Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
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Hello and happy Friday! Here are a few news items to chew over. Please feel free to add your own in the comments section (but first read the note above regarding the still not fully functional comments section). Make sure you include links to your news items.
First news item
The consistently selective (& dishonest) memory of a former president:
[D]despite everything we know about what took place on January 6, 2021—namely, a violent insurrection led by Trump supporters that left several people dead—Trump told Dawsey that he remains hugely regretful that he was unable to march with the rioters to the Capitol, where they laid siege to the building in the hopes of blocking the certification of Joe Biden’s win. “Secret Service said I couldn’t go. I would have gone there in a minute,” he said. He also said he had no regrets whatsoever about having invited his followers to come to Washington in the first place via a tweet telling them things would “be wild!” and falsely claimed that he urged only peace and patriotism. (In fact, he told the group assembled to “fight like hell,” filled their heads with lies about the election having been stolen, and repeatedly threatened Mike Pence—which, and we’re just theorizing here, may have led to the rioters’ “hang Mike Pence” chants at the Capitol.)
… Trump also complained to Dawsey that he didn’t get enough credit for the sheer number of people at the rally that preceded the insurrection…“The crowd was far bigger than I even thought. I believe it was the largest crowd I’ve ever spoken to. I don’t know what that means, but you see very few pictures. They don’t want to show pictures, the fake news doesn’t want to show pictures,” Trump insisted. “But this was a tremendous crowd.”
And apparently forgetting that *he* was the President of the United States, Trump blamed Pelosi for the violence:
As for the violence that subsequently went down, which Trump still claims he didn‘t cause, he’d like people to know that it was actually Nancy Pelosi’s fault. “I thought it was a shame, and I kept asking why isn’t she doing something about it?” Trump said… “Why isn’t Nancy Pelosi doing something about it? And the mayor of D.C. also. The mayor of D.C. and Nancy Pelosi are in charge. I hated seeing it. I hated seeing it. And I said, ‘It’s got to be taken care of,’ and I assumed they were taking care of it.” As Dawsey notes, Pelosi shares control of the Capitol with the Senate majority leader, and “most decisions on securing the Capitol are made by a police board.“ In a statement, Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, told the Post: “The former president’s desperate lies aside, the speaker was no more in charge of the security of the U.S. Capitol that day than Mitch McConnell.”
And yet more selective memory from another former president. First this:
Former President Obama shares his thoughts on Putin's invasion of Ukraine at a University of Chicago lecture:
"He was always ruthless. You witnessed what he did it Chechnya. He had no qualms about crushing those who he considered a threat." pic.twitter.com/Gc1UP2zPzu
— The Recount (@therecount) April 7, 2022
What he appears to have forgotten:
In 2012, President Obama mocked Mitt Romney for calling Russia a geopolitical foe. pic.twitter.com/Joyc6ubbGQ
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) December 30, 2016
And the media seems to have forgotten their pile-on of Romney as well. Here are a few examples:
The original comment dates back to a @CNN interview where @wolfblitzer was incredulous that Romney would think Russia was our greatest geopolitical foe.
CNN would even fact-check this claim after President Obama’s debate zinger. pic.twitter.com/y6Uuj9BRKe
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) February 23, 2022
But CNN was just the tip of the iceberg.@nytimes said that Romney’s “adversarial view” has stirred debate and drawn “raised eyebrows” from across the political spectrum from many who “suggested that Mr. Romney was misguidedly stuck in a Cold War mind-set.” pic.twitter.com/yt7OXeHkbV
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) February 23, 2022
Anyway, you get the picture.
Second news item
A suspect arrested in connection with last weekend’s mass shooting outside bars in Sacramento served less than half his 10-year sentence because of voter-approved changes to state law that lessened the punishment for his felony convictions and provided a chance for earlier release.
Smiley Allen Martin was freed in February after serving time for punching a girlfriend, dragging her from her home by her hair and whipping her with a belt, according to court and prison records.
Those count as nonviolent offenses under California law, which considers only about two dozen crimes to be violent felonies — such as murder, rape, arson and kidnapping.
Martin, 27, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun. He is among the 12 people wounded during Sunday’s shooting, which killed six others.
Third news item
Checking on the mental health of a Republicans Congresswoman (via Jimmy Kimmel):
“What a day—I have to tell you. What a night and what a day. I have the weirdest life. I really do. Once again, I find myself in the middle of a brouhaha, as I appear to have run afoul of probably the worst woman in American politics,” Kimmel said on Thursday night. “Marjorie Taylor Greene, the congressperson from the 14th District of Georgia, is unhappy. She’s specifically unhappy with me.”
The host then rehashed the joke that he told on Tuesday night, explaining that Greene called every Democrat and three Republican senators — Susan Collins (ME), Mitt Romney (UT), and Lisa Murkowski (AK) — who voted in favor of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson “pro-pedophile.”
“Any Senator voting to confirm #KJB is pro-pedophile just like she is,” Greene wrote in a tweet, later calling out the three Republicans by name.
“Murkowski, Collins, and Romney are pro-pedophile,” she added in another tweet. “They just voted for #KBJ.”
After sharing the tweet with his audience, Kimmel joked, “Wow, where is Will Smith when you really need him?”
Marge wasn’t having it:
.@ABC, this threat of violence against me by @jimmykimmel has been filed with the @CapitolPolice. pic.twitter.com/nxYX1LF2jK
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 6, 2022
So, in answer to the question of whether the Republican Party has come to its senses yet, the answer is a firm no.
Fourth news item
And speaking of former presidents and the current state of the GOP, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to believe in party before all else, no matter what that “all else” might be:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has again said he’d back Donald Trump if the former president were to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, citing an “obligation” to support the party’s nominee.
McConnell reiterated his stance on Trump’s candidacy — which he first disclosed early last year — in an interview with the Axios journalist Jonathan Swan this week.
“Help me understand this. I watched your speech last year in February on the Senate floor after the second impeachment vote for Donald Trump. And it was an extraordinary speech,” Swan said, referring to a February 13, 2021, speech from McConnell.
“You spoke very powerfully against the most powerful figure in the party, the president. And you said Donald Trump’s actions preceding the January 6 insurrection were a — quote — disgraceful dereliction of duty and that he was practically morally responsible, your words, for provoking the events of that day,” Swan added. “How do you go from saying that to two weeks later saying you’d absolutely support Donald Trump if he’s the Republican nominee in 2024?”
McConnell responded that it should not be “a front-page headline” that he as the Senate GOP leader would support the Republican nominee.
“I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party,” McConnell said. “That will mean that whoever the nominee is has gone out and earned the nomination.”
“It’s not at all inconsistent,” he added. “I stand by everything I said about January 6 and everything on February 13.”
He continued: “I don’t get to pick the Republican nominee for president. They’re elected by the Republican voters all over the country.”
Apparently, there is no line too far for McConnell:
“I’m actually trying to understand. Is there any threshold for you?” Swan pressed.
“You know, I say many things I’m sure people don’t understand,” McConnell said.
Fifth news item
While testifying before the House Budget Committee yesterday, Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Xavier Becerra affirmed that yes, his department was in favor of taxpayer-funded sex-reassignment surgeries for minors. “So for the record, you favor HHS funding . . . for sex-reassignment surgeries for minors?” Lauren Boebert, (R, Colo.) asked. Becerra answered:
I will do everything I can to defend any American, including children, whether or not they fit the categories you have mentioned or not. And if they talk about gender-affirming care, I am there to protect the rights of any American.
"For the record, you favor HHS' funding being [used for] sex reassignment surgeries on minors?"
BIDEN'S HHS SECRETARY: Yes pic.twitter.com/dN1E2652s2
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 6, 2022
From President Biden’s HHS Office of Population Affairs:
Gender-affirming care is a supportive form of healthcare. It consists of an array of services that may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people.
For transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents, early gender-affirming care is crucial to overall health and well-being as it allows the child or adolescent to focus on social transitions and can increase their confidence while navigating the healthcare system.
What might “gender-affirming care” include? Consider these:
Social Affirmation: Adopting gender-affirming hairstyles, clothing, name, gender pronouns, and restrooms and other facilities
When: At any age or stage. ReversiblePuberty Blockers: Using certain types of hormones to pause pubertal development
When: During puberty. Reversible.Hormone Therapy: Testosterone hormones for those who were assigned female at birth Estrogen hormones for those who were assigned male at birth
When: Early adolescence onward. Partially reversibleGender-Affirming Surgeries:
“Top” surgery – to create male-typical chest shape or enhance breasts
“Bottom” surgery – surgery on genitals or reproductive organs
Facial feminization or other procedures
When: Typically used in adulthood or case-by-case in adolescence. Not reversible.
Note:
This is awful. Children and adolescents with gender dysphoria certainly need proper care and support. But puberty blocking is not benign and can lead to adverse medical issues such as reduced bone density — which is why it is no longer recommended in the U.K. and Finland, for example.
Mutilating surgeries on genitals and breasts of minors should be off the table altogether. They are irreversible, result in sterilization when of the genitals, and remove healthy organs.
Sixth news item
The Kremlin doesn’t want the bodies of their dead soldiers because why confirm the devastating extent of their losses?:
Ukraine has about 7,000 unclaimed Russian corpses in morgues and refrigerated rail cars, according to Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration. He said his government’s figure of 18,600 Russian dead was based on Ukrainian reports from the battlefield and intercepted Russian military communications.
Ukraine tried to return the bodies of 3,000 Russian service members on the third day of the war, he said. “They said, ‘We don’t believe in such quantities. We don’t have this number. We’re not ready to accept them.’ ” Ukraine proposed an exchange several times, he said, but “they won’t discuss this at all yet.”…
Keir Giles of the London-based think tank Chatham House said the difference between Western and Russian military attitudes about their war dead was “night and day … in exactly the same way as their attitude to civilian casualties and collateral damage is utterly unrecognizable from how Western militaries operate.”
Seventh news item
Their concerns are valid and represent the concerns of a whole lot of Americans:
When the Biden Administration announced on Friday that it will end Title 42, a controversial pandemic-era measure that has been used to conduct nearly two million expulsions of migrants since March 2020, both Republicans and centrist Democrats in Washington have been quick to sound the alarm, blaming the President for what they predict will be an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
A group of five Democratic and six Republican senators are expected to introduce a new bill Thursday calling on President Biden to come up with a plan to prevent a wave of migration before ending Title 42—the latest in a series of announcements this week criticizing the Administration’s decision.
Eighth news item
It gets even worse in Ukraine:
In his nightly address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation in the town of Borodyanka is “much worse” than in Bucha.
Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday they pulled 26 bodies out of the rubble in Borodyanka, where residents say Russian forces would not allow rescue attempts and many people were buried alive.
“The work on dismantling the debris in Borodyanka began. … It’s much worse there,” Zelensky said in his Thursday address. “Even more victims of the Russian occupiers.”
Borodyanka. A woman waits for her family to be unearthed from under the rubble. Occupiers did not allow local residents to dismantle houses they destroyed during the assault. According to local residents, judging by the groans, many of those buried alive were dying for a week. pic.twitter.com/TsG41G0MWr
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 7, 2022
MISCELLANEOUS
"This definitely had us tearing up. So proud of our miracle boy." 💙
📹: themillerfam on Instagram pic.twitter.com/t4Ng9yXRst
— Some Good News (@somegoodnews) April 7, 2022
Have a great weekend!
–Dana
Hello! Getting a jump on the weekend.
Dana (5395f9) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:30 amIt is not necessary to tye it in each time, though.
Just type the first letter of your screen name in the Name box, and the rest can be filled in automatically by a click. Click on your name, and your email address will be filled in too.
The custom of the original poster leaving one comment doesn’t do right now what it usually does (alert people on Patterico to the new post by showing up on the toolbar at the top right.)
Samuel Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:36 amBess Levin is wrong here – she didn’t examine the facts. Only one person died as a direct result of the storming of the Capitol (although, of course, it could have been much worse)
In these kinds of things, even if one side tells much more serious lies than the other, neither can be relied upon to tell the absolute truth.
The big question I had was When did he cancel his plans?
And amarch TO the Capitol is not a march INTO the Capitol. He was supposed to address the crowd there, according to Alex Jones (speaking into a bullhorn at the time with Ali Alexander standing next to him. It is said to be on video but I never was able to find it, but maybe that’s not saying too much since I think Google et al didn’t want people to find it.)
And that rally (not in accordance with the permits issued, which were for 9 rallies of a maximum size each of 50 people, although advertised online for a big crowd
http://web.archive.org/web/20210106005050/https://wildprotest.com
actually was held, although most of the speakers were anti-vaxxers.
This is a nonsensical argument. If he wanted to go there he certainly didn’t want any violence, and the word “fight” is metaphorical and besides he wanted the members of Congress to fight.
My whole point is, people tricked him into helping this storming of the Capitol building..he had different plans. Which actually weren’t going to work.
This is Trump’s usual lying about crowd size.
He said that day, at the rally at the Ellipse
https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-speech-save-america-rally-transcript-january-6
Dies Trump know how to count?
Samuel Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:56 amWell, you know, Obama has more flexibility now, after the election.
Putin fooled every President. He fooled the whole world. He fooled us, he fooled the Europeans, he fooled everybody. Because they found it in their momentary interest (a phrase Lenin coined) to allow themselves to be fooled.
We let him butcher the Chechens because they’re Muslims and we were fighting a Global War On Terror. Israel has a military alliance with him, right now, in Syria, because “it’s fighting for its survival” against Hezbollah and Iran. He sold the EU cheap oil and natural gas so they could have warmer toilets. And he was there when Obama needed to paint Romney as a neo-con warmonger.
nk (1d9030) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:00 amto those who elected a demented fool pushing sex-change surgeries on kids and tossing title 42:
thank you for putting the country first
JF (e1156d) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:16 amnk (1d9030) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:00 am
Ad Putin had claimed the Chechens were committing acts of terrorism in Moscow. Also because, unlike Ukraine, it wasn’t an independent country. Ukraine was, and Chechnya wasn’t because of unimportant decisions at the time by the Communist leadership.
Amd Obama opposed what was done in Syria – but it was a civil war.
Not an alliance. A “de-confliction agreement” in which Israel is allowed to bomb certain targets without interference from Russia. In the meantime, Russia is, generally speaking, allied with Iran, perhaps limits the military help it gives to Iran and Hezbollah and Syria or perhaps tells them to stay away from the Israeli border – who knows?
Putin argued why should he wan to harm Israel – there are plenty of Russians (as he put it) living in Israel he said. I think this can be taken with more than a grain of salt.
Maybe he does need Israel for some money laundering. Although not his first choice.
Samuel Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:22 amFrom their point of view, it makes sense. To be against that, you have to say the doctors who do that are wrong.
And to say they are wrong it’s got to be illegal.
And the FDA does not have to give prior approval for new forms of surgery, so it’s not.
The issue here is now merely whether this should be covered by any government paid form of health insurance.
He Biden in any case, is not going to say that any deeply held belief by people in the Democratic base is wrong, especially on matters of sex.
Samuel Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:31 amI’d suggest that the Democrats and GOP in the House assign certain members to a newly formed Carbuncle Caucus. The goal would be to have them irritate each other within a confined environment
steveg (e81d76) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:34 amThe use if Title 42 for these purposes actually is not proper in the first place, and the U.S. government was being sued – the people talking about that don’t mention it.
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/immigrants-rights-advocates-argue-court-against-title-42-expulsions
Although they’re now being sued the other way
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/federal-lawsuit-seeks-to-block-end-to-title-42-asylum-limits/2931925/
The Biden Administration has ted itself up in knots.
https://time.com/6159990/biden-title-42-contradictory-immigration-positions/
Samuel Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:37 amSo far, according to Wikipedia, at least 14 journalists have been killed during Putin’s invasions of Ukraine.
They deserve our respect, and their families our sympathy.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:39 amTe Ukrainian government says they need more sanctions and more and better weapons soon in order to discourage Vladimir Putin from starting a renewed offensive in the east. There is only a one week or two week breathing period.
Samuel Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:42 amThe Chechens make Russian Army brutality look run of the mill.
Interesting note within the current conflict is that a substantial group of Anti Russia, anti Ramzan Kadyrov Chechens are fighting in Ukraine, for Ukraine. There are also quite a few Georgian “volunteers” who showed up suspiciously well trained
steveg (e81d76) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:44 amBelorussians, and Russians too. Some captured Russian soldiers have even switched sides. (they get Ukrainian citizenship)
https://time.com/6165422/russians-in-ukraine
Several of the dissidents in Russia encourage that because they say that will make possible reconciliation
later.
I suppose by brutal Checjhens you mean pro-Russian Chechens sent by the government Putin installed.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/8/2022 @ 11:38 amhttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/jury-whitmer-kidnapping-case-2-defendants-acquitted
The jury came back of that Whitmer kidnapping case…
2 Acquittals and 2 mistrials.
Raises the question: Did the FBI intentionally entrap a bunch of mooks to carry out a kidnapping plot against Gov. Whitmer in order to create bad headlines for Trump during the 2020 election?
whembly (7e0293) — 4/8/2022 @ 11:52 amThe number of Ukrainians at the Mexican border is going up sharply.
These are all people with access to money, and probably friends or places to go in the United States.
You may remember that last week, Biden said he would welcome 100,000 Ukrainians (and before that there were people applying)
But that program has not gotten off the ground.
There were people from Ukraine who applied for visas, and were turned down.
They then applied for tourist visas, and per standard operating procedure were turned down because someone who really wants to immigrate is not supposed to be given a tourist visa. (which they may not have been aware of)
Then, since they were given the freedom to travel throughout the European Union, they bought airplane tickets for Madrid, Spain, and from Madrid they bought tickets to Mexico City (they don’t need visas for Mexico.)
They then bought airplane tickets for Tijuana.
And there they are stuck. Only 200 being interviewed per day.
Still they are better off than Central Americans.
Reuters said on April 1 that there were 600 Ukrainians camping near the border entry and around 500 more in the city,(there is a list kept by Ukrainian-American volunteers) and about 40% of the people are children.
Another version: There were 500 Ukrainians who presented themselves at the Mexican border (last week ?) but the number is rapidly going up. (remember, there are 4 million in European countries besides any who were outside the country before – 500,000 men approximately were said to have returned)
It is limited by the number of people who are willing to try that, and by the ability to pay their own way (and by the fact that probably only people with contacts in the United States would do this.)
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/8/2022 @ 11:56 amwhembly (7e0293) — 4/8/2022 @ 11:52 am
Yes.
Motive is another story.
Most likely to get easy assignments for themselves, and as a career booster. The counterargument is that people who talk about committing crimes of violence are always dangerous.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:00 pmBiden is not taking any isolation precautions because the protocol for quarantining is 15 minutes of contact within 6 feet with an infected person, and House Speaker Nancy Peolosi was not that close to him for so long.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:04 pmThat’s actually not the worst Obama moment wrt Russia. How could we ever forget this collusion, caught by an open mike?
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:08 pm“This is my last election, After my election, I have more flexibility.”
The LA Times has been blaming the Sacramento shooting on “lax gun laws”, never mind a machine gun always being illegal, not to mention any felon with any gun. While some would argue that the problem is violent street gangs, not our LA Times.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:12 pmThis picture, which I found at Political Betting, made me laugh out loud.
(Full disclosure: When the “trans” fad came along, I thought it so absurd that it would quickly disappear in gales of laughter. But I didn’t allow for the widespread ignorance of basic evolutionary theory — and the willingness of far too many to sacrifice actual people to a crazy theory. I should have paid more attention to, for example, Gregory Benford’s Across the Sea of Suns.
There are of course a few people with birth defects, for example, AIS. They deserve our tolerance and sympathy.
I was expecting — and am still — a big push to legalize polygamy, in various forms. And that, oddly enough, is also in Benford’s book.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:16 pmI really don’t blame the GOP for MTG. Her district is in the Bermuda Triangle of politics, routinely furnishing whackjob Congresspeople even under responsible GOP leadership.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:20 pmHaving just said that about the “trans” issues, I will add that I do not consider it our largest problem, which is COVID, or our most urgent, which is Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
It boggles my mind that so many care about the first, but not about the 1.1 million Americans who have died from COVID — so far– or the roughly 20 million world wide who have. And I do not understand why so many do not realize Putin’s invasion may — I repeat, may — lead to a nuclear war.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:21 pm“I think I have an obligation to support the nominee of my party,” McConnell said. “That will mean that whoever the nominee is has gone out and earned the nomination.”
And he’ll probably send a check for $50 to demonstrate that support.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:23 pmMutilating surgeries on genitals and breasts of minors should be off the table altogether. They are irreversible, result in sterilization when of the genitals, and remove healthy organs.
This is right up there with frontal lobotomies, or hysterectomies performed on the “mentally infirm.”
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:28 pmWill Smith Banned From Oscars For 10 Years
‘With their options rather limited, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors have just decided that Will Smith will not be able to attend the Oscars for 10 years for slapping Chris Rock on-stage at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27. … had the now touring Rock filed a police report against Smith, the actor could have faced up to six months behind bars and a $100,000 fine if found guilty on the misdemeanor charge that the assault is under California law…. “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,” Smith said in a succinct statement soon after AMPAS made their POV public… Not that there was a lot more the AMPAS Board, which includes Steven Spielberg, Ava DuVernay, Laura Dern and Whoopi Goldberg among its current roster, could really do. Seeing where this debacle was likely going to end up, Smith made a chess move on April 1, and immediately resigned from the AMPAS.’ – deadline.com
Memo to all: Wanna commit criminal assault on global television and get away with it? Do it in Hollywood at the Academy Awards.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:29 pmAnd I do not understand why so many do not realize Putin’s invasion may — I repeat, may — lead to a nuclear war.
Oh, I understand that. What I don’t understand is why people think letting him get away with this invasion will make one less likely.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:31 pmS. E. Cupp is quite good on the second part of the first item:
(Link omitted.)
It must be especially hard for narcissists to admit they were wrong. Let’s not elect another one to the presidency.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:35 pmRomney’s assertion was low grade boilerplate, 20th century political blather; Obama was correct: Russia was and remains a regional power— and a surprisingly inept one at that given their sloppy, haphazard efforts at subduing and reabsorbing a region right on Russia’s border that was once part of the USSR for 75 years. The ‘folks’ who’ve made Russia seem more significant on the world stage than it really is are the European nations who unnecessarily allowed themselves to grow energy dependent on Russian energy resources– and the foolishly short-term decision by current United States officials to cripple America’s own energy independence strategies.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:49 pmAnd I do not understand why so many do not realize Putin’s invasion may — I repeat, may — lead to a nuclear war.
Pfft. Nonsense.
Adults in the room know better:
Chernobyl.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/8/2022 @ 12:53 pmAttorney General Merrick Garland Positive For Covid; Pelosi Test Positive for Covid; Two more Congress members and an aide to First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for the coronavirus virus Thursday, as a growing number of COVID-19 cases hits Capitol Hill. Sens. Susan Collins and Raphael Warnock both tested positive hours after they voted to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court. Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office confirmed Thursday. WH Comms Director Says Biden Might Test Positive for COVID ‘At Some Point’ As Virus Rips Through DC; Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Rep. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Joaquin Castro have tested positive.
But hey… they’ve all been multiple-vaccinated, boostered and are among the most protected human in the world. Nothing to see here, average Americans. 😉
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:06 pmfantastic work from President Biden
https://twitter.com/i/status/1512476276120072200
steveg (e81d76) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:11 pmthe covid nannies must be up in arms about demented joe tossing title 42
crickets
JF (e1156d) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:15 pmDCSCA #31–
Is anyone really sick? If so, crow if you are tastelessly inclined. If not, then you are being silly. The point of the vaccine is to prevent serious illness, not create zero COVID.
Appalled (1a17de) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:25 pmI think it is fair because they are all into telling others – usually servers and other little people to mask while they themselves rarely do
steveg (e81d76) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:51 pm“Raises the question: Did the FBI intentionally entrap a bunch of mooks to carry out a kidnapping plot against Gov. Whitmer”
Standard operating procedure:
https://trial-and-terror.theintercept.com/
“in order to create bad headlines for Trump during the 2020 election?”
Lol no.
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:55 pm@34. Is anyone really sick?
Ask them; THEY’VE announced their own infections.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:56 pmSo the FBI entrapped foolish people into enacting a kidnapping plot and protesters were invited into Congress and walked around then falsely brought up on trumped up charges.
What else has our government done to her people?
NJRob (1db216) — 4/8/2022 @ 1:57 pm@31. Pfft. Lest you forget:
“I’m not going to shut down the country. I’m not going to shut down the economy. I’m going to shut down the virus.” – Joe Biden 8/31/21
Sorta like:
“Putin knows, if I am President of the United States, his days of tyranny and trying to intimidate the United States and those in Eastern Europe are over. I’m going to stand up to him; he’s a bully…” – Joe Biden, 2020
Anybody remember where he parked his 18-wheeler? He doesn’t.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/8/2022 @ 2:07 pmA missile hit a train station in ukraine evacuating women and children over 50 killed mostly women and children. Written on the remains of the tail section of the rocket. “FOR THE CHILDREN!”
asset (50385d) — 4/8/2022 @ 2:18 pmThe Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot trial ended with no convictions Friday. Two acquittals, two “no verdict.”
This is very reminiscent of the Obama-era prosecution of the Hutaree militia in 2010-2, which also ended in acquittals.
Well, I’m sure that this won’t discourage the FBI from rounding up Michigan militia members in any event.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 2:52 pmWritten on the remains of the tail section of the rocket. “FOR THE CHILDREN!”
That phrase is often ironic, but not this much.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 2:54 pmIt must be especially hard for narcissists to admit they were wrong. Let’s not elect another one to the presidency.
Good luck with that. It requires monstrous self-esteem to even run.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 2:57 pmTwo Politico cartoons tied for my favorite this week. Fortunately the second is right after the first.
(“Emperor” Xi and Prime Minister Modi aren’t going to like the first.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/8/2022 @ 3:04 pm“protesters were invited into Congress and walked around then falsely brought up on trumped up charges.”
https://twitter.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/1462918564969697286
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlfMHNYx4Vo
“invited”
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/8/2022 @ 3:11 pm2. I wrote:
De[ends on the browser. Sp,etomes I need two clicks.
Samuel Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 3:36 pmIt seems like Pakistani intelligence, in league with some people in Iran, was planning to infiltrate the United States Secret Servuce, wither for purposes of espionage, or to be able to pull off a political assassination sometime in the future. hey got an in too the vice president;s and first lasy’s detail. This has beeen going on since February, 2020.a
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/07/federal-agents-impersonators-secret-service
Meanwhile, Pakistan is in a constitutional crisis. It seems IMran Khan is tooo independent for the army
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60978798
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 3:58 pmSome detail:
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/8/2022 @ 4:00 pmWhat a horrible state of affairs. Now the government is taking a young child, some of whom may be mentally ill while others are just young people with poor judgement, and giving radical hormone therapy and serious medical procedures – some of which are not reversible if the kid grows up and thinks this whole gender fluidity thing isn’t for them.
Bravo, Demcrats.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 4/8/2022 @ 4:06 pmDid the FBI intentionally entrap a bunch of mooks to carry out a kidnapping plot against Gov. Whitmer in order to create bad headlines for Trump during the 2020 election?
No way! It was so the not guilty verdicts would turn attention away from the Oscars kerfuffle.
nk (1d9030) — 4/8/2022 @ 4:11 pmNobody is safe when the FBI and the U.S. Attorney feel a need to justify their existence even if they have to commit the crime themselves. Low-hanging fruit preferred.
nk (1d9030) — 4/8/2022 @ 4:49 pmThanks for the squirrel Thulu. Perhaps you should look up the facts of the case as the judge saw them.
I know you love when antifa breaks things and commits arson, so that’s why this doesn’t matter to you. Not enough violence and intimidation.
NJRob (3343cb) — 4/8/2022 @ 4:59 pmThe prosecution did not overcome reasonable doubt. It happens.
nk (1d9030) — 4/8/2022 @ 5:27 pmGood luck with that. It requires monstrous self-esteem to even run.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 2:57 pm
Coolidge was probably the last relatively humble individual to hold the office.
Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 4/8/2022 @ 5:31 pmWhat a horrible state of affairs. Now the government is taking a young child, some of whom may be mentally ill while others are just young people with poor judgement, and giving radical hormone therapy and serious medical procedures – some of which are not reversible if the kid grows up and thinks this whole gender fluidity thing isn’t for them.
Bravo, Demcrats.
Hoi Polloi (998b37) — 4/8/2022 @ 4:06 pm
I doubt it’s an accident that there’s a decent correlation between the rates of mental illness and LGBTQ identification, especially in white, left-wing Zoomers and Millennials. This is a highly neurotic, self-important demographic that’s desperate to get those sweet, luscious cultural marxist Good Xer points and fit in with what’s being pushed in mass media culture. Claiming they’re part of a “marginalized” group compensates for them being born with the original sin of their pale skin color.
Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 4/8/2022 @ 5:55 pm“Thanks for the squirrel Thulu. Perhaps you should look up the facts of the case as the judge saw them.”
It’s not a squirrel, NJRob, you’re gaslighting. Just because one person was (correctly) acquitted, doesn’t mean that others were incorrectly charged and convicted.
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/8/2022 @ 6:37 pmThere are culls, runts, and bigjaws in every herd. (If you like “science” words, you can say, roughly, defects occurring in conception, gestation, and childhood development.)
Just like the cattle industry found that they could make money from this non-prime beef stock, a modern industry has found that it can make money from “transgenders”. Actually, a bunch of industries analogous to the meat packers, hiders, tanners, glue factories, animal feed, etc. of the cattle industry. Some with medical credentials and some without — from psychiatrists to plastic surgeons to hair removal salons to makeup artists to dressmakers and shoemakers, and so on and so forth.
Reaganomics!
nk (1d9030) — 4/8/2022 @ 6:42 pmI will do everything I can to defend any American, including children, whether or not they fit the categories you have mentioned or not. And if they talk about gender-affirming care, I am there to protect the rights of any American.
LOL–“No one is telling your kids they need to get their genitals mutilated, but if they decide they want to do that (with some subtle and not-so-subtle encouragement from us), who are we to say no?”
Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 4/8/2022 @ 7:04 pmIf only you cared this much about covid.
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/8/2022 @ 7:29 pmIf only you cared this much about covid.
(Raising hand) I DID!!
But that’s not the point. Being dismissive of anothers’ opinions on the basis of what else they cared about is a fine combination of ad hominum and non sequitur.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 7:49 pmIf only the comrades who recognize the weirdos, conmen and political opportunists of the “Right” would also recognize the weirdos, conmen and political opportunists of the “Left”.
nk (1d9030) — 4/8/2022 @ 8:03 pmIf only you cared this much about covid.
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/8/2022 @ 7:29 pm
Me and my entire family caught it and recovered in less than a week, including my immuno-compromised daughter. If only you didn’t demand others share your neuroses.
Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 4/8/2022 @ 8:36 pmI’m not all that concerned about transgenderism or Covid, but then again I lean libertarian.
norcal (68b459) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:46 pm“I doubt it’s an accident that there’s a decent correlation between the rates of mental illness and LGBTQ identification”
“If only you didn’t demand others share your neuroses.”
Are you a psychology expert in addition to being an education expert? A true renaissance man.
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:50 pmClinically speaking, Obama doesn’t show signs of narcissistic personality disorder. He’s just arrogant. Trump on the other hand does show some of of the symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, but you can’t really diagnose at a distance.
Pretty much anyone who runs for president is going to be outside the norm in egotism, however.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:50 pmAre you a psychology expert in addition to being an education expert? A true renaissance man.
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:50 pm
I’m not the one whining that someone didn’t worry about COVID as much as you did.
Factory Working Orphan (2775f0) — 4/8/2022 @ 9:53 pmI am forever fascinated by the belief system that says that all LGBTQ+ people are either mentally deranged or suicidally unhappy or, alternatively, well-adjusted happy folks who are just the way they are.
I have some occasion to run across these folks in one of my side avocations (which, after 34 years I am a bit of a lay expert at). And the answer, which I hope will surprise no one, is that it’s some of one and some of the other. People range from normal, adjusted folks who are outside the mainstream, to the confused (and often chemically confused), to despirately unhappy folks who are grasping at straws, to the out and out effing nuts variety. Although some of the latter would find LGBTQ+ impossibly confining.
I have some good friends who are gay (both sexes) and I have a younger relative who has chosen to transition genders, and he is somewhere in the “not well-adjusted” category.
I would be very careful to get involved in someone’s choices in this regard, except to suggest they get good, non-advocacy, help. As for children … outside the extremely rare birth defects, the concept of consent is important. And they cannot consent.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/8/2022 @ 10:56 pmOr most of it. Some people were saying all along that he was not to be trusted.
Others began saying that he was standing up for Christianity and moral values against the “decadent” West, and for national sovereignty against globalism. Apparently the Putin regime set out to plant such notions in the susceptible brains of right-wingers in Europe and the U.S.
Now the Russian state has declared openly genocidal intentions toward Ukrainians, and is carrying them out with sadistic brutality — most recently shelling a train station where they knew that elderly people and women and children were trying to escape. Borodyanka is described as “much worse” than Bucha. And who knows what horrors will be found in Mariupol.
What’s even more galling, on top of this, is that there are still Americans who will make apologies for Putin, suggesting that he was somehow “threatened” by NATO or the West, or by some imaginary “bioweapons” labs funded by the U.S., and therefore it’s not surprising that he launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the Ukrainian nation and its people.
Why anyone would try to rationalize away such depraved cruelty is beyond me.
Radegunda (c970ff) — 4/8/2022 @ 11:04 pmThe southern border needs a wall, paid for by the 81 million who were stupid.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:30 amCandy says I’m sorry Pierre
mg (8cbc69) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:34 amDelecto says
Candy/Pierre/2024
https://www.nationalmemo.com/10-forgotten-scandals-surrounding-mitt-romney
mg (8cbc69) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:46 am“Can you imagine if you were out deer hunting and had a doe tag and shot a buck? The game warden shows up and asks ‘why did you shoot a buck?’ Can you imagine replying ‘I didn’t know. … I’m not a biologist.’ Ridiculous,” Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines said.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/9/2022 @ 3:43 amlmao
Regarding Obama, let’s not forget that Putin invaded several regions of Georgia during the 2008 campaign and still controls them to this day, that he and Hillary were seeking a “reset” with the shortish dictator, that his administration initially called Putin’s invasion of the Crimean region an “uncontested arrival”, and that his response to that invasion-annexation was too little on sanctions and way too late to have any effect.
Paul Montagu (7f65ad) — 4/9/2022 @ 5:37 amWell, Steven Daines is from Montana and is probably confusing deer with sheep. Deer bucks shed their antlers and can be mistaken for does; whereas rams do not shed their horns and are easily distinguishable from ewes, something that Daines and his constituents are duly grateful for.
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:14 amRegarding Putin’s casus belli excuse, that he intended to “denazify” Ukraine…
In that vein, what Putin is doing is a cultural genocide, not unlike what Xi has been doing with the Uighers, except Putin is throwing in more than his fair share of war crimes.
Paul Montagu (7f65ad) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:19 am“ Kyle Rittenhouse-innocent.
Jussie Smollette – hoax!
January 6 – Not an insurrection under
the actual law, and a recent defendant
NOT GUILTY of trespass.
Michigan kidnapping plot – FBI set up
whole thing, not guilty.
Imagine being a Democrat. You fell for
all of this stuff.“
It wasn’t just Democrats who fell for it.
Obudman (a21e8e) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:21 amYou lost me, Sammy, after you asserted that Trump had a “long thought”.
Paul Montagu (7f65ad) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:30 amLet the record show that, after 800 criminal indictments, to date there are 213 guilty pleas and one acquittal, so it’s more than a little silly to assert that “protesters were invited into Congress and walked around then falsely brought up on trumped up charges.”
Paul Montagu (7f65ad) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:34 amLike the Sadducees and Pharisees that they are, the pro-pedicular Daines, Hawley, and Cruz, were asking Judge Jackson trick questions to make themselves seem wise in the eyes of the their lice-ridden fringes (ivermectin does help with that although it would be kind of wasteful). And to get them to send them some money. I don’t dumpster-dive but, if I did, I’m sure I could find fund-raising emails and letters from all three bragging about the questions they asked Jackson. Jackson answered them according to their folly.
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:46 amAgreed…and I want reparations from the 81 million morons who voted for Biden
Horatio (f9a942) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:02 amIf the 74 billion who voted for the Corrupt Criminal Traitor Trump (CCTT for short — sound it out loud) are so smart, how come they didn’t build the border wall in the four years that the CCTT (sound it out loud) was President?
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:11 amYou know, any day now, I expect to hear, from the usual suspects, that Zelensky is stealing the war from Putin.
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:14 am*74 million*
Inflation. It’s insidious.
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:18 am“I want reparations from the 81 million morons”
How about the 74M come to grips that they need to support a better candidate….and maybe even come up with a party platform next time rather than promoting a cult of personality? Trump will always find a way to draw out more detractors than slavish followers — it’s a demographic thing. If you want to continue to lose nationally and watch more liberals elevate to the Court, continue to push for Trump and Trumpism.
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:43 amThere’s nothing that says that political parties will last forever. The Federalists collapsed because they failed to expand their demographic appeal; the Whigs because of internal incoherence over what they stood for in the nation’s most crucial debate over slavery. The question is whether we’re seeing both dynamics at play with the Trump-era GOP.
One could argue that the GOP is expected to win big this go around in Congress. But is that because of superior ideas and inspiring candidates or simply being not-like-Biden and voting against inflation and supply-chain snarls? Right now the GOP is invested in a meme of election integrity that the base might gladly trumpet, but no one else especially appreciates. Attacking the core of democracy…the legitimacy of elections…scares the heck out of all but the true believers. It smells a lot like an autocracy, pushing corruption to cling to power.
The party is also taking regional cultural sensibilities and assuming that this will broaden the party’s appeal nationally. The Party seems confused about how to address the evil of Putin in Ukraine. It’s hard to be taken seriously when so many voices have made excuses for Putin over time. Yes, Democrats have too…and there’s lots wrong with them too….but the question here is winning nationally and overcoming the 81M-74M divide. I don’t see sober reflection and corrective action. The same for the autopsy of the Romney loss. Instead the GOP seems to have charted a course to oblivion….hello whigs.
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/9/2022 @ 8:31 amI’ve got an idea: let the people who WANT a wall, pay for a wall. Gummint will just spend the money on salary and pensions for the wall-building study group.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 8:45 amThe Federalists collapsed because they failed to expand their demographic appeal
Also because they first sided with Britain in the Napoleonic Wars, then opposed going to war with Britain in 1812.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 8:47 amAJ,
I’m not sure you have this right about the GOP. Somewhat by accident, Trump’s positions have been winning of late.
Companies are fleeing China.
The new trend is “on-shoring.”
The courts are more conservative than they have been in my lifetime.
Congress is about to become heavily Republican.
Biden’s agenda is dead in the water.
Immigration amnesty is stalled, as is immigration from the south.
There is incredible pressure on Biden to return to fossil fuels.
I could make a case that the Democrat Party is in more danger than the GOP. The only thing I’m sure of is that the GOP center has changed and the old Reagan-Bush consensus in the GOP has been replaced.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 8:54 amSo the “protesters” were somehow unaware that intense and prolonged hand-to-hand combat with police and then some smashing of windows preceded the entry they were “invited” to make?
Radegunda (74d62f) — 4/9/2022 @ 8:59 amKevin, some of that is just an artifact. Trump had three judicial vacancies to replace….it’s not like he did anything to earn that opportunity. If the GOP loses in 2024 and 2028, how many SCOTUS replacements will emerge and what will happen to the lower courts? Again, my point isn’t that Biden and Democrats are popular….they’re not…..and that is the only explanation for Republicans winning in 2022. There is no coherent GOP agenda…McConnell admits it….the lack of a party platform in 2020 illustrates it. What I’m arguing is that is because of Trump and the millions of GOP voters who want to continue supporting him. The right-leaning media has decided to go with the party extremes and we have what we have. A lot of petulant grousing and few solutions that can actually be implemented without pushing the bounds of executive authority.
Why are comapnies leaving China? Is it Trump’s rhetoric or does it have to do more with the deteriorating economic situation there and concerns over China’s autocratic behavior. Trump’s tariffs didn’t really do this. So why would we need more Trump? It confuses cause and effect.
There’s always a chicken-and-egg aspect to nationalism too. Did Trump bring it or did he exploit a brewing sentiment in society? Our two-party system is predicated on…simplistically….Democrats pushing for change and Republicans holding firm for stability. Right now, Trumpism takes us to the extreme of the GOP which does not inspire stability. And you can hear the desperation in some commenters here in that regard…like FWO and JF. This desperation and willingness to not address the Big Lie meaningfully is problematic. We had 150 GOP representatives vote to NOT certify an election AFTER the violence of January 6th. This is a horribly bad trajectory.
The DEMs are extreme but elements of their agenda do attempt to address middle-class worries about child care, college, and health care costs. They’re wrong in their solutions and in their class warfare and race baiting, but there is an agenda that has the possibility of being moderated. What do we have on our side? Not much…and then add in not much outreach to minority populations that are expanding. 2022 might be a short-term boom in a long-term spiral. Trump has no investment in teh GOP flourishing….he’s only self interested. Again, propping someone up who has no long-term interest in the institutions success is suicide.
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/9/2022 @ 9:36 amFollow-up on that Pakistani story @47: The two agents had, among other things, rifles:
It’s the Daily Mail, so I wouldn’t say I am 100 percent sure everything in the story is true, but it is still fascinating. And if even 90 percent of it is, it’s an amazing story.
As Sammy mentioned, it is a rather awkward time to ask the Pakistani government what was going on, but we will have to ask them, some time, preferably discreetly, since we have other, more urgent problems.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 9:57 am“protesters were invited into Congress and walked around then falsely brought up on trumped up charges”
Come on now, you can do better than that: How about this version: “Supporters of democracy were fooled by undercover agents of the Deep State into thinking they had been invited to have tea with Nancy Pelosi. After they entered the Capitol, they were charged with crimes, none of which they committed, though one of them did take a small souvenir from Pelosi’s office.”
(If you are trying to illustrate absurdity, go all the way.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 10:10 amMontana deer hunting season ends before antlers are shed. As always, there are outliers, but a buck that shed in mid December would be very unlikely to be harvested.
I agree that some people take animal husbandry in a different direction and should never be allowed near a 4H club
steveg (e81d76) — 4/9/2022 @ 10:42 am#89
I’m sure many people in the middle of the crowd didn’t know much.
People (particularly short people) in the middle of a crowd have to move the general direction the crowd takes. I hate crowds so I would not have gone, but if I do I treat crowd movements like a rip tide and move laterally across it
Earier Paul made a point about how many people plead guilty over their part in Jan6, but if I’ve been in jail for months for being in the building, my family needs me, they have no money etc I’d agree to a solution that gets me home the fastest.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/9/2022 @ 11:11 amEven if I did not have family, I’d take the deal that got me home the fastest.
And another one cops a plea:
The Post has 41 minutes of video of the attack, for those who want to see for themselves.
By now, claiming that no one in the mob intended to block a legitimate election, is almost like being a flat earther, impervious to evidence.
(Reminder: Following Trump is often bad for your wealth, your health, and, for a few, your freedom.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 11:22 amThe Altamont Free Concert is an interesting case study of crowds.
I’m sure very few knew at the time that Mick Jagger got punched in the head after getting out of his helicopter, few knew anyone was killed and few knew why a Hells Angel was arguing with the Jefferson Airplane up on stage.
As usual Listen to what Mama told you
https://youtu.be/E1tEQQ8BNSg
steveg (e81d76) — 4/9/2022 @ 11:29 amAJ,
I would be the last person to say that Trump actively planned anything. The man was a chaos agent.
But he did that chaos effectively, and he was disruptive and destructive of the status quo. Things are rearranging, and the reason they are doing so is due to his intentional disruption. China, in particular. Had it not been for Trump’s focused attack on that trade, the reaction to the supply-chain issues might have been different, but given Trump’s actions it was much more difficult to patch up the status quo ante.
I disagree about the Democrat Party having a clear mission. It may look like that from this side of the aisle, but there are deep divisions over there. There is a fact, will out of power, that would impose draconian rules and authoritarian control in response to climate change. None of this namby-pamby tax credit stuff. More like confiscate all the cars, ban air travel and dragoon people into green jobs. Take another look at the New Green Deal. Taxes … even Biden wants to return to 70% tax rates. Health care … rationed Medicaid for everyone. Stuff like this. The party has wide disagreements, as we’ll see when its AOC’s turn to run.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:05 pm* There is a faction, still out of power
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:07 pmUmmm, people you describe are indeed as rare as flat earthers and are not to be taken seriously
“By now, claiming that no one in the mob intended to block a legitimate election, is almost like being a flat earther, impervious to evidence.”
The crowd had people who wanted to block an election they felt was illegitimate.
Others wanted to protest an election they felt was illegitimate due to cheating/no real investigation
Others were there because they love to cause trouble and are agnostic to cause
It is easy to look back know and make judgements, but the crowd was there 2 months after the election. It doesn’t mean they were impervious to evidence, it just means they distrusted the evidence and/or the people presenting the evidence.
2020 was a year of great distrust in America. Trump rally? Super Spreader event with dangerous zealots. Riot? Mostly Peaceful. COVID not a risk at this type of protests.
Hypocrisy of goverment was on full display.
I don’t blame Jan6 people for distrusting the results. Their Government and media had been lying, spinning and blundering for an entire year
steveg (e81d76) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:08 pmJIm,
The feds have a way of getting someone who cannot prove their innocence to “cop a plea.” This captures the guilty, too, of course, but an aggressive prosecutor will coerce others, too. The case that was dismissed isn’t typical, but it also isn’t the only case where the prosecutor pressed harder than the evidence he had.
Add to that, that the prosecution has all the images and the defense none, and it stays that way until a trial approaches. A prosecutor who wants scalps may well force a plea on a case he knows he’d lose in court.
Certainly anyone who says that the dismissal is typical of cases is, at best, foolish, but so is someone who says that everyone charged is equally guilty, or that only the truly guilty plea that way.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:14 pmAs far as the GOP is concerned, the actual party is coalescing around a new platform that has major differences than the old one, but is not all that strange. Trump’s disruption was the obvious catalyst, but the party really doesn’t need (or want) him to carry it forward.
They may not have that chance.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:25 pmThe GOP is Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, not MTG, Ted Cruz or Donald Trump. The party will remain after the clowns have gone home.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:28 pmIt strains credulity to suggest that people in the middle of the crowd were unaware that people in the front were fighting with police to force their way in, and that they probably believed it was just a big long line to get in through a door opened freely for all of them.
Radegunda (74d62f) — 4/9/2022 @ 12:53 pmObviously most of them believed they were there at Trump’s direction, but they also knew that Trump had told them to “fight like hell” and induce members of Congress to do what he wanted.
Thoughts passed on with comment by Byran Suits Twitter
“I propose a 12 hour waiting period before Narcan can be administered in the 206/213/415 area codes.”- some heartless Libertarian that can do math, probably.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/9/2022 @ 1:33 pm@100 Kevin – I chose the phrase “cops a plea”, rather than, for instance, “plead guilty” for a reason.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 1:33 pmThe jury came back of that Whitmer kidnapping case…
2 Acquittals and 2 mistrials.
Raises the question: Did the FBI intentionally entrap a bunch of mooks to carry out a kidnapping plot against Gov. Whitmer in order to create bad headlines for Trump during the 2020 election?
whembly (7e0293) — 4/8/2022 @ 11:52 am
This shows the danger of using confidential informants during on-going conspiracies. Rather than preempt such conspiracies, the FBI should just let them go forward and arrest the participants after they have committed actual felonies.
Rip Murdock (80e6b4) — 4/9/2022 @ 1:41 pmIn a first, commercial crew docks with space station
Four civilians in a chartered SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station early Saturday, kicking off the first NASA-sanctioned, commercial visit to the lab complex by a private company.
Launched Friday from the Kennedy Space Center, the Axiom-1 Crew Dragon — Endeavour — executed an automated 20-hour rendezvous, catching up with the space station and moving in for docking at the lab’s forward Harmony module at 8:29 a.m. EDT. – CBS.com
Ax-1 Private Astronaut Mission Docks at Station
After a journey of almost 21 hours, Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria, Larry Connor, Eytan Stibbe, and Mark Pathy arrived at the International Space Station at 8:29 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 9. Crew Dragon Endeavour docked to the orbital complex while the spacecraft were flying about 260 miles above the central Atlantic Ocean. – NASA.gov
Unlike bureaucrat Whatisa Woman getting a lifetime government gig, this is sorta what ‘folks’ w/vision and perspective label as genuinely ‘historic’– nearly 61 years to the day (4/12/61) after Russian Yuri Gagarin’s first foray into space on a single orbit flight. Yet another prediction by Arthur C. Clarke over half a century ago becoming reality.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/9/2022 @ 1:52 pmGreat moments in American Journalism:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FP3CWJdVQAIWAxc?format=jpg&name=small
Astute observer:
:No one in the ever credulous world of cable TV news is remotely curious as to why all of the propaganda in Tbilisi is in large font English ….”
Background:
Georgians hate Russians so much that even Anti Putin activist Russians are given the cold shoulder.
Georgians once rioted after finding that a Russian member of the Duma had been asked to sit in the Speaker’s seat in parliament for a seperate event. The Russian was there chairing a meeting of the IAO. The IAO was founded in 1994 and is based in Greece. Its purpose is to foster unity among Orthodox Christians based on Christian and democratic values and principles, according to the general assembly’s 2013 declaration.
The Georgians gave zero F’s about the IAO and attacked the Parliment building and the police that were protecting it for hours.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/9/2022 @ 1:52 pmThe Georgian government blamed “outside interference” but it was unlikely that thousands of people were poised to attack so spontaneously
One could argue that the GOP is expected to win big this go around in Congress. But is that because of superior ideas and inspiring candidates or simply being not-like-Biden and voting against inflation and supply-chain snarls?
Can you give an example of when a party won because of its superior ideas? Very few voters know or care much about the details of policy.
mikeybates (c22064) — 4/9/2022 @ 2:11 pm“Can you give an example of when a party won because of its superior ideas? Very few voters know or care much about the details of policy.”
1860, to begin with. (And more, before and since.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 2:15 pm1932
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 2:19 pm1952
1972
1980
2008
The jury came back of that Whitmer kidnapping case…
The real story here is that this isn’t the first Michigan militia case, and the previous one (2010) also came back with acquittals. There’s something about the FBI and Michigan here.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 2:22 pmGreat Moments of Federal Civil Servants
Secret Service Agents duped by Iranian Agents pretending to be DHS agents.
One of the Secret Service Agents was assigned to Jill Biden.
I know these things happen, but why didn’t alarm bells go off at this point:
“Taherzadeh allegedly bought the Secret Service officers rent-free apartments, each costing $40,000 a year, iPhones, surveillance systems, drones, a flat screen tv, an assault rifle case, a generator and law enforcement paraphernalia, according to the affidavit. He also offered them “official government vehicles” and volunteered to buy a $2,000 assault rifle for the officer assigned to the first lady’s security detail.”
The four Secret Service members were put on administrative leave on April 4 pending the investigation. I know they are civil servants and there is a process to follow but most non union people who f up this bad get fired on the spot
steveg (e81d76) — 4/9/2022 @ 2:24 pm“Can you give an example of when a party won because of its superior ideas?”
This strikes me as supremely cynical. I concede that many people will vote for their team, hell or high water. Some will vote on superficial impressions or whether they perceive their personal circumstances as being better off over the past 4 years (referendum on the incumbent). I won’t deny that. I would definitely say that 1980 offered a significant contrast on how to deal with taxes, soviet expansion and foreign policy generally, and continued deregulation.
As per Kevin’s comment that Democrats are extreme and will take away your car. Well, that sounds like hyperbole. Sure, the people in safe districts that can say crazy things like that will do that to feed their base. The reality is that just like the DEMs that cut out Bernie’s legs in favor of Hillary, their party is still not willing to let the reactionaries loose. Sure things get proposed now without any worry that they can get through the Senate….like when the GOP proposed repealing Obamacare 60 times. It was theater.
Now playing devil’s advocate, what is a moderate view on climate change and what should be done? Simply saying to frack more and use cleaner coal doubles down on the minority view that it simply does not matter how much CO2 we put into the atmosphere….that there is no point in even trying to reduce it. I tend to be an agnostic but I would hate to be wrong and leave future generations in a much worse situation. I would rather have the GOP in the discussion…meaningfully…than pulling us out of everything and pretending all environmental scientists are corrupt. We should have a conservative plan…..right now, It’s so mum I couldn’t tell you what the Republican plan is. There has to be a position that is more in the middle but to the Right of the DEMs that can win us votes. Trump’s not there
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/9/2022 @ 3:26 pm“Earier Paul made a point about how many people plead guilty over their part in Jan6, but if I’ve been in jail for months for being in the building, my family needs me, they have no money etc I’d agree to a solution that gets me home the fastest.
Even if I did not have family, I’d take the deal that got me home the fastest.”
This is by design. It’s also something that people on the Democratic side are more aware of, which is where you get the push for reduced bail and the the effort put out to pay bail for a lot of the BLM protesters.
So when you decry “woke” prosecutors or get mad about protestors getting bail, you’re supporting the existing system.
Davethulhu (9bf01b) — 4/9/2022 @ 3:28 pm74 – “The Big Sky of Chicago”
mg (8cbc69) — 4/9/2022 @ 3:30 pmEarlier this week I returned from my second trip to southern California in three weeks. That place is both fun and appalling. On the first trip, I stayed in Brea, a delightful little city in Orange County. While taking a walk one day, I talked to some friendly people in the neighborhood, and heard a term I was unfamiliar with: Orange Curtain. As in, “I stay behind the Orange Curtain as much as possible, and only go to L.A. when I have to.” That just amused the hell out of me.
I also came to appreciate a new meaning of an old term: Chinatown. I always thought it referred to a tiny old part of Los Angeles proper. Not so. A Taiwanese friend in Diamond Bar used it to describe the whole San Gabriel Valley, from Alhambra in the west to Diamond Bar in the east, and from Monrovia in the north to Hacienda Heights in the south. She wasn’t exaggerating. It might as well be another province of China.
As a former immigration officer, I couldn’t help but wonder how much immigration fraud lay behind the transformation of the valley. In my career I investigated a significant Chinese fraud ring in addition to discovering a lot of one-off fraud. The Chinese have an excellent grapevine when it comes to immigration matters. Fraudulent asylum claims, altered documents, and sham marriages are everywhere.
This big change to the valley is both a good and a bad thing. On the plus side, the best Chinese food in the U.S. is there, and it’s inexpensive. Then there are all the cool things to drink, from freshy-pressed sugar cane juice to a panoply of tea, fruit juice, milk, and boba concoctions. (I’ve been fascinated by Chinese culture since my early twenties.)
On the bad side, horrible drivers abound, and it has nothing to do with genetics. Rather, it’s environment. ABCs (American born Chinese) drive as well as anybody, but there is something about the immigrants (learning to drive as an adult? poor instruction or driving manners in the home country?) which leads to scary drivers. Years ago, I saw a Chinese guy going the wrong way (AGAINST traffic) on a section of Rosemead Boulevard in Temple City. He was parting vehicles like Moses with the Red Sea, and he seemed oblivious to it all!
Sadly, too many Chinese commercial areas are dirty. I saw a parking lot for a large outdoor strip mall that had piles of trash (not just empty cups and masks) which sat there for days. I’ve noticed a similar environment on previous visits.
In many establishments, I was the only non-Asian person present. I guess that’s closest thing to a Taiwan vacation I will get anytime soon, since Taiwan is still freaking out about Covid, and requiring a ten-day quarantine on visitors. (As one person so memorably put it, the Taiwanese Vice-President is an epidemiologist, and the people are a bunch of hypochondriacs.)
On the second trip I initially stayed in Pasadena, which still has a lot of charm despite the problems of L.A. County. It poured on my first day there, and when the sun came out it was delightful just walking around town.
Later, I stayed a few days with a college buddy who lives in Alhambra. One day we went to a restaurant in Burbank that is an institution–Chili John’s. It started out in Wisconsin, but relocated to Burbank in 1946, and has been in the same building all this time. When entering the place you feel as if you stepped into a 1940s movie. It is throwback all the way. You sit at a U-shaped counter, surrounded by old signs and decor. The chili is quite good, and very customizable.
I saw plenty of graffiti and homeless people around, even in Arcadia, which is supposed to be upscale. Orange County seemed to have less of these problems.
Since I’m on the subject of Chinatown–last night I watched the movie Chinatown for the third time. The first time was in the 1980s. The second time was about five years ago. This time I got much more out of it. (Isn’t it funny how that happens with books and movies?) I think it is now my favorite movie (although Vertigo is right up there). Has anyone been more beautiful than Faye Dunaway in that film? I’m so glad that Roman Polanski nixed the Hollywood ending by the screenwriter, thereby making it a darker and more powerful film.
norcal (68b459) — 4/9/2022 @ 3:32 pmSure things get proposed now without any worry that they can get through the Senate….like when the GOP proposed repealing Obamacare 60 times. It was theater.
Yes, and the GOP lets MTG talk, but how many of her bills get through committee? Or even the caucus?
But ask asset here what he thinks about unity and centrist thought in the Democrat Party.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:18 pm#117 norcal – Thanks much for that report, to which I can add a little. Some years ago, the local Asian Weekly — I think that’s the name — had a report on sham marriages. I was curious about the matter, and asked the reporter about two details. She told me that the men who were being recruited for these marriages were found, often, at gambling casinos here in Washington state. That makes sense since you want people who, perhaps suddenly, need some tax-free money. The pay for these sham marriages, she said, was typically about 30K, more than the median income, back then.
A friend who worked for, and still lives near, a very large public university, with many students from China, tells me that people in the area talk about “driving while Asian” to describe some of the reckless behavior they see regularly. (In one especially dramatic example, a young man driving a sports car on a road with a speed limit of 40 smashed it into a tree so badly that the first police officer on scene described the wrecked car as looking like . . . two motorcycles.)
I’ve read that, in China, wealthy drivers often escape punishment, even for seriously bad driving. (Obviously, I have no easy way to check that.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:25 pmnorcal – Speaking of “Chinatowns”, you may be amused by Seattle’s name compromise.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:34 pmNow playing devil’s advocate, what is a moderate view on climate change and what should be done? Simply saying to frack more and use cleaner coal doubles down on the minority view that it simply does not matter how much CO2 we put into the atmosphere….that there is no point in even trying to reduce it. I tend to be an agnostic but I would hate to be wrong and leave future generations in a much worse situation. I would rather have the GOP in the discussion…meaningfully…than pulling us out of everything and pretending all environmental scientists are corrupt. We should have a conservative plan…..right now, It’s so mum I couldn’t tell you what the Republican plan is. There has to be a position that is more in the middle but to the Right of the DEMs that can win us votes. Trump’s not there
This is correct, starting with “there is no such thing as clean coal.” That’s like “clean pr0n” — coal is as dirty as hydrocarbons get. The very first thing in a GOP platform should be to move ALL existing fossil fuel power plants to natural gas. We have a lot of it and it is the cleanest of fossil fuels (one carbon to each hydrogen). Our plans should be:
* Close all coal-fired power plants within 5 years.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:36 pm* Repurpose coal as a chemical/pharmaceutical feedstock.
* Replace with combined cycle natural gas plants, as a first step.
* Develop a national standard for electric car charging.
* Connect any EV rebates to the manufacturer’s participation in EV charger deployment.
* Give generous, refundable, tax credits for home solar installations using US-made solar panels.
* Give new home builders a subsidy for “Ready for Solar” conduits and design (roof type, angle and direction).
* Spend a lot of money on demonstration new-technology nuclear plant designs and consider type-approvals. Set national standards for design, siting, cooling, disposal, etc.
* End all money for new highways, diverting it into urban fixed-rail transit systems.
I’ll repeat my challenge from last week: Read what I linked there and tell me the GOP, McCarthy and McConnell, as well as obviously MTG, Cruz, Goetz, Hawley and the rest of the insurrectionist wing, aren’t all Trump.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:38 pm“driving while Asian”
You see this with immigrants from any non-car culture, and it’s obviously not “Asian” since the Japanese drive cars just fine (albeit on the wrong side of the road).
When someone spends their first 30 years in a culture where few drive, getting behind the wheel of one of these terrifyingly-fast vehicles is daunting. They don’t have the 15 years of adjustment that every American child does riding in a car. Some never really try, relying on public transit and such. It’s daunting. Others … well they’re the ones you see driving with their nose in the windshield.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:44 pm#121 Kevin – The formula for methane is CH4.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:47 pmAcetylene is C2H2.
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 5:03 pmAcetylene lamps a/k/a carbide lamps, fueled by a lump of quicklime in water, are probably the oldest use of natural gas. And then you can give the slaked lime to Tom Sawyer to whitewash the fence.
Or we can just teach people that the glaciers have been retreating for 20,000 years. And it’s not the first time that they’ve come and gone and come back again. Again and again and again. Poor, miserable, little, two-legged mayflies filled with their own hubris.
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 5:14 pm#121 Kevin – The formula for methane is CH4.
Yes, I actually do know that. The best ratio of any hydrocarbon, but still 3 parts carbon to 1 part hydrogen by weight. Not sure how I got “each” into that. Probably thinking “each 4” but failed to get that to my fingers.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 5:20 pmOr we can just teach people that the glaciers have been retreating for 20,000 years.
But we are still in an Ice Age. Just a little respite at this point in time. God help us if the solar system finds another dust cloud.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 5:23 pmLiz Sly summarizes “Nine ways Russia botched its invasion of Ukraine”.
For me, the most interesting is the fourth:
(Links omitted.)
The most interesting because logistics played such a large part in the World War II in the Soviet Union. For example: In 1941, the Nazis began their attack in June, partly because the ground then would be dry enough. Similarly, the Soviets started a giant attack in June 1944, partly for a similar reason. (And, no doubt, also to make sure the Normandy invasion would be a success.) And so on, and so on.
Journalists have told us that — I’m not sure on what evidence — Putin delayed the attack to accomodate “Emperor” Xi, who didn’t want any distractions during the Olympics. If that is true, why didn’t Putin wait a few months longer for the ground to dry?
And why didn’t he, and his generals, realize they had logistic problems? Even an invasion with almost no opposition would require an immense logistic “tail”.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 5:52 pmIt does seem like the Russian Armed Forces are largely a facade. Maybe it’s only the Army and the Navy and Rocket Forces know what they’re doing. I don’t know what to make of this, other than the rot is pretty deep. The scapegoating is going to be Biblical.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:04 pmTraveling man: The apparent leader of the two agents who tired to subvert the Secret Service, Ali Haider, must have accumulated a lot of frequent flyer miles:
Given the resources the two had, it is likely that they were being subsidized by some foreign power.
But which one? It occurs to me that the Iranians almost certainly believe they owe us at least one, for blowing up their major general, Qasem Soleimani. But, sadly, there are more than a few other possiblities.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:05 pmJim,
Maybe the generals didn’t want to admit they’d sold all the spare parts.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:06 pmOusted: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:19 pmImran Khan blames us, of course.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:23 pm#132 Kevin – That strikes me as likely — and it occurs to me that many of the generals may have thought an attack on Ukraine was stupid, and so didn’t prepare, in spite of Putin’s tough talk.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:30 pmsF: I’m sure Trump only realized this, [that because Congress provides for its security, he had no responsibility tp try to do something about the storming of the Capitol] though, after long thought and consultation with others, and where was his asking if there was anything he could do?
Paul Montagu (7f65ad) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:30 am
e had a long time to come up with that. I don’t think it’s his idea at all, but he had to spend a long time thinking about what defense to make of his inaction.
This is what he said now:
Now nobody has reported anything like that. I doubt he kept asking why isn’t Nancy Pelosi doing more. (like what??)
He seems to forget that Mitch McConnell was also responsible for oversight of the Capitol police, but I guess he is/was enough of a Republican for Trump not to include him in his criticism.
People were begging him to make a statement in the hopes of calling off the mob.
By the way, yes, they were taking care of it, the Metropolitan Police and the Capitol Police, but still…
Down in the bureaucracy they were asking for more help.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/9/2022 @ 6:48 pmMaybe the generals didn’t want to admit they’d sold all the spare parts.
They were never bought in the first place. Only on paper.
There is no limit to Russian treachery. Nobody they will not betray.
nk (1d9030) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:06 pmMAGAWorld not amused:
Rip Murdock (cbadfd) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:34 pm
They were never bought in the first place. Only on paper.
Then they were used up and had to be replaced.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:44 pmTrump has a soft spot for wealthy scammers.
Being one himself, that only makes sense.
This is not the MAGAWorld I am used to.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:46 pmSo, the good legislators of New Mexico, awash with dirty petrodollars, are going to share the wealth (they will spend some themselves). $500 to every adult in the state.
Half now, half closer to the election.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 7:52 pmSo, what’s the endgame for Russia? Coventry? Nothing goes in, nothing comes out, a wall on both sides with machine gun nests every 100 meters aimed at the inner DMZ like the Koreas?
I see that India and China are cozying up. Is Russia offering them Siberian resources (or land given global warming)? I thought Eurasia and Eastasia were at war. I wonder who gets the ‘Stans.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/9/2022 @ 8:01 pmSo, the good legislators of New Mexico, awash with dirty petrodollars, are going to share the wealth (they will spend some themselves). $500 to every adult in the state.
Half now, half closer to the election.
No different than the Alaska Permanent Fund.
Rip Murdock (cbadfd) — 4/9/2022 @ 9:15 pmShe told me that the men who were being recruited for these marriages were found, often, at gambling casinos here in Washington state. That makes sense since you want people who, perhaps suddenly, need some tax-free money. The pay for these sham marriages, she said, was typically about 30K, more than the median income, back then.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/9/2022 @ 4:25 pm
This was also the case in the Bay Area, even with mere “card clubs”, which were not full-fledged casinos. You’re right about 30K being the typical rate. The highest we ever uncovered in San Francisco was 60K.
In Reno it was a different story, especially during the Great Recession. Hell, you could get some loser U.S. citizen to marry you for $2,000 and free taxi rides from your uncle.
norcal (68b459) — 4/9/2022 @ 10:04 pm137-
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 1:38 amThey were taught by the CIA.
Hunter will be offered a plea deal by the corruptness of the Delaware attorney general and everything will be sealed.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:18 amWondering if dolt Joe drove those 17,000 miles with president chi com in a semi?
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:37 amThat was one heckuva speech he gave for the porn judge. What a fricking disgrace you 81 million are.
Ketanji Jackson became a justice on Friday. She said, “In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States. Bull Schiff.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:47 amShe was born in 1970, 6 years after segregation was outlawed. Thurgood Marshall was already on the Supreme Court when she was born. Affirmative action cleared the way for her to attend Harvard and Harvard Law. The color line was broken before she was born and the sex barrier when she was 10.
Lying for fun and profit – you 81 million should be ashamed.
And 81 million groomers smiled.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:59 amKevin,
India and China are at a state of war, have been for decades, China has suffered major defeats in quiet land actions. China expanded west after Korea and were stopped by the dug in Indian troops. also, the Indians are really pissed that the Chinese sold nuclear weapons to Pakistan.
EPWJ (0fbe92) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:46 amyou 81 million should be ashamed.
Your anger is displaced, mg. It was Eisenhower who brought down the Third Reich.
nk (1d9030) — 4/10/2022 @ 5:06 amOut of the 800-plus who were criminally charged, maybe three dozen have been held in jail, mainly because they’re flight risks or parole violators. Also, they all have legal representation and due process. The rest are out on their own recognize or posted bail. Another thing. They weren’t just “being in the building”, they didn’t just apparate or stumble into the Capitol Building, they made conscious decisions to trespass, every single one, at least 140 of them violently by assaulting law enforcement.
Paul Montagu (7f65ad) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:15 amAnd one of those flight risks who posted bail fled to Belarus rather than face American justice.
Paul Montagu (7f65ad) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:17 ammg, please tell us more about what it was like to be a black woman in 1970 and how the Civil Rights Act magically fixed all inequities over night. Jackson’s story is inspiring and a testament of how far the country has come, yet you want to tear it down to score a cheap political point. Thanks selective Trump voters who continue to strive to tear us apart.
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:27 amLove keeps tearing NeverTrump’s head apart.
Again.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:09 amIn 1970, most Southern schools were still segregated. And then President Nixon took firm action.
Here’s how George Shultz described it later:
So Justice Jackson was right about 1970. (Though I expect her to be wrong in many of her opinions.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/10/2022 @ 9:51 amIndia and China are at a state of war, have been for decades, China has suffered major defeats in quiet land actions. China expanded west after Korea and were stopped by the dug in Indian troops. also, the Indians are really pissed that the Chinese sold nuclear weapons to Pakistan.
Yes. The “Line of Actual Control.” But an argument over a few miles of mountain passes does not mean that they don’t have common interests.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 9:56 amAffirmative action cleared the way for her to attend Harvard and Harvard Law.
This is a fundamentally racist statement. It asserts that, because she is black, she could not have attended Harvard on her own merit. This is the thing that Justice Thomas has bee fighting his entire career — the assumption by racist whites that blacks are too stupid to succeed on their own.
The removal of barriers to meritorious applicants should not be conflated with advantage, but instead the removal of advantage. You could, with similar justification, argue that all Christian white graduates of Harvard prior to, oh, 1970, “only got their degrees because of racism.”
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 10:03 amWhy did the QB cross the road?
To get to The Other Side.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/10/2022 @ 10:12 amThe color line was broken before she was born and the sex barrier when she was 10.
The world of 1970 was one where blacks were just then integrating. A few jobs, here and there, as whites and blacks both haltingly dealt with the merging of previously separate cultures. This was still ongoing throughout the 70’s and well into the 1980s, and happened more easily among younger people than older folk (of both groups) who had more to unlearn.
Yes, the world today is one where blacks and whites intermingle with far less friction. In many situations it is unremarkable, or even invisible today. But not all (e.g. wedding announcements, criminal law, country clubs).
One might make the claim that, today, there is very little left of the color line (although I suspect that whites are more complacent than blacks), but in 1970 (or even 1980)? Not hardly.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 10:13 am@158:
This does not mean that “Affirmative Action” results in non-meritorious admission to college, only that not all admissions where this policy is in place are without merit, as mg said.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 10:16 am* This does not mean that “Affirmative Action” NEVER results in non-meritorious admission to college…
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 10:16 amKevin: “* Close all coal-fired power plants within 5 years.
* Repurpose coal as a chemical/pharmaceutical feedstock.
* Replace with combined cycle natural gas plants, as a first step.
* Develop a national standard for electric car charging.
* Connect any EV rebates to the manufacturer’s participation in EV charger deployment.
* Give generous, refundable, tax credits for home solar installations using US-made solar panels.
* Give new home builders a subsidy for “Ready for Solar” conduits and design (roof type, angle and direction).
* Spend a lot of money on demonstration new-technology nuclear plant designs and consider type-approvals. Set national standards for design, siting, cooling, disposal, etc.
* End all money for new highways, diverting it into urban fixed-rail transit systems.”
Certainly we are well on our way just through market forces to retire coal plants…..to the chagrin of many blue collar miners I’m sure. A target of 2030 or 2035 seems more realistic if other advancements/trends play out. Still I’m bemused by the notion that some suggest we can get to 100% renewable….yeah on a calm summer night, what exactly is powering your air conditioner? Love (hat tip to Haiku)? I get that in your (Kevin’s) mix it’s natural gas and next gen nuclear, which makes sense, though I would like to see the GOP actually champion nuclear and make it a legislative priority to cut some of the regulatory tape. I would probably add one bullet to your good list: a Manhattan-Project-like investment in energy storage. Right now the cost is prohibitive and that restricts expanding PV and wind. Lithium batteries…because of their proliferation in electronics and electric vehicles…are the choice, but flow batteries and more exotic options could make more sense long term. Grid expansion/modernization will also have to happen especially to accommodate all of the EV’s plugging in at night and getting renewable power like PV from the southwest over to the northeast (more interconnects and lines, maybe using railroad lines to help with eminent domain and right of way issues). Long-haul trucks need to convert over to fuel cells too.
Road vehicles are trickier and a big growth arena, though smaller in the U.S. There’s a rare earth material issue and, you are right, an infrastructure issue that also requires investment/planning. There will also need to be some acculturation to the idea. I think we view our vehicles and how we like to use them differently than a lot of the world. The GOP needs to champion smart incentives. I fear that a topic that could be a positive for the country and good politically gets stuck in the mud of burn-baby-burn and AOC-manufactured hysterics. Intelligently lead, rather than feeding toxic partisanship….that’s what I’m looking for.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/10/2022 @ 11:00 amGood Greif Kevin,
India and China right now are exchanging fire and have been for 40 years. They are deadly rivals in business and American and European industries based in China are leaving in droves for India. India has a really weak central government that is still in the corrupt ridden colonial style taught to them by the Brits. Thats the only reason they are not the economic superpower that they have the capacity to be.
EPWJ (0fbe92) — 4/10/2022 @ 12:24 pmAffirmative action is the racist policy. It fundamentally discrimates against whites, especually white males. Over the past decade it has added Asians to the discrimination. Justice Thomas would concur.
NJRob (e18612) — 4/10/2022 @ 12:49 pmUSA can maybe get to 100% renewables if it turns the entire southwest, and on to Florida, into solar and wind farms.
No more highway money? We still need trucks to move goods. What is the Government set range going to be for an EV semi tractor? Long haul truckers drive about 600 miles. Refrigerator trailers would require a big battery and recharging as well.
We’d need to convert Truck stops to massive quick recharging stations. This will be challenging, because the electrical grid will have to be updated and some current truck stops may not be able to convert.
Investment wise I compare it to the internet fiber optic builders. Invest early in a basket and then get out becuase almost all the build out companies run out of money and then get assets snapped up cheap.
I’ll close yet another disjointed post with this on Command Economies from Leon Trotsky via Wikipedia:
Most of a command economy is organized in a top-down administrative model by a central authority, where decisions regarding investment and production output requirements are decided upon at the top in the chain of command, with little input from lower levels. Advocates of economic planning have sometimes been staunch critics of these command economies. Leon Trotsky believed that those at the top of the chain of command, regardless of their intellectual capacity, operated without the input and participation of the millions of people who participate in the economy and who understand/respond to local conditions and changes in the economy. Therefore, they would be unable to effectively coordinate all economic activity
Well, I think Trotsky should have noted that the “intellectual capacity” should be judged by quality of output. As a long time observer of government, I’d note that the most efficient branch of government is the people who handle our tax deposits. Those people are on the ball.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/10/2022 @ 1:46 pmThe rest? Not so much
https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-school-creates-transition-closet-allows-students-to-swap-out-of-clothes-parents-approve-of
Grooming taking place in California.
Grooming taking place in NJ where they added sexual activism to K-4 grade school classes.
NJRob (e18612) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:14 pmhttps://nypost.com/2022/04/08/nj-kids-to-learn-about-gender-identity-under-sex-ed-curriculum/
NJRob (e18612) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:16 pmAs the polls predicted, it will be incumbent Emmanuel Macron versus Marine Le Pen in the second round of the French presidential election.
Macron has often been annoying, but Le Pen has been closer to “Czar” Putin than any decent person should be.
Voting in the second round will be in two weeks.
Their legislative election will also be in two rounds, on June 12 and June 19th.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:26 pm“We’d need to convert Truck stops to massive quick recharging stations.”
Not necessarily. An alternative to quick recharging would be standardized, swappable batteries. With the right designs, a battery exchange should take no longer than a fill-up does now.
(There was an experiment with cars with swappable batteries in Israel a few years ago, and a Taiwanese company is planning to bring its successful line of scooters with swappable batteries to the US, soon. So this is no longer a novel idea.)
A more difficult problem would be recharging at apartments and homes that don’t have covered, private parking. (As I understand it, that’s larger problem, proportionately, in, for example, Britain than it is here.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:42 pm@NJRob the rest of us don’t spend a lot of time wishing that we could shame 8 year olds because their mentality doesn’t match their physicality at the moment.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/10/2022 @ 2:57 pmI’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you don’t know what grooming means.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:00 pmThats the only reason they are not the economic superpower that they have the capacity to be.
And yet both are siding with Russia. By trading fire, you mean like Mexico and the US are “trading fire” at the border whenever someone finds some drugs? The Line of Actual Control is a place where not much happens, being at 15,000 feet. Neal Stephenson does a wonderful sendup of that in his new book.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:08 pmHunter will be offered a plea deal by the corruptness of the Delaware attorney general and everything will be sealed.
OK, then what about his many federal crimes?
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:09 pmAffirmative action is the racist policy.
That may well be and I did not say otherwise.
What I said is that mg’s comment that any black person who graduates from Harvard only did so BECAUSE of Affirmative Action is a terribly racist statement. I don’t see what argument you can make otherwise.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:12 pmStill I’m bemused by the notion that some suggest we can get to 100% renewable
Some green-leaning scientists at Livermore National Labs set out to show you could and were unable to do so. The found that you could maybe get to 50% with a great deal of effort, but you needed nuclear at the very least. They also had issues with battery waste.
As far as battery tech, it’s good now and getting better. What we have now will work fine for the energy we need to store, and a lot of the need we have is due to the unpredictability of wind power. I’d be find with abandoning wind as a major power source. Solar is predictable and most of the use can be simultaneous (e.g. air conditioning, car charging), or slightly time-delayed, which does not necessarily need batteries (e.g. flywheels, super-capacitors or just hot liquid).
Over the next 20 years we WILL need better batteries, but everyone knows that and a government program is not my first choice to get there. X-Prizes perhaps, or just the old-fashioned “pay me for my patent.”
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:21 pmNow, I will defend Affirmative Action, as it was explained to me. The arguement (from the black side) goes like this:
1. For several hundred years, blacks in America were enslaved. Everyone else was making their fortunes and building families and networks, but not the enslaved.
2. Then for the next 100 years, blacks were denied basic civil rights, barred from many professions, and often attacked or killed when they tried to better themselves.
3. Now, this ends, but it is really not very “racially neutral” to say “oh, we’re all equal now” (btw, we still aren’t) and that no damages are owed for this 400 year tort.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:32 pmmg should apologize to Thomas_Sowell, who graduated from Harvard in 1958, magnum cum laude.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:36 pmI’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you don’t know what grooming means.
There are lots of shades to that operation. Simply norming transsexualism is an action with consequences. Now, one might argue “but it should be normed you phobic person!” but this really gets deep into what has traditionally been a parental concern.
I’m not sure what-all is in the 9th Amendment inkblot, but I suspect this is in there someplace. I could make a strong argument that sex education was not a governmental concern in 1790.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:39 pmmg should apologize to Justice Thomas, who graduated from Yale. Note that Thomas has said that the law firms he applied to after graduating from Yale did not take his Juris Doctor seriously, assuming he obtained it because of affirmative action.
He has actually said that he should have gone to U Penn instead (he was accepted there and at Harvard) so that his degree would not have that asterisk on it in so many eyes.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:45 pmAn alternative to quick recharging would be standardized, swappable batteries.
eh, I dunno. Batteries are not fungible. Over time they degrade. I can see some arbitrage opportunities here.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:48 pmI’m not disputing that. All I said was, norming transsexualism isn’t grooming.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:57 pm“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you don’t know what grooming means.”
Each accusation is a confession.
Davethulhu (da4805) — 4/10/2022 @ 4:33 pmHi Jim Miller
Responding to battery swaps, that would be convenient, but would still depend on massive recharge capability as you’d need to be able to service up to 5000 trucks a day
My understanding is that charging batteries is inefficient.
“Using the 2021 Tesla Model Y as an example, Tesla’s own data—buried deep in 49 pages of certification documents filed with the EPA—shows it took 87.868 kWh to add 77.702 kWh to the battery of the Long Range version. That’s a 13 percent overage. For the Model Y Performance version, adding 81.052 kWh to the battery required 92.213 kWh, or 14 percent more.”
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a36062942/evs-explained-charging-losses/
Lithium mining process takes a lot of water. A project in arid Nevada will use 500,000 gallons of water to produce 1 TON of Lithium
steveg (e81d76) — 4/10/2022 @ 4:43 pmEvery giant truck stop is going to need its own Molten Salt Reactor and out in the sticks for highway projects, the construction crews will first need to bring in their reactor and assemble it to charge the EV earth moving equipment and to power the concrete and asphalt plant.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/10/2022 @ 4:52 pmConsider this fair warning: If you choose to join the hysterical fray and use the term “groomers” to insult people because they didn’t vote the way you wanted them to or for any other ridiculous reason, your comment will be deleted. If you continue to use it, you will be put in moderation and our host can decide what your commenting future will be.
Also, thanks to Kevin M., AJ_Liberty, Jim Miller, and nk for responding to the efforts to smear KBJ. It’s exhausting.
Dana (5395f9) — 4/10/2022 @ 4:53 pmadding 81.052 kWh to the battery required 92.213 kWh, or 14 percent more.”
This is what we engineers call “efficiency.” There are further asterisks, like the battery may technically hold 81KWh of energy, but you cannot get all of it out for [reasons].
That 85% efficiency is pretty good, all things considered. You start running up against the Second Law of Thermodynamics quickly thereafter, and they may do away with squishy Laws like Gravity or Taxes, but not Thermo.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 5:01 pm“Grooming taking place in California.”
I’ll take this to mean dogs…maybe cats….but mainly dogs
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/10/2022 @ 5:39 pm“Grooming taking place in California.”
I’ll take this to mean dogs…maybe cats….but mainly dogs
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/10/2022 @ 5:39 pm@154. Perhaps it’s a matter of perspective of age- as 70 approaches, it doesn’t seem that big a deal today- compared to the America of 1970– back in the day when women were burning bras BTW. Society and opportunities available today appear wholly different than they were 50 years ago. Just peruse some B-roll of a joint session of Congress today compared to 1970 and it’s quite a change in make-up. The ‘barriers’ have withered since 1970- just look at the professions once closed now long opened for women and men of all sorts. From astronauts to presidents of corporations- to POTUS and VPOTUS as well. But any surrender to the ease of ‘box-checking’ threatens to devalue the most important metric of any applicant credentials and qualifications.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/10/2022 @ 5:44 pm#184 “Responding to battery swaps, that would be convenient, but would still depend on massive recharge capability”
steveg – I’m sure you are right. (By the way, Ukraine has substantial deposits of lithium,thoguh no mining yet, as far as I know.)
On a related matter, the design Bill Gates is pushing in Wyoming (and the taxpayers are partially susidizing) is designed to work with wind power, to some extent. It can “store” power by allowing the reactor fluid to heat up higher than the usual working temperature, by a couple of hundred degrees, if I remember correctly.
Incidentally, the federal government has been quietly supporting a revival of nuclear power for some years, just not talking about it much. For example, two of Obama’s energy secretaries, Steven Chu and Ernest Moniz, support nuclear power, and judging by their credentials, have a good claim to know something about the subject.
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/10/2022 @ 5:45 pmThe Democrats will have a hard time supporting a Republican on Nuclear power even if the Republican basically wants the same things as Chu and Moniz because they’ve kowtowed to enviromentalists for so long and are deathly afraid of losing their votes.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:01 pmRepublicans would be very likely to cross the aisle if the Democrats came up with a good bill restarting nuclear… but they will probably trot out the old “Even if we start now it’ll take 10 years glass over half empty excuse, rather than; “If we start now, we can have abudant affordable power for all our electricity needs in 10 short years”
@182/@167. Do a Google search on a ‘transsexual’ named Paul M. Grossman. Later to be known as Paula.
Grossman was our music teacher as youngsters in the mid-1960s at Cedar Hill Elementary in Basking Ridge, NJ. He/she played a fine piano, was quite dedicated and taught a very fun class for all– and is still among the most memorable – still have some of the assignments from his classes 60 years on- and he/she did nobody any harm. We did not know of nor cared or focused on his lifestyle as youngsters, we just learned to enjoy music from him- though we’d always kid him about his shoes- his nickname was ‘Beatle-Boots Grossman’– and he had a proclivity to wear colorful silk socks and matching bow ties. But ‘the powers that be’ back then came down hard on him/her– something we’d like to believe would not happen today in America. Read the synopsis of Grossman’s life:
https://zagria.blogspot.com/2007/08/paula-grossman-1919-2003-music-teacher.html?msclkid=b3da3562b93111ec9d01e2f68b1c7711#.YlN8PpHMK01
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:12 pm@steveg I have 3 concerns about nuclear power. 1. We haven’t figured out how to deal with nuclear waste. 2. Because of corruption, there will be a tendency to put plants in places not appropriate to them, which for most things doesn’t overly concern me, but a nuclear plant in a seismically unstable area, frex, is a very very bad idea. 3. We tend to extend approval to nuclear plants long past their original period of safe usage (also probably a corruption issue).
Nic (896fdf) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:14 pm@Nic Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
As for the waste, I’m fine with storing it in Yucca Mountain. All the Nevada NIMBYs can kiss my ass.
norcal (68b459) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:21 pmJim Miller -178
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:23 pmhttps://www.commentary.org/articles/thomas-sowell-2/affirmative-action-a-worldwide-disaster/
In his book “White Liberals and Black Rednecks” reveals his thoughts as his son walks across the stage to receive his college diploma.
A great book.
Kevin M -180
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:35 pmhttps://www.newsmax.com/Health/christineflowers/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-affirmative-action/2022/02/02/id/1055213/
Sigh! The solution does not lie in generators and batteries. It lies in “birth-affirming care” and contraceptives. A simple lottery, whereby only one registered couple out of ten is allowed to birth only one baby will, in one hundred years, have us with more energy than we could possibly use, cleaner air than we have had in 200 years, and if Larry Niven is to be believed a generation of children with the good luck gene.
Of course, we will need a World Government and an international baby police, but we could put Angela Merkel in charge of organizing those. Piece of cake.
nk (1d9030) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:37 pmwhat is a woman? 81 million have no clue.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 6:58 pmThe only principled argument against affirmative action is that it is resented by too many of the non-beneficiaries and thereby creates more social disaffection than it assuages. “For your hardness of hearts.”
As a matter of fairness, it is no more a thumb on the scale than the affirmative action you took to find parents who wanted a child.
nk (1d9030) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:04 pmhttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-08/proposed-bill-could-make-california-the-first-state-to-implement-a-4-day-workweek
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:06 pmdoes this come with a 4 finger lid?
#194 nic – May I recommend a book to you? Apocalypse Never by Michael Shellenberger.
Perhaps the most startling part of the book is chapter 10, in which he argues that opposition to nuclear power has been partly funded by wealthy people — with financial interests in fossil fuels. He names names, many of which you would recognize.
(By the way, if Patterico and company would like a guest post summarizing the arguments in this very important book, I’d be glad to do one, though it would be about ten days from now before I could get to it.)
Jim Miller (406a93) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:08 pmwhat is a woman? 81 million have no clue.
Well, why don’t you tell us, mg? Is it a trade secret or something?
nk (1d9030) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:12 pm“I’d be find with abandoning wind as a major power source.”
Interestingly the EU is pushing for more offshore wind and teaming it with electrolyzers to produce hydrogen that is then piped ashore. The clean burning hydrogen can then be made into electricity via fuel cells (or stored and used in vehicles). Lots of wind offshore and the cost of wind is actually pretty cheap. Electrolyzers are expensive. We’ll see if the economies of scale take off and make a hydrogen economy affordable.
As to wind itself, it’s location location location….and sometimes the best sites aren’t the most convenient sites. So expansion of the grid goes hand in hand. I see it topping out at around 20% of U.S. generation. It does pose a significant challenge for utilities who must deal with the sudden drop of many MW’s of power. But I don’t see it going away because the cost is just too good.
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:26 pm@Jim@194 Thanks for the rec, I’ll try to take a look at it this summer when I have brain for reading more complicated things. And hopefully I’ll be off my Carolingian kick by then :P.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:32 pmNic-
“MSRs also generate less high-level waste, and their design does not require solid fuel, eliminating the need for building and disposing of it. These reactors can adapt to a variety of nuclear fuel cycles (such as Uranium-Plutonium and Thorium-Uranium cycles), which allow for the extension of fuel resources. They can also be designed as nuclear waste “burners” or breeders.”
steveg (e81d76) — 4/10/2022 @ 7:40 pmA non prostate owner, nk.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:10 pm@203. Let’s ask Professor Higgins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcpwuK1Fmx4
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:10 pm@197: He’s not against Affirmative Action because it discriminates (and it does), he’s against it because too many white people think that’s the only way black folks can make it. He’s against feeding their racism.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:22 pm@201:
So, they are going to run everyone’s business and give all the employees a shorter work week. That’s just plum generous of them. Don’t anyone tell them what hourly workers will think of this as they get their hours cut back. I guess they figure they’ll all get overtime. Some will, some won’t. Guess that Walmart will be hiring.
It also prohibits cutting pay to salaried workers to compensate. But after a number of boneheaded court decision in CA (e.g. banning comp time), not one salaried worker has a set number of hours to work, nor is there any overtime. So the 32-hour workweek is just a fantasy for them anyway.
In the end, it just means that all government employees get an extra day off at public expense. Not counting staff lawyers, cops and such.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:34 pmSpeaking of boneheaded government orders:
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:36 pmEighth Circuit Rules Eviction Moratoria are Likely to be Takings Requiring Compensation Under the Fifth Amendment
From the ruling:
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:41 pmtesting
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 10:32 pmMore voter fraud found! Two republicans were caught voting multiple times at the utah state convention.
asset (e20595) — 4/11/2022 @ 12:32 amAre you David French?
mg (8cbc69) — 4/11/2022 @ 3:26 amAccordingly, we are not supposed to call groomers “groomers” anymore because people draw the right conclusions when we do, and that certainly will not do.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/11/2022 @ 3:29 amThat you’re not letting your still get hot enough?
nk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:08 amIt honestly disappoints me, mg, that you are picking up the fund-raising scams of a couple of lowlifes like MTG and Hawley, who do not even believe it themselves, they’re just posturing for their fringes, hoping they’ll get a few bucks (and MTG also votes) out of it.
nk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 7:24 amKevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 3:09 pm
I think it’s the US Attorney in Delaware.
It seems like, back in 2010, Hunter (or someone) paid some bills for Joe, (or were they someone else’s bills really?) and was reimbursed by the proceeds of a tax refund check from the state of Delaware, all without running this by Joe.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/09/hunter-biden-frequently-covered-family-expenses-texts-reveal
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/11/2022 @ 7:56 am2010? What happened to the statue of libertations? I like the “Gulnora” story, though.
nk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 8:09 amhttps://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/04/10/socialised-medicine-life-prolonging-drug-deemed-too-expensive-for-nhs-breast-cancer-patients/
The joys of socialist medicine. Death panels.
NJRob (1249b4) — 4/11/2022 @ 8:50 amTrouble in Teh Windbag City?
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/editorials/ct-editorial-michigan-avenue-crime-crisis-20220406-wmeo7tsrrrbhfhci7bjhcvbhuq-story.html
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/11/2022 @ 9:12 amI think it’s the US Attorney in Delaware.
Federal crimes need to be charged where they occur, and I think that Hunter failed to register as a foreign lobbyist in DC.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/11/2022 @ 10:14 amI think a lot of federal crimes are not particular and failing to register as a foreign agent doesn’t really have a geographical locus. The investigation started in Delaware because that’s where the laptop was left.
The laptop was actually one of three Hunter brought in and all probably had the mostly the same files Apparently, Hunter was synching them to his iCloud account.
One computer was ruined beyond recovery.
A second computer only needed a keyboard. The computer repairman lent him a keyboard, and Hunter later should have returned it (or paid for it)
The third one was broken but by making the drive a slave drive the repairman could recover the data files. (Hunter wouldn’t really need to recover the operating system, if he was putting the files on another computer.
The repairan copied all the files to his server and then copied them to another drive. It might be Hunter brought that one in. I remember he visited the repair shop twice but server picked up his files.
After several months the files passed into the possession of the repairman, and the repairman looked at them. He has limited vision but was afraid some of the pictures could be illegal.
He contacted Congress and the FBI and eventually the FBI subpoeaned the drive. They didn’t even understnd how to read them.
Still later he contacted Giuliani. He still had all the files on his recovery server.
Hunt might have left drives or laptops behind other times but I am not sure what those people who say he abandoned three laptops are talking about.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/11/2022 @ 10:56 amAmendment VI:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/11/2022 @ 11:52 amCalifornia public school enrollment spirals, dropping by 110,000 students this year
Where did they go? The article doesn’t say.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/11/2022 @ 12:00 pm8. SF:
Alabama passed a law declaring this illegal (and imposing a 10-year sentence)
What they can’t just take away their medical license/
But the proponents are not taking this quietly.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/us/alabama-transgender-youth-bill.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/us/alabama-transgender-law-ivey.html
The propoents have been
boring from within” for along time.
Johns Hopkins was the first to do a lot of this sex change surgery, but they stopped, because it wasn’t making the people feel better later.
But the proponents hold that the feeling a person is the wrong sex is natural, and if there is more of it than there was before it’s only because children and others are no longer afraid to express their true feelings like they were years ago and that not doing these medical interventions could cause suicide, and that and that the treatment has too be done before puberty if it is to achieve its purposes.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:01 pmDonald Trump now says he wants Republicans to investigate collusion between the Democrats..
..and the teachers’ unions.
There’s a real issue here:
https://thefederalist.com/2022/03/30/report-biden-administration-stifled-congressional-investigation-into-cdc-and-teachers-union-collusion
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:05 pmSo where did all the so-called edumacated then-young but now likely middle aged Iowans go?
https://www.thegazette.com/campaigns-elections/iowas-conservative-political-swing-makes-obamas-wins-harder-to-repeat-for-deidre-dejear/
urbanleftbehind (8a8c7a) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:15 pmKevin M (38e250) — 4/10/2022 @ 8:34 pm
. This is usually talked about in conjunction with a 40-hour workweek. Four 10 hour days. But here they start overtime at 32 hours.
Does not apply to employers with less than 500 people on the payroll or to unionized employees with contracts. So this sounds like it is designed to help labor unions.
LA Times:
This means that at the moment it goes into effect the employer cannot change the method of calculating pay so that the same pay is achieved for 40 hours. Of course this would lead to a slightly reduced number of hours per employee at first, and later, especially with inflation, 40 hours would pay about the same as under the previous system..
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:15 pmhttps://www.newser.com/story/319203/usps-suspends-deliveries-in-neighborhood-after-attacks.html
Why limit this to the Post Office?
Maybe OSHA should declare it a violation to employ anyone in area with too many recent assaults or murders and make it a felony to conspire to use the mail or electronic communication to report a too low crime rate. That would light a fire under the states to get their crime rate down. We wouldn;t get window dressing.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/08/adams-warns-more-to-be-done-on-bail-reform-after-budget-deal
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:22 pmhttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/03/28/opinion/coronavirus-mutation-future.html
There are 201 amino acids in the spike protein (out of some 4,000 on the virus)
15 of them are mutated in Omicron. I don’t know what percentage of antibodies the vaccine causes the body to make it would render useless (I think each antibody covers a number of amino acids) an they all must be there.
The degree of ineffectiveness is not the same for every person since every person makes a multiplicity of antibodies and makes different ones than other people.
They stupidly keep on using the same vaccine and refuse to make it wasy to apppprove amore targeted vaccine.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:29 pmnk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 8:09 am
The statute of limitations does not apply to newspaper stories, and then maybe it is indicative of what happened later – and then there’s RICO.
From the New York Post story: (I guess Hunter just kept copying his files)
What’s going on here?
Was this guy, Eric Schwerin, also a business partner of Hunter Bideen, managing Joe Biden’s finances?
I think the account where money came from to pay Gulnora the escort in 2018 didn’t come from a joint account, but from an account that covered overdrafts. Hunter may have had no direct signing powers on that account.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:44 pmRelated:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/11/2022 @ 1:56 pmYou are not the child’s parent and have an obligation not to harm said child. Your claims speak otherwise.
NJRob (1249b4) — 4/11/2022 @ 2:23 pmMeanwhile, ion New Jersey:
https://nj.gov/education/students/safety/sandp/transgender
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/11/2022 @ 2:41 pmMatt Labash wonders aloud in a short read about the hellish possibilty of a Biden Trump rematch
https://mattlabash.substack.com/p/groundhog-day?s=w
steveg (e81d76) — 4/11/2022 @ 2:59 pmLabash’s coverage of Detroit and Flint local politics is worth a read if you are ever in the mood to have a somewhat guilty laugh at a trainwreck
steveg (e81d76) — 4/11/2022 @ 3:01 pmSo, Russia is looking for regime change in America. Fine, two can play that game but the way they play the Game of Thrones in Russia might require less subtle methods.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/11/2022 @ 3:28 pm‘Chemical weapon’ horror as Putin drops ‘poisonous substance’ on city – ‘People suffering’
Reports are coming in that Russia has used chemical weapons in Mariupol. Particularly on the Azov battalion, whom the Russians point to as Nazis.
The Russians deny it, of course.
Both sides might be lying, and this is a British taloid.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/11/2022 @ 3:35 pm@NJRob@236 My job is to make sure that one student isn’t bullied by another student just because their physicality doesn’t match their mentality at the moment. That is my obligation not to harm the child. My job is not to shame an 8 year old because they feel differently than most of the other students. That is my obligation not to harm the child. My job is not to tell a student that what they are feeling isn’t what they are feeling. That is my obligation not to harm the child. My job is NOT to tell a student that what they are icky or gross or weird or mentally ill or the devil is talking to them, or that they are possessed by demons. Because that is harm to a child.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/11/2022 @ 4:33 pmExcellent response to Rob’s misfortunate and frequently over-the-top alarmism, Nic.
norcal (68b459) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:03 pm235. Evgeny Popov. Is he like the Russian Tucker Carlson? What happened to Ivan Nastikoff?
The thing is, the Russians don’t have to actually interfere in our elections. All they have to do is get the media talking about interference and 40% of the electorate will believe it, the New York Times will publish another op-ed by Putin, and the Washington will run “Democracy Dies In Darkness” on its banner.
nk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:14 pmWashington *Post*
nk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:16 pmLouisiana pastor who taped children’s mouths defends action, says students bullied teacher
A Louisiana pastor, “Survivor” contestant and Republican politician was arrested last week and charged with three counts of cruelty to juveniles after taping children’s mounts shut for talking too much in class. He defended his actions Monday.
The Rev. John Raymond, founder and headmaster of Slidell’s Lakeside Christian Academy, issued a 1,100-word statement on the school’s website blaming the students for bullying a teacher and insisting none of the children was harmed.
……….
Raymond said he gave five children a choice of having their mouths closed with Scotch brand packing tape or school suspensions. He said all five volunteered to have their mouths taped shut.
He said the tape didn’t impede their breathing and wasn’t wrapped all the way around their heads as was reported last week.
“The students all chose tape and I pulled off one piece at a time and carefully placed it over their mouths making sure that it did not touch their nose or interfere with their breathing,” he said. “At no time was tape wrapped around any student’s head.”
……..
Raymond conceded that the principal of the school disapproved.
“The principal said, ‘You put tape over their mouths?’ I said, ‘Yes, that’s the choice they made instead of calling their parents and being suspended.’ And she said, ‘I’m not very comfortable with that.’ And I said, ‘Well they’re not in pain, so let them sit it out for about ten minutes to learn their lesson.’ She said, ‘How about two minutes?’ I said, ‘That’s fine with me.'”
Raymond said the tape was on the children’s mouths for not more than 10 minutes before he and the principal “gently” removed it.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:18 pm……..
Raymond, 60, was booked into the Slidell City Jail on Thursday after he turned himself in to police.
……..
Trump thought he was endorsing the Wizard of Oz.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:23 pm“I think that President Trump very, very seldom does anything that’s not thought out and doesn’t have a very reasoned and logical basis, but, for whatever reason, in this particular instance, he chose to ignore all of that and endorse Oz,” he said.
Comedy gold!
norcal (68b459) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:42 pmIt was the “Genghis”. Oz’s middle name is Genghis in English spelling.
nk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:47 pm@nk@243 Thank you. Reading between the lines, I think Rob honestly believes that people will be saved if they live by the morality of his specific religious denomination and that anything outside of those specific beliefs will d@mm people to hell and so forcing people into his morality is best for them, no matter how painful that force is to the person because it would be less painful than he!!. When I was a teenager I had a couple of friends who had been raised in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, which had a similar viewpoint, and my lasting impressing is that they lived in a world of fear and distrust and anger, which must have been terrible.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/11/2022 @ 5:58 pmI am honored that you confused me with nk, Nic. 😉
norcal (68b459) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:06 pmA little OT:
I used to be under the impression that “first base” meant holding hands.
It was only recently that I discovered I’ve been playing Mormon baseball all these years!
norcal (68b459) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:14 pm@norcal@251 and @nk-somewhere-in-the-netiverse Oops, sorry.
@norcal@252 :P. Oh dear. I assume that third was bra related?
Nic (896fdf) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:25 pmBoth of you forget that children are just that. And neither of you are their parent. Time to grow up.
Grooming is evil. Encouraging children to lose their innocence so you can manipulate them is evil.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:29 pmNic,
your bigotry towards Christians is noted. I expected no less.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:31 pm@Nic I’ll let you know if I ever make it past second base. 😁
norcal (68b459) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:31 pmHere is what my wise-ass buddy had to say, Nic:
“The worst is when you believe you just hit a homer but the umpire says it was a ground-rule double and you have to return to second base.”
norcal (68b459) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:32 pmRob, you need to lighten up. Not everything is a diabolical plot to ruin the world.
norcal (68b459) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:35 pm@NJRob@254 Is telling a child that people whose physicality and mentality exist grooming? Is saying that some households have both a mom and a dad grooming? Is that encouraging a child to lose their innocence? Should we just call all children xie and xem and just talk about how they live with their guardian(s) in their families?
Nic (896fdf) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:48 pm@NJRob@255 Have you perhaps thought a little about how I would have known and been a friend of a Charismatic Catholic person? Am I a Christian under your definition?
@Norcal@256 Fair.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/11/2022 @ 6:54 pmChildhood sex education, as early as possible, is the antidote to grooming. The sooner that children understand that the “game” the Right Reverend Dr. Prediger and Mrs. Sonntagsschullehrer want to play with them is not really a game, the safer they will be. The groomers are really the ones who want to keep them ignorant.
Present company excepted, and I’m sorry that mg and NJRob have bought into the real pro-pedophile propaganda peddled by lowlifes who are not fit to clean their toilets.
nk (1d9030) — 4/11/2022 @ 8:39 pmThe thing is, the Russians don’t have to actually interfere in our elections.
nk is right. Not only that but Russian attempts to interfere are as eyewash compared to the major media’s attempts to interfere. One well-placed story about a candidate’s possible indiscretions (McCain) or spiking a story about anothers’ (Edwards) and far more votes are moved from one side or the other than a whole Commune of Russian trolls could manage.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 12:02 amWhether they’ve bought in (i.e., actually believe it) or not I don’t know. Regardless, accusing teachers of grooming because you object to their curriculum, but have zero evidence they intend to sexually victimize their students is scurrilous and contemptible.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 4/12/2022 @ 12:49 amSpeaking of a lowlife toilet cleaner, nk, you are hired.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/12/2022 @ 2:49 amI would flush that, lurker.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/12/2022 @ 2:50 amMy daughter who has been teacher of the year 2 of the last 3 years at her school will be hanging it up as the curriculum these groomers are making her teach makes her want to puke. The NEA needs to be abolished.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/12/2022 @ 2:54 amMy daughter is no fluke she was nominated for women of the year in a major U.S. city.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/12/2022 @ 2:56 amSo bugger off, groomers.
And my antibodies have increased by 100 points now over 600. So you vaxxers can kiss my azz.
mg (8cbc69) — 4/12/2022 @ 3:30 amKeep doubling down. That’ll work.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 4/12/2022 @ 3:37 amBoth sides have arguments here. Teachers need to understand childhood psychology but understand that they are not trained psychologists or social workers. There should always be a strong deference to parents, especially on something like sexual identity. I agree that teachers should protect vulnerable students and support those that are being bullied. Also, not everyone has a great support system back home. Teachers are often in tough positions and more parents need to step up.
There’s also some truth to providing kids with some tools to avoid abuse, especially these days when social media is so pernicious and the internet so garbagey. The questions are always how much and at what age. The answer is that parents need to be involved and monitoring. The worst case is also used to try and throw out everything. We need calm discussion and not hectoring ninnies.
AJ_Liberty (3cb02f) — 4/12/2022 @ 4:43 amThe Catholic Church had a horrific scandal due to their cover up of countless child abuse cases. There are a magnatude more cases in public schools but too many here defer to protecting the union members instead of the kids.
NJRob (3b6637) — 4/12/2022 @ 6:10 amhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/us-inflation-consumer-price-index-march-2022-11649725215?mod=djemalertNEWS
So worth it, right?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/12/2022 @ 6:58 amhttps://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/pushback-nj-gym-owners-who-refused-to-obey-covid-edicts-regain-business-license/
A truly amazing story. These victories are too few, but necessary to see that truth can win over government propaganda and corrupt dictats.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/12/2022 @ 7:00 amClimate “Scientist” (ahem) and Creator of the “Hockey Stick” Hoax Takes to Twitter to Shriek About Marriott Hotels Having FoxNews Playing on the Fitness Center TV
Michael Mann is at it again. Trying to silence those who aren’t of the radical left. Remember that next time someone tries to push his “science.”
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/12/2022 @ 7:07 am241. Kevin M (38e250) — 4/11/2022 @ 3:35 pm
We’ll know soon enough.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61077641
Just three?
It might come from the target: A metals plant.
What I’m bothered about with the Ukrainian side is the constant reference to “children”
There’s hardly any place where there would be only, or almost entirely, children. Schools are closed.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/12/2022 @ 8:26 am“So worth it, right?”
The inflation would have happened no matter who was President….it’s world wide….and it’s an artifact of Covid shutdowns. If you would prefer less inflation at the cost of more Covid deaths, just say that. But the inflation is world-wide and built into the supply chain snarl….so could we have even avoided it? I suppose the hyper-partisan would always say “yes!”
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/12/2022 @ 8:39 amAnd Putin smiled:
Trump too. Smiled, I mean.
nk (1d9030) — 4/12/2022 @ 9:26 amTeachers are often in tough positions and more parents need to step up.
In some places (e.g. San Francisco) parents are in a tough bind as well. The state may look at one’s resistance to “gender affirming therapy” as “child abuse.” So, when a teacher reports what she feels are signs of gender dysphoria to a parent (and possibly in the student’s file). parents may freak upon getting this kind of report, especially if they child’s teacher (or school admin) is prone to seeing these “signs” fairly often.
In places where there is a perception of a school being disposed to see gender dysphoria, much as they once saw hyperactivity, parents may project worry on a system that has not acted yet. Teachers may get caught in the middle, just as they are in other matters where ideologues are attempting to create “better” little people, but that does not make the parents wrong.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:17 am@277:
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:19 amThe worst case is also used to try and throw out everything
Yes, and it’s not unique to the Right. Like using “Coven Schools” as an argument against vouchers.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:21 amSo worth it, right?
Just because Biden and the MSM want to blame inflation (which started rather earlier) on Putin and the Ukraine war response, does not make it true. Biden wants to claim that his programs would be working if not for that damn Putin, and he doesn’t care if you argue for or against the war, so long as you accept this premise.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:25 amThe inflation would have happened no matter who was President….it’s world wide….and it’s an artifact of Covid shutdowns
More accurately, it is an “artifact” of printing-press money, replacing productive work with government dole as a source of income. I hope that the blinders come off as we look at this in rear-view, and we can see what the economic and health outcomes were in those US states with heavy lockdowns versus those without. I expect though, that both sides will put thumbs on the scales.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:49 amhttps://nypost.com/2022/04/11/ny-handled-covid-19-lockdown-poorly-florida-among-best-study/
Kevin,
here’s a link to a study that shows how government control, shutdowns, idleness contributed to failure and misery. Not sure you’ll like it though as it is tough on the COVID controls implemented by leftist regimes.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:55 amIf you would prefer less inflation at the cost of more Covid deaths, just say that.
Suppose it turns out that lockdowns didn’t help much. For example, New York and Florida had the same fatality rate with much different responses. New Mexico, where I live, had a full-on lockdown, strong vaccination program and maximal COVID response, yet had a 15% higher death rate than Florida.
Economic downturns (and I cannot tell you enough about the small business destruction the lockdowns caused) kill, too. People lose houses, jobs, financial security, hopes and dreams. That is not without cost, but the COVID-focused stats don’t really count those.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:01 am“school being disposed to see gender dysphoria”
I’m not sure what the reality is but schools and teachers should not be in this business (it’s even presumptuous for medical staff to be taking liberties with abortion and contraceptive counseling IMO). Gender dysphoria is exceedingly rare (if what I’ve read is true). An accurate assessment will take a long time and that process has to include the parents…and should be deemed unethical without immediate and close consultation. Parents of K-12 students have to take the action….like those voters that booted out the SF-area school board. Administrations and health staff taking liberties has to be unacceptable to those parents. Us wringing our hands isn’t especially useful.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:01 amNJRob,
I have seen that, but it’s really how you weight the various statistics to get your final “rating.” Florida had twice the death rate of California, for example.
“Studies” are often cooked. I’ve seen studies that claim that California is retiree-friendly, but when you look more carefully, it’s only friendly if you can avail yourself of myriad low-income programs. It’s pretty hostile to retirees who have been responsible, at least until you get to those who would be doing well in any regime.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:06 am“Economic downturns (and I cannot tell you enough about the small business destruction the lockdowns caused) kill, too. People lose houses, jobs, financial security, hopes and dreams. That is not without cost, but the COVID-focused stats don’t really count those.”
There were certainly costs…horrible costs, but does that mean that there should never be a public response to a pandemic…that in some cases was overwhelming medical resources….because businesses might suffer? A pandemic that was evolving that we simply did not know how it would shake out. How many lives would it have been worth gambling to keep your favorite NM burger joint open? Someone has to make the decision real time without the hindsight of twelve months. You seem to be making a 180 degree turn on what was proper public policy…though I’m not sure why.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:16 amThe Taliban Promised Them Amnesty. Then They Executed Them. (NY Times)
But Biden said this would not happen.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:23 am“here’s a link to a study that shows how government control, shutdowns, idleness contributed to failure and misery. Not sure you’ll like it though as it is tough on the COVID controls implemented by leftist regimes.”
lol
Florida is ranked 17th. California is 38th
Davethulhu (da4805) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:24 amhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/1109011/coronavirus-covid19-death-rates-us-by-state/
AJ,
Well we can look now. Was DeSantis wrong? More people died there (per capita) than in California, but on par with New York and less than New Mexico, all of which had far more stringent rules than Florida did. It’s not that there should be NO response, but the response should not be overkill either and in some places it was.
My anecdotal experience:
I was ordered O.R.D.E.R.E.D. by the state of California to close the world-wide office of an NGO (serving 24 countries on 4 continents) that I was the portfolio Trustee of. This lasted about 2 months, during which it was ILLEGAL for any employee to enter the office to even pick up mail. This NGO saves lives and for those 2 months it had to rely on local activities, which were often themselves shut down. I have no doubt that this cost lives that could have been saved.
Now, I am not arguing that COVID and the response were ignorable, because two of my frinds died in April 2020 of COVID contracted in mid-March, before there was any real response. But there needs to be more than a bureaucratic knee-jerk.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:33 am‘thulhu, I agree about the study being cooked, but California’s success may be more that they have excellent hospitals and lots of them, more than the lockdowns. Many factors. New York, New Jersey and New Mexico all had strong responses and all did worse than Florida (which also has lots of hospitals), not to mention good organization and care for the elderly.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:40 amI remember December 2020, when the governor of New Mexico issued a decree that no store could have more than 75 people inside, including staff. Daytime temperatures in New Mexico in the winter are often below freezing, plus wind chill.
So, while small stores could have customers (many of them were closed since they weren’t on the “critical” list), the grocery stores and Walmart/Target/Costco all had long lines to get in. Clear around 3 LONG sides of my local Walmart. You could have 75 people in a Walmart and not have any one of them see another; it was way stupid.
The danger of an elderly person catching pneumonia from standing in subfreezing weather for several hours to buy presents for grandkids they weren’t going to be able to even see, was possiblly higher than any COVID danger.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:49 amNew York and New Jersey’s death totals are heavily frontloaded. Part of it was bad response, but a another part was that it was new and nobody knew how to deal with it.
Davethulhu (da4805) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:49 amhttps://legalinsurrection.com/2022/03/appeals-court-upholds-gibsons-bakery-massive-verdict-against-oberlin-college/
Small blessings. At least the courts have had common sense… so far.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/12/2022 @ 11:55 am@290, I agree that there was some virtue signaling about who can do the most restrictions and many rules simply didn’t make a lot of sense. Unfortunately in CA, you can’t exactly vote them out either, so it’s the worst of cases. But like Massachusetts….you should know what you are in store for. California is a beautiful place with beautiful weather….but its politics are messed up. Of course that’s what local control is all about…it gets kept local. Hopefully health professionals have a lot of data to pour over and learn. There was no way to subsidize all of those businesses who were put on hold, but they really did take one for the team. A lot of lives were disrupted. I can understand why people are on edge generally.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/12/2022 @ 1:21 pmRIP Gilbert Gottfried (67).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/12/2022 @ 1:25 pm@296. Lest you- or Chris Rock & Will Smith- forget:
Gilbert Gottfried Fired As Aflac Duck After Japanese Tsunami Tweets – Mar. 14, 2011
With some wildly inappropriate tweets, the quack has been silenced. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried sent out a slate of offensive twitter missives about the tragic Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and instead of drawing laughs, it cost him his job. The longtime voice of the iconic Aflac Duck, Gottfried was fired by the insurance company on Monday.
“Gilbert’s recent comments about the crisis in Japan were lacking in humor and certainly do not represent the thoughts and feelings of anyone at Aflac,” the company, which does 75% of its business in Japan, said in a statement. “There is no place for anything but compassion and concern during these difficult times.” Gottfried’s tweets certainly didn’t show compassion. Buzzfeed compiled screen captures of the tweets, which were later deleted from the comedian’s feed. Amongst the worst:
“I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say, “They’ll be another one floating by any minute now.”
“I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent. I said ‘is there a school in this area.’ She said ‘not now, but just wait.'” – huffpo.com
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/12/2022 @ 2:35 pmPerhaps, I’m cynical, but I think that those who remained employed, or had regular income like Social Security [raises hand], are far more sanguine about the lockdowns than those who lost jobs, relationships, businesses and homes during the worst of it.
Even those who were kept from the street by eviction and foreclosure moratoria are now facing huge bills that they cannot pay. Some (particularly older) workers lost long-held jobs and are having real difficulty finding anything comparable. Looking for work after 50 is no easy task. After 60, it’s almost impossible.
The wind might have stopped blowing, but there is still lots of damage everywhere.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 2:58 pmOn the Postal Service and Santa Monica:
I see Santa Monicans in the “zone” are complaining about the Postal Service lack of service at the Post Office where they have to go to get their mail.
Since most encampments seem to have at least one person who specializes in mail theft, they may actually get more mail than before, but the downside is the wait and probably the gross incompetence.
I’ve been under evacuation order several times and of course there is no mail service and no one sane complains about that. I have a PO Box as well and that area was under long evacuation order as well.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/12/2022 @ 3:47 pmSo off to the Main Post Office in town. Stand in long very very slow line. Then ALL the Post Office employees take lunch at noon, no split shift, so if you are still in line, the line does not move at all for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. 4PM arrives and too bad if you are next in line, the window closes and it is again first come first served in the AM.
Eventually I get to a window and now I learn why so slow.
I give the woman both addresses and she tells me she can only do one at a time. OK. I give her the PO BOX because that is where I get monthly invoices and also checks from people.
The woman disappears, comes back after 20 minutes. Yay!. Nope she is insisting there is no such PO Box number at that branch. Um, I’ve had that box for nearly 40 years so…. She takes off for another 20. Comes back with a Supervisor who checks the number again. Great. Here we go. I get my mail about 10 minutes later. Yay!.
So I remind her I need the mail from my street address. But it is break time! 20 minutes she comes back and needs my street address again. People behind me are getting loud and the security guard starts yapping about Federal crime to verbally abusing a Postal Employee, I’m not saying a word so… then everyone starts verbally abusing him instead. I finally get my mail. It took nearly all day. I came back the following week and some of the home address evacuation had been lifted in the meantime so the line was shorter. It still was excruciatingly slow.
Funny thing is that a couple years later in 2020 these were some of the people who fell for the great “Trump is stealing all the mail dropboxes” hoax and they bought those little appreciation stickers to put on their own mailbox.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/12/2022 @ 3:51 pmsteve,
I know someone who lives in SM “north of Montana” and his mail service is terrible, too. If the millionaires cannot get decent service, what can the rest of us expect?
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 4:42 pmI take it we are talking about 90402?
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 4:44 pm@njRob@271. I notice you didn’t answer the question, leading me to believe that you do not, in fact, count the largest single denomination of Christians in the US as Christians, which really might mean that your statement to me really applies to you, don’t you think?
@AJliberty@285- Generally speaking, teachers don’t observe hints in how a student is acting and report to their parents that the kid is having gender identity or sexuality concerns. Just because a boy acts girlie doesn’t mean he’s trans or gay, some straight boys are just into girl stuff (and vice versa). There’s no need to traumatize them by making assumptions about their gender identity or sexuality.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/12/2022 @ 5:43 pmHistory rhymes: let’s see… a land war in Europe; dictators on the march; a crippled POTUS– and the most popular personality in American media is a woodened-headed dummy. Ukraine, Putin, Biden and Tucker Carlson in 2022? Howzabout 1939: Poland, Hitler, FDR— and Charlie McCarthy.
“Show me where Stalin is buried and I’ll show you a Communist Plot.” – Charlie McCarthy [Edgar Bergen]
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 4/12/2022 @ 7:35 pmmg
congratulations to you and your daughter.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/12/2022 @ 8:34 pmShe has principles and is unwilling to put them aside. May God bless her in her new assignment
Lt. Gov Brian Benjamin resigned about 5 pm. It’ll be much harder getting him off the ballot. It’s past te deadline for submitting signatures (he didn’t need signatures, by the way, being an official nominee at the convention) and the only way off is to be nominated as a judge (he can’t be, not being a lawyer) or move from the state (federal prosecutors won’t like that idea) A leftwinger is a primary challenger. Either way, Kathy Hochul (or someone who defeats er in the Democratic primary) could be stuck with a running mate they don’t want. And you can’t vote separately for Lt. Gov. in the general election.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:22 pmhttps://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1514029565622075405
Andy Ngo doing the legwork the rest of the media refuses to do. Digs through NYC terror suspect’s social media and finds exactly what you’d expect. Leftist indoctrination and black supremacism.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/13/2022 @ 4:46 amhttps://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/04/13/stratospheric-producer-price-index-inflation-hits-new-record-of-11-2-n462051
Thanks Biden voters. Hope it was worth it.
NJRob (6d2911) — 4/13/2022 @ 7:40 amSo the NYC subway cameras weren’t working… good thing the black mass shooter dropped all his stuff.
I once worked for a place that had cameras everywhere and had to coordinate with security to move one.
I just needed to move the pole it was on a couple feet but it would be down for the day.
He showed me his monitor… the only camera that worked was the one on the security staffs personal vehicles.
I’m thinking the camera outside the subway security break room probably works just fine.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/13/2022 @ 9:24 am#307
Note the hypocrisy of the Youtube, Facebook, Twitter.
The black mass shooter (alleged) has videos of himself spewing racial hatred and racist based death threats… although, to be fair, he does take equal time to berate a black man who stands up against the alleged black mass shooters racism by calling him a black monkey Mf’r.
It is a damned shame that all those white, Asian, Spanish speaking Mf’ers, black monk**”s systemically held this black man down until he broke down
Those videos are being deleted and accounts blocked now, but were apparently OK two days ago
steveg (e81d76) — 4/13/2022 @ 9:50 am282. Kevin M (38e250) — 4/12/2022 @ 10:49 am
That happened in 2020, but there was no inflation.
I don;t think widespread inflation is caused by too much money chasing a fixed supply of goods because the supply of goods and services is not fixed.
What happened was a drop in supply, but it was not caused by people working less in high income economies. It was caused by the fact that there was a limited supply of shipping containers – there was more than enough of them at first, but they kept on being taken from China and dropped off in Africa and did not come back because there was no return cargo.
This ws temporary, but on the scale of a few years.
If the inflation is left alone, it will take care of itself, as it did in 1945-8. Deliberately reducing demand will not cause prices to drop because of inventory control.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/13/2022 @ 10:31 am309.
It’s still not clear to me which cameras were not working. The ones at the 36th ST station or at many stations. The problem seems to have been with the feed. They are also reported to have been out of commission periodically.
There are no cameras aboard subway trains (except for the cellphones many people carry now) Cameras aimed at the platform and at the turnstyles would have revealed how the perpetrator left the system – was it at 36 St or at 25 St? and might have revealed some clues as to where he went. He could have walked one avenue block in either direction and taken a bus.
I must have missed how they found out about the U-Haul van with Arizona license plates that they were looking for yesterday and found. Maybe the key he left behind or the credit card used to rent it,. It was rented in Philadelphia and Frank R. James had addresses in Philadelphia and in Wisconsin.
Thwe van was found parked on Kings Highway between W 3rd St and W 4th (maybe someone phoned in or maybe it was spotted by helicopters or maybe both) Another version has it that it was parked the previous night on W 3rd St but the van crossed over the Verrazzano Narrows bridge from Staten Island at 4 am and was parked where it was found at 6 am.
The police radio that didn’t work, really probably worked. It’s just that police officers assigned to the street have to switch frequencies when they go underground. “User error” some sort of an official said..
In social media posts this man, who is 62 years old, complains about something that happened to him in 1982 when he lived in the Bronx and was in some job training program which he says he graduated from anyway. He doesn’t describe what exactly was the problem exceot we can gather he was picked upon. He wonders why he is still alive and wonders why he shouldn’t shoot people. There are a lot of curse words, especially mf. He complains about mental health treatment, and the homeless (which way I am not sure, as descriptions are vague and secondhand) and says something about Mayor Adams.
They were kind of awkward in describing him as black. One official said “a black gentleman” Another said he was “dark skinned.”
He appears to hate or maybe have disdain for white people (although it’s also been reported he was against blacks) and says seeing what white people are doing to each other in Ukraine, how can they be expected to treat black people. He expects a race war. It probably doesn’t make too much sense except he was angry at the world.
As of yesterday, they were not willing to say if he had a criminal record because he was still merely a “person of interest” And you did have the issue if whether the man who rented the van was the same man who fired the bullets. But at about 8:50 this morning, while former NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was being interviewed on WOR 710 he was told he was right – he was upgraded to suspect.
Bratton had said that with DNA and fingerprints they would probably connect him too the gun on the train. After 10 the station got an alert from New York City that he was now a suspect.
From Transit Police (1990) and NYC Police commissioner (1994-97? and 2014-2016?) Bill Bratton and former Correction commissioner (?) and Police Commissioner (1997-2001) Bernard Kerik expect to be found within a day or so. They used to catch people who escaped from Rikers Island.
But he might be trying to blend in as a homeless person without ID. Maybe in another state.
He got on at the Kings Highway station and got off at New Utrecht where there can be a free transfer to the D train and walked around and got back on the train. After 59 St (7 local stops from his iriginal boarding place) he tossed out two smoke grenades, put on a gas mask, took out his gun and began firing. All the people were locked in the second car with him. The train was an express that skipped 53 St. and 45 St and the doors opened up a 36 St.
His Glock gun jammed when it was holding his second magazine. A third full magazine was found in his backpack or whatever.
The toll stands at 10 shot ad 13 or 19 other injuries including someone who hand was mangled but they think that after several operations they will be able to save his thumb.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/13/2022 @ 11:18 amI think an explanation of why the gunman abandoned most of what he was carrying is that when his gun jammed, he had no defense against being tackled (although the other people on the train didn’t know that) His hatchet wasn’t enough.
And, combined with losing access to his U-Haul van, means he is not armed any more. He might have friends, though, although probably not someone who want to help him now.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/13/2022 @ 11:29 amU-Haul is based in Phoenix, Arizona and all U-Haul trucks and vans have Arizona license plates/ They didn’t know this at first.
This is pursuant to the International Registration Plan, which is a reciprocity agreement among states of the US, the District of Columbia and provinces of Canada for commercial vehicles.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/13/2022 @ 1:47 pmThe Brooklyn subway shooter suspect was arrested around round 2 p.m. in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood after police received a tip.
The crime was initially said to take place at 8:26am yesterday (in fact 8:30) but it more like 8:24 or 8:23 am Tuesday when it started.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/13/2022 @ 1:52 pmThe he gun used in the attack was purchased by Frank R. James in Ohio in 2011.
Prior to his arrest, his last known whereabouts had been at the entrance to the F train at the 7th Avenue station of the F train in Park Slope, Brooklyn, at 9:15 a.m. ET yesterday. This would be about 45 minutes after the crime. So maybe he jumped on a 5th Avenue bus and traveled some 15 short blocks and two long ones.. .(close to a mile) He could have walked.
He was apprehended without incident at St. Marks Place (8th St) and First Avenue in Manhattan. The F train would get you to first avenue and Houston (= zero) Street. Pronounced House-ton not who-ston
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/13/2022 @ 2:08 pmThe tip – or at least one of the tips – came from the shooter himself. He called Crime Stoppers several hours before.
https://nypost.com/2022/04/13/brooklyn-shooting-suspect-frank-james-in-police-custody
Maybe he thought someone else was phoning in a tip and said he’d be at a McDonald’s in order to get the police to go to someplace where he wouldn’t be. But that tied him to that neighborhood.
He may also have called police because he thought he could be identified and he didn’t want to gunned down.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/13/2022 @ 2:19 pmThe reason many bullets never hit anyone and so few people got badly hurt : The shooter was aiming for the lower body/ (or so it’s explained)
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/13/2022 @ 3:27 pmThe proportion of U.S. Covid cases that are the subvariant of Omicron (B.A.2) has now hit 85%
Official death toll from Covid in USA – now 987,000 – this is not a real number.
If you are nneezing, it’s probably pollen.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/13/2022 @ 3:29 pmNow it can be told: Frank R. James has an extensive criminal record in different states. In New York, from 1992 through 1998 – possession of burglary tools and some kind of unspecified sex offense.
Cameras were not working in 4 stations. Breakdowns and delays in repair are a frequent problem. It may have slowed down the investigation somewhat. The problem was with the feed – a server problem. They had worked on it the orevious day, and it was still not fixed.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/13/2022 @ 3:57 pmRight-wing terrorist: evil nutjob taking the orders of the Kochs.
Left-wing terrorist: Angry marginalized person with mental health issues.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/13/2022 @ 7:08 pmThat happened in 2020, but there was no inflation.
And it happened again in 2020, and in 2021 and in 2022…
Eventually it has an effect. Johnson and Nixon printed money like crazy to run the war in Vietnam without making people go without. Then inflation started up in the 70’s. It wasn’t really Carter’s fault except that he was unable to deal with it.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/13/2022 @ 7:10 pmThat was driven in large part by skyrocketing prices for oil-based products
Due to three effects: A market shortage caused by the administration telling oil producers they should look for other work, and a market shortage caused by political instability elsewhere, and suddenly increasing demand after two years of low prices due to Covid.
Kevin M (38e250) — 4/13/2022 @ 7:13 pmGood thing he never learned how to clear a click no bang malfunction.
steveg (e81d76) — 4/13/2022 @ 8:38 pmKevin M (38e250) — 4/13/2022 @ 7:10 pm
Then money can’t be the “cause.” It has to happen every time, all the time, fir it to be the cause.
The Great Inflation started in December 1966, when the Federal Reserve Board began to “fight” it. Carter intensified the fight against inflation and created a very high “misery index.”
The fallacy about printing money is that there is no limited supply of goods and services.
A great cause of inflation is riing interest rates. It got worse with time as they fought it mire and more. Orices also rose when oil prices rose.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/14/2022 @ 3:44 amFBI has their priorities. How quickly did the Waukesha murderer disappear from the news. And it was always the car that did the murders.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/14/2022 @ 7:02 amElon Musk has decided to try to buy Twitter, after all:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-offers-to-buy-rest-of-twitter-for-54-20-a-share-11649932296
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/14/2022 @ 8:36 amSubway shooter said online that the reason he didn’t kill people till now was that he didn’t want to go to jail.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/13/nyregion/frank-james-subway-shooting.html
I guess you could call him evil.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/14/2022 @ 8:40 am“FBI has their priorities. How quickly did the Waukesha murderer disappear from the news. And it was always the car that did the murders.”
Remember this shooting? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/us/portland-shooting-protest.html
Your boy Andy Ngo was all over it before the details were known. The perpetrator was arrested within a few days and it dropped out of the news. What important news about the Waukesha killer was “suppressed”. Most people don’t spend all their time picking at grievance scabs like you do.
Davethulhu (da3c71) — 4/14/2022 @ 8:55 amThe real news that nobody is talking about is how utterly incompetent the NY Police department was in handling the subway shooting. $5 billion budget and they failed every step of the way.
Davethulhu (da3c71) — 4/14/2022 @ 8:59 amDavethulhu (da3c71) — 4/14/2022 @ 8:59 am
How were they incompetent. The cameras in the train stations are operated by the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) which has a board controoled de facto by the Governor.
There was one policeman whi didn;t know that if he went down into the subway, he had to switch frequencies to continue from UHF to VHF ir VHF to UHF to continue to use his radio.
There is another thing.
Since July 22, 2005 packages and backpacks have been subject to search upon entering the subway. This doesn’t happen much but it does scare off foreign terrorists whose masterminds are outside the United States, especially if they want to do multiple attacks simultaneously.
That searching threat was known to be mostly a bluff, especially since the attacker entered the system at a station well out in the boondocks.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/14/2022 @ 9:41 amsteveg (e81d76) — 4/13/2022 @ 9:24 am
They really don’t need these cameras any more for capturing live action — what with the prevalence of cell phone cameras today, and security video in the street. The cameras are not inside the trans themselves, where the shooting occurred. They could have followed his path, though, but it still wasn’t much help to track im to when he nect entered the subway system, as they did. The trail went cold there, 45 minutes after the shooting. Maybw they also didn’t have coverage f=of the platform at the other station but still there was no telling where he went.
The perpetrator dropped a whole bunch of things and was identified by his connection to the U-Haul van – maybe with the key, and also with the credit card he left behind. (that credit card was used to rent the van in Philadelphia)
The problem was with the feed from the cameras – and it repeatedly broke down and wasn’t easy to fix.
Sammy Finkelman (bfe3de) — 4/14/2022 @ 9:52 am“How were they incompetent.”
1. Officer failed to freeze the trains when the shooter’s train arrived.
Davethulhu (da3c71) — 4/14/2022 @ 10:17 am2. Despite knowing exactly who the perpetrator was, police were unable to find him
3. Despite the perpetrator calling the police and telling them where he was, they were unable to find him
4. Perpetrator finally caught by some random dude who saw a picture on the news.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/washington-post-columnist-e2-80-98frightened-e2-80-99-by-prospect-of-elon-musk-buying-twitter/ar-AAWe5tZ
Anyone remember when this fraud used to pretend to be conservative? Pepperidge farm does.
NJRob (0f9ea2) — 4/14/2022 @ 11:03 amDavethulhu (da3c71) — 4/14/2022 @ 10:17 am
ZWell that train didn’t prceed. The conductor quickly closed the door on the R train. Which stayed stop at the next stop – 25 St.
It depends on who you want to prevent from escaping. The shoter escaped but without his weapons. He was trying to blend in. Took a bus part of the way to the next station he got in on another line.
ZDid they find the Boston marathon bombers quickly?
ZThey tracked him from the MCdonalds. Maybe they took too long to get there..
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 4/15/2022 @ 2:44 pm