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bolverk

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Everything posted by bolverk

  1. Go read my last post in the CR flood thread about what the Texas lege has failed to do in implementing flood plans. There's a good ol' boy in Seguin complaining about the bureaucracy being at fault. Great example of what you're saying. These people know they need to point the finger at someone, but have been so thoroughly conditioned that they keep failing to identify the real culprit behind their woes.
  2. Penny wise, pound foolish. Also, the Guadalupe County guy knows things are fucked up, but like the typical DTer, he points his finger in the wrong direction. This is pretty long, so I tried to snip it down to as bite-sized as I could. Link has full article. Texas lawmakers largely ignored recommendations aimed at helping rural areas like Kerr County prepare for flooding [A] ProPublica and Texas Tribune analysis of legislative proposals, along with interviews with lawmakers and flood experts, found that the Legislature has repeatedly failed to enact key measures that would help communities prepare for frequent flooding. Such inaction often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities hardest because they lack the tax base to fund major flood prevention projects and often cannot afford to produce the data they need to qualify for state and federal grants, environmental experts and lawmakers said. Over the years, legislators have declined to pass at least three bills that would create siren or alert systems, tools experts say can be especially helpful in rural communities that lack reliable internet and cell service. A 2019 state-commissioned report estimated flood prevention needs at over $30 billion. Since then, lawmakers have allocated just $1.4 billion. And they ignored the key recommendations from the state’s 2024 flood plan that are meant to help rural areas like Kerr County, which is dubbed “Flash Flood Alley” due to its geography. Spokespeople for Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, did not answer questions about why the plan’s recommendations were overlooked but defended the Legislature’s investment in flood mitigation as significant. They pointed to millions more spent on other prevention efforts, including flood control dam construction and maintenance, regional flood projects, and increased floodplain disclosures and drainage requirements for border counties. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick did not respond to questions. This week, the Legislature will convene for a special session that Abbott called to address a range of priorities, including flood warning systems, natural disaster preparation and relief funding. Patrick promised that the state would purchase warning sirens for counties in flash flood zones. Similar efforts, however, have previously been rejected by the Legislature. Alongside Burrows, Patrick also announced the formation of committees on disaster preparedness and flooding and called the move “just the beginning of the Legislature looking at every aspect of this tragic event.” Burrows said the House is “ready to better fortify our state against future disasters.” But Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, a Democrat from Richardson, near Dallas, said state lawmakers have brushed off dire flood prevention needs for decades. “The manual was there, and we ignored it, and we've continued to ignore these recommendations,” said Rodríguez Ramos, who has served on the House Natural Resources Committee overseeing water issues for three sessions. “It’s performative to say we’re trying to do something knowing well we’re not doing enough.” One recommendation from the 2024 flood plan would have cost the state nothing to enact. It called for granting counties the authority to levy drainage fees, including in unincorporated areas, that could fund local flood projects. Only about 150 of 1,450 Texas cities and counties have dedicated drainage fees, according to a study cited in the state assessment. Kerr, a conservative county of 53,000 people, has struggled to gain support for projects that would raise taxes. About a week after the flooding, some residents protested when county commissioners discussed a property tax increase to help cover the costs of recovery efforts. The inability to raise such fees is one of the biggest impediments for local governments seeking to fund flood mitigation projects, said Robert R. Puente, a Democrat and former state representative who once chaired the state committee responsible for water issues. Lawmakers’ resistance to such efforts is rooted in fiscal conservatism, said Puente, who now heads the San Antonio Water System. “It’s mostly because of a philosophy that the leadership in Austin has right now, that under no circumstances are we going to raise taxes, and under most circumstances we’re not even going to allow local governments to have control over how they raise taxes or implement fees,” he said. Another one of the flood plan’s recommendations called for lawmakers to allocate money for a technical assistance program to help underresourced and rural governments better manage flood prone areas, which requires implementing a slew of standards to ensure safe development in those hazardous zones. Doing this work requires local officials to collect accurate mapping that shows the risk of flooding. Passing this measure could have helped counties like Kerr with that kind of data collection, which the plan recognized is especially challenging for rural and economically disadvantaged communities. Insufficient information impacts Texas’s ability to fully understand flood risks statewide. The water board’s plan, for example, includes roughly 600 infrastructure projects across Texas in need of completion. But its report acknowledged that antiquated or missing data meant another 3,100 assessments would be required to know whether additional projects are needed. In the Guadalupe River region, which includes Kerr County, 65% of areas lacked adequate flood mapping. Kerrville, the county seat, was listed among the areas identified as having the “greatest known flood risks and mitigation needs.” Yet of the 19 flood needs specific to the city and county, only three were included in the state plan’s list of 600. They included requests to install backup generators in critical facilities and repair low-water crossings, which are shallow points in streets where rainwater can pool to dangerous levels. At least 16 other priorities, including the county’s desire for an early warning flood system and potential dam or drainage system repairs, required a follow-up evaluation, according to the state plan. County officials tried to obtain grants for the early warning systems for years, to no avail. Gonzales County, an agriculture-rich area of 20,000 people along the Guadalupe River, is among the rural communities struggling to obtain funding, said emergency management director Jimmy Harless, who is also the county’s fire marshal. The county is in desperate need of a siren system and additional gauges to measure the river’s potentially dangerous flood levels, Harless said, but doesn’t have the resources, personnel or expertise to apply for the “burdensome” state grant process. “It is extremely frustrating for me to know that there’s money there and there’s people that care, but our state agency has become so bureaucratic that it’s just not feasible for us,” Harless said. “Our folks’ lives are more important than what some bureaucrat wants us to do.” For years, Texas leaders have focused more on cleaning up after disasters than on preparing for them, said Jim Blackburn, a professor at Rice University specializing in environmental law and flooding issues. “It’s no secret that the Guadalupe is prone to flash flooding. That’s been known for decades,” Blackburn said. “The state has been very negligent about kind of preparing us for, frankly, the worst storms of the future that we are seeing today because of climate change, and what’s changing is that the risks are just greater today and will be even greater tomorrow, because our storms are getting worse and worse.” At a news conference this month, Abbott said state committees would investigate “ways to address this,” though he declined to offer specifics. When pressed by a reporter about where the blame for the lack of preparedness should fall, Abbott responded that it was “the word choice of losers.”
  3. He should've indicated that he teed it up to the moment when Stewart’s main rant about CBS started. It'd make a great short clip.
  4. Wordle 1,494 3/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ ⬛🟨⬛🟨🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #772 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1275 4️⃣7️⃣ 6️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜ 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  5. Y'all watch this while you can before it gets scrubbed. John thinks he's going to get cancelled and outright tells CBS to go fuck itself while backed up by a choir. It's worth each and every one of its 29 minutes, so block out the time.
  6. He could also be lying about getting fired as a grift.
  7. When I was in kindergarten (1976), we only lived about two blocks from the school. My folks let me wander over alone, no problem. We moved to another town when I was in the first grade (1977), and I rode my bike alone about a mile to elementary school.
  8. I only made it to that first guy who opened his kimono and revealed himself a fascist -- to a round of applause -- in that first YouTube clip you posted. Disgusting.
  9. Shit, people are falling in love with their AIs that they use for therapy or as personal assistants. I caught a good chunk of this conversation a few days ago, and it's both sad and scary to think about what it has the potential to do to society writ large, considering all the lonely people out there. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/18/g-s1177-78041/what-to-do-when-ai-says-i-love-you-we-talked-to-an-artificial-intimacy-expert
  10. Yep. Didn't he just pull that shit a couple of weeks ago? He's also cruelly gone after at least 2-3 female posters who’ve naively disclosed a bit of personal information, like selfies. One was done in celebration, and the other had gotten Covid. In neither instance did he get a ban. Of course, there are others he's fucked with over personal stuff and has gotten away with it. It's like Johnny Sack/Frank Drebin has plot armor on this soap, Surlies of Our Lives. Absolutely the most despicable poster on this site. The dude is evil incarnate and deserves to be permabanned.
  11. As newlyweds, my ex-wife and I enjoyed her first prominent feature back in the mid-90s.
  12. Einhorn is Finkle! Finkle is Einhorn!
  13. Not even close. I'd provide some helpful non-identifying context, but I don't want to be banned. Let’s just say he has a history of not being shy about freely sharing unmentionable details about certain aspects of his life. By contrast, this windfucker's trolling -- as evidenced by his repeated use of insults while simultaneously ignoring about 10 direct and pointed questions from different posters along with sidestepping a few attempts to engage in serious discourse -- is perfectly A-OKAY. It's hard to keep track of the site's mercurial moderation rules.
  14. I get it but also have slightly more sympathy for the Hermit Kingdom grunts who've never had access to a Free Press.
  15. A mildly political response: Putin has cynically co-opted the Russian Orthodox Church and tried to establish himself as the savior of socially conservative Christian values in contrast to decadent Western Europe (recall how he went after Pussy Riot along with all the homophobic propaganda about the West). Steve Bannon gave a whole speech about uniting Christendom at the Vatican (2015, I think), hinting at times at Putin’s important role in fighting culture wars against the threats posed by liberal decadence and Islam. Some Western social conservatives have, over the years, responded well to all his surface-level promotion of family values while ignoring (or embracing) his crusade against Western democracy and the destruction he’s wrought on Ukrainian, Georgian, African, AND Russian families. I also vividly recall that, before he invaded Ukraine (the first time in 2014), he seemed to have some admirers on Shaggy who also spoke highly of his strategic brilliance and overall leadership in contrast to the US president at that time. Hell, one prominent poster who only occasionally posts nowadays even defended Russia’s claims on Ukraine when they illegally annexed Crimea. He had, and still has, some Western fans. Witness the guy from Round Rock, who, early in the war, went to Russia and became a reporter covering the war for the Russian government. Also, remember that many Americans used to work for RT. The vast majority of us now see him pretty clearly for what he is, but that wasn’t necessarily always the case.
  16. Fun new show on Hulu called ‘Rivals,’ starring David Tennant, Aidan Turner (Poldark), and Alex Hassell (minor role in The Boys). It’s set in the mid- to late-1980s (lots of music from that era for those who enjoy the nostalgia) with the main plot surrounding the efforts of a regional independent television studio in the "Central Southwest" region trying to renew its franchise agreement with the government. As the title suggests, it involves lots of intrigues between a bunch of posh British twats living in the Cotswolds behaving like scoundrels and screwing each other over, both literally and figuratively (TITS!), in their personal / business affairs. The first season is 10 easily binged episodes. Not perfect, but pretty entertaining. Wives and girlfriends will also enjoy. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/rivals_2024
  17. The guy in that photo looks just like the type who would tailor a jersey.
  18. Struggled with this one. Wordle 1,493 5/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #771 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1274 7️⃣4️⃣ 6️⃣5️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟨🟨🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ 🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  19. You're right. Boston Celtics is too PC. They should change the name to Boston Gingers.
  20. Are you saying that gingers are the redheaded stepchildren of historically oppressed people in the United States?
  21. I don't see it either, but he can speak with genuine credibility on topics that connect Christian values with policy. He needs to keep doing what he's doing because he's starting to gain more notice. Short 1-minute clip
  22. The genocide in Gaza continues: 32 yesterday; 60+ today. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-military-evacuation.html Israeli forces killed and wounded dozens of Palestinians on Sunday in the northern Gaza Strip, after crowds gathered near a crossing from Israel to try to seize aid from United Nations trucks entering the enclave, according to the Gaza health ministry and health workers. The episode was the latest in a string of deadly shootings as hunger and desperation have gripped Palestinians in Gaza during Israel’s nearly two-year campaign against Hamas. The latest attack took place near the Zikim crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. More than 60 people were killed while seeking aid in northern Gaza on Sunday, according to the health ministry and Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. A field hospital operated by the Palestine Red Crescent Society in northern Gaza was flooded with gunshot victims from the episode near Zikim. The hospital received two of the dead and more than 100 wounded, said Nebal Farsakh, a spokeswoman for the Red Crescent. Israeli soldiers fired “warning shots” after thousands of Gazans gathered in the area, the Israeli military said in a statement. They had opened fire to “remove an immediate threat posed to them,” it added, but did not specify the nature of the threat. The Israeli military also said that the reported number of casualties did “not align” with its initial review, but it did not provide an alternative toll. The military was continuing to examine the episode, it said. The United Nations’ World Food Program said in a statement that a convoy of 25 trucks carrying food for Palestinians was entering northern Gaza when it “encountered massive crowds of hungry civilians which came under gunfire.” The agency said it was “working with authorities to gather more details about the incident.” Chaos has dominated aid distribution in Gaza amid widespread hunger in the territory. Israeli soldiers have repeatedly opened fire near huge crowds of desperate Palestinians heading to sites run by American contractors for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private and controversial Israeli-backed group, according to witnesses and the Israeli military. At least 32 people were killed on Saturday after Israeli soldiers began shooting near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation site in southern Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry. The episode on Sunday did not occur near one of the foundation’s sites.
  23. I bet you're right about the incentive package to relocate the headquarters. In the world of economic development, states take pride in and love to tout the number of corporate headquarters they have, especially those of well-known companies. Business Insider's piece is a little clearer. It looks like they're doing some consolidating on the West Coast as they relocate to Nashville's suburbs. https://www.businessinsider.com/in-n-out-lynsi-snyder-relocation-california-tennessee-business-expansion-2025-7 And how pathetic it is that she's bitching about old Covid restrictions from FOUR YEARS AGO in the present tense? Edit: This is probably like a lot of other relocations out of California, where they leave the vast bulk of their operations in-state but have a small "headquarters" in Tennessee for tax purposes.
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