Michigan GOP lawmaker floats bill to register, fine 'fact checkers'

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/p...043399001/

Quote:Lansing — A Michigan lawmaker who's been at the center of efforts to question the 2020 election introduced a bill Tuesday that would require "fact checkers" to register with the state.

Rep. Matt Maddock, R-Milford, wrote the legislation, which was co-sponsored by eight other Republican House members, about five months after Maddock floated the idea of licensing fact checkers on Twitter.

The "Fact Checker Registration Act" defines a fact checker as someone who publishes in print or online in Michigan, is paid by a fact-checking organization and is a member of the International Fact Check Network.

The network is a reference to the Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network, a unit launched by the journalism group in 2015 to train and develop best practices in fact checking, Maddock said.

The bill requires qualifying fact checkers to file proof of a $1 million fidelity bond with the Secretary of State's office, which will be tasked with developing the "form and manner of registration and filing."

Pssst. 

You.

Yeah you. 

C'mere.  Wanna buy some gasoline?  I got some.  Got some right here.

In this plastic garbage bag.  And this one here too.  See these quart size ziplocks?  Gasoline.  And in this styrofoam cooler here.  And see these six shoeboxes?  Right.  No shoes.  Gasoline. 

So we gonna deal or not?  How much it cost?  Shit, man, how much you got?  It's gasoline.  I'm practically leaking gasoline here!  No, seriously, I'm leaking gasoline, I was filling up my Flintstones sippy cups just now and spilled a bunch on my clothes so be careful with that cigarette.  Oh okay you just gonna slowly back up, huh, fine, you'll come crawling back pretty soon because I got gas.  Yeah.  All right then.  Let's get down to business.  Ten bucks for this old donut box full of gas.

Docs switched me from metformin to Ozempic. Blood sugar went from ~200 to 140. This is a once a week shot.

YMMV.

We all know that cats love to get in boxes. Now scientists have tested whether cats will sit in a 2 dimentional box shape taped on the floor.  Kinda like this.



 I'm not too sure of the veracity of the experiment. There were only 30 cats in the study but here's an image of a cat who walking up to the square that has right angled corners and sat in this square rather than the one next to it with the corners going in the wrong direction.    Kinda funny.  I like that square too, Mr. Kitty Cat. The other one doesn't make any sense.  Ick.  Don't sit in that square.  It's too weird. 




Here's the study. 


https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-new...180977681/

Neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's painting "In This Case" has sold at Christie's in New York for $93 million.



The 1983 painting, which depicts a skull on a red background, sold for well above the estimate of $50 million.
In a sign of Basquiat's growing status in the art world, the same canvas was sold in November 2002 for just
$999,500, barely more than a hundredth of the price paid yesterday.  With the exception of Basquiat, African
American painters have long been undervalued by collectors and underrepresented in museums.

This is another example of this talentless hack's work—which four years ago $110 million:


If you check his bio, you'll find a dozen other similar pieces of grade-school "artwork".  he was one of these
so-called artists who can only paint one subject—but in slightly varying representations.  I wouldn't have paid
even $93 for this.   Opinions?  Is this the ultimate art community snobbery?  Does his work have any redeeming
features?  Or is it just moronic wealthy people with more money than brains creating an artificial demand?

Apparently there is a silent strike. Hotel, resturaunt, bar workers.

My mom celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday. We had back-to-back parties for her. The first was on Sunday to celebrate Mothers' Day. Over 20 family members and relatives attended. My brother had arranged for a caterer to set up a pavilion in the front yard and box lunches were provided. Everyone wore masks, but those who had been immunized against Covid took them off when it was time to eat. I had only my first shot and wasn't about to remove my mask for anyone. I had a pleasant conversation with my atheist nephew from Maine.

The second party was held yesterday and involved only myself, my bother and sister. We lunched on the box lunches left over from yesterday's shindig. Mom opened her presents and we played Mahjong after the meal. She got her birthday wish to come out the winner of the game, which she did with a high scoring hand at the end. There was no cheating on our part to let her win. Her mind is still sharp as a tack and she plays a wicked game of Mahjong.

Yesterday was a bloody day for Jerusalem where protest against the eviction in a arabic neighbourhood of East-Jerusalem (the part that was annexed by Israel illegaly in 1967) have turned violent and saw hundreds of people injured followed by rocket and air strikes from both sides causing 20 deaths in Gaza. Once again, religious extremism, this time from zionists can be seen as one of the main drivers of the conflict.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacif...021-05-10/

Must watch.

Anybody into vintage audio equipment? I just acquired a Pioneer RT-909 10" reel to reel and a Nakamichi DR-1 cassette deck. I'm now in the market for an amp and/or preamp with dual tape goesintas and goesoutas.