Today's Tweet

This @PaulLidicul guy's amazing.

I can't breathe 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣pic.twitter.com/G98GJ30RZv

— Hear Me Roar (@Stop_Trump20) October 12, 2019

Today's Quote

The truth unquestionably is, that the only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of the people, and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion, and bring on civil commotion. Tired at length of anarchy, or want of government, they may take shelter in the arms of monarchy for repose and security.

Those then, who resist a confirmation of public order, are the true Artificers of monarchy — not that this is the intention of the generality of them. Yet it would not be difficult to lay the finger upon some of their party who may justly be suspected. When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits — despotic in his ordinary demeanour — known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty — when such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity — to join in the cry of danger to liberty — to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion — to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day. It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may “ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.”

-- Alexander Hamilton, Aug 1792

This is from a "note" to George Washington.

Reading some of it now, I get a very bad feeling that someone is taking Hamilton's warnings and following them like a playbook.

Today's Tweet

It won't matter, of course. These folks hit the reset button every morning and everything starts over.

Omg let's retweet the hell out of this. pic.twitter.com/nv5NLYWuAG

— Kenidra4Humanity (@KenidraRWoods_) December 6, 2019

New Shit

So this is more than a little weird. Two of my least favorite genres come together to make something that I like.

GangstaGrass.

And now my brain hurts.

Today's Pix

click

The Scary Part

Trump could shoot somebody on camera in the Senate and they'd acquit him 53-47.

Unless he shoots a Republican, then they'd acquit him 52-47.

Senate Republicans looking for evidence 
while complaining about the dark

Today's Tweet

Make sure your eyewash is ready.

oh god OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OHGODOHGOD https://t.co/853qSa2SYL

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) January 24, 2020

Today's Brian

Just short of a full blown meltdown.

Todays' Tweet

Nature always tells us straight up: Adapt or die.

THE WEATHER IS CHANGING. WE MUST CHANGE TOO.pic.twitter.com/qQ1vsoHCwS

— Tomthunkit™ (@TomthunkitsMind) January 23, 2020

In The Age Of Poe

Kinda in reverse, maybe? Reality can get so perverse that sometimes when something real happens, it sounds like it came straight outa The Onion's evil twin.

Detroit Free Press:

Sauntore Thomas is reeling from a one-two punch.

First, the Detroiter sued his employer alleging racial discrimination in a lawsuit that settled confidentially. Then he went to the bank this week to cash his settlement check, but the Livonia bank refused to cash or deposit his check. Instead, they called the cops and initiated a fraud investigation — actions that dumbfounded Thomas and his lawyer, triggering another lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Thomas sued TCF Bank for alleged race discrimination, saying the Livonia branch mistreated and humiliated him by calling four police officers when all he was trying to do was deposit legitimate checks. According to police, the bank's computer system read the checks as fraudulent.

TCF Bank spokesman Tom Wennerberg said Thursday that TCF abhors racism and it was not a factor in how the bank handled Thomas' requests. He said the checks Thomas presented displayed a watermark that read VOID when they were scanned in a web viewer.

Thomas isn't buying it, noting the check cleared 12 hours later. He's upset that two officers questioned him inside the bank, while two others stood guard outside, he said, adding he was an account holder for nearly two years at that TCF branch.

It's not quite completely cut-n-dried - the folks at TCF kinda have a point, partly because of mere circumstance - Sauntore had a whopping 52¢ in his account at the time. And partly because he "made some unusual requests".

ie: he asked to cash one of the checks ($13K- while depositing 2 others totaling $86K), and he asked for a new debit card.

Granted, some of this is a bit red-flaggy, but c'mon, all you have to do is make a coupla phone calls. But that doesn't even factor in when you're going to put a hold on the money til the checks clear anyway.

Normal protocols apply. You tell him you can't cash him out for thirteen large, but you tell him he can go to the bank that issued the check.

And that's the kicker. Not more than a few hours later, Sauntore took his checks to a Chase branch (which didn't issue the checks), and sailed the whole thing right on through.

And BTW - you're not the fuckin' cops. Turn in your little decoder ring and stop playing Junior Treasury Agent. 

Instead of a good customer, now you've got an expensive lawsuit on your hands.