A tourist wanders into a back-alley antique shop in San Francisco's Chinatown. Picking through the objects on display he discovers a detailed, life-sized bronze sculpture of a rat. The sculpture is so interesting and unique that he picks it up and asks the shop owner what it costs.
"Twelve dollars for the rat, sir," says the shop owner, "and a thousand dollars more for the story behind it."
"You can keep the story, old man," he replies, "but I'll take the rat."
The transaction complete, the tourist leaves the store with the bronze rat under his arm. As he crosses the street in front of the store, two live rats emerge from a sewer drain and fall into step behind him. Nervously looking over his shoulder, he begins to walk faster, but every time he passes another sewer drain, more rats come out and follow him.
By the time he's walked two blocks, at least a hundred rats are at his heels, and people begin to point and shout. He walks even faster, and soon breaks into a trot as multitudes of rats swarm from sewers, basements, vacant lots, and abandoned cars. Rats by the thousands are at his heels, and as he sees the waterfront at the bottom of the hill, he panics and starts to run full tilt.
No matter how fast he runs, the rats keep up, squealing hideously, now not just thousands but millions, so that by the time he comes rushing up to the water's edge a trail of rats twelve city blocks long is behind him.
Making a mighty leap, he jumps up onto a light post, grasping it with one arm while he hurls the bronze rat into San Francisco Bay with the other, as far as he can heave it. Pulling his legs up and clinging to the light post, he watches in amazement as the seething tide of rats surges over the breakwater into the sea, where they drown.
Shaken and mumbling, he makes his way back to the antique shop.
"Ah, so you've come back for the story," says the owner.
"No," says the tourist, "I was wondering if you have a bronze politician."
Being a Browns fan takes a lot of Faith although I have been around awhile and seen some pretty Good teams. I send my grandkids old games off the internet ...
Babe, finding rooms can be tough. Book ahead! Lexington is beautiful around the reservoir. The motorcycle race weekends are packed. Any favorite races? Not sure what is still run. Good pit passes if you like that end of things. Go safe! Enjoy.
I don't think he is lying. That implies that he knows the truth and is purposely saying something different. I don't think he is smart enough to know that other countries have birthright citizenship.
Still millions of missing files/pages from the Epstein files. Trump allegations all hidden and removed.
Funny how people will believe there is a paedophile sex ring with the Clintons out of a basement of a Pizza joint in Washington DC - or how the Clintons assassinate political rivals .... but when it comes to something that slaps you in the face, a poem about shared secrets and a signature from Donny .... there is disbelief.
Just wondering out loud here. If spending money on cow fart capturing assistance for farmers is better than spending on research .... I wonder if the scope of the study actually includes research into the best and most efficient way to capture cow farts? Because who else is going to do it? Industry drives innovation ... but there is no great demand for cow fart capturing services/devices. Spending money helping farmers capture cow farts inefficiently or ineffectively helps no-one in the long run.
Just an idle thought reading the back and forth. Bottom line is I would bet that a miniscule fraction of the budget was anything related to cow farts. But it sure does make a nice headline.
Ohio State football has secured a commitment from 4-star offensive tackle Jimmy Kalis for its 2027 recruiting class. Kalis, a standout at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, is ranked as the No. 30 offensive tackle and No. 308 overall recruit in the nation according to 247Sports.
Why it matters Landing a highly-touted offensive line prospect like Kalis is a major recruiting win for Ohio State, which has built a reputation for developing elite talent on the offensive line. Kalis' commitment further bolsters the Buckeyes' 2027 class and keeps them competitive in recruiting against other top programs.
The details Kalis, listed at 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds, announced his commitment via Rivals' YouTube channel, with fireworks going off in his backyard as he broke the news. In addition to Ohio State, he held offers from schools like Texas and Georgia. Kalis was the starting left tackle for Central Catholic High School in 2025, helping the Vikings to a 13-2 record.
Kalis announced his commitment on April 17, 2026. The players Jimmy Kalis A 4-star offensive tackle from Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who is ranked as the No. 30 offensive tackle and No. 308 overall recruit in the 2027 class.
Todd Kalis Jimmy Kalis' father, who played in the NFL as an offensive lineman and was selected in the fourth round of the 1988 NFL Draft after playing college football at Arizona State.
Since this is a SCOTUS thread I thought I would just post this here. I'm wondering how anyone who espouses this kind of BS over the public airwaves could ever be an impartial juror on the SCOTUS?.............
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas blasts progressivism as threat to America
He said values in the Declaration of Independence have "fallen out of favor."
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Wednesday delivered a televised broadside against progressivism, a political philosophy he described as an existential threat to America and the principles that founded it 250 years ago.
“Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government,” Thomas said in a speech at the University of Texas Austin Law School pegged to the nation’s upcoming milestone birthday.
A spirit of “cynicism, rejection, hostility and animus” toward America -- by Americans -- has taken hold, Thomas said in remarks carried live on CSPAN.
Thomas, the Supreme Court’s senior conservative member, spoke broadly, not referencing specific contemporary events or political figures to make his case. But his comments come at a critical time for the sharply divided country and the Court.
He said that the values enshrined in the 1776 Declaration of Independence have “fallen out of favor” among Americans -- a trend perpetrated, he argued, by “intellectuals” and the nation’s colleges and universities.
Thomas also said he believes many people no longer believe “all men are created equal” and deserving of “unalienable rights” protected by a limited government.
“[Progressivism] holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God, but from government,” he said. “It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights.”
The 77-year-old justice was appointed by Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and is one of the longest-serving justices in history. He is a staunch conservative and has been a reliable vote in favor of the Trump administration's positions in cases.
Thomas said Washington has been overrun by elected and appointed officials who lack commitment to “righteous cause, to traditional morality, to national defense, to free enterprise, to religious piety or to the original meaning of the Constitution.”
“They recast themselves as Institutionalists, pragmatists or thoughtful moderates, all as a way of justifying their failures to themselves, their consciences, and their country,” he said.
Thomas called on Americans to stand up for their principles and endure personal "sacrifices," if necessary, to preserve the nation's democracy.
“In my view, we must find in ourselves that same level of courage that the signers of the Declaration have so that we can do for our future what they did for theirs,” he said.
I take it you haven't heard the latest? Those ships we heard about entering the region yesterday? They were brought in because trump is going to "blockade the Strait of Hormuz".........................
Live updates: Trump says he’ll direct the US Navy to blockade the Strait of Hormuz
U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would “immediately” begin a blockade to stop ships from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran peace talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Iran has demanded the right to collect tolls from vessels traveling through the strait, but Trump said no one who paid them would “have safe passage on the high seas.”
So trump claimed he wanted Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and now he says he is going to close it? You know, the exact same thing Iran is already doing which you claim they don't have the authority to do? So is your claim now that Iran has no authority in international waters but trump does?
Your claim was "As long as Iran continues to insist that they lay claim to international waters". I stated the circumstances were completely different but trying to state that changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to that of your own country isn't "laying claim to it" will be a very hard box to wiggle your way out of.
After consideration maybe I should have worded this differently concerning the Gulf of Mexico. Trump feels he has the authority to control renaming anything he wants in international waters.
I heard. The part you missed is the blockade is to stop ships leaving that have met Irans requirements...like being just ships that paid tolls or are friendly to the regime. We are simply meeting their blockade on one end of the strait with one of ours on the other. They aren't going to be in control of which ships enter and exit the strait.
I am torn on Myles, love him, hes been the one thing we have that keeps me excited every Sunday. If he stays great, but if someone comes with 3 ones+ I would hate losing him but the Browns could rebuild this thing much faster!
I believe the Browns feel that with this defense if they can have an improved offense they can contend in the AFC North. They need to finish the Oline rebuild and find some more weapons at receiver and hope that either Sanders can take a leap in his development or Watson somehow returns to 2020 form. If neither happens and the team gets off to another bad start to the season, I expect Garrett to get traded at the trade deadline. Many experts are saying the 2027 draft class has potential to be one of the best draft classes of all time. I do not see the Browns trading him before then because this draft class is not seen like that. There will be 3 receivers maybe more that will have a higher draft grade than Carnell Tate. Let's face it if Arch Manning were coming out this year, he would be #1 overall before Mendoza. Dante Moore will also be rated very high at QB and a few other QBs are viewed as 1st round talents at this time. That class is being viewed as being deep at the marquee positions QB, WR, and DE.
Mice hate peppermint and also ammonia will deter them (smells to them like cat pee)
I remember when I liked in Michigan. I must haver been 9 or 10. We got a mouse in, and set a trap. We caught it pretty quick. My mom couldn't take it out, so guess who had to do it. lol Never saw another though. We set further traps, but never had them go offf, or had the bait disappear.
