Just as well that it wasn’t the generic “eagle scream” sound effect heard everywhere. That is actually a recording of a red-tailed hawk, a very cool bird with a much more impressive call than the eagle. (But then, if Ben Franklin had had his way, the national bird call would have been a turkey gobble, very…

This was an interesting read, thank you. I have heard little about women playing high-level chess. Is this changing in newer generations of players?

Another, tragic aspect of Victoria’s many children joining the royal families across Europe: she was an unknowing carrier of a deadly X-linked hemophilia-causing mutation:

I see no reason to knock Billy Bush for saying this now. He had no reason to say “it was real” until Trump lied about it. He knows a lot of Trump supporters will want to believe that it was all just a mistake or a deliberate fake, so it is rather brave of him to defy them and face probable derision and even serious…

This is a cynical ploy to take money from sick people and also to convince them to stop proven, life-saving treatments such as an anti-retroviral AIDS regimen. It aims to profit from the gullible and desperate by lying (by pushing fake pseudoscience and magical thinking while undermining trust in the real therapy), ro…

Exactly. A toadstool is a kind of poisonous mushroom common in temperate forests.

ETA: here is a good article on Tom Cotton, who is Trump’s apparent pick for CIA Director. He’s truly horrible, and he really, really wants outright war with Iran. He’s been called a Trump-whisperer, and that is one of the first things he will be trying to convince the brainless Trump to do.

Pompeo is a total yes-man to Trump except for being for being very reluctantly forced to admit that, well, the intelligence agencies do agree that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. He still falsely insisted that they had determined that it definitely did not affect the election outcome (https://www.washingtonpos…

Obviously, this is a scripted act for showing the gullible —their base — how much they Care(TM) about Family Values(TM), and it will do absolutely nothing to actually stop Congressional abusers or make them accountable. In fact, it may do the opposite, by giving these corrupt men something to point to — “I voted for…

A child rapist and child sex-trafficker. Prison inmates have standards, and this monster is not going to meet them. I imagine he will be spending a lot of time isolated for his safety.

I’m a native Texan and have more than enjoyed a wide range of chili recipes, some of them with real rapture. It is hard to be depressed with a steaming, fragrant bowl of delicious chili in front of you. I do have my favorite styles and, with the strong cinnamon flavor, extra saltiness, and color-not-found-in-nature…

Moore is a “man of character” all right: predatory, hateful, bullying, hypocritical, lawless, thoroughly despicable character.

He reminds me of Teena, a wonderful dog from my childhood. She was amazingly smart and full of personality, with the most mobile, expressive face. She could do the “wasn’t me!” and “I’m pitifully starving” looks better than anyone.

Not only a Mudhound but a Flying Mudhound. Very special!

Very well said. Needs more stars.

Never forget Jerry Jones’ sorry history on CTE: even AFTER the NFL’s own senior VP of Health and Safety stated to Congressional Reps in Washington DC that there is definitely a link between football and degenerative brain disease, JJ was still holding forth that there was no evidence of a connection: https://www.wash…

He means they are better for his purposes — bragging rights and on-demand sex — than an old gym sock.

This is HILARIOUS! Where did it come from? And yes, that kid would have loved to grow up to draw sky-dicks.

This story is now featured in the Washington Post:

That sounds about right. They surely won, unless they bet against anyone noticing. Hope they didn’t get into serious trouble.