Growing families

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Well, our first grandchild got married Saturday with many tears of joy and copious amounts of booze afterwards.
A great time had by all and two families melded together.
The groom's family turned out to be wonderful people with one of them bringing a mason jar of genuine moonshine. It's been awhile since I indulged in that.
Whew!
Six more grandkids to go with only one looking close to tying the knot.
Oh they grow up so fast.
Speaking of growing, the tomatoes are prolific. We've run out of freezer space and the neighbors are flush with them, so off to the food bank with the rest.
Also growing is our national debt. I've read that China and Saudi Arabia have unloaded trillions of dollars in US treasuries in the last month hinting something is about to happen.
I don't think the dollar has a very bright future.
What to do?
I think I'll grow some tulips, as a backup.
Thread is open, what's goin' on?

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enhydra lutris's picture

tulips as a backup? I can't grow anything with any certainty or consistency, but I would personally avoid tulips. I mean, it's been done, and resulted in the first recorded investment bubble in western history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania With all those grandkids threatening to get wed at some point, perhaps you should invest in bubbly instead. Veuve Cliquot, for one, comes to mind.

be well and have a good one

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7 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

earthling1's picture

@enhydra lutris @enhydra lutris
I was wondering who was going to be the first to tie the Tulipmania craze of yore.
You win!
Already invested in hard liqueur, especially wise since I don't drink it. What is the shelf life of bubbly anyways? I know wine gets better with age, but I don't have a wine cellar. Plus, I like wine, especially resieling.. I'd probably drink it.
Have a great day.

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8 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

QMS's picture

moonshine to celebrate the adjoining of 2 families
and congrats on the growing of grandchildren

the growing debt may become problematic tho

F6PHCQ-WYAAPLZ0.jpeg

a graphic example

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9 users have voted.

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

earthling1's picture

@QMS
where the interest we are supposed to be paying on that debt is more than tax revenues.
My question is: Who do we owe this interest to?
Upon default, will our creditors demand our National Parks? Our entire military machine?
Water works, B & O, Reading railroads?
Our firstborn?
Something to think (worry) about.
Thanks for stopping by.

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6 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

QMS's picture

Azerbaijan or Armenia? The news is so convoluted, I can not make heads nor tails
out of the situation. I know the CIA led coups are targeting Russian neighbors, but
this is so confusing. Not saying there are any black and white or good versus evil type
of scenarios of necessity. While I would side with most nation-states establishing
independence and self determination, is this another distraction to pull interest
away from the lost Ukie regime?

Best guess is Azerbaijan would be more aligned with Russia, as they share a border.
Whereas Armenia is one step away with Georgia in-between. Just about any country
aligned with Russia would be considered the bad guys in western parlance. So does
the CIA target Armenia to foment tension in the region?

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4 users have voted.

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

yes @QMS of Course the
see eye aye are involved

longer answer is(partially) access of
the minority armenians To armenia
controlled by azerbajian(should be an h in there somewhere)
and the stir up is to change the border

problem is iran aint having it cause it’ll
play hell with Other trade/access routes
including turkye to georgia and
others to astana on the nsic
with the ability to access bharat(india) as well

yeah it goes much deeper than that
remember this is the center of
the grand chessboard for three
hundred years Easy

presstv/ir has a brief overview on this
careful
you’ll be on
The List if you
go there

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5 users have voted.

Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

QMS's picture

@Tall Bald and Ugly @Tall Bald and Ugly

the historians toss out sanitized substitutes for truth
like "ethnic cleansing". Where are the residents supposed
to go to avoid bombs? Nagorno-Karabakh is a thinly settled
mountainous region. In the middle of some game of tug-of-war.

2020_Nagorno-Karabakh_war.svg_.png

The fact that EU is proposing to sanction Azerbaijan is a tell on whose side they are on.

Fighting over control of a pipeline as EL has mentioned perhaps?

Meaning funded by oil interests.
Another shit show.

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5 users have voted.

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

Dawn's Meta's picture

@QMS has misread the potential of NATO/US future and is to the detriment of his country moving from Russian cooperation to courting EU and NATO.

Part of his strategy is to abandon Nogarno Karabash (spelling is wrong) as it is more aligned with Russia. The Duran is calling it Ukraine 2.0.

The lightly populated mountainous region would be similar to Crimea.

Russia has been the traditional guaranteur of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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7 users have voted.

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

snoopydawg's picture

@Dawn's Meta

the two countries for over a month and some people were saying that America was behind it to open up more strife on Russia’s border while its dealing with Ukraine.

Here is the latest update. I wouldn’t put it past us being involved up to our eyeballs in it.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583233-agorno-karabakh-conflict-live/

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6 users have voted.

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

Dawn's Meta's picture

@snoopydawg The Duran with Alex and Alexander covered it extensively yesterday.

Teddy the Tekel, Ira the little Puma and George the Grey, my hippie dippy Kittie, say hi to Sam.

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3 users have voted.

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

conflict going between them and that neither is really playing along as of yestidday. Azerbaijan is part of pipelineistan, almost certainly is in bed with one or more major oil companies. It is one terminus of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline which was a US backed project to try to fuck over Russia, so a presumed US ally. Tbilisi, the midpoint, is in Georgia, a US ally/foil, so the odds are that Azerbaijan is not the good guy.

possible last resort tie-breaker

be well and have a good one

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5 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

QMS's picture

@enhydra lutris

ho hum, just another resource war.

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4 users have voted.

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

Lookout's picture

@QMS
20 min

12 min

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3 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

snoopydawg's picture

..

Going, Going, Gone

Shrink inflation has really ramped up lately and it’s getting worse every month it seems. Prices might stay the same, but it’s more likely that they have gone up while you get less. Or the package stays the same, but there is less content inside.

What are you noticing? Oh yeah and gas is now $4.39 for regular and $4.69 for mid grade. Just 70 miles east in Evanston, WY it’s more than a dollar less.

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8 users have voted.

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

QMS's picture

@snoopydawg

the rest is marketing. It starts with 2 for 1 sales so consumers don't notice the
smaller portions. Then the sales peter-out and we pay the same (or more) for less.
Such a deal! Next, they will switch from gallons to liters so it doesn't look so bad.
Only $2.50 / liter. Wow! the price has gone down! Fill er up.

good luck

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7 users have voted.

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

earthling1's picture

@snoopydawg
both prices increasing and packaging getting smaller, lighter. And cheaper ingredients or materials.
The auto workers are asking for a 36% raise over 4 years which, IMHO, doesn't even make up for the last decade of inflation.
How long has the federal minimum wage been seven dollars a some change?
Serfdom are us.
Regular gas here in Washington state is five bucks plus. One thing I have noticed over the decades is the Blue states get charged more, essentially subsidizing the Red states.
Anyone else notice that?
Have a good day.

up
8 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

snoopydawg's picture

@earthling1

and still there is such a difference in prices. SLC has 5 refineries and yet our gas prices are usually some of the highest in the country.

Russia and Saudi Arabia are cutting their outflow of oil and it’s why oil is flirting with $100. But during Obama it’s was around $80 or lower and gas was under $3, but during Biden when it was the same price we were being charged much more for it. Gauging much?

up
5 users have voted.

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

enhydra lutris's picture

@snoopydawg

quotation prices for benchmark crudes. In a nutshell, gasoline prices are based n what the oil companies think that the market will bear. People in Vail, Colo pay a premium for gas because it is anticiapted that they both can and will. See this wee intro to da ahl bisness: https://caucus99percent.com/content/oil-cost-oil-and-gas-price-disconnec...

be well and have a good one

up
7 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

are asking for @earthling1 two point six billion
or so over four yrs
seems like a lot

Fords profit This year Alone is estimated
at 168 Billion dollars

I drive a ford pickup
27 years old $3k two
years ago still going
never again new

hope the workers win

up
10 users have voted.

Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

up
12 users have voted.
earthling1's picture

@humphrey
to be Antifascist today.
Even that term has been shortened and demonized.

up
11 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

usefewersyllables's picture

@earthling1

to express an opinion. The next stop on this train, of course, is for it to be a crime to *have* an opinion.

I'm just not feeling online interaction any more.

up
10 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

snoopydawg's picture

@usefewersyllables

by the courts so he is giving money to DHS and other agencies to watch for people who are saying domestic terrorist type things online and going after them that way. The constitution is on life support and the only right that is still standing is the 2nd and many states are trying to destroy that. Look at what the New Mexico governor just did, but for only 30 days. Other states have been playing with it too. The court should have squashed the patriot act immediately and Obama’s rescinding habeas corpus. Plus the FISA act should have been declared unconstitutional. And yet…

up
11 users have voted.

“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

QMS's picture

@snoopydawg

and the pilot bailed.

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7 users have voted.

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

Dawn's Meta's picture

@QMS It is most likely the problem is the pilot finds it impossible to control the aircraft.

At least one or more other bailouts have been the inability to control the plane.

Several substacks and threads discuss this subject. Have the controls been hacked? If so by whom?

Are these $195m stealth fighters capable of remote control or not. Arguments for either scenario are stated in substack threads.

Lots of talk about the huge amount of code and the likelihood it's got many glitches.

One pilot bailed after his F35 encountered turbulence, misinterpreted it and locked the pilot out.

Many software developers and associated tech people said they minimize their personal use of software tech...too difficult to use; invasive; buggy; failure prone and more.

Apologies for not including links. Alex Christofouro (The Duran) and Jeff Childers (Coffee and COVID substack) have had good laughs over this. Their threads had great discussion.

up
7 users have voted.

A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

QMS's picture

@Dawn's Meta

the F-35 has disappeared to send it along to some foreign
war zone, like all those air force personnel that died mysteriously

the military story is we don't have 'boots on the ground' yet, but
that keeps getting exposed as more lies, as US service personnel
have shown up dead in Ukie.

If the damn plane can be flown remote controlled, it could be anywhere.
The fake debris field sounds too much like the pentagon attack. You
would think they could get more creative with their BS. But it is the
military making this shit up. So, as they are playing by an outdated script,
it actually makes some sense.

I guess as long as our vaunted military doesn't start taking out St. Louis or
other internal targets, we may be safe for awhile.

up
7 users have voted.

truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

Great! Weddings! Merging of families!
Wish you could ship those excess 'maters to Texas.
Thanks for the OT. Always fun, even if the world is on the verge of....

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6 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

@on the cusp

Congrats on the newly weds.

Moonshine is still common here, but most of the big producers shifted to the more profitable pot production. It has always been no mans land here on the state line.

Hope all is well on the homestead. Our tomatoes have about played out. Just enough for fresh eating. Still lots of peppers, and we've put up enough for a year or more. Got out some fall crops, but still need to plant onions and garlic. We wait till the end of Oct. to dig sweet potatoes. So plenty of garden chores.

thanks for the OT!

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5 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”