A Seattle bus driver is on medical leave after being exposed to fentanyl smoke
Seattle & King County Public Health social worker Thea Oliphant-Wells, a recovering heroin addict, earlier encouraged drug users to continue using in public
The driver said users regularly smoke in front of families on his bus
At the start of 2023, officials with the King County Medical Examiner's Office said the department was struggling to keep up with the number of incoming bodies as the fentanyl crisis continues and worsens.
'A key indication of just how bad things are at the end of 2022 and likely to get worse [in] 2023, the medical examiner's office is now struggling with the issue of storing bodies because the fentanyl-related death toll continues to climb,' Seattle-King County Public Health Director Dr. Faisal Khan recently said.
Officials said they are looking into temporary options to counteract the finite amount of space available in the morgues.
'We have options for temporary morgue surge capacity when our census count gets high, including storing decedents on autopsy gurneys and partnerships with funeral homes,' a public health spokesperson told KTHH.
'We're exploring longer-term options for adding more capacity,' they continued.
Khan said he believes many of the recent deaths have been caused by the discrete inclusion of fentanyl in drugs that look like prescription pills. He also said the drug can be made to look like cocaine or heroin.
'People do not realize that they are taking fentanyl,' Khan said.
He also added that fentanyl is the 'biggest driver' of the overdoses and that the drug is being found in 'white powder and in fake pills, which are flooding the streets.'
In 2022, a record 310 homeless people died in the Seattle area last year, highlighting the region’s struggle to house the thousands of people living on its streets. The 310 deaths in King County surpassed the previous record of 195 homeless deaths set in 2018, and marked a 65 percent jump over 2021.
Last year, Public Health – Seattle & King County distributed more than 10,000 kits of naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, and about 100,000 fentanyl test strips.
Fentanyl has been driving overdose fatalities in the county more broadly, regardless of people’s housing status. As of November, it was involved in 70% of all confirmed overdose deaths in the county in 2022, according to a recent report by Public Health – Seattle & King County.
[NYPOST] New York magazine’s veteran art critic Jerry Saltz advised his social media followers to "shun" anybody who has voted for Republican political candidates — even if they are "friends and family."
"If you know anyone who voted Republican — including friends and family — you should shun them," Saltz wrote on his Instagram page on Sunday.
"No need to even tell them that you are no longer communicating with them or why," Saltz wrote. "You own it [sic] yourself, to them, your country, and any idea of moral damage."
Saltz — who was responding to a post of an old photo of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in drag, protesting a state law banning drag performances in front of kids — concluded the post by writing: "And yes, they want to bring back lynching."
The Post has sought comment from Saltz and New York Magazine.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2023 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11125 views]
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#1
Who's being divisive. Who's drawing the line. So be it.
#5
^ Many of our "neighbors" on the Left have loudly called for just such a solution. The "othering" is complete, so best kit up for the consequences.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/08/2023 11:01 Comments ||
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#6
What’s the downside for the shunned?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 11:38 Comments ||
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#7
They must have calculated that they are ready for a civil war.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/08/2023 12:40 Comments ||
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#8
"Fuck you freedom"
-Arnold Schwarzenegger
It is a wonderful question, isn't it? How many truly believed The Covid Narrative, and how many realized it was mostly bullshit but saw an opportunity to do the detention, arrest, and to the camps?
#11
Ellis Island staff seems to have done considerable creative editorializing when names especially when immigrants were illiterate. Maybe it was Saltzburger.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 21:42 Comments ||
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#12
Jeez, #9, no need to be so coy (or whatever)...
As Kommandant Saltz Shunning-Kruger
Adjusted the aim of his Ruger
And hollered "Moar power!"
From up in the tower,
I unlatched the catch on my...
Bass case?
[FoxNews] Los Angeles County DA George Gascon faces at least a dozen lawsuits from his own prosecutors claiming they were retaliated against for speaking out against his policies
A Los Angeles County jury awarded $1.5 million to a prosecutor as part of a retaliation lawsuit against District Attorney George Gascon, who faces similar complaints in a series of legal actions.
Shawn Randolph sued Gascon, claiming she was transferred from supervising the DA's juvenile division, and effectively demoted, for speaking out against his policies, which have come under heavy scrutiny from his own prosecutors and elected officials. Randolph previously raised concerns that Gascon's criminal justice reforms could be harmful or unethical.
She was eventually transferred to the parole division.
Her main objection stemmed from policies to reduce charges against underage offenders, even those accused of committing violent crimes, to limit strikes against children.
Gascon faces a dozen similar lawsuits from deputy district attorneys who say they were demoted for publicly raising concerns about his directives.
"George Gascón said he didn’t need any experience being a prosecutor because the DA is only a manager," John Hatami said of his boss Monday. "Well George, you are a horrible DA and an even worse manager. You have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars with 17 total lawsuits against you."
"You called DDA’s ‘internal terrorists,’ ‘unfit,’ ‘delusional,’ and ‘hyper partisan,’" he added.
He accused Gascon of creating a hostile work environment and forcing prosecutors to "commit unethical and illegal actions in court" despite his policies having "excluded public safety and victims’ rights for political gain."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Gascon's office said they were "disappointed by the jury's verdict, and stand by our decision to reassign this and other attorneys to new positions within the office."
"As any manager will tell you, moving around personnel in order to improve the level of representation this community receives is absolutely critical to a functioning office," the statement said. "We will consider our options over the next several days."
After the verdict, Twitter head Elon Musk asked: "Wasn’t Gascon the bad guy in Beauty & the Beast?"
John Lewin, who worked in the DA's Major Crimes Division before being transferred to a lower level position, called Randolph a "hero" in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"When George Gascon tried to implement policies that are not only illegal, but which have resulted in the deaths and victimization of an untold number of innocent citizens, Shawn risked her career and her reputation to do what was right," Lewin said. "George Gascon is derelict in his responsibility as District Attorney, and is a scourge to the community at large. This is the beginning of the end for him! His horrible reign of terror will not last past the next election!!"
During the trial, Gascon testified that there were 14 deputy district attorneys moved as part of a series of personnel changes.
"She's just mad," attorney Justin Sanders, who represented Gascon and Los Angeles County, said, KNBC-TV reported in February. "She wanted Long Beach or Torrance and instead she got parole."
#2
Are you sure that Gascon will be personally responsible for the 1.5 mil? Usually, it is just taken out of the government treasury.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/08/2023 9:15 Comments ||
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#3
"Well George, you are a horrible DA and an even worse manager. You have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars with 17 total lawsuits against you."
He won't suffer
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/08/2023 9:44 Comments ||
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#4
"As any manager will tell you, moving around personnel in order to improve the level of representation this community receives is absolutely critical to a functioning office,"
A truly moronic management practice. Could you imagine moving an All-Pro tackle to wide receiver to achieve better representation.?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 11:30 Comments ||
Top||
Scare quotes mine. The man is a consummate idiot in almost all the ways a man can be an idiot in these troubled times. And on top of it he is going to be unfairly jailed for the thing he didn’t do instead of fairly jailed for the thing he failed to accomplish.
[IsraelTimes] Hatchet Speed told undercover FBI agent of admiration for Adolf Hitler, laid out plans to enlist Christians in campaign to rid nation of Jews; also faces firearms conviction.
A military veteran accused of telling an undercover FBI ...Formerly one of the world's premier criminal investigation organizations, something for a nation to be proud of. Now it's a political arm of the Deep State oligarchy that is willing to trump up charges, suppress evidence, or take out insurance policies come election time... agent about a plan to "wipe out" the nation’s Jewish population
Continued on Page 49
#1
He was guaranteed a jury trial. Seems like waiving it was a mistake. Like Quanon Shaman not many would defend him because of his views, but there doesn’t seem to be much of a case against him.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 12:24 Comments ||
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#2
Then there is the definition the Original Nazis used, back when my mother was a girl: anyone who had one ethnically Jewish grandparent, regardless of the grandparent’s faith.
Weird...Israel has the same viewpoint. The Law of Return of 1950 allows any Jew, which means anyone with one Jewish grandparent, the right to move to Israel and automatically become citizens of Israel.
#3
Why is that weird? The purpose of Israel is both as a first choice and a last resort. From a Jewish perspective, we define ourselves as anyone with a Jewish mother who has not converted to another faith (except that the most liberal branch, the Reform Jews, equally accept passing the faith down through a Jewish father), or anyone who has converted under the supervision of a certified rabbi. But in 1948 the founders had just watched their cousins — defined as Jewish by the one-grandparent rule despite having been Christian for generations — killed just as dead as if they kept glatt kosher and prayed in the synagogue three times a day. So of course they agreed to be a refuge for those cousins as well as the ones who clove to the faith.
Some of the Soviet Jews who arrived in Israel in the 1980s and since fall into that category. Many of them left after a while, finding themselves unable to fit into the Jewish nation, even though many Israelis are not actively religious.
#4
That anti-Israel line of reasoning always seems tightly controlled to me. Are the people who want the Jews removed Ok with removing the Arabs from Egypt and returning it to the Coptic people? What about returning Constantinople to the Greeks? No they are not for that. Nor are they for freeing Tibet. It is just the same old evil with a new promo code.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 22:25 Comments ||
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[Gateway] Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said it was a "mistake" for Fox News host Tucker Carlson to show January 6 footage that the government fought to keep hidden.
Tucker Carlson Monday evening released never-before-seen January 6 footage showing police escorting peaceful protestors through the Capitol.
The newly released videos destroyed the sham January 6 Committee’s narrative.
#5
/\ Capital Policeman could not get permission to EVAC POLS, so he used his own initiative and got them out of there. Is this why he was terminated ?
a. Were the POLS being used as MOB bait?
b. Would more Federal guns have been drawn with POLS present ?
c. Did the Capital Police supervisor foil Pelosi's plan for more violence ?
d. Was the death of Ashley Babbitt the intended outcome of many other Trump rally attendees ?
e. Was the media story of "5 dead Capital Policemen" the intended catalyst or cover for action ?
#6
GOP/RNC, you should be utterly ashamed of yourselves to allow that piece of abject filth McConnell to represent the party. GOP, that is. He's a mighty fine representative of the Uniparty, though.
#7
Whatever else happens, we owe one Hell of a debt to Donald Trump. He was the one who pulled on that one dangling thread and began to irrevocably unravel the great Uncle Fester style sweater of the uni party.
Maybe he was the only one who could have begun the process. But it's up to the citizens to keep up the fight.
#10
It is now exposed for all who are not blinded by ideology and just plain stupidity how corrupt most of our esteemed congress critters really are. I don't trust any of them as far as I can throw my thumb.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/08/2023 10:27 Comments ||
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#11
^#5 - excellent questions, B. Have you sent them to Tucker? Anonymously, of course.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/08/2023 10:53 Comments ||
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#12
I didn't see where McConnell said why transparency was a mistake. Particulary since the false flag operation (Reichstag fire) by the govmint was such an abuse of the Constitutional rights of so many.
#13
“I firmly believe the McConnell doesn’t mind being in the minority forever. He’s fat and comfortable just kicking around the Senate, adding new chins every year. As long as his comfort zone isn’t disturbed, Mitch doesn’t give a damn about what the Republican rubes in the hinterlands need or want.” - STEPHEN KRUISER
#14
Keep the number of those in the know at a minimum and have the agitators loud and aggressive but not violent, and you can get genuine I'm Scared interviews.
Same technique the mall flash mobs of musicians get audience reactions of awe and amazement.
#18
McConnell is a made man in the twilight laps of his career, biding his time as best he can to get the last few dollars he can get. Him wanting to rock the boat is the last thing he has time or energy for.
Its as counter-intuitive for the democrats to rock his boat as it would have been for the other teams in the AFC East to lobby The Jets to replace Mark Sanchez.
#19
McConnell was always a mixed-bag for me, masterfully playing the Senate rules to stop some things like Garland to the Supreme Court, but seemingly acquiescing when he didn't need to on others. The dirty secret was always his wife's massive wealth connections, Pelosi-like of late, but rarely mentioned. But this is a betrayal and reveal that ends that lingering doubt.
#20
When Dems need Republican’s votes to get to cloture, he arranges for them to get those votes and he and the votes get richer. He benefits from being Minority Leader, but we do not benefit.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 13:29 Comments ||
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#21
I didn't see any footage on Tucker's show that looked even remotely "sensitive" unless it's just that Democrats are very sensitive about the truth being revealed. It seems their main complaint is that Tucker cherry picked footage for his show. But then, isn't that exactly what they did? I think the solution is to put all of the footage on the Internet for the whole world to see.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/08/2023 13:55 Comments ||
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#22
McConnell has the Elder Statesman™ disease and has it bad. Symptoms are a passion for process over the tedious responsibility of representing the citizens that elected him.
[Breitbart] Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said Thursday on MSNBC’s "Deadline" that Fox News host Tucker Carlson is a "demonic sycophant."
Discussing Carlson, anchor Nicolle Wallace said, "He described Trump as a demonic force, a destroyer."
Steele said, "Demonic force, that means Tucker must be possessed, or Tucker is one of those demonic creatures that enable that force. I tend to go for the latter."
He continued, "This kind of narrative that comes out of this demonic force that’s perpetuated by those demonic angels, those demonic sycophants that keep pushing this, that is the great setup. What you’re seeing Tucker do and what Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert do, you pick the clowns in the clown car and go from there. They’re all doing the same thing. They’re setting up the next part of the narrative."
He added, "The twisting of the narrative around January 6th has been an ongoing effort, now culminating in the absolute, disgraceful attempt by the Speaker to ingratiate himself with the likes of Fox News and Tucker, on behalf of President Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene, to get the chair. That he would give him this evidence, that he would give him this information that could then be cherry-picked into nightly narratives to rewrite the story that we all witnessed live on January 6, to make us believe that somehow we’re the fools."
Steele concluded, "When the trigger is pulled in my view, thank you, Tucker. You’re the reason why. You’re the reason why the next January 6th happens."
#2
As soon as I read "... the Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele was on MSNBC...
It was clear that some of the DC GOP leadership in power at the time were not MAGA and/or Trump, and their localities to their voters verse the DC Swamp should be questioned, and clarified.
#4
Was there ever any doubt that Michael Steele was really a demonrat? I'm not sure I ever remember an RNC chairman that had an actual spine. They all seem to be demonrat mouthpieces who harp on 'collaboration' with the sworn enemies of the US.
[10 News] Dyslexic Brylcreem Gov speaks threats without thinking. POTUS 2024 2028!
There is a lot of confusion following California Governor Gavin Newsom's tweet Monday saying the state was "done" with Walgreens.
Keli Gadson often picks up her dad's prescriptions at Walgreens on Euclid in Lincoln Park.
"My dad is 70 years old and this is the closest spot for him to get his medication," said Gadson.
Monday Governor Newsom tweeted that "California won't be doing business with Walgreens or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk. We're done. "
Gadson worries about what that might mean for the people who rely on this pharmacy.
"Good luck. They're wasting their time. You got apartment complexes everywhere women with children. This is convenient for them. It’s right next to a trolley station," said Gadson.
The governor made the announcement after the pharmacy chain's decision last week not to dispense abortion pills in roughly twenty states where Republican lawmakers have threatened legal action.
California is home to roughly 600 Walgreens.
"I appreciate the fact that they’re supporting women’s rights and trying to overall support that movement," said Haley Norwood.
Norwood agrees with the governor's position but has questions about how "cutting ties" with the pharmacy might affect people who use Medi-Cal to get their prescriptions.
#6
So distribute your pills at govt health clinics, and shut up. Not in that order.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/08/2023 15:08 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Hypocrisy Warning Level 11! Newsom wants Walgreens to break Other States' Laws but obey all of California's laws (and whatever silly edict His Majesty Gavin decrees).
Unexpectedly. This has been predicted since the 1980s.
[NYPOST] President Joe Biden ...... 46th president of the U.S. Being a self-defined foreign policy whiz kid means never having to say you're sorry...... will seek to hike taxes on the wealthy and advocate for additional drug price negotiations to keep Medicare funded through at least 2050, the White House said Tuesday.
Biden will propose a tax increase from 3.8% to 5% on earned and unearned income above $400,000 as part of a package aimed at extending the solvency of Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by at least 25 years, according to a White House statement.
"Let’s ask the wealthiest to pay just a little bit more of their fair share, to strengthen Medicare for everyone over the long term," Biden wrote separately in a New York Times
... which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... guest essay.
Biden has sought to link Republicans to the idea of cutting funding for the insurance program for seniors and the disabled as part of negotiations over increasing the US’ $31.4 trillion debt limit.
The Democrat has pledged to offer his vision for funding Medicare and challenged Republicans to offer their own.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2023 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11130 views]
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#1
One thing the Left can't do is prioritize where to expend what resources they already collect. Living within one's means is like holy water to blood sucking vampires.
#2
I am not wealthy but I already pay taxes on my Social Security. Medicare is deducted from Social Security but I don't get to deduct Medicare from Social Security when filing my tax return so I am already paying taxes on Medicare. With Slow Joe's definition of wealthy I may very well be taxed into poverty.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/08/2023 10:19 Comments ||
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#3
I don’t like the proposal, but it was coherent. I am sure the administration is not out of stupid ideas.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 11:36 Comments ||
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#4
So Medicare is like the public schools: You will be taxed for it whether you use it or not, no matter how wasteful and inefficient it is. It's a government monopoly on a business in which the government has no legitimate business. There is no competition and no accountability, just a bunch of anonymous bureaucrats making decisions about your health and putting a gun to your head to make sure you pay.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/08/2023 13:03 Comments ||
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[NYPOST] Sen. Dianne Feinstein ...Dem Senator-for-Life from Caliphornica. She has been a politician since about the time she was weaned. Feinstein was the author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and tried it a second time in 2012. Feinstein has chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence since 2009. At age 89.62580, Feinstein is the oldest currently serving United States Senator... , the oldest serving member of Congress, was released from a the Socialist paradise of San Francisco ...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... hospital on Tuesday after being treated for shingles.
Feinstein, 89, revealed last week that she was hospitalized after being diagnosed with an infection in February.
"I want to thank everyone for the well wishes and the hospital staff for providing excellent care. I’m recovering at home now while I continue receiving treatment and look forward to returning to the Senate as soon as possible," Feinstein wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.
Feinstein’s absence — along with the hospitalization of her colleague, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), for depression — has temporarily left the Senate split at 49-49.
Shingles is a non-life-threatening virus that causes painful, blistery rashes to develop on the side of the face or body and can require antiviral medications to treat, according to the CDC.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2023 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11130 views]
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#1
Shingles fixed. Roof still leaking badly.
Snark O'The Day
Posted by: Eohippus Darling of the Chinese2076 ||
03/08/2023 3:38 Comments ||
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#2
As much as I despise Senator Feinstein, I would not wish shingles on anyone. I am currently suffering from it, and it is PAINFUL.
If you had chicken pox, get the shingles vaccine.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/08/2023 9:12 Comments ||
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#3
Rambler I share your pain. I got shingles back last July 2 and still have residual pain. At my age it takes a longer time to get over it.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/08/2023 10:32 Comments ||
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#4
Shingles is terrible. It seems odd to me that she was not vaccinated.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/08/2023 11:31 Comments ||
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#5
I expect shingles is a cover and she will be moved into a hospice soon.
#6
With Fetterman and Feinstein incapacitated, that means the Democrats are without two votes in a Senate that is nearly evenly divided. Sorry about their conditions but, for all intents and purposes, they were both incapacitated a long time ago. Now they've just gotten to the point where they can't hide it anymore.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/08/2023 13:24 Comments ||
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#7
I am with rambler in that I wouldn't wish shingles on anybody. (Except maybe AOC...)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/08/2023 15:00 Comments ||
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#8
I'm sure that Fetterman and Fienstein can vote by Proxy.
#9
Re #7: Ed, AOC may never have had chicken pox. She was born in 1989. The chickn pox vaccine was introduced in the US in 1995, when she would have been 6. You have to have had chicken pox to get shingles.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/08/2023 18:28 Comments ||
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#10
^ Yup, except I asked my Mom if I had Chicken Pox and she didn't remember...and she was an RN
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/08/2023 18:57 Comments ||
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#11
Rambler, she's a pox, and evidently chicken (every demonstration terrifies her), so tomato, tomahto.
I'm just saying it it would amuse me immenselyit would be a shame if she got a debilitating, disfiguring disease.
(I am a bad person.)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/08/2023 19:02 Comments ||
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#12
I had a mild case 5-6 years ago. The doc said I should get the shingles vax. I said "I just had it! Aren't I finished?"
She said there's a 50-50 chance you'll get it again, and I swear she said a 50-50 chance if I got the vax.
Supposedly, the new Shringrex vaccine is better. I have not taken the shot yet.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/08/2023 19:04 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[NYPOST] New York magazine’s veteran art critic Jerry Saltz advised his social media followers to "shun" anybody who has voted for Republican political candidates — even if they are "friends and family."
...Formerly one of the world's premier criminal investigation organizations, something for a nation to be proud of. Now it's a political arm of the Deep State oligarchy that is willing to trump up charges, suppress evidence, or take out insurance policies come election time...
[Breitbart] Former Republican National Committee chairman 
...... 46th president of the U.S. Being a self-defined foreign policy whiz kid means never having to say you're sorry......
...Dem Senator-for-Life from Caliphornica. She has been a politician since about the time she was weaned. Feinstein was the author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and tried it a second time in 2012. Feinstein has chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence since 2009. At age 89.62580, Feinstein is the oldest currently serving United States Senator...
