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Mrs Whiggins

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Everything posted by Mrs Whiggins

  1. Rather sad when one thinks of the monuments men, you know the ones who risked their lives to repatriate art during WWII to save for future generations. Just as science surrounds us, so does and should art (and humor is part and parcel with that, no matter its form) and has been with us from the beginning. A constant disdain for that creative instinct which can both inspire and force us to reflect. The beacon and the mirror to societies for centuries and all for naught. Because, what one does not seek nor care to understand one will destroy. That is what I know when I observe that meme and the people who believe it to be funny.
  2. To put it succinctly since I'm derailing the thread: money. Less succinctly, the way I understand it has to do with a messy convergence of private property rights, high vs. low fencing, canned hunts on large tracts of private land (where one can introduce those bred deer), and a general trend towards serfdom in rural areas wherein a few wealthy landowners (either individuals or corporate) own swaths of land and the remaining smaller outfits exist to provide services (plumbing, HVAC, etc). If one essentially creates a barrier wherein wildlife cannot escape, then it's been argued that the situation resembles the sheriff of Nottingham and the monarchy wherein the public no longer can access 'their' deer and it is the possessive 'their' that is the sticking point. Wild life as was mentioned were considered as belonging to the state, but some landowners having gone to the trouble of feeding them and whatnot, considered them 'theirs.' Thus when enterprising folks began breeding deer, it introduced a whole 'nother level of complications. Add CWD to the mix and the usual corrupt nature of Texas politics and here we are. (I didn't even get into the whole poaching and/or setting up blinds near fence lines type behaviors. I don't have a dog nor deer in this hunt, just things I've observed and if I'm off base, feel free to chime in)
  3. The article said they were to visit friends. It's spring break for colleges, not just K-12, so they may have friends who also have a break.
  4. Sybil (Sally Field & Joanne Woodward) What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp & Leonardo DiCaprio) mental disability The Soloist (Jamie Foxx & Robert Downey Jr) Does The Omen count?
  5. And per usual, they doubled down on it.
  6. I've said it before and I'll say it again; so much of Elon's worldview is crystal clear when considered as that of a powerless young boy looking to his father for how to please him and earn his approval. Regardless, he is promoting the hallmark fashy perspective wherein violence is "normalized as a legitimate form of political expression."
  7. How it started: How it's going: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/state-health-department-finds-two-more-measles-cases-in-oklahoma/ar-AA1B2rP1
  8. Oh, and while we're talking about public education and WTF lege, let's check in on higher education. SIAP but here's a Trib article and some links regarding what UT and other universities in Texas are going to be facing. No clue of how serious the lege is on promoting this among their other chicanery, but this is beyond McCarthy and going straight Christian Vo-Tech: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/13/texas-universities-governing-boards-hiring-curricula-faculty-senates/ Here are a few excerpts but I strongly urge (in a REAL spirit of a strongly worded letter, not the sarcastic kind) reading the entire article. I read the bill itself because I thought, yeah, maybe they're exaggerating, but no, SB 37 is actually worse when you read some of the stuff the article omits for space. It effectively neuters the administration and faculty through this governing board that has more control than regents in some cases, and with-holds money for the yearly budget if they don't think the uni is conforming to their standards, standards which are rather enlightening once one reads the bill. Some of it is actually already in place in a not nefarious way because universities actually do provide oversight over their curricula, hiring, etc but this bill tweaks it to the extent that any faculty or other hires (normally the regents have the final say on those) must pass through this board and they are the ones with the vote. It also demonizes faculty senates and ...well I'll stop there but read the bill text if you have about ten minutes--I know I know, reading a proposed Act is not something you want to do, but if you want your children to inherit this mess, then look away. I'll put the bill link at the bottom. The last is rather humorous because it addresses the notion that all universities are too liberal, progressive and yet they use wording that is rather um, inclusive but you know what they really mean so gah, I just can't. Here comes the march of the middling white religious conservative male, see him strut through the halls of higher ed wielding his superior white male intellect to the masses. Strike that, in the bill, this new board also has oversight over admissions so guess who doesn't get in? Not the masses that make up the demographic of this state, just those of whom we approve. Here is the link to the bill: https://trackbill.com/bill/texas-senate-bill-37-relating-to-the-governance-of-public-institutions-of-higher-education-including-review-of-curriculum-and-certain-degree-and-certificate-programs-the-powers-and-duties-of-a-faculty-council-or-senate-training-for-members-of-the-governing-board-and-the-establishment-of-the-office-of-excellence-in-higher-education/2698611/ Read between the lines in an Orwellian fashion and it is, as I stated, enlightening. I forgot to add, I think it was Brandon Creighton of Conroe that proposed it.
  9. Bolded (my emphasis). Isn't AoG the group that glossed over the whole affair/conncections with some longtime sexual predator/pedophile who was affiliated with their campus outreach ministries: Chi Alpha? The ones that had the aggie dudes that took a minor boy to Houston and had naked spiritual services with him? These folks are the ones that want to put the Ten Commandments in the classroom? Nevermind the fox in the henhouse, that's giving them the farm...
  10. Calling it right now: Jerry (which immediately precedes Karen) is going to be one of those just messin' around in sweatpants storms but Karen is going to come onshore with severe speak to the manager energy.
  11. Texas reported 259 cases of measles today, an increase of 36 since Tuesday. Nationwide (CDC brief), there are ~300 in total spread over 15 states (including Texas). Immunity among vaccinated citizens does seem to be helping which is a positive sign; other communities have been reporting shortages of MMR shots due to demand. Good that people are getting immunized, because the virus may see an uptick after the spring break weeks around the country conclude and students re-enter classrooms.
  12. In a similar genre, watch him in Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill And Came Down A Mountain if you haven't already. Both flicks have solid casting and some very funny scenes as well as some poignant ones.
  13. Texas reporting 223 cases today in their news brief. Of those, 29 are in the hospital. Lubbock has stayed at the same number of cases, Gaines County is still outbreak central with 156 cases. AFAIK, New Mexico hasn't reported beyond last week, but Oklahoma added two cases linked to the outbreak in TX/NM to the mix--officials there are not reporting the location because they said "the public is not at risk." Apparently because the patients isolated themselves "during the contagious period." That is not exactly reassuring being that it IS Oklahoma but hey Okies, you do you.
  14. His Dad probably wouldn't let him wear makeup, but it's very Adam Ant-Duran Duran like. Just goes to show that if someone had given him more of a nudge when he began his whole midlife crisis, we could've avoided this whole DOGE fiasco because Elon would've just started his own middle-aged boy/rock band kinda like other celebs and rich guys do.
  15. Finished Culinary Class Wars, binged the last 3 episodes this weekend. That was a great watch. Also watched The Misfits (Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon, et al). It was a Mistake. So many better heist movies than this one and unfortunately we took a gamble w/o reading reviews.
  16. 198 cases. Well, that is not a good sign. Tuesday was 159. Most are still in Gaines County, which is a plus.
  17. Like Jimmy Kimmel, when hosting the Emmy Awards (prior to the 2016 election) said: “Many have asked, ‘Who is to blame for Donald Trump?’ I’ll tell you who, because he’s sitting right there. That guy.” Kimmel pointed into the audience, and the live feed cut to a closeup of Burnett, whose expression resolved itself into a rigid grin. “Thanks to Mark Burnett, we don’t have to watch reality shows anymore, because we’re living in one...” Sourced from this article, a good read: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/07/how-mark-burnett-resurrected-donald-trump-as-an-icon-of-american-success A long long time ago, somewhere on this forum I posted another article about Burnett that was far darker and more speculative in that it discussed Burnett's military background in more detail and posited that Burnett had ties to some unsavory foreign players somewhat in the vein of an Erik Prince. No idea if that was true. He certainly approached Putin about a decade ago about producing a show in Russia but that may have just been him looking for whatever angle he could to keep shows in the pipeline. Because ultimately he is a producer and now with his appointment as special envoy to the UK, all of his 'I'm not pro-Trump' rhetoric is as fake as his shows.
  18. What do you suppose the odds are that the preacher/rep in that insta crowing about the vax rate is innoculated? Now do the odds for being a child abuser based on the youth minister thread in CR....
  19. +1. ^^^^^^^This post needs more love^^^^^^ Also, what is up with the derails lately? First the damn gerrymandering and now the Democratic Party and all that ails it debate. 🙄
  20. Better fast forward that curriculum planning for your Flat Earth Academy before you miss out. Wonder how much the actual educators get paid at his campuses.
  21. Without taking away from your statement, there are a lot of people that have difficulty with 'scale' when it comes to more than just money. "This is a great program!" But they only ran the numbers for a group of ten people and when you point out the flaw after sitting there and mentally sizing it up for 100 times that many because that is the target, they just blink because the concept throws them into a vapor lock.
  22. Guess they can try and get a job at the state penitentiary or one of the other prisons up the road. Not a lot going on in that part of Oklahoma besides some ag-related stuff.
  23. Do you think he spends ANY time thinking about trees ever? I mean his only outings with nature are on his golf courses where the trees are mostly at a distance lining the fairway and he's speeding by on his lil cart; his oldest son goes on canned hunts to kill species that probably ought to be on an endangered list; if Ivanka ever set foot in anything resembling a tent it would only be one of the pavilion types they use for weddings and runway shows; Eric is just smart enough to know that trees provide shade but not smart enough to understand the Warren Buffett line about "someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." Nature would give them their just desserts if they ever actually experienced it in the wild.
  24. Mudslides or Dust Bowl: pick your poison based on the National Park's location and climatology.
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