PETA BEAR
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Have You Laughed At A Liberal Today?
AETNA Being Racist In Ad?
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Boston Piggy Says Nothing About Rosalyn Carter's Passing
What? No squeals, oinks or grunts about the passing and memorial for Rosalyn Carter, Shenehneh? Don't you care for one of your own party members, Boston Piggy? One of your former First Ladies took her dirt nap to eternity, and you don't even make a peep or muttering about it?
Elizabeth Warren Wants the Government To Investigate America's 'Sandwich Shop Monopoly': Elizabeth Warren: FTC Should Investigate America's 'Sandwich ...
Subway might not be the only one that's freshly baked. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) thinks the government should investigate America's alleged "sandwich shop monopoly."
"We don't need another private equity deal that could lead to higher food prices for consumers," Warren tweeted Sunday. She was responding to a Politico piece reporting that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is probing the private equity firm Roark Capital's $10 billion acquisition of Subway.
Roark already owns the sandwich-serving chains Arby's, Jimmy Johns, McAlister's Deli, and Schlotzky's. Warren said that adding Subway to that list could create a "sandwich shop monopoly."
The senator has made a career of crusading against such "monopolies," regardless of how monopolististic they actually are or beneficial to consumers they might be. (Witness her war on Amazon-branded chargers.)
Her attack on America's alleged "sandwich shop monopoly" scores new points for pettiness. It also shows just how broad (and therefore meaningless) the word "monopoly" has become in modern political discourse—and at Lina Kahn's FTC.
It's easy to assert that something is a monopoly if you narrow your focus on the market or product being discussed. There are, after all, only so many national fast-casual restaurant chains focused on serving deli sandwiches. If Roark snatches up Subway, then ownership of that particular ham slice of the market may in fact look pretty consolidated.
But from the casual consumer's perspective, competition remains robust. There are endless options for getting a sandwich without paying a Roark-owned enterprise. Grocery stores, convenience stores, coffee shops, non-chain delis, and more all sell some variety of sandwich. And yes, non-Roark-owned national sandwich chains still exist.
Sandwiches, not being the most elaborate meal in the world, can also be made by most Americans at home.
On top of all that robust competition within the sandwich market, sandwich shops are in heated competition with all manner of other restaurants selling hamburgers (technically also a sandwich), hot dogs (debatably a sandwich), burritos (not a sandwich), salads, soups, Asian rice bowls, Mediterranean rice bowls, and more.
Consumers can, and do, flit between all of these options with ease. Even if Roark's acquisition of Subway gives it a stranglehold over the sandwich market, its ability to raise prices on consumers will still be hemmed in by this dizzying array of additional lunchtime options.
The original purpose of antitrust laws was to prevent the Cornelius Vanderbilts of the world from using their ownership of the commanding heights of the economy to raise prices and gouge consumers. Libertarians have long criticized such statutes, arguing that an existing monopoly can't sustainably charge consumers above-market prices as long as new competitors armed with new technologies are allowed to undercut them. And indeed, even tech companies that once seemed invincible are now being laid low by competitive pressures.
If markets can work in that arena, we surely don't need the government to police who owns businesses that specialize in putting cold cuts between slices of bread.
(From Reason.com)
Oh Lizzy! You put your snout in a place where it didn't belong! You really need to stop oinking out the pig slop and go after serious business.
Sunday, November 26, 2023
The New Democrat Comedy: Scary With Children...
Dan Goldman as Allah Bubba Butthead
Gretchen Whitmer as Peggy Butthead
Marie Harf as Kellie Butthead
Pete Buttigieg as Bud Butthead
Buttstink as Buck
Gavin & Jennifer Newsom as Jefferson and Marcy D'erpy.
Death Threat Against Donald Trump Posted On Blogger? Not Very Smart Nursie Poo Poo
Saturday, November 25, 2023
Friday, November 24, 2023
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Pumpkin Carob Marshmallow Pie
This is based on a recipe from Trader Joe's, with tweeks.
2 Pie Crusts (9" crusts)
1 cup fresh pumpkin (coffee mug packed full)
1 cup evaporated milk
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground carob powder
Marshmallows
Heat oven between 375° to 425° Fahrenheit. Blend pumpkin mixture (pumpkin, milk, sugar, eggs, carob powder, salt and spice, then pour into the 2 crusts.
Bake pies in middle of the oven.
Around 45 minutes, check fillings to see if they're starting to set. Center should tremble slightly.
Put marshmallows on top of pie, and continue baking for another 15 - 20 minutes, until marshmallows start to melt. Transfer to rack and let the pies cool down. The fillings will continue to set as the pies cool.
Ovens will vary, and fresh pumpkin water content will vary. The more wet pumpkins require the higher temperature to bake properly, and possibly more time.
The pie shown took over an hour with the marshmallows added at the 45 minute mark at around 400° Fahrenheit.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Isaiah 32: The Kingdom of Righteousness/The Women of Jerusalem
32 See, a king will reign in righteousness
and rulers will rule with justice.
2 Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
3 Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will listen.
4 The fearful heart will know and understand,
and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
5 No longer will the fool be called noble
nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
6 For fools speak folly,
their hearts are bent on evil:
They practice ungodliness
and spread error concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty
and from the thirsty they withhold water.
7 Scoundrels use wicked methods,
they make up evil schemes
to destroy the poor with lies,
even when the plea of the needy is just.
8 But the noble make noble plans,
and by noble deeds they stand.
9 You women who are so complacent,
rise up and listen to me;
you daughters who feel secure,
hear what I have to say!
10 In little more than a year
you who feel secure will tremble;
the grape harvest will fail,
and the harvest of fruit will not come.
11 Tremble, you complacent women;
shudder, you daughters who feel secure!
Strip off your fine clothes
and wrap yourselves in rags.
12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,
for the fruitful vines
13 and for the land of my people,
a land overgrown with thorns and briers—
yes, mourn for all houses of merriment
and for this city of revelry.
14 The fortress will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;
citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 till the Spirit is poured on us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.
16 The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert,
his righteousness live in the fertile field.
17 The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.
18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
in secure homes,
in undisturbed places of rest.
19 Though hail flattens the forest
and the city is leveled completely,
20 how blessed you will be,
sowing your seed by every stream,
and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
Isaiah 31
Isaiah 31
New International Version
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt
31 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the Lord.
2 Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster;
he does not take back his words.
He will rise up against that wicked nation,
against those who help evildoers.
3 But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God;
their horses are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
those who help will stumble,
those who are helped will fall;
all will perish together.
4 This is what the Lord says to me:
“As a lion growls,
a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds
is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
or disturbed by their clamor—
so the Lord Almighty will come down
to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
5 Like birds hovering overhead,
the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver it,
he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”
6 Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against. 7 For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made.
8 “Assyria will fall by no human sword;
a sword, not of mortals, will devour them.
They will flee before the sword
and their young men will be put to forced labor.
9 Their stronghold will fall because of terror;
at the sight of the battle standard their commanders will panic,”
declares the Lord,
whose fire is in Zion,
whose furnace is in Jerusalem.