23 thoughts on “Monday Open Thread”

1. Who's going beat Dave Barnes to the first post today?

   Log in to Reply

   1. I think you just did, my platypus friend.

      Log in to Reply

2. Today is Flag Day 

   Log in to Reply

   1. No, it isn't.  Today is World Hangover Day, for those fools who celebrated World Gin Day yesterday.

      Log in to Reply

   2. Today is National Bourbon Day.

      Log in to Reply

      1. What a coincidence.

         Log in to Reply

      2. That means it’s time for the perfect Manhattan: (and remember, all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon)

         • 2 ounces bourbon whiskey

         • 1/2 ounce dry vermouth

         • 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

         • 2 dashes Angostura bitters

         • Garnish: brandied cherry or lemon twist

         Log in to Reply

         1. That'll work…😉

            I have recently discovered rye whiskey. I have traditionally been a drinker of Kentucky bourbon or Irish whiskey (and none of that swill from that Jameson fellow, mind you), but a friend recommended it, and my aging palate appreciates a bit more softness. 

            "Rye whiskey, rye whiskey, Rye whiskey I cry..

            If whiskey don't kill me, I'll live til I die.

            Log in to Reply

            1. Given that half of my gene pool is Irish – Jameson is a staple at our house!  (but Whistle Pig is my favorite)

               Log in to Reply

               1. I still favour a knock of Bushmills. I will seek out Whistle Pig, upon your recommendation.

                  Log in to Reply

            2. I, being an Irish Catholic, decided it was time to cleanse my soul.

               I went into the confessional box after many years of being away from the Catholic Church.

               Inside, I found a fully equipped bar with Guinness on tap.  

               On one wall, there was a row of decanters with fine Irish whiskey and Waterford crystal glasses. On the other wall was a dazzling array of the finest cigars and chocolates.

               When the priest came in, I said to him, "Father, forgive me, for it's been a very long time since I've been to confession, but I must first admit that the confessional box is much more inviting than it used to be."

               He replied, "You moron, you're on my side."

               Log in to Reply

               1. You're forgetting that old blues song: "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer." My favorite version is the one in 1977 by George Thorogood & The Delaware Destroyers.

                  Log in to Reply

                  1. Mine, too, CHB. John Lee Hooker comes close.

                     Log in to Reply

3. I find it odd that a car owner is required to have insurance for their actions or consequences of their car but a gun owner is not.

   I have seen the arguments. A knife owner is not required to be insured. Nor the axe owner.

   But it still seems odd.

    

   Log in to Reply

   1. The gun rights people will add

       *  NAMIC, an insurance association, says "The attempt to link the envisioned gun insurance with auto insurance, however, ignores the fact that like other liability lines of insurance, auto insurance does not provide coverage for intentional acts. If a driver intentionally runs someone over with a car, that incident will not be covered. Additionally, the ownership of a gun has constitutional implications, but there is no constitutional right to drive a car. It is likely that an enacted gun insurance mandate would be subject to a constitutional challenge."

       * There also would be compliance issues:  we have a much better idea of who owns cars because of registration requirements and who is driving due to licensing requirements.   There are no equivalents ownership and operation of firearms.

      Log in to Reply

4. Hoover Dam reservoir hits record low, in sign of extreme western U.S. drought

   The reservoir created by Hoover Dam, an engineering marvel that symbolized the American ascendance of the 20th Century, has sunk to its lowest level ever, underscoring the gravity of the extreme drought across the U.S. West.

   Log in to Reply

   1. And the climate change denying governor of Utah issued a proclamation urging everyone to pray for rain.  Seriously he did.  Meanwhile, Nevada enacted a new law to remove useless grass.  The new law will outlaw about 30% of the grass in Las Vegas which is mainly on road strips and around office buildings.  Xeriscaping is going vogue.  From one end of the continuum to the other. 

      Log in to Reply

      1. If you want a peek at our future along the Front Range, have a look at the Southern Nevada Water Authority website on outdoor water use. 

         Log in to Reply

      2. Governor Good Hair tried that approach in TX a decade ago (with a predictable ending).  When are these dweebs going to accept that *od gave us a brain capable of critical thinking?  We don’t need prayer; we need action.  Don’t ask *od to guide your damn footsteps if you aren’t willing to move your feet. 

         How’s this for an idea:  Prayer climate change in the infrastructure bill?!? 

         Log in to Reply

      3. Biblical?

         Remember when the Lake Bonneville Society was doing Native American rain dances in an effort to re-flood Lake Bonneville? 

         There are dried up lake beds in Nevada, and of course, the Salton Sea. What if we started piping front range water to the Western slope, and diverting the Colorado into these old lakes. It would take a while, but it might add enough water to change the localized climate. 

         I don't think it is practical, but with climate change, you never quite know which way the winds will blow. For all we know, rising ocean temperatures, pumping more sea evaporation into the atmosphere, and Salt Lake City will have to go all Noah's Ark on us.

         Log in to Reply

         1. …but will they grasp the need to bring a coffee tree with them?  Who’s going to break the news that caffeine is good for them? 

            The Health Benefits of Coffee

            All of us should be happy to know that whatever it took to secure that favorite cup of Joe may actually have helped to keep us healthy. The latest assessments of the health effects of coffee and caffeine, its main active ingredient, are reassuring indeed. Their consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of all kinds of ailments, including Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, gallstones, depression, suicide, cirrhosis, liver cancer, melanoma and prostate cancer.

            In fact, in numerous studies conducted throughout the world, consuming four or five eight-ounce cups of coffee (or about 400 milligrams of caffeine) a day has been associated with reduced death rates. In a study of more than 200,000 participants followed for up to 30 years, those who drank three to five cups of coffee a day, with or without caffeine, were 15 percent less likely to die earlyfrom all causes than were people who shunned coffee. Perhaps most dramatic was a 50 percent reduction in the risk of suicideamong both men and women who were moderate coffee drinkers, perhaps by boosting production of brain chemicals that have antidepressant effects.

            Log in to Reply

5. We've stood by as Congress (driven almost entirely from obstruction in the Senate) has failed to bring the cannabis industry into full daylight.  It's been almost a decade since Colorado passed its historic Amendment 64 – yet we still lack banking and access to public markets for funding. 

   This all makes sense if you look at it through this lens: as long as we keep the market gray (at best), the Russians can launder their money through shell corps in Canada and get a foothold here in the US (and Colorado)….all while we incarcerate people of color at obscene rates and prevent US entrepreneurs from doing what we do best: innovate. 

   Read this and weep…

   As Russian Money Poured Into Cannabis, Giuliani Allies Scrambled to Partake

   There was a reason that people like Mr. Kukushkin, who was born in Ukraine and later worked at a Russian investment bank, had a unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Federal law still treats cannabis as an illegal substance, and traditional banks have been wary of getting involved. Wealthy financiers have moved in to fill the void — including a growing cast of investors from Russia and former Soviet Union countries who have helped shape the industry's growth.

   One of the nation’s largest cannabis companies, Curaleaf, is led by one of Russia’s most influential financiers and backed by another, allowing the company to pursue rapid expansion and hefty acquisitions. Investment firms have taken their own stakes: A San Francisco-based venture capital fund run by the Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Cherkashin, backed largely by investors from Russia and the former Soviet Union, has put $2 million into Pure Spectrum, a Colorado-based business marketing CBD products.

    

   Log in to Reply

   1. Canadian producers hoping US eases cannabis prohibitions

      The cannabis landscape in the U.S. is an ever-changing patchwork; the drug is or will be allowed for medical use in 36 states and for recreational use in 13, as well as the District of Columbia. But federal law still considers it a Schedule I controlled substance with high risk of abuse and no accepted medical use, alongside drugs like heroin, LSD and peyote.

      As a result, it's impossible for companies operating in a legal state landscape like California or Colorado to make use of institutional banking or financing services, access capital markets or do business outside their respective state lines. Nor can they take advantage of tax writeoffs for routine business expenses, capital equipment like computers or payroll costs.

      Still, there is rampant enthusiasm among Canadian players looking for opportunities to expand into the U.S., where the prospect of a legal market that could soon top US$40 billion annually offers a salve for what have been largely disappointing results at home.

       

      Log in to Reply