I didn't have any plans of going to Russia. That said, the moment Brittney Griner was detained is when I realized it would actually be a bad idea. Sure, I'm not high-profile but why go someplace like that?
Otto Warmbier's situation could happen to anyone...whether actually on camera or not. That was North Korea but still possible under any dictatorship.
Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Iraq....etc etc etc.....all have always been a big ol' NOPE from your Juggler.
I didn't have any plans of going to Russia. That said, the moment Brittney Griner was detained is when I realized it would actually be a bad idea. Sure, I'm not high-profile but why go someplace like that?
Otto Warmbier's situation could happen to anyone...whether actually on camera or not. That was North Korea but still possible under any dictatorship.
Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Iraq....etc etc etc.....all have always been a big ol' NOPE from your Juggler.
Juggler planning his vacation like
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
lol....you'll go to Gatlinburg or Orlando and like it
Florida is one of those "etc's" on the list. Not a fan of dictatorships. lol
C’mon, you know you’re taking the family here. Maybe get Mikey Baby’s autograph? Maybe catch a glimpse of Tarrio and get a pic?
Waterslides and rifles: Inside Florida’s playground for the far right
VENICE, Fla. — In the woods off a southwest Florida highway, a
Republican business executive has built an entertainment complex to bring together like-minded conservatives for everything from speeches by far-right leaders to family barbecues.
A concrete entryway leads visitors through a black-painted hallway filled with quotes from Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. A reception hall is lined with a wall-sized copy of the Bill of Rights. A shooting range adjoins the facility, and a large sign reminds visitors of their Second Amendment rights.
There are also inflatable waterslides, a gazebo and picnic benches for kids.
Initially, Victor G. Mellor, the owner of a construction business, wasn’t sure anyone would show up. He’d invested his savings in creating a meeting spot for Republican partisans, home-school moms and others who shared his views on Donald Trump, gun rights and thorny topics like vaccine and mask mandates — convinced he could have a role in steering the nation further to the right.
But as the pandemic persisted, turnout grew. Longtime residents and new arrivals from other states began flocking to the site. So did far-right leaders. Trump’s controversial first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, became a frequent guest. Grass-roots organizations vying to unseat Republican Party members considered too moderate declared the complex, dubbed The Hollow, their home base.
“They have infiltrated our school systems and worked their way up,” Mellor said, referring to Democratic politicians he labeled socialists, in explaining why he felt a need to build the facility. “And now we have to start on all levels taking it back.”
As the Sunshine State shifts right — a trend evident in the Nov. 8 election, in which Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) won the state by nearly 20 points — researchers say more radical members of the Republican Party have grown emboldened. The Anti-Defamation League has recorded a “significant increase” in extremist-related incidents in Florida over the past year. At Mellor’s complex, the state’s most conservative residents have built a community geared around buttressing each other’s views.
As Mellor and Flynn align to try to push the Florida GOP even further to the right, other southwest Florida residents are worried. They accuse the pair of being agitators who use The Hollow to fuel a toxic style of politics under the guise of festive summer cookouts and holiday gatherings.
“This idea of forming this all-encompassing, family-oriented venue is rather brilliant on their part,” said Carol Lerner, a retired education analyst and researcher who produced a 30-page report that found elements of the far right were increasingly drawn to the 27-acre campus. “But that makes it super dangerous, too.”
Located in the middle of the west coast of Florida, Sarasota County includes wealthy enclaves along the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico, suburban housing developments and rural communities wedged among swamps and pine forests.
It’s here where Mellor said he chose to lay down roots in 1994 after four years in the Marine Corps. He quickly found work in construction and three years later started his own concrete business, testing his luck in the boom-bust South Florida prefabricated concrete market, he said. After filing for bankruptcy in 2010, Mellor formed a new company, American Precast.
As that company became successful, Mellor said, he started slowly paying closer attention to politics.
Initially, the father of three said his interest in politics was limited to his concerns that President Barack Obama would restrict firearms sales. He voted for Trump in 2016, drawn to the celebrity entrepreneur’s boisterous personality and stance on gun rights. Over time, he felt like the president wasn’t getting a fair treatment by the media.
I said, ‘This isn’t right,’ and it’s why I kind of jumped in,” Mellor said.
After Trump was defeated in 2020, Mellor traveled to Washington and joined Trump supporters in marching to the U.S. Capitol in protest. “Just knocked on front doors,” Mellor, pictured on the Capitol grounds, said in a Facebook post on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mellor said he never entered the Capitol as the insurrection unfolded, and he was never charged with any wrongdoing. But he sympathizes with many of the demonstrators who now face criminal charges, referring to the pro-Trump mob that assaulted officers, trapped lawmakers and vandalized the home of Congress as “political prisoners.”
It wasn’t long after that that Mellor said he woke up one morning with the idea of turning an events space he had builtinto a “campground for kids based on the Constitution.” He told his kids they shouldn’t expect an inheritance. Instead, he was going to spend $3 milliondeveloping a complexon a property he’d acquired two years earlier in Venice, a city on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
He broke ground on new sections of the propertyusing an excavator from his business. He dug a man-made lake and moats, brought in toys for kids and placed a large white cross near two benches. And he poured concrete to build pathways and bridges, wanting to use material that would withstand the test of time.
He officially christened it The Hollow, a reference to the type of precast concrete his business produces and the trees surrounding the complex, many of which are hollow. Then he waited for people to come.
Sarasota County has been a Republican stronghold for generations, the moderate, business-friendly wing of the GOP traditionally prevailing in local political contests. Recently, however, the county’s politics have lurched further to the right.
Conservatives now hold a 4-to-1 majority on the county school board after pro-DeSantis candidates touting “parental rights” dominated a contentious local race. Three conservative candidates skeptical of coronavirus vaccines were recently elected to oversee Sarasota Memorial Hospital, alarming doctors, hospital administrators and medical experts.
Flynn, who was pardoned by Trump after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States, moved two years ago to Sarasota, where he has become a significant force in local politics.
He and several of his friends and family members gained seats this summer on the 272-member Sarasota County Republican Party executive committee. Earlier this month, Flynn promoted a conservative challenger who was trying to unseat the incumbent county party chairman. But the Flynn-backed candidate was narrowly defeated.
I didn't have any plans of going to Russia. That said, the moment Brittney Griner was detained is when I realized it would actually be a bad idea. Sure, I'm not high-profile but why go someplace like that?
Or, say, the moment Putin illegally annexed Crimea.
Or, say, the moment Putin sent sleeper agents to help trump get elected.
Damn you Brandon! Now, hurry up and turn these into NFTs! Christmas is coming you know! Even though it’s canceled.
I wish he wouldn't use gas prices and inflation as something to brag about because I think many agreed he has almost zero control over those things, but yet no one is criticizing him for listing it as some sort of accomplishment. Can't have it both ways.
Last night both of the catalytic convertors in my sequoia were cut out, Thanks Joe Biden.
What is the world coming to?
I missed your phrase "cut". Did that really happen last night?
The night of the 30th, but yes they were. I started it up and instantly knew what happened. We were planning on selling it this summer and buying something a little nicer. It isn't worth much but it has been well maintained and runs good. Someone will get a good deal on it. I'm gonna list it for blue book minus the $1300 I was quoted by the shop to replace everything or best offer of course. It isn't worth spending $1300 on a vehicle that books at 3-5k. Never would have happened if it weren't for Biden making people so desperate to make a buck though.
Last night both of the catalytic convertors in my sequoia were cut out, Thanks Joe Biden.
What is the world coming to?
I missed your phrase "cut". Did that really happen last night?
The night of the 30th, but yes they were. I started it up and instantly knew what happened. We were planning on selling it this summer and buying something a little nicer. It isn't worth much but it has been well maintained and runs good. Someone will get a good deal on it. I'm gonna list it for blue book minus the $1300 I was quoted by the shop to replace everything or best offer of course. It isn't worth spending $1300 on a vehicle that books at 3-5k. Never would have happened if it weren't for Biden making people so desperate to make a buck though.
Well that sucks. Sorry about that. And I too remember the good old days before 2020 when everyone was happy and no one was trying to make a buck. No crime either.
Last night both of the catalytic convertors in my sequoia were cut out, Thanks Joe Biden.
What is the world coming to?
I missed your phrase "cut". Did that really happen last night?
The night of the 30th, but yes they were. I started it up and instantly knew what happened. We were planning on selling it this summer and buying something a little nicer. It isn't worth much but it has been well maintained and runs good. Someone will get a good deal on it. I'm gonna list it for blue book minus the $1300 I was quoted by the shop to replace everything or best offer of course. It isn't worth spending $1300 on a vehicle that books at 3-5k. Never would have happened if it weren't for Biden making people so desperate to make a buck though.
Well that sucks. Sorry about that. And I too remember the good old days before 2020 when everyone was happy and no one was trying to make a buck. No crime either.
Truly a golden age the likes of which may never be seen again. Thanks Brandon.
Scio me nihil scire
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
Economy adds 223,000 jobs in December, showing resilience and cooling
December will mark two straight years of strong growth, as well as a slowdown, which could help smaller employers that have struggled to hire
The U.S. economy added 223,000jobs in December, even as some industries are experiencing a slowdown, reflecting the unusual forces at work in the post-pandemic labor market that is both resilient and cooling.
The unemployment rate inched down to 3.5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hovering near longtime lows.
December marked the 24th straight month of robust, often sizzling job growth that shifted the balance of power in the labor market, giving workers more options to seek better jobs and higher wages. Bigger companies with deeper pockets often had the upper hand in this dynamic, but as the economy cools, the dynamic is changing.
Detroit 2000, Detroit 2003 1-2, Grand Rapids VFC 2004, Philly 2005, Grand Rapids 2006, Detroit 2006, Cleveland 2006, Lollapalooza 2007, Detroit Eddie Solo 2011, Detroit 2014, Chicago 2016 1-2, Chicago 2018 1-2, Ohana Encore 2021 1-2, Chicago Eddie/Earthlings 2022 1-2, Nashville 2022, St. Louis 2022
I just got a ticket for doing 70 in a 30. Government overreach! Thanks Brandon!!
Detroit 2000, Detroit 2003 1-2, Grand Rapids VFC 2004, Philly 2005, Grand Rapids 2006, Detroit 2006, Cleveland 2006, Lollapalooza 2007, Detroit Eddie Solo 2011, Detroit 2014, Chicago 2016 1-2, Chicago 2018 1-2, Ohana Encore 2021 1-2, Chicago Eddie/Earthlings 2022 1-2, Nashville 2022, St. Louis 2022
Economy adds 223,000 jobs in December, showing resilience and cooling
December will mark two straight years of strong growth, as well as a slowdown, which could help smaller employers that have struggled to hire
The U.S. economy added 223,000jobs in December, even as some industries are experiencing a slowdown, reflecting the unusual forces at work in the post-pandemic labor market that is both resilient and cooling.
The unemployment rate inched down to 3.5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hovering near longtime lows.
December marked the 24th straight month of robust, often sizzling job growth that shifted the balance of power in the labor market, giving workers more options to seek better jobs and higher wages. Bigger companies with deeper pockets often had the upper hand in this dynamic, but as the economy cools, the dynamic is changing.
I just bought a huge truck with a 50 gallon tank. But I only make $30,000 a year and gas is $3. Government overreach! Thanks Brandon!
Detroit 2000, Detroit 2003 1-2, Grand Rapids VFC 2004, Philly 2005, Grand Rapids 2006, Detroit 2006, Cleveland 2006, Lollapalooza 2007, Detroit Eddie Solo 2011, Detroit 2014, Chicago 2016 1-2, Chicago 2018 1-2, Ohana Encore 2021 1-2, Chicago Eddie/Earthlings 2022 1-2, Nashville 2022, St. Louis 2022
Wonder if he’ll get the same treatment trump did for these docs. He must’ve had em since before trump right? 2016? Does a VP even get the ability to declassify docs? Pretty sure they all take docs, but will he be raided? Will Jill get her wardrobe ransacked? Time will tell.
Edit- oh snap, they found them “last fall” according to cnn. Surely not before the election though, right? They would have released that info of course, wouldn’t have kept it quiet until now right?
Post edited by RoleModelsinBlood31 on
I'm like an opening band for your mom.
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brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,760
edited January 2023
Just goes to prove Biden is as big a douche as Trump ever was and we knew it all along, right?
R-i-i-i-i-i-i-ght...
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.
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mickeyrat
up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 35,886
it seems a fundamental difference is his attorneys found them , made appropriate notification and the next day were turned over to archives.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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Waterslides and rifles: Inside Florida’s playground for the far right
VENICE, Fla. — In the woods off a southwest Florida highway, a
Republican business executive has built an entertainment complex to bring together like-minded conservatives for everything from speeches by far-right leaders to family barbecues.
A concrete entryway leads visitors through a black-painted hallway filled with quotes from Founding Fathers such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. A reception hall is lined with a wall-sized copy of the Bill of Rights. A shooting range adjoins the facility, and a large sign reminds visitors of their Second Amendment rights.
There are also inflatable waterslides, a gazebo and picnic benches for kids.
Initially, Victor G. Mellor, the owner of a construction business, wasn’t sure anyone would show up. He’d invested his savings in creating a meeting spot for Republican partisans, home-school moms and others who shared his views on Donald Trump, gun rights and thorny topics like vaccine and mask mandates — convinced he could have a role in steering the nation further to the right.
But as the pandemic persisted, turnout grew. Longtime residents and new arrivals from other states began flocking to the site. So did far-right leaders. Trump’s controversial first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, became a frequent guest. Grass-roots organizations vying to unseat Republican Party members considered too moderate declared the complex, dubbed The Hollow, their home base.
“They have infiltrated our school systems and worked their way up,” Mellor said, referring to Democratic politicians he labeled socialists, in explaining why he felt a need to build the facility. “And now we have to start on all levels taking it back.”
As the Sunshine State shifts right — a trend evident in the Nov. 8 election, in which Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) won the state by nearly 20 points — researchers say more radical members of the Republican Party have grown emboldened. The Anti-Defamation League has recorded a “significant increase” in extremist-related incidents in Florida over the past year. At Mellor’s complex, the state’s most conservative residents have built a community geared around buttressing each other’s views.
As Mellor and Flynn align to try to push the Florida GOP even further to the right, other southwest Florida residents are worried. They accuse the pair of being agitators who use The Hollow to fuel a toxic style of politics under the guise of festive summer cookouts and holiday gatherings.
“This idea of forming this all-encompassing, family-oriented venue is rather brilliant on their part,” said Carol Lerner, a retired education analyst and researcher who produced a 30-page report that found elements of the far right were increasingly drawn to the 27-acre campus. “But that makes it super dangerous, too.”
Located in the middle of the west coast of Florida, Sarasota County includes wealthy enclaves along the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico, suburban housing developments and rural communities wedged among swamps and pine forests.
It’s here where Mellor said he chose to lay down roots in 1994 after four years in the Marine Corps. He quickly found work in construction and three years later started his own concrete business, testing his luck in the boom-bust South Florida prefabricated concrete market, he said. After filing for bankruptcy in 2010, Mellor formed a new company, American Precast.
As that company became successful, Mellor said, he started slowly paying closer attention to politics.
Initially, the father of three said his interest in politics was limited to his concerns that President Barack Obama would restrict firearms sales. He voted for Trump in 2016, drawn to the celebrity entrepreneur’s boisterous personality and stance on gun rights. Over time, he felt like the president wasn’t getting a fair treatment by the media.
I said, ‘This isn’t right,’ and it’s why I kind of jumped in,” Mellor said.
After Trump was defeated in 2020, Mellor traveled to Washington and joined Trump supporters in marching to the U.S. Capitol in protest. “Just knocked on front doors,” Mellor, pictured on the Capitol grounds, said in a Facebook post on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mellor said he never entered the Capitol as the insurrection unfolded, and he was never charged with any wrongdoing. But he sympathizes with many of the demonstrators who now face criminal charges, referring to the pro-Trump mob that assaulted officers, trapped lawmakers and vandalized the home of Congress as “political prisoners.”
It wasn’t long after that that Mellor said he woke up one morning with the idea of turning an events space he had built into a “campground for kids based on the Constitution.” He told his kids they shouldn’t expect an inheritance. Instead, he was going to spend $3 milliondeveloping a complex on a property he’d acquired two years earlier in Venice, a city on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
He broke ground on new sections of the property using an excavator from his business. He dug a man-made lake and moats, brought in toys for kids and placed a large white cross near two benches. And he poured concrete to build pathways and bridges, wanting to use material that would withstand the test of time.
He officially christened it The Hollow, a reference to the type of precast concrete his business produces and the trees surrounding the complex, many of which are hollow. Then he waited for people to come.
Sarasota County has been a Republican stronghold for generations, the moderate, business-friendly wing of the GOP traditionally prevailing in local political contests. Recently, however, the county’s politics have lurched further to the right.
Conservatives now hold a 4-to-1 majority on the county school board after pro-DeSantis candidates touting “parental rights” dominated a contentious local race. Three conservative candidates skeptical of coronavirus vaccines were recently elected to oversee Sarasota Memorial Hospital, alarming doctors, hospital administrators and medical experts.
Flynn, who was pardoned by Trump after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States, moved two years ago to Sarasota, where he has become a significant force in local politics.
He and several of his friends and family members gained seats this summer on the 272-member Sarasota County Republican Party executive committee. Earlier this month, Flynn promoted a conservative challenger who was trying to unseat the incumbent county party chairman. But the Flynn-backed candidate was narrowly defeated.
Continues
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/17/sarasota-florida-far-right/
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Or, say, the moment Putin sent sleeper agents to help trump get elected.
or, say….this can go on awhile…
www.headstonesband.com
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cmuc2seg3bK/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
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Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
Economy adds 223,000 jobs in December, showing resilience and cooling
December will mark two straight years of strong growth, as well as a slowdown, which could help smaller employers that have struggled to hire
The unemployment rate inched down to 3.5 percent, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hovering near longtime lows.
December marked the 24th straight month of robust, often sizzling job growth that shifted the balance of power in the labor market, giving workers more options to seek better jobs and higher wages. Bigger companies with deeper pockets often had the upper hand in this dynamic, but as the economy cools, the dynamic is changing.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/01/06/december-jobs-report/
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Detroit 2000, Detroit 2003 1-2, Grand Rapids VFC 2004, Philly 2005, Grand Rapids 2006, Detroit 2006, Cleveland 2006, Lollapalooza 2007, Detroit Eddie Solo 2011, Detroit 2014, Chicago 2016 1-2, Chicago 2018 1-2, Ohana Encore 2021 1-2, Chicago Eddie/Earthlings 2022 1-2, Nashville 2022, St. Louis 2022
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/01/09/biden-classified-documents-trump/
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Edit- oh snap, they found them “last fall” according to cnn. Surely not before the election though, right? They would have released that info of course, wouldn’t have kept it quiet until now right?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14