Tom Faranda's Folly

Yesterday's game winning NFL record 66 yard field goal

Wow. BUT Baltimore should have been called for a delay of game on the previous play and the officials missed it! Too late now - Why didn't Detroit appeal?

You have to hit the link -

66 yard field goal

 

 

NBC News: "A Daily Pill to Treat Covid could be just months away"

Antiviral medications not a vaccination.  Worth hitting the link.

At least three promising antivirals that could prevent symptoms and limit transmission of Covid-19 are in clinical trials.

“Oral antivirals have the potential to not only curtail the duration of one’s Covid-19 syndrome, but also have the potential to limit transmission to people in your household if you are sick,” said Timothy Sheahan, a virologist at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who has helped pioneer the therapies.

Antivirals are already essential treatments for other viral infections, including hepatitis C and HIV. One of the best known is Tamiflu, the widely prescribed pill that can shorten the duration of influenza and reduce the risk of hospitalization if it is given quickly.

The medications, developed to treat and prevent viral infections in people and animals, work differently depending on the type. But they can be engineered to boost the immune system to fight infection, block receptors so viruses can’t enter healthy cells or lower the amount of active virus in the body.

At least three promising antivirals for Covid are being tested in clinical trials, with results expected as soon as late fall or winter, said Carl Dieffenbach, director of the Division of AIDS at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who is overseeing antiviral development.

“I think that we will have answers as to what these pills are capable of within the next several months,” Dieffenbach said.

Dramatic grand slam by Stanton and Yanks are back in with shot at the playoffs

By beating Boston two games in a row they have tied them for the first wild card spot. Third game of their series today in Boston.

Quick highlights of yesterday's game with Stanton's moon shot grand slam homer.

 

Yesterday's Croton Climate Strike

At the Blue Pig ice cream place which is across the street and two doors down from my office. When I went past a few minutes earlier there were more people - probably about 60-65. The pictures are from the end of the rally.

Norm Macdonald 100 seconds on "what it's like to be a chicken"

As mentioned here Norm McDonald's moth joke  I had never heard of this guy until his recent death. This is at least ten years old and funny -

 

President Biden: "Every Part of My Economic Plan Is Overwhelmingly Popular". Not satire or parody

The video is from Bloomberg.

"Tom Brady in his 40s ... could outscore Tom Brady in his 20s. How?"

This is from the Guardian (UK). I was never a fan of Brady, but he is amazing. Hit the link.

This is not how quarterbacks are supposed to age. Frankly, this isn’t how human beings are supposed to age. Tom Brady, at 44-years old, in his 22nd year in the NFL, is better now than he was five years ago. In fact, he’s better now than he was fifteen years ago.

There is more zip on Brady’s fastball, and he’s more accurate down the field. In Tampa Bay, he’s playing with precision that had faded during his final years with the New England Patriots.

Those last couple of Patriots teams won with Brady, but these Tampa Bay Buccaneers are winning because of Brady. Through two weeks, he has thrown for 655 yards and nine touchdowns. With the NFL moving to a 17-game schedule, all the traditional records are now in play. Touchdown passes in a season, passing yards in a season, whatever, they’re all up for grabs.

*****************

Through two weeks of the new season, nobody – not Patrick Mahomes or Russell Wilson or Kyler Murray or Aaron Rodgers – has come close to Brady. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he ranks 10th in the league in intended air yards, a measure of how far he’s trying to throw the ball on each dropback. That’s a good number; it’s wild for a 44-year-old at an age when throwing long becomes difficult. It becomes mind-blowing when you consider that he is third in the league in average time to throw – averaging 2.4 seconds per dropback.

This isn’t Brady getting the ball out because he needs to, he’s getting the ball out in a hurry because he wants to. Because he knows where he’s going with the ball. Because he knows each play the opposing defense makes – because he’s seen every defensive play in the book. Best to get on with it now than wait around.

In comparison, Mahomes, the most talented quarterback in the league, is throwing shorter on average than Brady and taking almost half a second longer to make those throws.

What Haiti looked like when we were there in 1979

In December, 1979 1980 (got an email from my friend John in Australia who was with us - I got the year wrong!) - Brigid and myself with three other couples drove from Port au Prince to Cap Haitien. 128 miles (just looked it up) and I recall it took well over five hours. Along the road it looked exactly like this. Yesterday's NY Post.

Feast today: Saint Padre Pio

I know several people with a strong devotion to Padre Pio. Evidently including Pope Francis - picture below.

St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968) was born to peasant farmers in southern Italy. By the time he was 5 years old he practiced a life of penance and made the decision to give himself completely to God. He grew up working in the fields, and at the age of 19 joined the Capuchin Franciscan friars. His Franciscan spirituality was characterized by a life of poverty, love of nature, and charity to those in need, especially to those who were his "spiritual children." St. Padre Pio had many spiritual gifts and was a great miracle-worker. These were well-documented from multiple reliable sources and included bilocation, levitation, reading souls, and physical healing by touch. Word of his holiness spread and people both pious and curious flocked to see him, especially to have him hear their confession. He is the first priest known to have received the stigmata, for which he suffered suspicion and investigation. Because of the unusual supernatural phenomena surrounding his life, he is considered one of the great visionaries and mystics of the Church. Padre Pio died in 1968 at the age of 81. He was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2002. Because of the many miracles he performed during his life, he is commonly invoked as a healing saint for various ailments.

Iraq releases postage stamps commemorating Pope Francis visit to Iraq this past March

I think this is cool. Some might say I have an odd idea of what cool is ...

 

Pitcher Max Scherzer throws an "Immaculate" inning - great 3 minute analysis if you like baseball

He threw nine pitches, all strikes, as he recorded all three outs. A pitch by pitch look

 

AOC "Tax the Rich" dress designer would do well to pay her own taxes

Aurora James. According to this here net worth is $2 million.

From the NY Post. And below it a link to The Independent (UK) on the same subject.

Designer Aurora James called her “Tax the Rich” dress for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a “powerful message” — but it’s not one she has taken to heart. The 37-year-old fashionista who made waves at the Met Gala with Democratic-Socialist AOC last week is a notorious tax deadbeat with unpaid debts dogging her in multiple states, records show.

Most of luxe-living James’ arrears center on Cultural Brokerage Agency, an LLC she formed in 2011 to serve as the parent company of her fashion brand, which today is known as Brother Vellies. It’s a favorite of people like Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Meghan Markle.

The company racked up three open tax warrants in New York state for failing to withhold income taxes from employees’ paychecks totaling $14,798, the state Department of Taxation and Finance told The Post. The debts — which were incurred before the pandemic — stem from 2018 and 2019. The company has been hit with 15 warrants in total since 2015.

The company got into a deeper hole with the feds. Between April 2018 and April 2019, the Internal Revenue Service placed six federal liens on Cultural Brokerage Agency totaling $103,220. The liens specifically cite the company’s failure to remit employee payroll taxes.

****************

“Just because they take it out of your paycheck doesn’t mean they’re sending it to the government,” David Cenedella, a Baruch College taxation lecturer explained after reviewing the liens. “It’s certainly not something you want. I would not say your average business out there has this. Something went wrong.”

While James apparently has no problem stiffing the Taxman, she isn’t shy about taking money from taxpayers — her company received in $41,666 in pandemic relief aid.

****************

Ex-staffers blasted the operation as a sweatshop that relied on legions of unpaid interns working full-time jobs.

“I experienced a lot of harassment when I worked for her,” one former contract employee told The Post. “Aurora would ask me to do things that were not in anyone’s job description, like scheduling her gynecological appointments. The work environment was so hostile that I was afraid to ask for my check.” The employee was ultimately terminated.

An ex-intern called James “quite cold,” adding that “she never gives recognition or acknowledgement to her team.”

James is also an alleged rent deadbeat, records show.

Here's the Independent article -

AOC’s ‘Tax the Rich’ dress designer accused of owing thousands in unpaid taxes and refusing to pay interns

 

Norm McDonald's moth joke

I'm clearly not in the mainstream of things, since I don't think I'd ever heard of Norm McDonald (we don't watch SNL) but he certainly seems to have been a highly regarded person and comedian since his recent death at only 61.

I'm told this is a famous joke of his -  and it is pretty funny... timing is everything.

 

Imagine Trump doing this - the Administration is deporting recently arrived Haitians

The press would go berserker mode. Thanks to my buddy P N pointing this NY Times article out to me. FULL DISCLOSURE: Brigid and I were in Haiti in 1979. It was a mess then and seems to be just as big a mess now.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The first Haitians deported from a makeshift camp in Texas landed in their home country Sunday amid sweltering heat, anger and confusion, as Haitian officials beseeched the United States to stop the flights because the country is in crisis and cannot handle thousands of homeless deportees.

President Biden, who pledged a more humanitarian approach to immigration than his predecessor, has been taking tough measures to stop the influx, and the administration said this weekend that the Haitian deportations are consistent with that enforcement policy.

Evidently there aren't that many Haitian-American voters.

Here's Tom Brady's plan for playing quarterback until he's 50

Yes, crafty superstar. And Tampa Bay is 2-0, putting 48 points up on the Falcons yesterday.

Annual dementia test - only four questions

From my friend Graham. I got 3 out of 4 right.

Yep, it's that time of year again for us to take our annual senior citizen test.

 

As we grow older, it’s important to keep mentally alert.

 

If you don’t use it, you will lose it !!!

 

Take this test to determine if you’re losing it or not.

 

 

The spaces below are so you don’t see the answers until you’ve answered.

 

OK, RELAX, clear your mind and begin.

 

 

#1. 

What do you put in a toaster ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: 'bread.' If you said 'toast', just give up now and go do something else.

 

 

And, try not to hurt yourself.

 

If you said, bread, go to Question #2

 

                 

 

 

 

# 2. 

Say 'silk' ten times. Now spell 'silk.' What do cows drink ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: Cows drink water. If you said 'milk,' don't attempt the next question.

 

 

Your brain is already over-stressed and may even overheat.

 

 

Content yourself with reading more appropriate literature such as Women's Weekly or Auto World.

 

 

However, if you did say 'water', proceed to Question 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# 3. 

If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass.

 

 

If you said 'green bricks', why are you still reading this ???PLEASE, go lie down !

 

 

 

But, if you said 'glass,' go on to Question #4.

 

 

# 4. 

Please do not use a calculator for this for it would be cheating:

 

 

You are driving a bus from New York City to Philadelphia.

 

 

In Staten Island, 17 people got on the bus.

 

 

In New Brunswick, 6 people get off the bus and 9 people get on.

 

 

In Windsor, 2 people get off and 4 get on.

 

 

In Trenton, 11 people get off and 16 people get on.

 

 

In Bristol, 3 people get off and 5 people get on.

 

 

 

And, in Camden, 6 people get off and 3 get on.

 

 

You then arrive at Philadelphia Station.

 

 

 

Without going back to review, how old is the bus driver ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: 

Oh, for crying out loud !

🤪🙃😳

 

 

Don't you remember your own age?!?! 

It was YOU driving the bus!

😅😂🤣😅😂🤣😅

 

By the way ...

If you pass this along to your friends, pray they do better than you.

 

 

 PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!

 

 

Sorry for all the spaces. You'd be tempted to cheat otherwise.

The limits of Biden's "over-the horizon" policy

I had posted about this - NY Times report: our military Kabul drone strike killed an aid worker & his family; not terrorists

From the WSJ -

The Pentagon acknowledged Friday that a U.S. drone strike killed innocent civilians on Aug. 29 amid the frantic American exit from Afghanistan. The admission is welcome, but Congress should still investigate how the decision to target a nonterrorist was made and if the White House played any role.

“After deeper, post-strike analysis, our conclusion is that innocent civilians were killed,” Gen. Milley said Friday. “This is a horrible tragedy of war and it’s heart wrenching and we are committed to being fully transparent about this incident.”

***************

President Biden was criticized for the American deaths and had promised justice for the killers. He took credit in a speech for having punished terrorists, claiming it as a vindication of the “over-the-horizon” strategy he says the U.S. can use to counter al Qaeda and ISIS-K terrorist camps in Afghanistan. It’s fair to ask if the military, in its eagerness to show it was acting on Mr. Biden’s orders to take revenge, took too big a risk in blowing up Ahmadi in a crowded civilian area.

The mistaken bombing shows the limits of Mr. Biden’s over-the-horizon strategy. The Pentagon didn’t identify the right target despite having troops, and presumably some intelligence assets, still in theater. It will be much harder to locate terror camps, and kill the most threatening jihadists, using drones with limited flight time over the country and without local allies to provide intelligence.

Remember when Bill Clinton sent cruise missiles against Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in the 1990s? Mr. Biden’s unwise withdrawal is leaving himself with the same limited options. The U.S. owes the Ahmadi family an apology and compensation, and Congress needs to dig further into the deadly Kabul mistake.

 

Pentagon admits their drone strike actually killed 10 civilians, including 7 children

Our "over the horizon defensive abilities". Tragic. I posted about the NY Times report on Sept. 11th - NY Times report: our military Kabul drone strike killed an aid worker & his family; not terrorists

Here's the admission and story -

Apple iPhone 13 Will Require Vaccination To Unlock Screen

It was inevitable.

 

"Biden Fires Father of Teen With Down Syndrome From White House Disabilities Council"

Part of the mania to fire people from these non-partisan councils - the were appointed by Trump (death penalty too good for them).

And additionally, in the case of Down Syndrome advocate Kurt Kondrich, Kondrich opposes targeting Down's Syndrome babies prenatally for abortion. Hit the link for the whole sadly revealing article.

Presidential advisory council terminations by the Biden administration are unprecedented. Previous presidents have always allowed appointees from previous administrations to carry out their terms to conclusion. The councils are non-partisan and do not have any executive power, only an advisory role.

Funny article about hip hop superstar Nicki Minaj's claim about Covid vaccine...

UPDATE: More here - her verbal instagram posting - ‘Fear Of The Mob’: Nicki Minaj Rants About Censorship, Covid-19

Amusing, even if you just skim the article in NRO.

But there is something spectacularly hilarious about this absurd turn in the national debate about COVID-19 vaccinations, where no less a figure than Dr. Anthony Fauci felt the need to go on national television and say, no, there is no evidence that the vaccine will make your testes blow up like a pair of balloons...

The White House apparently felt the need to reach out to Minaj and offered to connect her with a doctor with expertise. MSNBC’s Joy Reid did a whole segment denouncing Minaj, and there have been critical pieces about Minaj at CNN, Vox, CNBC, the BBC, and elsewhere. Minaj claims she is in “Twitter jail,” while Twitter insists it has not shut down her account. The late-night comics made her the butt of their jokes. Overnight, she’s become something akin to Public Enemy Number One.

An extremely timely quote from Thomas Sowell

Sowell just turned 91 years old. His specialty is welfare economics

"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong."
— Thomas Sowell

Google bans prolife ads from two prominent organizations

Thanks to LifeNet for letting me steal this entire post.

To quote the late free speech advocate Nat Hentoff, "Free speech for me, but not for thee".

On Tuesday, Live Action and Heartbeat International said Google removed ads about the life-saving abortion pill reversal protocol and a video about fetal development called “Baby Olivia.”

“At the request of abortion activists, @Google has just BANNED all of @LiveAction’s pro-life ads, including those promoting the Abortion Pill Reversal treatment, a resource that has saved 2,500 children to date,” Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, wrote on Twitter.

Censorship by Google means a near blackout of that information online. Google, which owns YouTube and other companies, is one of the most powerful entities in the world, and political leaders in the United States and Europe have been investigating whether it is violating anti-trust laws.

Pro-life and conservative groups, including LifeNews.com, have been feeling the brunt of its censorship powers for years.

“Why they fight so hard to silence us, I struggle to understand. But they do. And they fight dirty,” Cindi Boston-Bilotta, vice president of Heartbeat International, which runs the abortion pill reversal hotline, wrote Tuesday in an email to supporters.

*********************

Studies and medical experts confirm the abortion pill reversal protocol is safe and effective. It works very similarly to a hormonal treatment that has been used for years to help prevent miscarriages.

The censorship comes at a critical time when abortion activists are pushing to expand abortion pills. The Biden administration recently stopped enforcing safety regulations on abortion drugs, meaning abortion groups now can sell them through the mail without ever seeing the woman in person.

***************

The latest censorship by Google is connected to a new article in the leftist news outlet The Daily Beast. According to the article:

A Google spokesperson said the company does not allow ads that promote harmful health claims, including those for abortion pill reversal. After reviewing a copy of the report provided by The Daily Beast, Google said it had removed all of the ads mentioned. Facebook said it was also reviewing the report and investigating the ads mentioned.

Boston-Bilotta said the abortion pill reversal protocol is safe, and they are appealing Google’s decision.

“We have appealed and are working hard to reach these women,” she said.

Lou Grant has to give Ted Knight some bad news...

From the Mary Tyler Moore show decades ago. Ed Asner and Ted Baxter. Double genius.

Bush spokesman clarifies his 9/11 remarks.

I posted President Bush's talk at the Pennsylvania memorial George W. Bush & Kamala Harris both spoke at the Flight 93 memorial ceremonies yesterday   and saw it as condemning any extremist/fanatic using violence to pursue some domestic policy (I thought Bush was very clear). But many took what he said as only referring to the nitwits invading the capitol building on January 6th.

But here's what his spokesman said -

This column asked Bush spokesman Freddy Ford to whom President Bush was referring when he talked about “violent extremists at home” on Saturday. Mr. Ford responds via email:

He refers to anyone who would take up violence against fellow Americans to advance a belief — inclusive of, but not exclusive to, those who would attack synagogues, nightclubs, churches, people of color, national symbols, institutions, the government, etc.

That should settle it - should but it won't.

Parrot says "Even we have standards;" refuses to poop on NY Times

Parrots are very intelligent. 

Full Disclosure - I recently took the NY Times up on their $1 a week for 52 weeks "special" online subscription deal. Or maybe it was $4 a month - same difference

More domesticated birds, known for being emotionally fragile and fussy, are raising their standards and refusing to crap on low-quality newspapers such as The New York Times.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need a classier paper than that to do my business on," said Penny, a blue and gold macaw from California. "I'm not saying I expect this place to be the Ritz-Carlton, but geez. Can we at least get a copy of the National Enquirer or PC Gamer or something to class the place up a bit?"

"If things don't change, I'm going to be forced to contact my lawyer. This is ridiculous." ...

Sales of the paper have plummeted as fewer and fewer birds were using them to go to the bathroom on, as that was apparently a large chunk of sales for the Times each and every month. Similar fates have met other newspapers and magazines as birds' bathroom standards have raised, such as The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Relevant Magazine.