Outside the Beltway

Neverending Tabs

Stories of potential interest.

Steven L. Taylor
31

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Via Bloomberg: Almost 20% of U.S. Households Lost Entire Savings During Covid

For many Americans, Covid lockdowns—with nowhere to go and nothing to do—were a time to save. But for almost 20% of U.S. households, the pandemic wiped out their entire financial cushion, a poll released Tuesday finds. 

Via Axios: Five times as many police officers have died from COVID as from guns since pandemic began

Via Awful Announcing: Allison Williams is leaving ESPN over COVID-19 vaccine mandate, says “I am so morally and ethically not aligned with this.”

Via the AJC: Walker cancels fundraiser with supporter who had swastika in her Twitter profile.

Specifically:

https://twitter.com/BFriedmanDC/status/1448348519513874434?s=20

Via the LAT: L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and ex-USC dean indicted on bribery charges

Ridley-Thomas is accused of conspiring with Marilyn Louise Flynn, who at the time was dean of USC’s School of Social Work, to steer county money to the university in return for admitting his son Sebastian into the graduate school with a full-tuition scholarship and a paid professorship.

Just wow.

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31 responses to “Neverending Tabs”

  1. Kurtz Avatar
    Kurtz

    That’s some Vanilla Ice ding-ding-ding-da-da-ding-ding level absurdity to claim that isn’t a swastika.

    7
  2. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    Five times as many police officers have died from COVID as from guns since pandemic began

    This is hardly surprising considering how few cops actually get shot and killed on the job. The far more relevant comparison is to how many cops die vehicular deaths, the most common type being during traffic stops when they are on the side of the road. (my sister’s cop BiL was severely injured by a drunk driver during a traffic stop, was unable to walk for 2 years iirc)

    4
  3. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Or farmer deaths / severe injuries? People get killed and maimed regularly monkeying with farm equipment. Dangerous stuff.

    Commercial fisherfolks.

    Construction.

    I am not a data analyst although I used to be one. What is the cop death rate by pop? How does it compare?

  4. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @Kurtz:

    Under Pressure is a damn good song to rip off.

    They did add that one extra “ding” at the end to be fair.

    (Now I am obligated to listen to Under Pressure now. Dude, you fucked up my playlist! Which version? Actually no worries – it happens to me every day. I am used to it by now.)

    2
  5. Neil J Hudelson Avatar
    Neil J Hudelson

    @de stijl:

    My wife and I have developed an annoying (or delightful) habit of singing phrases that sound like lyrics to a song, which then becomes the mandatory way to say that phrase.

    Which is how we always ask each other, in a very David Bowie voice singing ‘people on the streets‘, “whatdoyouwanttoeat?”

    3
  6. gVOR08 Avatar
    gVOR08

    @OzarkHillbilly: I’ve seen the claim a couple places that cop deaths from COVID roughly equal deaths due to all other causes combined, including vehicular.

    Police claim a lot of political capital on being in a dangerous job. Refusing a simple way to mitigate the hazard, vaccination, significantly undermines any sympathy I might feel.

    4
  7. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @Neil J Hudelson:

    If I listen to this particular song after I start riffing like Mercury randomly.

    I’m stirring the sauce and my mouth decides to say “em da da doodle la be. Badado. Ba da dado dodo dado” sounds. Bee bee la boop. It sticks with you – me at least.

    It should annoy me, but it really doesn’t. I think it’s pretty effing cool.

    I totally get how the rushed and kinda bizarre way Bowie sings “peopleonthestreets” became intimate short hand. Repurposed.

    Respect.

  8. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @gVOR08:

    If you wear body armor why would you not get vaccinated? It’s the same fucking thing more or less. Protection.

    3
  9. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    @de stijl:
    Not if you believe that the vaccines are a part of a Deep State conspiracy.

  10. Barry Avatar
    Barry

    @de stijl: Except the shot is a hell of a lot more comfortable on a hot day.

    5
  11. Scott F. Avatar
    Scott F.

    @de stijl:
    Because you can wear body armor without admitting to yourself that you were wrong about everything you came to believe about Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, starting with “just like the flu.”

    4
  12. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @Neil J Hudelson:

    Oh my golly! I clicked on your “people on the streets” link and it led to entirely new shit I’d never heard before. The demo version of Under Pressure. New lyrics.

    Very cool. Thank you! That was epic. I’d have never known this existed. Thank you very very much! That was really badass.

    1
  13. Neil J Hudelson Avatar
    Neil J Hudelson

    Yeah! I was pretty stoked to find that while trying to find an already-isolated “people on the streets” clip.

    1
  14. Monala Avatar
    Monala

    @de stijl: IIRC, cops aren’t even in the top three for violent deaths on the job. Those places are taken by such jobs as convenience store clerks, taxi drivers, and (for some reason) barbers.

  15. Kylopod Avatar
    Kylopod

    As a general rule, when it comes to hip hop and other music that uses samples, I prefer when they don’t use a well-known hit song.

  16. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @Neil J Hudelson:

    Two people I like a lot as song reactors did a reaction to Under Pressure today. Rob Squad Reactions is the channel.

    Out of Oklahoma I believe. A couple. Very open and cool. Oddly enough it happened today. Serendipity.

    Check their reaction to Love Shack which is a favorite 3 person karaoke track. Tin roof. Rusted.

    Actually the Tin Roof lyric is somebody else’s. I do the Fred lyrics.

    Funkylittleshack /
    Funky little shack

    1
  17. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @Monala:

    Who would shoot a barber? Why?

  18. Stormy Dragon Avatar
    Stormy Dragon

    @de stijl:

    Or farmer deaths / severe injuries? People get killed and maimed regularly monkeying with farm equipment. Dangerous stuff.

    That reminds me, is the John Deere “lets have office workers try to run heavy machinery with no training” plan as insane from a liability standpoint as it sounds to me?

    1
  19. Matt Avatar
    Matt

    @de stijl: Last I looked being a police officer wasn’t even in the top 15 dangerous jobs in the USA. Delivery drivers were noticeably higher than police officers. Which makes sense as the number one killer of police officers was vehicular accidents.

  20. Kurtz Avatar
    Kurtz

    @Kylopod:

    How do you feel about using it in such a way it’s not immediately recognizable? Ex: “The Show Must Go On” sampling Modest Mouse?

  21. Kirtz Avatar
    Kirtz

    @Kurtz:

    I should say “The Show Goes On”

  22. Beth Avatar
    Beth

    @de stijl:

    Who would shoot a barber? Why?

    I have a friend who is convinced that people who touch his head can read his mind. Barbers and dental hygienists really mess with him.

    That could be a reason. I mean, it’s not a good reason, just a reason.

    1
  23. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    @de stijl: Being a crossing guard is more dangerous than being a cop. And I’m not kidding. Iirc, the 2019 stats.

    1
  24. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    @de stijl: Construction.

    Forgot to add, neither one of my wives ever said to anyone with tears in their eyes, “You don’t know what it’s like to say goodbye to your husband not knowing if he is ever coming home.”

    Of course, I can’t discount the possibility they were hoping I wouldn’t.

    3
  25. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    @Monala: Last I checked, cops are at #24. Loggers were #1 in the most recent year. Roofers #3. I forget who was #2. Crossing guards were like #14.

  26. Just nutha ignint cracker Avatar
    Just nutha ignint cracker

    Don’t know how this fits in the rankings, but it’s interesting all the same:
    [From Harper’s, Sept. 2021, Harper’s index] Number of serious injuries that occur at Amazon warehouses per 200,000 hours worked: 5.9
    At other warehouses in the US: 3.1 (Source: OSHA)

    1
  27. Monala Avatar
    Monala

    @OzarkHillbilly: right, in deaths overall. I’m talking about death by violence. Cops are fourth, I think.

    1
  28. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @de stijl:

    Pro tips to karaoke newbies.

    The B52s kill. You are going to get a nice reaction guaranteed.

    If you are uncomfortable singing in public try mimicking Fred.

    Schneider is an absolute god-sent role model. I am a total crap singer. I warble, I have no range, and cannot sustain a pitch to save my life. I am utter crap.

    But, I can do Fred all night long.

    It’s super easy. He belts in low tenor range. Belting is different than singing. It’s tons easier. It’s basically amplified talking. You can do this. Any idiot can. You just need to practise a bit, learn the lyrics.

    The tricky bit is you have to have two cohorts who can pull off the Cindy and Kate bits. Parts that require actual singing talent. Some of it is belting, but it requires way more talent.

    I was lucky enough to find two people that were good and okay with that. J and B. We goddamn ruled!

    I highly recommend it. It makes you feel super fucking awesome if you nailed it.

  29. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    Another good song for dodgy male singers is Barbie Girl by Aqua.

    It is a horrible song, but is super fun to perform. Jen would just utterly go for it and I would hang back and insert “Come on Barbie / Let’s go party” when required.

    My bit was stupidly easy. J’s bit was hard. She had to squeak and go pretty high for her.

    It was pretty amusing since J is likely the most fucking punk rock girl ever. Do not fuck with J. She *will* kick your ass. Hard.

    She also plays violin. Quite well.

  30. Matt Avatar
    Matt

    @Monala: Well yeah if you tailor the “statistic” to ensure that cops place higher that’s what you get. Personally I wouldn’t care if a loved one was killed by “violence” or a machine they are still dead…

  31. Monala Avatar
    Monala

    @Matt: weird response. I’m not trying to cherry pick, I’m addressing the fact that typically when people think of police jobs being dangerous, they’re thinking of violence on the job (cops getting shot or otherwise killed by suspects), not deaths by Covid or car accidents. I’m saying that even according to that statistic, their job isn’t the most dangerous. I’m agreeing with the point and adding to it.

    1

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