Weekend Open Thread
There comes a time when one should simply “hang up one’s spurs.” Many of the folks who would warn us about people who “want to be dictators” themselves are clinging onto power. Perhaps it’s possible that by remaining in power, they could continue to keep their corruption hidden or protected. As private citizens, they would not be as powerful as they would need to be to prevent themselves from being held accountable for their acts. Enjoy your weekend!
Category: Open thread
First
This is what Hack attempted to paste:
Oh wise and all knowing Magic 8-Ball, will America’s long nightmare finally come to an end by restoring Hack Stone to the throne of First Commenter on This Ain’t Hell Weekend Open Thread on this Friday the 13th? Magic 8- Ball says…
Dude, you’re so full of shit. Just take the win and rule fairly!🤣🍺
As First Commenter on The Weekend Open Thread, it’s not just the perks of being driven around the National Capital Region in a 1980’s vintage Jaguar, there responsibilities, mainly providing the Weekend Safety Brief. And seeing how today is Friday the 13th, it’s Payday, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and Monday is President’s Day, there is plenty of opportunity for the Adorable Garbage becoming regional, national, and/or international incidents. So listen up!
First up, and we never thought it would be an issue but here we are, if you plan on using WWI vintage explosive ordnance to enhance your love life, ensure that all personnel involved have the requisite blast resistant body armor. Intercourse will not, repeat, will not commence until the Range Safety Officer gives the “All Clear”.
If flying into Sister’s Eagle Airport, ensure that fuel tanks have enough to reach 200 yards beyond the runway in case the airport moved the runways again.
As mentioned earlier, Monday is President’s Day, so Phil Monkress will be doing his ball juggling on a holiday schedule. And yes, he will continue the annual tradition of juggling balls while dressed as Abraham Lincoln.
If participating in Anti-ICE demonstrations this weekend, do not, repeat, DO NOT confuse tear gas canisters with flash bang projectiles.
If Phil Monkress calls you up to ask you to do some work for him “off the books”, politely decline and change the subject. Remember, friends don’t let friends defend Phil Monkress’ lies about being a US Navy SEAL.
If you do use WWI vintage explosive ordnance to enhance your love life, would “Fire in the Hole” be a bad choice of safewords?
Depends on the hole, I guess 🤣
First!
Crap! Second!
Denied!
Hack’s cut and paste did not stick, so he had to hand jam and still scored the highly coveted and rarely awarded title.
You almost beat Hack. He dropped his plate of Buffalo Chicken Wing bones in the kitchen, and Rosetta Stone made him clean up the mess. If Hack did lose the title of First Commenter, it literally would be due to a vast chicken wing conspiracy. 🥴😜🤣
See my comment above. 🤣
I’m sorry, but that has got to be one of the ugliest woman that I have ever seen. Holy Scnikes.
Is that some dead animal on her head?
Looks kinda like my golden retriever’s coat but a couple shades darker.
NO Golden deserves that level of comparison. Ever.
Wow, the WOT pops up early and Hack Stone takes the prize! Apparently beating out Amateur Historian by mere seconds. That means I missed out again! Well, any column topped by a photo of Maxine (Yech) Waters is one desperately in need of trivia … so here ’tis!
DID YOU KNOW…?
Which cartoon character was the first real breakout star in early television animation?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2026
One of the coolest things about February, in my view, is the sheer number of things to celebrate. Few other months can boast of things like:
Groundhog Day
Lincoln’s Birthday
Valentine’s Day
Washington’s Birthday
President’s Day
And the various other smaller, less-celebrated holidays that pepper the calendar as well. Seems like February, once (a long time ago) the last month of the year, more than makes up for that by having so many fun things in it!
Available in February – and every week – is trivia, right here in your favorite part of the newspaper. So let’s get to the fun right now!
Did you know …
… actors cannot fire the director of a movie and take it over themselves due to a 1976 film? That year, actor Clint Eastwood (born 1930) was making The Outlaw Josey Wales when he began to clash with the movie’s director, Phil Kaufman (born 1935). Eastwood went to the producers and had Kaufman dismissed from the project, and he took over as director. In response to Eastwood’s move, the Director’s Guild of America instituted a new rule which prohibits an actor or producer from firing the director and then taking over the role. It’s called the Eastwood Rule. (Don’t mess with Clint.)
… after the extinction of the dinosaurs, a species of turtle existed that could eat crocodiles? In 2005, fossilized remains of a gigantic turtle were found in Colombia, a turtle so large that its shell was as big as a modern human. The turtle, called Carbonemys cofrinii, existed about 60 million years ago, some five million years after the dinosaurs went extinct. The remains indicated a turtle with incredibly powerful jaws, which could – and apparently did – crunch down on anything including local crocodiles. (Now that’s what I call a snapping turtle.)
… the first broadcast crime drama to re-enact actual cases began airing in 1935? Gang Busters, which aired from 1935 to 1957 on radio, was based on “true crime” stories taken from authentic police case histories. Created by Phillips H. Lord (1902-1975), Gang Busters began with a dramatization of the story of gangster John Dillinger (1903-1934). The genre would grow on radio, spawning shows such as Tales of the Texas Rangers and Dragnet, before moving to television in the 1950s. (Just the facts.)
… zippers were named for the sound they make? When the zipper as we know it today was first invented in 1917, it was called a “hookless fastener.” But in 1923, when the B.F. Goodrich Company installed them on boots, people began calling them “zippers” because of the sound they made when they were used. Additional trivia note: zippers were developed from a patent by Whitcomb L. Judson (1843-1909) who called his invention the “clasp locker” and intended it for use on shoes and high boots. (A zippy idea nonetheless.)
TGIF.
… the first breakout character in animated television was Yogi Bear? In 1958, Yogi was a supporting character on The Huckleberry Hound Show, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. Yogi got his own show in 1961, quickly becoming the most popular Hanna-Barbera character ever. Created by William Hanna (1910-2001) and Joseph Barbera (1911-2006), Yogi was loosely based on Art Carney’s character in the television series The Honeymooners. Carney (1918-2003) played Ed Norton, and many of that character’s mannerisms and voice actions were included in the cartoon bear. Additional trivia note: Yogi Bear was named after the popular baseball star Lawrence “Yogi” Berra (1925-2015). The Yankee catcher wasn’t amused at the idea of having a cartoon character named after him, however. Berra filed a lawsuit against Hanna-Barbera for defamation of character due to the similarity of the name, but withdrew the suit before it was heard. (He was smarter than the average bear – uh, catcher.)
… all that caffeine that is taken out of decaf coffee goes somewhere else? Caffeine extracted from decaffeinated coffee beans is sold to soda makers and pharmaceutical companies. (Well, it has to go somewhere, doesn’t it?)
… sometimes animals are not great co-stars? For instance, the groundhog used in the production of the movie Groundhog Day bit star Bill Murray (born 1950) – twice. (No word on whether or not Murray bit back.)
… more than eight million U.S. families have an annual income of $1 million or more? One source says that about 1,700 people in the United States become millionaires every day. So why aren’t we awash in millionaires and their loot? Because almost that many drop below that value on a daily basis as well.
Yogi got his own show in 1961, quickly becoming the most popular Hanna-Barbera character ever.
That title may be in dispute. Hack has no hard numbers, but if he was on Final Jeopardy, and the answer was “This Hanna-Barbera character was the most popular of their cartoons”, Hack would go with “Who is Fred Flintstone?”
Somewhat ironic given Fred Flintstone was loosely based on Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners. SOMEONE at H-B musta really liked that show.
… the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was 17? Malala Yousafazi (born 1997) was given the prize in 2014 for her work as a child activist and champion of the rights of girls to get an education. (And it was a well-deserved prize, in my view.)
… the first McDonald’s™ restaurant to operate outside the U.S. opened in 1967? It was in Richmond, Canada, and it opened June 3 of that year. There are more than 36,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide, according to company figures. (You can’t escape them.)
… some chicken wings have no wing meat? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows use of the term “wyngz” to denote a food product shaped like a wing or bite-sized appetizer that has no actual wing meat. The “wyngz” must, however, contain white meat chicken and the packaging must specify that there is no wing meat. (Talk about getting around the rules!)
Now … you know!
So, wait…there IS a chicken wing conspiracy? Hack, I hereby retract my previous statements on this post. 🤣
It’s vast, but only applies to the right wing.
Happy Friday, you gents! Hope you all had a great week! Drats! Hack defeated me for 1st by a few seconds! Also, chicken wing conspiracy??? The conspiracy as to why I didn’t win is more compelling: I was groggy. Regardless, dwarf rats of the Cong to you Hack, rule honesty and justly for ~168 hours.
Anyway, nothing much going with me right now. Survived Critical Thinking class which only boiled down to thinking the Dims are the arbiters of Truth and Justice, but we all know that is hogwash. My dad is coming down to the Springs for a visit, so looking forward to that. St. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, which is highly commercialized and kinda a stupid holiday. But I might include a video today on the story and history of the holiday later. I’ll see.
And here is my continuation of my answers to a regressive liberal class using Objectivist/Libertarian/Classical Liberal logic:
How much trust do you think most Americans have in their government institutions? What issues do you think are most important to voters? Does public opinion influence leaders and politicians? Why or why not?
To answer this question, lets look at the Gallup Polls on trust by each government branch from late 2024 and 2025: Judicial Branch has 49% trust, Executive has 41%, and Legislative has 32%. Here’s a link to that poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/697421/trust-government-depends-upon-party-control.aspx#:~:text=Trends Links to an external site.. So, by this poll, it is fair to say that trust in the government by everyday Americans has trended downward for the past half century. And this trust level becomes more nuanced when you break it down by political affiliation among American (e.g. Republican voters have a high degree of trust in the Executive branch. Democrats, conversely, have very low trust in the Branch). This is also reflected in the issues voters have identified as a priority: Democracy in the USA, which is a top concern among Democrats. Immigration, which is a top concern among Republicans. One issue that has plurality among both groups is the economy. Currently, how the government tackle these issues also influences the trust issues. For example, Republicans are happy with the current agenda of this administration where it comes to immigration. Democrats are certainly not. And, finally, I do think public opinion affect the decisions of government leaders, but only provided that the leader in question is beholden to the will of the People and NOT the will of Lobbyist or special interest groups. This is a particular concern to both groups.
Define yellow journalism and explain its impact. How is it related to modern concepts like ‘fake news’ and ‘infotainment’?
Yellow journalism is the use of sensationalism to sell newspaper/stories by way of reporting “facts”/opinions that are difficult to independently verify as a fact, using speculation or rumor to craft a narrative, or just outright lying. Sounds similar to tabloids. A severe example of this is when Yellow Journalism helped get us into a war: The Spanish-American War. The USS Maine exploding in Havana Harbor was the final event, in a sequence, that led to the war and the Yellow journalists immediately blamed the Spanish. It wasn’t until 1976 that the truth was discovered: the Maine wasn’t lost due to enemy action. She was lost due to a fire in the coal bunker igniting the nearby ammo magazine. Now, in the journalist’s defense, there was no way for the Navy to conclusively confirm that at the time due to technological and evidence gathering limitations of the time. That and the US was already primed for war and the politics at the time wanted to avoid blaming the Navy. So, factually, war was already a forgone eventuality and the Maine sinking was the excuse. However, the journalists knew they had no idea what caused the Maine to sink and coming to their conclusion anyway was highly unethical. Now, how those relate to Infotainment and Fake News is complicated. With Infotainment, that is easier, as all you have to do is verify whether the news company is running on a “For-Profit” model to determine if it is simply infotainment.
Fake News is not so simple. Whilst it is an objective truth that several media companies report in a way that fits a corporate or ideological agenda (e.g. Nick Sandman vs CNN, Zachary Young vs CNN, Dr. Mahendra Amin v. NBCUniversal), I find it unwise to take a politician at their word that every single piece of negative news towards them is Fake News. Now for certain politicians, they can be mostly right and a majority of their negative coverage is mainly hit pieces. But I apply my prior position to every politician and the determination on whether a news piece is Fake News or not is up to the individual reader, using their own process for determining the validity of facts and evidence. That’s the way it’s always been. To determine truth through reason. And that is how it should stay.
How does Congress serve as a check on the Executive and Judicial branches of government? Do you think they are successful in fulfilling this essential role? Why or why not?
Some examples of powers Congress has that are a direct check to the powers of the Executive is the overriding of the President’s veto of a bill, Impeaching the President for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, and needing to confirm Cabinet appointments and appointments to the Supreme Court. The examples of direct checks Congress has to the powers of the Judiciary is having the power to create and disband inferior courts, Impeach Federal Judges, and being able to rewrite overruled laws in a manner that they are constitutional to the Supreme Court Decision that made the law unlawful. As for if Congress has recently been successful in the fulfilling of it’s constitutional roles, my answer is: it depends. Congress has acquiesced some of it’s powers to the Executive, like the power to declare war and to set tariffs, which are enumerated powers they have. But, they are still a functional political body, if, albeit, dysfunctional. They still control the checks the Constitution assigned to them and still execute them. Some great examples are the impeachments of Presidents Clinton and Trump. Doesn’t help their approval rating, but the Legislative Branch is working.
Think about the two main policy-oriented institutions in Washington, Congress and the President. Which of these institutions should take the lead in terms of policy? Which of these is a more democratic institution? Make sure to justify your answer.
That’s a hard one. Is it too much to suggest the Founders intended both the President and Congress to lead on national policy and being democratic? The two branches were designed to have shared powers, with Congress being able to write laws and have control of the coin purse and the President interacting with Congressional business by executing the laws they enact, using his position as party leader and Chief of State to influence national policy, and vetoing bills that run contrary that policy. This system of government is democratic and was designed in a way to balance the positives of Pure Democracy with the Republican value of Federalism. Who should lead shouldn’t be the question. It should be how can they work effectively together to execute national policy and the Will of the People.
My response to the 1st question was more information based than argument based. Got no real opinion on it.
My second one, I stand by my words.
Third, I become less and less confident in my conclusion with the passage of time.
Last one was a loaded question, so I think I navigated that one effectively.
Hope all of you have a great Holiday Weekend!
Present!
More Parz:
So much hate for the groundhog 😢:
For any of y’all who believe in reincarnation, avoid becoming this bird like the plague!:
Little guy also has adamantium bones:
Floridians, take note: even the trees want to kill you: