Patterico's Pontifications

6/18/2021

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:08 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Happy weekend! It’s a sweltering mess here as summer rudely announced itself ahead of schedule. Here are a few news items to talk about. Please feel free to share anything you think readers might be interested in and make sure to include links.

First news item

Politicians gonna politic:

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.) sent a fundraising email asking recipients to identify their support for “repealing strict and burdensome voter ID laws” just hours after he claimed he has “never been opposed to voter ID.”

Just hours earlier, NBC News published a report in which Warnock claimed he has “never been opposed to voter ID” and “in fact” does not “know anybody who is.”

Warnock, however, has attacked voter ID laws for years.

In 2018, he penned an Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion piece invoking Martin Luther King Jr. to chastise Georgia’s “unnecessary and discriminatory voter ID laws.” Two years earlier, Warnock gave a lecture lamenting “all of these voter suppression laws saying we’ve got to have voter ID laws because if we don’t they might vote twice,” adding, “Are you kidding?”

During a 2015 sermon, Warnock said “dealing with these voter ID laws … is not about voter verification, this is about voter suppression.” And in 2012, he labeled voter ID laws “unnecessary and unjustifiable,” according to the Augusta Chronicle.

Related:

Second news item

Catholic bishops get to work:

A committee of U.S. Catholic bishops is getting to work on a policy document that has stirred controversy among their colleagues before a word of it has even been written.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops overwhelmingly approved the drafting of a document “on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church” that some bishops hope will be a rebuke for politicians who support abortion rights but continue to receive Communion.

The 168-55 vote to proceed, vehemently opposed by a minority of bishops amid impassioned debate during virtual meetings, came despite appeals from the Vatican for a more cautious and collegial approach.

Here’s a good analysis.

Third news item

Hey, he was just another one of those tourists:

The Justice Department on Thursday released horrifying new police body camera footage from the January 6 assault on the US Capitol, after CNN and other outlets requested the tapes.

The footage was used in the case against Thomas Webster, a former Marine and retired police officer from the New York City Police Department accused of participating in the Capitol attack.
Prosecutors say that the 56-second tape shows Webster, wearing a red coat among a large crowd of pro-Trump rioters, screaming profanities at officers, threateningly wielding a flagpole, and finally rushing at the officers, who engaged in hand-to-hand combat with him and other members of the mob. One of the officers eventually wrestles away the flagpole, but Webster then tackles the cop to the ground.
In addition to the new video, photos in charging documents show Webster straddling and grabbing at the officer who was wearing the body camera and was thrown to the ground. He has been charged with seven federal crimes, including assaulting police, unlawfully entering Capitol grounds with a dangerous weapon and civil disorder. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Fourth news item

Mike Pence trying to get a word in edgewise:

Former Vice President Mike Pence was heckled with cries of “Traitor!” as he delivered a speech at the conservative Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Orlando, Florida. The booing and name-calling presumably came from Trump loyalists who are still sore that Pence chose not to subvert the election of President Joe Biden. Pence tweeted out clips of his speech that did not include the cacophony—which resulted in some people being escorted out of the event.

David French accurately notes:

“Faith and Freedom Coalition.” Those are Christian activists, and they’re heckling Trump’s own VP and loyal servant for four years (minus one day) because that one critical day he refused try to overturn an election and potentially destroy the American republic.

Fifth news item

Mexcico penalized:

Mexico’s national team will play its first two home matches in World Cup qualifying without spectators, a penalty for its fans’ use of an anti-gay chant during last spring’s pre-Olympic tournament in Guadalajara, the country’s soccer federation announced at a Mexico City news conference Friday.

The games Mexico will play behind closed doors are against Jamaica on Sept. 2 and Canada on Oct. 7. The federation was also fined $73,000 following an investigation by FIFA, the world governing body for soccer.

“What for some seemed to be fun, I have news for you. It isn’t,” Yon de Luisa, the president of the Mexican federation, said at the news conference. “Because of it we’re kept out of the stadium and kept away from our national team. Please stop. Stop now.”

Sixth news item

Kudos:

Opal Lee is 94, and she’s doing a holy dance.

It’s a dance she said she and her ancestors have been waiting 155 years, 11 months and 28 days to do.

Ever since Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, to spread the news of the Emancipation Proclamation outlawing slavery in Confederate states. President Abraham Lincoln had signed it more than two years earlier.

“And now we can all finally celebrate. The whole country together,” Lee told NPR minutes after a landslide House vote on Wednesday approving legislation establishing the day, now known as Juneteenth, as a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

President Biden signed the bill on Thursday, and Lee was standing beside him during the ceremony.

TCW is spot-on:

Seventh news item

Charles C.W. Cooke wonders if CCP leaders had written this piece on China’s alleged “staggering” success in fighting Covid that CNN journalists wrote, would it have read any differently?:

For those still reluctant, China has a powerful tool in its arsenal: a top-down, one-party system that is all-encompassing in reach and forceful in action, and a sprawling bureaucracy that can be swiftly mobilized.

The top-down approach has been touted by officials as a strength of the Chinese system that helped curb the virus — and has again been deployed to accelerate inoculations.

Breaking: The Chinese Communist Party is impressed by the way the Chinese Communist Party works.

Eighth news item

Ah:

Senate Democrats repeatedly claimed that Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett would strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — also known as Obamacare — if she was confirmed, but those predictions were proven false on Thursday.

Barrett voted with the majority in a 7-2 decision to uphold Obamacare on Thursday.

Have a great weekend.

–Dana

178 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (fd537d)

  2. I hate when the Church gets involved in politics. It invariably leads to corruption.

    Can they please finish cleaning up their sexual abuse problem and financial scandal problems first? Because, dude, huge freaking log in their eye there.

    Nic (896fdf)

  3. A man who drew a gun and put a protester in a headlock at a “Back The Blue” rally during the peak of police-brutality protests last year openly displayed anti-fascist sympathies, according to a confidential police bulletin circulated months later.

    “‘ANTIFA’ is a patch on the right shoulder of the subject,” reads the bulletin, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Beast.

    But the patch does not say “ANTIFA” at all. It’s a logo patch for the heavy metal band Anthrax.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/cops-confuse-anthrax-with-antifa-in-hunt-for-violent-protester

    Davethulhu (13b53b)

  4. Mexico’s national team will play its first two home matches in World Cup qualifying without spectators, a penalty for its fans’ use of an anti-gay chant during last spring’s pre-Olympic tournament in Guadalajara, the country’s soccer federation announced at a Mexico City news conference Friday.

    It’s interesting that Mexican fans insist that “puto,” a masculinization of the Spanish word for “whore,” is not a gay slur and instead is a cultural misunderstanding that the privileged white folks at FIFA cannot comprehend. I’m almost rooting for them to get away with it in the name of perfect wokeness. Let all of the spent pieces of jet-setting Eurotrash from FIFA, the louche princes from defunct royal courts, explain why they are cracking down on indigenous peoples who were ruthlessly colonized by white European conquerors who now presume to judge brown people who have been exploited.

    But I just hope that one of those home games that Mexico has to play in an empty stadium is against our squad.

    JVW (9865b6)

  5. Can they please finish cleaning up their sexual abuse problem and financial scandal problems first? Because, dude, huge freaking log in their eye there.

    I’m not familiar with the concept that an organization doesn’t get to comment on their own internal policies unless they are pure as the driven snow. Are you trying to suggest that the Catholic Church can’t determine if a communicant is worthy of receiving a sacrament unless and until they have had a perfect record on all other matters of interest? And to what other organizations do you apply this strict and unyielding protocol, out of curiosity?

    JVW (9865b6)

  6. The booing and name-calling presumably came from Trump loyalists who are still sore that Pence chose not to subvert the election of President Joe Biden.

    Presumably is carrying a lot of water there. Oh, wait, David French “confirmed” it.

    The tweet French is opining over it says “some of whom appear to be chanting”. So, he “accurately noted” something that may not have actually happened. And it sounds like the daily beast is doing what you’re doing, i.e. upgrading this based on confirmation bias.

    frosty (bec6f7)

  7. Another defeat for Putin?

    One of his agents may have been neutralized in Japan.

    Glenn Greenwald will be disappointed, as will other Putin fans.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  8. Jim Miller (edcec1) — 6/19/2021 @ 5:10 am

    And Biden smiled

    frosty (bec6f7)

  9. It’s interesting that Mexican fans insist that “puto,” a masculinization of the Spanish word for “w[]e,” is not a gay slur and instead is a cultural misunderstanding that the privileged white folks at FIFA cannot comprehend.

    “Puto” is a gay slur only to the same extent that “gay” is a slur. It’s mostly used as “sneaky”, “underhanded”, “treacherous”, and “dishonorable”, and “not very nice” too. Like its origin. It could very well mean a dirty player.

    How did it all start, anyway? The fans thought some sissyboy on the other team was “diving” (feigning injury) or fouling a lot?

    nk (1d9030)

  10. Or maybe not. I just stepped out for a cigarette and saw something again that I was not sure I was seeing the other day. But I did! I did! I did taw a Jeep flying a rainbow Puerto Rican flag alongside a regular Puerto Rican flag!

    nk (1d9030)

  11. Dana’s linked article regarding the Eucharist and political positions on abortion brought up a couple of interesting points. First, opposition to abortion but support of capital punishment does create a glaring quandary. Yes, there is a difference between a innocent life and a guilty life, but does Catholic teaching on life draw such a distinction….and is it consistent with its teachings on forgiveness and redemption? The story of the woman caught in adultery (John 7) didn’t end with Jesus putting the adulterer to death (OK, the story…though great…appears to have been added by scribes after the earliest versions of John but it captures a sentiment that most Christians would still ascribe to Jesus and Christianity).

    Second, it will be odd if Biden will be denied the Eucharist in the U.S. (he won’t), but could then receive it from the pope in Rome. It will certainly make the entire action look especially political at a point when the Catholic Church needs to be winning back trust and healing wounds. Yes, one could argue that watering down the canon is ultimately a losing proposition….and that it’s still a sin to enable others to sin….but what are the effects of splitting the Church? This pope is at his heart a progressive….with income inequality at the forefront of his message….along with climate change and compassion toward immigrants. One might argue that there is some picking and choosing going on here…

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  12. This could be a “woman driver” joke if the poor guy had not died:

    A police officer in Ohio is on leave after dashcam video showed her patrol cruiser running over a shooting victim, who died shortly afterward, officials said.

    Springfield police Officer Amanda Rosales was behind the wheel of an SUV cruiser Sunday night when the vehicle ran over Eric Cole, 42, according to video from inside the cruiser.

    Cole, a Black man, was lying on his back in the street and bleeding heavily from wounds to his left arm and his left shoulder, police said.

    No, you racists, it could not be a “black man at night” on the pavement joke. He was wearing a white t-shirt and faded blue-jean cutoffs, and he was in her headlights.

    nk (1d9030)

  13. https://nypost.com/2021/06/17/bidens-death-tax-threatens-to-hit-new-yorkers-especially-hard/

    Biden truly believes that all your assets belong to the government. His new death tax treats all inheritance as a capital gain which taxed at the highest rate of 39.6% would be in top of all previous state and federal estate taxes.
    Enjoy having saved for a lifetime so all your gains can go to the government and your heirs will be paupers.

    Seems worth it, right?

    NJRob (2ef548)

  14. I would like to make a request, especially of the parents here, to pray for the repose of the soul of young Max Germain (16), who died suddenly last week.

    Max’s parents have brought 10 beautiful children into the world, and their family became a pillar of the new Ukrainian Greek Catholic parish of Sts. Joachim and Anna (Joachim and Anna were, of course, the parents of Mary, mother of Jesus, so the grandparents of Jesus, “the holy and righteous ancestors of God,” as the liturgy’s final blessing says).

     The new parish was created in 2015 at the request of about a dozen area Catholics, some of Ukrainian background but others not of Ukrainian background, yet sharing with the Ukrainians an affection for the beautiful Byzantine liturgy with its austere mystical spirituality.

     Soon the dozen parishioners became 25, then doubled to 50, then doubled again to 100, exceeding many expectations.

     Today, for Max’s funeral, more than 250 were present, standing room only, and the church groaned, seemingly about to burst its seams.

    Here is a link to the beautiful Funeral Mass, sung by the members (they have no choir) themselves.

    felipe (484255)

  15. AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/19/2021 @ 5:57 am

    Traditional catholic catechism contains some theological problems for abortion that don’t exist for capital punishment. Whatever quandary exists created by taking different positions on those issues isn’t particularly catholic or theological.

    You’ve got a point though. Francis needs to get these guys focused on marketing. That whole “rock” thing is too 18th century. You’ve got to move to the market, be flexible, be willing to change things up and keep people interested. It’s all about customer demand.

    frosty (bec6f7)

  16. felipe (484255) — 6/19/2021 @ 7:10 am

    Thank you for sharing that

    frosty (bec6f7)

  17. Is there any reason Biden is currently permitting Independence Day celebrations everywhere except for Mount Rushmore?

    It does take time to plan a celebration.

    NJRob (a2d55d)

  18. May the child rest in peace and my condolences to his parents and siblings.

    nk (1d9030)

  19. God bless this little one and may He accept Max’s soul into the Kingdom for eternity.

    NJRob (a2d55d)

  20. The ultra-secularists have it exactly backwards. It is none of the public sphere’s business what churches demand of their members. Not none of the churches’ business how their members behave in the public sphere.

    nk (1d9030)

  21. 11, I thought the island people did beisbol, no es-sock-her and I wonder if the backstory to your #13 wasnt similar to the blonde Dallas cop “accidently” walking into that black dudes apartment…I know Ohio too well

    urbanleftbehind (59f18a)

  22. Frosty: “Traditional catholic catechism contains some theological problems for abortion that don’t exist for capital punishment.”

    “On August 2, 2018, the Vatican announced that it had formally changed the official Catechism of the Catholic Church on the death penalty, calling capital punishment “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and deeming it “inadmissible” in all cases.”

    Yeah, I see what you’re saying….or maybe “traditional” is doing your heavy lifting

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  23. NJRob (a2d55d) — 6/19/2021 @ 7:27 am

    The phrase

    [POTUS] is currently permitting Independence Day celebrations

    isn’t something I ever expected to see.

    frosty (bec6f7)

  24. AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/19/2021 @ 7:41 am

    There are still some theological issues that exist for abortion that don’t for capital punishment and they’re not something a simple update will get around.

    The word some and problems (plural) are helping. But maybe knowing some catholic theology is what’s doing most of the heavy lifting.

    frosty (bec6f7)

  25. “still some theological issues that exist for abortion”

    Begs the question….vague and unpersuasive

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  26. Presumably is carrying a lot of water there. Oh, wait, David French “confirmed” it.

    MSM confirmed the booing and calling Pence “traitor”, not just French. The only folks who’ve been calling Pence a “traitor” since 1/6 are the most ardent members of Cult Trump, which says something about the so-called Christians who showed at this “conservative conference”.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  27. Executions, though lawful under civil law, were considered as profane as any other homicide, making both the executioner and the place of execution “unclean”, among civilized people, Jews and pagans, even before Christian times. We can let the priests thread that needle in modern times too, I think.

    nk (1d9030)

  28. Nic (896fdf) — 6/18/2021 @ 10:07 pm

    “I hate…”

    Well, your hatred aside, I commend you on admitting your corruption. That is a good first step.

    The USCCB gathered to discuss the scandal of Catholic pols who publicly act against Catholic teaching, going to a Catholic Mass, and presenting themselves to receive the Eucharist. This is a religious matter, not a political matter.

    If freedom of religion is explicitly in our Constitution, why do only the secular get to publicly unify their beliefs with political action?

    felipe (484255)

  29. JVW (9865b6) — 6/19/2021 @ 12:11 am

    Well said, sir. Points for understanding this culture.

    felipe (484255)

  30. What else happened this week? Oh, right: Biden delayed an arms sale to Ukraine for purely political reasons. I’ve been assured this is an impeachable offense.

    edoc118 (9fddab)

  31. Surprise: McCloskeys plead out, surrender firearms
    Pardon me? “It’s a good day for the McCloskeys,” Mark McCloskey declared after entering a plea deal. That might be news to some who supported Mark and Patricia McCloskey for defending their home against demonstrators. After what appeared to be a series of wins against prosectors, a pardon pledge from the governor, and the husband’s exploration of a Senate run, the plea deal seemed to come out of nowhere:

    …….
    Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and will pay a $2,000 fine. Her husband, Mark, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat from Missouri, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and will pay a $750 fine.

    As part of the plea deal, Ms. McCloskey gave up the Bryco handgun she brandished during the June 2020 confrontation, and Mr. McCloskey agreed to relinquish ownership of the weapon he used, an AR-15 rifle. Neither will face jail time under the plea deal.

    …….. The McCloskeys had insisted all along that they acted in self-defense and that the crowd had already threatened them at the time. They claimed that people in the crowd had pointed guns at their house and that they had broken a gate to gain access.

    If that was the case, then the McCloskeys didn’t violate the law. The plea deal suggests that the McCloskeys may have *ahem* exaggerated the threat to themselves and their property. Even more curiously, they already had the misdemeanor charges as an out. Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms noted last month that special prosecutor Richard Callahan (who took over the case after Kim Gardner was disqualified) added the misdemeanor counts to the felony indictment to give the jury a chance to find guilt on lesser charges instead. If the crowd was threatening them, why not give the jury a chance to acquit? Especially with Governor Mike Parson pledging to pardon them no matter what happened?

    It’s a strange turn of events, which Cam didn’t see coming either:

    I confess that I didn’t see this plea deal coming. With the governor assuring the pair of a pardon, and Mark McCloskey’s senate campaign in full swing, I saw the trial as an opportunity for McCloskey to get a lot of free press coverage without running the risk of actually going to jail or prison if he and his wife were convicted. It’s one thing to run for Senate on a campaign of “I stood up to the mob and stood my ground when I was prosecuted for it.” It’s something else entirely to base your campaign message on “I stood up to the mob but took a plea deal because it was in my best interest to do so.”

    …………

    “America is at a crossroads. Do we want to preserve our traditions and our way of life, or do we want the cancel culture mobs to destroy everything we’ve built? After traveling across the great state of Missouri over the past 11 months, it’s clear Missourians want a fighter in the US Senate,” (McCloskey) said in the announcement last month.

    So much for being a fighter, he wimped out. .

    Rip Murdock (2975ef)

  32. AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/19/2021 @ 7:58 am

    2267 uses the term inadmissible and references a new one understanding. This is a section that has changed and can change again since it’s based on more effective systems of detention.

    On the other hand, 2270, 2271, and 2272 uses words like absolutely, moral evil of every procured abortion, and has not changed and remains unchangeable. This should tell you there’s a little more going on.

    You tried to wave it away in your original comment but killing the unborn isn’t just an issue of the murder of the innocent but the murder of the unbaptized. That creates a problem with 1257 that does not apply to capital punishment.

    You really thought that was vague?

    frosty (226bff)

  33. The Bryco pistol should tell you everything you need to know about those people. “Cheap-sh!t pot metal Saturday night special good only for shooting its owner by accident and you can’t even count on it for that” does not begin to describe it.

    nk (1d9030)

  34. Gallup: Stable U.S. Moral Ratings Obscure Big Partisan Shifts
    …….
    Americans’ rating of current moral values worsened slightly this year, according to the May 3-18 survey, at the same time their outlook for those values improved slightly. As a result, there is no change in Gallup’s overall moral values index, which is a composite of the two measures.

    This stability, however, masks significant changes in Democrats’ and Republicans’ perceptions of U.S. values between 2020 and 2021. Democrats are much less negative about moral values today than they were a year ago. Conversely, Republicans’ views of U.S. moral values have sunk to record lows.

    After dipping to 40% in 2020, the percentage of Americans describing moral values in the U.S. as “poor” has returned to 47%, matching the 2019 reading and similar to perceptions since 2017.…….
    ………
    ……..Meanwhile, fewer have described morals as only fair, and the percentages rating them as excellent or good have remained consistently low.

    ……. Today, 67% are pessimistic about how values are changing, similar to the 68% found in 2020. However, Americans were significantly more likely to say values were getting worse in most years from 2004 to 2019, including a high of 82% in 2007.
    …….. The percentage of Republicans calling values “poor” rose from 40% in 2020 to 66% today — easily the highest percentage of Republicans viewing values this negatively since the inception of the trend in 2002.
    ……
    The 27% of Republicans now calling U.S. moral values “only fair,” and the 7% regarding them as “excellent” or “good,” are at record lows.

    Similarly, the 92% of Republicans now saying moral values are getting worse is the highest Gallup has recorded, well above the average 81% since 2002 and edging out the 90% recorded in 2007. ……..

    The percentage of Democrats describing U.S. morals as poor fell to 30% in the latest poll, from 42% in 2020. The percentage rating them as only fair rose nine percentage points to 47%, while the percentage rating them as excellent or good is unchanged at 22%.
    ……..
    …….. Democrats are exhibiting record-high optimism about the direction of moral values, with 46% saying they are improving and just under half (49%) saying they are getting worse. This is a marked shift from 2020 when two-thirds thought moral values were getting worse. Until now, no more than 36% of Democrats had said moral values were getting better, with that previous high point recorded in 2009.
    ……..
    Poll details.

    Rip Murdock (2975ef)

  35. which says something about the so-called Christians who showed at this “conservative conference”.

    It tells us that those pious folk are morally offended by any lapse in reverence for their deity.

    Radegunda (33a224)

  36. “And now we can all finally celebrate. The whole country together,” Lee told NPR

    This is correct. Juneteenth celebrates the moment when the country finally confirmed in law that “all men are created equal … endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights,” beginning with the right not to be owned as chattel by other people.

    This is so utterly basic — people should not enslave other human beings, and certainly not in a nation “founded on liberty” — that only political bad faith or rank racism could portray it as divisive.

    Radegunda (33a224)

  37. In the good old days, before all you needed to do was reach towards your waist — and even before the cop thought your cellphone was a gun, that long ago — cops would confiscate them from the usual suspects, and instead of inventorying them would carry them in ankle holsters as “drop guns” in case they shot some unarmed person.

    nk (1d9030)

  38. It’s quaint to have two ‘independence days.’ Or two of anything.

    Isn’t it.

    “South Africa has two, that’s right; one for the black and one for the white.” – Tom Lehrer ‘Who’s Next’ ‘Tat Was The Year That Was’ 1965

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  39. “What else happened this week? Oh, right: Biden delayed an arms sale to Ukraine for purely political reasons. I’ve been assured this is an impeachable offense.”

    Interesting. Which political opponent is Biden trying to get dirt on with this ploy?

    Davethulhu (13b53b)

  40. Monmouth Poll: Biden Spending Plans Remain Popular but presidential job rating takes a dip
    ……..
    (President) Biden currently holds a job rating of 48% approve and 43% disapprove. This is down from his 54% approve and 41% disapprove rating in April. The president gets a positive rating from 86% of Democrats (down from 95%), 36% of independents (down from 47%), and 19% of Republicans (up from 11%). Prior Biden approval levels registered 51% in March and 54% in January.
    ……..
    Biden’s large spending plans remain broadly popular, including the Covid stimulus plan passed early in his term (60% support), his proposed infrastructure package (68%), and his proposal to expand access to health care, college, paid leave and other services (61%). The current results are nearly identical to prior polls taken this year.

    Just under half (46%) say these proposed plans should be passed as is, even if they do not get bipartisan support. This position is held by 80% of Democrats, but just 36% of independents and 18% of Republicans agree. Another 22% of Americans say the plans should be significantly cut to get backing from both parties and 24% say they should not be passed at all even with bipartisan support.
    ……..
    A central economic criticism of Biden’s plans is that the spending will lead to spiraling inflation. Most Americans express some level of concern that these plans could lead to inflation, including nearly half (47%) who are very concerned about this possibility and 24% who are somewhat concerned. Those who are at least somewhat concerned about prices rising due to the proposed spending include majorities of Republicans (93%), independents (70%), and Democrats (55%).
    ……..
    About 1 in 5 (19%) Americans say middle-class families have benefited from Biden’s policies a lot and another 32% say they have benefited a little, while 36% say the middle class have not benefited at all. These results are less positive than when Biden first took office. In January, 30% of the public expected the middle class would benefit a lot from his policies, 39% said a little, and 27% said not at all. The current results on this question are not much different than during most of his predecessor’s term.………
    ……..
    The poll also finds the public’s job rating for Congress has dropped to 21% approve and 65% disapprove from 35% approve and 56% disapprove in April. Congressional approval had been hovering between 30% and 35% since Biden took office. The current reading is in line with Monmouth polls through most of the Trump years…….
    ………

    Rip Murdock (2975ef)

  41. Banished and later dead from a broken heart… teh Curse of Bad Touch Biden…

    Champ, 13, American dog, presidential pet (since 2021) has moved on to that great kennel in the sky…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  42. It’s quaint to have two ‘independence days.’ Or two of anything.

    It’s bizarre to suggest that celebrating the ending of slavery, a practice that inflicted cruel inequality on a part of the population, is somehow like segregation.

    American independence from monarchical “tyranny” still left many people under a grosser form of tyranny. Conservatives have typically argued that the logic of personal emancipation was written into the Declaration of Independence and that it just needed time to come into fruition. From that perspective there should be no objection to declaring a second Independence Day to mark the time it finally did.

    Maybe the holiday could have been called Emancipation Day to avoid confusion. But I suspect that many people quibbling about the name might have some deeper objection to the principle.

    Radegunda (33a224)

  43. Yes, there is a difference between a innocent life and a guilty life, but does Catholic teaching on life draw such a distinction….and is it consistent with its teachings on forgiveness and redemption?

    Our late beloved Pope, Saint John Paul II, declared that “abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being.” Note the inclusion of the word “innocent” in there. While the Church does indeed oppose capital punishment, John Paul II specifically taught that abortion is morally repugnant because we have a sacred duty to protect the most vulnerable among us, and nobody is more vulnerable than a child in the womb. So attempts to conflate abortion and capital punishment in Church teaching and to place them both on the same plane is always grossly misleading, and to answer your question, yes, the Church does indeed draw a strong distinction between the two even though they are both prohibited by Church doctrine.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  44. German Shepherd Champ
    it’s true obama ate dogs
    Joe kicks ‘em to curb

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  45. teh Curse of Bad Touch Biden…

    Champ was loved by the Bidens for 13 years. There’s nothing unusual about a dog — especially a large one — leaving this mortal coil at that age.

    I suppose the Trump doggos have all lived to the venerable age of 17 or 18 …. oh wait. The Great, Wise, Compassionate Hero of The People thinks “dog” is just a useful slur against anyone who hurts his ego.
    He can’t love a dog, or any other animal, because it wouldn’t be advantageous to him.

    Radegunda (33a224)

  46. I guess if you’re the leaders of a religion with a declining membership and a serious see-no-evil problem when it comes to cilld-sexual abuse, the correct move is to alienate more people by aligning yourself more closely with an entho-nationalist party in decline itself.

    As folks in my industry sometimes say, tying two bricks together doesn’t make them float.

    Whatever, I guess if they want to be the US version of the religion to be limited to latinos and the white revanchists who look down on them, they can do that.

    john (cd2753)

  47. I guess if you’re the leaders of a religion with a declining membership and a serious see-no-evil problem when it comes to cilld-sexual abuse, the correct move is to alienate more people by aligning yourself more closely with an entho-nationalist party in decline itself.

    As opposed to Protestant denominations who have jumped fully aboard the bandwagon on abortion, women as clergy, gay rights, and trendy social justice matters only to see membership in their progressive sects absolutely plummet over the past seventy years? It always amazes me when lefties declare that the Church needs to bend the knee to modernity when all of the available evidence is that it has absolutely hollowed out Protestantism in this country and in Europe.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  48. Biden dog ‘Champ’ dead at 13.

    Does this mean Champ will replace Beau in his ‘Joe Woe’ spiels?

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  49. @JVW@6 I’m saying that they are playing politics when they have actual problems to work out. The USCCB is notorious for playing in politics and it isn’t even being particularly shy that it’s doing so (as admitted to in the article Dana linked).

    @AJ@12 If one is truly a proponent of seamless garment (life is from conception to natural death) theology, then, yes, the death penalty is just as much an issue as abortion. There are some historic ways they are treated differently, mostly due to community safety concerns, but as the Pope has said, those aren’t concerns in a modern society with the ability to imprison an offender on a long term basis and so the death penalty is an evil. OTOH, the government (of, by, for the people) is the entity putting someone to death in the case of the death penalty, while in abortion in the US the government is allowing someone else to chose to have an abortion, so a citizen’s participation in the death penalty is much more direct than it would be in an abortion (even if governmental funds might be used in the abortion, since they are definitely used in the death penalty). There are a number of Catholics on the right who choose to ignore or dismiss this problem (the USCCB tends to have this problem as well.)

    @29 Do you deny that attempts to gain or maintain political power have lead to corruption in the Church on an ongoing basis throughout the history of the Church? The USCCB is creating scandal by going against the instructions of the Pope and their “guidance” in the document is a political statement, as admitted by a number of members of the USCCB (it also doesn’t actually mean that Catholic politicians who are pro-choice can’t take communion, that’s still up to their Bishop).

    @33 “murder of the unbaptized” isn’t really the problem. According to the Church, God is a God of mercy and can directly grant salvation, even in the absence of baptism. (the Sacraments aren’t Magick, they don’t force anything on God or limit Him).

    Nic (896fdf)

  50. “a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being”

    And yet all indications are that the Conference of Catholic Bishops is not in favor of holding the woman criminally accountable…at all. Abortion is rhetorically an “abomination”, “murder”, the sum total a “genocide”, comfortably equated with “infanticide”….freely sought by predominantly adult women of right mind….but which merits less than the sanction for a rolling through a stop sign. When there is a serious disconnect between the gravity of moral condemnation and legal penalty, one or the other should give. Either the rhetoric is too severe or the law is too lenient. Or, a third possibility: Grave as the moral fault may be, it is not something that can fall under legal restraint.

    Don’t get me wrong…the Catholic moral argument against abortion is compelling….it’s not as simple as making any “choice”, like between chocolate and vanilla…it’s just that there is an intimacy question that is different from any other other human moral interaction question…where we can separate the “persons” involved. You cannot separate the fetus from the woman who is desperately not ready…emotionally and/or maybe economically….and still protect that fetus. Now you might argue that she willingly engaged the procreative act…and this is the consequence. But do the Catholic Bishops give a moral exception for rape or incest…..where the intimacy of pregnancy is compelled by forced intimacy? Violence against the innocent fetus is never authorized. Rick Santorum excluded….most Catholics part ways at this point….meaning the moral imperative once again bends.

    Most are also compassionate about issues relating to the health of the mother….so if teh woman’s life is in danger, an abortion is permitted….and this then takes us into the gray area of risk statistics…and mental health….and the extended realm of economic well being. All pregnancies carry some risk…yet only one individual is asked to absorb those risks….and in many cases the costs. It’s not an equal protection dunk by any means, but it’s also not an argument that can be casually disregarded. Does the state really need to be the decider? I’m not so sure…

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  51. The British cartoonist Matt (Pritchett) is worth a look from time to time. For example.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  52. Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/19/2021 @ 8:04 am

    which says something about the so-called Christians who showed at this “conservative conference”.

    Says what about who exactly? The so-called Christians, as you say, who ejected the hecklers or cheered Pence? Is that un-Christian and somehow un-Conservative?

    frosty (226bff)

  53. AJ – I could be wrong on this, but I believe that the Catholic Church does allow abortion when necessary to save the life of the mother. (And, as I understand it, there are some rare medical conditions where it is necessary.)

    Again, I could be wrong on this, but I believe that the 1980 Republican platform added two exceptions to that: rape and incest, and those three have been in platforms since.

    (For the record: I probably should add that my own views on this subject have shifted over the years, moving in the pro-life direction — mostly because of the arguments made by pro-choice people. Now, for example, I would discourage, and perhaps even ban, most abortions after viability.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  54. Pence would have been unsuccessful had he tried to do what Trump wanted. His ruling would have been appealed and have been struck down 87-13. Then he might have been charged with treason, as Trump should be.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  55. Don’t get me wrong…the Catholic moral argument against abortion is compelling….it’s not as simple as making any “choice”, like between chocolate and vanilla…

    Except it is.

    Freedom of choice is a b-tch to ideological conservatism.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  56. For those still reluctant, China has a powerful tool in its arsenal: a top-down, one-party system that is all-encompassing in reach and forceful in action, and a sprawling bureaucracy that can be swiftly mobilized.

    For much the same reasons, Nazi Germany was effective in solving their ethnic minority problems.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  57. bidens-death-tax-threatens-to-hit-new-yorkers-especially-hard

    Not going to pass.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  58. Memo to Pantsuit Queenie:

    No trip the border yet; no meeting of the Space Council yet. WTF do you do after delegating your Senate responsibilities and not the standby nurse at Squinty McStumblebum pressers? Cook cheeseballs?

    Get your fat, lazy caramel ass in gear and do some frigging work.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  59. So much for being a fighter, he wimped out. .

    No, he chose discretion. In the future, when asked if he’s been convicted of a felony he can say “NO” instead of “Yes, but I was pardoned.” Which would you choose?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  60. A central economic criticism of Biden’s plans is that the spending will lead to spiraling inflation.

    Biden’s own Treasury Secretary thinks it will lead to inflation. So does the Fed.

    This spending would be far less popular if respondants were told that it would raise their taxes (instead of that guy over there behind the tree).

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  61. “South Africa has two, that’s right; one for the black and one for the white.”

    That was A-bombs, not independence days.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  62. Interesting. Which political opponent is Biden trying to get dirt on with this ploy?

    Trump?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  63. Morning Consult Poll: Why Trump’s Continued Focus on 2020 Has Some Republican Strategists Worried About 2022
    ……..
    New Morning Consult/Politico polling reveals that a large chunk of the GOP voter base is following his backward-looking lead — with just over half saying they believe that the reviews could overturn 2020’s results.

    Three in four Republican voters (74 percent) said they support state-level efforts to review the 2020 presidential election results, and another 51 percent think the reviews will uncover information that will change the election’s outcome. The results follow another survey which found that roughly 3 in 10 Republicans say it’s at least somewhat likely that Trump will be reinstated as president this year…….
    …………

    Poll excerpts:
    Right/Wrong Track: 47/53 (Registered Voters (RV))
    ……
    Biden Approval (overall) 53/42
    Economy: 47/44
    Jobs: 50/40
    Health care: 47/39
    Immigration: 37/53
    Climate change/Environment: 47/37
    Energy: 47/39
    National security: 45/42
    Guns: 39/46
    Pandemic: 61/33
    Foreign policy: 43/31

    Voters Top Issues:
    Economy: 39%
    National Security: 16%
    Medicare/Social Security: 13%
    Health care: 12%
    Energy: 5%
    Education: 4%
    ………
    Support Biden infrastructure plan: 55/33
    Support Biden economic plan: 56/34
    Immigration:
    Crisis: 50%
    Problem, not a crisis: 32%
    Neither: 8%
    ………
    Do you support or oppose current state efforts to review the 2020 presidential election results?
    Support/Oppose: 45/41 (RV)
    Democrats-23% (Support)
    Republicans-74% (Support)

    Do you think these reviews of the 2020 presidential election results will uncover any information that will change the outcome of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election?
    Yes/No: 30/57 (RV)
    Democrats-16% (Yes)
    Republicans-51% (Yes)
    ……..
    U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) recently posted this statement on Twitter: ’Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.’ Would you say that this tweet is
    Anti-Semitic: 60%
    Not anti-Semitic: 24%
    ………
    Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) recently posted this statement on Twitter: ’We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.’ Would you say that this tweet is
    Anti-Semitic: 47%
    Not anti-Semitic: 27%
    ………
    Approval of:
    Donald Trump: 43/54 (Registered voters)
    Republicans: 83/16
    …..
    Congressional Republicans 38/52 (RV)
    Republicans: 77/19

    Congressional Democrats: 43/48 (RV)
    Democrats: 86/10
    …….
    Joe Biden: 52/45
    Democrats: 91/8
    Republicans: 13/85

    Kamala Harris: 46/46
    Democrats: 85/11
    Republicans: 9/87
    ……..
    Vladimir Putin: 9/70
    Democrats: 7/77
    Republicans: 11/67
    ………

    Rip Murdock (80e6b4)

  64. The so-called Christians, as you say, who ejected the hecklers or cheered Pence?

    I suppose the people who carried “Trump” banners and wore MAGA hats and chanted “Hang Mike Pence” on 1/6 weren’t real Trump supporters either.

    Radegunda (33a224)

  65. @JVW@6 I’m saying that they are playing politics when they have actual problems to work out. The USCCB is notorious for playing in politics and it isn’t even being particularly shy that it’s doing so (as admitted to in the article Dana linked).

    Who exactly “admitted” that the USCCB is playing politics? The person quoted in the article accusing them of politicking is not a member of the USCCB; he’s a professor at DePaul which is frankly becoming a Catholic-in-name-only sort of college, like far too many of its peer institutions. And even then, the professor is quoted claiming that the impact of this is political, not necessarily the intent. I’m not sure I find his opinion to be particularly credible, but it certainly is not an “admission” of anything unless you think that third-party observers are qualified to make this sort of determination on behalf of others. Sorry, Nic, but your slander on the USCCB can’t possibly be backed up with objective facts based upon this lazy AP story.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  66. Politico sucks
    Used to be verboten here
    before rock-ribness

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  67. Quite a bigoted take there, john. Be proud.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  68. Nic (896fdf) — 6/19/2021 @ 11:36 am

    @33 “murder of the unbaptized” isn’t really the problem.

    I didn’t say it was the problem. I said it is a problem capital punishment doesn’t have. The unborn are un-baptizable by any means I’m aware of. Given the existence of 1261 (children who have died without Baptism) I don’t think 1258 (Baptism of blood) applies. This is a theological issue that is not easy to dismiss.

    According to the Church, God is a God of mercy and can directly grant salvation, even in the absence of baptism. (the Sacraments aren’t Magick, they don’t force anything on God or limit Him).

    This is consistent with 1257 but 1257 also maintains that baptism is necessary to salvation.

    Murdering the innocent and hoping God has a plan B doesn’t seem like something Roman Catholics can endorse and also be consistent with their faith. .

    frosty (226bff)

  69. @52: I think that the question the Catholics are wrestling with deals solely with Communion. At what point can or should a Catholic be denied Communion, based on their acts? Is a Catholic president who vetoes a law than limits abortions denying Church teachings? And if so, should the Church take notice?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  70. Support Biden infrastructure plan: 55/33
    Support Biden economic plan: 56/34

    This is flipping amazing since no one, not even Biden, knows what these are? Tell them their payroll taxes will go up and see what they say? Right now it’s all “Do you like free stuff?”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  71. The phrase

    [POTUS] is currently permitting Independence Day celebrations

    isn’t something I ever expected to see.

    Most urban jurisdictions ban fireworks.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  72. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) recently posted this statement on Twitter: ’Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.’ Would you say that this tweet is
    Anti-Semitic: 60%
    Not anti-Semitic: 24%

    I don’t find Rep. Greene’s statement to be “anti-semitic,” which is defined by Merriam-Webster as “feeling or showing hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a cultural, racial, or ethnic group.” I find her statement to be stupid, shallow, and woefully ignorant of history, but I don’t see where she set out to “show hostility toward or discriminat[e] against Jews” with it. If there is an accepted definition of “anti-semitism” which includes being grossly insensitive to the Jewish people then I’ll reconsider my opinion here.

    I kind of feel the same about Rep. Omar’s statement. Like that from her colleague from Georgia, Rep. Omar’s statement was stupid, shallow, and woefully ignorant of history. When Rep. Omar questions whether American Jews are more loyal to the U.S. or Israel or asserts that their loyalties are “all about the Benjamins” then yes, that’s grossly anti-semitic and the recycling of a hateful trope (as in its own way is the space lasers nonsense from Rep. Greene, though admittedly that stupid conspiracy was limited to the Rothschilds and not applied generally to Jews as a people). But when Rep. Omar declares that the U.S. and Israel are as bad as Hamas then she’s just following in a long line of left-wing idiots who insist that we’re no better than Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, the Soviet Union, North Korea, Communist China, Cuba, the Taliban, etc. Fortunately for both these women, it’s not yet a crime to be fantastically stupid while serving in Congress.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  73. Radegunda (33a224) — 6/19/2021 @ 12:45 pm

    I think you missed the point there but I’ll play along.

    So, all the whiners telling R’s to clean house and get these Trumpers under control are just whinny little dishonest whiners who are going to keep whining whether the house gets cleaned or not?

    frosty (226bff)

  74. Fortunately for both these women, it’s not yet a crime to be fantastically stupid while serving in Congress.

    One should be required to take (and pass) a comprehensive Civics/History test before they can be elected to Congress. These two are just embarrassing.

    Dana (fd537d)

  75. DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/19/2021 @ 12:27 pm

    Except it is.

    Freedom of choice is a b-tch to ideological conservatism.

    Except it isn’t unless you make up your own definition of simple. It’s also only a problem for a very specific branch of conservative and it’s a branch that is quickly dying out.

    frosty (226bff)

  76. The Morning Consult poll first asked a generic questions about Greene and Omar’s tweets, followed by questions that named them.

    As you may know, a member of Congress recently posted this statement on Twitter: ’Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.’ Would you say that this tweet is:

    Anti-Semitic: 65%
    Not Anti-Semitic: 15%

    Compared with naming question:
    Anti-Semitic: 60%
    Not anti-Semitic: 24%
    ————————————-
    As you may know, a member of Congress recently posted this statement on Twitter: ’We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.’ Would you say that this tweet is

    Anti-Semitic: 43%
    Not Anti-Semitic: 29%

    Compared with naming question:
    Anti-Semitic: 47%
    Not anti-Semitic: 27%

    Rip Murdock (80e6b4)

  77. @77. Freedom of choice.

    Deal w/it.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  78. One should be required to take (and pass) a comprehensive Civics/History test before they can be elected to Congress. These two are just embarrassing.

    I’ll go one step further, Dana. I would like to see citizens be forced to pass a basic (not even comprehensive) Civics/History test before they can be registered to vote. But that would of course require amending the Constitution, so that is completely a non-starter.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  79. One should be required to take (and pass) a comprehensive Civics/History test before they can be elected to Congress. These two are just embarrassing.

    Maybe the number of jelly beans in a jar?

    Don’t blame the candidates or the voters; blame the hacks in the political parties who fund and run them.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  80. In secret recording, Florida Republican threatens to send Russian-Ukrainian ‘hit squad’ after rival
    ……..
    During a 30-minute call with a conservative activist that was recorded before he became a candidate, William Braddock repeatedly warned the activist to not support GOP candidate Anna Paulina Luna in the Republican primary for a Tampa Bay-area congressional seat because he had access to assassins. The seat is being vacated by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), who is running for governor.

    “I really don’t want to have to end anybody’s life for the good of the people of the United States of America,” Braddock said at one point in the conversation last week, according to the recording exclusively obtained by POLITICO. “That will break my heart. But if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. Luna is a f—ing speed bump in the road. She’s a dead squirrel you run over every day when you leave the neighborhood.”

    Reached by text message, Braddock refused to say whether he made any threats about Luna to the person who recorded him, Erin Olszewski.
    ……..
    In the recording, Braddock early in the call brought up the alleged assassins. He also made rambling statements about getting financial help from fellow Freemasons or by somehow importing millions of dollars from Malta and Gibraltar.

    “I have access to a hit squad, too, Ukrainians and Russians,” he said about three minutes into the call, adding “don’t get caught out in public supporting Luna. … Luna’s gonna go down and I hope it’s by herself.”

    Braddock went on to explain that he didn’t think Luna could win in the general election. Luna, an Air Force veteran and former model who went on to become a conservative activist, won a crowded GOP primary in the state’s 13th Congressional District last year but lost the general election to Crist.

    It’s unclear exactly why Braddock has such dislike toward Luna. …….
    ……..
    ……..Braddock said on the recorded call that the “pivotal” St. Petersburg-based district will take on outsized importance in 2022 to keep America from devolving into a “communist-socialist s—hole.” When Olszewski asked him why he had Russians at the ready, Braddock indicated they were to stop Luna.

    “My polling people are going to charge me $20,000 to do a poll right before the primary. And if the poll says Luna’s gonna win, she’s gonna be gone. She’s gonna disappear,” Braddock said in the recorded call, pledging Olszewski to secrecy. “For the good of our country, we have to sacrifice the few. … For the better or the good of the majority of the people, we’ve got to sacrifice the few.”

    Later in the call, Olszewski asked what would happen if “Luna is gonna win” and Braddock assured her that wouldn’t happen.

    “She’s gonna be gone. Period. That’s the end of the discussion. Luna is not an issue,” he said.
    ……..
    “I call up my Russian and Ukrainian hit squad, and within 24 hours, they’re sending me pictures of her disappearing,” he replied. “No, I’m not joking. Like, this is beyond my control this point.”

    Asked if the killers were snipers, Braddock described them as, “Russian mafia. Close-battle combat, TEC-9s, MAC-10s, silencers kind of thing. No snipers. Up close and personal. So they know that the target has gone.”
    …….
    ……At one point, Braddock even said he was scared himself.

    “Don’t be on the f—ing wrong side of supporting Luna because if you’re near her when the time comes, I just don’t want that to happen to you because you’ve got kids,” Braddock said on the call. “So don’t be associated with Luna under any circumstances. Please. And do not repeat this anybody because both of us will be in jeopardy if you do. I’m not just blowing smoke here. I’m f—ing being dead ass serious and it scares the s— out of me, too.”
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>
    You gotta love Florida politics-never a dull moment. It’s going to be a wild 2022 election season in Florida, with Matt Gaetz under investigation for sex trafficking, and now this. Braddock is clearly off his meds.

    Rip Murdock (80e6b4)

  81. ‘Course screening out ‘amiable dunces’ as candidates for elected office would save us from another Biden, or Dubya, or… Reagan. 😉

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  82. @82. Hit piece on hit job! Film at 11.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  83. @63. You miss the point Kevin; two for one country: It’s as clear as black & white text.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  84. @67JVW “multiple bishops on both sides acknowledge the political significance of the document and say it is unavoidably about the president.”

    @70 Everything we do is under the assumption the God has a plan.

    Nic (896fdf)

  85. Finding someone who claims American parties choose candidates is like meeting someone dressed in the fashions of 50 or more years ago. There’s certain antique charm to the experience, but you do have to wonder whether the person is living in the real world, or is stuck in the distant past.

    You wonder if it would even be possible to explain caucuses and direct primaries to them.

    Parties do choose candidates in many other nations and in some — Putin’s Russia, for example — the government goes further, and chooses the parties.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  86. 87.Finding someone who claims American parties choose candidates is like meeting someone dressed in the fashions of 50 or more years ago.

    Follow the money.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  87. I’d like to recommend a book to all of you, but especially Californians, Michael Shellenberger’s Apocalypse Never.

    What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.

    I found all of it interesting, but especially Chapter 10, which describes how “Green” causes are often backed by people with substantial financial interests in blocking competitive nuclear power.

    (I linked to B&N, because I switched to them after Amazon banned When Harry Became Sally. Amazon will still sell you the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf.)

    Incidentally, I think a solid review of Shellenberger’s book would make a great post, here.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  88. @49 As opposed to Protestant denominations who have jumped fully aboard the bandwagon on abortion, women as clergy, gay rights, and trendy social justice matters only to see membership in their progressive sects absolutely plummet over the past seventy years?

    Most of these denominations have been thoroughly compromised ever since the 1942 Federal Council of Churches meeting established an entirely secular agenda for these institutions centered around a one-world-government ideology (that’s not an exaggeration, they were quite explicit about it). Time Magazine goes in to some detail on it in “American Malvern,” as the agenda echoed the hard left Malvern Conference in Britain in 1941.

    This is why, for example, radical leftists like the FALN terrorists ended up being supported by the Episcopal Church via its National Commission on Hispanic Affairs charity, and even got the backing of the National Council of Churches after FALN started a new bombing spree when Maria Cueto came under investigation by a grand jury. Yes, the Episcopal Church financed Puerto Rican separatist terrorists who had shot up Congress, tried to assassinate Harry Truman, and went on a bombing spree in the 1970s. Imagine Joel Osteen financing the Proud Boys via a charity front group for poor farmers in Texas and Oklahoma, after the Proud Boys had shot up a Congressional softball practice and conducted a string of college campus bombings; that’s basically what was going on at the time.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  89. I had someone try to convince me that vaccinated people were the ones spreading the virus in the UK. She based this on the “fact” that vaccinated people can spread the virus.

    My response, since I had to show some tact with this person, was that parachutes fail from time to time, but if I’m jumping out of an airplane I still want one.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  90. Freedom of choice is a b-tch to ideological conservatism.

    Also to ideological leftism. Force is big with those who want to run other people’s lives.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  91. I’ll go one step further, Dana. I would like to see citizens be forced to pass a basic (not even comprehensive) Civics/History test before they can be registered to vote.

    I’d settle with them being able to name their Congressperson, or one of their Senators, their Governor, or the VP. I think this would probably eliminate 10% of the citizenry.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  92. ‘A different California’: Recent seismic shifts could help Newsom survive a recall
    ………
    These are among the key factors set to shape the race, according to data analysis by The Times and interviews with experts on Golden State politics.

    California voters have moved even more to the left since Davis’ ouster, which ushered in the state’s last Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
    ………
    When comparing how the major party candidates split the vote in (the 2002 and 2018) elections, the trend is clear. Only 11 of the state’s 58 counties — all in less-populated and more rural areas — dropped in Democratic support. Most other places saw their electorates shift to the left.
    ………
    The GOP can now claim just 24% of registered voters statewide. While nearly a third of the electorate no longer claims allegiance to the two major parties, experts say they have shown themselves more likely to side with Democrats at the ballot box.

    These trends help explain why Democratic defenders of Newsom have sought to rally the party’s faithful by framing the recall campaign as a partisan effort by Republicans.

    …….. Most areas track closely with the overall direction, but a small number have diverged as changes vary by region.

    Bay Area

    This region, the most Democratic in the state, saw registrations shift more for Democrats than any other area. Only 15% of the voters here are registered Republicans — the lowest statewide. San Francisco and Marin counties led the way.
    …….
    Greater Sacramento

    Democratic registration in counties around the capital city remained relatively stable overall. Alpine and Nevada counties saw the largest shifts away from the Republicans, while voters in Colusa and Sutter counties drifted the furthest away from the two major parties.
    ………
    San Joaquin Valley

    In the state‘s Central Valley, registration shifted away from the major parties in most places, but to varying degrees. San Joaquin County, the second most-populous in the region, saw its Republican registration drop the most — plummeting more than 15 percentage points.
    ………
    Northern California

    Northern California, which is heavily rural, remains more politically conservative — and its party registration reflects that fact. Several of its counties grew more Republican during this period. Only two grew more Democratic. Two of the counties here, Lassen and Modoc, have the highest Republican registration rates in the state.
    ………
    Demographic changes over the last two decades also generally favor liberal candidates.

    The state has grown more diverse. White residents have become a much smaller share of the population as the number of Asian and Latino voters has increased.
    ……..
    The shift has been attributed, in part, to increased civic engagement among Latinos after Proposition 187, a 1990s ballot measure that sought to deny immigrants here illegally services like healthcare and education.

    “Prop 187 created a long-term and lasting change in the partisan shape of the Latino vote,” said Mindy Romero, a professor of political sociology at USC. “As Latino voters have continued to grow, that has heavily influenced the overall partisan makeup.”
    ……….
    ………Recent research has shown that the most highly educated Americans, especially those who attain graduate degrees, are much more likely to favor liberal positions on issues, and Democrats have a sizable advantage among white college graduates.

    In 2000, about 26% of Californians 25 and older had college degrees. Today it’s 34%, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (2975ef)

  93. Offing Ms. Luna would be a true waste. At least shoot your (non-bullet) shot and fail, like Piers did with Megan.

    urbanleftbehind (32350d)

  94. Elections officials alarmed by Democrats’ plans to change Newsom recall rules
    Elections officials across California said Wednesday that the proposed rules written by Democratic lawmakers for the recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom could push the event’s cost far beyond the current estimate of $215 million, creating voter confusion and delaying the counting of ballots.

    They have urged Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who will choose the date of the election, not to schedule the contest before mid-September, citing a long list of concerns, including the time needed to print ballots and federal guidelines for when to ship them to military and overseas voters.
    ……..
    Under state law, Kounalakis has some discretion on the timing. She must select a date no sooner than 60 days and no later than 80 days after the recall is certified by Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

    The legislation introduced Friday goes much further than just offering a speedy election during which voters could remove Newsom from office. It also would require the recall to be conducted as a “regular election,” a change that is likely to prohibit some counties from implementing voting rules and procedures used in last November’s presidential election.

    County officials had assumed no such changes when they estimated the cost of the recall to be $215 million.

    The proposed law was introduced after several prominent Democrats urged their leaders to speed up the recall election to capitalize on Newsom’s relatively strong job approval ratings as California’s COVID-19 conditions have improved. To do so requires scuttling state rules Democrats pushed through the Legislature in 2017……

    While the bill introduced last week would require more in-person voting, it does not appear to change existing plans to mail every voter a ballot. In February, Newsom and legislators agreed to extend last year’s rules for mailing every registered voter a ballot for any election held in 2021.

    In 2003, there were 135 replacement candidates on the recall ballot seeking to replace Davis.

    Those challenges, added to the proposal’s mandate to return to regular election rules, could easily push costs beyond the $215-million estimate released last week. A review by The Times of the survey filled out by local elections officers confirms state officials only asked for estimates of a special recall election or one consolidated with scheduled elections in 2022.
    ……
    Forty-six candidates have qualified for the recall election; candidates can file until 59 days prior to the election date (which hasn’t been set.) They will also be required to release 5 years of tax returns.

    Rip Murdock (2975ef)

  95. Una linda guachinanga, válgame Dios.

    Lastima, ella no se vino detrás de mí.

    nk (1d9030)

  96. The full version, by Victoria de los Angeles.

    nk (1d9030)

  97. Nic (896fdf) — 6/19/2021 @ 1:50 pm

    @70 Everything we do is under the assumption the God has a plan.

    I hear this a bit from progressive Christians. If I ask then whether the God they mention has given them any hints about that plan I get a variety of responses. Care to give it a go?

    frosty (479bd5)

  98. It’s the B-listers like Ted Lieu, looking to get their name in the news, who are throwing out rants. Biden isn’t playing:

    On Friday, the president was asked about the effort that could allow some bishops to deny him and others Communion over their support for abortion access. He called it “a private matter.”

    “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Biden said.

    nk (1d9030)

  99. @67JVW “multiple bishops on both sides acknowledge the political significance of the document and say it is unavoidably about the president.”

    A couple things regarding this:

    (1) Ah, those unnamed “multiple bishops” that the AP cites. Kind of like “sources close to the Administration” right? If you want to give a lot of credence to unnamed sources who supposedly tell AP reporters exactly what fits the narrative then fine, but don’t expect me to follow along.

    (2) But let’s say for argument’s sake that we take the anonymous quotes from “multiple bishops” as being legitimate. It doesn’t change my point that far from “playing politics” as you have claimed that the bishops are addressing a very difficult theological point that touches on a very salient aspect of Church doctrine and is unavoidably political. It’s not one that is brand new: a huge portion of the faithful have been calling upon the episcopate to clarify their stance on this for, oh, only about 40 years now.

    Sorry, but this is a super-sensitive point for me. There is nothing that irks me more than this ridiculous idea that the Church can’t weigh in on these issues because of the various scandals of the past decades. If that were even remotely true, then who in your mind would have any standing to to comment on any current issues which have a political component?

    JVW (ee64e4)

  100. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/19/2021 @ 1:06 pm

    Most urban jurisdictions ban fireworks.

    Yes, because local bans on fireworks is the same as the president deciding to permit celebrations generally

    frosty (7ae602)

  101. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Biden said.

    And Trump would never get elected POTUS, either, eh, Squinty?!

    “Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates famously observed in his memoirs that former Senator and Vice President Joe Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” – source, reality.everywhere.org

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  102. “Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates famously observed in his memoirs that former Senator and Vice President Joe Biden “has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

    I liked Karl Rove’s comment on Biden, circa 2008: Joe Biden has that combination of longevity and long-windedness which passes for wisdom in Washington these days.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  103. Apples and oranges. The people opining are people who couldn’t name a church they attend let alone the name of their priest who would minister or not minister communion. In other words, they don’t know what they’re talking about.

    One time, when my priest saw me ride up on my motorcycle, he took me aside and told me it was time I got married for … paraphrasing him … a more enjoyable ride. Regular churchgoers develop a personal relationship with their clergymen, and it’s only phony-ass poseurs like Ted Lieu who rant “I dare you to deny me communion” on Twitter.

    nk (1d9030)

  104. @104. ROFLMAOPIP absolutely, JVW.

    Every time I hear and see ol’Squinty break wind WHICH passes for talk, that ol’ Abbott & Costello routine comes to mind:

    Lou Costello: “What makes a balloon go up?”
    Bud Abbott: “Hot air.”
    Lou Costello: “What’s holding you down?”

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  105. Around here the word puto as used by Mexican gangsters is interchangeable with “bitch ass” and sometimes for double emphasis the bilingual gangsters will call someone “bitch ass puto”. So you are either selling your ass, or having it sold by others. The situation usually escalates to putazos and the loser maybe even brings out the RQuince for a driveby

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  106. 104.Postscript; Gotta like Jill Biden’s comment on ol’Squnity just last week, as well:

    “PAY ATTENTION, JOE!”

    God help us.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  107. Regular churchgoers develop a personal relationship with their clergymen, and it’s only phony-ass poseurs like Ted Lieu who rant “I dare you to deny me communion” on Twitter.

    Those who thought that Ted Lieu’s notable assholery was only due to his antipathy for Donald Trump sure have been shown otherwise, haven’t they?

    JVW (ee64e4)

  108. hey’re heckling Trump’s own VP and loyal servant for four years (minus one day)

    Minus 15 days. Things were never the same after J

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  109. After Jan 6.

    Pence did not see Trump off when he left, and he attended the inauguration.

    He did not do what the Democrats wanted. He did not attempt to start the 25th amendment presidential disability process. He wrote an essay that he had no more power to do that than he did to reject Electoral votes.

    https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-pences-full-letter-saying-he-cant-claim-unilateral-authority-to-reject-electoral-votes

    https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/pence-letter-to-pelosi/38989457c7d0c1b8/full.pdf

    Article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/13/us/pence-letter-to-pelosi.html

    I don’t know where Pence is going.

    He may be hoping for all this to go away. Like a miracle?

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  110. \

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  111. What is so hard about understanding what Rapheal Warnock and Stacy Abrams are saying about voter ID?

    They are not opposed (or won\t be opposed) to less difficult to meet requirements. Like letters or college ID. (now they are trying to make that unclear)

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  112. “Except it is. Freedom of choice is a b-tch to ideological conservatism.”

    Except there is no moral dimension to one’s choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream. From embryo on through birth, there is in existence a being with specific human DNA. Each stage of development is intimately dependent on the previous, with function and complexity building…no different from an infant eventually learning how to walk and speak. We as a society do not value an infant less because he cannot speak, so why would society value a fetus less because it cannot survive outside of the woman? As I argued above, I think it’s a bit more complicated than that, but there is a serious moral question that can’t be swept away with your bumper sticker thinking. There is no universal “freedom of choice”….Andrea Yates couldn’t claim that infaticide was her choice as a woman. Society has a right to weigh in on the question….religious leaders as well….and balance conflicting interests. It’s complicated, don’t trivialize it…..

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  113. Putting aside that what they said doesn’t make any sense, if the New Zealand people were serious, they would be trying to get |Maoris involved in their group. This just shuts down the anti-carbon emissions lobby .\

    Now I’m fine with the only peole eing eligible to start such a group being from the supposeedly more harmed communities (which isn’t true in New Zealand – there are no large numbers of indigenous farmers in New Zealand I think)

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  114. JVW (ee64e4) — 6/19/2021 @ 8:23 pm

    Difficult indeed. My understanding is that Catholics believe after Jesus died he returned from the dead and one of the last things he told his followers to do was to tell everyone about him and baptize everyone. Some Catholics also believe it’s consistent with their faith to do everything they can to make abortion more accessible. That’s a hard circle to square.

    I’d say the real quandary for Catholics isn’t between abortion and capital punishment. It’s between what they believe God told them to do and them doing the opposite.

    frosty (7ae602)

  115. AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 6/20/2021 @ 6:55 am

    There is no universal “freedom of choice”….Andrea Yates couldn’t claim that infaticide was her choice as a woman. Society has a right to weigh in on the question….religious leaders as well….and balance conflicting interests. It’s complicated, don’t trivialize it…..

    Exactly and well said. The number of people who have a consistent version of “freedom of choice” or the better “my body my choice” couldn’t fill a small room at the Libertarian National Convention.

    frosty (7ae602)

  116. Except there is no moral dimension to one’s choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream…. It’s complicated, don’t trivialize it…..

    Except it’s not. Don’t complicate it:

    1. Morality is a transient.
    2. Vanilla or chocolate is a matter of choice.

    But then, ideological conservatives can be lactose intolerant.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  117. @117. Except there is.

    Yes. No. Vanilla or chocolate. Freedom of choice.

    Deal with it.

    Choose.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  118. Ashli Babbitt’s Husband Sues D.C., Claiming Police ‘Failed’ to Identify Officer Who Shot and Killed His Wife on Jan. 6
    Aaron Babbitt, the husband of Donald Trump supporter and Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, has sued the District of Columbia over what he says is the Metropolitan Police Department’s failure to respond to his request for documents and information about the investigation into his wife’s death. Babbitt has asked that his complaint be consolidated with a similar action filed by conservative legal group Judicial Watch.
    ……..
    According to Aaron Babbitt’s complaint, filed June 2, he made a Freedom of Information request in April with the Metropolitan Police Department in D.C., which had investigated the shooting of Ashli Babbitt. The FOIA request sought a wide range of documents and information, including witness and officer statements, Capitol Police communications, and the name of the officer who shot his wife, as well as attorney’s fees and litigation costs.
    ……..
    According to Aaron Babbitt’s complaint, he hasn’t gotten any meaningful response from the MPD, aside from an acknowledgment of the request and a case number.

    “Plaintiff is being irreparably harmed by Defendant’s violation of FOIA, and Plaintiff will continue to be irreparably harmed unless Defendant is compelled to comply with the law,” Babbitt’s complaint said.

    Babbitt said that since the MPD hasn’t responded to his request, either by providing the documents or explaining why the information wouldn’t be produced. He claimed he has no choice but to sue.
    ………
    Babbitt also asked to have his complaint joined to that filed by conservative legal group Judicial Watch on June 2, which seeks documents similar to what Babbitt has requested. Babbitt’s lawyer, Terrell N. Roberts, III has previously pledged to file a $10 million lawsuit against U.S. Capitol Police over Ashli’s death. He was reportedly readying the lawsuit as recently as May.

    Babbitt may not get an answer to his FOIA request anytime soon. The next date on the docket is the initial scheduling conference, set for Sept. 3, according to the D.C. Superior Court.
    >>>>>>>>>>

    Rip Murdock (2975ef)

  119. @120. Babbitt may not get an answer to his FOIA request anytime soon…

    Royalists gotta royal.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  120. 1. Morality is a transient.

    Maybe when it comes to some ways of quieting the stirring in the underbrush. And even that is more Newspeak than it is substance. Not for anything else.

    Not for homicide, which is what we’re talking about. Not for non-consensual quieting of the stirring in the underbrush. Not for other assaults. Not for theft. Not for sloth, despite the best efforts of socialists and unions. Heck, not even for gluttony, even if it is a losing battle.

    nk (1d9030)

  121. And since some facts apparently need to be pointed out, the Churches of Rome and New Rome have existed for nearly 2,000 years. Because they don’t consider their morality transient.

    nk (1d9030)

  122. “1. Morality is a transient.”

    So I guess that means that greed too and capitalist self interest are just choices…..neither good nor bad….which leaves your Reagan schtick a bit unanchored…and incomprehensible. If right and wrong and good and bad have no logical root…whether it’s reason, tradition, or religion….then what’s the point of complaining about some people’s choices if it’s all just ice cream?

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  123. In the list of pills I think there’s a clown pill. People who’ve taken the clown pill embrace the idea that everything is a sick joke and everything is meaningless. For this person the question of meaning itself is a joke. Consistency is a joke. Reason is a joke. Having a point is a joke.

    On the D&D chart I think this might be chaotic neutral.

    frosty (a58f80)

  124. We’ve been blessed with a heartwarming Father’s Day message from the Real President.

    Radegunda (33a224)

  125. If I ask then whether the God they mention has given them any hints about that plan I get a variety of responses. Care to give it a go?

    Um, they think their actions are following said plan? It’s pretty much the go-to answer for those who see a plan.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  126. The DC police will never give up that name. There are thousands of truly deranged people in this country would would think killing him would be God’s Plan.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  127. On the D&D chart I think this might be chaotic neutral.

    On the Science chart, this would be “entropy”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  128. QAnon Supporters Dismayed at Donald Trump’s December Tour With Bill O’Reilly
    …….
    Supporters of the radical movement expressed concerns that Trump going on a speaking tour later this year surely means that he will not be returning a president—a false claim they have continued to believe since he lost the 2020 election more than seven months ago.

    “OK I GUESS MY QUESTION IS TRUMP COMING BACK? WHY WOULD HE BE DOING A TOUR THRU THE END OF THE YEAR WITH O’REILLY. HMMMMMMMMM SOMETHING DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT?,” wrote Telegram user Peace Lilly.

    “So nothing will happen until December?” added Tina N.

    Fellow Telegram user Jack Miller wrote: “Man I sure hope we don’t have to wait that long before you’re back in office.”

    Others described the news as “depressing” while one QAnon supporter hoped that the tour announcement “better be a rouse.”
    ……
    QAnon supporters previously believed that Trump would return as president on March 4 based on a wild theory heavily lifted from the sovereign citizen movement. When that prediction failed to come true, as all of them have, they simply moved onto their next hopeful prophecy.

    Many QAnon supporters now believe that Trump will return in August—a false claim widely pushed by MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell—if the disputed and disregarded audit in Arizona proves there was election fraud that cost him the election.

    QAnon suggests the ballot recount in Arizona—which still has not revealed any widespread evidence of fraud after several weeks—will result in a domino effect which will see other states overturn November’s election result, paving a way for Trump’s return to the White House…….

    “So basically the August thing is a bunch of bull because a reinstated President doesn’t go on tour,” Telegram user Angela Baldwin commented after seeing the dates.

    “It’s only a few dates close together…it could be done if it works out like it should…could cancel….but yup..kinda a gut punch statement,” one Telegram user wrote. “But we are in an information war, so who the hell knows.”
    >>>>>>>>>>
    Whaaa?

    Rip Murdock (80e6b4)

  129. @124. It means morality is a transient.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  130. Even if it were proven beyond doubt that 10 million of Biden’s votes were fraudulent, the election was over on Jan 6th and Trump would not be “returned to power.” It might affect public opinion going forward though.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  131. 122. Not for anything else.

    Except it is.

    ________

    128. The DC police will never give up that name. There are thousands of truly deranged people in this country would would think killing him would be God’s Plan.

    I’ll be leaked– at a chosen time… say, before an election day, in 2021 or 2022.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  132. @124: There is no underlying reality. God is indeed playing dice. He may cheat from time to time.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  133. Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Forceful on Jan. 6, Privately Are in Turmoil
    …….
    The Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys have seen more than three dozen of their members or affiliates arrested in connection with Jan. 6. Prosecutors are investigating the money trail that led the groups to Washington that day and examining the roles played by the Proud Boys’ leader, Enrique Tarrio, and the founder of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, neither of whom entered the Capitol building.
    ……..
    Members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers appeared well-organized at the Capitol, some coordinating with walkie-talkies and wearing military-style outfits. Behind the facade of power is a yearslong cash crunch exacerbated by internal discord and isolation from financial firms and social media. Fallout from Jan. 6 made it all worse.
    …….
    (Proud Boys) membership has dropped 80% from its peak, to roughly 7,500, according to former board members. The organization had less than $10,000 in its bank account as of April, Mr. Rhodes said……

    ……..Members and local chapters (of the Proud Boys) have turned to cryptocurrency, local credit unions, alternative payment brokers and encrypted messaging apps such as Telegram to replace a mainstream financial system that has largely cut them off.
    ……..
    Financial trouble for the groups began brewing in 2017 after the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., which turned deadly when a white nationalist drove a car into counterprotesters, killing a woman. The violence spurred action against extremism by tech and financial companies.
    ……..
    After being shut off by one processor for what it called “hate propaganda” on a T-shirt that referred to a Democratic politician as a Communist and an idiot, Mr. Tarrio said, he had an idea: to launch a secretive e-commerce site to sell liberal merchandise with slogans such as Black Lives Matter and Impeach 45, referring to Mr. Trump.
    ……..
    Some members said they grew concerned that Mr. Tarrio and other leaders were using the group’s name to gain exposure for themselves and affiliated businesses…….
    ………
    (Stewart Rhodes) spent Oath Keepers money on a deposit on a house in Montana, on haircuts and liquor, on storable food reserves and on personal riot gear, according to some current and former members and some of Mr. Rhodes’s family members. They also said he had a habit of buying expensive military equipment and leaving it in caches in people’s homes around the country for future “operations.”
    …….
    …….Mr. Rhodes had maxed out his Oath Keepers card three days in a row at a sporting-goods store. ……..It turned out Mr. Rhodes had bought an AR-10 military-style rifle costing about $1,000 for his own use, paying over three days because of a $350 daily spending limit on the card, former board members said.

    The board had set that limit, said a former director, Scott Dunn, after Mr. Rhodes put around $800 on the card at Walmart to buy groceries for three that included more than a dozen T-bone and rib-eye steaks, plus kettlebells for exercising.
    ………
    At one point, according to former board member Rick Moon, directors confronted Mr. Rhodes about buying gasoline and a “train car load” of rice and beans for himself with the organization’s money. His response, according to Mr. Moon: “I created this organization, it’s mine, and I’ll do what I want to do with this.”
    ……..
    In early May, (Enrique Tarrio) was the keynote speaker at a dinner by the Boca Raton Regional Republican Club, with tickets at $45 a pop. At the event, he said, he sold T-shirts with the slogan “Enrique Tarrio Did Nothing Wrong.” He said he sold about $700 worth of them.
    >>>>>>>>>

    Rip Murdock (80e6b4)

  134. In 2004, when he was 20 years old, Tarrio was convicted of theft. He was sentenced to community service and three years of probation and was ordered to pay restitution.[11] In 2013, Tarrio was sentenced to 30 months (of which he spent 16) in federal prison for rebranding and reselling stolen medical devices.[32][33][34] According to a January 2021 Reuters report, between 2012 and 2014 Tarrio had been an informant to both federal and local law enforcement; in a 2014 federal court hearing, Tarrio’s lawyer said that Tarrio had been a “prolific” cooperator who had assisted the government in the investigation and prosecution of more than twelve people in cases involving anabolic steroids, gambling, and human smuggling; had helped identify three “grow houses” where marijuana was cultivated; and had repeatedly worked undercover to aid in investigations. Tarrio denied working undercover or cooperating with prosecutions, but the court transcript contradicted the denial, and the former federal prosecutor in the proceeding against Tarrio confirmed that he cooperated.

    Small-time lowlife.

    nk (1d9030)

  135. Nobody likes a rat.

    Rip Murdock (2975ef)

  136. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/20/2021 @ 12:12 pm

    Actually, with progressive Christians a common answer is “a plan?” or “we can’t know the mind of God” or “He wants us to be nice to each other”.

    frosty (f27e97)

  137. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/20/2021 @ 12:49 pm

    The original comment thread involved Roman Catholics but we can switch to this religion if you want. Which one are we dealing with? It sounds like scientism. Did I guess right?

    frosty (f27e97)

  138. Rip Murdock (80e6b4) — 6/20/2021 @ 1:03 pm

    Sounds like Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Enrique Tarrio read the same “how to be a con-artist for fun and profit” book.

    frosty (f27e97)

  139. 132. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/20/2021 @ 12:48 pm

    Even if it were proven beyond doubt that 10 million of Biden’s votes were fraudulent, the election was over on Jan 6th and Trump would not be “returned to power.” It might affect public opinion going forward though.

    None of the recounts done by the Asspcoated Press mattered in 2001, and all Democrats knew that (Bush won them anyway, under the rules for counting ballots in Florida)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  140. 73. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/19/2021 @ 3:20 pm

    I’d settle with them being able to name their Congressperson,

    Even in cities, with many Congressmen and highly irregular boundaries?

    or one of their Senators, their Governor, or the VP. I think this would probably eliminate 10% of the citizenry.

    Probably yes only 10%. But people who wanted to vote would find out, and politicians would mail flyers.

    This test would be the hardest to pass in New Jersey.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  141. 46.

    German Shepherd Champ
    it’s true obama ate dogs
    Joe kicks ‘em to curb

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 6/19/2021 @ 10:50 am

    Champ died a natural death.

    Barack Obama;s dog “Bo” has died too.

    They;re doing a study with dogs. They’ve extended lifespan with mice many time, but nobody cares about mice. With people, a study would take too long.

    https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/06/health/rapamycin-dog-live-longer/index.html

    Why not have your dog live longer if you can?” Godfrey said.

    She said that within days of taking the drug, Momo was able to run for hours, whereas before, just a 30-minute walk would tire him out. On a hot summer day when CNN visited, he was able to keep up with Anderson’s parents’ dogs, who are 4 and 5 years old….

    ….Over the next year, Kaeberlein will be studying rapamycin in a much larger group of dogs: about 150, compared with the 16 he studied earlier.

    He said other groups are looking at doing more aging studies in rapamycin in humans, too.

    It’s been a long journey for the compound discovered more than half a century ago in the dirt of a South Pacific island.

    “The rapamycin story is one of the most surprising, enticing, satisfying and unique stories in the history of medicine,” Mita wrote in a medical journal five years ago. “And the end is not near.”

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  142. Meanwhile…

    Meghan Markle writes book titled, ‘The Bench.’

    Apparently she can’t spell either. 😉

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  143. nobody cares about mice

    Not true! Here’s the proof.

    Radegunda (33a224)

  144. The original comment thread involved Roman Catholics but we can switch to this religion if you want.

    I ask daily to understand God’s will for me, and hope that somehow my brain can discern the answer. I do not usually know what it is, although I’m pretty sure what it is not.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  145. Probably yes only 10%.

    Many years ago they did a poll to see how many Brits could name their Prime Minister (it may have been Thatcher). 10% could not.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  146. My point though was that people who DO think they know God’s Plan usually want to hurry it along some.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  147. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/20/2021 @ 7:08 pm

    That’s not an answer that can really be criticized. I’ve heard that one more than a few times. I can’t always tell though if the person means they’ve taken care of everything on the original plan and are looking for something else or if they didn’t like the original plan and are asking for a new one.

    Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/20/2021 @ 7:11 pm

    Ah, now I think I know what you mean. Sort of like how Trump poisoned the lab leak theory those wild eyed crazies have ruined all that stuff about feeding the poor, widows and orphans, visiting the sick and people in prison, baptizing, spreading the gospel, etc. That can’t be a plan anymore and it’s time to ask for a new one. Is that about the long and short of it?

    frosty (f27e97)

  148. Summer began at 11:32 pm Eastern time.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  149. Andrew Yang has been running a commercial that seems to collect some unrelated and even somewhat contraidctory attacks on Eric Adams – they are not aimed at the same audience.

    On the one hand, Eric Adams is a conservative Republican (he was once, early in the Giuliani Administration, although the d does not give the context) – and on the other hand his old union, the [Police] Captains Endowment Association, didn’t endorse him.

    So what is he? Too rough on crime, or not tough enough on crime?

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  150. Juneteeth might have gotten its name because maybe, in the late 1800s in Texas, it wasn’t celebrated on the same day in June in different cities.

    Other days that were celebrated as Emancipation Day were January 1, July 5, April 16 (in Washington, D.C, commemorating the day in 1862 slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia) and May 8 (in Columbus, Mississippi, commemorating the day om 1865 Union troops brought an end to slavery in eastern Mississippi.)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  151. If you want to know where to look for cheating in elections, it is in union elections.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  152. That’s not an answer that can really be criticized.

    But you will.

    I can’t always tell though if the person means they’ve taken care of everything on the original plan and are looking for something else or if they didn’t like the original plan and are asking for a new one.

    One can seek God’s will without being a Christian. Really, they can.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  153. Of course that bag of crap voted for obamacare. Thomas and Alito must be sick of the company they have to keep. I wish they would retire in peace.

    mg (8cbc69)

  154. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 6/21/2021 @ 12:36 am

    Again, the original thread was about Roman Catholics and the issues related to abortion and capital punishment resulting from their doctrine. I’d be willing to discuss those issues in a different context if I knew what that was.

    The phrase “God’s Plan” is usually made within a Judeo-Christian context and you were using it to criticize people who identify as Christian. The focus of this thread up to this point has been the same. If you’ve switched to a different faith can you tell me which one?

    I’m not really sure why you’re taking this personally though. I’ve tried in my comments to focus on what a particular group of people say they believe compared to how they act. I get how that can trigger people in that group but if you aren’t in that group how is it triggering to you? Said differently, how can I be criticizing your answer, if you are giving a non-Christian one, when I’m clearly referring to Christians?

    frosty (f27e97)

  155. There is no denying that throughout history, the priesthood has tried, and often succeeded, to suborn the state to its ends. But that’s not what we have here. Here, we have a church remaining the rock of its 2,000 old doctrine with politicians butt-hurt for being denied affirmation.

    And you know what? If said politicians don’t like Christian doctrine, I suggest they go find their solace in the Kamasutra.

    nk (1d9030)

  156. Childhood cancer, tsunami drownings, mass starvation, holocausts, mass shootings….it’s something how “God’s plan” sometimes just seems to suck.

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  157. I noticed Kevin mentioned God’s will, which is perhaps different then God’s plan. As for will, lefty Christians like this verse: “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

    If anyone spends any time in 12-step recovery one will hear God’s will mentioned a lot. In terms of surrendering self will to God’s will. It’s a helpful concept. Non-theists have a really hard time with itm and the whole higher power concept.

    As for “plan,” phew. I dunno. It is hard not to agree with AJ_L @ 158. A plan created by a sadist maybe?

    JRH (52aed3)

  158. er… not “hear” God’s will mentioned… at all. But the concept of surrendering self-will to higher power is bedrock principle.

    JRH (52aed3)

  159. So what is he? Too rough on crime, or not tough enough on crime?

    David Dinkins Redux.

    See Chicago for details.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  160. 155.Of course that bag of crap voted for obamacare. Thomas and Alito must be sick of the company they have to keep. I wish they would retire in peace.

    They can always retire.

    Like now.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  161. The phrase “God’s Plan” is usually made within a Judeo-Christian context and you were using it to criticize people who identify as Christian

    I was not. I am pretty sure that ideologue thinks that God is on his side, irrespective of their actual beliefs. Maybe Stain and Mao didn’t, but they substituted “the force of history” or some such surrogate.

    And yes, this is far afield from the Catholic bishops’ discussion of Communion and who can receive it. But then so is “God’s Plan.”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  162. I wish they would retire in peace.

    Retreating to the bunker is not the path to victory. Nor is electing an arrogantly opinionated ignoramus to lead the party when victory is at hand.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  163. The only thing I really know about God’s will is what it is NOT. For example, if I am already planning my lies for when my planned actions are discovered, it is probably MY will, not God’s. My will invariably leads to drama, God’s will usually does not.

    Non-theists have a really hard time with it, and the whole higher power concept.

    Well, that depends on what you mean by non-theist. Most non-religious people are agnostic — they just haven’t considered God as a factor in their lives, and if it becomes important to then (e.g. a 12-step situation) they can make the transition. If you mean militant atheists, that’s a lot harder but there are concepts of a Higher Power that do not equal “God.”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  164. Well, DC and Sammy, whose in the R primary or C primary? FWIW Dan Donovan should have ran in ’17, fresh NT fervor at that point in time be darned. Could’ve beaten DiBlasio head on.

    Lightfoot was never advertised as tough on crime as is Eric
    Adams, she was just the least authentically black (not native to the South or West side) of the 3 blacks running and was neither a Cook County payroll stuffer (Toni Preckwinkle) or Trump-curious weirdo (Willie Wilson). Sweet spot candidate for North Siders, no excepted.

    urbanleftbehind (240e41)

  165. “Nk” excepted.

    urbanleftbehind (240e41)

  166. 161. DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 6/21/2021 @ 8:58 am

    David Dinkins Redux.

    David D=inkins appointed Ray Kelly Police Commissioner after the Crown Heights events.

    Now Ray Kelly was a bit political. He waited until the mayor was ready to end tp end the riots, which happpwned ater the mayro himself had bottles thrown at him.

    Giuliani appointed Bill Bratton as his first police commissioner. He had two others, the last one being Bernie Kerik. Bloomberg appointed Ray Kelly. When de Blasio came in he appointed Bill Bratton. Things were Ok for a year or two – then the bad ideas started to assert themselves.

    See Chicago for details

    In Chicago they seize guns but the people found with illegal guns don;’t go to jail. Now de Blasio started to do what they do in Chicago. It’s OK if this is a generally law abiding person but not if not so.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  167. How did Donald Jr miss this one?

    [Hunter] Biden selling art at ‘obviously inflated prices’ to mystery buyers has ‘grifty’ feel

    Former President Obama’s ethics chief ripped into President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for selling his art at prices ranging up to half a million dollars to anonymous buyers.

    Walter Shaub, the former Office of Government Ethics director under Obama, said that the lucrative arrangement has a “shameful and grifty feeling to it.”

    “The notion of a president’s son capitalizing on that relationship by selling art at obviously inflated prices and keeping the public in the dark about who’s funneling money to him has a shameful and grifty feel to it,” Shaub told Fox News on Monday.

    Shaub also warned that the anonymity granted to Hunter’s clients could allow “influence-seekers” to funnel money to the Biden family.

    “Just as hotel charges and real estate purchases created a risk of unknown parties funneling money to the Trump family for potentially unsavory purposes, Hunter Biden’s grotesquely inflated art prices create a similar risk of influence-seekers funneling money to the Biden family,” Shaub said.

    But maybe ethics rules don’t apply to the president’s family. They didn’t for the last guy.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  168. “If only Biden knew!”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  169. #169

    Hunters texts reflect numerous “meet and greet” moments with the “Big Guy(s)” back when Biden was VP and Kerry was Sec. State. “You bring your big guy and I’ll bring mine” to business dinners involving Ukrainians and Chinese.
    Someone should slip the bust of Andrew Fall into the West Wing

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  170. Sheldon Whitehouse
    https://dailycaller.com/2021/06/21/sheldon-whitehouse-defends-membership-white-beach-club/

    “It’s a long tradition” says the Senator who represented the state of Rhode Island the Providence Plantations for decades and the state of Rhode Island for several.
    Time to transfer oops, divest that membership to a shell Corporation on Jersey and then tell everyone he is no longer a member.

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  171. @172: Also Sherman Adams

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  172. Fall was convicted of taking Doheny’s bribe, but Doheny was acquitted.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  173. https://cienciafundamental.blogfolha.uol.com.br/2021/06/19/a-roupa-invisivel-da-revisao-por-pares

    Can be translated by Google:

    Without better forms of control, academic research will remain vulnerable to fraud, errors and bias, fueling quackery with the stamp of “scientifically proven”. This is just the natural consequence of believing in a process where no one sees what is being done. As in the children’s story , the king is naked under the invisible clothing of peer review, and sometimes it takes a child, or a pandemic, to force us to admit it.

    Not much of an article – just an opinion piece (pointing out the obvious)

    From: Retraction Watch

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  174. This was one of the best questions in the debates:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/nyregion/nyc-mayor-candidates-worst-ideas.html

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  175. Voting was so-so all day, but didn;t get slower after it got a bit cold and started tp semi-rain about 2 p,. but the pace picked up ssinderably after about 6:19 pm and continued until well past 8 PM

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)


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