vxbush 8/3/2023 6:01:12 AM

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A long-winded article points out that the interest on our country's outstanding debt is now almost one trillion dollars. No specific is given, but if you look at CNN's article, it noted the last quarter of 2022 the US paid $213 billion in interest. Assuming the same level of payment for each quarter--which is probably underestimating things--and the result is $852 billion over the year.

Occasional Reader 8/3/2023 6:18:05 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 1:

A trillion here, a trillion there; pretty soon you're talking real money. 

vxbush 8/3/2023 6:34:45 AM

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Occasional Reader 8/3/2023 6:38:29 AM

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Reply to vxbush in 3:

Please, it's a little too early in the day to talk about massaging drag queens... 

vxbush 8/3/2023 6:42:56 AM

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In #2 Occasional Reader said: A trillion here, a trillion there; pretty soon you're talking real money. 

It's not real money. until we're talking 4 quadrillion quatloos.

vxbush 8/3/2023 7:21:34 AM

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vxbush 8/3/2023 8:36:10 AM

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In #4 Occasional Reader said: Please, it's a little too early in the day to talk about massaging drag queens... 

True. I'd rather talk about chocolate, but others get tired of it faster than I do.

buzzsawmonkey 8/3/2023 9:22:36 AM

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In #6 vxbush said: China investing millions in U.S. K-12 schools. I doubt they have our best interests in mind. 

They'll bring their own slant to American education.

buzzsawmonkey 8/3/2023 9:23:53 AM

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vxbush 8/3/2023 9:56:57 AM

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In #9 buzzsawmonkey said: Given all the emerging revelations of bribery and influence-peddling, shouldn't the Clodfather change the spelling of the family name to "Buyed-In?"

I rather like Bribe-em. 

buzzsawmonkey 8/3/2023 10:05:47 AM

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In #10 vxbush said: I rather like Bribe-em. 

That would be "Bribe-'em"---note insertion of the apostrophe---but since the foreign companies and who/whatever else were actually bribing the Clodfather and his offspring, it should properly be "Bribe-'im."

vxbush 8/3/2023 11:27:34 AM

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In #11 buzzsawmonkey said: it should properly be "Bribe-'im."

It is more accurate in one sense, but he wasn't the only one getting paid off. So Bribe-'em is better to reflect the number of people who benefited from the schemes. 

Kosh's Shadow 8/3/2023 4:33:58 PM

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First photos of Chinese-run lab in California experimenting with dangerous viruses and engineering mice

(paragraph below is a summary from a different source)

 Chinese medical company Prestige Biotech operated an unlicensed biolab near Fresno, California, from October 2022 until it was raided in March 2023. Inside, local officials found crowded into plastic bins hundreds of lab mice that had been adapted to carry the COVID-19 virus; biological samples of blood, tissue, and body fluids from humans; and samples of infectious diseases like malaria, COVID-19, tuberculosis, HIV, and multiple strains of herpes. As of Tuesday, the city of Reedley, California, has disposed of 5,000 gallons of biological waste from the lab. Who exactly was operating the lab, and what precisely they were doing there, remains unclear. 

Kosh's Shadow 8/3/2023 4:36:28 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 13:

And I doubt that is the only lab

Occasional Reader 8/3/2023 7:07:04 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 13:

Nothing to see here, citizen, move along... 

Kosh's Shadow 8/3/2023 7:44:42 PM

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In #15 Occasional Reader said: Nothing to see here, citizen, move along... 

Don't forget to wear a mask!