Happy weekend everyone! I hope you had a great week. It’s super hot and humid here, but T-storms keep blowing in so I can’t even go to the pool. That was my plan for Friday evening but it did not come to fruition. Maybe today.
Let’s see what else is going on today:
Nothing to see here
Homeland Security watchdog halted plan to recover Secret Service texts, records show
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/29/homeland-inspector-general-texts/
Capitalismism
Oil company profits boom as Americans reel from high fuel prices
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/29/oil-gas-company-profits-fuel-prices-shell-exxon-chevron
That’s a shame
Alex Jones’ company files for bankruptcy amid Texas trial to award damages to Sandy Hook families
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/media/alex-jones-free-speech-systems-bankruptcy/index.html
In local news… I still hate this guy.
Opinion: Youngkin’s culture wars are good for him but bad for Virginia business
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/28/youngkins-culture-wars-are-good-him-bad-virginia-business/
Has no one seen the Jurassic Park series? I’m pretty sure this is how it starts
Private buyer spends $6.1 million on dinosaur skeleton as scientists fume
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/07/29/gorgosaurus-dinosaur-skeleton-auction/
Today in Turtle News
Tiny turtle pooed ‘pure plastic’ for six days after rescue from Sydney beach
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/30/tiny-turtle-pooed-pure-plastic-for-six-days-after-rescue-from-sydney-beach
Today in Cuteness
Have an awesome day! Brain Drain will be along shortly to keep you even more entertained.
That poor cat. Grape soda.
The entire column is to be savo(u)red, but the first article will be of interest to those attending the Game Fair at Ragley Hall:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11063127/EDEN-CONFIDENTIAL-Aristocracys-poisonous-feud-turns-toxic.html
Ragley is really close to Stratford-upon-Avon, so the Game Fair would make a nice detour away from all the Shakespeariana you’ll no doubt get sick of after—I don’t know your tolerance, but mine is kind of low, and I’d much rather be at a Game Fair.
If you run into Otis Ferry I bet he’d be a lot of fun. I’d keep a dirty joke or two in my back pocket.
If you run into the Marquess, let him speak first, and don’t say anything like “It must be such a comfort to know that Ragley will be in such good hands when you’re gone” and don’t enquire about when Ragley is open to the public and how much it’ll set you back. If there are dogs running around, talk about dogs. If you can’t speak intellibly about dogs, see if you see some trees on the horizon. Ask old Hetford is he knows what they are and how old they might be. He might bring over the estate manager, and then you’re stuck, but if he brings over an arborist who’s under the age of, say, 70, and Hertford moves on, you could say, “It must be an awful lot of work keeping a place like this going, but I’m sure the Marquess must be a great boss.” That might take you down an interesting conversational byway.
If you run into his sister (or maybe sister-in-law?) Lady Seymour, she’ll probably be sneering, and mutter something about the general decline in standards.
If you have the misfortune to run into the Black Sheep, Lord and Lady Yarmouth, do not get sucked into a discussion about elderberry liqueur. The only one in the country who’d be interested would be Prince Charles and it’s highly unlikely he’s going to be there. No. But if Lady Yarmouth is on her own, perhaps scouting for a place where she could push her elderberry liqueur booth into before old Hertford could notice and demand that it be taken down, you could turn to Ragley Hall and ask her to point out the section where she and the Earl live. Only do this if she has already handed you a sample or two of the elderberry liqueur because you’re no doubt going to be in for a long and bumpy ride.
See you at the Fair! I’ll be over in the Horses & Hounds area.
…the elderberry liqueur might be a niche interest but I definitely had family that made both elderflower cordial & sometimes what they called elderflower champagne some years
…it’s quite refreshing on a summer day?
Yes, but would you want to stand around in the hot sun for an hour or two listening to them describe what makes their manufacturing process so special? Especially when not only is there a Horses & Hounds area but also Archery and a Theatre?
…oh, definitely not…I just meant there might be more fruitful avenues to explore than the liqueur angle which might have a broader appeal…it is a lot less effort to knock up a jug of pimms, though…which I very much assume would be available in profusion at that kind of a do?
This is literally all I can think of when I hear the word “elderberries.”
Otherwise known as St Germain, a lovely addition to champagne cocktails.
A splash of St. Germain in champagne is lovely
Sorry, didn’t read ahead, great minds, etc., etc.
So, what did Schumer use as a payoff for Manchin to sign onto the bill? We know Manchin didn’t suddenly become open to reality and he was just waiting for his bribe. I’m curious as to what it was.
Of course, Schumer’s next problem will be paying off Sinema over the carried interest loophole.
Looks like they had to agree to support new natural gas pipelines to get Manchin on board. I think it’s reasonable to assume that Manchin’s dying coal business will get involved in those pipelines in some fashion, thus giving his business a new direction and lining his pockets at the same time.
He managed to get scrap coal classified as “alternative energy,” even though it has the highest carbon output imaginable, to protect his business.
From Politico:
“Everything that he does, everything that he did when he was governor, everything that he has done while he is a senator, is going to advance his best interest and the interest of the people who put money in his pocket, period,” said Nancy Peoples Guthrie, who was a Democratic state lawmaker at the time. “That’s all you need to know about Joe Manchin.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/08/manchin-family-coal-company-00003218