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That same TheHill article says Abbott is claiming he wasn't even involved in it. That was also implied when the article said the volunteers had "received word that Gov. Greg Abbott ...", not "received word from Gov. Greg Abbott ..." I couldn't give less of a shit that the press knew beforehand and was there. We know, we know, the mainstream fake media blah blah blah. Believe it or not, it's not about them. None of this helps the case you're apparently trying to make that Greg Abbott is a good guy doing everything by the book so he can do right by these poor people. He's obviously not, and no amount of gaslighting can convince reasonable people that he is. If nothing else, this demonstrates how much too many people in this country have come to accept this kind of cruelty as a basic American value that's reflective of Christian morals. It's sick. Merry Christmas, indeed.

Amazing 4k remastered footage from Europe 72.

Might life got busier since my baseball analysis and writing days. I haven't even been studying the new stats as closely as I used to. Maybe a good retirement project!

From Mona Cheren https://www.thebulwark.com/greg-abbott-scrooge/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email It isn’t that Abbott didn’t anticipate the coming weather. In a December 20 letter to President Biden, he wrote: Help us understand the reasoning here. Is the problem that Biden has caused human suffering by letting people be exposed to freezing temperatures? In that case, how is the solution to move people to another freezing jurisdiction and dump them on the sidewalk? Yes, this country is being swamped by would-be immigrants, and a mature polity would address the problem with sensible reforms. But that’s not what the governors of Florida and Texas are demanding. They and their right-wing media claque are saying that immigrants are clamoring for admission to the United States only because President Biden has an “open borders” policy. Here’s a typical story from Fox News: “Biden’s dangerous open border policies are record-breaking in all the wrong ways. Illegal immigrants, possible terrorists and deadly drugs mark Biden’s open border policies.” GOP politicians proclaim almost daily that Biden has created an “open border.” They repeat this mantra even though it flatly contradicts another of their favorite talking points, namely that the border patrol has experienced record numbers of encounters with would-be crossers. The CPB reports that agents had 2.2 million encounters with illegal border crossers in fiscal year 2022—a new record. (Many are repeat crossers.) If the border were truly open, the border patrol would not be apprehending anyone, right? They’d be standing aside and waving them on in. In fact, the constant GOP refrain about the border being “open” may actually be aggravating the problem by disseminating the impression around the globe that it’s worth making the attempt to get into the United States. Here is the complicated reality. It is not Biden’s fault that so many people want to come to the United States. There was a big jump in border encounters under the Trump administration as well (from 310,531 in fiscal year 2017 to 859,501 in fiscal year 2019—the numbers plunged temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic). People want to come here because 1) so many nations around the globe are hellish and a number of those are within walking distance; 2) this is a place where people with a good work ethic can get ahead and enjoy the blessings of liberty; 3) our immigration laws and rules are confusing. Those who object that immigrants are “breaking into our country” as a burglar breaks into a home are dead wrong. The vast majority of would-be entrants are not sneaking past sentries in the desert or wading through the Rio Grande (not that such acts are equivalent to burglary either). Most immigrants are attempting to come through international points of entry and ask for asylum. This is permitted under a law Congress passed in 1980, providing that people may seek asylum when they have a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. The law was designed for people like the Uighurs in China, the Yazidis in Iraq and Syria, democrats in Cuba, the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Baha’i in Iran, and others. Among those who have benefited from asylum in the United States are Gloria Estefan, Sergey Brin, Hannah Arendt, Salvador Dalí, and Mikhail Barishnikov. The United States separately admits refugees from wars and natural disasters. Here’s another solution to the immigration problem—welcome more legal immigrants! Opponents of immigration frequently object that policy should be aimed at what’s best for this country, not what’s in the interests of millions of unhappy people around the globe. Things are tough out there, sure, but we can’t be the dumping ground for the world’s problems! True, but more immigration is in our national interest. Even aside from the injection of vitality that immigrants always provide, we are suffering from a serious labor shortage. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell estimates that “The combination of a plunge in net immigration and a surge in deaths during the pandemic probably accounts for about one and a half million missing workers.” And the lack of those employees is driving up wages, which is contributing to our inflation problem. The unemployment rate stands at 3.7 percent, a 50-year low. For every job seeker, there are 1.7 job openings. The worker shortages are particularly acute in construction, farming, health care, and hospitality. The owner of a home health care company, Mariama Lowe, told the Washington Post that before the immigration restrictions and the pandemic she employed 100 nurses and personal care aides, most of them immigrants. Now, she is down to 27. She isn’t sure how long she can hold out. The wait for green cards, even for those who’ve been fully vetted, can be insanely long because our needlessly complicated law imposes caps by country of origin. Immigrants from India and China, for example, can wait their entire working lives. We are starved for workers. Americans are paying more for food, housing, and other commodities and services due to the severe labor shortage. We have backlogs of already-vetted immigrants, asylum-seekers with credible claims, and refugees who would gratefully (dare I say tearfully) accept jobs and lives in this country if we could only get out of our own way.

Yeah, right, I'm the one feeding into the hate for re-grounding the discussion by highlighting the cruelty that you yourself labeled "performative". I'm the problem here. It's my fault. Yeah, sure. Whatever, sport.

Idk why but the whole record slipped my memory. Full Moon Fever and Great Wide Open are unforgettable but idk why I forgot this one because you're right, it's spectacular. You Don't Know How It Feels is such a great tune. I'm definitely going through a Petty appreciation phase right now.

If your interest is in old architecture mixed with a little drama, here's one for you. Tasty Nut Shop - White Pigeon, MI - Delicious Homemade Candies Apparently, the city manager and the owner of the building had a little tift at the person's personal residence and the ongoing theory is that the city manager, who has been reported to be spiteful and vengeful, decided to condemn the over 100-year-old building. Hilarity has ensued. The owner has since passed and there is a 501c that owns the building in an attempt to raise funds to restore it. Officials: Tasty Nut Shop building should be razed (aol.com)

My wife and I visited that a couple years ago when they had a museum reopening. It’s between 111th and 112th, and one of the exciting things I saw was a house with the same rare five-digit address number I grew up with. It’s kind of the same feeling as when you find out some person you just met shares your birthday.

Hey, if "plotting the most cost effective path to 65 wins" is what you guys enjoy spending your time on, well more power to ya. But I expect a little more.

There is a universe in which Luka demands a trade, but is there a universe in which Luka demands a trade to Detroit?

more like scrathers even if you win you're only getting 50 bucks

How do you know the stage is level? The drool comes out of both sides of the drummers mouth.

Pianists are the best musicians imo. Their instrument is percussive and melodic. You have to be a really good at rhythm and melody to be good at it. I'm a pretty decent guitarist but I know my rhythm is shit. I tried to play drums for a while and it didn't click.

https://pointerpointer.com/