In 2020 census, texas gained 4 million people and two congressional seats.

Turns out the MSM site that discussed 8 potential congressional seats was the Hill. Guess it was intended to increase traffic as to me, it looks like a click bait.

Now that they are not receiving federal money, they have to earn it using alternative sources.

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Saturday, February 15, 2025 - 08:18 pm: Edit

"The Hill" didn't receive federal funding, Jswile. You're confusing it with the federal subscriptions for "Politico Pro" (a very in-the-weeks publication that includes policy-tracking tools that was in widespread use, separate from "Politico").

All that said: this has gone very, very, very far into the 'gator pond.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Saturday, February 15, 2025 - 10:16 pm: Edit

Apparently, there is a very long list of media sites that did receive USAID funding.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, February 15, 2025 - 11:01 pm: Edit

Apparently the corruption runs much deeper than anyone ever thought.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Sunday, February 16, 2025 - 07:59 am: Edit

Reporters without borders organization released an article concerning USAID.

1. funded 6,200 journalists,
2. 707 non-state media outlets,
3. 279 media-focused NGOs in more than 30 countries in 2023.

The 2025 US foreign aid budget allocated $268.4 million to support “independent media and the free flow of information.”

One of the organizations that did receive funding from USAID , and has admitted the receipt is the BBC.

10 of the 707 non state media outlets are apparently different Ukrainian media platforms.

I have not found a full list yet, but obviously, there is a wide spread interest in knowing how far the corruption has spread.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Sunday, February 16, 2025 - 11:52 am: Edit

One could argue that supporting "independent media and the free flow of information" internationally does serve the interests of American foreign policy. The problem arises if the support is uneven, too far left or too far right, serving special interest parties instead.


Garth L. Getgen

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Sunday, February 16, 2025 - 12:53 pm: Edit

I bet the US intel community (etc) monitors all those "independent" media for bias.

I wonder how many of the added population of Texas is undocumented immigrants? [ANSWER: A LOT MORE TODAY THAN A YEAR FROM NOW.--SVC, TEXAN]

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Sunday, February 16, 2025 - 02:36 pm: Edit

I agree with Garth - the BBC World Service is paid for in effect by UK TV Licence payers....

.... it doesn't matter we don't get to hear it - but it will perhaps be more unbiased than mmore local news (noting the BBC 'is perhaps not unbiased in the UK) and so it is good for the world.

You can't have everything you want, all the time!

[THE BBC IS UNBIASED? GAWD, I HAVEN'T LAUGHED SO HARD SINCE THE BRITISH SPACE PROGRAM ROLLED OFF ITS TRUCK AND BROKE.]

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Sunday, February 16, 2025 - 04:50 pm: Edit

ENOUGH!

Just one weekend without you all acting out is all I ask.

One more, just one more post on ANYTHING regarding sanctuary cities, humans who crossed the border without proper documentation (I will entertain posts on Romulans, Klingons, gray aliens, etc.), or USAID, and I will close the topic down until I am back in the office.

Allie and Ally are on the prowl.

Jean
WebMom

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, February 16, 2025 - 08:36 pm: Edit

Trump has ordered the deportation of six million foul and troublesome gray aliens to their homes on Zeta Reticuli. Zab*@rt#y, president-corporeal of Zeta Reticuli, has said hwe will send starships to pick them up as long as Trump does not deliver them to the New Mexico space port in handcuffs.

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Monday, February 17, 2025 - 07:49 am: Edit

Seems like an unnecessary stipulation. The typical Zeta Reticulian has eight tentacles, is highly intelligent, and has a truly astonishing ability to hide. (Much like terrestrial octopus.)

Female Reticulians do enjoy using hand cuffs for jewelry, but, really, the only useful use of such restraints is purely ascetic.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Monday, February 17, 2025 - 04:16 pm: Edit

I've also heard that the chemical/pheromone that give lilacs their distinctive scent is a hallucinogenic to folks from Zeta Reticuli and is considered a class I controlled substance by their government.

Same rumors also hold that we use it as a restraining method for them, and there are some who deliberately violate Earth borders in order to get arrested for the high we give them.

(If I've heard wrong, I do apologize; it won't be the first time I've helped spread bad rumors... )

By Jeff Wile (Jswile) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 07:40 am: Edit

POLITICS.

STRIKE ONE.

Jean
WebMom

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 11:03 am: Edit

Folks, I am not stupid or clueless.

No. No using code words. Politics is politics.

At this point, you are hurting the community. Every bit of time I spend policing this BBS is time I don't spend proofreading the Orion MSSB.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 01:06 pm: Edit

Jean, I've got this today, you take care of the Orions.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 03:16 pm: Edit

The plane crash in Toronto miraculously didn't see any fatalities. Investigation is ongoing including Canadian, US, Mitsubishi, and Delta personnel. Politics is rearing its ugly head as Blue senators say no other president has had this many crashes in his first month in office. Trump did fire 400 recent FAA hires but none were ATC or safety types.

I am no expert but talking heads mentioned an unusually hard landing and it seems from the video that the right side landing gear collapsed.

By Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 08:10 pm: Edit

I saw film of that crash in Toronto, absolutely amazing that only eight were hurt and none dead. A lot of people are praising the plane's stewards/stewardesses who got everyone evacuated from the plane safely. That's real professionalism right there

By Lawrence Bergen (Lar) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 09:24 pm: Edit

Looked like the right landing gear slid to the left as it came down causing the imbalance and shift to the point where the right wing caught the ground. It was a miracle that no one was killed.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 09:38 pm: Edit

A miracle, to be sure. Flight attendants are never trained to evacuate an upside down airplane. I suspect that somewhere, someone is working on plans to buy a retired airliner, cut a chunk out of the cabin, block off both ends keeping maybe a dozen rows of seats, mount it on rollers, and set up a school where airlines can send personnel for "inverted training" courses. I suspect a year later the FAA will require that every flight attendant crew include someone who has been to the "inverted school" course and in a dozen years that will be a requirement of every attendant. Maybe the same school will save the pointy end of airliner to be set up as a "flight crew inverted evacuation simulator" with similar FFA requirements. The question is whether Elon will do this for free as a benefit to mankind or Trump will do it as a profit-making venture.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 10:21 pm: Edit

How many major aircraft incidents have there been in the past month?!? It seems like almost every day, there's been one! What the blazes is going on!?!

By MarkSHoyle (Bolo) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 10:24 pm: Edit

Talking heads are clearly blowing smoke, since it was in Canada and had nothing to do with the FAA....

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 11:41 pm: Edit

IF I read the reports correctly, Pope Francis has come down with double pneumonia.

Hopes/crossed fingers for a speedy recovery.

(I'm an atheist and worry that it might come across as a dig, were I to offer "Prayers")

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 11:50 pm: Edit

Zero fatality aircraft accidents are actually pretty common, although I've never heard of a plane rolling over before without catching fire and resulting fatalities.

Usually a zero fatality accident is at most local news, and that only if there are serious injuries.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 - 08:20 am: Edit

I've been through the "rollover" thing at Atturbury, Bliss, and Benning. IIRC, one was a hmmwv, one was a Cougar and one was a MATV) Plus the one we built at BIAP (out of an actual lightly blown up & rolled over hmmwv) in 2005.

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandar) on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 - 05:34 pm: Edit

it is snowing in VA. I have 2 and 3/4 inches on my deck. Schools closed today and Thursday. I stayed Home did not want to drive an hour in that mess on the way home. I am sure the Shipyard will be essential personal on Thursday. They say Norfolk could get 10 or more inches. Where I am near surrey around 8" of snow.