves together when leaving the house. As has been said here many times, pretty much every 24 year old can be hot if she puts some effort into it. In Montreal, as in Paris the culture is such that a lot of effort is put into it.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:19 AM (Y6Wgg)

91 Last time I was in Canada was for Expo 67. Not going back, either. No travel for me above Mason-Dixon Line. And not ever setting foot in Maryland, either.

Posted by: Malcontent Mel at May 23, 2024 11:19 AM (V5BDR)

92

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston

Thanks for the shiplys recommendation, did not realize every store made the doughnuts in house.

They have the second best apple fritters ever.

Posted by: N at May 23, 2024 11:19 AM (8XibL)

93 Chris Murphy
@ChrisMurphyCT
Republicans tried to pass a bill tonight to address the fake "immigrant crime wave" that does not exist and is made up by Republicans to breed fear and resentment of immigrants.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (L/fGl)

Ship every last one of these so called "immigrants" directly to his district. No, wait.....to his town/neighborhood. Every. last. one. C'mon, DeSantis/Abbott, do it.

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at May 23, 2024 11:20 AM (iODuv)

94 90 All this talk about the US -Canadian border brings to mind the movie Canadian Bacon. No great but involved a US president getting into a fight with Canada because his ratings were bad. I wouldn't put it past this administration to use the movie as a how to book given the Pants Shitters ratings
Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (SaBu/)

=======

Michael Moore's sole narrative feature film.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:20 AM (cD1dp)

95 At the risk of extrapolating wildly, this is indicative of the decay in government competence over the last generation.

I'm just going to point out that this statement presupposes that the aim of the government is to move people/goods across the border in the most efficient manner possible consistent with law/regulation. This is not the case.

The goal is to remind YOU, the citizen, that you should not be traveling. You should most especially not be travelling in any manner, or to any place, which causes work for your government overseers. TSA isn't an inefficient, overbearing mess because they're incompetent... they do what they're supposed to do perfectly. They inconvenience YOU. CBP is the same.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at May 23, 2024 11:20 AM (IUd0M)

96 DM has the Ashley Biden "shower with Dad" story at the top of their page.

Maybe this getting a little traction.

Posted by: WisRich at May 23, 2024 11:20 AM (G0vdT)

97 I have a business associate from UK. Came over awhile back for project work.

Landed at Orlando, late evening arrival.

When I got to the airport, I checked the arrivals board. Noted with some surprise the only international arrival for the next few hours was his flight from Heathrow.

Took him three+ hours to clear customs.

When we got to the car, he expressed his frustration. I mentioned my surprise at the delay as his was the only international arrival for the past several hours.

He looked at me like I was insane and said, "I estimate there were at least 3,500 people in queue when I got there."

Apparently, the vast majority were from Central and South America.

Posted by: CZ = FNG, Free Republic of Florida at May 23, 2024 11:20 AM (MkuC5)

98 What the hell is in the water there?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:16 AM (huz07)
++++
Nothing.

What they have is good genetic stock (French Canadian women are sexy. Maybe all the hot chicks fled France back in the day or something) and, as N pointed at 83, style. They dress well and carry themselves better, on average, than most women I've met.

Just not slouching is a huge part of it. I have poor posture, and I'm working on it. Good posture is just ... sexy. Especially on a dame.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:20 AM (d04cU)

99 I must be KKK 'cause I like biscuits and gravy.

New York Post
@nypost
NY correction officer shares ‘racist’ biscuits and gravy post about Georgia jail, sparking investigation

https://shorturl.at/qoHnS

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (L/fGl)

100 California Assemblyman Vince Fong appears to have handily won California’s special election yesterday, bringing the Republican Party’s slim majority in the House up to five. With 87 percent of the votes in, The New York Times had Fong up over opponent and fellow Republican Mike Boudreaux 60.2 to 39.8, making it essentially impossible for Boudreaux to win unless something happens to change that math. Fong won the special election to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (RHGPo)

101 For the last ten years my only foreign travel has been to Ireland because my daughter and granddaughter live there. Customs and immigration to and from there are still relatively painless.

Posted by: Cosda at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (oD6bT)

102 Sure, he may have crossed a few lines but still, a spark of the divine.

Sarah Raviani
@sarahraviani
When asked about Raisi’s victims in Iran, @timkaine said, “You separate the office from the person when somebody who is the head of state dies. I don’t think an expression of sympathy is the wrong thing to do”

What a shameful statement from a U.S. Senator

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (L/fGl)

103 This is what happens when contracts are let and site maintenance is done on the basis of something other than competence.
Posted by: Archimedes at May 23, 2024 11:17 AM (CsUN+)

Same issue with the VA.
Bastards

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (bvWAj)

104 I worked in a shoe factory. Now I'm Minister of Industry. To the workers of the world.........

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (qKYPE)

105 At the risk of extrapolating wildly, this is indicative of the decay in government competence over the last generation. And let us be honest...it didn't start at a high level to begin with.

This is the way government works.

If a private company provides poor service competitors will steal their business.

If a government bureaucracy provides poor service not only do you have no way to switch your business to a competitor, but if you do get attention to the poor service the bureaucracy will just use your experience to argue for more money.

Bad incentives = bad outcomes

Posted by: 18-1 at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (ibTVg)

106 103 Sure, he may have crossed a few lines but still, a spark of the divine.

Sarah Raviani
@sarahraviani
When asked about Raisi’s victims in Iran, @timkaine said, “You separate the office from the person when somebody who is the head of state dies. I don’t think an expression of sympathy is the wrong thing to do”

What a shameful statement from a U.S. Senator
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (L/fGl)

======

Now, tell me about how Bibi is causing a genocide.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (cD1dp)

107 I recently spent 90 interminable minutes waiting in line at the United States Customs and Border Protection facility between Canada I-15 and US I-87

There's a line to get thru the fence? Just cut your own hole!

Posted by: Foreign Military-Aged Males at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (Fr3vV)

108 A few months before the Maui fire, we were vacationing on West Maui. There is one usable road from West Maui to the airport.

We were due to leave on Sunday afternoon, so we left with lots of extra time to get to the airport. Tragically, an elderly person riding a bike was hit by a car on the one usable road, and died.

The response of the Maui Police was to close the one road. For four hours.

After all, it was Sunday afternoon, so it took a couple of hours for the investigators to even show up to begin the investigation.

Hundreds of people missed their flights. We ended up getting home about 30 hours later than planned, my son missed a day of work, and of course we had to rent an expensive hotel room near the airport for another night.

Tragic as the accident was, you'd think that it would have been possible to have directed traffic through the crash site at five miles an hour in a way that preserved the evidence, which would have solved the traffic problem.

But the Maui Police Did Not Care. At All.

The complete ineptitude of the Hawaiian authorities when the fire hit did not surprise me in the slightest.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (uxCna)

109 Agree in general, but I don't think Clear is all that expensive. I've got it. Don't remember paying a lot for it.

But it's ultimately a "don't hassle me" tax, and we have far too many of those.
Posted by: Grudge Harbor at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (hCzfy)
++++
It isn't the cost per se. It isn't *that* cheap, but if you're traveling internationally a lot, it is easily worth the money. It's a status marker more than anything. "I need this a lot, and I'm willing to pay for play. I'm a globe-trotter. I'm of the body."

I *hate* pay-for-play in government services. Citizens should be treated equally by their government.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (d04cU)

110 Further to 98.

There were NO flights from South America on the board that night.

Posted by: CZ = FNG, Free Republic of Florida at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (MkuC5)

111 @sarahraviani
When asked about Raisi’s victims in Iran, @timkaine said, “You separate the office from the person when somebody who is the head of state dies. I don’t think an expression of sympathy is the wrong thing to do”

*fistbump*

Posted by: Zombie Adolph Hitler at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (Zz0t1)

112 Chris Murphy is an up and coming CT political shitbird. There is an impressive line of such shitbirds in CT from Gosso, to Lederhosen, to Dodd, to Danang Dan Blumenthal.

Posted by: Field Marshal Zhukov at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (wBaIH)

113 Once upon a time crossing the US - Canada border wasn't a soul sucking experience; you could even bring guns and ammo back and forth without a fuss. Then, starting in the 90s, everything started degrading into an experience that resembled Check Point Charlie Light. After 9-11 it devolved, by default, into everyone being treated as a terrorist minus the electrified jumper cables attached to your privates.

Today I live in New Mexico - crossing into Regular Mexico by foot is a breeze provided you don't mind the Mexican border patrol peeps and their AR-15s. Getting back if you have your US Passport, remarkably, is a lot less hostile that returning from Canada.

Another bonus here is the internal Border Patrol checkpoints. Those once were a near excuse to strip search you. Today, they are a minor annoyance with a level a scrutiny that usually begins and end with "have a nice day." Of course this doesn't apply to those suspected of smuggling people and drugs.

Posted by: lost in space at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (glxRK)

114 Posted by: Paul banned at May 23, 2024 11:21 AM (Ta9X

======

You should see the data about how overweight black people are.

All Trump voters, right?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (cD1dp)

115 Hawaiis a shithol do not go there

Posted by: N at May 23, 2024 11:23 AM (8XibL)

116 The border crossing from Niagara Falls into CA, and CA crossing into is also as bad as you describe.
Posted by: Our Country is Screwed

Never knew you could cross into California from Niagara Falls.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at May 23, 2024 11:23 AM (v6JzV)

117 Jim Come[d]y Tells Reporter, “I Occasionally Hear Someone Say “F*ck You” on the Street” …Only Occasionally?

.. was he expecting a "Thank You for your service undermining this country" ?

Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:23 AM (RHGPo)

118 Coming back from Mexico one afternoon, we got pulled out of line for an Ag inspection and they took the decorative grasshopper made from a rolled frond off of the boys Panama jack hat.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:23 AM (YRsIm)

119 Those same Custom And Border Protection officers would be letting people just walk on in with out so much as a hey if this was the southern border.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at May 23, 2024 11:24 AM (Oq/TM)

120 Now I think would sooner visit Nork land than Canada, at least one knows where they stand

Posted by: Skip at May 23, 2024 11:24 AM (xtpRo)

121 110 The response of the Maui Police was to close the one road. For four hours.

After all, it was Sunday afternoon, so it took a couple of hours for the investigators to even show up to begin the investigation.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at May 23, 2024 11:22 AM (uxCna)

========

I experienced this on Maui. Probably the exact same stretch of road. We weren't traveling back home that day. We were going from the Road to Hana back to the resort on the other side of the island.

The road shut down for only about 2 hours, though. Increased efficiency, I guess.

We were right next to one of those little shopping centers when we stopped, so we were able to get off the road and spend time there which made it less miserable.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:24 AM (cD1dp)

122 Last time I flew was from Dallas, to Miami to Puerto Rico to the BVI. Customs there was painless. Reverse was only slightly worse. But that was 14 years ago.

Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:24 AM (nJUfO)

123 CLEAR is like $150:year year or something like that. If you travel once a year probably not worth it. A few times, definitely worth it.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:25 AM (Y6Wgg)

124 Now, here is a threat (you were warned) ...

https://x.com/JebraFaushay/
status/1793621743485231418

Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM

He's comparing "saving TikTok" to landing on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. ...

I liked one of the replies:

This has been the gayest 1 minute and 4 seconds I have ever seen.

Also pretty damn sad if he -- and GenZ overall -- have no concept of the stakes and the sacrifice of D-Day that they think "saving TikTok" is the equivalent of that.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at May 23, 2024 11:25 AM (P5BPp)

125 CLEAR is like $150:year year or something like that. If you travel once a year probably not worth it. A few times, definitely worth it.
Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:25 AM (Y6Wgg)
++++
It's the ability to justify and need CLEAR that acts as the marker, not the expense of it.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:25 AM (d04cU)

126 CLEAR is like $150:year year or something like that. If you travel once a year probably not worth it. A few times, definitely worth it.

There are many cards that pay the fees for you as part of membership benefits

Posted by: N at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (8XibL)

127 Try to renew your driver's license in person these days. Given that government employees only go into the office two days a week, it can take well over a month to get an appointment.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (lTGtQ)

128 Also pretty damn sad if he -- and GenZ overall -- have no concept of the stakes and the sacrifice of D-Day that they think "saving TikTok" is the equivalent of that.
Posted by: Clyde Shelton at May 23, 2024 11:25 AM (P5BPp)

He's a pansy and spends most of his time with his head in toilets.

Posted by: Zombie Adolph Hitler at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (Zz0t1)

129 I think it was Michael Crichton who said that while he was waiting in line for customs at the airport he realized we were a third world country.

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (FQmDC)

130 Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (nJUfO)[/]

The line for trucks was at least 50 rigs long, and the line of line cutting cars partially blocked the truck lane.

They are f*cked up in all ways.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (huz07)

131 The border crossing from Niagara Falls into CA, and CA crossing into is also as bad as you describe.
Posted by: Our Country is Screwed

Never knew you could cross into California from Niagara Falls.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus

It's just a hop, skip & a j u m p.

Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (nJUfO)

132 Damn.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (Zz0t1)

133 Ah, my home turf. Do yourself a favor and come south through the border stations in Alburg. VT. Never have the issues that you will on the main lines (I-81 and I-91).

Posted by: Captain Ned at May 23, 2024 11:27 AM (lcmeR)

134 I worked in a shoe factory. Now I'm Minister of Industry. To the workers of the world.........

I got that reference!

Posted by: Capt. America at May 23, 2024 11:27 AM (CsUN+)

135 For airline travel I have a TSA number and it has made getting past security a fairly predictable from a time and treatment perspective. I will never fly without having one. At the same time, that I have to have a TSA number to be treated like a US citizen ticks me off endlessly.

Posted by: lost in space at May 23, 2024 11:27 AM (glxRK)

136 I’ve generally haven’t had long lines at airports. An hour was the worst I can remember and that was in Seattle when it seemed like 10 flights all landed at once from Asia.

Other than that 10-15 mins is about average.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:27 AM (Y6Wgg)

137 [Don't blow the margins or I am going to start banning people. CBD]
Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (RHGPo)

Shirley you don't mean me !

Posted by: JT at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (T4tVD)

138 ++++
It's the ability to justify and need CLEAR that acts as the marker, not the expense of it.
Posted by: J

It is the same as going first class these days, you do not buy the seat because it is worth it in comfort and convenience, but so you do not have to ride with the herd.

Posted by: N at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (8XibL)

139 Back in the mid-1980's when I was first going between Washington State and BC it was really fast and very efficient if you were from the USA (or Canada the other direction). When I flew into Calgary a couple of years ago I had the same experience you had...and when I finally got to the customs person the first question they asked me was "when was the last time you shot a gun?". The second was "what guns do you have in your possession and where are they?". It was a total WTF experience.

Posted by: Little Larry Sellers at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (xaNfJ)

140 Dear Young Black, White and Latino Men...before you support behind Trump, look up the Central Park 5 story and Trumps refusal to stop calling for their execution after they were proven innocent. Trump is not a good person to be admired.

Being a trump supporter outs you as being a bad person with low moral character. Full stop. No milquetoast "straining for context." It is just fundamental truth.

For a lot of men, hating women comes first. That's their priority --- to keep male supremacy. Trump is the perfect anti-women candidate.

To everyone having a birthday this year, enjoy it to the fullest, because:

This may be the last year this country has a justice system with justice as its goal rather than retaliation and “retribution”. Before people of color are rounded up and treated like “animals” and “sub humans”. (Trump’s words) Before violence resembling a Civil War occurs. (Thanks to Trump and his thugs.)

He treats women badly. that appeals to certain men, and some women unfortunately. there ARE people, including Black and Latino men, who find Trump's arrogance, bullying, maliciousness appealing.

Posted by: Intercepted DU Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (JCZqz)

141 When you control the mail, you control…. Information! — US Postal Service employee Newman (prototypical Fed guv employee)

Posted by: LinusVanPelt at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (htC+Q)

142 131 I think it was Michael Crichton who said that while he was waiting in line for customs at the airport he realized we were a third world country.
Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:26 AM (FQmDC)

Go to a new citizen swearing in ceremony and you quickly realize that as well.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (Y6Wgg)

143 Thanks to anyone for their prayers for Mrs Ellipsis. She got some food down and is resting. Hopefully just a passing bug.

Posted by: ... at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (fI2Ya)

144 Coming back from Mexico one afternoon, we got pulled out of line for an Ag inspection

Why on earth were they looking for silver?

Posted by: Archimedes at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (CsUN+)

145 142 Being a trump supporter outs you as being a bad person with low moral character. Full stop. No milquetoast "straining for context." It is just fundamental truth.

Posted by: Intercepted DU Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (JCZqz)

=======

I didn't realize that Democrats wanted to vote for preacher of America.

I thought that died with Clinton.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (cD1dp)

146 part 2 (cont.)

So late one summer night, my mom's life alert went off at the ungodly hour of 12:30am.

I got up out of bed, and in a slightly disheveled state, made my way back to the States.

I got to the Peace Bridge, and found no commuter lanes open, only truck lanes ... so in line I queued. When I got to the booth, the officer proceeded to go into a 20 Question routine ... I was not in da mood.
I made the error of stating that all my data is in Nexus, and had that lane been open, I would have used it.

Welllllll, apparently that was disrespecting his authoritahh, and I got my ass hauled over. They had me cool my heels an hour before a supervisor came over to explain that I needed to be more mindful of my answers when crossing the border ..."you may go now".

Since COVID, I haven't been across the bridge. I refused to use ARRIVECAN (which is a boondoggle of the highest order, see Small Dead Animals). There is nothing Canada has to offer me at the moment, that would entice me to cross the border.

It's a shame, because it doesn't have to be this way

(cont.)

Posted by: browndog's on a list at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (TTAGa)

147 Where has Trump treated women badly? Oh because he fought back against Hillary...

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (FQmDC)

148 How come Trump didn’t end out precious democracy the first time around? Or send blacks people to camps?

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:30 AM (Y6Wgg)

149 Thanks to anyone for their prayers for Mrs Ellipsis. She got some food down and is resting. Hopefully just a passing bug.
Posted by: ... at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (fI2Ya)

Keep some pedialite flowing. Hydration is paramount.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:30 AM (Zz0t1)

150 Oh, sweet. The Republican (spit) Governor of Ohio says that of course they will just pretend the law doesn't matter and allow Biden on the ticket even though the Dems screwed up and don't meet the qualification rules.

It's like we don't even want to win.

Posted by: blaster at May 23, 2024 11:30 AM (xhfG9)

151 Also pretty damn sad if he -- and GenZ overall -- have no concept of the stakes and the sacrifice of D-Day that they think "saving TikTok" is the equivalent of that.
Posted by: Clyde Shelton at May 23, 2024 11:25 AM (P5BPp)
++++
Catastrophization. If there is comparatively nothing wrong in life, people will find something wrong. There *must* be a challenge and adversity. People need it. If they don't have it, they'll manufacture it.

There's also transference involved. If life *does* suck and you *do* have real problems, but those problems are big and daunting - or, worse, you deem them impossible to fix (rightly or wrongly) - it's far, far easier to ignore it and project the problem onto something else. Cutting out your $50/month Starbucks habit to "get serious about your finances" when the problem is really your $4,000 mortgage and $1,200 in car loans every month, for example. Cutting out the coffee is easy and feels like a sacrifice in the face of monumental problems.

Also, Gen-Z is bad at math. They are not the most powerful generation. That would be the Millennials.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:30 AM (d04cU)

152 149 Where has Trump treated women badly? Oh because he fought back against Hillary...
Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (FQmDC)

=======

He insults men and women equally.

That makes him a sexist because women, who are better than men at everything (except at being women), should be treated with kid gloves and placed on a pedestal.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:31 AM (cD1dp)

153 and when I finally got to the customs person the first question they asked me was "when was the last time you shot a gun?". The second was "what guns do you have in your possession and where are they?". It was a total WTF experience.

Yep - the last time I traveled to Canada a couple of years ago, all the questions at the Canadian border were regarding gun use and ownership.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at May 23, 2024 11:31 AM (uxCna)

154 I swear those are written by someone in the White House.

Posted by: ... at May 23, 2024 11:31 AM (fI2Ya)

155 Also, Gen-Z is bad at math. They are not the most powerful generation. That would be the Millennials.

Not if they want an inheritance, they aren't.

Posted by: Boomers at May 23, 2024 11:32 AM (CsUN+)

156 I mean, it's Mike DeWine. The poster child pussy Republican.

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:32 AM (FQmDC)

157 56
‘ It's comical that illegals have no problems crossing into the US’

Yeah. Hilarious.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at May 23, 2024 11:32 AM (w+0jH)

158 Yep - the last time I traveled to Canada a couple of years ago, all the questions at the Canadian border were regarding gun use and ownership.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at May 23, 2024 11:31 AM (uxCna)
++++
I got asked if I had firearms in the car. That's it.

Maybe I just got lucky heading into Canada.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (d04cU)

159 Mike Damone > Mike DeWine

Posted by: Doof at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (I5AAM)

160 I've given up on the post office entirely. Why pay for incompetence if you have to?

Posted by: Lady Who Always Has a Burning Question at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (JCLJi)

161 Then, starting in the 90s, everything started degrading into an experience that resembled Check Point Charlie Light.

That would be a great bit of passive resistance...sneak up to the check point and plant a sign: CHECK POINT CHARLIE. YOU ARE APPROACHING THE AMERICAN SECTOR

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (bvWAj)

162 139 [Don't blow the margins or I am going to start banning people. CBD]
Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (RHGPo)

Shirley you don't mean me !
Posted by: JT

If we talking Shirley Manson blowing me, maybe we make an exception...
https://tinyurl.com/3nspxhv6

Posted by: The Margins at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (JCZqz)

163 Assassin's Creed is one of my favorite video games franchises precisely because they time travel you to another world. Odyssey put you in ancient Greece, Origins in ancient Egypt, Valhalla in ancient Viking society. Therefore, it was rather jarring to hear that Shadows will feature a person of color killing Japanese in ancient Japan. But, apparently, that wasn't bad enough.

Ubisoft "appears to confirm" black samurai is LGBT in upcoming Assassin's Creed game 🤣

https://shorturl.at/grnaF

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (L/fGl)

164
Oh, sweet. The Republican (spit) Governor of Ohio says that of course they will just pretend the law doesn't matter and allow Biden on the ticket even though the Dems screwed up and don't meet the qualification rules.

It's like we don't even want to win.

Posted by: blaster at May 23, 2024 11:30 AM

Trump took Ohio by somewhere between 8 and 10 points last time. He could double those numbers this time around. Don't worry, be happy.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (RKVpM)

165 Looking around what missed a disturbing article at Legalinsurrection.com on 5 Israeli women captured and been sex slaves. It was up yesterday but just saw it

Posted by: Skip at May 23, 2024 11:34 AM (xtpRo)

166 I used to travel two or three times a year internationally to a large variety of countries, and no other nation's customs and immigration people come close to the rudeness and obnoxiousness of the Canadians.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at May 23, 2024 11:34 AM (uxCna)

167 Last time I crossed into Canuckistan by land I was asked if I had any guns on me. I said no. Guy asks again are you sure? I said no I don’t have any.

And then he asked me to roll down all my windows. Cuz maybe I was stashing a bunch of evil AR-15s in the back seat? Funny enough he didn’t check my trunk.

Eh whatever. If they’re paranoid about evil guns whatever. Their country their rules.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:34 AM (Y6Wgg)

168 Then, starting in the 90s, everything started degrading into an experience that resembled Check Point Charlie Light.

-

To be fair, the third degree is reserved for only citizens.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at May 23, 2024 11:34 AM (lTGtQ)

169 149 Where has Trump treated women badly? Oh because he fought back against Hillary...

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (FQmDC)

Trump: I'd like you to meet my new press secretary, Kayleigh (too lazy to look up proper spelling of last name).

Libs: C*nt.

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:34 AM (KbCG3)

170 166 Trump took Ohio by somewhere between 8 and 10 points last time. He could double those numbers this time around. Don't worry, be happy.
Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (RKVpM)

=======

It's not that.

It's that Republicans are breaking the rules to help Democrats.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:35 AM (cD1dp)

171 I *hate* pay-for-play in government services. Citizens should be treated equally by their government.

Posted by: Joe Mannix

I was mistaken. Wife informs me we don't have Clear, but Global Entry. Different animal. But not entirely, as you still have to pay for an extra service that should be the basic service for everyone.

Posted by: Grudge Harbor at May 23, 2024 11:35 AM (hCzfy)

172 Paul, you ignorant slut.

Posted by: Duke Lowell at May 23, 2024 11:35 AM (2UnvF)

173 65
‘ Where'd that sock come from?’

Ask not where that sock came from…

Posted by: JFK at May 23, 2024 11:35 AM (w+0jH)

174 Has anyone figured out what was going on with the search engines this morning?

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at May 23, 2024 11:35 AM (v6JzV)

175 Also pretty damn sad if he -- and GenZ overall -- have no concept of the stakes and the sacrifice of D-Day that they think "saving TikTok" is the equivalent of that.

I'm assuming that that was intentionally ironic cringe. The alternative is too horrible to imagine.

Posted by: Oddbob at May 23, 2024 11:35 AM (/y8xj)

176 164 139 [Don't blow the margins or I am going to start banning people. CBD]
Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (RHGPo)

Shirley you don't mean me !
Posted by: JT

If we talking Shirley Manson blowing me, maybe we make an exception...
https://tinyurl.com/3nspxhv6
Posted by: The Margins at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (JCZqz)

Really want someone around who's only happy when it rains?

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (KbCG3)

177 You'll be happy to know the Kennedy Center is doing Dixie's Tupperware Party currently.

Posted by: Ribbed at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (Ectld)

178 Posted by: Archimedes at May 23, 2024 11:29 AM (CsUN+)

Heh! Not sure, but I did watch the Federales/PGR guys in Mexico pull a fairly substantial sized dildo from a turista femenina's luggage one afternoon and hold it up for examination.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (YRsIm)

179 I look forward to the day when drivers, who pull the last- second merge trick, are drug from their cars and executed on the spot.

Posted by: 2009Refugee at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (weuB7)

180 Trump took Ohio by somewhere between 8 and 10 points last time. He could double those numbers this time around. Don't worry, be happy.
Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (RKVpM)

Down ballot races can be influenced by Biden not being on the ballot. And besides even if symbolic it shows the GOP is still not serious about fighting.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (Y6Wgg)

181
I've given up on the post office entirely. Why pay for incompetence if you have to?

Posted by: Lady Who Always Has a Burning Question

You know those green ticket certified letters you're supposed to sign for? I got one in my mail yesterday. No stopping to deliver and have me sign for it. So sad.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:37 AM (RKVpM)

182 182 Down ballot races can be influenced by Biden not being on the ballot. And besides even if symbolic it shows the GOP is still not serious about fighting.
Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (Y6Wgg)

========

DeWine is literally trying to break the law to help Democrats.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:37 AM (cD1dp)

183 part 3 (cont.)

Then there's the pissing match that the US got into with Canada over the right to carry firearms.

US Customs officers are required to carry in the line of duty, regardless of where they are located.

Canada pushed back on this when the clearance plaza was moved to the Canadien side. They insisted that the US officers leave their sidearms back in the States.

Much pissing and moaning was engaged in, resulting in a work slow down that started on the Canadien side, and then in retaliation, spread to the US side.

And who got caught in the crosshairs? Commuter traffic ... that's who.

Did the powers that be care? They did not ...

Anyway, I hate all Customs officers, TSA agents. and that's why I drive whenever I can regardless of the length of drive ... because one day, my big mouth is gonna get me locked up.

I'm flagged in their system.

Posted by: browndog's on a list at May 23, 2024 11:37 AM (TTAGa)

184 Other than that 10-15 mins is about average.
Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:27 AM (Y6Wgg)

I haven't bothered checking at my little international airport. It's got maybe a dozen gates. Wait times, from walking in the door to putting your shoes back on is probably 10 minutes. Certainly never more than 15.

My commonly used airports not at home are DIA, ORD, and OIA. DIA is better in all ways than ORD, but both are a crap shoot on wait times. You have to check day of departure, try to use any way to streamline bag checks, and have contingency plans.

OIA is pretty chill. I had the worst flight delay of my life there (18 hours), but that was Frontier's fault, not theirs.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 23, 2024 11:37 AM (0FoWg)

185 66 Now ma & pa in the socks & sandals from Fond du Lac,Wisconsin cruising across for some maple syrup? Yeah. They're waiting in line.
Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:15 AM (nJUfO)

Last trip through Canada, the CA border guards asked me where I was from. Told him NH. Then asked me if I brought any Maple Syrup with me. I simply replied that if I did, I would be offering him some. Waved me right through.

Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at May 23, 2024 11:37 AM (N39Ws)

186 Trump should let Biden sit for the debate as he demands but say he's standing at a podium himself.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at May 23, 2024 11:37 AM (cVWyh)

187 To all of you who have to do something with your State's motor vehicle department.
You should take the time to drive to a smaller town/county, really.
I'm about 3 miles from Maricopa county and the DMV here has 8 booths and one line. I had to get my license renewed in person and there were 2 people in line. I had to register the truck I bought 4 people in line (and I got told I had to go get it smog tested. I got back and there was no line.
Do your self a favor and check it out.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at May 23, 2024 11:38 AM (ui5j4)

188 Compare Colorado Dems with Ohio Republicans.

All you need to know why Dems always win.

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:38 AM (Y6Wgg)

189 Really want someone around who's only happy when it rains?
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (KbCG3)
-------
She'd be pretty happy in Portland.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea, Radioactive Knight at May 23, 2024 11:38 AM (mUnoX)

190 Mike Damone > Mike DeWine
Posted by: Doof at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (I5AAM)

Vic Damone FTW !

Posted by: JT at May 23, 2024 11:38 AM (T4tVD)

191 Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:06 AM (d04cU)

EXACTLY !!!

Posted by: browndog's on a list at May 23, 2024 11:38 AM (TTAGa)

192 Dewine is a sack of crap and perfectly represents the lazy ex-union pill sucking abortionists that make up Ohio voters. Let them rot.

Posted by: Ribbed at May 23, 2024 11:38 AM (Ectld)

193 I have had Canadians tell me that US customs are nicer than Canadian

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:38 AM (FQmDC)

194 Did I say "waddling?" Why yes...they were uniformly overweight.

pretty sure that's a requirement to be a federal employee, it's in the regs somewhere

Posted by: brak at May 23, 2024 11:39 AM (25k9m)

195 Looking around what missed a disturbing article at Legalinsurrection.com on 5 Israeli women captured and been sex slaves. It was up yesterday but just saw it
Posted by: Skip at May 23, 2024 11:34 AM (xtpRo)

That's been the historic reason for Islam to take "hostages".

Both male and female. Because Islam encourages sexual degeneracy.

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at May 23, 2024 11:39 AM (N1DT3)

196 Really want someone around who's only happy when it rains?
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer

I don't know about The Margins, but from the tales of horror I've heard, I bet The Barrel is all about golden showers

Posted by: Moron Analyst at May 23, 2024 11:39 AM (JCZqz)

197 French customs peeps are exactly what you’d expect them to be. Germans too. It’s like holy fuck yous guys have every stereotype of your country on full display as your first interaction with foreigners. Well done. 🤣

Posted by: Montec at May 23, 2024 11:40 AM (Y6Wgg)

198 If the law around the deadline is stupid, repeal the law, at least.

Inventing an exemption because Democrats didn't do what is necessary is just outright tyrannical in all the wrong ways.

But it is standard for Current Day.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:41 AM (cD1dp)

199 I used to travel two or three times a year internationally to a large variety of countries, and no other nation's customs and immigration people come close to the rudeness and obnoxiousness of the Canadians.
Posted by: The ARC of History! at May 23, 2024 11:34 AM (uxCna)
++++
Both extremes in my experience have been in Europe. The most pleasant, efficient and helpful border people (and airport security) I have encountered were in Holland. The most hostile (sort of - "hostile" might be the wrong word. "aggressive" or "staffed by cold-eyed killers" might be more accurate) were in Bulgaria.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:41 AM (d04cU)

200 Both male and female. Because Islam encourages sexual degeneracy.

Tell me about it
TE Lawrence

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:41 AM (FQmDC)

201 191 Really want someone around who's only happy when it rains?
Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:36 AM (KbCG3)
-------
She'd be pretty happy in Portland.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea

I think she's Scottish, so I'm sure she's used to plenty of rain. Also, that means she's probably a raging commie, so Portland may be an ideal second home.

Posted by: Moron Analyst at May 23, 2024 11:41 AM (JCZqz)

202 I would walk to my destination before flying Frontier. Probably get there before they did and would have my luggage.

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:41 AM (YRsIm)

203 Ubisoft "appears to confirm" black samurai is LGBT in upcoming Assassin's Creed game 🤣

https://shorturl.at/grnaF

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks

Have you seen where someone photoshopped Grorge Floyd-san into the promo still? Hilarious. Very on-the-nose.

Posted by: Grudge Harbor at May 23, 2024 11:41 AM (hCzfy)

204 This leggy blonde in boots only dates men with private jets or diplomatic passports, so she has no idea why people complain about the border because it always seems like a breeze:
http://tiny.cc/3xj7yz

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:42 AM (d04cU)

205 The most hostile (sort of - "hostile" might be the wrong word. "aggressive" or "staffed by cold-eyed killers" might be more accurate) were in Bulgaria.
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!)

They're still pissed about that blinding thing I did to their army. Sorry.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at May 23, 2024 11:42 AM (v6JzV)

206 Exhibit at Arizona State: "George Floyd died for us, each and every last one of us ... God chose him.”

https://shorturl.at/b4QXx

-
Must be from one of the books of the Apocrypha. (Check the picture of him in a crown of thorns.)

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:43 AM (L/fGl)

207 Complex systems require a competent, serious society to make them work.

Our complex systems are not working.

Posted by: JFK
------------
No formal system of interest can be both complete and consistent.

Posted by: Kurt Godel at May 23, 2024 11:43 AM (XeU6L)

208 Usually when God picks you to die, it's not a good thing. Very judgment executed. Even Christ was judgment executed.

Posted by: Ribbed at May 23, 2024 11:44 AM (Ectld)

209 ‘ Posted by: Paul banned’

CBD . Feel free to ban this faggot again. He’s used to it, so he won’t mind.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at May 23, 2024 11:44 AM (w+0jH)

210 For God so loved the world that he sent some random ass tweaker to croak in front of a cop from a drug overdose.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at May 23, 2024 11:44 AM (+yhUM)

211 Exhibit at Arizona State: "George Floyd died for us, each and every last one of us ... God chose him.”

https://shorturl.at/b4QXx

-

Blasphemy. It's what's for dinner.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at May 23, 2024 11:44 AM (Zz0t1)

212 This leggy blonde in boots only
-----------
You could have stopped right there.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea, Radioactive Knight at May 23, 2024 11:44 AM (mUnoX)

213 You could have stopped right there.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea, Radioactive Knight at May 23, 2024 11:44 AM (mUnoX)
++++
But then it would have been a lie!

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (d04cU)

214 This leggy blonde in boots only dates men with private jets or diplomatic passports, so she has no idea why people complain about the border because it always seems like a breeze:
http://tiny.cc/3xj7yz
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!)

I usually love boots, but those are just funny-looking.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (v6JzV)

215 New post from Ozzy Man. Stay to the end.

https://tinyurl.com/mr4byhu6

Posted by: Archimedes at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (CsUN+)

216 Disney resorts have an amazing ability to manage crowds. I would love to see/hear/learn how they do it.

Posted by: nurse ratched at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (gdEDO)

217 between Canada I-15 and US I-87

Frankly, that's impossible, because in Canada, there are no "interstates". The big highways have different names in each province, with Ontario highways being designated in the 400 series of highways. In Quebec, the big thoroughfares are "Autoroutes" with an "A" designation. IIRC, the biggest Ontario highway, the 401, changes its name to A20 when you get to Quebec.

So, I'm pretty sure you were going between the A-15 and I-87.

Posted by: MichiCanuck at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (2oxTV)

218 For people who hate the Lord and all His works, these nutsacks sure love to make everything about Jesus.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (+yhUM)

219 This leggy blonde in boots only
-----------
You could have stopped right there.
-----------
But then where would we go to understand her opinion on border crossings? Inquiring minds want to know.

Posted by: Ribbed at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (Ectld)

220 208 Exhibit at Arizona State: "George Floyd died for us, each and every last one of us ... God chose him.”

https://shorturl.at/b4QXx

He's the Jesus of street thug drug overdosers...

Posted by: It's me donna at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (Akjoo)

221 Literally equating him to Christ

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (FQmDC)

222 Unfortunately, I agree with all the above....

ANd don't forget - on of their main objectives is to run healthcare.

CBD, thanks for the update on JJ. Great news.

Posted by: Grateful at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (IQ6Gq)

223 Okay...I banned him.

Is he stupider than usual today?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (huz07)

224 Saint Jesus George Lionheart Floyd!

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (FQmDC)

225 Must be from one of the books of the Apocrypha. (Check the picture of him in a crown of thorns.)
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks
-------
Probably in Wisdom, something Solomon said.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (XeU6L)

226 Wonder why the search engines failed this morning… eh, shut up prole, I guess is the default response now…

Posted by: tubal at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (PCK5/)

227 Reminds me of Calif DMV.

Posted by: Disgusted at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (Z8Yh2)

228
This leggy blonde in boots...

Most unfeminine boots I've ever seen. If she can make such an important decision in footwear so terribly bad, there's no telling what else she gets wrong.

WNB

Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (RKVpM)

229 224 Okay...I banned him.

Is he stupider than usual today?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (huz07)

=========

Par for the course.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (cD1dp)

230 Trump should let Biden sit for the debate as he demands but say he's standing at a podium himself.

That sounds like the right answer. "He can sit if he needs to; I'll stand." I can imagine Joe trying to match him and then when he has to sit down after 20 minutes, it will only highlight his infirmity.

Posted by: Oddbob at May 23, 2024 11:47 AM (/y8xj)

231 225 Saint Jesus George Lionheart Floyd!
Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (FQmDC)

Lol Az

Posted by: Warai-otoko at May 23, 2024 11:47 AM (+yhUM)

232 205 This leggy blonde in boots only dates men with private jets or diplomatic passports, so she has no idea why people complain about the border because it always seems like a breeze:
http://tiny.cc/3xj7yz
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:42 AM (d04cU)

"Hey, so weather is kind of crap outside. Mind if we just take some pics here in the break room? Just give me a minute to remove the decorations from Janet's birthday party."

Posted by: The Central Scrutinizer at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (KbCG3)

233 Lions must have weak hearts. One bag of meth is all it takes to explode you? Please.

Posted by: Ribbed at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (Ectld)

234 Fat, drunk and stupid is the way to go thru life.

Posted by: Federal "Employee" Layabout at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (HopJA)

235 232 225 Saint Jesus George Lionheart Floyd!
Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:46 AM (FQmDC)

Lol Az
Posted by: Warai-otoko

We be robbin', robbin'

Posted by: Robyn and the Hoods at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (JCZqz)

236 So, I'm pretty sure you were going between the A-15 and I-87.

Posted by: MichiCanuck at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (2oxTV)

You are correct! But I'm on a plane right now...reading on my phone, and it's bouncing all over the place so trying to navigate the blog software might be a problem.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (huz07)

237 Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at May 23, 2024 11:45 AM (v6JzV)

Maybe these boots will better suit your taste.

https://tinyurl.com/mtdkfhmd

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (YRsIm)

238 I once flew to Hong Kong via Vancouver.

I get to Horizon Air in Portland for the flight to Vancouver, and they apologized and said they couldn't give me a boarding pass for the Vancouver-Hong Kong leg of the trip. I said, no problem, I'll get it in Vancouver.

I flew to Vancouver, got to customs (it used to be that you didn't have to clear customs in Vancouver if you were transferring from an international flight to another international flight), and the Canadian customs guy threw an absolute fit because I didn't have a Vancouver-Hong Kong boarding pass yet.

I could see the Cathay Pacific check-in from the customs booth, and I considered offering to go to the check-in, get the boarding pass, and returning to the customs booth, but I figured that would make the guy even madder.

He eventually let me in.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (uxCna)

239
Traffic was managed incredibly poorly, because people (assholes) would drive in the unmanned lanes and then cut in at the last minute.

__________

Never let anyone in under those circumstances. It's one thing if two lanes contract to one, but there's no need to be accommodating to assholes.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 23, 2024 11:49 AM (MoZTd)

240 Scottie Scheffler update.

Chief: No body camera is a violation. Officer will be reprimanded.

Two non-cop video's of incident available.

Mayor: "everyone wants to move forward". Next step is June 3rd arraignment.

That's it? I guess so.

Posted by: WisRich at May 23, 2024 11:49 AM (G0vdT)

241 Study: EVs “Hit Pedestrians At Twice The Rate Of Petrol Or Diesel Vehicles”

-
They'd've died of climate crisis anyway.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, I've Been Through the Desert On a Horse With No Shame at May 23, 2024 11:49 AM (L/fGl)

242 "Never let anyone in under those circumstances. It's one thing if two lanes contract to one, but there's no need to be accommodating to assholes."

Hear! Hear!

Posted by: Ribbed at May 23, 2024 11:50 AM (Ectld)

243 https://tinyurl.com/mtdkfhmd
Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead

Ugh. Tats, complete with tramp stamp. No thank you.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at May 23, 2024 11:50 AM (v6JzV)

244 The funniest parts of the reviews are when he sings the name

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:50 AM (FQmDC)

245 Never let anyone in under those circumstances. It's one thing if two lanes contract to one, but there's no need to be accommodating to assholes.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 23, 2024 11:49 AM (MoZTd)

My brother ...

Posted by: browndog's in line at the Peace Bridge at May 23, 2024 11:50 AM (TTAGa)

246 242 Study: EVs “Hit Pedestrians At Twice The Rate Of Petrol Or Diesel Vehicles”

True because you can't hear them coming.. I've been nearly hit on my morning walk...

Posted by: It's me donna at May 23, 2024 11:51 AM (Akjoo)

247 145
‘ Thanks to anyone for their prayers for Mrs Ellipsis.’

That sounds like what my wife has had recently. I hope Mrs. … continues to improve.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at May 23, 2024 11:51 AM (w+0jH)

248 This leggy blonde in boots only dates men with private jets or diplomatic passports, so she has no idea why people complain about the border because it always seems like a breeze:
http://tiny.cc/3xj7yz
Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:42 AM (d04cU)

Nice waders.
I hear the steelhead are biting down on the river.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:51 AM (bvWAj)

249 Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at May 23, 2024 11:50 AM (v6JzV)

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:51 AM (YRsIm)

250 Illinois just passed a bill to change the word "offender" to "justice-impacted individual"

Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:52 AM (FQmDC)

251 146
‘ I didn't realize that Democrats wanted to vote for preacher of America. ’
I think you probably do realize that just about every democrat reflexively lies if they think it benefits their side.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at May 23, 2024 11:53 AM (w+0jH)

252 I haven't traveled outside a 300 mile circle from my home since covid. I haven't the disposition to deal with the likes of TSA or the border patrol anymore. I'd be locked up after lambasting their stupidity with colorful metaphors and much cussing.

I should probably get out more, but my field of fucks, etc. etc.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at May 23, 2024 11:53 AM (Q4IgG)

253
Nice waders.
I hear the steelhead are biting down on the river.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 11:51 AM

We have a trout stream close by that I've always thought would be fun to walk up and down in the summer when the flow is less. Got chest high waders for $35.00 bucks on Amazon. Pair for the wife too.

I just kinda assumed they'd be one helluva lot more money.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:54 AM (RKVpM)

254 Problem-solving:

I had a big thing to cram into the dishwasher, and the only way to make it fit while also allowing the arm to spin was to put it at a fairly steep angle in the lower rack. This blocked the spot for the silverware caddy.

Solution: put all silverware into colander, put colander right side up on the lower rack.

Result: excellent. Clean silverware.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:54 AM (d04cU)

255
EVs “Hit Pedestrians At Twice The Rate Of Petrol Or Diesel Vehicles”

__________

If they hit cyclists at that rate I may look into getting one.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 23, 2024 11:55 AM (MoZTd)

256 Dear Young Black, White and Latino Men...before you support behind Trump, look up the Central Park 5 story and Trumps refusal to stop calling for their execution after they were proven innocent. Trump is not a good person to be admired.

Here's what Trump said in 1989:

On May 1, 1989, Donald Trump—at the time a real estate magnate—called for the return of the death penalty for murder in full-page advertisements published in all four of the city's major newspapers. Trump said he wanted the "criminals of every age to be afraid"

BFD. I've called for it since 1982.

Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:56 AM (nJUfO)

257 it's bouncing all over the place so trying to navigate the blog software might be a problem.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo

* shoves sexton and compass into USB*

When do we round the Horn Captain?

Posted by: Sock Monkey * goat whisperer at May 23, 2024 11:56 AM (7WZom)

258 Thanks sponge

Posted by: ... at May 23, 2024 11:56 AM (fI2Ya)

259
Result: excellent. Clean silverware.

Posted by: Joe Mannix (Not a cop!) at May 23, 2024 11:54 AM

Think my personal massager would get that clean?

Posted by: The Girl in Ugly Boots at May 23, 2024 11:56 AM (RKVpM)

260 252 I haven't traveled outside a 300 mile circle from my home since covid. I haven't the disposition to deal with the likes of TSA or the border patrol anymore. I'd be locked up after lambasting their stupidity with colorful metaphors and much cussing.

I should probably get out more, but my field of fucks, etc. etc.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at May 23, 2024 11:53 AM (Q4IgG)

Did you know ...

That the Border Patrol can stop you anywhere within 100 miles of an International Border.

I see these clowns very damn day on local streets around here.

Posted by: browndog's in line at the Peace Bridge at May 23, 2024 11:57 AM (TTAGa)

261 256 On May 1, 1989, Donald Trump—at the time a real estate magnate—called for the return of the death penalty for murder in full-page advertisements published in all four of the city's major newspapers. Trump said he wanted the "criminals of every age to be afraid"

BFD. I've called for it since 1982.
Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 11:56 AM (nJUfO)

========

Seems like he's not tough enough for living in an American city. Crime is just part of it.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:57 AM (cD1dp)

262 there's no need to be accommodating to assholes.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at May 23, 2024 11:49 AM (MoZTd)

The guy in the car behind me stayed right on my bumper to keep the asshole from PA from cutting in. I actually got out of the car and thanked him for it.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:57 AM (huz07)

263 250 Illinois just passed a bill to change the word "offender" to "justice-impacted individual"
Posted by: steevy at May 23, 2024 11:52 AM (FQmDC)

See the change of the onus… it falls now on the system, not on the perps.

Posted by: tubal at May 23, 2024 11:58 AM (PCK5/)

264 The guy in the car behind me stayed right on my bumper to keep the asshole from PA from cutting in. I actually got out of the car and thanked him for it.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:57 AM (huz07)

This is THE WAY ...

Posted by: browndog's in line at the Peace Bridge at May 23, 2024 11:58 AM (TTAGa)

265 Being a trump supporter outs you as being a bad person with low moral character. Full stop. No milquetoast "straining for context." It is just fundamental truth.
------

But supporting Biden has no meaning. Oh wait no it means you are "good".

I miss the days when the Left reveled in being degenerates and said fuck you and your morality. These people are actually more unpleasant by several parsecs. Even though they're the same people.

Posted by: ... at May 23, 2024 11:58 AM (fI2Ya)

266 265 But supporting Biden has no meaning. Oh wait no it means you are "good".

I miss the days when the Left reveled in being degenerates and said fuck you and your morality. These people are actually more unpleasant by several parsecs. Even though they're the same people.
Posted by: ... at May 23, 2024 11:58 AM (fI2Ya)

=======

Modern lefty puritans.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, fighting kaiju with Ishiro Honda at May 23, 2024 11:59 AM (cD1dp)

267 🙄

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:51 AM (YRsIm)

Clear the courtroom!

Posted by: Judge Juan Merchan at May 23, 2024 11:59 AM (PiwSw)

268 Less than 1000 miles, I drive by default…

Posted by: tubal at May 23, 2024 12:00 PM (PCK5/)

269 At my last place, I devised a couple ways to get to an elementary school on foot without going across a street except once (by jaywalking), because it's safer than the crosswalks at the school there. People are drunk and I don't want my kids getting run over.

I don't figure drunk bastards in silent cars are going to be less fearsome.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 23, 2024 12:00 PM (0FoWg)

270 Posted by: Judge Juan Merchan at May 23, 2024 11:59 AM (PiwSw)
------------
Remember when I said Engoron was the Lance Ito of Roland Freislers? You're the Roland Freisler of Roland Freislers.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea, Radioactive Knight at May 23, 2024 12:00 PM (mUnoX)

271 Also, Gen-Z is bad at math.

Hardly surprising, since half of Them aren't in high school yet.
Seems like a lot of people just can't wait to get the Age Wars going, and we suck down that bait whole every damned time.

You're never going to learn, you will never rise above it, and you'll go to your grave being nothing more than a Man of Your Times, nothing more. This ruse was invented to befuddle you.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at May 23, 2024 12:01 PM (zdLoL)

272
The bitch from CNN who interviewed Ted Cruz talked over him and cut him off all while saying, 'with due respect'. I don't think she showed an ounce of respect to him.

Anyway, Ted mentioned the 1876 election, which if you enjoy history, is one hell of a story. Probably the second link down is better then Wiki.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 12:01 PM (RKVpM)

273 Maybe these boots will better suit your taste.

https://tinyurl.com/mtdkfhmd

Posted by: CrotchetyOldJarhead at May 23, 2024 11:48 AM (YRsIm)

Thats a thing of beauty.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at May 23, 2024 12:01 PM (VwHCD)

274 I just kinda assumed they'd be one helluva lot more money.
Posted by: Divide by Zero

Only if you want the kind that don't leak.

Posted by: Sock Monkey * Fetal Lives Matter at May 23, 2024 12:02 PM (7WZom)

275 The guy in the car behind me stayed right on my bumper to keep the asshole from PA from cutting in. I actually got out of the car and thanked him for it.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:57 AM (huz07)

This is THE WAY ...
Posted by: browndog's in line at the Peace Bridge

The asshole from PA saw the sign two miles back like everyone else.

Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 12:03 PM (nJUfO)

276 Every every every Age Group has its’ fair share of heroes and villains… it is called Human Nature… but, they are working on that.

Posted by: tubal at May 23, 2024 12:03 PM (PCK5/)

277 Nooding over here, boss.

Posted by: Taq, Rickrolled by Jesus at May 23, 2024 12:04 PM (iRX3h)

278 @241 bet one of the reasons for pedestrians getting hit at double the rate by EVs is due to how quiet the EV is. I walk a lot and they can surprise you when the drive up on you silently.

Posted by: Smell the Glove at May 23, 2024 12:04 PM (SaBu/)

279 Generational conflicts are inevitable in these times. When things are always getting worse, the old look back to their youth as a golden age, and the young see it with resentment. Both dislike each other as a result.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at May 23, 2024 12:06 PM (0FoWg)

280 “Justice-Impacted Individual“ sounds like a perp who was “adjusted” by vigilantes

Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 12:06 PM (RHGPo)

281 We have a trout stream close by that I've always thought would be fun to walk up and down in the summer when the flow is less. Got chest high waders for $35.00 bucks on Amazon. Pair for the wife too.

I just kinda assumed they'd be one helluva lot more money.
Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 11:54 AM (RKVpM)
***
The rubber pullovers are fairly cheap. The rubberized insulated ones can get pricey. I never use them. Knew a guy who got a rip in his pullovers and they filled with water before he cou!d get out. Tripped and drowned.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 12:06 PM (bvWAj)

282 275 The guy in the car behind me stayed right on my bumper to keep the asshole from PA from cutting in. I actually got out of the car and thanked him for it.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at May 23, 2024 11:57 AM (huz07)

This is THE WAY ...
Posted by: browndog's in line at the Peace Bridge

The asshole from PA saw the sign two miles back like everyone else.
Posted by: rickb223 at May 23, 2024 12:03 PM (nJUfO)

The Peace Bridge bottlenecks from anywhere up to 10 lanes down to one or two (if you're lucky).

I would regularly lose my mind when that shit started to happen.

Waiting over an hour to just get to the bridge itself ... and then a few hundred yards later, engage with the customs folks. My kids hating riding with me when traffic was bad like that.

Posted by: browndog's in line at the Peace Bridge at May 23, 2024 12:08 PM (TTAGa)

283 Running from a grizzly bear in waders is problematic.

Posted by: Gadabout Gaddis at May 23, 2024 12:08 PM (V5BDR)

284
Knew a guy who got a rip in his pullovers and they filled with water before he cou!d get out. Tripped and drowned.

Posted by: Diogenes at May 23, 2024 12:06 PM

Yeah, that's a concern. These have ties around waist and chest, which isn't perfect but could slow intake long enough to get righted.

Plus, going in low flow season. Trying to find the holes where the trout hide in summer.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at May 23, 2024 12:09 PM (RKVpM)

285 In my bookselling days, I frequently stopped at the post office on my way to the bookstore to mail a package. Now, mind you, this was the main Omaha post office.

I don't know how many times I had to stand in line. There were six stations, and one was manned. More often than not, that single person spoke English as their second language, doubling the time it took to mail my package. And, yes, there were people drifting around in the back ground, seemingly doing nothing at all.

Posted by: Livia Drusilla at May 23, 2024 12:10 PM (zbGp6)

286 If we talking Shirley Manson blowing me, maybe we make an exception...
https://tinyurl.com/3nspxhv6
Posted by: The Margins at May 23, 2024 11:33 AM (JCZqz)

**Launches Photoshop**

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at May 23, 2024 12:11 PM (iODuv)

287 agree with Livia...now do the post office

Almost every rule regarding contact/interaction with the public ends with "at the discretion of the postmaster" or similar.
Out postmaster is a wicked little fat frustrated troll. It is in our interest to never contact her because she will retaliate.

Posted by: DanMan at May 23, 2024 12:13 PM (8uzBS)

288 If the colander is in the dishwasher, what do you wear on your face?

Posted by: BourbonChicken at May 23, 2024 12:15 PM (cf/0E)

289 If the colander is in the dishwasher, what do you wear on your face?
Posted by: BourbonChicken at May 23, 2024 12:15 PM (cf/0E)

https://tinyurl.com/mtdkfhmd

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy now with twice the crazy at May 23, 2024 12:17 PM (iODuv)

290 If the normal young person can't pay for college or buy a house, they should be hoisting the jolly roger. It is the correct thing to do.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at May 23, 2024 12:18 PM (cf/0E)

291 137 [Don't blow the margins or I am going to start banning people. CBD]
Posted by: SMOD at May 23, 2024 11:18 AM (RHGPo)

Shirley you don't mean me !

Posted by: JT at May 23, 2024 11:28 AM (T4tVD)

Is the banhammer ribbed for CBD's pleasure?

Posted by: jim (in Kalifornia) at May 23, 2024 12:28 PM (ynpvh)

292 Tell all Federal employees "You can have Civil Service rules or union rules. Not both." "Just kidding. No more unions. Oh, and you're all schedule F employees now." Even better QMP 'civil servants' just like the military. Not performing to standard? Hope your CV is updated

Posted by: Stacy0311 at May 23, 2024 12:44 PM (ntk8v)

293 Dude, I handed you a US passport. We don't make a habit out of handing those out to non-citizens.

Really? Are you sure about that? I'm not.

Posted by: Mike at May 23, 2024 01:10 PM (I+dwr)

294 Last time I was in Canada was for Expo 67. Not going back, either. No travel for me above Mason-Dixon Line. And not ever setting foot in Maryland, either.

Same here. Been to Canada once, Montreal. Had my car broken into, radio stolen and the cops that showed up were snooty, rude French speakers. Just looked, shrugged and drove off. F 'em.

Posted by: Mike at May 23, 2024 01:21 PM (I+dwr)

295 Law enforcement is isolated from criticism? Say it isn’t so!

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at May 23, 2024 08:23 PM (8sMut)

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