Patterico's Pontifications

8/20/2021

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:25 pm



[guest post by Dana]

I hope that you had a good week. We are not in Afghanistan so that alone should make us eternally thankful despite other tribulations we might be facing. May this weekend be a respite from the outside world, and in your corner of the world, a time where you can just breathe.

First news item

What President Biden said, Pt. 1:

“I have seen no question of our credibility from our allies around the world,” Biden said following remarks on the ongoing evacuation effort in Afghanistan.

“The fact of the matter is I have not seen that. As a matter of fact, the opposite I’ve gotten,” Biden added. “The exact opposite. We’re acting with dispatch. We’re acting, committing, doing what we said we would do.”

What they said:

In a meeting with her party’s top brass, German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that developments in the country were “bitter”.

She said however that once the United States decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, it was clear that Germany and other allies had to follow suit.

The decision was “ultimately made by the Americans”, and “domestic political reasons” were partly to blame, said the chancellor, according to participants in the meeting.

“The troop withdrawal sparked a domino effect” that culminated in the Taliban sweeping back into power, said Merkel…

The leader of her party had harsher words, calling the entire Afghanistan operation a disaster for NATO.

“It is the biggest debacle that NATO has suffered since its founding, and we’re standing before an epochal change,” said Armin Laschet, who is the conservative candidate to succeed Merkel as chancellor in September’s elections…

Britain has also slammed the American decision to leave Afghanistan, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warning on Friday that the Taliban’s resurgence would create a breeding ground for extremists that threatened the world.

“Of course Al-Qaeda will probably come back,” he said, warning that would lead to “a security threat to us and our interests”.

“I felt that that was a mistake to have done it that way, that we’ll all, as an international community, probably pay the consequences of that,” Wallace said of the Doha agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban.

Second news item

What President Biden said, Pt. 2:

“We have no indication that they haven’t been able to get in Kabul through the airport. We’ve made an agreement with the Taliban thus far,” Biden said during a press conference at the White House. “They’ve allowed them to go through. It’s in their interest for them to go through, so we know of no circumstance where American citizens carrying American passports are trying to get through to the airport. But we will do whatever needs to be done to see to it they get to the airport.”

What those on the ground are said:

“President Biden just described a very orderly process, an American airlift that is going efficiently, that there’s a negotiation with the Taliban, that it may be difficult but Afghans can get to the airport and then get on these flights and then come to places like Doha,” said Richard Engel, chief foreign correspondent for NBC News, Mediaite reported. “It is far more chaotic than that.”

It’s like the administration doesn’t know the internet exists…

Oh, and what this guy said:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers Friday that Americans trying to leave Afghanistan have been beaten by Taliban fighters, according to several people who participated in a briefing call with Austin and other top officials.

Austin’s remarks to House members appeared to directly contradict President Joe Biden’s assessment from minutes earlier, in which Biden said the U.S. was not aware of Americans having trouble getting through Taliban checkpoints and to the airport in Kabul — the only evacuation point in the country that is not controlled by the Taliban.

Third news item

What President Biden said, Pt.3:

President Joe Biden told key allies in June that he would maintain enough of a security presence in Afghanistan to ensure they could continue to operate in the capital following the main U.S. withdrawal, a vow made before the Taliban’s rapid final push across the country, according to a British diplomatic memo seen by Bloomberg.

Biden promised U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, England, that “critical U.S. enablers” would remain in place to keep Kabul safe following the drawdown of NATO forces, the note said. British officials determined the U.S. would provide enough personnel to ensure that the U.K. embassy in Kabul could continue operating.

I think he needs to stop talking, at the very least.

Fourth news item

SMDH, Mississippi:

Mississippi’s poison control center has seen an increase in calls of people taking ivermectin, including versions of the deworming drug intended for livestock, to treat or prevent COVID-19, according to state health officials.

The Mississippi Health Department took to social media Friday to issue a warning about the phenomenon, which has been reported throughout the pandemic.

“Do not use ivermectin products made for animals,” it said in a Facebook post…

“At least 70% of the recent calls have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers,” stated the alert, which did not specify the number of total calls.

Fifth news item

Exonerated:

The Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt outside a door of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot has been formally exonerated after an internal investigation, according to a department memo obtained by NBC News.

The officer, whose name has not been released, opened fire on Babbitt as she and a mob of other Trump supporters tried to forcefully enter the Capitol…

The Justice Department announced in April that no charges were being brought against the officer. The exoneration by the Capitol Police wraps up the last remaining investigation into the incident.

Sixth news item

Getting whiplash in Georgia:

Doctors and nurses from metro Atlanta’s major hospital systems all but begged Georgians Thursday morning to get vaccinated and take other steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, sharing stories of full emergency rooms and long wait times for patients needing care.

Hours later, Gov. Brian Kemp announced he had signed an executive order blocking cities from forcing private businesses to enact mask rules, mandate vaccines or take other actions to mitigate the coronavirus.

Seventh news item

President Biden pushed by Congressmembers to rescue Americans stranded in Afghanistan:

Biden is now getting strong, bipartisan pushback from lawmakers in Congress, who are urging him to rescue Americans stranded behind Taliban lines in Afghanistan. In a letter to the president on Thursday, 53 senators asked the “Administration to assist with the passage of individuals to the airport to safety — both those within Kabul and those outside of the capital — as well as to consider cases where Afghans fleeing quickly may not have been able to collect or gather appropriate documents.”

One of the letter’s signatories, Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.), said in a separate statement that Biden should give “American troops the power to push back the airport perimeter and create safe, American-controlled corridors to the airport. We cannot wait for Americans to find their own way. Go get them. It’s the duty of the commander-in-chief.”

Eighth news item

Well, looky here:

The White House’s readout of a call between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron on the crisis in Afghanistan leaves out an impassioned plea from the French president that the US and its allies have a “moral responsibility” to evacuate Afghan allies.

The French government’s readout of the conversation was released on Friday, a day after the call took place, and indicates that Macron emphasised ensuring the safe evacuation of Afghan citizens who assisted American and European troops over the past 20 years at great risk to themselves and their families.

According to the readout, Macron described the mission to evacuate allies as a “moral responsibility” and told Biden: “We cannot abandon them.”

The Élysée said Macron “underlined the absolute need to ensure rapid and concrete coordination among allies on the ground to continue the evacuations”.

The White House version, however, made no mention of a “moral responsibility” to evacuate Afghan allies.

“They lauded the tireless efforts of their personnel working closely together in Kabul on the evacuation of their citizens, the brave Afghans who have stood by us and our Nato partners, and other vulnerable Afghan nationals,” the White House said in a brief description of the call.

“They underscored the importance of continued close coordination among allies and democratic partners on Afghanistan, including through multilateral fora, on the provision of humanitarian assistance and support for refugees.”

Asked about the difference, the White House just referred the Guardian back to the readout.

MISCELLANEOUS

May we all have someone to hold hands with:

Have a good weekend.

–Dana

517 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Happy weekend!

    Dana (174549)

  2. R.I.P. Tom T. Hall, hall-of-fame country singer-songwriter

    Icy (6abb50)

  3. it’s semantically impossible to exonerate someone who was never known

    a hush hush internal probe

    what a joke

    JF (e1156d)

  4. but, but, but the narrative

    FBI finds scant evidence U.S. Capitol attack was coordinated

    The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials.

    Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations.

    JF (e1156d)

  5. What were you doing on August 20, 1977…

    Perspective:

    Voyager 2 was launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun’s heliosphere. A part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, Voyager 1, on a trajectory that took longer to reach Jupiter and Saturn but enabled further encounters with Uranus and Neptune.

    theskylive.com/voyager2-tracker

    Mission status:

    https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/

    The Voyager 2 spacecraft is approximately 12 billion miles from Earth at this posting.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  6. It’s like the administration doesn’t know the internet exists…

    It’s even odds that Biden can’t use a computer and better than that he cannot figure out Google.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  7. “If only Biden knew”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  8. The Voyager 2 spacecraft is approximately 12 billion miles from Earth at this posting.

    18 light-hours

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  9. Mississippi’s poison control center has seen an increase in calls of people taking ivermectin

    But none of that untested vaccine for them!

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  10. During the Trump administration, Pelosi repeatedly suggested that Congress establish a body other than the Cabinet for determining presidential inability under the 25th Amendment (which allows Congress to do that).

    Now might be the time to take her up on it.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  11. Any guess who the next Americommie N.Y. govna will be?

    mg (8cbc69)

  12. Biden and his legacy –
    From no one left behind to everyone left behind

    mg (8cbc69)

  13. Hours later, Gov. Brian Kemp announced he had signed an executive order blocking cities from forcing private businesses to enact mask rules, mandate vaccines or take other actions to mitigate the coronavirus.

    So, not meh private business? The business can still decide for themselves correct? Or is this like the claims that Desantis is preventing school children from wearing masks?

    Tell me again how being a liberty loving consistent True Conservative means forcing businesses to enact mask rules?

    frosty (f27e97)

  14. On the JB “said” topic; are those lies, is he just misinformed about the single biggest foreign policy issue of his administration, or is he correctly informed and this is his interpretation of the facts?

    frosty (f27e97)

  15. Some other Biden says:

    No Al-Qaeda in AF; Pentagon same day – there are AQ in AF.

    We retain ability to monitor terror threats in AF; Pentagon same day – we don’t have firm numbers because our intelligence capabilities aren’t what they used to be.

    It isn’t inevitable that AF will fall to the taliban; Biden a few weeks later – it was inevitable, and it was always going to be ugly.

    We’re leaving the AF government effective tools to fight internal threats including air support; shuts down Bagram in the middle of the night and evacs forces.

    frosty (f27e97)

  16. It’s a good thing the taliban still have an active twitter account. That may be the only news source out of AF soon.

    frosty (f27e97)

  17. @2 Icy:

    My favorite … I Love
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggDJ89worRc

    Chris (3d25b0)

  18. Mr Snowman quoted:

    We retain ability to monitor terror threats in AF; Pentagon same day – we don’t have firm numbers because our intelligence capabilities aren’t what they used to be.

    It seems pretty obvious that even when our intelligence capabilities were what they used to be, they weren’t very good.

    The State Department and the CIA are basically Hahvahd and Yale class reunions, and that basic inbreeding has brought a lot of problems. Despite their world travel — both State and CIA value recruits with foreign experience, even if that was only vacations — they all seem to come from the same wealthy white insularity that inhibits thinking critically; their opinions are all the same because they all come from the same insular world. Our generals and admirals, all having jostled their way past their colleagues for flag rank, have all adapted themselves to suckle up to the Hahvahd and Yale clique, and are barely, if at all, better than the reunion classes.

    What needs to be done is to get a strong conservative into the White House and fire them all, and I mean all of them. Replace them with the middle class sons and daughters who went to state universities, because that was all they could afford, people who have solidly American values. Do not hire anybody, and I mean anybody! from a west coast or an east coast north of Carolina state, or anybody who has a Social Justice Warrior major or minor. Replace all officers above the rank of Lieutenant Colonel or Commander, and start listening to the people in the military who actually understand what they see around them, the non-commissioned officers.

    William F Buckley, Jr, said, “I would rather be governed by the first 2,000 people in the telephone directory, than by the Harvard University faculty.” As long as that telephone book is from a Southern city of fewer than 50,000 people, I would absolutely agree.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  19. https://www.city-journal.org/bank-of-america-racial-reeducation-program?wallit_nosession=1

    More blatant racism coming from a major corporation, but it has the seal of approval from out leftist indoctrinators.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  20. #4… yes, the intent is obvious when what should be a big DC news item gets issued on a Friday afternoon before a weekend. And this alleged “1/6 Insurrection” was a big story, given the attention and promotion the media monkeys and the usual suspects gave it. All turns out to be just one more huge collection of bullschiff and lies.

    But a lot of folks are familiar with the way our bureaucracy and their corporate media protectors operate, they’ve witnessed it real time for years.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  21. “I think if we get Joe Biden, it’s gonna go a long way towards helping us regain our status around the world.”

    —- Bruce “Monkeyman” Springsteen

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  22. The French government’s readout of the conversation was released on Friday, a day after the call took place, and indicates that Macron emphasised ensuring the safe evacuation of Afghan citizens who assisted American and European troops over the past 20 years at great risk to themselves and their families.

    According to the readout, Macron described the mission to evacuate allies as a “moral responsibility” and told Biden: “We cannot abandon them.”

    This is obviously a back-handed slap at the Germans who did not evacuate their French “allies” when the Allied marched into Paris in 1945.

    The British, on the other hand, can hold their heads up vis a vis the United States, because they did evacuate Benedict Arnold.

    nk (1d9030)

  23. Allied *Forces*

    nk (1d9030)

  24. You do know how we got to Afghanistan, right? Mohammad Omar, the leader/founder of the Taliban, who met Osama bin Laden when they were both mujahideen resisting the Soviet invasion, refused to turn OBM over to us? You do know that, right? And you do also know that that was the Taliban’s only crime against the United States? Sheltering Al Qaeda? We never accused them of participating in the 9/11 attack? Right? You do know that?

    nk (1d9030)

  25. like electing a suicide passenger jet for president

    Bin Laden warned in 2010 letter that Biden would ‘lead US into crisis’

    Osama bin Laden once warned al Qaeda not to target Joe Biden because he believed that his inheriting the presidency if something were to happen to Barack Obama would “lead the US into a crisis,” a resurfaced letter shows.

    In the letter dated May 2010, the al Qaeda 9/11 mastermind wrote he had no assassination plots against Biden because he deemed him “totally unprepared” to lead the United States.

    JF (e1156d)

  26. Lori Lightfoot’s least favorite constituent wrote:

    You do know how we got to Afghanistan, right? Mohammad Omar, the leader/founder of the Taliban, who met Osama bin Laden when they were both mujahideen resisting the Soviet invasion, refused to turn OBM over to us? You do know that, right? And you do also know that that was the Taliban’s only crime against the United States? Sheltering Al Qaeda? We never accused them of participating in the 9/11 attack? Right? You do know that?

    But, but, but, it was a crime against feminism that women and girls in Afghanistan were reduced to the status of chattels, so we just had to rebuild that nation into a good, functioning Western democracy.

    Which is why, of course, we disciplined Army officers who protested the habit of tribal leaders buggering 12-year-old bacha bazi boys . . . .

    Remember how the media were shocked, shocked! that President Trump, he of the oh-so-mean tweets, referred to some nations as [insert slang tern for feces here]hole countries, but is there any doubt, any doubt at all, that Afghanistan is a [insert slang tern for feces here]hole country?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  27. It may be the case that the FBI, being neck deep itself with undercover agents, doesn’t want anyone digging too deeply into the organization of what happened on 1/6 or the coordinated development and dissemination of the “insurrection” narrative propaganda. A lot of law enforcement body cam footage would come under scrutiny and players unmasked/identified.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  28. Which is why, of course, we disciplined Army officers who protested the habit of tribal leaders buggering 12-year-old bacha bazi boys . . .

    A practice undoubtedly leftover from Alexander the Great Buggerer’s invasion and occupation.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  29. California Recall:

    (John) Cox served with subpoena, (Larry) Elder blasted for remarks on women at California recall debate

    ………
    Just three of the 46 candidates running to replace Newsom in the Sept. 14 election participated in Tuesday’s debate at Sacramento’s Guild Theater, though seven were invited — former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Rancho Santa Fe businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Kevin Kiley of Rocklin.

    Larry Elder, the conservative radio talk show host who has topped recent polling, did not attend, nor did former Olympian and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner. A campaign spokesperson said she would be assessing wildfire damage in Plumas County this week instead……..
    ………..
    Faulconer blasted Elder for past derogatory remarks on women, including those in a 2000 column for Capitalism Magazine in which Elder said Democrats had an advantage over Republicans because they were supported by women, and “women know less than men about political issues, economics and current events.” The former San Diego mayor called the comments “bulls**t,” ………
    ………..
    Kiley said he doesn’t believe California should eliminate the minimum wage, but that the scale is currently “way off” and “probably needs to vary a bit more by region.” ………

    Faulconer said Elder’s position was “absolutely indefensible” and that he supported a minimum wage, while Cox said he believes there should be a federal minimum wage, but not a state minimum.
    ……….
    The issue of mask mandates has been a key talking point of Republican candidates during the campaign, with each gubernatorial hopeful saying they would allow local school districts to determine whether to require masks. Students and teachers have returned to classrooms across the state with a statewide mandate that they wear masks indoors.
    ……….
    Earlier in the night, a spectacle interrupted the debate at the onset when a private investigator yelled that he was serving a subpoena to Cox and threw plastic wrapped court documents onstage before being asked to leave.
    ………
    Cox continued through his opening remarks, despite the interruption. After the debate, Cox called the incident “a garbage thing,” despite a judge ruling he should pay.
    “It’s one creditor who didn’t get paid from the 2018 campaign because he didn’t deserve to be,” Cox said.
    ………..
    Caitlyn Jenner is not a former Olympian-Bruce Jenner is. And I hope Jenner didn’t break a heel “assessing” the fire damage. Elder and Jenner refuse to debate the other recall candidates unless Newsom also participates.

    Related:

    Democrats and the “She” Vote – 2000 Capitalism Magazine article by Larry Elder

    California gubernatorial candidate says employers should be allowed to ask women if they plan to have children
    …………
    “Are there legitimate business reasons for a venture capitalist to ask a female entrepreneur whether she intends to have children? Hell, yes,” Elder wrote in his 2002 book.
    ……….
    Elder suggested that women who choose to have children are not “dedicated” to their jobs and are unable to give an “all-hands-on-deck commitment” to work. In another passage, Elder went after former acting Massachusetts governor Jane Swift (R) for taking on the new role after giving birth to twins, claiming that “to tell women they can run a state, have family and children, and be equally attentive to all — is a lie.”
    ……..
    Elder……stood by his comments when questioned by a reporter during a Wednesday news conference.

    “Government should not be intruding into the relationship between employer and employee,” he told a reporter with the Associated Press.
    ……….
    The (Los Angeles Times) also reported Elder has previously suggested some “women were too unattractive to be sexually assaulted.”
    ……..
    Elder’s book comments prompted backlash from fellow politicians, including former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, who is another top GOP contender in the recall race.

    “Every undecided voter — pay attention,” Faulconer tweeted about Elder’s remarks. “These are not California values. These are not Republican, Democrat, or independent values. Larry Elder is doubling down on his attacks on working women and California families.”
    ……….

    I do admire Elder for not running away from his past, unlike most politicians.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  30. Good news from the Washington Post. There is an effective treatment for COVID:

    Monoclonal antibodies are free to patients and there have been almost no side effects. They are accessible on an outpatient basis, via a single infusion or four injections. Hospitals, urgent-care centers and even private doctors are authorized to dispense them.

    But Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, maker of the only authorized, free monoclonal antibodies, said it is reaching fewer than 30 percent of eligible patients, up from fewer than 5 percent a month ago.

    (The Post is making all its COVID coverage freely available, so you can read that whole article and many, many others, whether or not you have a subscription.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  31. 30, cntd…

    IOW, the FBI wants to hinder public investigations that might reveal its own role in orchestrating the January 6th protest.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  32. Osama bin Laden once warned al Qaeda not to target Joe Biden because he believed that his inheriting the presidency if something were to happen to Barack Obama would “lead the US into a crisis,” a resurfaced letter shows.

    It’s not that I’m tired of saying “Only Donald Trump could have gotten Joe Biden elected President”, it’s that perseveration (saying the same thing over and over) is a symptom of senility and I don’t want it used against me in case I ever face a conservatorship hearing in California.

    nk (1d9030)

  33. Tennessee won’t incentivize Covid shots — but pays to vax cows
    ……….
    Even though Tennessee has among the lowest vaccination rates in the country, (Gov. Bill) Lee (Rep.) has refused to follow the lead of other states that have offered enticements for people to get the potentially life-saving Covid-19 vaccine.

    Lee hasn’t always been against incentivizing vaccinations.

    Tennessee’s Herd Health program began in 2019 under Lee, whose family business, Triple L Ranch, breeds Polled Hereford cattle. The state currently reimburses participating farmers up to $1,500 for vaccinating their herds, handing out $492,561 over the past two fiscal years, according to documents from the Tennessee Agriculture Department.

    Lee, who so far has avoided drawing a serious Republican primary challenge in his 2022 reelection bid, has been accused of complacency in the face of the deadly pandemic. Tennessee’s vaccination rates for Covid-19 hover at 39 percent of its total population, versus over 49 percent nationally for the fully vaccinated. The state’s Covid hospitalizations have more than tripled over the past three weeks and infections have increased more than five-fold.
    ……..
    “We want to encourage Tennesseans to talk to their doctor, to talk to their clergy, to talk to their family members, the trusted voices in their life, in order for them to make a personal decision about whether or not to pursue getting the vaccine,” he told reporters recently, “but we encourage that because it is the tool that will most effectively allow us to manage this virus.”
    ……

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  34. “ First, if DoJ pushes ahead with prosecutions, many of those cases would not come up for trial until 2022. Think about that. There’s a major election–most likely including a major power shift away from the currently installed regime–that’s also coming up in 2022. My working assumption would be that DoJ and the FBI were hoping to get all this behind them through guilty pleas within months, as part of cementing the legitimacy of the Zhou regime in the public mind within the first 6 months. That hasn’t happened, and now it increasingly looks as if regime change will be necessary. The Deep State will want the citizenry focusing on that regime change rather than on the origins of the Zhou regime–of which the January 6 Event is a constant reminder. Thus the need to get the January 6 Event behind us, out of public consciousness, rather than the open running sore that Pelosi had hoped to make it–constantly blaming Trump. Game plan changes.

    Second, the judiciary as an independent branch if government is clearly not on board with being manipulated in the fashion that DoJ has been attempting. As a result defense attorneys are doubtless emboldened to fight these cases and to seek embarrassing discovery material. This already appears to be happening–cases are being expedited by dropping any serious charges and letting people free on time served. The bottom line here would be, the less information that comes out in the judicial process the less a new conservative majority in the House would have to work with in hearings.

    A third consideration offers a bit of hope. It increasingly appears that the whole purpose of the January 6 Event “insurrection” narrative has failed. Trump has NOT been marginalized and forced off the national stage. Whether he will stage a political comeback in the sense of a new campaign for the presidency remains an open question, but he remains a major factor–a figure around whom Americans can rally. To that extent, the “insurrection” narrative is a clear fail and has to be jettisoned in view of coming battles.”

    https://meaninginhistory.blogspot.com/2021/08/further-reflections-on-chris-wrays.html

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  35. I can’t remember in which thread it was, but someone asked which countries are most comparable to the United States. The answer is: none of them! William teach has documented how:

    1 – More than 250 people who were protesting coronavirus lockdowns in Australia were arrested Saturday and many faced fines for defying health orders, authorities said.
    2 – Berlin authorities have banned more than tens of thousands of anti-lockdown protesters demonstrating this weekend. Judges at the German capital’s administrative court refused to authorize 13 demonstrations, some of which had been organized by the Querdenker (Lateral thinker) anti-lockdown movement.

    Yes, I’m helping a blog friend by pimping his site, but I didn’t want to go over the hyperlink limit by linking each item individually. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

    The left loved them some First Amendment freedom of speech and peaceable — though the BLM demonstrations were not exactly peaceable! — assembly when the evil Donald Trump was President, but once they gained federal governing power, they were quick to clamp down as much as they could on freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and public protest.

    How is America different from every other country? We have a written Constitution which (supposedly) guarantees our rights, in absolute form. Australia, Germany, Canada and teh United Kingdom may profess loyalty to freedom of speech, but have, and have used, the power to clamp down on dissent.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  36. Colonel Haiku wrote:

    Which is why, of course, we disciplined Army officers who protested the habit of tribal leaders buggering 12-year-old bacha bazi boys . . .

    A practice undoubtedly leftover from Alexander the Great Buggerer’s invasion and occupation.

    Alex was a Greek
    We know what Greek soldiers did
    Lube in the mess kits

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  37. “The exoneration by the Capitol Police wraps up the last remaining investigation into the incident.”

    They still haven’t released the combined video from security cameras at the Capitol.

    Anyone truly concerned with the so-called insurrection should be demanding full transparency of what went down that day,

    Enough stuff has been said about it to create a mountain of manure. The FBI findings are conveniently being ignored while the conventional wisdom of what happened will continue to pollute the minds of the citizenry, with an assist from some conservatives who should know better.

    Obudman (bd1cdd)

  38. Mr Murdock wrote:

    I do admire Elder for not running away from his past, unlike most politicians.

    Why should he? He has clearly differentiated himself from the others.

    And while asking a female applicant if she planned to get knocked up have children would be considered an invasion of privacy, it is a very realistic concern for businesses and higher management. Regardless of what platitudes businessmen and corporate leaders may mouth, women who take time off for motherhood are almost universally relegated to the ‘mommy track’ when it comes to corporate promotions. Taking off just a quarter of a year for childbirth puts you behind you competition for the “C” suite.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  39. In 2019, one of the contributors to the British site, Political Betting, found many similarities between Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn.

    For example:

    Trump’s post-Charleston comments, his refusal to disavow support from white supremacists, his willingness to scapegoat immigrants, often quite offensively, have helped revive a nastiness that had lurked in the shadows.

    Similarly, a self-styled anti-racist fighter all his life has – somehow – found his party and himself criticised for reviving, spreading and/or turning a blind eye to anti-semitic memes and insults, as happily uttered by white supremacists in Charleston as by socialist anti-racists in Liverpool.

    I wouldn’t push CycleFree’s arguments too far — but I wouldn’t reject them totally, either. Read the post with an open mind, and you may learn something.

    (For those who don’t follow British politics, Jeremy Corbyn is so far left he makes Bernie Sanders look like a moderate.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  40. nk (1d9030) — 8/21/2021 @ 7:02 am

    refused to turn OBM over to us?

    Only? By that do you mean was a training ground and base of operations for AQ?

    Sheltering Al Qaeda? We never accused them of participating in the 9/11 attack?

    Ah, yes, you do know that you just don’t consider training terrorists and providing them a safe base of operations related to 9/11 or actual terrorism.

    frosty (f27e97)

  41. Mr Miller wrote:

    For those who don’t follow British politics, Jeremy Corbyn is so far left he makes Bernie Sanders look like a moderate.

    let’s face facts: when it comes to most European countries, the more conservative leaders would fit right in with our Democratic Party.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  42. Lawmakers denounce GOP Rep. Brooks (Insurrectionist) for appearing sympathetic to Capitol bomb threat suspect
    ………..
    In a statement Thursday afternoon, Brooks said he was aware of the bomb threat and was “monitoring the situation” from Alabama, while lamenting that “violence and threats of violence targeting America’s political institutions are far too common.”
    ……….

    “Although this terrorist’s motivation is not yet publicly known, and generally speaking, I understand citizenry anger directed at dictatorial Socialism and its threat to liberty, freedom and the very fabric of American society,” Brooks said. “The way to stop Socialism’s march is for patriotic Americans to fight back in the 2022 and 2024 elections. I strongly encourage patriotic Americans to do exactly that, more so than ever before.”

    Nowhere in his statement did Brooks outright denounce the bomb threat. He instead ended on an ominous note.
    “Bluntly stated, America’s future is at risk,” he said.
    ………
    Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), have largely remained silent about Brooks’s tweet. ……
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  43. let’s face facts: when it comes to most European countries, the more conservative leaders would fit right in with our Democratic Party.

    That’s nothing new. Even Margaret Thatcher supported the National Health Service.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  44. We know that Joe’s a nice guy
    But his brain is a pig sty
    Let’s all take stock
    He’s dumb as a rock
    And patriots now have to cry

    The Limerick Avenger (3867c9)

  45. The 9/11 hijackers were trained in the United States.

    nk (1d9030)

  46. They did the carnage under boooshes eyes, the incompetent globalist pos.

    mg (8cbc69)

  47. @45 “Nowhere in his statement did Brooks outright denounce the bomb threat.”

    lol

    despite efforts by leftists like Rip to dumb down words like “terrorist”, brooks’ use of it in this instance counts as an outright denouncement to everyone else

    JF (e1156d)

  48. Re: Mississippi & ivermectin.

    “stated the alert, which did not specify the number of total calls.”

    Why not? “…an increase,” and “at least 70% of recent calls” are meaningless statements unless one knows the number of calls in total.

    When absolute numbers are avoided/omitted, when there’s no denominator, it’s rubbish information & should be identified as such.

    ColoComment (887679)

  49. “let’s face facts” An excellent idea. For example, Reporters without Borders assesses press freedom in the United States as above average, but hardly unique.

    In 2021, the countries which ranked highest on the Press Freedom Index were Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Jamaica, New Zealand, Portugal, and Switzerland.[4] The lowest-ranking countries were Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, China, Djibouti, Vietnam, Iran, Syria, Laos, and Cuba.

    The top ten were rated “good”; we were in the next category, “satisfactory”, along with, among others, Australia and Canada. Incidentally, Canada has a constitutional protection for free speech and press very similar to ours

    (I haven’t checked, but I would guess those Australians were violating not laws limiting speech, but quarantine laws, which the US also has. And, if possible, should have used quarantines on those people coming back from Wuhan.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  50. Not only “do not use ivermectin products made for animals”, do not use it for CV19 treatment because, in the trials that count, it hasn’t demonstrated effectiveness. There are better treatments out there.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  51. Some good tunes for a Saturday morning… https://youtu.be/YIB9bAXqBVA

    Colonel Haiku (0b084b)

  52. I’ve never been loath to give credit where credit is due. And I give Trump credit for knowing the long con. And when it’s time to retire it. I mean the 9/11 – Groping Blindly War On Terror con. Time to find a new one, or are we okay with just Covid and Climate Change for the time being?

    nk (1d9030)

  53. #46 Rip – Well, that may have been true at one time, about Western Europe, but is no longer true for many countries. It depends very much on what set of issues you are considering. And the countries formerly controlled by the Communists in Eastern Europe are following their own paths, especially on cultural issues.

    Check out the Swedish Democrats or the German party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) for some examples of “conservative” parties. Incidentally, what our lazy journalists call “conservative” parties often turn out to be classical liberal parties. Yes, it is all confusing.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  54. And you do also know that that was the Taliban’s only crime against the United States? Sheltering Al Qaeda?

    Hosting has a deeper cultural meaning in Afghanistan than here, and the Taliban has not rescinded its welcome. The groups are intentionally intertwined.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  55. They did the carnage under boooshes eyes, the incompetent globalist pos.

    I think it’s more that Clinton’s ‘it’s the economy stupid’ approach was terrible for national security in ways both obvious and subtle. Then their refusal to accept election results until the last second got a new administration off to a very difficult start. They were set up for failure, and yet the Bush administration was fairly competent, one crisis after another, with a press much more hostile than they were to Trump (in a sense… Trump is absurd and frankly very evil, but he gets so much help from the media because of the spectacle… Bush was considered Hitler 2.0 for no reason, and his opposition got more free press).

    At any rate, Trump watched carefully. He was a happy about 9/11, and he is happy Afghanistan is how it is today. He knew that withdraw would kill a lot of good people, so he set us up to fail, telling us we had to do it. If Biden was smart, he would not have left afghanistan at all, and ignored this inertia, but Biden is merely the price America had to pay to get a traitor out of the white house.

    Dustin (b05975)

  56. You mean something like this, Paul?

    Following the September 11 attacks orchestrated by al-Qaeda, the United States under the Bush administration issued an ultimatum to Afghanistan to hand over Osama bin Laden and other high ranking al-Qaeda officials and shut down all al-Qaeda training camps within the country. In an interview with Voice of America, Omar was asked if he would give up Osama bin Laden. Omar replied, “No. We cannot do that. If we did, it means we are not Muslims, that Islam is finished. If we were afraid of attack, we could have surrendered him the last time we were threatened.”[79]

    Omar explained his position to high-ranking Taliban officials:

    Islam says that when a Muslim asks for shelter, give the shelter and never hand him over to enemy. And our Afghan tradition says that, even if your enemy asks for shelter, forgive him and give him shelter. Osama has helped the jihad in Afghanistan, he was with us in bad days and I am not going to give him to anyone.[79]

    nk (1d9030)

  57. And when it’s time to retire it. I mean the 9/11 – Groping Blindly War On Terror con. Time to find a new one, or are we okay with just Covid and Climate Change for the time being?

    We’ve never really called off the War on Poverty, have we? And it looks like the Biden Administration is just rarin’ to open up a bunch of new fronts on that one.

    JVW (ee64e4)

  58. Yes, JVW, time to end another sh*tbrained policy – filled with good intentions that have horrible results – that originated from the mind of a Texan.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  59. 20 years of girls having safety and education isn’t a horrible result. Trump and Biden teaming up to abandon them because they aren’t their sister’s keepers is a horrible result.

    This is innate morality. God instilled us with this. That’s how I know y’all know Bush was right and Trump was wrong (and hence the silly need to compensate for Trump).

    You don’t see that for Biden. Most people just readily admit he is awful. But Trump, who laughed about groping married chicks or was so confused by his one real crisis he was musing about drinking bleach… that guy gets defended to 11. I just think it’s fascinating from a distance, now that everything Trump wanted to do has been proven very wrong, afganistan just the latest example.

    Dustin (b05975)

  60. The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9) — 8/21/2021 @ 8:12 am @41-
    Mr Murdock wrote:

    I do admire Elder for not running away from his past, unlike most politicians.

    Why should he? He has clearly differentiated himself from the others.

    And while asking a female applicant if she planned to get knocked up have children would be considered an invasion of privacy, it is a very realistic concern for businesses and higher management. Regardless of what platitudes businessmen and corporate leaders may mouth, women who take time off for motherhood are almost universally relegated to the ‘mommy track’ when it comes to corporate promotions. Taking off just a quarter of a year for childbirth puts you behind you competition for the “C” suite.

    While that might be a winning intellectual libertarian argument, it probably doesn’t resonate with women voters.

    In light of Elder’s Capitalism article, he not want to deal with women’s SHE issues. 😉

    And then are his ex-fiancée’s allegations., which he denied.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  61. Remember, the neocon plan wasn’t to leave, pretty much ever in our lifetimes. Of course building half a building and abandoning it leads to collapse. That’s never the Architect’s plan. It’s cowardice for Trump fans to not readily accept that quite a bit of what is happening here, The Taliban ruining this country, is what they wanted.

    Yes, Biden’s failure to protect Americans is all Biden, and I guess we’re told this is the only part that matters for some reason.

    But it’s kinda also Trump’s fault, since he claims he could have avoided that, and refused to do the task. He left it undone, he knew he would lose the election, and here we are.

    It’s so easy to just say it: Bush was a better president than Trump. A better man, too.

    Dustin (b05975)

  62. Dustin – Some time ago, I tried to summarize the truthfulness of our previous three presidents. I concluded, tentatively, that Obama told at least an order of magnitude more falsehoods than Bush, and that Trump told at least two orders of magnitude more falsehoods than Bush.

    Most supporters of Obama and Trump seem indifferent to their leaders’ falsehoods, then and now.

    (I usually say falsehoods, rather than lies, because to know someone has told a lie, you have to know what they actually believe. In that, I follow the Post’s Kessler, though I am a little more willing than he to use other evidence to conclude that someone is lying.)

    A reminder on statistical inference: Giving an example of Bush telling a falsehood no more refutes my conclusion than claiming an occasional rain in Arizona refutes the conclusion that much of the state is a desert. (My apologies for that reminder, but there are many who find an example they like and then infer a general conclusion.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  63. Dumkirk.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  64. boosh had our best and brightest killed for nation building a schiff hole country. For the poppies, for the poppies. Damn that booosh.

    mg (8cbc69)

  65. “I think if we get Joe Biden, it’s gonna go a long way towards helping us regain our status around the world.”

    —- Bruce “Monkeyman” Springsteen

    “Rock stars; is there anything they don’t know?” Homer Simpson

    Bugg (024e40)

  66. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick falsely claims ‘African Americans who have not been vaccinated’ are driving covid surge
    …….
    ……. Laura Ingraham had asked Patrick to respond to criticism from Democrats that covid-19 cases and deaths were on the rise in Texas because of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s policies.………
    ……..
    …….. Patrick acknowledged that “covid is spreading” and that infections are largely among people who have not received the vaccine.

    “Democrats like to blame Republicans on that,” Patrick said. “Well, the biggest group in most states are African Americans who have not been vaccinated. The last time I checked, over 90 percent of them vote for Democrats in their major cities and major counties.”
    ……..
    The latest data from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows that the African American population there is not driving the increase in cases. Black residents in Texas accounted for 16.4 percent of the state’s cases and 10.2 percent of deaths as of Aug. 13. Black people make up about 13 percent of the state’s population, according to census data.

    While vaccination rates are low among Black Texans, the highest coronavirus case rates are among Whites and Hispanics. Non-Hispanic White people, who make up about 41 percent of the state’s population, make up 34.9 percent of covid cases and 41.1 percent of deaths, according to the data as of August 13. Hispanics, who account for almost 40 percent of the Texas population, make up 35.8 percent of the state’s cases and 46.1 percent of deaths.
    ………
    ……… [Jorge Caballero, a former instructor at the Stanford University School of Medicine] cast doubt on Patrick’s claims on Twitter, referencing U.S. Census Bureau data collected in July and August that suggests unvaccinated White Texans outnumber unvaccinated Black Texans roughly 3 to 1. Texas’s vaccination and case numbers are so stark, he said, “there’s just no room for misinterpretation.”

    About 46 percent of Texans are fully vaccinated, according to The Washington Post’s tracking. The nationwide rate is about 51 percent.
    ……….
    I thought it was illegal aliens coming across the Rio Grande that was driving the fourth wave.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  67. “Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time.”

    —- US Embassy (Kabul)

    So not even 24 hrs after Biden assured Americans that if they want to get out of Afghanistan they can, we hear this.

    Did Biden say anything yesterday that was true? They’re probably most concerned that any Americans that may die do it far away from any cameras or foreign media.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  68. These credentialed federal government people are just F-ing awesome 😎

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  69. Gifts from Dementia Joe:

    19 x A-29 Super Tucano close air support attack aircraft
    10 x AC-208 attack aircraft
    4 x C-130 Hercules transport aircraft
    24 x Cessna 208 utility aircraft
    18 x Pilatus PC-12 Special mission wing aircraft
    95 x Mi-8/17 transport helicopters
    8 x Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters
    10 x UH-1 Huey helicopters
    68 x MD530F light attack helicopters
    158 x UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters
    55 x T-55/62 main battle tanks
    8500 x Humvee’s
    634 x M1117 armored cars
    173 x M113 armored personnel carriers
    155 x MRAP armored cars
    1000+ mortars
    150 x D30 medium range artillery pieces
    104,000 x M16A2 rifles
    10,000 x M4 carbines”

    H/T Eatgrueldog and wendybar

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  70. Flashback: March 1975:

    The South Vietnamese have lost more than $1‐billion in American military weapons and other equipment over the last two weeks, according to qualified Vietnamese sources.

    The abandonment of hundreds of artillery pieces, trucks, planes, mortars, tanks, armored personnel carriers, rifles and ammunition—coupled with the rapid retreat of army units—is viewed by Vietnamese and Western sources as a stunning and, quite possibly irreversible military and psychological blow for South Vietnam.

    A senior Western official, who has spent more than a decade in South Vietnam, said today: “These losses are very, very, very considerable. It’s a catastrophic loss.”
    …….
    An informed Vietnamese said that the armed forces logistics command, which controls the inventory of all military equipment, had made a tentative estimate of at least $1‐billion in equipment losses—virtually all of it left over by the Americans — as a result of the (South Vietnam) Government’s abrupt decision to abandon two‐thirds of the nation and the hasty, panicky exodus of civilians and troops that followed.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  71. On cable, Afghanistan dominates. In local newspapers, it’s the pandemic

    Turn on CNN or any other cable TV news, and you’re likely to see images of the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan, or debates about how President Biden has handled (or mishandled) getting American civilians out of there.

    But head to local news, especially newspapers, and the landscape changes and changes dramatically. They’re not ignoring the plight of the tens of thousands of U.S. citizens, or Afghan civilians entitled to apply for visas to come here. But it’s rarely the top story. Instead, the biggest headlines belong to the pandemic.
    ………
    Today’s front pages from around the country.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  72. 53 years ago yesterday-Operation Danube. And the world did nothing.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  73. @73 watch out for those dog muzzles in your mail, Rip

    JF (ed63ab)

  74. Go, Ozzy Man!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP1RXQHv1DI

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  75. This Week in Biden World…

    https://twitter.com/sethjlevy/status/1427050744771977218?s=20

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  76. ‘Gifts from Dementia Joe:

    19 x A-29 Super Tucano close air support attack aircraft
    10 x AC-208 attack aircraft
    4 x C-130 Hercules transport aircraft
    24 x Cessna 208 utility aircraft
    18 x Pilatus PC-12 Special mission wing aircraft
    95 x Mi-8/17 transport helicopters
    8 x Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters
    10 x UH-1 Huey helicopters
    68 x MD530F light attack helicopters
    158 x UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters
    55 x T-55/62 main battle tanks
    8500 x Humvee’s
    634 x M1117 armored cars
    173 x M113 armored personnel carriers
    155 x MRAP armored cars
    1000+ mortars
    150 x D30 medium range artillery pieces
    104,000 x M16A2 rifles
    10,000 x M4 carbines” ‘

    Keeping Afghanistan safe from democracy, eh Big Guy?

    “We did it.” – President Plagiarist 8/20/21

    “…With six, you get eggroll!” – Mitch McClure [Jimmy Bracken] ‘With Six You Get Eggroll’ 1968

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  77. Best Ozzy Man… https://youtu.be/syvuUHoyIQ8

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  78. The South Vietnamese have lost more than $1‐billion in American military weapons and other equipment over the last two weeks, according to qualified Vietnamese sources.

    But that was in March, 1975. Difference is all U.S. forces were completely withdrawn from Vietnam by March 1973 per the Paris peace agreement; the equipment left for them. Not abandoned in a bugout.

    No such luck for U.S. personnel this time. No peace agreement; no defenders; the weapons were abandoned w/o any plan to destroy them.

    No plan.
    No excuse.

    As a CiC he’s a goddamned idiot.

    [ ] impeach

    [ ] resign

    [ ] oh no weep for Beau

    Choose.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  79. Where’s Camo Liz?? Where’s the Halliburton Hussy and the Cheney fmily private plane ferrying folks outta Kabul a la Dunkirk???

    Unloading stock? “C’mon, man…”

    “She’s a man, baby.” – Auditn Powers [Mike Myers] ‘Austin Powers’ 1997

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  80. Biden is good with the chaos, he accepts it.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  81. dick and liz and da booosh scum have no reply.
    Leaders of men? More like killers of liberty for greed.
    Why are no political hacks flying over to help? Why?
    The senate minority elf is a turd.

    mg (8cbc69)

  82. Have either Liz Cheney or Adam “Johnny Ray” Kinzinger opined on the latest deflated narrative, aka the Horrible 1/6 Insurrection ?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  83. strange days have found us
    teh strange days have tracked us down
    biden is grinning

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  84. some say cruel humor
    unfair to joe not funny
    except when it is

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  85. Thousands have and will be taking premature dirtnaps because of those two a**holes.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  86. JF, keeping it classy as always.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  87. Wow, patterico comment section cratering….shame

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  88. Is joe in the whine cellar today?

    mg (8cbc69)

  89. State Dept. hit by a cyber attack.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  90. Mask, vaccine conflicts descend into violence and harassment
    ……..
    The pandemic rage has coincided with a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, a growing movement to require vaccines and a new round of mask requirements, most notably in schools where exhausted families had hoped the worst days of the virus were over. Now, the country is averaging nearly 1,000 coronavirus deaths a day.

    Anger from parents over masks has been simmering in rural Amador County in Northern California, and it reached a peak earlier this month when for the first time a teacher was attacked. A father became irate when he saw his daughter come out of school wearing a mask but teachers in a lounge were unmasked. Vaccinated staff are allowed to take off their masks if students aren’t present, said Amador County Unified School District Superintendent Torie Gibson. The father was told this and left, but returned later to speak with the principal.

    A concerned male teacher went to the principal’s office. An argument ensued and the father struck the teacher.
    …….
    “The teacher had some lacerations and bruising on his face and a knot on the back of his head,” Gibson said.
    …….
    Meanwhile, the father is prohibited from entering the school and could face prosecution.

    Since Hawaii announced a mandate earlier this month that state and county workers would have to show proof of vaccination or face weekly tests, 50 to 100 unmasked vaccine opponents have gathered almost nightly outside the downtown Honolulu condominium building where Lt. Gov. Josh Green lives with his wife and two children, ages 14 and 10.

    Some yell into bullhorns and shine strobe lights into apartment units, Green said. Flyers with his photo and the words “Jew” and “fraud” have been plastered around the neighborhood. Green, who is Jewish, has been tearing them down and turning them over to the state attorney general’s office.
    ………
    Ironically, Green wasn’t home during a recent intense weekend of protests. He was on the Big Island working on his other job as an emergency room doctor and treating mostly COVID-19 patients during a record surge in coronavirus hospitalizations in the state.
    ………
    In Kansas, commissioners in Douglas County in the Lawrence area were confronted with an angry, mostly unmasked crowd Wednesday before they mandated indoor public masks for 2- to- 12-year-olds who are too young to be vaccinated. During four hours of public comment, opponents invoked the Holocaust, the Taliban and Japanese internment camps.

    As the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, Portillo was outraged at the comparisons.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  91. Col, that grandpa and the punk was delightful, thanks.

    mg (8cbc69)

  92. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-general-tells-british-special-forces-stop-rescuing-people-in-kabul-you-re-making-us-look-bad/ar-AANygdE?li=BBorjTa

    “Maj. Gen. Christopher Donahue has told his British Army counterpart, a high-ranking field-grade officer of the British army’s 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, that British operations were embarrassing the United States military in the absence of similar U.S. military operations. I understand that the British officer firmly rejected the request.”

    “the British military has more operational latitude in Kabul than the U.S. military, including the Navy SEAL elements present at the airport. I understand that the SAS has conducted operations to bring American citizens, as well as British citizens and at-risk personnel, through checkpoints and to the airport. This is not an indictment on U.S. capabilities or special operations intent, but rather, it’s a reflection of political-military authorities. In part, this difference is understandable. Large-scale U.S. military operations beyond the Kabul airport perimeter would entail significant risk absent prior Taliban approval.”

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  93. Since when do we need Taliban approval to rescue American citizens?

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  94. 93.Is joe in the whine cellar today?

    Board meeting: Ouija; conferring w/Beau.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  95. “The way this has been handled, the lack of effective leadership, and this poor demonstration of policy and strategy, which was really put in place in 2014, when President 0bama changed the strategy there that was working, we had a couple more years where we could’ve turned it over to ‘em, but we abandoned it. This set it up and the same people that made those decisions are in the White House in senior places in the government making these decisions so…”

    —- Brigadier General Don Bolduc, served 10 tours in Afghanistan.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  96. An Outpatient Clinical Trial Using Ivermectin and Doxycycline in COVID-19 Positive Patients at High Risk to Prevent COVID-19 Related Hospitalization

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04729140?term=ivermectin&cntry=US&draw=2&rank=9

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  97. In New York, a tropical storm warning is in effect for all five boroughs, plus Westchester County and Nassau County. Click here for the latest forecast and weather alerts Several parts of New Jersey are also under a tropical storm warning, including Hudson, Eastern Bergen, Eastern Essex, Eastern Union, Middlesex and Monmouth.

    And there’s a pandemic.

    So what does de Blasio? Let the ‘Homecoming Concert’ [airing CNN] roll on. No doubt they all the idiot attendees have their masks, vac papers, umbrellas & SS#s inked on their arms to ID bodies and notify next of kin.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  98. Novel Agents for Treatment of High-risk COVID-19 Positive Patients

    Therapies include stand-alone or combination treatment with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, ivermectin, or camostat mesilate, artemesia annua.

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04374019?term=ivermectin&cntry=US&draw=3&rank=14

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  99. 99- meeting on opening the gates of hell.

    mg (8cbc69)

  100. 102-
    Brian Williams will be reporting on the floating dead bodies…..

    mg (8cbc69)

  101. Has Beau been vaccinated, Joe?

    You mention him enough as if he was alive and kicking…

    in your head.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  102. Run Run Run by Slow Jo Gunne

    Doo doo doo
    Doo doo doo doo
    Run Run Run
    Run Run Run
    Doo doo doo
    Doo doo doo doo
    Run Run Run
    Run Run Run

    Ya best stop hidin’, Biden
    Ya hand out gifts just like Santa Claus

    Run
    Run
    Doo doo doo
    Doo doo doo doo
    Run Run Run
    Run Run Run

    And the weapons you gave them!
    You flying monkey straight outta Oz

    Run
    Run
    Run
    Oh
    Run
    Doo doo doo
    Doo doo doo doo
    Run Run Run
    Run Run Run

    Oh the goddam donkey party
    Gonna cause this nation to end

    Run
    Run

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  103. Sea Otters
    https://www.vox.com/2014/4/24/5640890/otters-rape-baby-seals-monsters-bad

    “A weaned harbor seal pup was resting onshore when an untagged male sea otter approached it, grasped it with its teeth and forepaws, bit it on the nose, and flipped it over. The harbor seal moved toward the water with the sea otter following closely. Once in the water, the sea otter gripped the harbor seal’s head with its forepaws and repeatedly bit it on the nose, causing a deep laceration. The sea otter and pup rolled violently in the water for approximately 15 min, while the pup struggled to free itself from the sea otter’s grasp. Finally, the sea otter positioned itself dorsal to the pup’s smaller body while grasping it by the head and holding it underwater in a position typical of mating sea otters. As the sea otter thrust his pelvis, his penis was extruded and intromission was observed. At 105 min into the encounter, the sea otter released the pup, now dead, and began grooming.You read that correctly. After raping a baby seal to death, this psycho licked his paws”

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  104. 92. Beau knows… where empires go to die, AJ.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  105. There is a certain irony watching Queen Kamala fleeing the sh!tstorm to of all places… Vietnam.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  106. 20 years, our best & brightest decimated, $1,000,000,000,000 flushed away…

    Between GW Bush’s decision in 2007 to transition from a military objective to nation building and 0bama/Biden mismanagement, we are left with the specter of thousands of hostages, negative impacts to national security, a diminished America and 3 and 1/2 more years of this demented Democrat “leadership”.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  107. Wow. Aerial shot of NYC Central Park shows crowd size for flopping concert speaks volumes. Attendees to the Trump inaugural on 1/20/17 was easily and ‘yugely’ much, much bigger.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  108. @11. Don’t cut’em any slack: it’s $2.26 trillion— not including out year costs to vets.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  109. ^111.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  110. Afghanistan war unpopular amid chaotic pullout: AP-NORC poll
    ……….
    Roughly two-thirds said they did not think America’s longest war was worth fighting, the poll shows. Meanwhile, 47% approve of Biden’s management of international affairs, while 52% approve of Biden on national security.

    The poll was conducted Aug. 12-16 as the two-decade war in Afghanistan ended with the Taliban returning to power and capturing the capital of Kabul. ……..
    ………
    Roughly two-thirds also suggest the Iraq War that coincided with Afghanistan was a mistake. Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to say the wars in both countries were worth fighting. About 4 in 10 Republicans do, compared with about 3 in 10 Democrats.
    ………
    About half of Americans say they are extremely or very concerned about the threat to the U.S. posed by extremist groups based outside of the United States; about another one-third are moderately concerned. Only about 1 in 10 say they are not concerned.
    ………
    Roughly two-thirds say they are extremely or very concerned about the threat of extremist groups based inside the United States. About one-quarter are somewhat concerned, and about 1 in 10 are not concerned.

    Republicans and Democrats see the threat of extremist groups based outside of the U.S. similarly: about half across party lines are extremely or very concerned. But Democrats are more likely than Republicans to be strongly concerned about the threat of extremist groups based in the U.S., 75% to 57%.
    …….,,,
    Poll top lines. Post any contrary polls.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  111. steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/21/2021 @ 1:41 pm

    I appreciate the links to clinicaltrials.gov, steveg. I used to be glued to that site when I had a part of my portfolio invested with MNKD. It proved a wise practice not just for keeping a step ahead of my fellow investors, but with keeping my mind engaged in other trials and practices. especially the disparate use/abuse of ADCOMMs in relation to companies that were “in” or “out.” IYKWIMAITYD

    felipe (484255)

  112. #92 AJ – Think of those comments as attempts to exercise a heckler’s veto, like shouting the same things over and over when others are trying to make rational arguments. It is, of course, intentionally or not, an admission that the hecklers either have no rational arguments, or choose not to share them.

    (You can find similar behavior on almost any grade school playground, only with somewhat different insults. But I have to give the little kids the edge there.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  113. steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/21/2021 @ 2:06 pm

    The researcher who reported this could give Jane Goodall quite a run for her money. Must have in the water, and close.

    “I had a friend, in college, who majored in animal husbandry – until they caught him at it.” – Tom Lehrer.

    felipe (484255)

  114. #92 AJ – On some sites I have frequented in the past I saw something similar to Gresham’s Law; bad comments eventually drove out good ones. Intentionally? I think so, in some cases.

    But you can do your part to stop that from happening here by continuing to provide good comments, as you have been doing.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  115. Hey Jim, you and AJ are sophisticated, vaccinated and special.

    mg (8cbc69)

  116. #92 AJ – Think of those comments as attempts to exercise a heckler’s veto, like shouting the same things over and over when others are trying to make rational arguments. It is, of course, intentionally or not, an admission that the hecklers either have no rational arguments, or choose not to share them.

    Now think of four years plus of comments about Russian Collusion, the Steele Dossier, impeach Trump for firing Comey… for campaign violations… for obstruction of justice… etc.,

    All basically boiling down to repetitive Orange Man Bad Must Remove. For well over 4 years.

    In your defense, you may have been absent.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  117. #121 mg – That’s kind of you, and in AJ’s case, accurate. (I won’t speak for myself.)

    (I don’t recall what you said whether you have been vaccinated. If so, congratulations; if not, I hope you will be, soon.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  118. #122 Colonel Haiku – I don’t defend heckler’s vetoes from anyone. And some time ago, I concluded that Jonathan Turley was right when he said that Trump often said something offensive — which provoked his opponents into saying something equally or more offensive. (I don’t recall the exact quote.)

    But responding in kind to heckling from either side gets us nowhere — unless you enjoy “Did too!” “Did not!” arguments.

    Now, having answered your comment as honestly as I can, I have one for you: In your opinion, is Donald Trump essentially a good man, or a bad man? (A good man, in my opinion, follows the Golden Rule — or tries to.) And I would understand if, borrowing from 1066 and All That, you concluded that Trump was a bad man, but a good monarch. Or vice versa.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  119. #123 Correction: “I don’t recall if you have said . . .”

    Now I have to go start my 5 Spice chicken. But I plan to return some time tomorrow.

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  120. Since when do we need Taliban approval to rescue American citizens?

    Since around 25 years or so ago, give or take.

    nk (1d9030)

  121. @121.Hey Jim, you and AJ are sophisticated, vaccinated and special.

    Conservative whine, bitter dregs; bottom of the deckers, horrified to discover their “tale” no longer wags the dog; they’ve screwed the pooch. And they cling to irrelevancy.

    Glorious.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  122. Think of those comments as attempts to exercise a heckler’s veto, like shouting the same things over and over when others are trying to make rational arguments.

    (Puts on blue Star Trek tunic.) “They’re old, Jim.”

    nk (1d9030)

  123. What President Biden said, Pt. 1; What President Biden said, Pt. 2…

    Joe can lie like a rug on the Senate floor like the seasoned, half-century old swamp creature he is, outgassing away, then within a set timeframe go back a “correct the record.” No-can-do-as-POTUS. It’s the Peter Principle in spades– and for racist Joe, figuratively and literally.

    If he wasn’t costing lives, treasure and damaging the nation’s standing in the world, The Joe Show would almost be funny.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  124. The only question I have about the invermectin clinical trial, steveg, is the size (only 150 patients, which means only around 75 will be receiving the actual treatments (I’m a CPA, not a scientist, so am admittedly not an expert). Other than that, we’ll see how the results turn out.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  125. Yes, old and happily married!

    Not good news that ISIS is issuing threats to Americans re: presence at HKIA.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  126. I think if we conditioned those welfare, federal UI and stimulus checks on being vaccinated, we’d get a lot more compliance.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  127. You want society to help you, you have to be willing to help society.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  128. Miller: “Think of those comments as attempts to exercise a heckler’s veto, like shouting the same things over and over when others are trying to make rational arguments”

    I do appreciate your comments…and many others here…like Dustin, Time, Norcal, and Paul. Sometimes it just seems like the noise floor gets awfully high…..with the intent to almost stifle discussion. I have no issue with debate….but some on the hard right seem to applaud Trump chaos….for the shear enjoyment of the chaos. That we simply don’t need people of character as political leaders….because either they’re all the same (some better at covering their tracks than others)….or that the concept of character is itself anachronistic….and it all devolves to the blunt hammer of policy or ideology. I think the pandemic, the election, and Afghanistan all show us that we desperately need both competent and good people as our leaders…who can occasionally rise above self interest to lead the nation. I guess I too am repetitive on this central issue…but I’ll bang my drum and not throttle the Machiavellian alternative. I just worry who we’re willing to become as a people….what next we will excuse. Some here don’t have any struggle…it’s curious

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  129. Wow, patterico comment section cratering….shame

    It’s just a few fools who post a lot.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  130. Novel Agents for Treatment of High-risk COVID-19 Positive Patients

    People who claim that a vaccine that 22 billion people have received is “untested” nevertheless go for any quack cure they read about in their secret meeting places.

    People who say that 3 million people are allergic to “chemicals” in the vaccines will nevertheless ingest horse dewormers and bleach to ward off the evil virus.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  131. Here’s the deal. We’re talking about the American South. we’re talking about Mississippi.

    When we talk about the American South, when we talk about Mississippi, we’re talking about hookworm, ringworm, tapeworm, trichinosis worm, pinworm, thread worm, flukes … we’re talking about head lice!

    Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic which is approved for some of those things and likely helps with all of them. Sure, it won’t cure the Covid, but it could make people healthier generally and more able to resist it. And the head lice, man, the head lice! Won’t somebody please think of the children?

    nk (1d9030)

  132. 134
    Not voting for Trump has given us a schiff load of good character political hacks.

    mg (8cbc69)

  133. It is clear to me that this Covid thing will lead to a 3 or 4 point rise in average IQ. If would want to see morons on parade, check out your local NextDoor.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  134. Afghanistan war unpopular amid chaotic pullout: AP-NORC poll

    90% were in favor of carpet-bombing Afghanistan in 2001. But hindsight is wonderful — you never have to say you’re sorry, just that everyone else should be.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  135. A year and a half after Sweden decided not to lock down, its COVID-19 death rate is up to 10 times higher than its neighbors
    ………
    ……… Rather than locking down and requiring masks, as many countries did, Sweden let residents decide individually whether to take those precautions.

    The gamble, Swedish authorities predicted, would pay off in the long run. Ideally, vulnerable people would choose to stay home, the economy wouldn’t suffer too much, and healthy people might get mild COVID-19 cases that ultimately contributed to the population’s collective immunity.
    ………
    Sweden has recorded more COVID-19 cases per capita than most countries so far: Since the start of the pandemic, roughly 11 out of every 100 people in Sweden have been diagnosed with COVID-19, compared with 9.4 out of every 100 in the UK and 7.4 per 100 in Italy. Sweden has also recorded around 145 COVID-19 deaths for every 100,000 people — around three times more than Denmark, eight times more than Finland, and nearly 10 times more than Norway.
    ……..
    Many disease experts warned that the lax approach would result in unnecessary death. But Anders Tegnell, the chief architect of Sweden’s coronavirus strategy, was wary of depriving residents of income or personal freedom.
    ……….
    When Sweden opted for a no-lockdown strategy in March 2020, scientists were still sorting out how deadly and contagious the virus was. But already, according to email exchanges published by freelance journalist Emanuel Karlsten and the Swedish newspaper Expressen, Tegnell was considering allowing the virus to infect young, healthy people as a means of increasing immunity in the population.
    ………..
    ………. Sweden’s economy still shrank 8.6% from April to June of last year — its largest quarterly fall in at least 40 years. By comparison, Denmark’s economy shrank 7.4% during that time, Norway’s 5.1%, and Finland’s just 3.2%. ……..

    Sweden’s unemployment rate also rose from 6.6% in March 2020 to 9.5% in March 2021. Norway, Denmark, and Finland all saw unemployment rise by smaller margins: around one percentage point, on average.
    ……….
    Eventually, after Sweden’s daily COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and death skyrocketed from October to December, the country closed non-essential public spaces, such as gyms, pools and libraries, and recommend masks during rush hour on public transport.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  136. Right “in-sync” w/t Biden’s Disaster: The world’s Entertanmnt Channel- CNN’s ‘Homecoming Concert’ currently rained out; people Lemon soaked… NYers “flew the Coop”- literally under wet Central Park in deluge… Anderson vamping… natural for the coiffed news boy.

    If only dumb-azz Zucker at CNN had been watching The Weather Channel about this Hurricane Henri thingy?!

    CNN needs a ‘Turner-around’…. fast.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  137. @135. =yawn= We call them ideological conservatives, Kevin. You may call them ‘neighbors’ in Desertland.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  138. Alabama doctor says he won’t treat unvaccinated people: ‘COVID is miserable way to die’
    ……..
    Dr. Jason Valentine, a physician at Mobile’s Diagnostic and Medical Clinic Infirmary Health, posted a photo on his Facebook page showing him posed next to a sign that says “effective Oct. 1, 2021, Dr. Valentine will no longer see patients that are not vaccinated against COVID-19.”
    ……….
    “If they asked why, I told them COVID is a miserable way to die and I can’t watch them die like that,” he wrote.

    Valentine said he is currently in the process of mailing a letter to patients about his decision. He posted a copy of the letter online.

    “We do not yet have any great treatments for severe disease, but we do have great prevention with vaccines. Unfortunately, many have declined to take the vaccine, and some end up severely ill or dead. I cannot and will not force anyone to take the vaccine, but I also cannot continue to watch my patients suffer and die from an eminently preventable disease,” the letter said. “Therefore, as of October 1st, 2021, I will no longer see patients that have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. If you wish to keep me as your physician, documentation of your vaccination will suffice. If you wish to choose another physician, we will be happy to transfer your records.”
    >>>>>>>>

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  139. 125 – If I remember correctly a bolder white or a light bodied red with that 5 spice.

    mg (8cbc69)

  140. 133.You want society to help you, you have to be willing to help society.

    ROFLMAOPIP

    “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  141. This is the end of Zucker’s CNN.

    Washed out; washed up.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  142. 90% were in favor of carpet-bombing Afghanistan in 2001.

    If that was the only military action that was taken, of course everyone would be in favor-cost-free, no one except Afghans die, everyone would be happy (except the Afghans, of course). But if you asked are you in favor of a 20+ war that was guaranteed to end badly (like Vietnam) I don’t think you would get 20% approval.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  143. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and admit that you have no fighting men in your army, only fighting machines. Shrink personnel, buy more bombs!

    nk (1d9030)

  144. 90% were in favor of carpet-bombing Afghanistan in 2001.

    Very Nazi POV: ‘The first carpet bombing from air in history was the Bombing of Barcelona. 1300 people were killed in 3 days, in March 16-18th, 1938… [then there’s the London Blitz…fast forward to Vietnam:] Over 12 days, B-52s flew 729 sorties and dropped 15,237 tons of bombs on Hanoi, Haiphong, and other targets.- source, wkicarptbombing/fusesblown.boom

    The Nazis lost WW2. America lost Vietnam.

    Savvy West Point professors and instructors at the Imperial War Museum in London will tell you that you cannot use/depend on conventional bombing on a target o a people to wrestle them into submission. Infantry takes and holds the high ground.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  145. CNN Notches 24th Consecutive Week Without Hitting a Million Viewers in Poor Ratings Streak

    https://www.mediaite.com/tv/cnn-notches-24th-consecutive-week-without-hitting-a-million-viewers-in-poor-ratings-streak/

    Back in the day at CBS, if these numbers and trend projections were hitting the desks of the suits over their bagels and coffee, the network brass would make changes.

    Immediately.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  146. But if you asked are you in favor of a 20+ war that was guaranteed to end badly (like Vietnam) I don’t think you would get 20% approval.

    So, you counter my hindsight comment with reverse-hindsight?

    Going in, there was no one who was in favor of “just letting Osama get away with it.” The vote in the House was 434-1 or some such. That the mission changed, and that the people running things shifted from proponents to passive-aggressive cynics to chaotic charlatans to whatever Biden is … this was never part of the plan up front, and never part of what anyone was asked.

    If WW2 had metastasized into an A-bomb contest between us and the Soviets, that would not have meant going to war with Germany was a bad idea, just that the people in charge were dipsh1ts.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  147. 90% were in favor of carpet-bombing Afghanistan in 2001.

    Yeah, focus on the hyperbole and ignore the actual argument.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  148. Savvy LoWest Point professors have read the book of wokeness by Karen Mohamhead.

    mg (8cbc69)

  149. Going in, there was no one who was in favor of “just letting Osama get away with it.”

    I confess to being part of the stampeded herd.

    nk (1d9030)

  150. Rip Murdock (431d14) — 8/21/2021 @ 11:26 am

    But head to local news, especially newspapers, and the landscape changes and changes dramatically.

    So you mean this local news?

    Local news isn’t where you go to get an idea of what people care about. It’s where you go to find out what corporate media wants people to care about. Thanks for giving us an update on the trends in propaganda.

    frosty (f27e97)

  151. Thank God common sense was better late then absent, at first the lineup sounded more appropriate for an NYC equivalent of the Bud Billiken Parade:

    https://uproxx.com/viral/central-park-concert-ended-barry-manilow-song-video/

    urbanleftbehind (ac0f1c)

  152. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/21/2021 @ 4:52 pm

    You and nk are making some fairly broad generalizations about a 70% increase in a number you don’t know.

    frosty (f27e97)

  153. frosty (f27e97) — 8/21/2021 @ 6:40 pm

    This was more noticeable, at least to me, when TV channel choices were counted on one hand. This alarming truth led to my abandoning TV viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading, decades ago. Rather than being uninformed, I was no longer dis-informed. I am sure that most every person on this site can correctly guess where their friends get their news, simply by what talking points they repeat.

    I, on the other hand, cannot. Recently, one of my friends of over twenty years (who only ever knew me as an Independent) asked me, quite sincerely, “I’m curious, where do you get your news?”

    felipe (484255)

  154. BBC – Is Catching COVID Now Better Than More Vaccine?

    “Even asking the question bordered on heresy a year ago, when catching Covid for the first time could be deadly, especially for the elderly or people already in poor health.
    Now, we’re no longer starting with zero immunity as the overwhelming majority of people have either been vaccinated or have already caught the virus.

    It is now a serious question that has implications for whether children should ever be vaccinated. And whether we use the virus or booster shots to top up immunity in adults. Both have become contentious issues.
    “We could be digging ourselves into a hole, for a very long time, where we think we can only keep Covid away by boosting every year,” Prof Eleanor Riley, an immunologist from the University of Edinburgh, told me.“

    https://t.co/PnUaEhx5R2

    Obudman (bd1cdd)

  155. frosty (f27e97) — 8/21/2021 @ 6:40 pm:

    So you mean this local news?
    ……..

    No, I mean this local news (for example).

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  156. AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 8/21/2021 @ 4:46 pm

    I keep hearing this lament from people who advocated for JB and KH as these both competent and good people.

    I agree that we need competent and good people. Why did the D’s and NeverTrump pass on the chance to show the Trumpers that they actually mean what they say?

    frosty (f27e97)

  157. Breaking News- CNN reports President puddle-of-festering-puss-Plagiarist to address the nation AGAIN on Sunday. Imagine that. News bigfoots cancelled concert.

    Christ Almighty, “Senator” – you can’t frigging blarney your way out of this mess by shoveling more malarkey trying to amend your comments over and over and over. Your credibility is deader than your old pal, Robert Byrd. And Beau

    Here are your options:

    [ ] resign

    [ ] I here by resign

    [ ] I do resign

    Choose.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  158. @161

    You mean the “local” paper in Dothan owned by a media conglomerate in Iowa?

    The history of the Dothan Eagle.

    It was founded in 1908.[2] It was owned by the Thomson Corporation until 2000, when it was sold to Media General.[3][4] In 2012, Media General sold most of its newspapers, including the Eagle, to Berkshire Hathaway.[5] In 2020, the Eagle and all Berkshire Hathaway newspapers were acquired by Lee Enterprises. [6]

    It’s hard to tell but it looks like at least 1 of the 3 stories on that page were written by someone who lives in Dothan. I’d need more time to research but I suspect the other named by-line lives in Huntsville and the other is “staff”. At least 2 out of 3 live in AL and as the famous poet said, 2 out of 3 ain’t half bad.

    frosty (f27e97)

  159. Most private insurers are no longer waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment

    ………[W]hile a handful of states required or created agreements with insurers to waive COVID-19 out-of-pocket treatment costs for their fully-insured plan enrollees, there is no federal mandate requiring insurers to do so.
    ……….
    Earlier in the pandemic, we found that the vast majority (88%) of people enrolled in fully-insured private health plans nonetheless would have had their out-of-pocket costs waived if they were hospitalized with COVID-19. …….
    ………
    Across the two largest health plans in each state and D.C. (102 plans), 73 plans (72% of 102 plans) are no longer waiving out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 treatment. Almost half these plans (50 plans) ended cost-sharing waivers by April 2021, which is around the time most states were opening vaccinations to all adults. Of the 29 plans still waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, 10 waivers are set to expire by the end of October. This includes waivers that tie to the end of the federal Public Health Emergency, which is currently set to expire on October 17, 2021, though may be extended. Another 12 plans state that their cost-sharing waivers will expire by the end of 2021.
    ……..
    Based on preliminary results from the 2021 (Employer Health Benefits Survey), 36% of firms (with 50 or more employees) reported that their largest plan waived cost sharing for COVID-19 treatment at the time of the survey. Larger firms with 1,000 or more workers were more likely to waive COVID-19 treatment cost-sharing for enrollees than smaller employers.
    ………
    ……… As more waivers expire, more people hospitalized for COVID-19 – the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated – will likely receive significant medical bills for their treatment.

    The typical deductible in employer health plans is $1,644, and our earlier analysis found that large group enrollees hospitalized with pneumonia (requiring similar treatment to those hospitalized with COVID-19) paid an average of over $1,300 out-of-pocket. Although this is a large amount to most patients, and could be an incentive to get vaccinated, it still only represents a fraction of the cost born to society for these largely preventable hospitalizations. Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations cost the U.S. health system $2.3 billion in June and July 2021.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  160. Breaking News- Jesse Jackson & wife hospitalized w/Covid-19 in Chicago.

    Assuming he & wife were previously vaccinated as ‘high-profiled’ people, this is another set of suckers who got stuck. And… were they at the Obama birthday bash gettin’ or spreadin’ the bug to all those ‘vaccinated’ guests?????

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  161. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and Jacqueline Jackson hospitalized with COVID

    The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline Jackson, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, the civil rights leader’s nonprofit the Rainbow Push Coalition announced Saturday.

    What’s happening: “Doctors are currently monitoring the condition of both,” according to a statement to news outlets. Jackson, 79, was vaccinated in January.

    https://news.yahoo.com/civil-rights-leader-jesse-jackson-011927592.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

    $$$$”Pig” Pharma $$$$ sticks it to another one.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  162. frosty (f27e97) — 8/21/2021 @ 7:53 pm-

    The Dothan Eagle was a random example from here. Sadly, very few small town (or city) newspapers are locally owned anymore. The fact is that communities can no longer support a newspaper through subscriptions and advertising, they need a deep pocketed company to provide the funds to survive; the alternative is to have communities without any paper.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  163. Therefore, as of October 1st, 2021, I will no longer see patients that have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. If you wish to keep me as your physician, documentation of your vaccination will suffice.

    Sounds like another bake me a cake lawsuit in the making.

    Discrimination on religious beliefs may still be frowned upon at SCOTUS. But who knows.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  164. Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations cost the U.S. health system $2.3 billion in June and July 2021.

    Before I click the link, Rip, is this data point sourced within the article? Thanks

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  165. Florida’s COVID deaths climb as children lead state in positivity rate
    ……..
    The state reported 1,486 deaths, a 141 percent increase from two weeks ago. And it’s the most deaths since Feb. 10, as federal data shows Florida approaching the weekly death toll last seen this past winter.

    One out of every four COVID-19 infections recorded by the state in the most recent seven-day period were 19 or younger.

    Younger Floridians are also testing positive at a higher rate than other age groups: Children 12 and under have a positivity rate of 23 percent and ages 12-19 have a positivity rate of 25 percent.

    …….. The age breakdown (of infections between August 13-19) is 20,331 children ages 12 and under and 17,310 ages 12-19.

    ……. The state’s hospitals were treating 16,849 confirmed COVID-19 patients as of Friday, just shy of the record 17,040 hospitalizations reported this past Wednesday.

    In Florida, 34 percent of patients in hospital beds are being treated for COVID-19, the highest percent in the nation, according to federal data.
    ……..
    Of the 1,486 deaths recorded this week, 346 occurred in the past seven days. It can take two weeks or longer for a death to be accounted for, and as the state retroactively adds newly discovered fatalities, the peak of this wave is approaching levels not seen since February, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    ……..
    …….. DeSantis’ office did not return a request for comment on the state’s COVID situation……..
    ………

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  166. Before I click the link, Rip, is this data point sourced within the article? Thanks

    BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/21/2021 @ 8:32 pm

    Yes.

    Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations cost the U.S. health system billions of dollars

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  167. 168, well he is in the broad BAARP cohort as Hank Aaron and Marvin Hagler. Maybe this vaccine deal is just a big ol C-O-N spiracy

    urbanleftbehind (ac0f1c)

  168. @173 wow, just wow

    the unvaccinated cost us $7.1 billion six years ago, $5.8 billion for the flu alone

    why wasn’t this a concern back then and every year since?

    trick question

    JF (e1156d)

  169. Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations cost the U.S. health system billions of dollars
    ……..
    …….. COVID-19 hospitalizations are devastating for patients, their families, and health care providers. The hospitalizations are also costing taxpayer-funded public insurance programs and the workers and businesses paying health insurance premiums.

    While real-time data on the cost of all COVID-19 hospitalizations are not publicly available, various sources point to an average hospitalization cost of around $20,000. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that Medicare fee-for-service COVID-19 hospitalizations average $24,033. Another study of Medicare fee-for-service enrollees found an average COVID-19 hospitalization cost $21,752. A FAIR Health analysis of private claims data including employer and private Medicare Advantage plans found that COVID-19 hospitalization costs ranged from $17,094 for people over age 70 to $24,012 for people in their 50s. Similarly, our analysis of pre-pandemic private insurance claims for pneumonia hospitalizations with complications averaged $20,292 (though the cost for hospitalizations requiring a ventilator are much higher).

    Our analysis of CDC data indicates there were 37,000 preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations in June and another 76,000 preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations in July, among unvaccinated adults in the U.S. …..
    …….
    Based on our estimates, described below, we find preventable COVID-19 cost the U.S. health system $2.3 billion in June and July 2021.
    …….
    …….[T]his ballpark figure is likely an understatement of the cost burden on the health system from treatment of COVID-19 among unvaccinated adults. First, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have continued to increase in August 2021. Second, we do not include the cost of outpatient treatment, which is likely substantial. A Medicare study found patients with COVID-related admissions had multiple outpatient visits (3.2 on average) that cost approximately $164 each (and this is only for those COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized at one point). In our analysis of pre-pandemic private insurance claims, we estimated a typical outpatient office visit cost $105 on average. An analysis of privately insured noted COVID-19 outpatient treatment costs can average $500-$1,000 per patient.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  170. Thank you, Rip.

    Our second step is to focus on the hospitalizations that are primarily for COVID-19 treatment. Although these unvaccinated people were hospitalized with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, COVID-19 may not have been their primary reason for being hospitalized. Some people may have been hospitalized for other conditions or comorbidities that would have caused them to be hospitalized even if they had not been diagnosed with COVID-19. Based on data reported by CDC for vaccinated patients through August 2, 2021, we assume 74% of these hospitalizations were primarily for COVID-19. This is a conservative assumption because unvaccinated people have a higher risk of severe illness than vaccinated people. It is likely the case that a larger share of these hospitalizations were primarily due to COVID-19, but there is no other data available to make this adjustment. After making this adjustment, we arrive at the number of adults hospitalized primarily because of COVID-19.

    I don’t understand how they extrapolated the 74% number.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  171. BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/21/2021 @ 9:02 pm-

    I don’t understand how they extrapolated the 74% number.

    See the table Hospitalized or fatal vaccine breakthrough cases reported to CDC here:

    People aged ≥65 years 5,928 (74%)

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  172. That number is for vaccinated “People aged ≥65 years” so I discounted it as a basis unvaccinated people of all ages.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  173. …basis for…

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  174. Goodnight. I’ll look at it again in the morning.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  175. Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations cost the U.S. health system billions of dollars

    Talk about a glass-half-full point of view! Somebody is raking in those billions and who else could that somebody be other than the U.S. health system? It’s more accurate to say that “unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations earn the U.S. health system billions of dollars”.

    What? You want your doctor to drive last year’s Mercedes? Won’t somebody please think of the car dealers?

    nk (1d9030)

  176. BBC – Is Catching COVID Now Better Than More Vaccine?

    Let me ask my two friends who died in April 2020. Ouija board says NO.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  177. Discrimination on religious beliefs may still be frowned upon at SCOTUS. But who knows.

    It is OK to fire the unvaccinated.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  178. Hypothetical 2024 Republican nomination votes from a poll I created on a BYU sports board. I’m sure that well over 90% of the subscribers there are Mormon, although they vary in their levels of church activity.

    DeSantis – 43%

    Haley – 24%

    Sasse – 14%

    Trump – 10%

    Pence – 3%

    Noem – 2%

    Aggregate of the rest – approximately 5%

    Yes, it adds up to 101 because of rounding.

    I found it encouraging that Trump got only 10%.

    norcal (a6130b)

  179. Only paid subscribers could vote in the poll, and they could only vote once. Some of them may be Democrats, although their numbers are few on that site. Independents outnumber Democrats there, and they may have voted as well. Still, it’s encouraging to see the results.

    norcal (a6130b)

  180. Seriously, that was the fraud, scam, and perversion of language of Obamacare: That health insurance is the health care system. No, comrades, doctors and nurses, hospitals and clinics, medical technicians and laboratories, nursing assistants and administrative assistants, paramedics and orderlies, are the health care system.

    nk (1d9030)

  181. Seems like Mormons are less Trumpy than other Republicans in general. DeSantis or Sasse is who I would pick out of that lineup. I feel like DeSantis is inevitable. This country is going to be starved for a capable leader by ’24. If he can ride out COVID maybe he will fit the bill.

    JRH (52aed3)

  182. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/21/2021 @ 11:09 pm

    Did you even read the article? It’s not talking about the situation that applied to your two friends in Apr 2020.

    frosty (f27e97)

  183. What is the fastest timeframe for a constitutional amendment stating an age limit for the US Presidency at date of inauguration….preferably one enforced retroactively upon passage? That should satiate the whatabouts on both sides.

    urbanleftbehind (55b846)

  184. @191 is estimate it to be longer than the life expectancy of the two candidates you have in mind

    frosty (f27e97)

  185. AJ, Thank you for the kind words at 134. Mean a lot coming from you.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  186. @188, most of the Mormons I know are principled. It’s easy to see them making a decision that Trump gives them the best shot at their policy preferences without buying into the cult of personality.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  187. &170, wouldn’t you need to demonstrate a sincere religious conviction to win that claim? I’m not sure how many people would be able to demo by that.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  188. https://freebeacon.com/national-security/liberal-lawyer-freed-taliban-commando-on-frontlines-of-kabul-surge/

    Communist lawyer lied and defended a terrorist getting him freed to terrorize again. But real terrorists always are afforded a defense. Those who worked for the last administration or the Jan 6th rioters, not so much.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  189. 18. frosty (f27e97) — 8/21/2021 @ 5:09 am

    Some other Biden says:

    No Al-Qaeda in AF; Pentagon same day – there are AQ in AF.

    He also implied that the Taliban had nothing to do with September 11th, beyond hosting a; Qaeda.

    We retain ability to monitor terror threats in AF; Pentagon same day – we don’t have firm numbers because our intelligence capabilities aren’t what they used to be.

    Biden is taking abird’s eye view. WE don’t even have the drone capability that exists in Yewen. Drones must fly 6 hours to reach Afghanistan (or soon will)

    It isn’t inevitable that AF will fall to the taliban; Biden a few weeks later – it was inevitable, and it was always going to be ugly.

    This is a lack of understanding.

    If a fall is inevitable, and it became so, even if it is 3 or 4 months down the road, it will be accelerated. Just like thw stock of a company of which it is predicted it will go bankrupt in 3 or 4 months, The price will drop to near zero much sooner, and bankruptcy filed also. Biden just blames alack of a will to fight. The soldiers who didnt surrender were supposed to be killed, but if they did surrender they lived, and the Taliban knew different units of the Afghan army were in contact with each other and kept their word.

    We’re leaving the AF government effective tools to fight internal threats including air support; shuts down Bagram in the middle of the night and evacs forces.

    The United States evacuated non-Afghan contractors, too.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  190. Biden to address nation on Afghanistan evacuation Sunday afternoon

    Again? This is actually good news. It might indicate a slight shift in policy.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  191. It rained in Brooklyn late yesterday afternoon and last night, starting at about 7:15 pm EDT getting heavier as the night went on. It was quite heavy at 11 pm.

    No ran at dawn, but rain startted at about 8 am – not so heavy

    I;m the 8th named storm, Ahm uh… Henri,

    Ohn-no-ree the 8th I am!

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  192. There is something being ignored wit the vaccine passport idea.

    1) Vaccination proof can be forged.

    2) Vaccination can be useless

    3) Vaccination can be unnecessary.

    Thiis would be much better replaced by an antibody test. (although more expensive)

    But it would make sense for things like cruise ships.

    It could also cause some people to try the vaccine.

    And of course monoclonal antibodies, even as a prophylactic.

    Yes, it is not as permanent as a vaccine, or as likely to work against all variants (even the updated ones) but it is something.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  193. “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

    —- Mike Tyson

    But Tyson never met this bunch.

    “… Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with top White House and intelligence officials. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken joined by video conference. After four hours, two things were clear. First, Pentagon officials said they could pull out the remaining 3,500 American troops, almost all deployed at Bagram Air Base, by July 4…. Second, State Department officials said they would keep the American Embassy open, with more than 1,400 remaining Americans protected by 650 Marines and soldiers. An intelligence assessment presented at the meeting estimated that Afghan forces could hold off the Taliban for one to two years. There was brief talk of an emergency evacuation plan — helicopters would ferry Americans to the civilian airport in Kabul, the capital — but no one raised, let alone imagined, what the United States would do if the Taliban gained control of access to that airport, the only safe way in and out of the country once Bagram closed. The plan was a good one, the group concluded…. ‘It’s a rational drawdown with our allies,’ [Biden] insisted [on July 2d], ‘so there’s nothing unusual about it.’ But as the questions persisted, on Afghanistan rather than the economy, he grew visibly annoyed…. ‘I want to talk about happy things, man.'”

    —- NYT

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  194. Dustin wrote:

    20 years of girls having safety and education isn’t a horrible result. Trump and Biden teaming up to abandon them because they aren’t their sister’s keepers is a horrible result.

    This is innate morality. God instilled us with this. That’s how I know y’all know Bush was right and Trump was wrong (and hence the silly need to compensate for Trump).

    Apparently God didn’t instill that same morality amongst the Muslims; nbowhere in the entire majority Muslim world are women treated as being the legal and moral equals of men.

    The Limerick Avenger (3867c9)

  195. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/22/2021 @ 6:32 am

    This is my experience with every Trump supporter I know and it’s my own view on Trump. Maybe this cult of personality you’re seeing is, just maybe, in some small degree, in the eye of the beholder. It sure seems like this caricature has become the basis for a lot of the NeverTrump dogma.

    frosty (f27e97)

  196. Get that man an ice cream cone !

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  197. Are Joe Biden’s actions (or inactions) impeachable?

    Well, Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks so https://news.yahoo.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-introduces-three-222000013.html

    Not just on a failure to act (enough) to evacuate citizens from Afghanistan….but also because of his failure to continue building a border wall (an impoundment violation) and his extension of the eviction moratorium in the face of the Supreme Court opinion.

    Now obviously with the GOP not holding the majority in the House…..and despite criticism from both sides….Afghanistan seems to be an extreme long shot for impeachment. Is it a high crime or misdemeanor to badly execute a plan within the President’s powers and without some subtext of abusing that power? That seems to be a stretch. The recourse seems to be the political process…..strip Biden of Congressional support in the midterms and ultimately replace him in 2024…possibly forcing the DEMs to nominate someone else (which seems like the odds-on favorite at this point).

    Still, the GOP really needs to offer persuadable voters someone other than Trump as an alternative in 2024. As Trump moved from an A-team (Kelley and Mattis) to a B-team and finally the C-team of boot-lickers that brought us Jan 6th, what objective person has confidence that Trump will suddenly act in the national interest during crises vs his own narrow personal interest? Norcal’s unscientific poll is encouraging as a data point, but we need to hear more voices open to change. The GOP also can’t fall into the trap of diluting the 2024 field with 20 competitors….who will just split the not-Trump vote. I guess time will tell…..

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  198. wouldn’t you need to demonstrate a sincere religious conviction to win that claim? I’m not sure how many people would be able to demo by that.

    The federal government allows for a religious exemption to the vaccine for its federal employees and includes the form in their latest information packets to each department and those employees. The private sector is supposed to abide by the religious exemptions as well and you can see the progress of that with a quick search for “religious exemptions to vaccine.” The lawyers are chomping at the bit to find employers that won’t make an accommodation. Nowhere on the federal form does it ask you how devoted your are, and I cannot imagine the court entertaining a lawsuit for an employer to test the depth of religious conviction of their employees. It has a “if she floats she is a witch” vibe.

    The last page of this federal document has an example of the religious exemption form:
    https://www.va.gov/VHApublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=9388
    There were many to choose from but I figured one example would suffice. There is no question on the form that asks how religious you are.

    So if you stipulate that the government is clear that a basic religious exemption is guaranteed and a doctor denies services to people based off of their vaccination status, that ultimately was controlled by their religious beliefs, I don’t see how this would escape a claim of discrimination against individual religious freedoms.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  199. Rip, I am absolutely lost on how the authors of your article came up with the estimation of “74% of these [unvaccinated] hospitalizations were primarily for COVID-19.” I see no pathway to that number using the data they linked. I may have misunderstood something so calculating it out for me would be appreciated.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  200. @202 You’re talking to someone who thinks W went into AF because he cared about the women and DT left because they were to far away to grab.

    There’s a 50/50 chance Dustin wants to say the Muslims you referenced are just following DT’s example.

    frosty (f27e97)

  201. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/22/2021 @ 6:32 am

    frosty (f27e97) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:37 am

    Two excellent comments. I did not vote for Trump the first time, but I did vote for him the second tome he ran for POTUS, for the very reason Time123 referenced in the above comment. Every Trump supporter with whom I spoke, likewise thought that their own policy preferences would be better served under a Trump administration. Not one person seemed even remotely like the caricatures often portrayed in the media, and, alas, here. I agree with frosty.

    Colonel Haiku and I are buying the heavily-sugared frozen snack-treats. I recommend the “Pink thing.”

    felipe (484255)

  202. The Science of Masking Kids at School Remains Uncertain
    A large, groundbreaking study suggesting no clear benefit from school mask mandates has many experts questioning the policy.

    At the end of May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a notable, yet mostly ignored, large-scale study of COVID transmission in American schools. A few major news outlets covered its release by briefly reiterating the study’s summary: that masking then-unvaccinated teachers and improving ventilation with more fresh air were associated with a lower incidence of the virus in schools. Those are common-sense measures, and the fact that they seem to work is reassuring but not surprising. Other findings of equal importance in the study, however, were absent from the summary and not widely reported. These findings cast doubt on the impact of many of the most common mitigation measures in American schools. Distancing, hybrid models, classroom barriers, HEPA filters, and, most notably, requiring student masking were each found to not have a statistically significant benefit. In other words, these measures could not be said to be effective.

    In the realm of science and public-health policy outside the U.S., the implications of these particular findings are not exactly controversial. Many of America’s peer nations around the world — including the U.K., Ireland, all of Scandinavia, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Italy — have exempted kids, with varying age cutoffs, from wearing masks in classrooms. Conspicuously, there’s no evidence of more outbreaks in schools in those countries relative to schools in the U.S., where the solid majority of kids wore masks for an entire academic year and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. These countries, along with the World Health Organization, whose child-masking guidance differs substantially from the CDC’s recommendations, have explicitly recognized that the decision to mask students carries with it potential academic and social harms for children and may lack a clear benefit. To date, the highly transmissible Delta variant has not led them to change this calculus.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/NYMag/status/1428783764084334593

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  203. 177.

    Some people may have been hospitalized for other conditions or comorbidities that would have caused them to be hospitalized even if they had not been diagnosed with COVID-19.

    And their Covid cases may not be serious, and their infection may be stable or improving. This may be especially the case with children.

    But nobody seems to be collecting and reporting figures on how many people fall into that category.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  204. AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:38 am

    If the Republicans take back the House in the mid-terms, I’d say the chances of Biden getting impeached are quite high, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are Republicans who run on that specific action–expect “we’re going to impeach the motherf**ker!” comments like Rashida Tlaib did in 2018.

    The only thing I can think of that might possibly head that off would be Austin and Milley turning in their resignations.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  205. A blessed Sunday to you, felipe!!!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  206. AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:38 am

    He’s a national security threat, completely incompetent, and most likely mentally compromised. KH is a national security threat and completely incompetent. The JB/KH admin is a national security threat and completely incompetent.

    Instead of opining about whether the R’s save the day in 2024 maybe we worry about the next six months. If we stay on the same path as the last six months a diluted 2024 field will be a small problem.

    BTW, I can’t help but get a chuckle at these “what the R’s need to do” comments I keep seeing. Am I missing the “what the D’s need to do” comments. You know they’re in charge right? And for some reason they all seem to imply that the R’s just need to do what the D’s want to do but are to incompetent and corrupt to pull off.

    Maybe, the D’s and NeverTrump need to figure out the JB/KH problem they’ve created before we trigger an economic meltdown, let China invade Taiwan, let the next Islamic terror group become an international threat, keep flopping around on covid, etc.

    frosty (f27e97)

  207. The following is worth repeating.

    Still, the GOP really needs to offer persuadable voters someone other than Trump as an alternative in 2024. As Trump moved from an A-team (Kelley and Mattis) to a B-team and finally the C-team of boot-lickers that brought us Jan 6th, what objective person has confidence that Trump will suddenly act in the national interest during crises vs his own narrow personal interest? Norcal’s unscientific poll is encouraging as a data point, but we need to hear more voices open to change. The GOP also can’t fall into the trap of diluting the 2024 field with 20 competitors….who will just split the not-Trump vote. I guess time will tell…..
    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:38 am

    My only quibble is with the wording (italics mine) of:

    …what objective person has confidence that Trump will suddenly act in the national interest during crises vs his own narrow personal interest?

    I believe that all Presidents balance the nation’s interests against their own (even against their party’s) interests. I would say that it is understandable that if/when any POTUS were to suddenly act contrary to their established pattern, then that moment would be in extraordinary, historic, crisis, situations.

    So an objective person should understand that it would be the crisis that precipitates the sudden action, and the student of history will remember the sudden actions of leaders during other moments of crisis, and be confident that this is yet another example. What the outcome may be remains to be seen, and judgement will, no doubt, be finely sifted and passed, over time.

    felipe (484255)

  208. All the hypotheticals… but Trump this, but Trump that… he’s not the president.

    Gooder and harder!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  209. Stupid me, I failed to state that I strongly agree with AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:38 am .

    felipe (484255)

  210. Thank you, Colonel. A blessed Sunday to you, too!

    felipe (484255)

  211. Monoclonal antibody deposit sites would be a good tenant next to the HR Block, Halloween store, beauty supply and Dollar Tree*

    *not Dollar General–they are the next Aldi, possibly next CVS

    urbanleftbehind (55b846)

  212. — but no one raised, let alone imagined, what the United States would do if the Taliban gained control of access to that airport, the only safe way in and out of the country once Bagram closed.

    It wuld be harder to get to Bagram from Kabul than Hamid Karzai International Airport – Bagram is 70 miles outside of Kabul.

    The fact of the matter is, nobody in the Biden Administration considered the fall of Kabul so soon to be even remotely possible.

    They didn’t factor on what the belief that the fall of Kabul was inevitable would do to the timeline, and that the American withdrawal, plus the quick capture of numerous provincial capitals (which they didn;t anticpate before about August 8) would create the feeling that the fall of Kabul was inevitable. And once itwas inevitable, it was imminent.

    The United States did not help or encourage the Afghan government to plan for a long siege – and did not attack or threaten or impose sever economic sanctions on Pakistan, which is the only thing that could have saved Kabul.

    The steadily increasing pressure on Pakistan, both economic and military, would have to come with a message that this would not come to end unless the Taliban reversed their gains in the last six months, and if Pakistan tried to say We don’t control the Taliban the response should have even We don’t believe you!

    Pakistan should have told that a complete Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was simply unacceptable to the United States and NATO, and Pakistan would pay a continuing heavy price if it happened.

    And that we don’t care that they have nuclear weapons. We were going to bet that they were not going to use them in retaliation. We weren’t demanding that Pakistan surrender. Only that it give up on having an puppet state in Afghanistan.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  213. @202 You’re talking to someone who thinks W went into AF because he cared about the women and DT left because they were to far away to grab.

    HA!

    felipe (484255)

  214. Rip, I am absolutely lost on how the authors of your article came up with the estimation of “74% of these [unvaccinated] hospitalizations were primarily for COVID-19.” I see no pathway to that number using the data they linked. I may have misunderstood something so calculating it out for me would be appreciated.

    BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:45 am
    First, you misquoted the report. The correct sentence reads: “Based on data reported by CDC for vaccinated patients through August 2, 2021, we assume 74% of these hospitalizations were primarily for COVID-19.”

    It’s very easy after that when you go to the table I referenced previously.

    Hospitalized or fatal vaccine breakthrough cases reported to CDC 8,054
    People aged ≥65 years 5,928

    5928/8054= 0.736 rounded to 74%

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  215. I could have lived with Trump + Big Mac solution, but when Cal Cunningham of NC got caught sexting, the Dem senate as full-stop check plan went out the window.

    urbanleftbehind (55b846)

  216. Biden HIMSELF does not believe he has the moral standing to do what is necessary. Our enemies in China, Russia, Iran and elsewhere understand this.

    Hell, even the Taliban understand this.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  217. Some typos and errors corrected

    * They didn’t factor in what the belief that the fall of Kabul was inevitable would do to their timeline

    * which they didn’t anticipate before about August 8

    * would create the feeling that the fall of Kabul was inevitable. And once it was inevitable, it was imminent.

    * attack or threaten or impose severe economic sanctions on Pakistan

    * and if Pakistan tried to say We don’t control the Taliban the response should have been We don’t believe you!

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  218. He’s a national security threat, completely incompetent, and most likely mentally compromised. KH is a national security threat and completely incompetent. The JB/KH admin is a national security threat and completely incompetent. frosty (f27e97) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:17 am

    No need to be coy with us, frosty – what do you really want to say? ;-D

    As for the rest of your comment:

    The pitch is a fast ball. The crack of the bat is deafening, and the ball is going, going, gone…

    you are on a roll this morning – a terrible, yet great, thing to witness.

    felipe (484255)

  219. FWO, I agree that Austin and Milley need to go. There needs to be some consequence. Biden’s rationalizations are pretty thin….and unpersuasive. At some point he has to just say, we botched it and need to do better. You do that by changing out decision makers…even if ultimately the buck should stop with him.

    The GOP needs to avoid the trap of making everything impeachable…so the act loses all meaning and just makes the political environment more and more toxic. Ultimately we need a more moderate democrat party…so there is some possibility of compromise and actually getting conservative legislation. Otherwise, we just see more and more Executive and Judicial over reach. That’s why the GOP needs to get beyond stoking its base and playing to Fox News and actually get an agenda that will inspire people not just make the base angry. We are right now trapped in an unhealthy cycle of poking each other in the eye. The first step is to try something different….

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  220. Well, maybe Kamala Harris can be aunty-shamed into visiting Modi on this current junket. That’s about the best pressure on Pakistan you can hope for at this point.

    urbanleftbehind (55b846)

  221. I noticed today on Meet the Press that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Taliban had agreed to let through American citizens, but he added other people when speaking of people the United States wanted to get out.

    He was really glad to start with the diplomats as to why people were not withdrawn in advance of the military. They wanted to maintain a diplomatic presence after the military was out. As for ordinary American citizens, they told them several months before to leave.

    Did he say “to the end?”

    I thought the whole forecast was that it was not going to end, at least not for a couple of months.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  222. Can you explain how the vaccinated group you have twice noted (People aged ≥65 years 5,928) is a data point that can be extrapolated to unvaccinated people of all ages?

    My “misquote” wasn’t a misquote at all, BTW. The more complete quote I posted at 9:02 clearly states that they created the 74% number from the vaccinated information at the embedded link and applied it to the unvaccinated group. Do you see the difference?

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  223. He’s a national security threat, completely incompetent, and most likely mentally compromised. KH is a national security threat and completely incompetent. The JB/KH admin is a national security threat and completely incompetent.

    Instead of opining about whether the R’s save the day in 2024 maybe we worry about the next six months. If we stay on the same path as the last six months a diluted 2024 field will be a small problem.

    BTW, I can’t help but get a chuckle at these “what the R’s need to do” comments I keep seeing. Am I missing the “what the D’s need to do” comments. You know they’re in charge right? And for some reason they all seem to imply that the R’s just need to do what the D’s want to do but are to incompetent and corrupt to pull off.

    Maybe, the D’s and NeverTrump need to figure out the JB/KH problem they’ve created before we trigger an economic meltdown, let China invade Taiwan, let the next Islamic terror group become an international threat, keep flopping around on covid, etc.

    frosty (f27e97) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:17 am

    Well said and worth repeating.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  224. 185. norcal (a6130b) — 8/22/2021 @ 1:27 am

    I found it encouraging that Trump got only 10%.

    But this is Utah. Or Mormons.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  225. On an encounter with Unvaccinated America at the hospital
    …………
    …………[U]ntil I became my mother’s caregiver when she had a stroke in June 2014, I was able to avoid hospitals, save for visiting healthy friends and their newborns.
    ………..
    ……….. A couple who appeared to be in their late 30s sat at a distance from me and asked if I was with “the really elderly lady” they saw being wheeled into one of the department’s private rooms. I said they probably were speaking about my mother. I expected to hear a perfunctory “sorry to hear your mom is sick” sort of response. Oh no.

    I soon was subjected to something between a diatribe and a cri de coeur about their presence at the hospital, that being because the man’s sister was in with a very serious case of COVID-19. And that her illness shouldn’t have happened at all because she was healthier “than most fat Americans, because she is a competitive athlete.” They added that she shouldn’t have needed any vaccines because vaccines (allegedly) are tools of Big Corporate Healthcare, and that “if someone we could believe had only told us” the virus could sicken “really athletic people like us,” well, they could have tried homeopathy. ……..

    ……..[I]t seemed clear they believed enough in hospitals and conventional medicine to entrust their sister’s life to such care. And then I asked if they decided the prep their sister was undergoing for a very invasive ventilator was worth their anti-vaccination position. The woman said, “Well, I guess we’re going to have to get vaccinated now. But we still don’t believe in it.” The man then asked if I felt “justified” in having my mother take up “valuable medical resources” when “people like my sister who have more of a right to live are in the hospital.”
    ………
    I told them the only reason my mother was in the hospital was because hospice had not yet delivered the equipment needed to keep her out of hospital and that I brought her there because, while I know her time here is likely not long, I didn’t want her to die while choking for breath. I told them that once she was stabilized later that day, I’d be taking her home. I also said their sister’s medical resource-intensive hospitalization was, to be blunt, almost certainly avoidable. Then I thought about how many other similar discussions might be going on outside hospitals at that very moment, given reports about non-urgent treatments and surgeries being postponed due to the variant’s surge.

    The man glared at me awhile and said, “You might be right. We’re just angry. Life isn’t supposed to be this hard.”
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  226. 227; utterly unimpressed with Austin and Milley. But these are 2 guys with long (marginal) DoD careers with their eyes on the door out, and then back to lobbying for defense contractors. And this makes that soft landing impossible. The stench of this is not going to come off them. They and the entire cabinet, blasted fools they may be, now know that too. The 25th Amendment sending The Resident back to his Wilmingotn basement is now on the table. And that’s even everyone knowing the Devil that is Kamala is a bad option. But there is no other choice. The Senator for MBNA is a complete disaster that cannot be allowed to continue. it simply cannot.

    Bugg (024e40)

  227. Every Trump supporter with whom I spoke, likewise thought that their own policy preferences would be better served under a Trump administration.

    My experience runs the gamut. I have a SIL that’s just loyal to the GOP. Some of my wife’s family thought Q had some good points. One of her aunts was at the Jan 6 rally. A FIL that I love dearly who owns a bunch of Trump MAGA stuff etc. Most of the principled conservatives I know lost any respect for Trump and his movement with the big lie about the election.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  228. BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:39 am-

    No, I don’t see the difference. I merely reported what KFF and the CDC reported, and did not perform a separate analysis. I suggest you contact the CDC with any more questions.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  229. 214. frosty (f27e97) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:17 am

    He’s…completely incompetent,

    That;s what Osama bin Laden said in 2010. He instructed al Qaeda, try to assassinate Obama, but don’t do anything to Biden.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-last-days-of-osama-bin-laden-11627657283

    Revelations from the Abbottabad files show a terrorist leader scrambling for relevance in a world that had moved on

    By Peter Bergen ?
    July 30, 2021 11:01 am ET

    … As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approached, bin Laden was eager to memorialize the occasion with another spectacular strike. He told his lieuten**ants that he wanted “effective operations whose impact, God willing, is bigger than that of 9/11.” He explained that killing President Barack Obama was a high priority, but he also had General David Petraeus, at that time the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, in his sights. Bin Laden told his team not to bother with plots against Vice President Joe Biden, whom he considered “totally unprepared” for the post of president.

    Now I have to quote this, too:

    Yet the thousands of pages of documents recovered from bin Laden’s compound contain nothing to back up the idea that bin Laden was protected by Pakistani officials or that he was in communication with them. Quite the reverse: The documents describe the Pakistani army as “apostates” and bemoan “the intense Pakistani pressure on us.” They also include plans for attacks against Pakistani military targets.

    Al Qaeda’s leaders did contemplate negotiating a deal with the Pakistani government during the summer of 2010. Representatives of bin Laden’s group reached out to leaders of the Pakistani Taliban, who maintained contacts with Pakistan’s military intelligence service, to see if they could negotiate a ceasefire with the Pakistani government. But these negotiations fizzled without yielding a truce.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  230. The GOP also can’t fall into the trap of diluting the 2024 field with 20 competitors….who will just split the not-Trump vote. I guess time will tell…..

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:38 am

    The GOP candidates in 2024 need to provide their voters with a compelling reason to support them. This is a base that believes, with justification, that the nation’s cathedral institutions–from academia to the news media to Hollywood to the Administrative Complex to Big Tech and most major corporations–hate their guts and would happily see them permanently suppressed and destitute. A lot of them are on the verge of abandoning their support of the military and law enforcement bodies, too.

    They aren’t interested anymore in tax cuts, nation-building, or foreign adventurism. They don’t care about people halfway around the world, and believe the GOP needs to put the interests of American citizens ahead of foreigners–no more spending more on some dirthole village in Afghanistan every month that gets spent on an average American county in a year. They consider themselves to be in a culture war, right here at home, and THAT is their priority. They aren’t interested in anyone who wants to act as if that isn’t important and isn’t willing to engage the left there (a lesson the GOP should have learned from the 1970s when Reagan was appealing to civic nationalism, and Phyllis Schlafly actually beat the left in the fight over the Equal Rights Amendment). They consider neoconism and Megacity One conservatism to be a quisling ideology that’s resulted in the very socio-political environment that’s led to them fighting with their own school boards and teachers of their children to get cultural Marxism out of their schools.

    A GOP candidate that isn’t willing to fight the culture war and put American citizens first is a candidate who will be rejected.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  231. No, I don’t see the difference. I merely reported what KFF and the CDC reported, and did not perform a separate analysis. I suggest you contact the CDC with any more questions.

    Hahahahaha!!!

    You could have just said that you didn’t want to spend time diagramming sentences of your important links and that you really have no idea what the contents actually mean.

    It would be nice, for a change, for you to actually be helpful when someone takes an interest in the articles that you post. I enjoy that kind of dialogue.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  232. Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:38 am

    As counterintuitive as it sounds I don’t think many people in AF believed that JB was going to pull troops out at all. I suspect both the Taliban and US allied citizens looked around at all of the expensive equipment that would need a US presence to maintain and told themselves that those would start disappearing if the US was serious about leaving. JB breaking the agreement to leave in May for no reason probably added to that belief.

    Who thinks the US military leaves Bagram like a ghost? Who expected a scenario where the US orders troops to not retrieve civilians from a danger zone while the US POTUS brags about providing “overwatch and support” to French forces who do?

    frosty (f27e97)

  233. What would be helpful, IMO, would be if you left contact information, at the end of each breathless article you post, to the organizations that you think are best suited to defend the Top Stories that you cross your news anchor desk. Then everyone will know that this is more of a 5pm news gig than an actual conversation and won’t waste their time looking for engagement on the topic.

    BuDuh (6d043c)

  234. You could have just said that you didn’t want to spend time diagramming sentences of your important links and that you really have no idea what the contents actually mean.

    It would be nice, for a change, for you to actually be helpful when someone takes an interest in the articles that you post. I enjoy that kind of dialogue.

    BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:58 am

    I provided you the source for the 74% figure (even did the simple math for you), but since you were intellectually dishonest by deliberately misquoting the KFF study, that pretty much negates any claim of honest discussion.

    Duh indeed.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  235. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/pakistan-taliban-us-troop-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-by-shashi-tharoor-2021-06

    Jun 8, 2021

    NEW DELHI – The late head of Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, was fond of boasting that when Afghanistan’s history came to be written, it would record that the ISI, with the help of America, defeated the Soviet Union. And next, he would slyly add, historians would state that the ISI, with the help of America, defeated America…

    …He was right to argue that it was the ISI’s tactic of sponsoring militants and terrorists – amply armed, supplied, and financed by the United States – against the Red Army in Afghanistan that forced the Kremlin to withdraw ignominiously.

    Subsequently, using the same approach and initially many of the same personnel and methods, Pakistan created and sponsored a mujahideen group calling themselves the Taliban, or “students” of Islam, who swiftly took over Afghanistan and ruled it as a wholly owned ISI subsidiary. Things were rosy for Gul and his ilk until Osama bin Laden, a former mujahideen fighter who enjoyed the hospitality of the Taliban’s new “Islamic Emirate,” ordered the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the US from his Afghan hideout.

    America’s furious response resulted in the overthrow of the Taliban and the exile of bin Laden, under ISI protection, to refuge in a Pakistani military redoubt. The ISI had even less to crow about when the US tracked down bin Laden to a secure compound in Abbottabad and special forces killed him there in 2011.

    But as America wearied of being bogged down interminably in Afghanistan, and the ISI helped its Taliban clients to rearm, reorganize, and resume their operations against the US-backed regime in Kabul, the tide turned in the ISI’s favor. President Joe Biden has announced that US forces will withdraw completely from Afghanistan by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The date that long symbolized America’s determination to strike at the root of the terrorist attacks against it now signifies its lack of will to continue.

    Whatever face-saving successor arrangements the US may put in place to mask its capitulation, its withdrawal from Afghanistan, with none of its long-term objectives achieved, is a defeat. With the Taliban more powerful than ever and poised to reclaim power in Kabul, the only external victor will be the ISI. As Gul foresaw, it will have defeated America with America’s help. Pakistan has now received two decades’ worth of US military assistance, totaling an estimated $11 billion.

    The ISI has long been obsessed with the idea that controlling Afghanistan would give Pakistan the “strategic depth” needed to challenge its main adversary, India. A Taliban regime (or even a Taliban-dominated coalition government) in Kabul is the best guarantee of that. The Taliban factions are so beholden to their Pakistani benefactors that, as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani acidly remarked, their decision-making bodies – Quetta Shura, Miramshah Shura, and Peshawar Shura – are named after the Pakistani towns where they are based.

    But Gul’s successors would be wise to tone down their celebrations. First, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan removes a vital source of leverage for Pakistan in Washington. It may not be good news for Pakistan if the Americans need it less.

    Furthermore, as the ISI knows, the problem with creating and sponsoring militant groups is that they do not always remain under your control. The lesson of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – that the creatures we give life to can develop minds and needs of their own – has been apparent elsewhere as well, not least in Israel’s role in building up Hamas as a rival to the Palestine Liberation Organization.

    The same thing has happened in Pakistan, where the period of sullen cooperation between the Pakistani authorities and the US during the post-9/11 American crackdown in Afghanistan spawned the rebellion of the “Pakistani Taliban.” While the Afghan Taliban needed Pakistani refuge, ISI safe houses, funding, and arms to mount the insurgency that has brought the US to the point of withdrawal, the Pakistani Taliban have attacked their own erstwhile godfathers for insufficient fealty to militant Islam.

    The ISI no doubt hopes that once US forces are gone and the Afghan Taliban is securely entrenched in Kabul, it can persuade the Pakistani Taliban to forgive and forget the agency’s previous transgressions. If that happens, the thinking goes, peace will be restored, the ISI will control Afghanistan, and the Pakistani mujahideen will stop targeting Pakistani army installations and convoys, and join the ISI in intensifying attacks on the “real enemy,” India.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  236. Frosty: “Instead of opining about whether the R’s save the day in 2024 maybe we worry about the next six months….”

    The problem with this is, who do you think reads this blog? Patterico, Dana, and JVW all write from a conservative perspective….probably 95% of the commenters are from the right-side of the political spectrum….davethethulu, asset, and Rip are notable exceptions. Our host’s perspective is Trump skeptical. What benefit does it do for a bunch of Republicans to tell each other what the Democrats ought to do? Yes, I want them to serve up better options than Hillary and Biden….it’s better for our democracy if they do….they’ve tilted way too far to the Left…and gave us a virtual smorgasboard of geriatric head scratchers in 2020. I think they realize they need to do better. My point is R’s need to do way better as well…..there’s no way that the GOP should have lost to Biden….but too many ignored the negatives of Trump and couldn’t stick their heads outside of their protective bubble. A conservative blog should address that elephant. I would love to tell Democrats what to do…..but I’m not a Democrat. Daily Kos is one option….I would be interested to see how you might fare there….

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  237. I provided you the source for the 74%

    No. You provided a source for a 74% figure and you were unable to connect it to the figure used in the main article. Instead of making an attempt to show how the percentage of a group of 65 and older breakthrough cases was relevant to the unvaccinated group of almost all ages, you decided to check out of the conversation.

    BuDuh (8f1f60)

  238. FWO, I think you’re pretty much spot on about the GOP base.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  239. BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:58 am

    I have more fun reading Rip’s copy/pasted comments as a type of where’s Waldo game. Except instead of Waldo it’s propaganda and logical contradictions.

    frosty (f27e97)

  240. What would be helpful, IMO, would be if you left contact information, at the end of each breathless article you post, to the organizations that you think are best suited to defend the Top Stories that you cross your news anchor desk. Then everyone will know that this is more of a 5pm news gig than an actual conversation and won’t waste their time looking for engagement on the topic.

    BuDuh (6d043c) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:05 am

    Contact information is generally at the beginning or end of each article. For example, KFF includes the Twitter accounts of its authors so you contact them directly.

    Unless you are too lazy to click a link.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  241. since you were intellectually dishonest by deliberately misquoting the KFF study

    It is impossible for you to reach that conclusion if you read my quote last night in its entirety. I will give you a hint. What is the percentage that the authors used for their calculations of the unvaccinated? Is it a number other than 74%?

    Take your time.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  242. BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:58 am

    I have more fun reading Rip’s copy/pasted comments as a type of where’s Waldo game. Except instead of Waldo it’s propaganda and logical contradictions.

    frosty (f27e97) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:17 am

    I’m glad someone enjoys them. 😁

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  243. Item 1: That Alabama doctor, Valentine, has to be violating his Hippocratic Oath, refusing to see patients based on vax status.
    Item 2: Trump still cannot make an unqualified, unconditional endorsement to his people to get the jab.

    “I believe totally in your freedoms, I do, you got to do what you have to do, but I recommend take the vaccines,” Trump said. “I did it, it’s good. Take the vaccines.”
    The audience’s reaction was mixed — some cheered and clapped, while others booed.
    Trump then appeared to address those who booed saying, “That’s okay, that’s alright. You got your freedoms, but I happened to take the vaccine.”

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  244. Unless you are too lazy to click a link.

    I was ambitious enough to read your link. That is why obfuscation mode was enabled by you.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  245. BuDuh (6d043c) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:05 am

    I have been following your comments. Although I have Rip’s comments filtered out, I was getting the feeling that you were having a fruitful convo. I am disappointed that, in the end, you might have wasted time, but I want to express my appreciation to you that you spent your time on Rip. I was hoping that rip had started to contribute more than just spam to this community, and I will always hold out the hope that rip becomes a commenter with whom I would like to engage in an exchange of ideas. I will continue to watch others interact with Rip.

    Thank you for your efforts, BuDuh. I enjoyed your comments today.

    felipe (484255)

  246. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/pakistan-is-real-cause-of-failure-in-afghanistan-by-bill-emmott-2021-08

    ….With hindsight, we ought to see that the key mistake of the period lay in Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address when, using Frum’s words, he described America’s enemies as an “axis of evil.” None of the three countries he accused of being state sponsors of terrorism – Iran, Iraq, and North Korea – is responsible for America’s failure in Afghanistan and for the return of the Taliban.

    The blame for that lies largely with Pakistan and America’s inability to bring the country onside. Even if the US had not diverted its attention and resources to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, that failure would have doomed its policy in Afghanistan.

    To say this is not to divert attention from the more immediate and tragic failures – the moral lapses and indications of incompetent planning that are not a new feature of America’s international engagement.,,,

    Bill Emmott, a former editor-in-chief of The Economist, is co-director of the Global Commission for Post-Pandemic Policy. [??]

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  247. since you were intellectually dishonest by deliberately misquoting the KFF study

    It is impossible for you to reach that conclusion if you read my quote last night in its entirety. I will give you a hint. What is the percentage that the authors used for their calculations of the unvaccinated? Is it a number other than 74%?

    Take your time.

    BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:22 am

    I have no intention of responding. I am on my way over to Catalina for a beautiful day of relaxation.

    Have a nice day.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  248. Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:23 am

    Some of us believe that the natural immune have their freedoms:

    This policy seems unfair to the un-vaxxed folks who previously caught the virus and thereby have been “vaccinated” naturally.

    Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/19/2021 @ 5:18 pm

    https://patterico.com/2021/08/19/north-texas-covid-19-patients-vaccination-status-now-taken-into-consideration-when-triaging-patients/

    And I happen to agree.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  249. I have no intention of responding.

    Everyone already knew that.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  250. I tried felipe. Thanks for the compliment. Good to see you here.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  251. ““We will accept proof of current immunity in the form of a positive COVID-19 IgG Antibody test as a medical exemption to vaccination,” a memo sent Friday to Kettering Health employees said. “A positive antibody test must be completed and submitted no less than every three months.”

    https://www.whio.com/news/local/dayton-childrens-hospital-protesters-argue-against-vaccine-mandate-hospital-backs-its-decision/VGUH7NKNEJCR7GT4AH7NF5BL4M/

    Obudman (bd1cdd)

  252. @244 This is exactly the point I’m trying to make. D’s are perpetual garbage but they are consistently saying “here’s what the R’s really need to do because it’s their fault we screwed everything up”. There is a faction of R’s that perpetually says “yes, it’s our fault everything is screwed up and we’d really like to work with you to accomplish your goals with less screwing up”.

    I’m talking to that 2nd group of R’s that are very well represented here. Stop it. There is a large base of voters who do not want to do the same things as the D’s just with honesty and competence. They want to do something else and would be more than happy doing it with honestly and competence if given the option. Stop calling them names just because you don’t want to listen to them.

    frosty (f27e97)

  253. Everyone already knew that.

    BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:29 am

    You’d get the same result discussing this with Brian Williams. He can only read a teleprompter.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  254. @255 nobody heads out to catalina this late in the morning

    just another fib from Rip

    JF (e1156d)

  255. @255 nobody heads out to catalina this late in the morning

    just another fib from Rip

    JF (e1156d) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:37 am

    I’ve been on the boat for awhile.

    Rip Murdock (431d14)

  256. @244, AJ, I don’t really want the dems to succeed beyond running the government competently. Most of their policies I agree with (e.g. gay rights) have already been won. Their economic policies are horrid, and their foreign policy is little better.

    My problem is well explained by FWO’s comment.

    4-8 years ago there the GOP had policy goals I liked but it put me not he same team as people who legitimately felt that ‘creeping sharia law’ was a huge problem because Obama was secretly a Muslim who wasn’t born in the US. One of the people who strongly advocated those things took over the GOP and now that faction runs the party and has jettisoned policy in favor of the culture war. In support of the culture war they’ll also overlook honesty & competence, so long as their champion fights’.

    It’s kind of depressing honestly.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  257. We’d stop at the 14 mile bank for some good fishing before Avalon. But that was normally when going out of Newport or Huntington Harbor.

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  258. Biden is scheduled to speak at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT), which means not before 4 pm, and he will also say something about Hurricane Henri. He will speak from the Roosevelt Room.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  259. Make sure your life jacket’s on, RIP. Your boat just got sunk.

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  260. This country is going to be starved for a capable leader by ’24.

    I thought that 2012 would be a competence election, but it turned out not. Nothing afterwards has been. Millard Fillmore was a more capable leader than either Trump or Biden; he at least pushed civil war back a decade.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  261. ‘At some point he [Biden] has to just say, we botched it and need to do better.’

    No. That’s unacceptable.

    Making excuses for the actions of a Peter Principled dolt is just as bad if not worse. $85 billion worth of military equipment abandoned; chaotic collapse after 20 years and $2.26 trillion blown. Unacceptable.

    This jerked off swamp creature “campaigned” on his so-called “competence” of 50-years-of-experence-at-moving-the-levers-of-government. Ideological conservative suckers so full of hate at being shuffled to the bottom of the deck by their own party, so full of contempt at Trump’s persona rather than his general policies, supported this brain-damaged, emotionally crippled, inept old man out of rage and spite. Copping to “botching it” just gives him an out to use his “I’m sorry” escape clause.

    Neville Chamberlain “botched it.” The Big Dick “botched it.” Hell, Lyndon Johnson “botched it.” The first two resigned; the last all but resigned by not running again.

    President Plagiarist is incompetent; he has destroyed any personal credibility he had left and keeps U.S. credibility w/t world community.

    He has three options:

    [ ] Fire his national security team [Austin/Milley/Blinken/Sullivan & the ‘Cloaked One,’ Susan Rice, etc.,]

    [ ] Resign. The nation can hobble to 2024 w/Harris.

    [ ] Die. The nation can hobble to 2024 w/Harris.

    Choose.

    “The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.” – Deep Throat [Hal Holbrook] ‘All The President’s Men’ 1976

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  262. Did you even read the article? It’s not talking about the situation that applied to your two friends in Apr 2020.

    Back then there was no vaccine. Any vaccine would have been better than “getting Covid.” How has the situation changed? Is Covid nicer now?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  263. This country is going to be starved for a capable leader by ’24.

    ROFLMAO. Echoes of the Carter years. Except there is no ‘Reagan’ in your future.

    Just Trump.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  264. 1) Vaccination proof can be forged.

    This is getting less likely. Many states now have official documents that list your vaccinations. I bet you didn’t know these things have been reported to the state for some time now. There is no medical privacy with respect to vaccinations.

    2) Vaccination can be useless

    Sure. Or, more accurately “less useful.” The FDA has already approved for booster shots NOW for some people. Not sure what one does with folks who cannot produce antibodies easily.

    3) Vaccination can be unnecessary.

    This is an unproven theory, often given dishonestly, and one where there are good reasons to think otherwise. All three vaccinations available in the US have been shown to protect against viral mutations. Natural immunity likely protects against fewer strains since it was “designed” with only one strain in “mind.”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  265. Are Joe Biden’s actions (or inactions) impeachable?

    When I suggested that the GOP consider impeachment, I specifically said “but not you-know-who.” Sadly, they did not listen.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  266. The CDC received reports (which may not be complete_ of people who had breakthrough nfection s who were also hospitalized or died.

    Yje total number of vaccine breakthrough infections (implied – not stated who also were hospitaloxed or died) was 8,054

    Of these 8,054:

    7,608 or 94% were hospitalizations (and 446 died without being hospitalized) Deaths altogether totaled 1,587 (20%) pf which 1,141 died after being hospitalized, or 15% of those hospitalized, almost exactly.

    AND, of the 8,054:

    5,928 or 74% were people aged 65 years or older

    1,400 or 17% were asymptomatic infections *but nevertheless were hospitalized or died.

    3,856 or (48%) were female (and therefore 4198 were male, give or take an unusual person or two)

    Now something had to motivate someone to do a Covid test of an asymptomatic individual. But of those people who were vaccinated and later were ether hospitalized or died, 17% were asymptomatic.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  267. Paul Montagu (5de684) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:23 am

    An

    unqualified, unconditional endorsement

    means mandate then?

    frosty (732a59)

  268. now that faction runs the party and has jettisoned policy in favor of the culture war. In support of the culture war they’ll also overlook honesty & competence, so long as their champion fights’.

    Policy and the culture war are inextricably linked. The gay rights you supported are a textbook example of that. And having won that battle, the left quickly moved on to transgenderism, and celebrating hedonistic lunacy like Desmond Is Amazing, who had a billboard of him put up in Times Square. “Defund the police,” last year’s iconoclasm, providing protest exceptions for COVID protocols, DAs doing catch-and-release on people arrested for rioting, assault, and property destruction–this is all part of it.

    And no, the GOP base isn’t going to care about appeals to honesty and competency, because they see their opponents exercise a blatant double standard that is fully defended by the Cathedral. Take this, for example:

    Women’s Studies as Virus: Institutional Feminism, Affect, and the Projection of Danger.

    This paper theorizes that one future pedagogical priority of women’s studies is to train students not only to master a body of knowledge but also to serve as symbolic “viruses” that infect, unsettle, and disrupt traditional and entrenched fields. In this essay, we first posit how the metaphor of the virus in part exemplifies an ideal feminist pedagogy, and we then investigate how both women’s studies and the spread of actual viruses (e.g., Ebola, HIV) produce similar kinds of emotional responses in others. By looking at triviality, mockery, panic, and anger that women’s studies as a field elicits, we conclude by outlining the stakes of framing women’s studies as an infectious, insurrectional, and potentially dangerous, field of study. In doing so, we frame two new priorities for women’s studies”training male students as viruses and embracing “negative” stereotypes of feminist professors”as important future directions for the potentially liberatory aspects of the field.

    This essay wasn’t the product of some fringe institution or NGO white paper. These are members of my own alma mater–one of the largest mainstream universities in the country–positively, and unironically, comparing their ideology to two of the deadliest viruses known to man. An ideology that is now considered conventional wisdom by the vast majority of the nation’s cultural, governmental, and economic institutions, including churches. Furthermore, they expect the laws and traditions of the society they’re trying to tear down, to protect them from any consequences that might result from that subversion.

    It is impossible to reason with people who literally see themselves and the people they’re proselytizing to as subversive, viral agents that break down and destroy society. You might find the views of the GOP base to be distasteful, but this is no different from the overreaction of an immune system trying to throw off the very thing that’s trying to kill the host. And that’s why appeals to policy, as if they exist in a vacuum that is separate from culture, aren’t going to go anywhere with these people. Not when they see even the institutions they once defended turning against them.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  269. Now something had to motivate someone to do a Covid test of an asymptomatic individual. But of those people who were vaccinated and later were ether hospitalized or died, 17% were asymptomatic.

    Some people are tested “just because.” Some hospital employees, for example.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  270. so long as their champion fights

    And loses again and again because he’s an incompetent fighter. Yosemite Sam vs Bugs Bunny. Wile E Coyote vs Road Runner.

    Trump is a bully, all bluster and threat and nothing behind it. Reagan didn’t huff and puff, but the statist pigs houses fell down anyway.

    I have more metaphors if you want them.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  271. You would think someone[ a general, a cabinet member, his wife or anyone} would resign in protest of this military train wreck.

    mg (8cbc69)

  272. The 25th Amendment sending The Resident back to his Wilmingotn basement is now on the table.

    It’s going to take that- as this guy’s a stubborn, quick-tempered angry mick- as insiders and those who know his half-century record can tell you. He wholly believes by shoveling senatorial-styled bluster, blarney and malarkey he can bullsh!t his way out of anything. When he gets to hell he’ll hu Beau the dicker w/t Devil to lower the thermostat.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  273. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:58 am

    Back then there was no vaccine. Any vaccine would have been better than “getting Covid.” How has the situation changed? Is Covid nicer now?

    So, no, you didn’t read the article. Back then we made decisions based on the fact that the virus was “novel”, ie no one had any immunity at all. The situation has changed because now we have ~70% vaccinated and a large percentage of people who also have natural immunity.

    The current risk of getting covid is less for people who have had the vaccine. You’ve made this statement multiple times. The current risk of getting covid a 2nd time is also less but you don’t seem to value natural immunity.

    Now you’re taking the position that even with the vaccine and natural immunity we’re in the same situation as we were in April of 2020?

    frosty (732a59)

  274. 270. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:58 am

    Is Covid nicer now?

    It is treated better, and may be nicer too, because the more very serious cases there are around, the more serious are the infections that are acquired. And as the disease spreads, the percentage of very serious cases, also rises. The dose is the poison.

    This was true of smallpox, also. In the 1700s, in the Anglo Saxon world, before Jenner discovered what cowpox did, some people deliberately infected children with what they hoped was a small case of smallpox. Sometimes it killed them.

    Not just children.

    George Washington did it to young adult men.

    https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/GW&smallpoxinoculation.html

    At the time, the practice of infecting the individual with a less-deadly form of the disease was widespread throughout Europe. Most British troops were immune to Variola, giving them an enormous advantage against the vulnerable colonists. (Fenn 2001, 131) Conversely, the history of inoculation in America (beginning with the efforts of the Reverend Cotton Mather in 1720) was pocked by the fear of the contamination potential of the process. Such fears led the Continental Congress to issue a proclamation in 1776 prohibiting Surgeons of the Army to inoculate.

    Washington suspected the only available recourse was inoculation, yet contagion risks aside, he knew that a mass inoculation put the entire army in a precarious position should the British hear of his plans. Moreover, Historians estimate that less than a quarter of the Continental Army had ever had the virus; inoculating the remaining three quarters and every new recruit must have seemed daunting. Yet the high prevalence of disease among the army regulars was a significant deterrent to desperately needed recruits, and a dramatic reform was needed to allay their fears.

    Weighing the risks, on February 5th of 1777, Washington finally committed to the unpopular policy of mass inoculation by writing to inform Congress of his plan. Throughout February, Washington, with no precedent for the operation he was about to undertake, covertly communicated to his commanding officers orders to oversee mass inoculations of their troops in the model of Morristown and Philadelphia (Dr. Shippen’s Hospital). At least eleven hospitals had been constructed by the year’s end.

    https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/smallpox

    While Washington believed wholeheartedly in the efficacy of inoculation, in May of 1776 he ordered that no one in his army be inoculated; violations of this order would result in severe punishment. The summer campaigns were about to begin and Washington could not afford to have a large number of his men incapacitated for a month, vulnerable to attack by the British. Washington eventually instituted a system where new recruits would be inoculated with smallpox immediately upon enlistment. As a result soldiers would contract the milder form of the disease at the same time that they were being outfitted with uniforms and weapons. Soldiers would consequently be completely healed, inoculated, and supplied by the time they left to join the army.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  275. 279.You would think someone[ a general, a cabinet member, his wife or anyone} would resign in protest of this military train wreck.

    Not at that level. They’ll pullout their CYA memos showing they ‘suggested’ – ‘gave options’- ‘recommended’ etc., alternatives to the CiC and his staff months ago and dump it back it the Big Guy’s lap as he has the final say, even w/Kamala as ‘the last one in the room.’ He’s already planning to meet w/t G7 leaders this week– a classic “senator” move, seeking ‘committee cover’ — the old “safety in numbers” rule. He can’t even do a presser alone w/o people standing behind him. No balls. Whether you like it or not at least Trump actually did fire people-or force them to walk the plank.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  276. 272. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 10:06 am

    Not sure what one does with folks who cannot produce antibodies easily.

    You inject them (but now can be done by injection) with synthetic monoclonal antibodies, which should be good for 3 to 6 months. Some people seem terribly afraid that that, if this gets more attention, some people will prefer this to a vaccine.
    Because these are manufactured with only one or two antibodies, it is more likely yhe virus can mutate into ineffectiveness.

    3) Vaccination can be unnecessary.

    This is an unproven theory, often given dishonestly, and one where there are good reasons to think otherwise. All three vaccinations available in the US have been shown to protect against viral mutations. Natural immunity likely protects against fewer strains since it was “designed” with only one strain in “mind.”

    It’s the other way around. There is far greater variety of antibodies with naturally acquired immunity than there is with the vaccine, which produces immunity only to the spike protein.

    But the spike protein should be the only thing that matters, and the less antigens, the less there is a chance of an auto-immune disorder starting.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  277. FWO: “A GOP candidate that isn’t willing to fight the culture war and put American citizens first is a candidate who will be rejected”

    I’ll start by saying that I too agree with your assessment of the GOP base….and it accurately accounts for the popularity of Trump…who was willing to try to slam immigrant doors, renegotiate trade deals, holler about China, question the fairness of some of our defense commitments, while picking fights with BLM, the media, and liberal heavy-handedness. I would also add that I think a lot of Trump’s tactics were poorly thought through or poorly executed and in the end didn’t solve much. Nothing…other than his Court picks….had any roots to out live his term. In fact much of what he did caused a backlash that brought in probably the weakest Democrat candidate imaginable. And though I think the Court picks will be important to Heller, Citizen’s United, and some RFRA cases, I remain skeptical of big reversals in Roe, Obergefell, or NFIB. We conservatives still need to win in legislatures…..and the base generally has unrealistic expectations of what can be done without 60 votes.

    I do also agree that a conservative agenda has to find a way to be more focused on what citizens need, but with conservative, free market, and limited government solutions. In that regard, it’s always easier to be a Democrat and spend other people’s money and build forever programs and transfer wealth. In terms of foreign policy, we can debate the notion of fighting them over there…instead of over here….but I also acknowledge that our debt has now eclipsed our GDP and we need to make hard decisions about military deployments and the size of our military in general. Though I want it guided by a clear strategy of our national interests over the next few decades…not just a weariness that costs us in the long term…..say when Al Qaeda/ISIS re-emerges in Afghanistan.

    What I’m looking for in a GOP candidate are a couple of sincere ideas of how we can bring people together as Americans….and not simply bringing Sean Hannity’s hot cultural rhetoric to the White House to divide us further….so come a crisis, we think about the nation and not our temporary political advantage. We’ve become politically bubble-ized such that we don’t have any patience for people who dare to think differently than us in a pluralistic society. Liberals are frequently wrong….not evil. I want a candidate that will rise above…not take us back into the gutter.

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  278. Harris is closer to Afghanistan, she should go help. Man up so to speak.

    mg (8cbc69)

  279. “What is the percentage that the authors used for their calculations of the unvaccinated? Is it a number other than 74%?”

    It’s actually around 76-77%. I think there was a transposition error.

    Here’s the math:
    8054 hospitalized or fatal vaccine breakthrough cases reported to CDC
    1,883 (25%) of 7,608 hospitalizations reported as asymptomatic or not related to COVID-19
    This means that 75% (76.6 if you calculate it out) of hospitalizations were related to COVID-19.

    Davethulhu (aa6793)

  280. During the 2020 general election campaign, nobody seemed to notice that no American soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan since February. The big issue Biden had about Afghanistan was why wasn’t Trump taking up with Putin the bounties being paid (present tense) for killing American soldiers.

    (If you paid close attention, you’d notice that the bounties was old news that has recently become public – but old news – and maybe not precisely what Russia had done)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  281. That would be the percentage of the vaccinated. And yes, it appears to be the number they also attributed to the unvaccinated. My question remains. How did they transpose that to the unvaccinated?

    It appears to be a strategic guess. The strategy being “how do we pin medical costs on the unvaccinated while looking like we really dove into actual relevant data?”

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  282. AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 8/22/2021 @ 10:49 am

    So you want to completely cede the culture war to the left and try to engage them intellectually through a platform of what??: Lower taxes and unlimited immigration?

    Could it be that you don’t disagree with the left culturally so you just don’t want those battles and don’t support the American people that do?

    As Breitbart so aptly noted, “Politics is downstream of culture.”

    There’s a reason so many of our young have been brainwashed into thinking socialism can work this time. It’s because the culture has lied to them and told them it’s daddy government’s responsibility to take care of you instead of holding yourself accountable.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  283. Mon, Dec 19, 2019

    Link may be broken, but you can search for text)

    https://www.rev.com/blog/december-democratic-debate-transcript-sixth-debate-
    from-los-angeles

    Amna Nawaz: (48:05)

    Vice president Biden. Let’s turn now to a Afghanistan. Confidential documents published last week by the Washington Post revealed that four years [ago] senior us officials misled the public about the war in Afghanistan. As vice president-

    Joe Biden: (48:18)

    Afghanistan, you said?

    Amna Nawaz: (48:18)

    Yes sir, Afghanistan.

    Joe Biden: (48:18)
    [inaudible 00:23:25].

    Amna Nawaz: (48:19)

    As vice president, what did you know about the state of the war and do you believe that you were honest with the American people about it?

    Joe Biden: (48:29)

    The reason I can speak to this, it’s well known, if any of you followed my view on Afghanistan, I was sent by the president before we got sworn in to Afghanistan to come back with a report. I said there was comprehensive policy available and then I got in a big fight for a long time with the Pentagon because I strongly opposed the nation building notion. We set about rebuilding that country as a, as a whole nation is beyond our capacity. I argued from the very beginning that we should
    have a policy that was based on an anti-terrorism policy with a very small footprint that in fact only had special forces to deal with potential threats from that territory to the United States of America.

    Joe Biden: (49:17)

    The first thing I would do as president the United States of America is to make sure that we brought all combat troops home and into a negotiation with the Taliban. But I would leave behind special forces in small numbers to be able to deal with the potential threat unless we got a real good negotiation accomplished to deal with terrorism. That’s been my position from the beginning. That’s why I think secretary Gates and some members of the Pentagon weren’t happy with me.

    [But Osama bin Laden was very happy with him, so much so he told al Qaeda not to target him]

    Amna Nawaz: (49:43)

    Mr. Biden. The question was about your time in the white house though, and in that Washington Post report, there’s a senior national security official who said that there was constant pressure from the Obama white house to produce figures showing the troop surge was working, and I’m quoting from the report here, “Despite hard evidence to the contrary.”

    What do you say to that?

    Joe Biden: (50:02)

    Since 2009…

    Joe Biden: (50:02)

    Since 2009 go back and look, I was on the opposite side of that with the Pentagon. [inaudible 00:50:08] I can speak to it now is because it’s been published. It’s been published thoroughly. I’m the guy, from the beginning, who argued that it was a big, big mistake to surge forces to
    Afghanistan, period. We should not have done it and I argued against it constantly.

    Amy Klobuchar: (50:25)

    Senator Sanders you had your hand up?

    Bernie Sanders: (50:26)

    In all due respect to Joe. Joe, you’re also the guy who helped lead us into the disastrous war in Iraq. What we need to do, is I think, rethink and the Washington post piece was very educational. What we need to rethink, is the entire war on terror? We have lost thousands of our own men and women, brave soldiers. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, have been killed abroad or forced to leave their countries. It is time right now, that we bring this world together, to try to end these endless wars and address the root causes, which are causing these wars.

    Amy Klobuchar: (51:16)

    Senator Sanders, you do often point to your vote against the war in Iraq is evidence of your judgment on foreign policy. But you did vote for the war in Afghanistan and as recently as 2015 you said you supported a continued U. S. Troop presence there. Was that support a mistake?

    Bernie Sanders: (51:32)

    Well, only one person, my good friend Barbara Lee was right on that issue. She was the only person in the house to vote against the war in Afghanistan. She was right, I was wrong. So was everybody else in the house. But to answer your question, I don’t think you do what Trump does and make foreign policy decisions based on a tweet at 3:00 AM in the morning or dessert your long time allies like the Kurds. I think you work with the international community, you remove all troops over a
    period of time, a short period of time within one year.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  284. “It appears to be a strategic guess. The strategy being “how do we pin medical costs on the unvaccinated while looking like we really dove into actual relevant data?””

    What do you think the actual number should be? Other than the 74% assumption, all the other numbers are backed up with citations. They even point out that the actual percentage is likely higher “because unvaccinated people have a higher risk of severe illness than vaccinated people”.

    Davethulhu (aa6793)

  285. #117 felipe
    My trials links should have carried the disclaimer of FWIW. If someone wants to be a lab test rat, they should not go to Tractor Supply. Well, they can do as they please, but I’m hopeful that they would go the clinical trial route for safety sake at least.

    I got addicted to the trial site when I was fixated on IMMU which has since been gobbled up by Gilead. In the biotech space I’ve gotten lazy (because I’m busy, if that makes any sense).
    I’ve started to follow activist hedge funds like Baker Brothers and Avoro (formerly venBio) and see if they are taking huge positions in an emerging company and taking over the Board of Directors.

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  286. Pete Buttigieg December 19, 2019:

    Pete Buttigieg: (53:20)

    And I’m glad that the name of Barbara Lee was mentioned, not only because of what she’s talked about years ago. I believe that we had no choice but to go to Afghanistan after 9/11 but right now, she is one of the leaders of the effort to repeal and replace the authorization for the use of military force and the folks that I served with deserve that.

    They deserve the clarity of members of Congress being able to summon the courage, to take an up or down vote on whether they ought to be there in the first place and when I am president, anytime if I am forced to deploy troops into war, anytime we seek an authorization, it will have a three year sunset. So that if there really does have to be a conversation about extending it, it has to be brought to Congress, brought to the American people, and those members of Congress have to take that tough up or down vote.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  287. Wed, Feb 25, 2020

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-carolina-democratic-debate-full-transcript-text

    WARREN: Look, a president’s job, first job, is to keep America safe, and an important part of that is to have a strong military. All three of my brothers served in the military, and I understand how much the military sacrifices, how much their families sacrifice, and how much they are willing to put on the line.

    That means that we have a sacred responsibility to them, and that is not to use our military to solve problems that cannot be solved militarily.

    We are not winning in Afghanistan. We are not winning in the Middle East.

    What we need to do is we need to use all of the tools in our toolbox. We need a strong military. We also need a strong State Department. Those are our eyes and ears on the ground. They are our frontlines in diplomacy….

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  288. They even point out that the actual percentage is likely higher “because unvaccinated people have a higher risk of severe illness than vaccinated people”.

    Everything is likely higher or lower when it is an unknowable variable that needs to dart around until a doomsday conclusion is treated as valid.

    What happened to double-blind peer-reviewed blah blah blah?

    I am reminded of the joke, “ if I wanted three different opinions I would have asked two different economists.”

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  289. steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/22/2021 @ 11:40 am

    I think we are both savvy investors who have learned to automatically apply a safe harbor lens through which to view all information as we conduct our due diligence.

    felipe (484255)

  290. Every Trump supporter with whom I spoke, likewise thought that their own policy preferences would be better served under a Trump administration.

    Since making Donald Trump look good is in no way my policy preference, Biden might as well been running unopposed as far as I was concerned. In that regard. Policy. Because that’s the only policy Donald Trump has. Having himself look good. The only one. No other. Zero, zip, zilch, nada.

    As far as other regards go, I really should not express them on a Sunday.

    nk (1d9030)

  291. “ The handling of Bagram really seems like it is being under analyzed.

    We seem to have planned and executed the exit from Bagram well enough that we were able to do it overnight and undetected. Obviously, there is a huge difference between Bagram and Kabul, both in geography and population density, but is that enough to explain the different outcomes?

    I keep reading about how US air support was the critical factor in allowing the Afghan military to patrol on the ground and to keep the Taliban at bay. Put yourself in the shoes of an Afghan soldier upon hearing that the US abandoned Bagram without notification or even a ceremony to hand over the keys. Can you trust that you will continue to receive air support? What if it stops when you are in the middle of battle? Maybe it is better to abandon your post now, rather than risk being caught in a battle you can’t win.

    Aside from a sentence here or there, I haven’t seen any serious attempts at understanding what impact, if any, abandoning Bagram had on military and civilian morale. Did leaving Bagram in the way we left actually trigger the collapse of Afghan authority?

    I also wonder about the impact of the Bagram exit on American military morale. What can be said about sneaking out of a major base in an ostensibly friendly government’s territory without telling anyone, including our NATO allies? Operational security is one thing, but this is an entirely different level. This was a retreat in the dead of night; it almost feels dishonorable or cowardly, which certainly has not been how our soldiers see themselves. (I *really* hated to write that last sentence.)

    If the US authorities believed that giving even 24 hours notification and holding a quick change-of-command ceremony at Bagram was too dangerous, what does that say about the US government’s real understanding of the situation before the Kabul evacuation versus its communications to the public?

    The more I think about it, the more I think that the decisions leading up to the abandonment of Bagram are the keys to understanding what has happened in the last few weeks.”

    —- Biff

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  292. “Everything is likely higher or lower when it is an unknowable variable that needs to dart around until a doomsday conclusion is treated as valid.”

    The actual number may be “unknowable” but a reasonable guess can be made. Dismissing the report this way is pedantry.

    Davethulhu (aa6793)

  293. Perhaps the people whose vote was cast against someone (in this case, Trump) as they claim, will someday find it a better to base and cast their vote as a vote FOR someone.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  294. Joe teh Weasel.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  295. I’ll start by saying that I too agree with your assessment of the GOP base….and it accurately accounts for the popularity of Trump…who was willing to try to slam immigrant doors, renegotiate trade deals, holler about China, question the fairness of some of our defense commitments, while picking fights with BLM, the media, and liberal heavy-handedness. I would also add that I think a lot of Trump’s tactics were poorly thought through or poorly executed and in the end didn’t solve much. Nothing…other than his Court picks….had any roots to out live his term. In fact much of what he did caused a backlash that brought in probably the weakest Democrat candidate imaginable.

    Here’s the thing–Are any of the issues you listed in this paragraph things that you believe the base should support, or reject? Is the country more united, and more socially and economically stable, after 50-plus years of Hart-Celler and refugee acceptance? Has government gotten less intrusive? Has it gotten less collusive with corporations? Has outsourcing our manufacturing to China benefitted us, or them, from a strategic perspective? Is the military more or less dysfunctional and wasteful? Is engaging with BLM (who is basically a funding front-group for the Democrats), the media, and academia in “the marketplace of ideas” really all that productive when their thought leaders see their cultural mission as one of subversion and apocalyptism that will result in the Fully Automated Luxury Space Communism utopia they envision?

    This is the other aspect of it–the left has been playing the long game on this since the late 60s. That was the whole point of communist ideologues like Marcuse adopting the long march through the institutions after he and other Marxist professors on both sides of the pond read through Gramsci, and subsequently began indoctrinating their students in the dialectics of critical theory that have come full flower in the last 20 years. The right began its retreat on this front in 1992, when Bill Clinton won the election thanks to a concerted push by the mass media to beat Bush, and the neocons (a largely irreligious group to begin with) began focusing almost exclusively on economic rather than cultural issues because they figured the GOP lost the MTV generation due to being moral scolds. They might have won some victories in the interim, but can any True and Honest Conservative objectively look at the last 30-odd years and say with a straight face that they didn’t get thoroughly emulsified in the culture war, which has led to the current state of affairs as we see them?

    I brought up Schlaffly for the very specific reason that the modern right viewed her as some kind of out-of-touch schoolmarm–but the fact of the matter is that the ERA would never have been stopped if she hadn’t gone at the left with both barrels blazing. She won an actual battle with the left that the neocons never had the guts or principle to engage. If the neocons had been as willing to defend cultural conservatism as intensely as they were willing to go to bat for tax cuts, “small government,” and militarism, first against the Soviets and then against whomever happened to be a convenient target, we might not be staring in the face of a subversive mass media, academia, and bureaucratic complex looking to stamp out conservatism forever and remake the US in its degenerate, narcissistic, behavioral-sink image.

    That Trump invoked a backlash and lost in 2020 misses the point. You can’t win if you never engage to begin with, and it’s high time that conservatives, particularly its sheltered, country club and barbeque grill classes, wake up and realize that they are in a no-kidding existential struggle with an opponent that doesn’t stop unless forced to do so.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  296. #130
    Paul
    There is a study with 7 persons (6 if you count the person with kidney disease who was removed from the trial) that found (nothing if you ask me) found hydrocloroquine performed same as placebo.
    There are studies with thousands of people overseas but I chose to avoid posting a link to a study in- lets say – Bangladesh, to avoid the scorn.

    Usually small trials mean small budgets.
    I was an investor in a company working on a number of things over the years. Lupus (failed)
    Every time they needed to fund a Phase I or Phase II trial they had to go hat in hand to the vultures and give them millions of new shares just to pay for a small trial.
    They finally got into orphan drugs, unmet needs, for breast cancer getting Fast Track Designation and Break through therapy from the FDA.
    They still had to sell a big piece of future royalties to Royalty Pharmaceutical, and were burning through 10’s of millions to run bigger trials.
    They also needed to produce their one novel product (Trodelvy) in house for use in those trials (different than buying it off the shelf and putting it in combo like the trial I linked).
    This meant they had to upgrade the lab and since they were small and ignorant the FDA inspection of their lab resulted in a CRL.
    So the headline news was “IMMU fails FDA lab inspection”, followed a couple weeks later by headline “IMMU phase III trial halted.”
    SOB’s nearly gave me a heart attack. The trial was “halted due to overwhelming efficacy”.

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  297. I do also agree that a conservative agenda has to find a way to be more focused on what citizens need, but with conservative, free market, and limited government solutions.

    ROFLMAOPIP “conservative, free market, limited government solutions” is exactly what failed and why the ‘citizens’ rejected this dumb-assed ideology. It’s as dead an ideology as Reagan and Beau.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  298. The actual number may be “unknowable” but a reasonable guess can be made.

    I don’t disagree. All I wanted to know is what makes it is a “reasonable guess.“. We are constantly told that the vaccinated make up a very small percentage of the Covid hospital population. Why does this very small group get to define the metrics of the larger group? Certainly there must be actual data on the unvaccinated that became hospitalized. If that data exists, then Team Extrapolation should have used it. If it doesn’t exist, then I argue that we have a much larger problem for the data analysts and the powers that be have now created another trust issue. I am speculating but It may be that this lack of data is probably a motivation for the PHD’s that are one of the largest groups of unvaccinated according to a poll that was posted here days ago.

    If nothing else, Dave, we both have shared enough of the numbers in Rip’s link to reasonably conclude that the 74% has nothing to do with the “People aged ≥65 years” data point Rip bandied about. That saves me the call to the CDC.

    BuDuh (fdd65e)

  299. #136
    Kevin
    The 22 Billion can be seen as pieces of the largest clinical trials ever held. Once the FDA approves the vaccines (I’m not hopeful for FDA approval of Sputnik, Sinovac, or Sinopharm) the people taking it in the arm are no longer volunteering to be lab rats in exchange for 2-3 free hits.

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  300. #144
    sounds like the hippocratic oath he self identifies with is FU.
    Palin’s death panel’s are finding some Doctors are doing debuts

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  301. R.I.P. Don Everly

    Icy (6abb50)

  302. As usual-the late Joe Biden: 4 PM EDT means 4 PM EDT… not 4:15 and counting…

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  303. 309 comments. Let’s do a word search: 87 “Biden”s. 90 “Trump”s. Keep dat orange front and center, comrades!

    nk (1d9030)

  304. Joe, we get the Weather Channel. =sigh=

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  305. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:43 am

    4-8 years ago there the GOP had policy goals I liked but it put me not he same team as people who legitimately felt that ‘creeping sharia law’ was a huge problem because Obama was secretly a Muslim who wasn’t born in the US.

    But no problem being on team violent marxists, and also racist, who are lying about police shootings of unarmed black men and also aren’t big fans of things like free speech, western civilization, or the nuclear family?

    One of the people who strongly advocated those things took over the GOP and now that faction runs the party and has jettisoned policy in favor of the culture war. In support of the culture war they’ll also overlook honesty & competence, so long as their champion fights’.

    But no problem with team created the culture war and jettisoned both policy, honesty, integrity, and competence to fight it?

    frosty (f27e97)

  306. BuDuh (fdd65e) — 8/22/2021 @ 12:16 pm

    I get the feeling we’re working with Dan Rather “fake but accurate” level data here. The conclusion is much more important than the data and analysis.

    frosty (f27e97)

  307. Icy @1:06pm… damn, I was just listening to the Flying Burrito Bros. “The Gilded Palace of Sin” and marveling at how much Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman sounded like Don & Phil.

    The late great Warren Zevon played in the Everly Bros. band in the early 70s and he had some entertaining stories of the brothers cussing and fighting each other, before breaking up one night at an appearance at Knott’s Berry Farm, IIRC…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  308. Scripted questions and answers again from Slow Joe.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  309. Such confidence…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  310. Read your answer sheet, Joe! For Godsakes, don’t stray!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  311. O.M.G.

    POTUS is totally out of it.

    We are so screwed.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  312. Terrifying.

    Expect a state funeral within a year.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  313. joe cellar showing strength and confidence reading a prepared script then walking away from the friendliest press ever.

    mg (8cbc69)

  314. Biden brags about his FEMA director having done a great job in NYC after Sandy. As someone who lsot his home in Sandy, can assure you the FEMA response was a debacle. the Resident then proceeded to forget her name.

    The strawman that Biden brings up every time is the cabal of those who wanted to stay in Afghanistan. NOBODY WANTED TO STAY, except defense contractors. Trump wanted out even worse, but he could not have conducted this bug out any worse.

    Every statement only shows that Biden is a senile crook. The MFM hid this, and they did it on purpose.

    Bugg (024e40)

  315. ‘A new CBS News poll out this morning finds Americans are unhappy with the turn of events in Afghanistan and President Biden’s handling of the withdrawal and evacuation. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed say the removal of U.S. troops has either gone very badly or somewhat badly. Two-thirds say President Biden, to their minds, does not have a clear plan for evacuating U.S. citizens. Americans also fear wider repercussions. Six in ten say the threat of terrorism will now increase with the Taliban in control of Afghanistan. These negative assessments, however, have not shaken most Americans’ attitudes about leaving Afghanistan. They still support that, but they are critical of how it has all been handled. And this has hurt President Biden’s overall approval ratings. They have dropped eight points since last month.’ – CBS News ‘Face The Nation,’ 8/22/21

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  316. Just a quick reminder that Biden was essentially hand-selected as the party nominee in February 2020, after Bernie blew him out in the Nevada caucuses and having run a thoroughly lackluster campaign up to that point. Julian Castro called him senile right to his face during one of the debates, and Buttigieg had been competitive as well.

    After Nevada, Jim Clyburn came out and endorsed Biden, and the bulk of the party apparatus quickly lined up behind him. Buttigieg dropped out despite having notably performed better than Biden to that point. Warren kept her quixotic campaign going for a while, and Bernie did a repeat of his “jobber to the stars” act that he did in 2016.

    Anyway, the point is that the Democrats had younger, lucid, and far more dynamic candidates they could have endorsed, not some fossil that other candidates were pointing out wasn’t all there, and who could barely get the enthusiasm of his former boss to endorse. Policy disagreements aside, I can’t imagine most of them floundering this badly in these circumstances. The Gen-X and Millennial Democrats are going to clean house in 2022, and the people they and their media Squealers put forward as the face of the party after that will be an indication of the direction they intend to take.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  317. get woke become the worlds joke

    mg (8cbc69)

  318. Joe-o (the fu*kitup song)

    Joe-o, Joe-o
    Daylight come and he wanna go home
    Joe, me say Joe, me say Joe, me say Joe
    Me say Joe, me say Joe-o
    Daylight come and he wanna go home

    Sleep all night in his soiled Depends®
    Daylight come and he wanna go home
    Tell more lies and it never ends
    Daylight come and he wanna go home

    Come, mister Taliban, eating Joe’s ice cream cone
    Daylight come and he wanna go home
    Come, mister Taliban, take his call when he phones
    Daylight come and he wanna go home

    Bullsh*t’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot high
    Daylight come and he wanna go home
    Six foot, seven foot, eight foot high
    Daylight come and he wanna go home

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  319. He ran to save America’s soul.
    Now runs from saving American lives.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  320. In this long thread, I didn’t catch from whom Mr M was quoting:

    Now something had to motivate someone to do a Covid test of an asymptomatic individual. But of those people who were vaccinated and later were ether hospitalized or died, 17% were asymptomatic.

    Some people are tested “just because.” Some hospital employees, for example.

    17% who were either hospitalized or died were asymptomatic? Why would anyone asymptomatic be hospitalized? Why would anyone who was asymptomatic and died be listed as having croaked from COVID?

    The Limerick Avenger (3867c9)

  321. “The White House’s readout of a call between Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron on the crisis in Afghanistan leaves out an impassioned plea from the French president that the US and its allies have a “moral responsibility” to evacuate Afghan allies.

    The French government’s readout of the conversation was released on Friday, a day after the call took place, and indicates that Macron emphasised ensuring the safe evacuation of Afghan citizens who assisted American and European troops over the past 20 years at great risk to themselves and their families.

    The White House version, however, made no mention of a “moral responsibility” to evacuate Afghan allies.

    Asked about the difference, the White House just referred the Guardian back to the readout.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/20/afghanistan-macron-biden-moral-responsibility-evacuate-allies

    Obudman (bd1cdd)

  322. dcsca keeps laughing at the notion of conservatism, but Trump and Biden both proved its necessity. Inflation, moral nihilism, abandoning honor or security. That’s not working. Populism and socialism and emotion aren’t working.

    I keep hearing what I as a nevertrumper need to learn from all these things coming true as I warned they would in 2016. Well all I’m learning is that I’ll vote for conservatives if the GOP mends her ways. Trump’s all about Trump. He has no ideology. Biden’s got ice cream in his mouth and in his brain case. He has no ideology. Partisans who have lost any positive vision just look for bad news to blame on people. That’s not ideology.

    Also it’s a gorgeous but hot weekend. Hope all are having as great a time as I am. It’s a shame the nation is in decline, but I have faith this is a correction in a decedent and uneducated people who will start to appreciate values. But it is a leap of faith.

    dustin (219c8d)

  323. 17% who were either hospitalized or died were asymptomatic? Why would anyone asymptomatic be hospitalized? Why would anyone who was asymptomatic and died be listed as having croaked from COVID?

    Hey, I was just quoting from the report. “Hospitalized” can mean anything from “spent a night under observation” to “was in ICU on a respirator.” I would think the former here.

    Doctors and nurses who work with Covid patients are likely tested frequently, possibly daily. We one to test positive, well, there’s a hospital right there.

    Not saying I know this, but I also have trouble with that statistic.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  324. R.I.P Phil Valentine, Covid-19.

    Phil Valentine, a prominent conservative radio host in Tennessee who refused to get vaccinated, then urged his followers to get a shot after being hospitalized with Covid-19, has died, his station said on Saturday.

    Mr. Valentine scoffed at the need for vaccines, writing on his blog that his chances of dying from the virus, should he become infected, were “way less than one percent.”

    He announced his Covid-19 diagnosis on July 11 and pledged to return to his show within a day or two.

    “Unfortunately for the haters out there, it looks like I’m going to make it,” he wrote. “Interesting experience. I’ll have to fill you in when I come back on the air. I’m hoping that will be tomorrow, but I may take a day off just as a precaution.”

    Less than two weeks later, his radio station, 99.7 WTN, announced that the Nashville host was hospitalized “in very serious condition, suffering from Covid pneumonia.” The statement said Mr. Valentine had had a change of heart and urged others to get a vaccine.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/us/phil-valentine-dies-covid.html

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  325. “Bad luck”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  326. The 22 Billion

    2 Billion

    typo. I can count.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  327. So, no, you didn’t read the article. Back then we made decisions based on the fact that the virus was “novel”, ie no one had any immunity at all. The situation has changed because now we have ~70% vaccinated and a large percentage of people who also have natural immunity.

    The freeloader’s argument. Like “If everyone were poor, I’d have to work, but now that most people work, I can leech off them.”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  328. Little did Mr Valentine know, the vaccine guarantees 100% survival.

    BuDuh (2d751a)

  329. George Washington did it to young adult men.

    Slaves aren’t cheap. Gotta protect your human capital.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  330. As for Biden:

    Pelosi Wants to Create Panel Under 25th Amendment to Help Oust Unfit Presidents

    10/8/20

    House Democrats will introduce new legislation to establish a commission that would help determine whether any sitting president is unfit for office, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday continued to raise questions about President Donald Trump’s health and recovery from COVID-19.

    The proposal, which will be introduced on Friday by the California Democrat and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), would create a panel to operate under the confines of the 25th Amendment that outlines presidential removal procedures.

    The 25th Amendment allows for any president to be removed from office if the vice president and either the majority of the Cabinet members or “of such other body as Congress may by law provide” believes the president is no longer fit to serve. In this case, the Democrats’ legislation would create the “other body.”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  331. But no problem being on team violent marxists, and also racist, who are lying about police shootings of unarmed black men and also aren’t big fans of things like free speech, western civilization, or the nuclear family?

    The choice of A or Not-A does not imply B.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  332. But the spike protein should be the only thing that matters, and the less antigens, the less there is a chance of an auto-immune disorder starting.

    And zero chance of dying from the disease, which isn’t the case with acquiring the antibodies by being sick. Old-style weakened-virus vaccines risked infection and death from injecting the disease into people whose immune systems did not ramp up as expected. The newer vaccines, which introduce only a common protein, are much safer.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  333. News item: CA officials are going after Larry Elder’s financial disclosure. Apparently while he disclosed income from Larry A Elder and Associates, he did not actually state that he owned the firm.

    https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-22/state-officials-investigation-larry-elder-disclose-income-sources

    I guess Newsom is in real trouble.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  334. @330.dcsca keeps laughing at the notion of conservatism

    ROFLMAO; ‘notion’ – Dictionary Definition:

    A notion is an idea, often vague and sometimes fanciful. A notion is lighter than a theory and embraces a whimsy that a simple idea never could. – http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/notion

    Championed by the Tinseltown Thespian: Reaganoptics.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  335. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 2:55 pm

    Why are you arguing about an article in a comment you obviously didn’t take the time to read? And then doubling down on a comment you also didn’t read?

    I’m guessing by your comment that, yes, you do think we’re in the exact same boat now with covid as Apr 2020 and that whether a person has had covid, gotten a vaccine, or done both they are facing the same risk as your friends in early 2020.

    Or did you read it, notice that it had some possibly semi-positive natural immunity positions, and immediately get triggered?

    frosty (f27e97)

  336. @2:51pm…

    That’s whatcha got, that’s whatcha got…

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  337. You people voted for a man worse than Trump.
    Idiots.

    mg (8cbc69)

  338. Dustin, study the 1970s and see what you’re getting now and missing from then:

    The Bad: inflation, incompetence, Saigon falls; Desert One; gas lines, quadraphonics, Watergate, hostage crisis

    The Ugly: malaise, pet rocks, Amy Carter, leisure suits; Three Mile Island; the Pacer; the Gremlin, the Pinto…

    The Good: hot pants, SNL, Evel Knievel, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, Steeler Dynasty, $600 VCRs.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  339. @345. Absolutely.

    He’s a bum.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  340. I finally watched the Biden presser. He’s convinced that this was absolutely baked in. More than that he’s convinced we’d have this chaos even if we did this when we still controlled Bagram or had more troops in country.

    Why did he say the opposite a couple of weeks ago?

    And honestly, am I the only one that has problems with his muttering and inability to read from the teleprompter? And holy cow, the creepy whispering. I’m almost looking forward to the cackling. That doesn’t bother Biden supporters people who voted against Trump?

    I’m also wondering exactly how many women leaders journalists there actually are in AF. It seems like the only person he references every time he mentions getting people out. Sounds like once he gets all of those women leaders journalists on a plane we can shut this operation down and call it a success.

    frosty (f27e97)

  341. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKfIujZjoHA
    These are the people we wasted 22 billion on. Republican leadership-Fail.

    mg (8cbc69)

  342. I think he basically said, it doesn’t matter how it was done, when it was done, it was always going to be chaotic.

    I voted for someone else, my conscience is clean, I sleep well at night.

    The path forward is clear: Joe. Must. Go.

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  343. Where is the US headed? For a reckoning.

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  344. Why are you arguing about an article in a comment you obviously didn’t take the time to read? And then doubling down on a comment you also didn’t read?

    I read your quote from the article. If you want people to read more, quote more.

    “Even asking the question bordered on heresy a year ago, when catching Covid for the first time could be deadly, especially for the elderly or people already in poor health.
    Now, we’re no longer starting with zero immunity as the overwhelming majority of people have either been vaccinated or have already caught the virus.

    The argument you/they make is that there are so many vaccinated/recovered people that one can hide in the herd, and that the “risk” of the vaccine is now worse than the risk of taking one’s chances.

    To which I reply a hearty BULLSH1T. There is no risk in the vaccine, and as Mr Valentine just pointed out, there is existential risk in not doing so. No one has died from the vaccine, and the few who died shortly after getting one does not argue the contrary. “After that, therefore because of that” is an fallacy known to the ancients. No death has been traced to the vaccine (and even if you can show one or two, I still call BS).

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  345. Or, frosty, do you believe the current Trumpist claim that “3 million people are allergic to the vaccine”?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  346. Little did Mr Valentine know, the vaccine guarantees 100% survival.

    No, it does not. Neither does a seatbelt, but it sure increases your chances.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  347. These are the people we wasted 22 billion on. Republican leadership-Fail.

    Yeah, mg, bang on the typo. Makes you look weak.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  348. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 3:02 pm

    You’re stepping into an old and long running back and forth between Time123 and myself. It also looks like you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.

    frosty (f27e97)

  349. #141 Finally, one bites the dust? There are a few exceptions in the Western world — Norway, for instance — but most Western leaders botched large parts of their responses to COVID.

    In Britain, for example, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited an early patient — and quickly came down with the disease, and then was missing in action for weeks. Then, he failed to lockdown during Christmas, resulting in thousands of additional deaths. One of his subordinates did very well on vaccines, but much of the rest of his government just muddled through during the pandemic.

    German Chancellor Merkel and French President Macron also botched part of their responses to the pandemic.

    In the United States, governors of states where the full force of the pandemic hit later sometimes ignored what they could have learned from the experience of other states, for example, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Ron DeSantis of Florida.

    But party activists, and partisan voters, seem unwilling to punish those who have failed. New York Governor Cuomo is resigning, but not because of his mistakes during the pandemic. And, absurdly, Noem and DeSantis appear to believe their blunders qualify them for the presidency.

    But I may, finally, have found a Western political leader who is leaving office because of their pandemic errors: Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

    In his summer speech on 22 August 2021, Löfven announced that he would not be seeking re-election as party chairman at the Social Democratic Party Congress in November 2021, and that he would resign as Prime Minister upon the election of his successor. He is expected to be succeeded by Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson who would in turn contend the 2022 general election.

    As everyone knows who has been paying attention to the numbers, Sweden, under his leadership, had far more deaths per capita than its Nordic neighbors: Norway, Finland, and Denmark.

    Although the Wikipedia article does not mention that, I would like to believe that Löfven’s COVID failure is at least part of the reason he is resigning.

    (And yes, I think Cuomo should have resigned when his COVID failures became obvious, and that DeSantis should resign now. And that we really need to cut down on our tribal thinking)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  350. Wishing that I could imitate the late Rush Limbaugh’s voice, the Reverend Jackson, vaccinated for the virus, has been hospitalized with COVID.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  351. Frosty@356, leave me out of this. I’m not exactly sure what you and Kevin are talking about but I’m confident I haven’t commented on it.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  352. 4-8 years ago there the GOP had policy goals I liked but it put me not he same team as people who legitimately felt that ‘creeping sharia law’ was a huge problem because Obama was secretly a Muslim who wasn’t born in the US.

    But no problem being on team violent marxists, and also racist, who are lying about police shootings of unarmed black men and also aren’t big fans of things like free speech, western civilization, or the nuclear family?

    You misunderstood my comment. I was explicitly stating I supported the GOP despite that putting me not he same side as the nuts.

    One of the people who strongly advocated those things took over the GOP and now that faction runs the party and has jettisoned policy in favor of the culture war. In support of the culture war they’ll also overlook honesty & competence, so long as their champion fights’.

    But no problem with team created the culture war and jettisoned both policy, honesty, integrity, and competence to fight it?

    The difference is the Nuts have taken over the GOP. If the part were lead by Romney or Ryan or Mconnel I’d be OK with the fact that it made room rhetorically for Trumpers and the Alt-Right. But that’s not the situation.

    Biden isn’t a good analogy to Trump. Biden is a good ideological analogy to Lindsey Graham. Ilhan Omar is a good analogy to Trump.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  353. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 4:11 pm

    As I said, and as was obvious, you didn’t read or understand the article. The article isn’t about hiding in the herd. That’s not in the part of the article you quoted and I don’t think it’s a reasonable conclusion from anything quoted. The article doesn’t make the case that the vaccine itself is riskier than the virus. You’ve completely imagined that. Don’t take my word for it. Read it yourself. Honestly, I’m not sure the article is very good or that it clearly articulates the point it’s trying to make. But it’s definitely not about hiding in the herd.

    Now, you’ve got an opportunity to examine your biases. To ask yourself why you completely made something up. How was it you could read a comment and create an argument that didn’t exist. I’m not holding my breath that you’ll take the opportunity but this is an easy chance to prove me wrong.

    Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 4:13 pm

    You can’t track the original argument being made. Why would I want to play along with your fantasy or try to argue for things you make up as you go along?

    frosty (f27e97)

  354. Mr Miller wrote:

    In the United States, governors of states where the full force of the pandemic hit later sometimes ignored what they could have learned from the experience of other states, for example, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Ron DeSantis of Florida.

    But party activists, and partisan voters, seem unwilling to punish those who have failed. New York Governor Cuomo is resigning, but not because of his mistakes during the pandemic. And, absurdly, Noem and DeSantis appear to believe their blunders qualify them for the presidency.

    Here in the Bluegrass State, where Republican state legislative candidates ran against Governor Andy Beshear’s (D-KY) draconian and authoritarian dictates, and were rewarded by the voters with a 14-seat gain, for a 75-25 majority in the state House, and a 2 seat gain, out of 19 seats up for election, for a 30-8 majority in the state Senate, did just what the voters elected them to do: rein in Governor Beshear’s restrictions.

    After passing Senate Bills 1 and 2, and House Bill 1, which limited the Governor’s executive decrees to 30 days unless extended by the General Assembly, the Governor got an injunction from his toady judge, on March 3rd, staying those laws.

    The state Supreme Court, after oral arguments on the injunctions on June 10th, finally made its decision public on Saturday, remanding the case back and telling Judge Phillip Shepherd to dismiss the injunctions. The left are, of course, waxing apoplectic, but the state Supreme Court did something really radical and followed the law.

    Crystal Staley, the Governor’s spokeswench, said:

    the court’s order will dissolve Kentucky’s entire state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. It either eliminates or puts at risk large amounts of funding, steps we have taken to increase our health care capacity, expanded meals for children and families, measures to fight COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, worker’s compensation for front-line workers who contract COVID-19 as well as the ability to fight price gouging. It will further prevent the governor from taking additional steps such as a general mask mandate.

    Which is, of course, exactly what the voters wanted!

    The Court did not decide on the merits of the Governor’s lawsuits, but set a very high bar for Judge Shepherd to rule for the Governor. The General Assembly, and not the Governor, sets the policies for the Commonwealth.

    With SB1 in place, the Governor could still issue his executive orders, but they would only hold legal force for thirty days unless extended by the legislature. HJR 77, which Judge Shepherd had also enjoined, had extended some of the Governor’s executive orders, but not the odious mask mandate.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  355. Whenever you demean me or give me schiff, Kevin M, I wear it like a gold medal.

    mg (8cbc69)

  356. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/22/2021 @ 4:32 pm

    I apologize for the misunderstanding.

    On who’s being run by the nuts; we’ll have to agree to disagree. I’m pretty sure it’s nuts on both sides.

    frosty (f27e97)

  357. You’re stepping into an old and long running back and forth between Time123 and myself. It also looks like you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.

    Or at least one of us doesn’t. My money’s on you.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  358. You people voted for a man worse than Trump.

    Actually, I voted for a woman, who also lost. Admittedly, she too might have been worse than Trump.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  359. In Philadelphia, Acting Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole, instituted a vaccine mandate for all health care workers in the City of Brotherly Love. Thing is, “over a dozen” nursing homes in the city had less than 50% of the staff vaccinated. While Dr Bettigole’s order might prompt some of the reluctant to get vaccinated, to keep their jobs, others might just say, “F(ornicate) you!” and quit . . . or force their employers to fire them. That means fewer RNs and CNAs, fewer cafeteria workers, fewer medical technicians of all sorts, right when the city is having a shortage of people in those jobs.

    Joltin’ Joe Biden has issued a vaccine mandate for all staff in nursing homes which receive any federal Medicare or Medicaid money, which means: all of them.

    In the meantime, The New York Times has reported on a nationwide shortage of nurses, and hospital beds being kept empty because hospitals have too few nurses to support filling those beds.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  360. As I said, and as was obvious, you didn’t read or understand the article. The article isn’t about hiding in the herd

    Then quote what you mean to quote. I do not have the time to jump through your hoops. If you post something, then you have to accept that people will respond TO WHAT YOU POST, not some different offstage argument. I’m done with this.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  361. Tony Blair is not in the Biden Fan Club.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  362. The magnificent Mr M wrote:

    You people voted for a man worse than Trump.

    Actually, I voted for a woman, who also lost. Admittedly, she too might have been worse than Trump.

    Well, had she won, she’d have had little support from either Republicans or Democrats.

    Personalitywise, President Trump is an [insert slang term for the rectum here], but policywise, which is the important thing, he supported restricting illegal immigration, renegotiating trade deals, capital punishment, law and order, appointing (supposedly) conservative judges, and a whole lot of other things on which most of the commenters here agree.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  363. @364, I fear you might be right.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  364. Mr Montagu wrote:

    Tony Blair is not in the Biden Fan Club.

    It’s a club with a rapidly declining membership.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  365. Now, you’ve got an opportunity to examine your biases. To ask yourself why you completely made something up.

    Did you not post this:

    “Even asking the question bordered on heresy a year ago, when catching Covid for the first time could be deadly, especially for the elderly or people already in poor health. Now, we’re no longer starting with zero immunity as the overwhelming majority of people have either been vaccinated or have already caught the virus.

    How is this not arguing that existing immunizations and other immunity do not make the risk of a catching Covid much less, and a “better” way of achieving herd immunity? Never mind the resulting unnecessary deaths.

    When I was a kid, “everyone” go chicken pox. Later, when there was a vaccine, they gave it to all the little kids, but not to me because in my cohort “everyone” had had chicken pox.

    Except I hadn’t and when I caught it at 41, it was a serious illness. I very much doubt that refraining from vaccinating all the kids would have made my experience at 41 any better, but that is what your article says.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  366. @370: Yes, and in supporting those things, he made them sound toxic. Trump was more than an ah0le, he was a Democrat’s central-casting caricature of the Ugly Republican. It’s not that he was against proper policy, but that his support of them tarred those things with his sleaze.

    A car may be the best car in the world, and perfect for you, but there are some salespeople who cannot get you to buy it because they are obvious liars and crooks. Trump was that kind of guy.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  367. It’s a club with a rapidly declining membership.

    Biden had one job. He did it. Watch them move on. You may come to miss Biden.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  368. Chuck Todd: why did you close Bagram airbase?

    JakeSullivan: the military commanders recommended doing that.

    Chuck Todd: but the military commanders also recommended keeping US troops in Afghanistan?

    JakeSullivan: President Biden gets to make that decision not the military.

    Obudman (bd1cdd)

  369. Ilhan Omar is a good analogy to Trump.

    Time123, ladies and gentlemen…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  370. Joe Biden said the “buck stopped” with him, and then went on to describe how it actually stopped with everyone else.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  371. Personalitywise, President Trump is an [insert slang term for the rectum here], but policywise, which is the important thing, he supported restricting illegal immigration, renegotiating trade deals, capital punishment, law and order, appointing (supposedly) conservative judges, and a whole lot of other things on which most of the commenters here agree.

    Yes, indeed, Bluegrass Dana!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  372. #362 (other) Dana – Well, I hope I am wrong, and that Kentucky voters do not get punished for their votes by a spike in COVID deaths — but this spike in cases certainly looks ominous.

    I hope the federal government can get the Regeneron antibodies there in time to treat those cases — and that this treatment won’t be rejected by many Kentuckians.

    (On a related subject: I disagree with Jesse Jackson on many things — but I hope that he and his wife recover quickly and fully from COVID. And I think every decent American will agree with me on that.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  373. Mr M wrote:

    @370: Yes, and in supporting those things, he made them sound toxic. Trump was more than an ah0le, he was a Democrat’s central-casting caricature of the Ugly Republican. It’s not that he was against proper policy, but that his support of them tarred those things with his sleaze.

    A car may be the best car in the world, and perfect for you, but there are some salespeople who cannot get you to buy it because they are obvious liars and crooks. Trump was that kind of guy.

    That you don’t like the salesman isn’t a very good reason to buy a Trabant instead of an F-150.

    So, we got rid of the Democrat’s central-casting caricature of the Ugly Republican, but the cost to us for doing that is having Joe Biden as President, and [Shudder!] Kamala Emhoff a heartbeat away from the White House.

    Our esteemed host wanted Ted Cruz to win the nomination in 2016; do you not think that the media would have turned him into a Democrat’s central-casting caricature of the Ugly Republican? We’ve had the media showing Paul Ryan pushing grandma in her wheelchair off the cliff! To the left any conservative will become Democrat’s central-casting caricature of the Ugly Republican.

    Because, you know what? To be a conservative, you have to be an [insert slang term for the rectum here] What’s more [insert slang term for the rectum here]ish than saying you want to round up teenagers who have been living here since they were two but are nevertheless illegal immigrants and send them back to the [insert slang term for feces here]hole countries from which they came? But a whole lot of conservatives, including myself, want to do just that! What’s more [insert slang term for the rectum here]ish than telling able-bodied adults to either get a f(ornicating) job or starve, we ain’t feeding you anymore? A whole lot of conservatives, including your good friend from the Bluegrass State, want to do just that!

    Sympathy? You can find that in the dictionary between syphilis and [insert slang term for feces here].

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  374. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 4:54 pm

    Did you not post this:

    No, I did not post that.

    Obudman (bd1cdd) — 8/21/2021 @ 7:27 pm

    I’m not even sure I agree with it. I just pointed out the obvious.

    Not only did you not read the article you didn’t check something as simple as who posted the quote you went to the trouble of scrolling back to find?

    How is this not arguing

    It’s not about herd immunity either. You’ve said getting the vaccine reduces your risk of dying if you catch the virus correct? You’ve said the vaccine is good against variants as well correct? Do you still believe that?

    chicken pox

    Not the best comparison but it’s what you’ve got so run with it I guess.

    they gave it to all the little kids, but not to me

    I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you. The story of Kevin M is taking shape.

    that is what your article says

    Not really what it says.

    frosty (f27e97)

  375. That you don’t like the salesman isn’t a very good reason to buy a Trabant instead of an F-150.

    Seems like a childish, middle school approach to life’s transactions, yes.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  376. Mr Miller wrote:

    #362 (other) Dana – Well, I hope I am wrong, and that Kentucky voters do not get punished for their votes by a spike in COVID deaths — but this spike in cases certainly looks ominous.

    Freedom and liberty do have a cost, and the Democrats in the Bluegrass State have been telling the voters here that they have to take the vaccines, they have to mask up, for their own good, don’t you know? The voters chose differently, and though the election almost ten months ago, I suspect that if it were held again today, the results would be very similar.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  377. Biden had one job. He did it. Watch them move on. You may come to miss Biden.

    Beaush!t.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  378. Our esteemed host wanted Ted Cruz to win the nomination in 2016; do you not think that the media would have turned him into a Democrat’s central-casting caricature of the Ugly Republican?

    Maybe. Trump did it for them, and kept doing it. He was cheered by 10%, tolerated by 40% and hated by the rest. HE was an impolitician.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  379. That you don’t like the salesman isn’t a very good reason to buy a Trabant instead of an F-150.

    But it’s a damn good reason to go shop at another dealer.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  380. We know Joe Biden’s a doofus
    With his brain lodged deep in his tookis
    But, damn it, Jim
    We’re stuck with him
    If we don’t want Kamala to fook us.

    The Limerick Avenger (3867c9)

  381. No, I did not post that.

    Obudman (bd1cdd) — 8/21/2021 @ 7:27 pm

    Well, f me. Sorry. That mistake was the source of all of this.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  382. It’s like a bad flick
    Can we survive these four years?
    Joe and volcano

    The Limerick Avenger (3867c9)

  383. Those interested in comparing country versus country policies will want to read this Nature article: “Comparing the responses of the UK, Sweden and Denmark to COVID-19 using counterfactual modelling”.

    The authors use their modeling to compare the COVID policies of three nations: the UK, Sweden, and Denmark.

    UK mortality would have approximately doubled had Swedish policy been adopted, while Swedish mortality would have more than halved had Sweden adopted UK or Danish strategies.

    You may recall that there were people in the United States (and Britain) who were calling for us to follow the Swedish strategy.

    (I hope some American scientists with do similar comparisons between American states.)

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  384. trabant or yugo?
    Biden’s fully assembled
    but there’s no there there

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  385. Well if y’all trump fans really believe Biden is this bad, learn your lesson and vote for someone nevertrumpers will be on board with.

    You shoulda listened in 2016. Trump loses. It’s what he does. I agree with other Dana, it’s great Trump wanted to enforce the border. It’s not great that Trump was a moronic racist babbling about mexican rapists, because he’s set the issue back for conservatives. Trump also set the window back on national security, putting as much doubt as possible into NATO, the USA’s reputation as an ally, and ya know, helping the Taliban have a country again.

    Crying that the nation just doesn’t get why Trump was so much better than Biden is a waste of time. Either keep telling us that we’re wrong, or start telling us you’re going to return to supporting things I might want to vote for.

    You’re living in denial if you think this is about mean tweets.

    dustin (76915b)

  386. It was sad watching Biden walking off stage to the exit after today’s stumbling, bumbling verbal fustercluck. Biden walking with the slow, halting gait of old man with dementia. If it hasn’t become clear the reason why the Democrats kept him in a basement during the campaign – and keep him away from cameras and other challenges as much as humanly possible – it never will.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  387. #384 (other Dana) – Dead people have very little freedom. Those with long COVID are likely to have their freedom restricted over the years, since they will be unable to do things they could before the disease.

    And so on.

    But most important — and I find it hard to believe that you do not understand this: Reckless behavior spreads infectious diseases such as COVID, lengthens the time we need those restrictions, and lessens everyone’s freedoms.

    Incidentally, the good Republican party leader in the Congress — who represents Kentucky — agrees with me, not you. I could be wrong, but I suspect he received far more votes in his last election than did those legislative candidates.

    I dislike making these challenges — and I know you will not this answer this question, but it has to be asked: Is there any number of deaths in Kentucky that would cause you to change your mind about restrictions? (Kentucky has a population of about 4.6 million.)

    Now back to my nuclear physics course (which I find easier to understand than some of the arguments here).

    Jim Miller (edcec1)

  388. taliban shuffle
    dominance and submission
    biden disappears

    h/t Blue Öyster Cult

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  389. ‘@394.It was sad watching Biden walking off stage to the exit after today’s stumbling, bumbling verbal fustercluck. Biden walking with the slow, halting gait of old man with dementia…’

    White Line Fever.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  390. Mr Miller wrote:

    Incidentally, the good Republican party leader in the Congress — who represents Kentucky — agrees with me, not you. I could be wrong, but I suspect he received far more votes in his last election than did those legislative candidates.

    I imagine that he did, since he was running statewide, while each legislative candidate was running in his district.

    People should do the right thing, but people should not be compelled. I think everyone should get vaccinated, but I would not force anyone to do so.

    You talk about individual deaths; I think of the death of liberty. Yes, we would all be much safer, individually, if we lived under a regime like Communist China’s, but I’m pretty sure that you’d think that cost too high.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  391. You shoulda listened in 2016. Trump loses. It’s what he does.

    What is funny, rolling on the floor laughing out loud funny, is that Trump could not keep himself President against Joe Biden but could have kept Ashraf Ghani President against the Taliban. That is Aristophanes-level Coockoocloudland comedy.

    nk (1d9030)

  392. Kentucky numbers
    Death rate is 0.28% if you look at the charts, case rates are high, death rates are low. (See Kentucky by the numbers)

    Big chunk of current 3869 positive cases, 1158 are under 18. Under 18 death percentage is 0.0% with a total of 2 dead during total pandemic. (See daily report)
    90% of the deaths are in people over 60
    73% over 70
    45.5 are over 80

    https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/covid19/COVID19DailyReport.pdf
    https://wfpl.org/coronavirus-in-kentucky-by-the-numbers/

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  393. dustin (76915b) — 8/22/2021 @ 6:14 pm

    Well if y’all trump fans really believe Biden is this bad, learn your lesson and vote for someone nevertrumpers will be on board with.

    Because NeverTrump is perfectly willing to flush the country down the drain otherwise. Got to burn it to the ground to save it.

    frosty (f27e97)

  394. I will be concerned when Kentucky deaths per 100,000 rates approach NJ, NY, MASS numbers.
    People usually answer me here by saying that NJ, NY and MASS rates are falling.
    The retort would be “It seems they must of run out of old people”

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  395. #401
    I’m so old I can remember when that was Evan McMullin 2016 0.53% That silence is the sound of a percentage like that not moving a needle.

    Then there was Justin Amash who did not run so maybe never trumpers voted for the Libertarian Candidate 1.18% or the broader “Other Candidates” 0.40% oh heck, combine them. Needle still not moving

    Trump didn’t lose due to nevertrumpers. Trump to his eternal disgrace lost because of a misguided record turnout for an old worn out puppet named Biden

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  396. #401
    I’m so old I can remember when that was Evan McMullin 2016 0.53% That silence is the sound of a percentage like that not moving a needle.

    Then there was Justin Amash who did not run so maybe never trumpers voted for the Libertarian Candidate 1.18% or the broader “Other Candidates” 0.40% oh heck, combine them. Needle still not moving

    Trump didn’t lose due to nevertrumpers. Trump to his eternal disgrace lost because of a misguided record turnout for an old worn out puppet named Biden

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  397. You guys are all insane.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiJ5qg-MkUA

    Gawain's Ghost (c6fd3b)

  398. 397… so he did drive an 18 wheeler?

    urbanleftbehind (ba3ad1)

  399. What could possibly go wrong!?!?

    Biden Security Advisor Warns Of “Acute” Terror Risk At Kabul Airport As Blinken Says Americans On Their Own Getting There

    Update: Just when it seemed that things may be stabilizing at the Kabul Airport, Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN’s State of the Union that the U.S. is placing “paramount priority” on defending crowds at Kabul airport seeking to leave Afghanistan against a potential Islamic State terrorist attack.
    “The threat is real, it is acute, it is persistent and it is something that we are focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “We are working hard with our intelligence community to try to isolate and determine where an attack might come from.” In Kabul, U.S. commanders “have a wide variety of capabilities that they are using to defend the airfield against a potential terrorist attack,” he said. “We are taking it absolutely, deadly seriously.”

    Sullivan’s comment follows a report from CNN that the US military is establishing “alternative routes” to Kabul airport because of an ISIS terror threat to the airport and its surroundings. “There is a strong possibility ISIS-K is trying to carry off an attack at the airport,” a US defense official told CNN. A senior diplomat in Kabul said they are aware of a credible but not immediate threat by Islamic State against Americans at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

    Two US defense officials described to CNN the military effort to establish “alternative routes” for people to get to Kabul airport and its access gates, with one saying these new routes will be available to Americans, third party nationals and qualified Afghans. The Taliban are aware of the new effort and are coordinating with the US, one of the officials said.
    The report goes on to say that the Pentagon – which was “stunned” by the Taliban’s blitz takeover of the country but apparently now is on top of ISIS terror chatter – has been monitoring the situation around the airport, aware that the swelling crowds on the grounds and around the airfield create a target for ISIS-K (referring to Islamic State Khorasan, the Islamic State’s affiliate in Pakistan and Afghanistan) and other organizations, which may use car bombs or suicide bombers to attack, the second official said. Mortar attacks are another possible threat.

    The broadly sketched-out details call for people to follow new routes and access points in coordination with Taliban on the ground in an attempt to help disperse the gathering of large crowds or avoid the crowds altogether. US personnel would be in a position to observe the movement of people to ensure safety, but the official would not specify if that involves direct observation by nearby troops as well as the use of intelligence sensors.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/taliban-fire-air-use-batons-control-crowd-kabul-airport-day-after-stempede-kills-seven

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  400. Either keep telling us that we’re wrong, or start telling us you’re going to return to supporting things I might want to vote for.

    Don’t get arch just because your agenda of 10,000 years of occupation of Afghanistan came to its inevitable ignominious end. Anyone who’d been stationed in the AOR in the last 10 years could have told you this was going to happen. especially if they read the SIGAR reports long before the Washington Post ever got their hands on them. What no one expected was that the Biden administration would flub it as badly as they did.

    Why should any real, actual conservative support that nonsense? For honor? Please. How about your team shows that it actually cares about Americans more than it cares about some third-world poppy plantation halfway around the planet. How about you fight as hard against cultural Marxism as you do for tax cuts. How about you take a look at the spiking cost of living across the country and figure out how you’re going to keep the middle class from being priced out of the American dream of home ownership. How about you stop putting the Good Idea Fairies of international globalism ahead of the needs of your own countrymen. How about you stop letting the Tech Trust hide behind “muh private companies” while it insinuates itself in every corner of our lives and colludes with a government that can’t even prevent its own data from being hacked by China and Russia on a regular basis.

    There’s nothing you support that the GOP base wants anymore, because your concerns are solely economical, and the base is concerned about culture. The two of you are literally at cross-purposes and there’s no reconciliation possible. And there’s no third party emerging that will allow you to park your vote in that will have any effect on the dual-party system here. So you’re going to have to take a good, hard look at what you actually support, and what you’re willing to overlook if you want to be engaged in the political system.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  401. Trump didn’t lose due to nevertrumpers. Trump to his eternal disgrace lost because of a misguided record turnout for an old worn out puppet named Biden

    steveg (ebe7c1) — 8/22/2021 @ 7:18 pm

    it’s hard to imagine anyone actually voting FOR Biden. Granted, a lot of democrats just vote their party no matter what, but I think that record turnout was opposing Trump, same as the turnout in 2016. Most of America recognized how bad Trump is for the country in a number of ways that we all saw.

    Just take the sore loser thing. On its own, terrible.

    None of that takes an ounce of blame off Biden for his horrible disaster. Leaving Afghanistan was stupid, cold, counterproductive, even worse than Trump freeing thousands of Taliban. And Biden’s method was so bad it’s like he was deliberately trying to create a disaster.

    NEvertheless, if the GOP wants my vote, it will need a lot more than scaring me about the democrats. I’ve been saying that for 15 years on this blog (approximately). That’s got nothing to do with Trump. It’s stupid to race to the bottom through this binary choice, boogeyman thing. However bad Biden is, it’s a consequence of lowered standards. Bill Clinton was splitting atoms with his mind comparatively.

    dustin (76915b)

  402. Anyone who’d been stationed in the AOR in the last 10 years could have told you this was going to happen. especially if they read the SIGAR reports long before the Washington Post ever got their hands on them.

    No, that’s a lie. All we had to do was stay the course. Leaving was a choice, and a dumb choice.

    There’s nothing you support that the GOP base wants anymore

    Perhaps. Keep losing, then.

    But I think things are headed for a better correction. Mccain, Dubya… that wasn’t so long ago actually. trump is the freak of the GOP’s history, not the other guys.

    dustin (76915b)

  403. Don’t you live in Canada though?

    dustin (76915b)

  404. Maybe. Trump did it for them, and kept doing it. He was cheered by 10%, tolerated by 40% and hated by the rest. HE was an impolitician.

    Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 6:03 pm

    There wasn’t any “maybe” about it. They’ve been doing this to Republicans since Hoover, and it wouldn’t have mattered one way or the other how “decent” Trump might have been, irrespective of whether he gave them the ammo or not. Democrats only give back off of these guys when they aren’t in charge anymore, or when they aren’t in a position to gain real, actual power. Just look at McCain.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  405. No, that’s a lie. All we had to do was stay the course. Leaving was a choice, and a dumb choice.

    No, it’s the truth. I’ve had three tours over there in the last ten years, and I sat in on GO-level meetings where all these operations were discussed in detail. How many have you done in that time frame?

    Perhaps. Keep losing, then.

    Right back at you. Because the left hates your guts, too.

    But I think things are headed for a better correction. Mccain, Dubya… that wasn’t so long ago actually. trump is the freak of the GOP’s history, not the other guys.

    dustin (76915b) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:43 pm

    Haha, get real. The base detested McCain because he was constantly simping for media love, and Dubya’s record is the very reason they voted for Trump to begin with. You think it’s an accident that he declared his candidacy the very next day after Jeb announced his?

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  406. Don’t you live in Canada though?

    dustin (76915b) — 8/22/2021 @ 8:44 pm

    No, and I haven’t mentioned where I live, either. Not that it’s particularly relevant, which is why I suspect you’re deflecting to it.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  407. #409
    Dustin
    Thanks for your thoughts and thanks for putting up with my posting style.
    I get what you are saying. You and I and a host of others agree on the fact that we want good candidates. I like to say that the Democrats lost me at the Kerry/Edwards ticket. My opinion was and is that they were two of the biggest phonies to ever run. People like yourself, the host, NK have a visceral reaction to Trump and I try to understand that even though I’m tolerant of his sins and intolerant towards Bidens. I appreciate your patience because you’ve explained it to me over and over and over, even though I still don’t always agree, I can put myself into your shoes and still enjoy conversation with you, the host, nk and the others even though I don’t fully get it and maybe never will.

    steveg (ebe7c1)

  408. There wasn’t any “maybe” about it. They’ve been doing this to Republicans since Hoover

    Yeah, but Trump led with his balls.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  409. Off-topic news you won’t see in the MSM:

    Justice Thomas has made the new oral argument format a winner

    [Noticeably reticent to ask questions during oral arguments, Justice] Thomas explained his general approach toward oral argument in 2012:

    [Attorneys] have 30, 40 minutes per side for cases that are important to them and to the country. They should argue. That’s a part of the process. … I don’t like to badger people. These are not children. The court traditionally did not do that. I have been there 20 years. I see no need for all of that. Most of that is in the briefs, and there are a few questions around the edges.

    On a personal note, he added, “Maybe it’s the Southerner in me. Maybe it’s the introvert in me, I don’t know. I think that when somebody’s talking, somebody ought to listen.”

    After the pandemic struck and the court adopted a new format of taking turns eliciting questions from each justice by teleconference — and, significantly, making it accessible by livestream — it enabled the general public to hear Thomas as the inquisitive justice his colleagues and law clerks know behind closed doors. When the court pioneered the new format over two weeks in May 2020, Thomas asked a total of 63 questions. Seventeen of them came in one day in which the court heard cases involving wide-ranging subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s financial records, and they included several probing questions on implied legislative powers that counsel struggled to answer.

    Joseph Palmore, who served as an assistant solicitor general under President Barack Obama, called Thomas’ participation the “biggest positive of the sitting,” adding, “He is a skilled and substantive questioner, and his colleagues often picked up on his questions to ask follow-ups.” Thomas remained an avid questioner through the following term, nearly always using his allotted time. He thrived in a format that was structured precisely for the orderly presentation of questions by justices.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  410. It has come to this:

    FDA issues ‘You are not a cow’ warning

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a strong and unusual warning on Saturday: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  411. Yeah, but Trump led with his balls.

    Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 9:55 pm

    Yeah, funny what happened when the base finally came to terms with the fact that the left was just going to screech “nazi!” anyway like they always do.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  412. Yeah, funny what happened when the base finally came to terms with the fact that the left was just going to screech “nazi!” anyway like they always do.

    His base was a small passionate group. The rank and file went along until they didn’t, pushed away by Trump, not the press. THe point of social media is that it bypasses the bosses, and Trump used it alot. What we saw was what he was and many of us didn’t like it.

    A loudmouthed dunce and bully, whipping up the hatred of the mob. Another in a long line.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  413. Trump will never win another election. IF he tries, it shows that he cares more about Trump than he does about anything he pretends to believe. I still think he’s a shill.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  414. Wonder what fricking idiot never trumpers will blow next election.

    mg (8cbc69)

  415. At LoWest Point they teach the military to loathe themselves.
    We need a change of guards.

    mg (8cbc69)

  416. @419, you picked someone beloved by actual nazi and decided you loved him to no matter what stupid, immoral, unethical or corrupt thing he did? Not sure how that makes sense but sure keep blaming others for your preferences.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  417. @424 You picked someone beloved by marxists and decided you loved him no matter what stupid, immoral, unethical or corrupt thing he did.

    See how that works? You can say you don’t love JB but so would FWO. I’m pretty sure he’s already said that. You can say JB isn’t any of those things but you’d be wrong. Eventually you’ll end up at whatabout Trump claiming it’s not a whatabout.

    frosty (f27e97)

  418. No, Bernie or Warren were the candidates beloved by the far left and I was clear at the time I wouldn’t vote for either. Bernie/Warren supporters were hostile to Biden and made it clear they felt nominating him was wasting a good opportunity to get a *real* leftist elected to the presidency. I picked the least bad choice between Trump and Biden and once the election was over criticized the things the Biden administration has done that I feel are deserving of criticism, like the bad decision to leave Afghanistan and the even worse execution of that decision.

    I’ve said this before often enough. Your inability to correctly understand my position, despite me stating it clearly on several occasions, is annoying.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  419. anyone worse than the cellar dweller/nevertrumpers/2024

    mg (8cbc69)

  420. Mr g wrote:

    I will be concerned when Kentucky deaths per 100,000 rates approach NJ, NY, MASS numbers.
    People usually answer me here by saying that NJ, NY and MASS rates are falling.
    The retort would be “It seems they must of run out of old people”

    The Bluegrass State is far more rural, and even in Lexington, the Commonwealth’s second largest city, the population density is nowhere near that of the metropolitan northeast. Even in the parts of Louisville in which I’ve been — which is, to be fair, not that many — people lived in single family homes. We just don’t have people stacked up like cordwood here. Our living arrangements are ‘socially distanced.’

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  421. Mr g wrote:

    Trump didn’t lose due to nevertrumpers. Trump to his eternal disgrace lost because of a misguided record turnout for an old worn out puppet named Biden

    President Trump lost the moment so many states responded to the virus by sending out mail in ballots to everybody. The people who were normally too lazy to go to the polls could just make a check mark, put it in the postage paid envelope, and let the postman pick it up the next day.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  422. @428, the other issue is when the Virus hit. Locations (such as Italy) that were hit early on didn’t know how to best treat the virus which lead to greater tragedy. Locations in the US that were hit first made some terrible policy decision based on what they saw out of Italy. The worst was to protect hospitals at the expense of assisted living homes. As we saw what worked and what didn’t. States that were hit later made better decisions. Cumo’s decision to hide his nursing home mistake was IMO far worse then he mistake itself.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  423. you picked someone beloved by actual nazi

    Considering your position that I “don’t want to learn about racism,” I’ll take that guilt by association fallacy for what it’s worth.

    decided you loved him to no matter what stupid, immoral, unethical or corrupt thing he did? Not sure how that makes sense but sure keep blaming others for your preferences.

    Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/23/2021 @ 4:09 am

    The funny thing is, I never voted for the guy once. I enjoyed how he whipped up the academic, managerial, and press classes into a lather, but they were going to do that anyway because Republican Man Bad.

    Acknowledging the perpetual fascist-baiting that the left has indulged in for decades doesn’t mean that a candidate got my vote. It just means I recognize their lack of originality for what it is, which is completely insincere fear-mongering.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  424. Why should any real, actual conservative support that nonsense? For honor? Please. How about your team shows that it actually cares about Americans more than it cares about some third-world poppy plantation halfway around the planet. How about you fight as hard against cultural Marxism as you do for tax cuts. How about you take a look at the spiking cost of living across the country and figure out how you’re going to keep the middle class from being priced out of the American dream of home ownership. How about you stop putting the Good Idea Fairies of international globalism ahead of the needs of your own countrymen. How about you stop letting the Tech Trust hide behind “muh private companies” while it insinuates itself in every corner of our lives and colludes with a government that can’t even prevent its own data from being hacked by China and Russia on a regular basis.

    I don’t care about Afghanistan more then the US. I think keeping it from becoming a safe haven for terrorists is a good way to defend my country.
    I think ‘cultural Marxism’ is wildly overblown and have no problem showing respect for other religions with major celebrations in December by saying “Happy Holiday’s.” I think Jesus would want me to show kindness and grace to good people in my neighborhood of different faiths. To pick just one area of the culture war.
    I share your concerns about the middle class, inflation of homes, college tuition, and the impact of globalism but I think the solutions of Trump/Bernie/Warren/Biden are bad ones. Warren’s trade and economic policy looked a lot like what Trump said he wanted to do. It was scary to think of it being pushed by someone who knew what they were doing and how government worked.
    I think your theories about private property & free speech are collectivist and bad. You share them with leftists who also think the state should do more to reign in bad speech. You and they just disagree about what’s bad.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  425. you picked someone beloved by actual nazi

    Considering your position that I “don’t want to learn about racism,” I’ll take that guilt by association fallacy for what it’s worth.

    You’ll have to explain this one to me, I didn’t follow it.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  426. 376.

    Chuck Todd: why did you close Bagram airbase?

    Jake Sullivan: the military commanders recommended doing that.

    Chuck Todd: but the military commanders also recommended keeping US troops in Afghanistan?

    Jake Sullivan: President Biden gets to make that decision not the military.

    What he said was that there was a difference between a strategic decision (like withdrawing from Afghanistan) and a tactical decision. (He had his answer prepared on this, since it had already been asked by writers.)

    https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-august-22-2021-n1277406

    There are strategic judgments that a president makes. And there are tactical judgments that you give absolute premium to the commanders on the ground to make. If a commander on the ground says, “I need this resource or this move to accomplish my mission or keep my people safe,” you weigh that very heavily. But when it comes to the fundamental question of whether the United States should remain in a civil war in Afghanistan with American men and women fighting and dying for a third decade, that is a presidential call, not a call by anyone at the Pentagon or the State Department or the intelligence community.

    One attemopt to explain the difference in the context of business.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLtWs_eWoKA

    Strategy is the goal, tactics are how specifically.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  427. When the United States pulled completely out of Afghanistan, the British had to abandon their mission too. Even though they and other NATO Allies had been summoned in by the NATO Treaty, they weren’t consulted about going out. Or how and when.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  428. I don’t have much time today, but I wanted to throw out something with regards to culture wars and their ascendancy in GOP politics. First, as long as we are a melting pot, there will be cultural clashes. Every decade brings something new, together with scratching at old wounds. The question is though is, are we seeing a fundamental change to our democracy? Are we able to get things done? Do we have unifying myths that bring us together as a country?

    I fear that the answer to the latter is increasingly “no”. It’s hard to have a stable democracy without compromise. And culture war questions are frequently framed as questions of moral truth…and existential threats….which leave little room for compromise. You’re either with us or against us. How do you ever treat your cultural adversary with civility and respect if you are battling an existential threat? The other side is not just wrong……but evil. The problem is that this absolutism leads to rhetoric getting exhausted….and opens the door to violence….both sides. BLM and Jan 6th are harbingers to what happens when ideology and slogans over take any sense of national purpose. We have serious challenges with debt and globalization, and festering problems with immigration and health care, and impending risks with climate that we can’t get to because of Dr. Seuss, Mr, Potato Head, and worries about CRT sprouting somewhere.

    There is no obligation to argue in good faith, to be objective, to have all the facts. Anonymity on the internet protects us….there are no consequences to being ill-informed, obnoxious, or operating in bad faith. On one side we love our liberty, but on the other side we don’t want people to think differently or have different priorities. San Francisco just shouldn’t have Transexual story time, right? My fear is that focus on these side issues….issues which most of America is too busy to be too excited about….where people become far less strident and judgmental when their kid is gay or a good friend is confronted with an unplanned pregnancy….will just tear us apart and leave us unable to deal with an actual crisis. I’ll have to leave it there….I’m not arguing to throw aside all questions of morality but how we frame and attack them is critical to our democracy functioning. We can’t do this wrong……

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  429. Kevin M @373.

    Later, when there was a vaccine, they gave it to all the little kids, but not to me because in my cohort “everyone” had had chicken pox.

    Typical “public health’ thinking, which makes standardized recommendations, and does not drill down to the individual level, and which doctors who don’t understand, don’t do so either.

    Nurses get tested for antibodies, and there’s a problem because the chicken pox vaccine does not confer as high enough level of immunity as they want.

    Except I hadn’t and when I caught it at 41, it was a serious illness. I very much doubt that refraining from vaccinating all the kids would have made my experience at 41 any better, but that is what your article says.

    Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/22/2021 @ 4:54 pm

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  430. @285 AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 8/22/2021 @ 10:49 am

    That’s DeSantis. Despite the fully armed and operations liberal media hack battlestation aimed at DeSantis, he’s still really popular with a broad swath of voters. (particularly the independent).

    whembly (7c17c7)

  431. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/23/2021 @ 5:13 am

    No, Bernie or Warren were the candidates beloved by the far left and I was clear at the time I wouldn’t vote for either. Bernie/Warren supporters were hostile to Biden and made it clear they felt nominating him was wasting a good opportunity to get a *real* leftist elected to the presidency.

    You are quibbling over a matter of degree. JB and KH embraced as many of the far left positions they thought they could get away with while also trying to tell the not far left lefties they didn’t “really” embrace the “far” left. Funny thing though, “far left” keeps getting redefined as further left than current D orthodoxy. At least Bernie thinks JB’s on the same page for a “New Deal” infrastructure bill. It also looks like JB was lying to the not far lefties who are now trying very hard to convince only themselves that they were tricked and didn’t see any of this coming.

    I picked the least bad choice between … and once the election was over criticized the things the … administration has done that I feel are deserving of criticism

    Yes, like almost every Trump voter did in 2016 and 2020 but you still go back to conjuring up nazis, ie @424.

    I’ve said this before often enough. Your inability to correctly understand my position, despite me stating it clearly on several occasions, is annoying.

    No, I understand it. But you contradict yourself and your annoyed because I’m pointing that out. I say marxists and you hear far left and pretend the D’s as a whole aren’t all somewhere on the spectrum. Then you pretend that being only a little marxist is ok as long as it’s not Bernie or Warren. Then you pretend that JB is actually some sort of centrist who isn’t going along with Bernie.

    This is a version of what you accuse the right of doing. You cite the “far right” as having taken over the party and start throwing around nazi like it’s candy at Mardi Gras. Then you accuse them of ignoring what’s going on for a variety of insulting reasons. I can understand why you don’t like the game in reverse.

    There’s also the problem that DT wasn’t “on the same page” as an admitted nazi in Congress and working with them to pass sweeping “New Fascism” legislation. DT embraces fascism so much he agrees that individuals have the right to choose whether they get a vaccine and JB is so much not the authoritarian that’s he’s trying to find some way for the federal government to force people to take it?

    No, the two situations aren’t really comparable and you’re wrong on both.

    frosty (f27e97)

  432. AJ, I fear you’re correct and I think a lot of people have convinced themselves of naratiives to justify their feelings.

    First on the left there’s a narrative / feeling of ‘rebelling against an opressive and unjust regime’. Because the status quo is based on centuries of injustice there’s no moral obligation to behave respectfully or politely. We’re not in a conversation with our betters. We’re fighting back against something that shouldn’t be there in the first place. I’m not going to walk up to the servants door, hat in hand and beg for scraps.

    On the right it’s about loss of traditionally held position. This is our house. I’ve lived her my entire life. So did my parents. It’s really nice and we like it. Newcommers are asking us to make space for them. I’m not sure I want them in at all but they should be deferential in the request. It’s unacceptable for them to make demands or tell us what we can and can’t do or say. People like me built this place and I’m tired of hearing about what they did wrong from people who haven’t done anything to earn the right to judge. Especially when they act like I did something wrong. It’s not my fault their life is bad and they need to start with a look in the mirror.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  433. Joe Biden is attempting to mislead the American people, but he’s also attempting to avoid saying outright false statements (you could call it the difference between strategy and tactics)

    And he’s not succeeding.

    He’s attempting to mislead by carefully choosing what he says. He winds up also saying falsehoods because he tries too hard to say things are working out..

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  434. Frosty @439.

    JB and KH embraced as many of the far left positions they thought they could get away with

    No, as few as they could get away with, and not lose votes.

    while also trying to tell the not far left lefties they didn’t “really” embrace the “far” left.

    They didn’t and they don’t. But being ‘antiwar” was part of Joe |Biden’s roots. Even there, he never said the North Vietnamese or terrorists for that matter, were a just cause, but that we couldn’t defeat them and that it was not in the U,S, “national interest” to fight them.

    Funny thing though, “far left” keeps getting redefined as further left than current D orthodoxy. At least Bernie thinks JB’s on the same page for a “New Deal” infrastructure bill.

    Biden is a genuine fiscal liberal and he finds it convenient to believe that the best way to improve the economy iss to spend money and it doesn’t really matter on what..

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  435. Some of you need to forget about all this rearview mirror poncing. People need to start thinking about the condition America will be in, as a result of 4 years of a Biden-Harris administrated betrayal from within, filled with these inept, feckless individuals. For starters, the leadership at the Pentagon needs to resign. Their incompetence is a clear and present danger TO ALL OF US.

    The millions of illegals that these two sh*tbirds will have let cross our border at the end of their reign of error can’t be good for America’s legal citizens.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  436. 436. The problem is caused by campaign finance “reform” one aspect of which is to centralize Congressional election campaigns and funding of candidates. The political parties are way too strong.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  437. Yesterday Biden spoke closer to 4;30 than to 4:00. He started off with Hurricane Henri, saying something for which he would not have made this appearance if that had been the only thing going on.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  438. Frosty, You’re like the leftists that tried to convince me that Romney was a far right nut job.

    Biden = Bernie makes about as much sense as Trump = Romney.

    At some point a difference in degree maters.

    If you don’t want people to start asking just how bad a democrat they’re willing to vote for don’t run dumpster fires like Trump.

    I get people who looked at him and Hillary and picked what they thought was the least bad. But those aren’t the ones who spent the last 4 years passionately defending him.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  439. Haiti has a dysfunctional government and is very corrupt, but not completely corrupt, and that is why someone under investigation killed the president. They wanted to stop a case.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/world/americas/haiti-president-assassination-drugs.html

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  440. 443. Why? Because all laws, by definition, make sense?

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  441. Six Chinese (out of 8) were rescued from the Titanic but that fact is little known.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/world/chinese-titanic-survivors-the-six.html

    Though the Titanic disaster and the lives of many of its survivors have been exhaustively documented, the story of its Chinese passengers has long been overlooked. “The Six,” a documentary now heading to international film festivals after a theatrical release in China, seeks to trace the lives of those who survived: Lee Bing, Fang Lang, Chang Chip, Ah Lam, Chung Foo and Ling Hee.

    …Surviving the Titanic was just one of many obstacles the six men faced as Chinese migrants in the early 20th century, when they were the specific targets of discriminatory policies in countries like Britain…

    …The sailors’ story is little known even in China, where the 1997 James Cameron film was a huge hit and a life-size replica of the ship is being built at a theme park. When a trailer for “The Six” was posted in 2017 on the Chinese social media site Weibo, it got millions of views and quickly drew the attention of distributors who offered a nationwide theatrical release.

    Much about the Chinese sailors’ lives was influenced by the currents of history, including their presence on the Titanic to begin with. Labor strikes in Britain had left them without work, so their employer reassigned them to a North American route. The Titanic was supposed to take eight sailors as third-class passengers from Southampton, England, to their new ship in New York.

    When the liner struck an iceberg late on April 14, the eight men acted quickly. Five made it into lifeboats, but the other three fell into the subzero water with hundreds of others as the ship was swallowed by the sea.

    Two of those three sailors, Lee Ling and Len Lam, are believed to have died in the water. The third, Fang Lang, clung to a piece of debris and waited until a single lifeboat returned to search for survivors, making him among the last to be saved.

    …Fang’s rescue was the inspiration for the end of the movie “Titanic,” and was even portrayed in a deleted scene. (Mr. Cameron, an executive producer of “The Six,” is interviewed in the film.) But for decades after the sinking, the Chinese survivors were painted by the ship’s owner and the news media in a negative light, which may have been one reason their story remained unknown even to some of their descendants.

    As the liner sank, four of the men reached a crowded, but not full, lifeboat that included J. Bruce Ismay, the Titanic’s owner, who was later criticized for not going down with his ship. Speaking to investigators after the disaster, Mr. Ismay described the Chinese men as stowaways. News reports also accused them of dressing as women so their rescue would be prioritized.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  442. I think also that when the coronavirus is endemic, the cases are also worse, and when it starts, most are mild, because there are more people who get infected with a heavier initial dose of virus particles.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  443. Poor Salad Annie Fruit Salad Milley

    If some of ya’ll never been to Afghanistan
    Some y’all never been down that way…
    I’m gonna tell you a little story so’s you’ll understand what I’m talkin’ about
    Down there they have a saying that grows out of centuries of backward thinkin’, centuries of mohamheadism
    And it sounds somethin’ like “I keel you!”
    But everybody calls him Fruit… Salad
    Fruit Salad Milley
    Down in the state of Virginia, where the profiteers grow so fat
    Lived a guy that I swear to the world
    Made our military look lame
    Fruit Salad Milley, moves you make look silly
    Everybody said it was a shame
    Because he couldn’t even plan a war game

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  444. ‘For most of the past week, in the fires of the worst foreign policy crisis of his young administration, the president who won the White House on a promise of competence and compassion has had trouble demonstrating much of either.”

    That’s not us saying that. This is how the New York Times described the Afghanistan debacle, which is as sure a sign as any of how much trouble President Joe Biden is in right now.

    But we’d go further than the Times. Biden’s backers – and Biden himself – didn’t just portray Joe as competent and empathetic. They said he was experienced, thoughtful, trustworthy, and had sound judgment. That he’d unite the country, and restore America’s standing in the world. That he was, unlike Donald Trump, presidential. It was the basis of Biden’s entire presidential campaign, in fact.

    As a reminder, here’s what 70 so-called Republican national security officials said when endorsing Biden in August 2020: “We believe Joe Biden has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation. We believe he will restore the dignity of the presidency, bring Americans together, reassert America’s role as a global leader, and inspire our nation to live up to its ideals.”

    Who can say any of that now with a straight face?

    Biden’s utterly inept Afghanistan withdrawal, his bumbling lies and obfuscations, his callous disregard of those put in harm’s way, his refusal to take responsibility, and the devastation his stupidity has caused to America’s “role as a global leader” have undercut every premise of his presidency.

    Let’s review.

    Read it all: https://issuesinsights.com/2021/08/23/afghan-fallout-biden-has-just-destroyed-his-entire-case-for-being-president/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  445. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/23/2021 @ 7:14 am

    At some point a difference in degree maters.

    Yes, exactly the rationalization everyone you accuse of voting for a nazi is making. Maybe, and I know this is a crazy idea, they aren’t voting for a nazi. Maybe, and again I know this is a stretch, they aren’t all the insulting things I keep seeing thrown around.

    If you don’t want people to start asking just how bad a democrat they’re willing to vote for don’t run dumpster fires like Trump.

    You really don’t see it, do you? The mirror response to this is “If you don’t want people to start asking just how bad an R they’re willing to vote for don’t run dumpster fires like Hillary/Biden/Harris/Sanders/Warren/Bush/McCain/Romney”. Is that response reductive? Yes, just like yours. You’re playing the same game as the Trumpers you criticize.

    I get people who looked at him and Hillary and picked what they thought was the least bad. But those aren’t the ones who spent the last 4 years passionately defending him.

    By defending do you mean responding to statements like you’re a nazi who supports nazis or you’re a racist with something other than “I see your point, I’m sorry”?

    It’s odd watching your comments. In @440 it seems like you get it but then you have a range of comments where you are doing the exact thing you seem to be criticizing in @440.

    frosty (f27e97)

  446. “The BIG LIE of the century will be that we lost the Afghanistan war. We did not lose! We won by a landslide! The war was stolen! The Taliban told us to go to hell back in 2001. They weren’t afraid of us. They knew they were going to win. What does that tell you? The fix was in from the very beginning!”

    Same sh!t, different century. Get your ass kicked, find a scapegoat!

    Anyway, the Grenada war of 1983 earned us enough glory to last for thousands of years, so we will always have that.

    nk (1d9030)

  447. Yes, exactly the rationalization everyone you accuse of voting for a nazi is making. Maybe, and I know this is a crazy idea, they aren’t voting for a nazi. Maybe, and again I know this is a stretch, they aren’t all the insulting things I keep seeing thrown around.….by defending do you mean responding to statements like you’re a nazi who supports nazis or you’re a racist

    This isn’t remotely what I’ve said. You seem to be confusing me with someone else that’s said things I haven’t. There’s no point continuing this.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  448. It is not only that State Department “customer service” on life and death matters is abysmal, it is that the people at the top don’t seem to realize that.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  449. LOL

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  450. Fruit… Salad… hunhhh!!!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  451. President Trump lost the moment so many states responded to the virus by sending out mail in ballots to everybody.

    NO, he lost the moment he told his supporters not to use them. Biden voters had 30 days to vote, Trump’s had just day-of.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  452. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/08/23/pfizer-vaccine-full-approval/

    Good news that thee Pfizer vaccine is now fully approved. I hope this increases the number of people that get vaccinated. I think it will help with those who are actually hesitant. I think people who have made up their mind not to get vaccinated won’t be persuaded and will simply move to a different rationale, but I hope I’m wrong about that, getting everyone a degree of immunization would drastically reduce the impact of this.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  453. President Trump lost the moment so many states responded to the virus by sending out mail in ballots to everybody.

    It definitely looks as if more legitimate voters casting ballots was bad for him.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  454. @455 someone must’ve hacked Time123’s account

    maybe it was steve scully

    JF (e1156d)

  455. So, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine gets full FDA approval for people 16 and over. Mandates to follow.

    Do you think this will change any of the arguments?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  456. @463 which arguments?

    that individuals can choose not to be vaccinated?

    does it change that one?

    JF (e1156d)

  457. A lot of conservatives, short of shutting down whole agencies, talked about moving them from the greater DMV to a more purpose-appropriate or less dense/lower COLA region. So should State be moved to hoods, border towns, hostile redneck areas so that they have moments’ notice evacuation down pat?

    urbanleftbehind (6a7cbb)

  458. Kevin, maybe. the data from PRRI showed that there were some people who were honestly hesitant. They weren’t saying ‘no’ they were saying ‘not yet’ I hope some of them will be motivated by this. The people who have made not getting vaccinated part of their identity for other reasons probably won’t. I think this will increase the number of places that mandate it for employees. Espcecially health care and the ones that want to get people back on site like entertainment and manufacturing.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  459. that individuals can choose not to be vaccinated?

    Sure they can. Right up until they step on other people’s property. Then they have to accept whatever rules exist there.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  460. Why not, a smidge of the Uvx might be actually be vaccine snobs waiting for greater Pfizer access as opposed to J/J

    urbanleftbehind (6a7cbb)

  461. I think this will increase the number of places that mandate it for employees. Espcecially health care and the ones that want to get people back on site like entertainment and manufacturing.

    Also delivery and other industries that involve employees entering premises or having close contact with customers. Fedex and Uber come to mind. The Postal Service, too.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  462. How did the vaccine get approval when Pfizer admits that it’s effective only 46% of the time against the Delta variant? I thought 50% efficacy was the minimum needed for approval?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  463. Trump tells rally to get the vaccine. Some in crowd boo him.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  464. How did the vaccine get approval when Pfizer admits that it’s effective only 46% of the time against the Delta variant? I thought 50% efficacy was the minimum needed for approval?

    Because its not just for the delta variant?

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  465. I thought minions were some yellow fur-less creatures from a cartoon movie? I’m guessing Roy Cohn was asked about Ivana…

    https://news.yahoo.com/matt-gaetz-says-asked-trumps-151633212.html

    urbanleftbehind (6a7cbb)

  466. Asleep at the wheel when it ALL went down
    Cuz they caught Joe in a squeeze play on the
    Taliban side of town

    Which is now everywhere.

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  467. After two doses, the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective at preventing symptomatic disease from Delta, compared with 36% efficacy after one dose, said the study, which was sponsored by Public Health England. The effectiveness at preventing symptomatic disease after two doses of AstraZeneca’s shot was 67%, compared with 30% after one dose.

    A separate, preliminary study, however, found a much lower rate of efficacy against the variant for the Pfizer-BioNTech shots. Data released in late July by the government of Israel, which had one of the world’s fastest and most comprehensive vaccine rollouts, indicated that a two-dose course of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 41% effective in preventing symptomatic disease from the Delta variant. The same Israeli study, based on a small sample size, found that the two-dose Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective at preventing hospitalization and 91% effective at preventing severe Covid-19 caused by the Delta variant.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-delta-variant-and-covid-19-vaccines-what-to-know-11627079604

    Studies like these need to be normalized, and there is no doubt a lot of data in the cross tabs. The age and health of the sample size, the degree of routine testing that is done to expose mild cases, and the willingness of patients to be included in studies are all factors.

    The efficacy of no vaccine is 0%.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  468. @471, I saw that. Good on him for at leas trying a little bit. Hopefully he keeps trying. Maybe some people will find it persuasive and get the shot.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  469. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/23/2021 @ 4:09 am

    @419, you picked someone beloved by actual nazi and decided you loved him to no matter what stupid, immoral, unethical or corrupt thing he did? Not sure how that makes sense but sure keep blaming others for your preferences.

    Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/23/2021 @ 8:11 am

    This isn’t remotely what I’ve said. You seem to be confusing me with someone else that’s said things I haven’t.

    Not even remotely what you said? Why would a politician be “beloved by actual nazi”? Why would someone “decided you loved him”? What are “your preferences” that you are referring to?

    Reasonable answers to those questions are 1) the politician is a nazi or supports nazi policies (which is a different way to say the same thing) 2) because the “you” referenced agrees with the nazi policies and 3) nazi preferences.

    But, as you say, not even remotely what you said.

    There’s no point continuing this.

    Are you aware of the common ways people attempt to resolve cognitive dissonance?

    frosty (f27e97)

  470. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:05 am

    Sure they can. Right up until they step on other people’s property. Then they have to accept whatever rules exist there.

    Are you in favor of local, state, or federal mandates to require businesses to mandate vaccines? What is your position on businesses that do not require mandates?

    frosty (f27e97)

  471. Kevin M,

    that’s not correct as known by the number of asymptomatic people out there who caught the Wuhan Lab Virus.

    And the Delta strain has dominated and taken over for all previous strains. So the FDA is giving approval for a virus that in no longer relevant?

    I’m asking about FDA policies, not whether it makes sense to take the shot.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  472. Our seventeen syllable Colonel wrote:

    Poor Salad Annie Fruit Salad Milley

    Any Southerner would know it’s Polk Salad Annie.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  473. Not even remotely what you said? Why would a politician be “beloved by actual nazi”? Why would someone “decided you loved him”?

    You tell me why they loved love Trump so much.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  474. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:30 am

    The efficacy of no vaccine is 0%.

    I would suggest the vaccine for SARS-CoV-1 as an exception.

    frosty (f27e97)

  475. they = you the alt-right/neo-nazi/etc. Just to be very clear for you.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  476. I missed that… I didn’t do teh due diligence, Dana!

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  477. I was busy watching a takedown, a ball being deflated and a man running home.

    Colonel Haiku (167903)

  478. “What is it with these guys losing embassies around the 9/11 anniversary? Is it just tradition at this point?”

    —- Stephen L. Miller

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  479. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:52 am

    You tell me why they loved love Trump so much.

    You claim you didn’t say a thing, I show you where you said a thing 4 hours ago and during the same conversation, and you try to deflect with “well then you tell me”?

    It’s not on me to help you with your nazi strawman any more than it was on me to help you with the “whatabout what Trump might have done” the other day.

    But, hey, let’s forget that I already did and give it a go; they liked his policies (none of which are nazi), and “they loved love Trump so much” is an exaggerated imagine you created to “convinced [yourself] of naratiives to justify [your] feelings”.

    frosty (f27e97)

  480. Fuhggedaboudit, it’s how they roll.

    Staffers reported being jostled, hit, spat on and cursed at by Taliban fighters at checkpoints near the airport, it said, adding that criminals were taking advantage of the chaos while the U.S. military tried to maintain order “in an extremely physical situation.”

    Some staff members reported that they were almost separated from their children, while others collapsed in a crush of people and had to be taken to hospitals with injuries, the cable said. Others said they had collapsed on the road because of heat exhaustion, it said.

    “It would be better to die under the Taliban’s bullet” than face the crowds again, a staff member was quoted as saying in the cable.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghan-staff-u-s-embassy-losing-faith-evacuation-efforts-diplomatic-n1277397

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  481. Time123 (9f42ee) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:55 am

    they = you the alt-right/neo-nazi/etc. Just to be very clear for you.

    This is good news. So calling me a neo-nazi is remotely what you were trying to do?

    Can you tell me any comment I’ve made that would support calling me a neo-nazi?

    frosty (f27e97)

  482. Mr Snowman wrote:

    Sure they can. Right up until they step on other people’s property. Then they have to accept whatever rules exist there. (Mr M)

    Are you in favor of local, state, or federal mandates to require businesses to mandate vaccines? What is your position on businesses that do not require mandates?

    Right now, we’re starting to see shortages of school bus drivers, as well as nurses, driven in part by mask mandates and vaccine mandates.

    Humorously, Walmart issued a vaccine mandate for its corporate staff, men who made big bucks that they probably could not command elsewhere, but not for its retail staff, who have the ability to quit and go elsewhere — or go on welfare — for similar money.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (3867c9)

  483. Frosty,Crap. I’m sorry was in a hurry. I mean meant

    They = the alt-right/neo-nazi/etc. Just to be very clear for you.

    Didn’t intend to call you a Neo-Nazi. Nothing you have said would justify that.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  484. I need to slow down. One more Try

    Frosty, Crap. I’m sorry. I meant to write

    they = the alt-right/neo-nazi/etc. Just to be very clear for you.

    I didn’t intend to call you a neo-nazi. Nothing you’ve written would justify that.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  485. So embarrassing to live in a country of cellar dweller voters.
    Angela from Germany asking Putin for help in Afghanistan makes my stomach ache.
    LoWest Point has nothing.

    mg (8cbc69)

  486. 443.Some of you need to forget about all this rearview mirror poncing. People need to start thinking about the condition America will be in, as a result of 4 years of a Biden-Harris administrated betrayal from within, filled with these inept, feckless individuals

    Histosy rhymes:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCJ_ywoqdbs

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  487. Anyway, the Grenada war of 1983 earned us enough glory to last for thousands of years, so we will always have that.

    Thanks to Clint Eastwood!

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  488. Jab-Jabber-Joe to speak again shortly.

    Stick it to us, Joey!

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  489. @490 – I’m expecting more of that as time goes by. We’ll see how it shakes out.

    I’m more interested in whether KM actually believes in private property rights or if that’s just a talking point for mandates. I’m pretty sure he isn’t applying the non-aggression principle correctly based on previous comments.

    frosty (f27e97)

  490. 490, that’s just smart business and also don’t forget big box retail was held sacrosanct as in off limits to lockdowns. Uvx employees can turn around and say I survived when this place became a combination library, amusement park and exercise track for a couple months.

    urbanleftbehind (6a7cbb)

  491. Kevin M: The efficacy of no vaccine is 0%.

    frosty (f27e97) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:54 am

    I would suggest the vaccine for SARS-CoV-1 as an exception.

    I read something that said (which was news to me and I’m not sure it is true) that the original SARS was not very contagious (and therefore it was contained)

    But by efficiency he means the probability of an individual getting immunity without disease.

    Now actually, that is pretty high for SARS-CoV-2. But a doctor wouldn’t recommend trying that. (hoping for a very small dose of live virus. The odds are about 4-1 in your favor that it won’t be too bad, and even about 3-2 against you – that is a 40% chance – that it will have less discomfort than the vaccine, but I don’t think that, looking forward, that’s the best plan.)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  492. 479. NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:49 am

    And the Delta strain has dominated and taken over for all previous strains. So the FDA is giving approval for a virus that in no longer relevant?

    Yes. It’s not completely gone, but yes. It’s granted approval fora vaccine against a variant of the virus that’s disappearing.

    It still seems to work pretty good against the Delta variant, but I don’t think they’ve run anywhere near the number or quality of trials that they would normally re

    I’m asking about FDA policies, not whether it makes sense to take the shot.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:49 am

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  493. 479. NJRob (eb56c3) — 8/23/2021 @ 9:49 am

    And the Delta strain has dominated and taken over for all previous strains. So the FDA is giving approval for a virus that in no longer relevant?

    Yes. It’s not completely gone, but yes. It’s granted approval fora vaccine against a variant of the virus that’s disappearing.

    It still seems to work pretty good against the Delta variant, but I don’t think that anywhere near the number or quality of trials have been run that the FDA would normally require to prove that fact.

    Pfizer and others I think have developed a more targeted vaccine (it takes them only a week, not quite as fast as Dr. Leonard McCoy on Star Trek, but fast for the 20th century) but they have barely begun to test.

    I’m asking about FDA policies, not whether it makes sense to take the shot.

    Yes, it makes sense, but the FDA doesn’t make sense. That is a point that some anti-vaxxers seems to be stuck on.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  494. The Biden Administration’s chaotic withdrawal, giving up our intelligence footprint, our military capability and Bagram Airbase is what created the choke point at HKIA and this absolute disaster.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  495. The reason for keeping Bagram air base would have been that the United States has no other air base between the Persian Gulf and Okinawa or South Korea (there’s Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. but that’s way to the south and not any further east)

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  496. The 169 Americans taken inside the airport from outside the other day were all in a hotel about 1,000 yards away.

    Biden seemed to hint that the United States has discovered unobstructed routes to the airport.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  497. 506, ding, ding, ding since we can’t “like” individual comments.

    urbanleftbehind (6a7cbb)

  498. Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c) — 8/23/2021 @ 11:35 am

    He said efficacy which is different from both effectiveness and efficiency. I’m not sure you, me, KM, and the author of that article are using these terms the same way.

    that the original SARS was not very contagious

    My understanding was that it was more an issue between how deadly it was and how fast it spread, i.e. it killed people too quickly and spread too slowly to become a pandemic.

    frosty (f27e97)

  499. 506… great point, Sammy.

    If they were going to abandon Bagram, I wonder who the genius was that decide it was a smart move to do it before evacuating Americans in country, our Afghan allies, and our forces?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  500. Well, the people who are providing guidance and oversight on this debacle, aka the Taliban, have now told the U.S. there will be consequences if we aren’t out of Afghanistan by end of August.

    So much competence required for the office, but so little to be found in this Biden administration. Withhold his ice cream to get his attention.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  501. Governor Cuomo’s resignation takes effect at 11:59 pm tonight.

    He gave a farewell address shortly after noon – most of the tropes he spoke he has said before.

    https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/new-york-gov-andrew-cuomo-farewell-address-speech-transcript

    You can see what he would like his reputation to be – he is (temporarily I suppose) moving in with his sister in Westchester County and also going on vacation.

    For background: Aug 10 resignation speech:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/10/nyregion/cuomo-resignation-speech-transcript.html

    He is leaving his dog, for now, behind in Albany – looking for a caretaker for awhile.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  502. The Taliban are not putting their own people in charge o security in Kaul – or I should sy Pakistsn has decided who will be.

    It will be the even worse Hekmatyar group. The really bad stuff won’t start for a few days till up to a few weeks and it will be semi-professional.

    One interpreter was called at his home and told he will be killed. Now why would they do that?

    A. The person who called isn’t go to do it himself. They are trying to instilll fear in mny people.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  503. For some reason, the Internet and telephone service still seem to be working in Kabul. Maybe the conquerors, and friendly countries, like Pakistan, Russia and probably China, need to use it themselves.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  504. 514. The Taliban (or whoever) are conducting a propaganda campaign on the Internet (and I don;t think there would be anybody in the Taliban capable of that – this is Pakistan, using historical lessons learned from the Communist takeover of China in 1948-9, and preparations for Taiwan.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/opinion/taliban-afghanistan-social-media.html

    On Aug. 14, a day before armed fighters swarmed into Kabul, a Twitter account for one of the Taliban’s magazines posted a video of six nervous Afghan government soldiers sitting in a truck surrounded by Taliban warriors….The same day, a spokesman for the Taliban posted another Twitter message, this time in English, promising that the group would create “a secure environment” for all diplomats, embassies and nonprofits, both domestic and international. It ended with the Arabic benediction “Inshallah” (God willing).

    For months, on social media, the Taliban have sought to project an image of strength and moderation, an aura of inevitability within Afghanistan and an air of legitimacy to the outside world. Through text messages and encrypted apps, they have targeted government soldiers directly, depicting them as mercenaries and urging them to surrender or face the brutal consequences….

    ….As they have racked up a string of victories over the past few weeks, they have also trumpeted their respect for women and girls, within Islamic law, of course. Have they changed? Well, they’ve changed their messaging. It’s too early to know whether that’s just better marketing…

    …ADVERTISEMENT
    Continue reading the main story
    OPINION
    GUEST ESSAY
    The Taliban Want You to Keep Your Phone On
    Aug. 23, 2021

    Credit…Illustration by Jordan Awan; photograph by Asghar Achakzai/AFP, via Getty Images

    By Richard Stengel
    Mr. Stengel launched and managed the State Department’s efforts to counter Russian disinformation and combat ISIS propaganda under President Barack Obama.
    On Aug. 14, a day before armed fighters swarmed into Kabul, a Twitter account for one of the Taliban’s magazines posted a video of six nervous Afghan government soldiers sitting in a truck surrounded by Taliban warriors. The post included a snippet of text, in Pashto, one of the two main languages of Afghanistan: “While the mujahedeen behave generously to soldiers, the children of the village threw stones at them and called them dogs. That’s what happens in response to their atrocities.” The same day, a spokesman for the Taliban posted another Twitter message, this time in English, promising that the group would create “a secure environment” for all diplomats, embassies and nonprofits, both domestic and international. It ended with the Arabic benediction “Inshallah” (God willing).

    For months, on social media, the Taliban have sought to project an image of strength and moderation, an aura of inevitability within Afghanistan and an air of legitimacy to the outside world. Through text messages and encrypted apps, they have targeted government soldiers directly, depicting them as mercenaries and urging them to surrender or face the brutal consequences.

    At the same time, they have attempted to assure the international community that the Taliban of today are more enlightened than the Taliban that once staged grisly public amputations and executions in a Kabul soccer stadium. As they have racked up a string of victories over the past few weeks, they have also trumpeted their respect for women and girls, within Islamic law, of course. Have they changed? Well, they’ve changed their messaging. It’s too early to know whether that’s just better marketing.

    Americans have questioned how roughly 70,000 Taliban soldiers can seemingly demolish a well-funded, U.S.-trained government security force listed at 300,000 on paper. The answer is not about training or firepower but about hearts and minds. The Taliban understand Sun Tzu’s familiar dictum that every war is won or lost before it is fought and that the ultimate victory is to break the enemy’s resistance without fighting. That’s what they did.
    For years, on social media and in analog publications, the Taliban have claimed that they are the true heirs to Afghanistan, that their fighters are martyrs, that the Americans are “invaders” and that government soldiers are the immoral “hirelings” of foreigners. Their primary theme going back to the 1990s is that Afghanistan is a Muslim nation occupied by non-Muslims and that Allah has blessed their fight for liberation.

    There’s just not much the United States can do about such claims; these are Afghans talking to Afghans. They have waged the kind of modern war — an old-fashioned local insurgency coupled with a rapid-fire media strategy designed to intimidate the enemy — that the United States is not much good at fighting. As the Taliban marched through the country inviting government soldiers to surrender or die, those soldiers complied by the tens of thousands. Most never fired a shot.

    What is concerning is that as effective as the Taliban’s social media strategy has been, it is still awfully clumsy. Remember, they started from zero. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they banned the use of the internet, not to mention television and music… The media environment in Afghanistan has evolved since the days when the country had a single radio station: Now it has over 100 radio stations and dozens of television stations, 70 percent of people have access to a cellphone, and about a third of the population of 38 million is on social media…

    ….While the Taliban are less sophisticated and less prolific than ISIS was on social media — more like Hamas or Hezbollah — they have learned some basic lessons from the jihadi group. ISIS’ brand was a mixture of strength and warmth — grisly beheadings coupled with pictures of fighters riding Ferris wheels or giving candy to children. You can see echoes of that strange mix of folksiness and horror playing out in Afghanistan: Last week, a video circulated on social media of armed Taliban warriors riding colorful bumper cars at an amusement park while children watched. Now that they have a country to govern, they are less intent on inspiring fear than trust….

    ….The real insight into their strategy is revealed not by what they have done but by what they haven’t. They haven’t posted images of the many assassinations people believe they committed over the past six months. They haven’t posted pictures of reprisal killings or stern enforcement of Shariah. They don’t want social media companies to ban them completely; after all, they will soon be the official government of Afghanistan. (Facebook and YouTube have already banned the group, though the Taliban have found ways around those restrictions.) Nor do they want to alarm international donors; more than 70 percent of Afghanistan’s state budget comes from governments in the West….

    ….Taliban spokespeople have tweeted out promises that they will protect government technocrats and civil servants. Come back to work, they say; Afghanistan needs you. They have also been tweeting happy images and videos of girls in school, women walking to work. One tweet from a Taliban spokesman shows a middle-aged burqa-wearing woman in Kabul saying, “This system is much better than before.”

    The writer is too much into hoping the Taliban are now OK, but I selected put key points.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  505. Many more people than some people are willing to assume are in danger from the Taliban:

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/23/politics/taliban-death-threat-afghan-translator-letters/index.html

    Updated 6:58 AM ET, Mon August 23, 2021
    (CNN)The Taliban have sentenced the brother of an Afghan translator to death, according to letters obtained by CNN, accusing him of helping the US and providing security to his brother, who served as an interpreter to American troops.

    A former service member who worked with the translator confirmed his service and his brother’s plight…

    …The first letter from the Taliban, which is hand written, orders the man to appear for a hearing.
    The second handwritten letter is a notice of his failure to appear for the hearing.

    AND THIS IS WHERE THEY PRETEND TO BE USING DUE PROCESS OF LAW.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  506. It’s starting to rain again.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)


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