Patterico's Pontifications

3/7/2020

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:28 am



[guest post by Dana]

Feel free to talk about anything you think is newsworthy or might interest readers.

I’ll start.

First news item: New York Times 1619 project rejects fact-checker’s findings:

Leslie Harris is a Northwestern University historian who helped fact-check the 1619 Project, The New York Times’s recent package of articles that recast chattel slavery as a foundational aspect of America. The project… has also attracted criticism from historians who say that some of the project’s claims are false. Harris is one of those critics—but when she raised her objections with Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Times reporter who spearheaded the 1619 Project, she received no response.

Harris “vigorously disputed” the claim that protecting the institution of slavery was a major reason the American colonies rebelled against British rule: “Far from being fought to preserve slavery, the Revolutionary War became a primary disrupter of slavery in the North American Colonies. Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation, a British military strategy designed to unsettle the Southern Colonies by inviting enslaved people to flee to British lines, propelled hundreds of enslaved people off plantations and turned some Southerners to the patriot side. It also led most of the 13 Colonies to arm and employ free and enslaved black people, with the promise of freedom to those who served in their armies. While neither side fully kept its promises, thousands of enslaved people were freed as a result of these policies….

Despite my advice, the Times published the incorrect statement about the American Revolution anyway…” In addition, the paper’s characterizations of slavery in early America reflected laws and practices more common in the antebellum era than in Colonial times, and did not accurately illustrate the varied experiences of the first generation of enslaved people that arrived in Virginia in 1619.

Second news item:

But of course: Trump’s re-election campaign has filed a defamation suit against CNN:

President Trump’s reelection campaign is suing CNN for defamation, filing its third lawsuit in two weeks against a major media outlet over opinion columns about Russian efforts to assist his 2016 presidential bid.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia, is accusing CNN of publishing a libelous opinion piece on its website about Russia’s efforts to influence U.S. elections.

“The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory,” Jenna Ellis, a legal adviser for the campaign, said in a statement. “The complaint alleges CNN was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process. Further, the campaign, through counsel, sent a written demand to CNN on February 25, 2020 to retract and apologize for the false and defamatory statements.”

Third news item:

Employees pressure publisher not to publish book. Publisher caves to their demand:

Ronan Farrow’s book Catch and Kill — about Harvey Weinstein and other significant reporting in the #MeToo era — was published by an imprint of Hachette. Farrow learned this week that Hachette acquired Allen’s book, which troubled him for a number of reasons.

Farrow wrote in a note posted to Twitter this week, “MY sister Dylan has never been contacted to respond to any denial or mischaracterization of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Woody Allen — a credible allegation, maintained for almost three decades, backed up by contemporaneous accounts and evidence.”

He called Hachette’s actions “wildly unprofessional” and illustrative of “a lack of ethics and compassion for victims of sexual abuse, regardless of any personal connection or breach of trust here.”

New precedents set, but of course they have the right to say no to the book’s publication:

Imagine devoting your career to the publication of books, the last legitimate mainstream medium where the concepts of free speech and hearing both sides of even controversial stories are still supposedly valued and protected, and then taking part in a demonstration to STOP a legitimate work from being printed. In the not-too-distant-past, such an immature act of insubordination would have resulted, at best, in no change to the book’s publication, and, at worst, the termination of those who publicly embarrassed the company, and betrayed much of what book publishing used to be about.

Instead, in today’s upside-down world, these intellectual terrorists got exactly what they wanted, and several horrendous new precedents have been set. The virtue-signaling inmates are now running the media’s politically correct asylum.

PS: Still available from Hachette Book Group: the autobiography of Joey, a “gripping” account of a mafia serial killer who copped to 38 murders. You’ll be wowed by “the frank intelligence of” the author!

Fourth news item:

The vexing question of who conversatives vote for in the 2020 presidential election:

I’ll absolutely grant that it’s tough to be a Republican and vote for any Democratic nominee, but I’m not going to automatically grant that it’s “conservative” to keep voting for trillion dollar deficits in a time of peace and prosperity, consistent and constant dishonesty retreat in the face of foreign foes, abandonment of allies, economically destructive trade wars, rank incompetence, coddling of dictators, intentional divisiveness, requests for foreign aid in elections, and the TOTAL abandonment of the idea that character matters. Moreover, each of those flaws is warping the Republican party to be less conservative, more statist, more isolationist, and often venal. That process will accelerate if Trump wins again. So why do we just assume that it’s only suspect when conservatives oppose Trump? We’ll see what the libertarians do, but as of now there is no conservative candidate in 2020 (as that term was defined before Trump came down the escalator). So one can be conservative and agree to disagree on how conservatism is best advanced in 2020.

Fifth news item:

Here’s some of that inclusiveness and unity Democrats like to brag about:

PS to Bernie: Excited to hold you to this standard with what AOC, Rashida Tlaib, and Linda Sarsour say.

Exit question: Do any commenters have personal experience with adverse property law in California? Let me know in the comments, please, so I can ask you a few questions. Thanks.

Have a great weekend.

–Dana

112 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Good morning!

    Dana (4fb37f)

  2. If the Democrats REALLY want to beat Trump, they would do well to get RBG to resign NOW. Given a GOP replacement for her, many conservatives would be less concerned about Trump losing.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  3. The vexing question of who conservatives vote for in the 2020 presidential election

    It’s never vexed me. I won’t vote for any Collectivist thug from either major party.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  4. Adverse possession in CA? Like, say, rent control?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  5. Russia torpedoed OPEC’s attempt to shore up oil prices during this coronavirus turbulence:

    Russia, which isn’t formally a member of OPEC, nevertheless managed to scupper the cartel’s efforts to deal with the collapse in oil demand and falling prices. While Saudi Arabia has already cut production in recent months, and OPEC was prepared to cut a further 1 million barrels a day if Russia made cuts of its own, the big OPEC producers were not willing to unilaterally make bigger sacrifices to shore up the oil market unless Russia shared the effort.

    “The Saudis weren’t going to jump on this grenade alone, or with a small group of reliable Gulf Cooperation Council producers,” Reed said. “‘We all sacrifice, or we all suffer,’ is their thinking.”

    I am genuinely curious where Trump is on this. My guess is he will do nothing since it will benefit consumers, but it will also impact the jobs numbers. He can always blame coronavirus but he does like good numbers.

    DRJ (15874d)

  6. French: “We’ll see what the libertarians do…”

    The Libertarians will do what they always do: help elect Dems.

    Munroe (dd6b64)

  7. His last month’s jobs report was solid (273,000+ jobs).

    Coronavirus will affect jobs numbers and to say he can always “blame” coronavirus is unfair, as if jobs won’t be affected by attempts to shut down a spreading lethal virus and people staying indoors more.

    As a lawyer, you’ll have some defense that that word is accurate, but you could have chosen a fairer way of describing it if you’d wanted.

    Make America Ordered Again (23f793)

  8. https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2020/03/07/democrats-block-measure-prevent-terrorists-working-tsa/

    When you vote for Democrats, this is what you’re supporting.

    NJRob (4d595c)

  9. moderation again. Please fix the ban on the word Ter***ism that automatically puts you in moderation.

    NJRob (4d595c)

  10. Our narcissistic man-child president strikes again, demonstrating he has the attention span of a small child. How does anyone expect him to handle this crisis with an intellectual grit of serious grasp of how it impacts others – not himself:

    During the tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, Trump was asked by a reporter what measures he was considering to help offset the widespread economic and social impacts of the crisis. The president responded by saying the seasonal flu was worse with 36,000 deaths in the U.S. last year, compared to 240 confirmed cases of COVID-19. “When I first heard this I was shocked,” he said. “As of the time I left the plane with you we had 240 cases, that’s at least what was on a very fine network known as Fox News, don’t you love it? That’s what I happened to be watching and, how was the show last night? Did it get good ratings by the way?” he asked as he turned to a Fox reporter. “I don’t know,” the reporter responded. “Oh really, I heard it broke all ratings records, but maybe that’s wrong,” he continued. “But what happened if you look at the number, by the time we left, it was 240 cases and 11 deaths. That’s what it has been. Now, you look throughout the world and other countries—South Korea, Italy and particularly China, have many.”

    Dana (4fb37f)

  11. #9, comment has been released.

    Dana (4fb37f)

  12. Dear God, Trump is the whiniest man. If he can’t take the heat, maybe he better get out of the kitchen.

    @2 Um, I think the supreme court seat might be one of the myriad of reasons the Dems want a Dem president so badly. I’m pretty sure they don’t want the court to go more conservative. But I’ll trade you your dime for my 2 pennies if you want, then you’ll have more coins than I do. 😛

    Nic (896fdf)

  13. @JoeBiden must accept responsibility for his surrogate telling our campaign co-chair Senator @NinaTurner that she doesn’t have standing to invoke the words of Dr. King.

    How will Joe respond?

    1) “Dr. King and I developed great respect for each during the time we were cellmates …”

    2) “I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream … ”

    3) “Bernie wants to put y’all back in chains!”

    🙂

    Dave (1bb933)

  14. Picture if you will, Bernie and Biden on the debate stage and they look around and see no Amy or Elizabeth, only Tulsi. Which one asks: “Hey, where the white women at?”

    nk (9651fb)

  15. lol

    They won’t, however, let Tulsi on the stage again.

    Make America Ordered Again (23f793)

  16. moderation again. Please fix the ban on the word Ter***ism that automatically puts you in moderation.

    I don’t see any such filter.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  17. When you vote for Democrats, this is what you’re supporting.

    Having your name on the “Terror Watch List” (or other watch lists) isn’t conclusive of anything. My name was on the post-2001 lists due to another person of the same name (of which there are several hundred in the country, middle name included). It took some time and effort to get off said list, and until then I had to PROVE I was someone else each time I wanted to fly.

    So, &%&&^$(#$ with your watch lists.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  18. So one can be conservative and agree to disagree on how conservatism is best advanced in 2020.

    Back in a trunk and put in Goldwater’s attic.

    Glorious times.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  19. @12: Well, of course, but that’s also the only thing keeping 30% of Trump’s likely support on the bandwagon.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  20. @19. They have no place else to go– or just stay home. Not enough to start their own party. Never has been so they nested in the GOP- and as conservative Dems back in the day.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  21. According to these sites, Transportation Security Officer applicants already undergo:

    *) “A five-panel urine” drug-test, spot checked with follicle and breathalyzer tests

    *) An extensive background check “considering financial background as well as criminal history”

    “Terror watch lists” are notoriously unreliable, because the threshold for being put on them is low. According to government documents, the criterion is “reasonable suspicion” of being a “known or suspected terrorist”. The false positive rate is significant. There are legitimate due-process concerns about denying people their civil rights on such a basis.

    This is why, in the wake of the Orlando night club shooting, the GOP Senate voted down a Democratic amendment to bar suspected terrorists (i.e. people on the terror watch list) from purchasing guns (the amendment even included an appeals process, which the TSA hiring ban amendment did not).

    “I opposed Senator Feinstein’s proposal because it would not prevent terrorist attacks, but it would deny thousands of law-abiding Americans their constitutionally protected right to bear arms without any due process,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said.

    When you vote for Republicans, this is what you’re supporting.

    Dave (1bb933)

  22. I don’t see any such filter.

    A comment of mine, replying to Rob’s and including the words “t e r r o r” and “t e r r o r i s t” also just went into moderation for no apparent reason…

    Dave (1bb933)

  23. Could you submit a comment with that single word as a test?

    Patterico (115b1f)

  24. t e r r o r i s t

    just got sent to moderation…

    Dave (1bb933)

  25. Mine also got sent into moderation.

    What a silly spam setting: as if no one discusses crimes and national security online.

    Make America Ordered Again (23f793)

  26. Concerning the NYTimes historical fact-checker, the statement the times made and the statement she actually refutes are different in a subtle but important way.

    The first part of the NYTimes statement was:

    One critical reason that the colonists declared their independence from Britain was because they wanted to protect the institution of slavery in the colonies, which had produced tremendous wealth.

    Note: “declared their independence” (the statement included other claims of fact as well, but for now let’s focus on the first).

    The historian, Nikole Hannah-Jones says:

    I vigorously disputed the claim. Although slavery was certainly an issue in the American Revolution, the protection of slavery was not one of the main reasons the 13 Colonies went to war.

    Note: “went to war”

    The colonists “went to war” more than a year before they “declared their independence,” and a lot of things happened during that time. When the conflict started, support for independence was limited to a few “hotheads” like Samuel Adams. Most of the rebels took the position that they were merely standing up for their rights as Englishmen, and that the King would eventually see the justice of their claims and step in to protect them, his loyal subjects, from the usurpations of a power-mad parliament.

    From the day he took command of the American army outside Boston in July 1775, and for the following year until Congress declared independence, George Washington and the officers at his mess opened every meal with a toast to the health of King George.

    British actions in the year leading up to independence drove public opinion from moderation to what had only recently been considered radicalism, and in the South, these actions were very much connected to slavery. The British originally hoped to isolate Massachusetts from the other colonies, especially the southern colonies where there had been comparatively little resistance.

    Virginia was the largest and richest colony, and the key link between north and south. It also had almost half the total number of slave population of the colonies as a whole, and as early as November 1775 Virginia’s Royal Governor Lord Dunmore issued an emancipation proclamation promising freedom to slaves who ran away and joined the loyalist forces.

    Needless to say, this was not well-received by the slaveholders. There were a number of small, but sharp battles in late 1775/early 1776 as Dunmore and his forces were chased out of the colony. In the colonies further south, the loyalists tried, with some success, to foment Indian attacks.

    Incitement of both slaves and Indians are listed as grievances in the Declaration of Independence among the “Facts [to] be submitted to a candid world”:

    He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

    So while the NYTimes claim is pretty clearly oversold, I think it is equally questionable to deny it entirely. Protection of slavery was was clearly not a primary cause for the original conflict between the colonies and Britain, but it was a factor important enough galvanize support for independence among some southerners who might have otherwise stayed loyal or remained on the fence in regard to independence.

    Dave (1bb933)

  27. I’ll absolutely grant that it’s tough to be a Republican and vote for any Democratic nominee, but I’m not going to automatically grant that it’s “conservative” to keep voting for trillion dollar deficits in a time of peace and prosperity, consistent and constant dishonesty retreat in the face of foreign foes, abandonment of allies, economically destructive trade wars, rank incompetence, coddling of dictators, intentional divisiveness, requests for foreign aid in elections, and the TOTAL abandonment of the idea that character matters.

    As a practical matter David French’s “conservatism” is completely irrelevant. You can fit the Never trumper “Conservatives” nationwide in a small HS gymnasium. What’s interesting is what he claims “Conservatism” is.

    First its not voting for Trillion dollar deficits. So why did French support Bush, McCain or Romney? Those men weren’t going to do anything about the deficits. And neither will Joe Biden,

    Second, its NOT retreating in the face of foreign foes and abandonment of allies. Its impossible to understand what French means. We’re not in a Hot or Cold War. We haven’t retreated in the face of any “foreign foe”. We’re not a war with Russia or Syria or Afghanistan. We’ve been attacking ISIS with much success.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  28. Continued.

    Third, NOT engaging in destructive trade wars. Trump has not engaged in a trade war with anyone. “Trade wars” don’t exist, that’s hysterical rhetoric. Trump has renegotiated NAFTA and is negotiating with China to get a better trade deal for us.

    Fourth, there’s the rest. Here French simply stops talking about Conservatism and just launches an attack on Trump. Accusing him of “rank incompetence, intentional divisiveness, requests for foreign aid in elections, and the TOTAL abandonment of the idea that character matters.” I’m not sure why “requests for foreign Aid” is in there. Its gibberish. And nobody has asserted Character doesn’t matter, while intentional divisiveness is so vague as to be meaningless.

    rcocean (1a839e)

  29. I too checked the list of filtered words yesterday on behalf of NJRob, and like Patterico I did not see the word there.

    Since I am not logged into my admin account, I will see if this comment with the word terrorist is rejected.

    [Yep, it did go into moderation. I will take another look and try to figure out what is causing this.]

    JVW (54fd0b)

  30. OK, the word “oris” is one of the verboten terms, which I think dates back to when we had an annoying commenter named “Boris.” I will remove that word from the list and we’ll see if that unblocks the word “terrorist.”

    JVW (54fd0b)

  31. Now let’s see if I can use the word terrorist when not logged in as an admin.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  32. OK, gang. I think the problem is solved.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  33. Rock of Ages: open your eyes, people:

    New ‘mini-moon’ orbiting Earth — For Now, Astronomers Say

    The object measures about 6 feet to 11 feet across, and its orbit suggests that it entered Earth’s orbit around three years ago.

    A visiting mini-moon is circling Earth, according to astronomers who discovered the cosmic squatter in our planet’s orbit. The tiny asteroid, dubbed 2020 CD3, was spotted by astronomers in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 15. -source, NBCNews

    “Watch the skies, everywhere! Keep looking. Keep watching the skies!” – Ned Scott [Douglas Spencer] ‘The Thing From Another World’ 1951

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  34. It looks like the weekend is shaping up pretty nicely. White Biden supporters are dragging black Sanders supporters for quoting Martin Luther King, Jr., while Elizabeth Warren campaign workers are complaining that coverage by journalists of Lieawatha’s campaign wasn’t appropriately fawning and hagiographic.

    JVW (54fd0b)

  35. DCSCA –
    Whats a good star gazing app? One where it tells me the constellations above me.

    mg (8cbc69)

  36. @35. There’s a lot of them– just do a Google search, select one that’s easy for you to work with and not too technical [some of them are very much more for amateur and professional astronomers] and punch in your location coordinates and it’ll display what’s above you at a given time of the day/night of the year. I like to use the ones that track the space station and various satellites– they often include an overlay of planets and constellations you can use as reference for the sightings. For instance, the Hubble Space Telescope can be seen but given its altitude it is somewhat faint and hard to spot, even at dusk- while the ISS is as bright as a silver dollar at dusk. One of the more impressive sights I saw some years ago was the ISS and the space shuttle- just minutes after they had undocked and separated– and these two objects full of people in the same orbit and relative speed just zipped quietly across the dusky, cloudless sky, just after sunset, from horizon to horizon.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  37. Star Chart, Star Walk 2 or Night Sky (I think the latter is only available on Mac/iPhone)

    Dave (1bb933)

  38. Hillary has withdrawn her apology over the Emails. Bill has stated that he needed the Lewinsky’s to relax and do his job.

    What a pair!

    rcocean (1a839e)

  39. When the Russians gave up in Afghanistan, did they pay for the privilege of surrendering as we are?

    DRJ (15874d)

  40. When the Russians gave up in Afghanistan, did they pay for the privilege of surrendering as we are?

    They didn’t have the greatest deal-maker in history like we do.

    Dave (1bb933)

  41. Jason Stanley
    @jasonintrator
    To repeat the obvious: there is no other explanation except for misogyny for what has happened to Senator Warren this year. Sadly, a proof of concept. Profoundly depressing.
    __ _

    Hoosier
    @hoosier114

    Uh, every story about Warren is about how she didn’t get the votes clearly owed to her given she’s such a superior candidate
    __ _

    Lunchbucket
    @LunchbucketEcon
    ·
    Hillary did set the bar pretty high with blaming other people. Its amazing that women candidates cant just admit their ideas and campaigning sucked without blaming misogyny and someone else.
    __ _

    Carl Paulus
    @CarlPaulus
    ·
    I suspect a huge part of this is because her staff was convinced Twitter and the Very Online Left was representative of the electorate and gave her bad advice, but every time she came to a political decision point she made the wrong decision.
    __ _

    Todd Cohen
    @molonosoff
    ·
    She didn’t just lose her home state. 8 in 10 Democrat primary voters voted against her.
    __ _

    harkin (b64479)

  42. What a trio!

    Come July, when Sanders, Trump, Biden, Warren and Bloomberg all succumb to Covid-19, maybe we can accept God’s will and move forward as a nation.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  43. @39. You’ll find we paid for that, too- ask Charlie Wilson.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  44. I don’t see any such filter.

    Patterico (115b1f) — 3/7/2020 @ 11:43 am

    It’s the only word that seems to trigger the ban filter when I quote a link or even misspell it by removing an “r.”

    Have someone you know without admin privileges see if they get put in moderation using it. Might be disqus for all I know.

    NJRob (9bee56)

  45. Thanks JVW.

    NJRob (9bee56)

  46. Terrorist.

    nk (9651fb)

  47. Maybe the filter is terrorism.

    [Testing per Rob @46]

    Kishnevi (3ccbfa)

  48. The Libertarians will do what they always do: help elect Dems.

    Like they did in 2016 when we voted for Gary Johnson?

    Paul Montagu (8497cf)

  49. Whats a good star gazing app?

    Starry Night 7 is very good.

    Chuck Bartowski (6fff93)

  50. Star Map worked great on my iPhone for years but now it freezes up and can’t update it.

    Since then, Star Tracker Lite has worked pretty good.
    _

    harkin (b64479)

  51. A ban on “oris” with unexpected consequences. Go figure.

    People in NJ are hoarding goods like it’s the end of days. Weird to watch people trust the media so implicitly and do what they say.

    NJRob (4d595c)


  52. Hamilton Nolan
    @hamiltonnolan

    Employees trying to unionize at The Young Turks filed labor charges today saying Cenk Uygur is withholding raises from them improperly, and fired an employee in retaliation for organizing. Uygur denies. Big escalation.

    https://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/22350/the-young-turks-union-cenk-uygur-labor-organizing
    __ _

    Read the whole thing, very illuminating.
    _

    harkin (b64479)

  53. Thank you all for the night sky info.

    mg (8cbc69)

  54. Weird to watch people trust the media so implicitly and do what they say.

    Do you imagine that all the medical doctors the media is quoting are actually being told by the media what to say?

    Dave (1bb933)

  55. Come July, when Sanders, Trump, Biden, Warren and Bloomberg all succumb to Covid-19, maybe we can accept God’s will and move forward as a nation.

    Inshallah.

    Dave (1bb933)

  56. Paranoid thoughts:

    Suppose this virus IS engineered by China, and designed to affect Caucasians more than others? There are genetically-targeted viruses in nature.

    or

    Suppose that China is REALLY lying about all this, and they’ve had 100 times the number of deaths. Who’s to know?

    or

    Did you ever read Frank Herbert’s “The White Plague“? It’s about a bio-terrorist who wants to kill all the Irish, but of course the virus mutates…

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  57. Come July, when Sanders, Trump, Biden, Warren and Bloomberg all succumb to Covid-19, maybe we can accept God’s will and move forward as a nation.”
    __ _

    Others echo your sentiments:

    Don’t take this the wrong way but if you were a young, hardline environmentalist looking for the ultimate weapon against climate change, you could hardly design anything better than coronavirus.

    Unlike most other such diseases, it kills mostly the old who, let’s face it, are more likely to be climate sceptics.”

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-has-a-silver-lining-cz8wpc6xj
    __ _

    And grab their property too!!
    _

    harkin (b64479)

  58. Never read that book Kevin, it sounds interesting.

    Dave, these idiots are wiping toilet paper out of the stores and bottled water like there won’t be a water faucet or electricity. Some common sense and a sense of proportion is greatly needed.

    NJRob (4d595c)

  59. Voter fraud found in florida! Cheryl hall who works for a republican party voter suppression group trying to prevent felons who now have the right to vote from registering was arrested for falsifying voter registration of over 100 in number, changing the votere registration from democrat to republican so they couldn’t vote march 17 democratic party primary.

    corona virus (6068b2)

  60. “ A few nights before the Super Tuesday primaries that ultimately squashed Ms. Warren’s chances, I had a dream that I was in a crowd watching her onstage. She glowed like someone who has won in a way that has nothing to do with numbers. We spoke afterward. She was clearly at peace with whatever happened with the election.”

    NYTimes: I Am Burning With Fury and Grief Over Elizabeth Warren. And I Am Not Alone

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/opinion/elizabeth-warren-women-president.html#click=https://t.co/609DidInCT
    __ _

    My Idiot Dawg
    @MyIdiotDawg
    ·
    I think it’s great that @nytimes is now publishing entries from dream journals. I had one the other night where I was supposed to be in an outdoor @WWE match, but the venue wasnt ready because Princess Leia hadn’t hired the right lawn service.
    Dreams are fun!

    _

    harkin (b64479)

  61. Dave, these idiots are wiping toilet paper out of the stores and bottled water like there won’t be a water faucet or electricity. Some common sense and a sense of proportion is greatly needed.

    Well, I don’t think everyone has to buy 100 rolls of toilet paper or a trunk full of mineral water to empty the shelves. If a lot of people all decide at the same time to buy a little extra to be on the safe side, which I think is perfectly rational, that will do it.

    I’m sure there are some acting irrationally too. If people have freedom to decide for themselves, they won’t all make the same choices. I’m sure you’ll agree that’s a feature, not a bug…

    🙂

    Dave (1bb933)

  62. Mitch McConnell’s Senate majority is in danger

    The interesting part is that the DEMs are pushing in states like Montana…

    Time123 (c9382b)

  63. Something I notes on another thread (improved): The primary election process can sustain 6 or 8 candidates or 2 but not a number in between, and it can’t always sustain two.

    Sammy Finkelman (9570ad)

  64. https://twitter.com/AdamJKucharski/status/1236275741597339648

    Interesting new stats on mortality.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  65. I expect that Walmart will have plenty of toilet paper next week. It’s not something I leave to “just-in-time” anyway.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  66. #66: I believe that things are biased towards the aged, but I really don’t know how they get their numbers for “asymptomatic infection.” I guess if you test everyone on a cruise ship you can get some numbers, but you are dealing with a closed environment which may skew the data in other ways, such as abnormal infection/re-infection rates or limited access to treatment.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  67. The primary election process can sustain 6 or 8 candidates or 2 but not a number in between, and it can’t always sustain two.

    In 2012, the GOP had 4 active candidates through April. In 2016 the GOP had 3 candidates until Trump had a lock.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  68. Kamala Harris boldly steps out and endorses Biden, five days after the CA primary.
    The Seattle mayor, Jenny Durkan, endorsed a coupla days ago, but Governor Inslee, the failed environmental candidate, is mum.

    Paul Montagu (8497cf)

  69. I survived Y2K, I can survive Covid-19.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  70. Here’s a video of animals crossing a log bridge over the course of a year.

    Paul Montagu (8497cf)

  71. Major crime up 22% in NYC after “bail reform.” Authorities baffled.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8083381/New-York-City-sees-surge-major-crime-NYPD-blames-new-bail-reforms.html

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  72. Big humanitarians crisis in northern Syria caused by Russia (I think coronovirus has knocked Iran and its foreign legions out of the game for now if they were a part of this anyway.)

    Russia and Bashar Assad don’t want this population there, which contains many people allowed to leave other parts of Syria. To do a takeoff on Berthold Brecht, the Syrian government is trying to dissolve the people, rather than letting the people dissolving the government.

    Some refugees seeking shelter right by the border fence figuring Russian planes won’t drop any bombs there. Turkey is not letting anyone new in, but has stopped ts efforts to prevent any refugees (who ave been there for 4 years in many cases) from going to Greece or Bulgaria.

    https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/04/turkey-west-european-union-idlib-syria-greece-border-refugees-erdogan

    The Syrian regime systematically targeted health care facilities.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/world/middleeast/idlib-syria-refugees-russia.html

    In a camp called Al Nasr, new arrivals have pitched tents just yards from the concrete wall topped with rolls of barbed wire that marks the Turkish border….This time they chose to live within 100 yards of the border wall. Were they not scared that this place would also be bombed?

    Ms. al-Mijan shook her head, and gestured at the hill opposite. “That’s Turkey,” she said.

    There are three choices: Take another million or so more Syrian refugees into the European Union, (Turkey doesn;t wnt to increse the number i Turkey) fighting Or calling the Russian bluff in order to create a safe zone within Syria or let them suffer and die.

    There are periodic ceasefires which don’t last. Putin wants the EU to take the last alternative, and therefore he’s going slow.

    Sammy Finkelman (9570ad)

  73. #28 Character doesn’t matter,

    The most unquestionable achievement of Trump is getting Republicans and “conservatives” overwhelming to take this position, after decades of shouting “Character matters!” if the subject was a Democrat.

    Of course, what they’re really saying is “We don’t think it should matter on our side — but we’ll still act very offended by character faults on your side.” Because some of Trump’s biggest defenders are purporting to be appalled that Joe Biden says things that aren’t true, and that he was not nice to someone, and that he used his position to get an advantage for his offspring. And they’re morally offended that Elizabeth Warren lied about her ancestry. Can’t have a president who does such horrible things, can we?

    Many of the Trump faithful respond to the “character” point by saying “So what if he’s crude and vulgar?” They must be deliberately ignoring the obvious fact that he is also grotesquely dishonest and egregiously self-centered, and he believes that whatever he chooses to do is irreproachable by definition.

    If they really think it’s not a problem to grant presidential power to a malignant narcissist with no conception of truth apart from self-interest, then they’d better shut up henceforward about any defects of character in any other politician or public figure.

    Radegunda (39c35f)

  74. https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-ocasio-cortezs-93-trillion-green-new-deal-ryan-saavedra

    Biden saying he wants to go further left than AoC. Also wants to ban all plastic bags. So many socialists.

    NJRob (4d595c)

  75. Speaking of which, Trump just won a ringing endorsement from one of the many crooks he has let out of prison:

    I’m grateful, everlastingly grateful, to President Trump again for having the testicular virility to trump Obama and do the right thing.

    And people calling themselves Republicans and conservatives now rush to defend this guy, because he’s a “Trumpocrat”.

    Dave (1bb933)

  76. It’s conspiracy, NJRob. They’ll do anything to get me to vote for Trump.

    nk (9651fb)

  77. 77. Bloggo was a “political prisoner” who had had his “freedom stolen”…

    by a jury AND a pretty much unanimous bipartisan Illinois legislature.

    Ergo, just the kind of cat that the Orange Racoon would feel needed succor.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  78. I don’t get it nk. All they have to do is not be insane yet they cannot manage that.

    NJRob (4d595c)

  79. #76 — Trump has so disgusted and appalled many swing voters and many who generally vote R that they’re seeing Biden as the saner alternative.
    Trump and his boosters have also made blatant hypocrisy into the hallmark of the Republican Party, as well as insisting that stupidity and ignorance are really a higher form of wisdom.

    Radegunda (39c35f)

  80. All they have to do is not be insane yet they cannot manage that.

    So what? Trump can’t manage to be sane either.

    Radegunda (39c35f)

  81. Theoretically, banning plastic bags would be a positive. I’ve shipped through 3 of the worlds great ocean gyres, and even the smallest one, Indian, took days to traverse, and 70% of it was plastic bags of various sizes.

    Practically, there are primary considerations about how you transition from today to some future without disposable bags, replacing them with some biodegradable solution. The solution exists today, but it’s not at scale, and not price competitive, so the transition is the issue, this is true universally.

    That’s the problem with the Bernie/AOC cohort doesn’t understand is the practical limitations going between the reality of today, and their fantasy future. Trump and his ilk are doing the same thing, just on a different extreme. Those two extremes are NOT conservative/liberal, they are different versions of what they think are benevolent dictatorships.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  82. Radegunda,

    This isn’t about Trump yet you cannot seem to help yourself and engage in whataboutism. Why is that?

    NJRob (c1ecf8)

  83. This isn’t about Trump yet you cannot seem to help yourself and engage in whataboutism. Why is that?

    Well, the administration’s dragging of its feet, unable to do the basic planning that was patently obvious, 2 months ago.

    Plus, the lies, jeez, the lies.

    Feb. 2
    The death toll has topped 300, including the first fatality outside China. The World Health Organization and U.S. have declared a public health emergency.
    Mr. Trump spoke with the Fox News personality Sean Hannity:
    “We pretty much shut it down coming in from China,” Mr. Trump said of the coronavirus. “But we can’t have thousands of people coming in who may have this problem, the coronavirus. So, we’re going to see what happens, but we did shut it down, yes.”

    Well, today, there are over 20 direct flights to the US from China, and US citizens are still flying back and forth. Today, a month later. It was a lie, not based on a single iota of truth, it was over 100 at the time, and the airlines initially were the instigators, because of demand. Again, a month ago. So the total shutdown isn’t working well, since a few thousand are landing today. Of course, that doesn’t address connections, and the 10’s of thousands that came in January, and touched people, who touched people, who coughed on people….

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  84. Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827) — 3/8/2020 @ 11:47 am

    I’ve shipped through 3 of the worlds great ocean gyres, and even the smallest one, Indian, took days to traverse, and 70% of it was plastic bags of various sizes.

    But those plastic bags came from ships, or from other countries.

    The United States needs to plead NOT GUILTY.

    How would a plastic bag get into the ocean from American cities?

    Practically, there are primary considerations about how you transition from today to some future without disposable bags, replacing them with some biodegradable solution.

    Biodegradability is the OLD ENVIRONMENTALISM .

    Now they believe in CARBON SEQUESTRATION and biodegradability is at odds with that.

    Or do we say that;s once something has been decreed to be bad, it stays bad, even of the reason no longer applies or s 180 degrees reversed?

    The solution exists today, but it’s not at scale, and not price competitive, so the transition is the issue, this is true universally.

    That’s the problem with the Bernie/AOC cohort doesn’t understand is the practical limitations going between the reality of today, and their fantasy future. Trump and his ilk are doing the same thing, just on a different extreme. Those two extremes are NOT conservative/liberal, they are different versions of what they think are benevolent dictatorships.

    Sammy Finkelman (9570ad)

  85. The solution exists today, but it’s not at scale, and not price competitive, so the transition is the issue, this is true universally.

    Maybe you could use other things, until they find something wrong with that.

    They could say solar power causes global warming.

    And the point about plastic bags is: They have a USE which justifies the little bit of extra problems they might cause. Much more of a use than many other uses for plastic.

    Sammy Finkelman (9570ad)

  86. But those plastic bags came from ships, or from other countries.

    The United States needs to plead NOT GUILTY.

    How would a plastic bag get into the ocean from American cities?

    No, it’s not from ships. This is pure ignorance, the US dumps hundreds of millions of tons of plastic trash into the ocean every year. This isn’t news. Just because one country doesn’t create all the problems, doesn’t make it not a problem.

    Biodegradability is the OLD ENVIRONMENTALISM .

    Now they believe in CARBON SEQUESTRATION and biodegradability is at odds with that.

    Or do we say that;s once something has been decreed to be bad, it stays bad, even of the reason no longer applies or s 180 degrees reversed?

    Carbon sequestration has nothing to do with paper or plastic at the grocery stores. Just because option 1 solves problem 1, doesn’t mean option 2 addressing problem 2 also addresses problem 1. That’s pure gaslighting.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (305827)

  87. Is not understand what Peoples Republic of California do with plastic bags.

    Was once get light-weight bio-degradable corn starch bag. Was free. Is dissolve in water. Is burn without smoke. Is edible. Was good.

    Is now get heavy thick HDPE “reusable” bag. Is cost 1/10 potato. Is weigh ten times as much. Is survive sun go nova. But comrades congratulate selves on save planet.

    Is not understand.

    Dave (1bb933)

  88. @89. It’s the paper bag thing that’s goofy.

    Grocery stores charge a dime for a wholly recyclable, biodegradable item already made of recycled material.

    Just another ‘fee-driven’ nickel and dime ripoff.

    Reaganomics. 😉

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  89. https://www.nj.com/politics/2020/03/lawmakers-just-voted-to-ban-plastic-and-paper-bags-in-nj.html

    This must make several of you ecstatic. I just think they’re wannabe dictators who hate that people aren’t making the choices the leftists decide are best for them.

    NJRob (c1ecf8)

  90. Here in New York, Rite Aid is charging (mandatory tax) five cents for paper bags <i< without handles!

    These were the kind of bags handed out at the grocery store 50 years ago.

    Only….

    Then people…

    A) Shopped frequently within walking distance of home and carried one or two bags in their hands,

    OR

    B) Took a shopping cart not the kind you see in stores but also called a shopping cart) and wheeled it home.

    OR

    C) Took delivery for a big order.

    Sammy Finkelman (9570ad)

  91. I just think they’re wannabe dictators who hate that people aren’t making the choices the leftists decide are best for them.

    I think they’re probably doing it because they think it will be popular with more people than not.

    I think it’s dumb, but in CA voters approved the plastic bag ban 53-47.

    Dave (1bb933)

  92. Target gave me a 5 cents discount for not using a bag on Wednesday night. I don’t know if they offered one – the last cashier was closing.

    I was told to go to self checkout but that is hard to do with coupons.

    Anyway I went to customer service, which I knew from previous experience could lso be used for checking out even if you had no issue.

    They previously offered plastic handles that you could attack to he plastic covered paper towels or toilet paper. I got one, and I had an old giant Target bag for another.

    Bulky items can still be put in plastic bags – also any store that doesn’t carry anything that has sales tax on it, like most fruit an vegetable stores. In New York food (that’s not a snack) and medicine are not taxed – also for several years now, clothing individually priced at $110 or less.

    Prescription medicines are another exception to the plastic bag as they decided they didn’t want people to lose their medicines. Very thoughful of them, or maybe the pharmaceutical industry, or os it pharmacy benefit managers has a good lobby.. In New York now, a prescription must be made out in advance to a specific pharmacy, so if it is closed I guess you would be out of luck. And they are not on paper either. Paper ones I suppose could be filled anywhere but doctors get penalized for them. Except prescriptions for eyeglasses.

    There was a court case at the end of last week by plastic bag manufacturers that said the regulations issued for what bags were OK did not comport with the law. They sought an injunction – the judge didn’t give it, but the state promised not to enforce the law for another month, till April 1. They said they weren’t planning to issue fines anyway. So many stores still give out bags.

    Sammy Finkelman (9570ad)

  93. 93. Dave (1bb933) — 3/8/2020 @ 1:28 pm

    I think it’s dumb, but in CA voters approved the plastic bag ban 53-47.

    People are willing to make sacrifices, especially if they don;t understand it.

    It must make sense, or else why would they ask you to do it?

    Sammy Finkelman (9570ad)

  94. I’ve never cared much if some enviro-freak got all twisted over plastic bags, and simply had to find another way to tote their stuff home to “save the planet”. Fine by me.

    I do take umbrage at little Collectivists forcing their stupidity on me.

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  95. This isn’t about Trump yet you cannot seem to help yourself and engage in whataboutism. Why is that?

    What exactly is not about Trump? The upcoming presidential election? The state of American governance today? (This is an open thread, after all.)

    My point was: anybody who speaks of “insanity” on the Dem side while defending the nuttiness that regularly comes from Trump cannot be taken very seriously. I’m not endorsing the Dem platform, but it’s simply a fact that a lot of Americans watching and listening to Trump — especially in relation to a public health crisis — are quite rationally alarmed at the bizarre mindset of the man who’s making crucial decisions, and alarmed to hear that experts are so worried about offending his ego.

    Also, it isn’t “whataboutism” to notice that many people are holding Dems to standards that they’ve been insisting should not be applied to Trump. That’s a matter of pointing out hypocrisy and double standards.

    Radegunda (39c35f)

  96. @80. Just the prudes– or the jealous.

    Chances are you’ll find plenty of fellas in an Akron bar after their shift at Firestone back him to the hilt– and dream of his lifestyle and the babes he has bagged.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  97. LOL Tyfoid Mary Tedtoo in ‘self-imposed-isolation’ after coming in contact w/a coronavirus carrier at CPAC.

    CPAC: Truly a bunch of sickos.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  98. Joe Biden has called for a plastic bag ban.

    F— that guy! You can’t support him now.

    Make America Ordered Again (23f793)

  99. CPAC: Truly a bunch of sickos.

    Your guy Trump was the star of the show.

    Dave (1bb933)

  100. CPAC: Truly a bunch of sickos.

    They’re definitely on the lame, milquetoast, and status-seeking side.

    Make America Ordered Again (23f793)

  101. @101. Have you hugged your flag today, comrade?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  102. They’re definitely on the lame, milquetoast, and status-seeking side.

    As opposed to you fierce blood and soil bois of the alt-right.

    Ha!

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  103. Serenity. I am feeling a little more calm these last few days knowing that Biden will almost certainly get the Democratic nomination. There is hope for a return to sanity come next January.

    Also… that video of Brian Williams and NY Times Mara Gay’s math blunder still makes me feel especially proud about my schoolin.

    I feel good.

    noel (4d3313)

  104. I remember once asking a friend if he’d rather be happy or smart? He said “smart”. He got exactly what he wanted. As you may have figured out by now, I might lean toward bliss.

    noel (4d3313)

  105. I guess MAOA and RC were indulging their “jungle asian” fetish at the other (groyper) party last weekend.

    urbanleftbehind (4d8072)

  106. 107

    Ewww…

    Ragspierre (d9bec9)

  107. So what? Trump can’t manage to be sane either.

    If only sanity was the problem.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  108. Is not understand what Peoples Republic of California do with plastic bags.

    It gets worse. Plastic going into landfills is bad, apparently, and China doesn’t want to take our trash recycling anymore. Never mind the whole idea of sequestering carbon. So, some super-greenies have hit on the idea of BURNING plastic as an energy source. Gaia wept.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  109. Theoretically, banning plastic bags would be a positive. I’ve shipped through 3 of the worlds great ocean gyres, and even the smallest one, Indian, took days to traverse, and 70% of it was plastic bags of various sizes.

    Not ONE of those bags came from the USA. All the trash — ALL OF IT — in the oceans comes from the third or developing world, where they have far more important things to deal with than sorting their trash into bins.

    The best thing you can do with plastic is recycle it. If you cannot do that economically, the next best thing is to bury it in landfills, sequestering the carbon. There is no third-best thing.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  110. This is pure ignorance, the US dumps hundreds of millions of tons of plastic trash into the ocean every year.

    You got THAT right, but I think you want a colon, not a comma.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)


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