Ever heard the old expression "they paid their dues"? It's used when referring to someone who does something exceptionally well in the present time BECAUSE they have a history of hard work, practice, taking risks and persistence in pursuing their goal, whatever the goal may be. Whenever someone has amazed you with something they are doing it is because they acquired that ability by paying their dues.
Only a few days ago we enjoyed a tab where Arthur Rubinstein revealed he had paid the dues required to be amazing when he played a piano. He was born with a talent (aka "a gift") for music. But the full expression of that talent came only after lots of practice and hard work. We see the performance and are amazed at how easy he makes it look. But only Arthur Rubinstein has the memory of long rehearsal and constant performance that came before he gave us those moments of joy we have just experienced.
So fuck off donnie; you bomb at comedy because you did not pay your dues. Normal people would love to laugh at something you have said but they have to cringe instead because you are bad at it. Paying your dues at comedy is not easy and it requires work. You grew up in a house with servants trying to keep their jobs as they humored you; you paid A students to do your homework and take your SATs; your daddy handed you a pot of money; a television production team created the illusion you had business skill. I look forward to your upcoming tours of comedy clubs across America trying to pay your dues. Those people PAY to have you make them laugh and when you make them cringe instead those angry customers have no problem with having you PAY YOUR DUES YOU LAZY SHIT!
Sooo.... Ukraine performed drone strikes on Iran shipping and navy. Russia (aand China) are apparently helping Iran on the down low.
WWIII is shaping up nicely. I wanna move back out to the woods. (I'm in the suburbs because I inherited my Dad's house. It's pretty nice ranch style on 1/2 acre (you can't get a lot that size around here anymore).
I like nature sounds, and the wind in the trees, and no aural intrusion by cars, trucks, neighbors, etc. I'm looking for one of those isolated properties that are bordered on 3 sides by national forest. Preferably with an abandoned house on it that can either be fixed up or demolished, the most important thins are a well and septic already in place. Several acres of trees and meadows, and not to many elevation changes.
Isn’t it so infuriating how even when these people learn something about how they were WRONG, they never extend the implication to consider what else they might be wrong about?
HEARTBREAK: I LOVE Usher and have been dying to catch him on tour. He's getting some press right now for bringing an audience member on stage for a sexy dance and then politely letting her go back to the audience when he noticed she was uncomfortable. You go, Usher.
Sadly, Usher is touring with girlfriend beating piece of shit Chris Brown.
The Justice Dept's new “religious liberty” memo gives Christians more power to discriminate
Todd Blanche's 2026 guidance expands religious exemptions, weakens safeguards, and treats faith as a trump card over other Americans’ rights
On Thursday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced updates for how the Department of Justice would tackle matters involving “religious liberty.” These were guidelines they’d use when deciding which cases to pursue. The last time the list had been updated was 2017—under Donald Trump’s former Attorney General Jeff Sessions—and Blanche insisted it needed to be revisited in “light of significant U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued over the past nine years.”
Rather than state bluntly that the government must remain neutral on matters of faith and defend separation of church and state, the updated list shows how this administration plans to allow Christians to receive accommodations, exemptions, and tax dollars—even when those desires clash with someone else’s civil rights and religious freedom.
First, let’s go back to 2017. The 25-page memo that Sessions promoted made news for saying that religious groups and businesses had the same freedom as religious people (in other words, they could discriminate and refuse to adhere to various laws that violated their beliefs). None of that could be held against them if they wanted federal contracts from the government. The same was true of grant money; if a state handed out dollars to repave playgrounds, private religious schools were eligible to receive that money.
We’ve lived under those rules for the past decade or so, so they’ve basically been normalized. But let’s not pretend there was anything normal about that guidance, as Courthouse News pointed out at the time...
Somehow, Blanche looked at those rules and said the problem with them was that they didn’t go far enough. So wherever he could go further, he did.
So, my Christian religion commands me to harbor refugees from state sponsored terror, like baby Jesus and BVM and Joseph were sheltered by Egypt when Herod was practicing baby killing, like the GoP is
You know, everyday in America people of other faiths sell products to Christians that they wouldn’t partake in themselves.
No one has ever been told by a Muslim store clerk that you can’t buy alcohol or a lottery ticket, as long as you’re of age.
Your personal faith should by all means dictate *your own behavior*, to expect your personal faith to dictate the behavior of other people is completely asinine.
Maybe we do need a campaign where people of other faiths and non faiths actually treat christians with the discrimination they have been imagining for the last 15 years.
OK, hive mind. I know we're going to get a new post any minute, so I quickly want to ask opinions about the best coffee pods. I drink coffee all day and can't afford Starbucks pods most of the time, so any advice? 1) Needs to be strong, and b. No aftertaste.
I can't use a regular coffee maker because I can't stand the smell of burnt coffee when it sits on hot plate.
I travel a lot for work, staying in hotels and working odd (usually very early) hours. I carry a kit with a collapsible silicon water boiler, an Aeropresse with a hand grinder, and beans.
If I know the hotel has Keurigs in the riom, I just bring the grinder and beans, as the stainless steel refillable Keurig pods I have work very well.
I have a refillable Nespresso "bullet" but haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. I don't think I have the grind right.
I need to up my travel game. I used to take a Keurig with me but lately I've just been ordering starbux to be delivered to my room first thing in the AM.
I've turned morning coffee on the road into some weird Masters thesis. One time about 25 years ago I had to go to the casino at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at 4:30 am to get a cuppa and it scarred me for life.
Trump: "John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to 'leave town' until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER ... Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!"
Why would "dum[sic]ocrats" nuke the filibuster on day one after the midterms when their bare majority passed legislation would just be vetoed with no avenue for overriding?
Why, that's just a down-home country expression! You know, like "when the hens have the nuclear codes, it's the rooster that waterboards the hound dog."
"Okay, guys, let's show 'em! Let's everyone leave! Who's with me?... Come on, anyone else? ... i'm moving toward the door! Anyone can join with me! ... I'm gooooing.... I'm walking through the door...."
"...."
"I'M OUTSIDE NOW! I'LL WAIT A FEW MINUTES IN CASE ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO COME!"
Yes he's blue, wishing you would be too: https://martiniambassador.substack.com/p/camo-mastery-in-blue
And your meme chat: https://open.substack.com/chat/posts/d855cf88-4a41-4db4-a779-beff93f45804
Oh! I thought it was Tom Homan after he got thrown overboard.
He'll never win a beauty contest - ha ha h ahh ah a!
The humble frogfish gets no respect, no respect *pulls on shirt collar uncomfortably*
I wish there was an emoji for "awestruck". Wondrous!
Fish can be so sneaky.
Particularly those ambush predators, just waiting, waiting for something tasty to swim by.
now that I'm retired that pretty much sums up my life -
Wow. I had to watch the meme five times before I spotted the frog fish. Very, very cool.
"Are you bluish? You don't 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 bluish." -blue meanie
I am quite impressed with today's sponge.
If there are so many sponges in the ocean, how is there still water?
and libtard? - Check. Mate.
Philomena Cunk, is that you?
I would love to be that kind of blue!
Is ugly camouflage fishy!
His frogfish friends think he's gorgeous!
The pareidolia is strong with this one -
The frogfish is predicting a Blue Wave in November!
I like that!
Sponges have a neural network only slightly less advanced than The Homunculus'.
Oh, I think the sponges win in that department. And they're pretty.
SPONGES-VANCE
. 2028 .
============
What the heck, y'all
gonna vote "R" anyways
Heh.
Did I miss the part when Hunter Biden declared he was running for something? Suddenly he's all over the place.
Ever heard the old expression "they paid their dues"? It's used when referring to someone who does something exceptionally well in the present time BECAUSE they have a history of hard work, practice, taking risks and persistence in pursuing their goal, whatever the goal may be. Whenever someone has amazed you with something they are doing it is because they acquired that ability by paying their dues.
Only a few days ago we enjoyed a tab where Arthur Rubinstein revealed he had paid the dues required to be amazing when he played a piano. He was born with a talent (aka "a gift") for music. But the full expression of that talent came only after lots of practice and hard work. We see the performance and are amazed at how easy he makes it look. But only Arthur Rubinstein has the memory of long rehearsal and constant performance that came before he gave us those moments of joy we have just experienced.
So fuck off donnie; you bomb at comedy because you did not pay your dues. Normal people would love to laugh at something you have said but they have to cringe instead because you are bad at it. Paying your dues at comedy is not easy and it requires work. You grew up in a house with servants trying to keep their jobs as they humored you; you paid A students to do your homework and take your SATs; your daddy handed you a pot of money; a television production team created the illusion you had business skill. I look forward to your upcoming tours of comedy clubs across America trying to pay your dues. Those people PAY to have you make them laugh and when you make them cringe instead those angry customers have no problem with having you PAY YOUR DUES YOU LAZY SHIT!
This. I say about Beyonce, her beauty is genetic but her singing and dancing is the product of thousands of hours of hard work.
Sooo.... Ukraine performed drone strikes on Iran shipping and navy. Russia (aand China) are apparently helping Iran on the down low.
WWIII is shaping up nicely. I wanna move back out to the woods. (I'm in the suburbs because I inherited my Dad's house. It's pretty nice ranch style on 1/2 acre (you can't get a lot that size around here anymore).
I like nature sounds, and the wind in the trees, and no aural intrusion by cars, trucks, neighbors, etc. I'm looking for one of those isolated properties that are bordered on 3 sides by national forest. Preferably with an abandoned house on it that can either be fixed up or demolished, the most important thins are a well and septic already in place. Several acres of trees and meadows, and not to many elevation changes.
From Marc Elias
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3cNjOYEjd4A
New Jersey and Texas made the same clerical errors w/voting records
Ask yourself why the ONLY state we heard about that happening was New Jersey
And why we heard NOTHING about Texas
Yet another reminder
- Check your voter registration regularly – even (maybe especially) if you live in a blue state
- Check what mainstream media is saying by asking yourself what they are NOT saying
Ukraine appears to be winning. That makes Trump and the public like them more.
Laura Loomer licked her finger, stuck it in the air, and figured out which way the wind is blowing.
That's all there is here.
"Under no circumstances do you have to hand it to Laura Loomer"
Don't even give her a platform, because she used this Ukraine thing to go stomach-turning racist on Muslims.
Isn’t it so infuriating how even when these people learn something about how they were WRONG, they never extend the implication to consider what else they might be wrong about?
“Mexico’s going to pay for the wall!”
HEARTBREAK: I LOVE Usher and have been dying to catch him on tour. He's getting some press right now for bringing an audience member on stage for a sexy dance and then politely letting her go back to the audience when he noticed she was uncomfortable. You go, Usher.
Sadly, Usher is touring with girlfriend beating piece of shit Chris Brown.
Stage fright is real for real people and Usher let her return to her seat without judgment.
That reveals Usher to be a real person too.
Who knew Trump had a huge crush on Dylan Mulvany before he compared her to Kaitlin Collins, his hugest crush?
Melania, probably. Because he's almost certainly confused her with both of them while sundowning.
Which one is witch?
Dylan Mulvany is so pretty. Melania looks like Cruella.
Melonia is the more handsome of the three.
She just needs the dalmatian coat.
But…But…But Natalie Harp needs a word.
The Justice Dept's new “religious liberty” memo gives Christians more power to discriminate
Todd Blanche's 2026 guidance expands religious exemptions, weakens safeguards, and treats faith as a trump card over other Americans’ rights
On Thursday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced updates for how the Department of Justice would tackle matters involving “religious liberty.” These were guidelines they’d use when deciding which cases to pursue. The last time the list had been updated was 2017—under Donald Trump’s former Attorney General Jeff Sessions—and Blanche insisted it needed to be revisited in “light of significant U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued over the past nine years.”
Rather than state bluntly that the government must remain neutral on matters of faith and defend separation of church and state, the updated list shows how this administration plans to allow Christians to receive accommodations, exemptions, and tax dollars—even when those desires clash with someone else’s civil rights and religious freedom.
First, let’s go back to 2017. The 25-page memo that Sessions promoted made news for saying that religious groups and businesses had the same freedom as religious people (in other words, they could discriminate and refuse to adhere to various laws that violated their beliefs). None of that could be held against them if they wanted federal contracts from the government. The same was true of grant money; if a state handed out dollars to repave playgrounds, private religious schools were eligible to receive that money.
We’ve lived under those rules for the past decade or so, so they’ve basically been normalized. But let’s not pretend there was anything normal about that guidance, as Courthouse News pointed out at the time...
Somehow, Blanche looked at those rules and said the problem with them was that they didn’t go far enough. So wherever he could go further, he did.
https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-justice-depts-new-religious-liberty
So, my Christian religion commands me to harbor refugees from state sponsored terror, like baby Jesus and BVM and Joseph were sheltered by Egypt when Herod was practicing baby killing, like the GoP is
You know, everyday in America people of other faiths sell products to Christians that they wouldn’t partake in themselves.
No one has ever been told by a Muslim store clerk that you can’t buy alcohol or a lottery ticket, as long as you’re of age.
Your personal faith should by all means dictate *your own behavior*, to expect your personal faith to dictate the behavior of other people is completely asinine.
Maybe we do need a campaign where people of other faiths and non faiths actually treat christians with the discrimination they have been imagining for the last 15 years.
No pork for you! Put that bacon back!
OK, hive mind. I know we're going to get a new post any minute, so I quickly want to ask opinions about the best coffee pods. I drink coffee all day and can't afford Starbucks pods most of the time, so any advice? 1) Needs to be strong, and b. No aftertaste.
I can't use a regular coffee maker because I can't stand the smell of burnt coffee when it sits on hot plate.
Canadian Wonkers will probably jump on me for this, but I like Tim Hortons pods. I think they’re available throughout the U.S.
I was going to try them; they're here at Ocean State Job Lot. Are they strong?
Are you using a Nespresso or a Keurig?
I travel a lot for work, staying in hotels and working odd (usually very early) hours. I carry a kit with a collapsible silicon water boiler, an Aeropresse with a hand grinder, and beans.
If I know the hotel has Keurigs in the riom, I just bring the grinder and beans, as the stainless steel refillable Keurig pods I have work very well.
I have a refillable Nespresso "bullet" but haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. I don't think I have the grind right.
I need to up my travel game. I used to take a Keurig with me but lately I've just been ordering starbux to be delivered to my room first thing in the AM.
I've turned morning coffee on the road into some weird Masters thesis. One time about 25 years ago I had to go to the casino at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at 4:30 am to get a cuppa and it scarred me for life.
LOL! Hey, coffee is a necessity and it has to be good.
Keurig
I really like the Donut Shop Breakfast Blend or Peet's Dark Roast. : )
https://www.amazon.com/Original-Donut-Shop-Keurig-Single-Serve/dp/B0798F3MPV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15YT8Q8D7GP60&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.eIrD8XqPDQ7JbbDakim-Nisjd-3z_TXdU4pPqz2lfbNd5FG2NTzN5jH9dO7I5v0i9CvDfYkqyHOXMsS5aU41lC187XlQmSV_iBptmaM_mwjxXq_8uqpFn52_b-9rkN0PQ9LLdtbpAZJCyebNzqiBLg4SQUuGPfIHIl3trc6BbbXHTsik3IbeXSjwPlGWrC1z16AwbU98LfJEsS0EurxejYVxNYx1_f15tJeVi2fR4LD8Nz7SJ_Q7XnDh5w3drLDScUGc7SUTUVUOWdmmcSZg46IWu6USq8aP0HJROjLW6l8.67iBfauH1xSpUnuCkNyuroQ-Tgf6iafU08H7xrK4kF8&dib_tag=se&keywords=donut+shop+coffee+k-cup&qid=1785158090&sprefix=donut+shop%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-1
I'll try them - thanks!
Experiment with the refillable Keurig pods and your own coffee, if you're up for adventure. I've had great success. No waste, much cheap.
Our disposal is on the blink. How do you clean out the pods when you're done?
Agreed! I used to fill my own!
Trump: "John Thune should not allow the United States Senate to 'leave town' until it passes The Save America Act or, far better still, TERMINATES THE FILIBUSTER ... Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!"
https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mrmxfnf4uc2a
Trump and the Nazi Republicans will do whatever it takes to rig the midterms.
Termites the Filibuster? Didn’t know it was made of wood.
Why would "dum[sic]ocrats" nuke the filibuster on day one after the midterms when their bare majority passed legislation would just be vetoed with no avenue for overriding?
Stupid.
Where have you gone, Joe Manchin? We told you they was gonna do this, whether or not we did.
"Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!"
He's his own counter example. Lots of stupidity and losing, not enough death.
Our Flag is Losing and Death
"Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!"
Look no further than Iran, dipshit.
That is a perfect flag for Democrats. Also Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings. Cubs and White Sox fans, you make the call.
Donald Trump apparently spent the entire day Sunday trapped on the toilet posting AI slop.
One can only hope it is because he ate the tainted lettuce he 'pardoned' after a payoff
Trump probably has a lettuce taster.
doesn't strike me as a big eater of leafy greens.
Big Mac with special dressing on the lettuce.
He probably has someone scrape the "lettuce" off his Big Macs.
That's what he has the White-y House chef doing.
He got MAHA Blast/Orange Bag of Shit Trots.
HAHA
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/557e197c3ddee44984f3dc6dfa4d5412a842a1a2195b70a024b75069cd796dde.png
TRUMP SAYS GAS IS $1.99 IN 3 STATES.
THOSE STATES ARE:
THE STATE OF DELUSION;
THE STATE OF DENIAL;
THE STATE OF STUPIDITY
Wikipedia has some scathing information about how grifty Freedom Fuel is. It's a criminal enterprise in plain sight.
Oooh, I need to check that out! I'm following the Freedom Fuel news!
Our gas has been climbing. At least 30 cents a week. Yesterday it was $5.89 a gallon. I'm sure it will be $5.99 a gallon when I drive by this morning.
Between 4.20 and 4.80 east of Boston.
4.24 here in NE Illinois.
WOW! $3.59 here in Central OK.
$4.19 in south Minneapolis.
What about the Freedom 250 gas stations?
good question.
Trump likes daily strikes on Iran, Sen. Kennedy says: ‘You have to kill a few chickens to scare the monkeys’
https://nypost.com/2026/07/26/world-news/trump-likes-daily-strikes-on-iran-sen-kennedy-says/
WTAF?
Why, that’s just down-home monkey-farmer humor.
Except old McDonald never had a monkey, eieio.
Bwahahaha!!! *Now* they're comedians.
Oh, you know one of his downhome homily writers is gonna get fired.
Sounds better in the original Grand Dragon.
I just flashed on Stan Freberg…”Gonna use a Dragon Net”
Why, that's just a down-home country expression! You know, like "when the hens have the nuclear codes, it's the rooster that waterboards the hound dog."
"I say, now I say boy, you can't make a dumpling without banging a few doors."
"Remember, you young fellas need to watch out for splinters."
Ow!
Joe Dirt says Dang!
lol charles krushner
"Okay, guys, let's show 'em! Let's everyone leave! Who's with me?... Come on, anyone else? ... i'm moving toward the door! Anyone can join with me! ... I'm gooooing.... I'm walking through the door...."
"...."
"I'M OUTSIDE NOW! I'LL WAIT A FEW MINUTES IN CASE ANYONE ELSE WANTS TO COME!"
He can't even vote in FL because he's a felon and restoring voting for felons is tied up by the legislature.