Patterico's Pontifications

5/20/2022

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 12:47 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Republicans take the hit:

For the 2020 census, all states were not counted equally well for population numbers used to allocate political representation and federal funding over the next decade, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday.

A follow-up survey the bureau conducted to measure the national tally’s accuracy found significant net undercount rates in six states: Arkansas (5.04%), Florida (3.48%), Illinois (1.97%), Mississippi (4.11%), Tennessee (4.78%) and Texas (1.92%).

It also uncovered significant net overcount rates in eight states — Delaware (5.45%), Hawaii (6.79%), Massachusetts (2.24%), Minnesota (3.84%), New York (3.44%), Ohio (1.49%), Rhode Island (5.05%) and Utah (2.59%).

Still, the 2020 results stand in stark contrast to the findings from the bureau’s follow-up survey for the 2010 census, which had no statistically significant over- or undercounts for any state.

Second news item

Ukraine emergency aid package passed by Senate:

The Senate passed a $40 billion emergency aid package Thursday to buttress Ukraine with weapons and other military help as the Eastern European country fends off the Russian invasion.

The chamber’s 86-11 vote clears the legislation for President Joe Biden’s signature, just in time to keep the Pentagon from exhausting its power to send weapons to Ukraine from U.S. stockpiles. Top lawmakers in both parties insist the multibillion-dollar injection is just what Ukraine needs to bolster its defenses as Russia approaches its fourth month of conflict.

Third news item

Donors and local BLM chapters hardest hit:

Following the reveal of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s IRS tax documents, it’s now safe to say that there’s something questionable going on at the social justice nonprofit.

According to the group’s Form 990, first reported by Associated Press, BLM is worth nearly $42 million in net assets—after spending more than $37 million of the $90 million it previously had on high-end real estate, familiar consultants, ambitious grants, and more.

One of the more concerning situations revealed by the financial disclosures is the fact that co-founder Patrisse Cullors was the foundation board’s sole voting director, and held no board meetings, before stepping down last year. Under her leadership, Cullors authorized a six-figure payout to be given to her child’s father for various services, paid $1.8 million to companies owned by her relatives, and ensured that her brother, Paul Cullors, was one of the highest-paid employees of BLM.

This is yet another wave of bad news for Cullors, who has constantly denied financial impropriety, as she has previously tried to quell any growing concerns around her decision-making. These tax documents not only proved that Cullors lied about misusing some of the funds (such as hosting a birthday party for her son and throwing a private Biden inauguration celebration in the multimillion dollar property intended for activists and creators), but that she did so repeatedly.

Fourth news item

Yet another example of why parents nationwide are vexed at their schools and people who run them:

“I am going to give you an assignment given to my 15-year-old daughter at a local high school. This will be horrifying for me to read to you but that will give your perspective on how she must have felt when her teacher required her to memorize this and to act it out in front of her entire class,” said parent Kandra Evans at the meeting during public comment.

As Evans began to read a passage from her daughter’s assignment her mic was cut off by CCSD Trustee Evelyn Garcia Morales.

“This is a public meeting. I ask for decorum,” said Garcia Morales.

“If you don’t want me to read it to you, what was it like for my 15-year-old daughter to have to memorize pornographic material?,” Evans said.

According to a report in Newsweek, the parent was allowed her allotted time to complete her comments (without the profanity). Moreover, the outlet claims that “any suggestion that the material quoted in the meeting was part of the curriculum appears to be false and was instead created by students for the class.” (Did the teacher approve of it?) Regardless, the point remains that the student was required to read the assignment out loud to students and presumably the teacher as well, while the parent was not allowed to read the very same thing out loud to the *adults* in the room at the school board meeting because decorum. And if that’s an accurate account, then parents are right to be angry about the situation.

Fifth news item

Racism rears its ugly head in a noted private school:

The Roeper School is the oldest K through 12 school for gifted children in the country. But the school is facing a wave of controversy after students were given an assignment titled ‘an introduction to primates’ and former President Barack Obama’s photo was listed.

The assignment was passed out in the high school biology class earlier this month. The Birmingham private school prides itself on diversity and an alternative education, which costs up to $30,000 each year.

But this month, the curriculum passed out to students instructed students to pick from a gallery of photos labeled apes, monkeys, and lemurs. And there, in the second row, is former President Barack Obama.

FOX 2 obtained a photo of the school assignment from someone who was appalled at the racist messaging, which came from a teacher.

Sixth news item

Via Time123: 2000 Mules of malarkey (2000 Mules being the latest movie by Dinesh D’souza):

Read the whole thread.

Seventh news item

Who they have chosen to embrace says all you need to know about CPAC. P.S. Tucker Carlson was billed as special guest speaker…:

The Hungarian leader, Viktor Orbán, has told a conference of US conservatives that the path to power required having their own media outlets, calling for shows like Tucker Carlson’s to be broadcast “24/7”.

Orbán, recently elected to a fourth term, laid out a 12-point blueprint to achieving and consolidating power to a special meeting of the US Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), under the slogan of “God, Homeland, Family”, held in Budapest.

The Hungarian prime minister said that with his fourth electoral victory on 3 April, Hungary had been “completely healed” of “progressive dominance”. He suggested it was time for the right to join forces.

“We have to take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We must find allies in one another and coordinate the movements of our troops,” Orbán said.

He told Republicans…that media influence was one of the keys to success. In Hungary, the prime minister and his allies have effective control of most media outlets in Hungary, including state TV.

“Have your own media. It’s the only way to point out the insanity of the progressive left,” he said. “The problem is that the western media is adjusted to the leftist viewpoint. Those who taught reporters in universities already had progressive leftist principles.”

He portrayed the US media as being dominated by Democrats, who he claimed were being “served” by CNN, the New York Times and others.

“Of course, the GOP has its media allies but they can’t compete with the mainstream liberal media. My friend, Tucker Carlson is the only one who puts himself out there,” he said. “His show is the most popular. What does it mean? It means programs like his should be broadcasted day and night. Or as you say 24/7.”

Eighth news item

Russia hits back at Finland, which already has plans ensuring that they will be okay despite Russia’s move:

Russia will cut natural gas supplies to Finland on Saturday, according to Finland’s state energy provider, the latest salvo in a growing confrontation between the two countries over the war in Ukraine.

Finland this week applied to join NATO, reversing a longstanding policy of military neutrality and angering Russia, which sees the eastward expansion of the alliance as a threat to its national security. Moscow had previously threatened “retaliation” if Finland joined NATO. The two countries share an 830-mile border.

The ostensible reason for the halt in Russian gas exports, though, was a dispute over payments that had been rumbling for weeks.

Gasum, the Finnish energy provider, said on Friday that Russia was suspending the supply of natural gas to Finland starting at 7 a.m. the next morning because the country had failed to comply with Moscow’s demand to make payments in rubles. The move comes just days after Moscow also suspended electricity exports to Finland, citing payment issues.

Ninth news item

Progressive prosecutor comes out in support of efforts to recall city district attorney:

Brooke Jenkins supports diversion programs for low-level crimes…as well as programs to shorten excessive sentences and free the wrongfully convicted. A Black and Latina woman, she deplores what mass incarceration has done to communities of color. She said that she appreciated how compassionate and reform-focused San Francisco was as a city. Thus, she said, she looked forward to working with Boudin when he came into office.

Yet, working on murder cases for him, she said, she came to question whether he was the right person for the job. He had decided what not to do and where to pull back, she said. But he had not figured out how to fight the crime the city was facing. “Chesa has refused to switch hats,” she told me. “He maintains the outlook or the mindset of a public defender. His view is that crime is just a part of life, something that we all have to endure and deal with. It’s never going to go away. No amount of punishment for any offender is going to change what happened, even in a murder case.”

She worried that this posture discourages people from reporting offenses against them. She also worried that it disrespects the victims of violence—a personal issue for her, after her husband’s cousin was murdered in the summer of 2020. “I don’t think he’s willing to listen to those Black voices,” she told me. “He believes, in his mind, that he knows what’s best for them.”

MISCELLANEOUS

An absolutely vibrant painting by Ernie Barnes recently made a big splash:

The unexpected star lot of last week’s Christie’s 20th century auction was The Sugar Shack, the most famous painting by Ernie Barnes. The 1976 work went for $15.3 million, or an astonishing 76 times its high estimate of $200,000.

A celebration of Black joy, the painting depicts an enthusiastic crowd of men and women with elongated limbs, seemingly carried away by the music as they dance the night away.

“The painting transmits rhythm, so the experience is re-created in the person viewing it,” Barnes, who died in 2009, said in an interview with the Soul Museum. “To show that African Americans utilize rhythm as a way of resolving physical tension.”

Have a great weekend!

–Dama

363 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello. Happy Friday!

    Dana (2c7c1d)

  2. The Senate passed a $40 billion emergency aid package Thursday to buttress Ukraine with weapons and other military help as the Eastern European country fends off the Russian invasion. The chamber’s 86-11 vote clears the legislation for President Joe Biden’s signature, just in time to keep the Pentagon from exhausting its power to send weapons to Ukraine from U.S. stockpiles.

    Jeez, they’re in a real, real hurry to spend borrowed American taxpayer money on other, non-taxpaying peoples, aren’t they!

    Government waste at work: WH reveals it is literally, physically flying the $40 billion Ukraine aid package legislation halfway around the world [crossing the int’l date line BTW] for Joe’s scrawl.

    Unreal. Hell, he’ll be back at the WH in the USA by Wednesday as is. What’s the frigging hurry– is he on a death watch or something?? IDIOTS.

    DCSCA (6237bd)

  3. The Ernie Barnes painting was used as the cover of Marvin Gaye’s I Want You album. It is indeed a very striking portrait.

    JVW (020d31)

  4. It also uncovered significant net overcount rates in eight states — Delaware (5.45%), Hawaii (6.79%), Massachusetts (2.24%), Minnesota (3.84%), New York (3.44%), Ohio (1.49%), Rhode Island (5.05%) and Utah (2.59%).

    The overcount in New York may not be quite as bad, as the goal was to get the population on April 1, 2020 and the estimate of an overcount is based on estimates of done later, a lot of people left for good as a result of the pandemic.

    Hawaii had the greatest overcount at 6.79% and I have no idea what went on there but there must be a story
    .

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  5. Following the reveal of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s IRS tax documents, it’s now safe to say that there’s something questionable going on at the social justice nonprofit.

    The basic premise behind it was completely false.

    Black lives were not mainly in danger from the police and other people were also in danger from the police

    The petty theft is minor thing.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  6. The hammer has fallen: the Archbishop of the Diocese of San Francisco has instructed Nancy Pelosi not to present herself for Holy Communion. The bishop of Santa Rosa, in whose diocese the Speaker also owns a home, has told his priests to support Archbishop Cordileone’s decision and to also deny her the Eucharist.

    We’ve discussed this matter in the past, and I am on record as not supporting the denial of Holy Communion to Catholic politicians simply because they vote in favor of abortion rights. However, I do feel that politicians like Nancy Pelosi, who have a history of misrepresenting Church instruction on abortion and who have demonized and demagogued those of the pro-life persuasion, truly have excommunicated themselves and should therefore be instructed to repent and seek forgiveness before they can return to communion.

    JVW (020d31)

  7. Hawaii had the greatest overcount at 6.79% and I have no idea what went on there but there must be a story.

    I wonder if states like Hawaii often mistakenly count residents of other states who own vacation homes in Hawaii.

    JVW (020d31)

  8. Important: You can order eight COVID tests, courtesy of the taxpayers, here.

    (The site is surprisingly simple to use. They probably had a good designer, and did the necessary testing. It took me less than a minute to fill out the form, and I am not a fast typist.)

    Copied from an earlier post, because I really, really do think this is important.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  9. @6. Meh. If only her name was Galileo Galilei…

    ‘Lock her up! Lock her up!’ 😉

    DCSCA (6237bd)

  10. OT: That Susseman trial is turning into a barnburner.

    The defense stated, under oath, that the alfa bank Russian story came from their campaign.

    Robert Mueller spent two years and millions of tax dollars investigating Russian collusion and somehow never discovered that the hoax came directly from Hillary Clinton herself.

    You want more “Trump”? This is how you keep getting “Trumpy” politicians.

    whembly (7e0293)

  11. Biden’s approval dips to lowest of presidency: AP-NORC poll

    President Joe Biden’s approval rating dipped to the lowest point of his presidency in May, a new poll shows, with deepening pessimism emerging among members of his own Democratic Party.

    Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s performance as president, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, dipping from already negative ratings a month earlier.- AP.com

    Just a few days before he stepped down, a Gallup poll had shown President Nixon’s approval rating to be a dismal 24%, down from 67% in January of the previous year.

    Attaboy, Joe.

    __________

    Breaking: Judge blocks Biden Administration effort at removal of Title 42.

    DCSCA (6237bd)

  12. (in wrong thread at first)

    New York’s drop in relative population. (There have been 435 members of the U.S House of Representative since 1911.)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York%27s_congressional_districts#Current_(until_2023_inauguration)_districts_and_representatives

    The top number was 45 in the 1940s (47 electoral votes)

    Now New York State will have a total of 27.

    Obsolete districts
    New York’s 28th congressional district, obsolete since the 2010 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 29th congressional district, obsolete since the 2010 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 30th congressional district, obsolete since the 2000 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 31st congressional district, obsolete since the 2000 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 32nd congressional district, obsolete since the 1990 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 33rd congressional district, obsolete since the 1990 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 34th congressional district, obsolete since the 1990 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 35th congressional district, obsolete since the 1980 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 36th congressional district, obsolete since the 1980 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 37th congressional district, obsolete since the 1980 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 38th congressional district, obsolete since the 1980 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 39th congressional district, obsolete since the 1980 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 40th congressional district, obsolete since the 1970 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 41st congressional district, obsolete since the 1970 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 42nd congressional district, obsolete since the 1960 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 43rd congressional district, obsolete since the 1960 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 44th congressional district, obsolete since the 1950 U.S. Census.
    New York’s 45th congressional district, obsolete since the 1950 U.S. Census.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 5/20/2022 @ 2:15 pm

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  13. 7. JVW (020d31) — 5/20/2022 @ 1:51 pm

    I wonder if states like Hawaii often mistakenly count residents of other states who own vacation homes in Hawaii.

    Delaware is also overcounted.

    Hawaii and Rhode Island have to worry about losing their second House seat, but Delaware has had only one for the longest time. But the total number of people in a state doed affect federal aid and such things/

    The counting is done by federal employees but they are local people and state and local government gets involved.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  14. There are alot of questions aboutt some of Hedy Lamarr’s claims:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Hedy_Lamarr

    The claims made under the heading “Inventor” are largely without any authoritative sources, and contradicted by a wealth of evidence.

    For example, the article claims “Among the few who knew of Lamarr’s inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his aeroplanes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find.” (emphasis added)

    The source cited for this claim is an article in Vanity Fair — a periodical that is hardly a reliable source for facts regarding the history of science. And the author of that article — a 27(-ish) year-old entertainment writer — provided no sources for her claims (other than an old interview with Lamarr), nor the writer have any relevant expertise.

    But Lamarr’s claims (repeated in Vanity Fair) are easily shown to be groundless hearsay. Hughes and Lamarr first met in 1938. Three years earlier, Hughes’ aircraft design the “H-1” had already established itself as the fastest airplane on earth, and it was as streamlined as any aircraft would be for at least the next 5 years. No one could accurately describe it as un-aerodynamic or “rather square”. Furthermore, Hughes’ aircraft designs appear to have evolved from the H-1 without any significant deviations brought about by Lamarr’s “advice”. These fly in the face of Lamarr’s later claims that she “showed it to Howard Hughes and he said, ‘You’re a genius’.” (from that Vanity Fair article)

    Furthermore, every aircraft designer since Leonardo da Vinci, through Otto Lilienthal and the Wright Brothers, up to Hughes himself, had already studied the shapes of birds to draw inspiration for aircraft design.

    Claiming that Lamarr was in any way original in her suggestion to Hughes (if indeed she ever made such a suggestion — we are expected to take her word for it) displays an abject ignorance of the history of heavier-than-air craft.

    Again, the piece in Vanity Fair cannot be considered a reliable source when it comes to the history of scientific invention. Do any credible sources in that domain make any such claim? Not that I have been able to find.

    The Vanity Fair article claims “Do you like Wi-Fi? You can thank Lamarr for that” — a claim so laughably ahistoric that it ought to discredit anything else the author writes.

    There is a reason why neither the WP article on Wi-Fi, nor the one on IEEE 802.11 make any mention whatsoever of Lamarr, and that reason is that she had nothing to do with them.

    She and George Antheil (who was at least familiar with player piano technology) co-filed a patent on using player piano rolls to skip frequencies on radio-guided torpedoes. Antheil does not seem to have left any documentation as to why he and Lamarr are listed on the patent as co-authors (perhaps he was charmed by her; perhaps he thought her profile would help him commercialize the technology), but the point is moot, since the technology the patent describes was never implemented. This is hardly surprising since electromechanical devices were quickly becoming obsolete in 1942.

    The final sentence in the “Inventions” section states “In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame”.

    At the relevant page on the NIHF website it states that Lamarr “had at one time been married to a munitions manufacturer, giving her the foundation for her knowledge of weapons systems, including torpedo control systems. Again, this is nonsense. Lamarr was indeed (briefly) Married to Friedrich Mandl who inherited the Otto Eberhardt Patronenfabrik from his father. But that company never produced “torpedo control systems”; in fact, the Kriegsmarine never even used radio-controlled torpedoes in WWII; they were all either acoustically-guided, or simply straight-running. So Lamarr could not have had any relevant knowledge from which to draw “expertise” about “torpedo control systems”. Bricology (talk) 08:14, 27 December 2021 (UTC)

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  15. Robert Mueller spent two years and millions of tax dollars investigating Russian collusion and somehow never discovered that the hoax came directly from Hillary Clinton herself.

    Are any of the longtime lounge lizards around these parts still scraping together the sort of excuses that dribbled from their maws when Mueller’s case was gutted and left to die on an anthill a few years ago?

    Don’t wait for an apology. It’s not in this type of person.

    Colonel Haiku (863d12)

  16. Exoplanets identified before July 2018: (when this web site stopped tabulating them)

    http://exoplanets.org

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  17. Good government establishment liberals get hoisted on their own petard in congressional redistricting map. While red state republicans gerrymander democrats out of their seats and disenfranchise minority voters in NY good government establishment liberals do it to themselves by passing anti gerrymandering laws. Two corporate stooges jerry nadler and carolyn maloney have been thrown into the same district. Good riddence to at least one of these grifters. Yevette clark and sean maloney have both been thrown into districts with other incumbents. Bowmen and AOC districts look ok.

    asset (35b5f3)

  18. Darth Putin:

    Day 86 of my 3 day war. My daughter is dating Ballet dancer named Zelensky. My grand children are gonna have same name as Ukrainian president.

    I remain a master strategist.

    steveg (360f53)

  19. Dear Padawan:

    The ruble is now higher than it was before West impose two cents’ worth of sanction. Why is? Because West buy rubles with dollars, francs, pounds and euros to buy Russian gas with.

    Dark side is have two weapons nobody can take away. Russian winter and capitalist greed.

    I remain proponent of breastfeeding for infants.

    nk (5eb3bb)

  20. “ However, I do feel that politicians like Nancy Pelosi, who have a history of misrepresenting Church instruction on abortion and who have demonized and demagogued those of the pro-life persuasion, truly have excommunicated themselves and should therefore be instructed to repent and seek forgiveness before they can return to communion.”

    – JVW

    Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.

    Leviticus (e1276f)

  21. Tale of two trials: How Sussmann is receiving every consideration denied to Flynn

    Michael Sussmann lied to the FBI, but unlike Flynn he’ll likely skate. An Obama judge and a jury pool laden with partisan democrats nullifies clear merit to the charges.

    Baker said Sussmann’s assertions — which included a text message the night before that said he’d be “coming on my own — not on behalf of a client or company — want to help the Bureau’ — led him to treat Sussmann as a confidential FBI source.

    That decision stymied efforts to compile a complete “chain of custody” for two thumb drives of data that Sussmann gave Baker, FBI agent Scott Hellman testified Tuesday.

    “I do remember I was frustrated at not being able to ID who had provided these thumb drives to Mr. Baker. He was not willing to tell me,” Hellman said.

    all the hand wringing about lying to the fbi seems to have abated among the usual commenters here

    JF (856f12)

  22. To me, The Sugar Shack will always be the episode closing credits background image from TV’s Good Times

    urbanleftbehind (5eebb4)

  23. Breaking: Judge blocks Biden Administration effort at removal of Title 42.
    DCSCA (6237bd) — 5/20/2022 @ 2:12 pm

    don’t fret, this POS administration is appealing

    all the covid karens (hi Jim Miller) must be very very upset with biden

    crickets

    JF (856f12)

  24. @24. “Appealing” to who?

    [ ] Jimmy Carter

    [ ] George McGovern

    [ ] Walter Mondale

    [ ] Cher

    Choose. 😉

    DCSCA (8dbc93)

  25. There are good explanations for an undercount in 2020 but an OVERcount is just terrible. That the states that were overcounted were almost all Blue one, one has to wonder. It wasn’t something the evil Trump would have done. When we talk about stealing elections, some of the stealing can be subtle.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  26. These tax documents not only proved that Cullors lied about misusing some of the funds (such as hosting a birthday party for her son and throwing a private Biden inauguration celebration in the multimillion dollar property intended for activists and creators), but that she did so repeatedly.

    There must be a process crime in there someplace. The DoJ will be quick to find it. Maybe they can get Dineesh D’Souza to give them pointers on the prosecution.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  27. There is a real crime. Honest services fraud. They should ask Conrad Black. But they won’t.

    nk (5eb3bb)

  28. Here’s my favorite cartoon for Politco’s weekly collection.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  29. for</strikethrough from

    (Let’s see if this works.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  30. strike

    nk (5eb3bb)

  31. First, type what you want stricken.
    Second, bold it using the b in the toolmarks bar.
    Third, replace the words strong in the brackets with the words strike.

    nk (5eb3bb)

  32. What have many Russians done since Putin began his invasion of Ukraine? Downloaded VPNs:

    RIGA, Latvia — When Russian authorities blocked hundreds of Internet sites in March, Konstantin decided to act. The 52-year-old company manager in Moscow tore a hole in the Digital Iron Curtain, which had been erected to control the narrative of the war in Ukraine, with a tool that lets him surf blocked sites and eyeball taboo news.

    Konstantin turned to a virtual private network, an encrypted digital tunnel commonly known as a VPN. Since the war began in late February, VPNs have been downloaded in Russia by the hundreds of thousands a day, a massive surge in demand that represents a direct challenge to President Vladimir Putin and his attempt to seal Russians off from the wider world. By protecting the locations and identities of users, VPNs are now granting millions of Russians access to blocked material.

    Most likely these Russians are still a minority — but they are an important minority, and their numbers are likely to grow as the costs of Putin’s folly become harder and harder to hide.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  33. nk – Thanks for the info.

    (Let’s see if just plain strike, without the substitution, works.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  34. Just another day in Portlandia

    According to Staten, Gore had a criminal history stretching back to fall 2020, when he and another juvenile tried to set a movie theater on fire. On two other occasions, Gore and a co-defendant went into a movie theater to damage and steal from it, Staten said in court.

    Gore is accused of second-degree arson, criminal mischief and second-degree theft in those cases.

    Gore violated his probation in February after he stole a men’s sport coat and a jacket, Staten said.

    The Washington County District Attorney’s office recommended that month that Gore be held in a detention center, saying he had twice run away from Harkins House, a temporary shelter in Hillsboro for minors with pending criminal cases.

    The Washington County Juvenile Department recommended Gore be released to his family instead. Washington County Circuit Judge Michele Rini agreed, and Gore was sent to stay with his father and stepmother in Salem, according to Staten.

    He ran away two weeks later, Staten said.

    Gore’s father emailed a Juvenile Department counselor April 4 that his son was likely staying in the Progress Ridge area of Beaverton, Staten said. Neither Beaverton police nor the Washington County District Attorney’s Office were notified by the Juvenile Department, he said.

    A little over a month later, Milana Li’s body was found in a small stream near the Westside Regional Trail to Barrows Park.

    Judge Michele Rini, appointed by covid karen Kate Brown the worst governor in the country

    JF (e4c056)

  35. Yes, it works, bolding it first is just a shortcut. You don’t need to type out the entire tags, just erase the “ong”s and replace with “ike”s.

    nk (5eb3bb)

  36. when cnn notices, you know it’s bad

    Families ration formula for children as shortage worsens

    On Thursday, Claire Holland graduated from sixth grade. It was a happy day. She made the honor roll and she won her class’ big science award, but her day was not without worries. The 12-year- old for Mandeville, Louisiana is caught up in the formula shortage that has left countless families across the country on edge. The shortage has even sent some children to the hospital, because they can’t get enough nutrition.

    welcome to biden’s third world america

    JF (e4c056)

  37. just ignore it, biden fans, and it’ll go away

    The Baby Formula Shortage Was Made in Washington

    JF (e4c056)

  38. maybe ukraine can build a baby formula factory with the $40 billion

    JF (e4c056)

  39. Oh? Now we like CNN?

    nk (5eb3bb)

  40. @14: If you get a patent approved, it’s an invention. If your name is on it, then you are an inventor. Putting the name of a non-inventor on a patent application is considered fraud.

    Patent # 2,292,387. More details here.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  41. Dark side is have two weapons nobody can take away. Russian winter and capitalist greed.

    Laugha while you can, monkey boy!

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  42. all the hand wringing about lying to the fbi seems to have abated among the usual commenters here

    “It’s just a process crime”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  43. Third, replace the words strong in the brackets with the words strike.

    “s” works just fine

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  44. Oh? Now we like CNN?

    To b fair, if CNN is criticizing the administration it must be pretty bad.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  45. “It’s just a process crime”
    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 5/20/2022 @ 7:15 pm

    you’re confused again

    unlike flynn, sussmann wasn’t being investigated when he lied

    JF (e4c056)

  46. Oh? Now we like CNN?
    nk (5eb3bb) — 5/20/2022 @ 7:07 pm

    so much confusion going on right now

    JF (e4c056)

  47. Ukraine’s Zelenskiy proposes formal deal on compensation from Russia

    (Reuters) – “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday proposed a formal deal with the country’s allies to secure Russian compensation for the damage its forces have caused during the war. “”We invite partner countries to sign a multilateral agreement and create a mechanism ensuring that everybody who suffered from Russian actions can receive compensation for all losses incurred,” he said in a video address.” – Reuters.com

    Huh? And how much of Ukraine has Ukraine destroyed themselves?? This clown wants it from both ends. And funny how he proposes everybody to sign on to it… quaint cover; after getting $50 billion in freebees from sucker USA… How about Ukraine start by compensating the United States first, eh, Bugs?! The Froggies didn’t fire artillery barrages destroying their own beloved Paris when the Germans arrived; Britain didn’t level the Channel Islands when the Nazis occupied them from ’40 to ’45 either…

    Gangster Z is Bugs Moran with a bootlegger mentality, trying to muscle all side from the middle for profit. See what Capone has to say…

    DCSCA (aee891)

  48. maybe ukraine can build a baby formula factory with the $40 billion

    Or bid on Twitter if/when Musk walks. 😉

    DCSCA (aee891)

  49. Harri “scofield” Hursti

    I think he’s right about the accuracy of non-GPS location data. Cell-tower triangulation systems have all kinds of innaccuracies, starting with the tower’s agreement on the current time is inaccurate. One nanosecond error in the time fix is one foot in distance to a radio wave. And a one-nanosecond time fix is unlikely.

    He’s right about PHONE GPS data — which is spot sampling the GPS data — being less accurate than GPS data from a dedicated GPS device that is tracking satellites continuously and refining the time fix.

    Even though I play many roles on the Internet, I’m pretty sure I’d qualify as an expert on location systems.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  50. you’re confused again

    JF is one of those people who needs a sarc tag.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  51. I see that Utah is now a token blue state.

    norcal (3f02c4)

  52. If you think your phone’s GPS data is accurate, go look and see where it says you are right now. To the foot. A lot of the time it will say “next door.”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  53. I see that Utah is now a token blue state.

    And Illinois a token red state.

    Or, maybe, they stand out because all the others follow a rule than benefits Democrats, and generally are more off center.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  54. The Hawaii overcount is probably due to COVID-tourism. A lot of rich people people flew to Hawaii right off the bat and stayed there all year.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  55. For generations, literally, Congress has given Big Pharma an oligopoly. And during those same generations, it has let the FDA go totally out of control.

    Abbott was allowed to acquire 42% of the baby formula production in the United States. Mainly through protectionism. The prohibition of importation from other countries. And the FDA was allowed to shut it down with a snap of its bureaucratic fingers.

    Biden is to blame for not doing something about the numbnuts running the FDA right now. But the oligopoly is the baby of a multitude of Congresses and prior administrations.

    nk (9338bd)

  56. We saw it with Martin Shkreli and Daraprim. A pill that goes for 11 cents in India, being sold for more than $700.00 here, because it is not allowed to be imported. And we were content to just see Shkreli go to prison. As far as I could find out on the internet, Daraprim is still more that $700.00 a tablet.

    nk (9338bd)

  57. Biden supporters (not the 81,000,000 who voted against trump) Are happy that trump is out of the presidency and bernie sanders (who they hate as much as trump) didn’t get the nomination. They can’t figure out why everybody else is so upset.

    asset (f1b14f)

  58. This is how much the biden/clinton supporters hate sanders and his supporters over at democratic underground (a misnomer it should call it self DNC propaganda) Jessica Cisneros a rabidly pro-choice progressive is being dumped on by rabidly pro-choice democrats who are praising her opponent henry cueller an anti-abortion grifter who’s office and home was raided by the fbi looking for evidence of ties to mexican drug cartels and organized crime in south texas. Pelosi and the rest of the grifters in house leadership are supporting this crook!

    asset (f1b14f)

  59. Long story in the NY Times about a nation forced to pay reparations for slavery. But not the way you think.

    Haiti’s slaves revolted and threw off their masters in 1791. Napoleon tried to reconquer the island, but was bloodied and withdrew. In 1825, the new King of France demanded that the slaves pay reparations to their former masters and sent a fleet, with many more soldiers than before, to enforce the demand. The Haitians caved, and bought their freedom again with 150 million gold francs. Which, needless to say they did not have, but they were offered a loan from French banks. It took Haiti over a century to pay it all down.

    The NY Times has gone through all the books on these payments, and finds that France and a number of wealthy families owe Haiti well over $100 billion dollars for this theft. France, of course, denies anything was wrong, and it was just part of a treaty.

    It’s really quite terrible, even given Haiti’s corruption over the years. Ir might even e3xplain who the state failed, along the lines of “what’s the point?”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  60. The fact that the Uniparty decided to send another $40 billion to Ukraine – and on the same day they turned down the money for Americans, no less – is downright criminal.

    mg (8cbc69)

  61. True the vote has video evidence of many of the mules doing the deed.

    Carry on.

    NJRob (556f35)

  62. Thank you for sharing the story I found. I don’t comment as much but still very much enjoy the content. It’s good to push back with honest data on the lies being told by people like Dinesh, True the Vote and liars who support them.

    Time123 (9b76f4)

  63. The story about Obamas picture being shown as a primate is sort of funny. I doubt there’s a significant problem with racism at the roeper school and that seems like the kind of thing that can be handled on a case by case basis.

    Time123 (9b76f4)

  64. It’s not surprising to be that the trump administration did a poor job administering the census.

    Time123 (9b76f4)

  65. Whembly, the fact that sussman was pushing a story doesn’t erase any of the evidence about how Russia violated US law when they hacked the DNC and released the information to harm the Clinton campaign and influence our election. Which was what the Mueller report shows. A GOP lead senate committee showed the same thing, as well as deep and inappropriate ties between Trump and Russia.

    If sussman broke the law and lied to the FBI he should be punished. I don’t see anyone here arguing otherwise.

    Time123 (9b76f4)

  66. Seventh news item:

    “Budapest on Thursday night” or “Carpathian values”?

    Whom Viktor Orban has chosen to embrace to be on TV 24/7 (Tucker Carlson) says all we need to know about the cultural richness of Hungary, I think.

    As for CPAC having its conference there, it probably had trouble booking Tajikistan what with all the Afghan refugees and the troubles with the Uighurs in Xinjiang.

    We’re not exactly talking “beacon of Western civilization” when we’re talking about Hungary, comrades! Their “lost cause” is Romania claiming Dracula for its own when everybody knows that Transylvania is really a part of Hungary.

    nk (9338bd)

  67. More from of the liars at True the Vote

    https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-investigation-dispels-allegations-highlighted-in-2000-mules/DREWO27XXBF7PB4DGTBXWGQYV4/

    My favorite part is that not only has True the Vote not turned over their ‘evidence’ voluntarily but they’re fighting a subpoena to keep from having to do so.

    The board that rejected the claims of vote mules is 3 republicans and 1 dem BTW, so a pretty friendly audience.

    The people pushing the electro on fraud lie are both despicable and transparent.

    Time123 (fcfc1c)

  68. It’s not surprising to be that the trump administration did a poor job administering the census.

    Time123 (9b76f4) — 5/21/2022 @ 4:16 am

    Of course, it also raises the question as to whether this has happened before and just hasn’t gotten attention, if it happened due to the administration carrying it out poorly due either to incompetence and/or the secondary effects of the pandemic, or this generation of Americans just isn’t capable anymore of handling a complex administrative responsibility like this without futzing it up.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  69. @70, all district possibilities.

    Time123 (9b76f4)

  70. I kind of remember that the census went all the way to the Supreme Court, on the citizenship question, and the Court held that not only Trump’s Department of Commerce could not find its own ass with both hands in broad daylight, it also lied about whose ass it was reaching for. “Pretexual”, they said.

    nk (9338bd)

  71. @67

    I’m impressed, but not surprise, that anyone is still really pushing this narrative.

    The entire basis for Russiagate was fabricated by the HRC campaign using foreign actors and washed through the US media by the CIA and FBI.

    It’s also worth contrasting this with the HRC and JB’s ties to foreign corruption.

    But I suppose it’s fair to point out that no one is arguing otherwise. There is a lot of silence on the subject though and that can speak volumes. How many commentators went ad nauseated about the secret service, trump hotels, and the emoluments clause but are willfully blind about money being funneled to Hunter?

    frosty (ec42a1)

  72. @69

    It will be interesting to see how the narrative changes on this after the midterms if the Ds take the L that is being projected.

    As it stands now we’ve got:

    2016 – the election was stolen
    2020 – perfectly free and fair

    I’m guessing

    Ds take the L – 2022 – the election was stolen, democracy has failed us, time to riot for abortion
    Ds take the W – 2022 – free and fair, no need for more elections comrades

    frosty (ec42a1)

  73. anybody who ever heard of True the Vote before now, speak up

    crickets

    JF (e4c056)

  74. A GOP lead senate committee showed the same thing, as well as deep and inappropriate ties between Trump and Russia.

    If sussman broke the law and lied to the FBI he should be punished. I don’t see anyone here arguing otherwise.
    Time123 (9b76f4) — 5/21/2022 @ 4:21 am

    sounds like True the Vote’s only problem is that they’re not as effective at getting their lies accepted as legit media narratives by your average sap

    JF (e4c056)

  75. I suppose it was Hillary and Sussmann who sent Natalia Veselnitskaya to Trump Tower to meet with Don Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort.

    nk (9338bd)

  76. True the Vote’s problem is that its Kraken is calamari fritti.

    And Dinesh D’Souza is the only one in the antipasto who has actually been convicted of election fraud.

    But anything to make America look like all the foreign sh!tholes the Trump-Kushners do business with.

    nk (9338bd)

  77. keep dragging those narratives out of hospice care, nk

    JF (e4c056)

  78. @67

    Whembly, the fact that sussman was pushing a story doesn’t erase any of the evidence about how Russia violated US law when they hacked the DNC and released the information to harm the Clinton campaign and influence our election. Which was what the Mueller report shows. A GOP lead senate committee showed the same thing, as well as deep and inappropriate ties between Trump and Russia.

    If sussman broke the law and lied to the FBI he should be punished. I don’t see anyone here arguing otherwise.

    Time123 (9b76f4) — 5/21/2022 @ 4:21 am

    Time123… can we please stop with the gaslighting?

    Seriously, you and others on this board were cheering for the Mueller investigation and supported it wholehartedly because you believe there was Russian collusions with the Trump campaign, which again, Mueller didn’t prove that.

    whembly (7e0293)

  79. I wonder if you guys will realize what you really have in Trump when he comes out for Stacey Abrams and against Brian Kemp in the Georgia governor’s race.

    nk (9338bd)

  80. @81 yeah, imagine someone coming out for the democrat nominee instead of the republican

    maybe you can tell us about that, nk

    JF (e4c056)

  81. @80, prior to the publication of the report I did believe the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia, and there was plenty of good reason for that. After the report I don’t believe the evidence shows that they were.

    Time123 (c96726)

  82. Frosty, I have never said the 2016 election was stolen. I have said that Russia hacked the dnc to harm the Clinton campaign (which is well supported by the available evidence)

    But those are 2 separate claims.

    Time123 (c96726)

  83. @75, JF, I like you wade into a topic by admitting complete ignorance. Good to one nothing that follows from you on the topic will be fact based.

    Time123 (c96726)

  84. My favorite part of 2000 Mules is where the ostensible maps of Atlanta are actually maps of Moscow. It’s almost too on the nose.

    Davethulhu (ee3282)

  85. @83, still I would like some reflection on WHY exactly Putin and the Russians preferred first Trump over Clinton….enough to initiate an internet intelligence operation and hack the DNC server….and then Trump over Biden. What did they see or reason was the benefit to Russia? Few here want to grapple with why a geopolitical adversary with aspirations of reviving the Soviet Union or enlarging Russia’s global influence would invest in Trump. What was it about Trump (re-release JF’s crickets)?

    Generally the glib response is that Hillary was a hawk (Benghazi aside) and Trump offered possibilities of reducing sanctions. But Trump’s 2016 campaign language was not just neutral toward Russia but gushing and, at times, diametrically opposed to what his running mate Pence was saying. So why was Trump SO pro-Russia and pro-Putin when there was so little in it for America?

    Did Putin understand that Trump would exacerbate social tensions in the U.S.? Did he know that Trump would ruffle feathers in NATO and behind doors advocate for us pulling out? Critics will say that Trump maintained sanctions and tough-talked NordStream 2. But the continued Obama-era sanctions were Congressionally approved by large bipartisan majorities which Trump could grouse about but not overcome. Oh and most of Nordstream 2 was completed without objection during Trump’s tenure so it’s hard to convincingly argue that he would have, push-come-to-shove, used it as leverage. Recall, his initial views on the Ukraine invasion were to call it “genius”.

    No evidence has been unearthed that Trump was personally or financially compromised or that Manafort et al’s unseemly Russian connections proved conspiracy, but it still begs the question as to if Trump was so unpredictable and internationally tough, why on the eve of trying to annex Ukraine would Putin still choose Trump over the mentally-addled and weak Biden? Is it because they saw Trump’s instability as always falling in their favor….that he had a predisposition toward lessening our foreign footprint (S. Korea included) which offered Russia immeasurable opportunity to fill in the gaps? One doesn’t have to be a Neocon to have concerns or question the spin toward American isolationism and making us the new Hungary. In my mind as a conservative, I’ve never understood the unquestioning trust in Trump. This uncertainly always made him a non-starter.

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  86. What was it about Trump (re-release JF’s crickets)?

    AJ, why don’t you ask Igor Danchenko?

    JF (856f12)

  87. AJ, good questions. I think think their were a lot of reasons they preferred Trump to Hillary. Also, may just have wanted to harm her for any number of reasons.

    To me the big issue is a foreign power breaking our laws to influence our political process.

    Time123 (c96726)

  88. Time123 (c96726) — 5/21/2022 @ 9:55 am

    we should all definitely be more up to speed on your left wing talking points

    i will do better

    was True the Vote behind the hunter laptop hoax?

    i’m trying to catch up on this whole thing

    JF (856f12)

  89. “why don’t you ask Igor Danchenko”

    So the Russians supported Trump because of the possibilities of a future Steele dossier?

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  90. AJ_Liberty (a36eed) — 5/21/2022 @ 12:07 pm

    your premise needs some work, but the conclusion is spot on

    JF (856f12)

  91. One doesn’t have to be a Neocon to have concerns or question the spin toward American isolationism and making us the new Hungary. In my mind as a conservative, I’ve never understood the unquestioning trust in Trump. This uncertainly always made him a non-starter.

    Except there’s no question the modern ideological conservative movement was untrustworthy as it repeatedly seduced, abandoned and betrayed the very constituency it needed cycle after election cycle. So populism kept growing and finally threw them out; the tail no longer wags the dog.

    ‘Neocons’ nesting in the modern ideological conservative movement conflate isolationism with interventionism.– The buttinsky policy and regime change they advocate has a poor record yet has been costly in both blood and treasure to Americans. So they were finally given the long overdue and corrective ‘bum’s rush’ as American Populism rooted deeper and deeper– and it is not going away any time soon. It is seeded in both parties. Doesn’t matter which; it controls the fate of the electorate now. Trump is merely a standard bearer. There were others before– and another will follow. But short of ‘storming the castle’ again, they’re going to force change at putting 21st century American priorities and interests first and not going to tolerate 20th century politicians with Cold War mentalities to do it. Looking out for U.S. interests is a good thing. Which is why wasting ‘giving’ $50 billion to Ukraine- borrowed $ no less- which has no U.S. interests is wrong while strengthening Taiwan, which does have U.S. interests is right.

    DCSCA (d505af)

  92. As far as I could find out on the internet, Daraprim is still more that $700.00 a tablet

    With insurance you can get this down to $30/tablet. But, yeah.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  93. It’s not surprising to be that the trump administration did a poor job administering the census.

    No one in the Trump administration ran the census. It was all done by the lifers. 2020 was chaos. If anything, it allowed the lifers to play their petty bureaucratic games. When the errors all move one way, there’s a purpose behind it.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  94. biden fans harping on administrative incompetence is beyond funny

    JF (2e7f6f)

  95. And Dinesh D’Souza is the only one in the antipasto who has actually been convicted of election fraud.

    That is not accurate. He was convicted of donation fraud, not election fraud. Yes, both are under election law, but writing a bad check is not bank robbery.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  96. Frosty, I have never said the 2016 election was stolen. I have said that Russia hacked the dnc to harm the Clinton campaign (which is well supported by the available evidence)

    There is very little difference between the 2016 and 2020 elections, except who won by bare margins in a few states. Both candidates each time had opportunities to win and failed to capitalize, and both candidates each time had major screwups that could have (and in one case each time did) cost them the election.

    2016: Hillary’s collapse.
    2020: Trump’s first debate.

    Yes, dirt was dumped on Hillary by a hack, but it was TRUE dirt. Some of the dirt that was dumped on Trump was fabricated by Hillary’s folks. This was a mistake as it distracted from the true dirt.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  97. Generally the glib response is that Hillary was a hawk (Benghazi aside)

    We don’t actually know what her advice was that night. We only know what President Obama did.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  98. @87: I think that dismantling NATO was (and is) a major Putin goal. Had NATO been weakened by a US withdrawal, or disbanded entirely, Putin’s expansionist goals would have become much easier to accomplish. Ukraine, the Baltics, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia and probably Poland would be on the table.

    Trump was anti-NATO. It’s that simple.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  99. To me the big issue is a foreign power breaking our laws to influence our political process.

    So, arrest Russia.

    Frankly, this is an activity that we have done routinely to others and us whining about it when it is done to us is unseemly. Our democracy should be stronger than that.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  100. Kevin, I don’t care about the dirt, or Hillary. I care about the Hack, and our response to it.

    Time123 (c96726)

  101. Convicted and pardoned grifter descum gives no evidence of non citizens voting or citizens voting more then once except for a few republicans convicted of voting more then once. When voting records are checked of people who voted and they are then asked if they voted virtually all of them said they had voted. Cell phone pings are putting ballots in drop boxes are not evidence of citizens voting more then once. For twenty years republicans have been whining about illegal aliens voting even though convictions for illegal aliens voting are almost non existent so republicans try to bribe illegals to vote so they can arrest them. They have got laws past under the guise of stoping illegal aliens from vote to keep democrat citizens from voting disenfranchising millions of voters like having to show a birth certificate to register because republican think tanks found out poor democrats are far more likely not to have a birth certificate. ( I was born on an indian reservation that didn’t give birth certificates) This caused the republicans to have no evidence to present to courts of voter fraud because of the tough voter laws passed before the 2020 election.

    asset (2aa7bd)

  102. Trump was anti-NATO. It’s that simple.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 5/21/2022 @ 1:52 pm

    And yet, some people who are all in favor of NATO rush to defend Trump.

    Cognitive dissonance.

    norcal (3f02c4)

  103. Trump was anti-NATO. It’s that simple.

    Simpler: he was anti dead beats and kicked them in the– ‘wallet’ — long overdue rightly so:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpwkdmwui3k

    DCSCA (4e24d3)

  104. Trump is a sissy-boy, Hillary is a castrating shrew. Putin could have his way with Trump; with Hillary he’d limp away clutching his groin.

    And Vlad is not the only manly man who made Trump melt like a schoolgirl at an Elvis concert. There’s Xi, and Kim, and Erdogan, and Duterte, too, to name a prominent few.

    nk (64f743)

  105. When the errors all move one way, there’s a purpose behind it.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 5/21/2022 @ 1:21 pm

    Texas and Florida probably had an inkling but they didn’t mind being shorted because the higher number would have been a +er Hispanic district in TX and a lifeline for an existing black Dem district in FL

    urbanleftbehind (dabadf)

  106. “Frankly, this is an activity that we have done routinely to others”

    Yes, this is the realists perspective and what adversaries do. We absolutely have interfered, especially when an anti-democratic force was in play but also to simply advocate for a perceived ally. As a consequence, we should understand what the Russians were trying to do and why. They want our Democracy to look like a joke….so authoritarianism doesn’t look quite as bad…and do anything in their power to gum our democracy up. Trump directly plays into this by making spurious claims surrounding a very unusual election. Unprovable…difficult to falsify, so trust in our elections goes down….causing people to plan their own cheat.

    “Simpler: he was anti dead beats”

    Exactly how Putin wants it played. A useful idiot.

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  107. what an embarrassment

    Nestle quick! US military jets from air base in Germany will fly Nestle Alfamina baby formula to Indianapolis in first ‘Operation Fly Formula’ flight

    The first flights of infant formula from Europe, authorized by President Joe Biden to relieve a deepening U.S. shortage, will arrive in Indiana aboard military aircraft this weekend, the White House announced Friday.

    The White House says 132 pallets of Nestlé Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior formula will leave Ramstein Air Base in Germany and arrive in the U.S. this weekend. Specifically the formula will be taken to Indianapolis.

    maybe germany can give us $40 billion in aid, like we’re a bunch of refugees in a war zone

    JF (856f12)

  108. once putin is gone, i wonder what the biden fans here will talk about

    you’d better hope his cancer is in remission

    JF (856f12)

  109. @108 Our democracy or represenitive republic is a joke. 18% of the population control 52 senate seats and 82% of the population control 48 senate seats with filibuster on top of that! Also the person who lost the popular vote was still installed as president in this century. It is a joke!

    asset (9ed49e)

  110. @102, 108:

    Yes, and we should have responded to the hack with things akin to Radio Free Russia. Perhaps an unblockable Internet channel for information, using torrents or other hard-to-identify scheme. It’s not like Russia would block all torrents. Enlist Google and Amazon to run it.

    Out voting can be made secure, at the cost of some access. There’s a trade-off, although they are now seeing in GA that early voting is up, while mail voting has returned to prior levels. But “elections” are subject to information, disinformation, rumor, bigotry, horoscopes, unequal access to media, and outright lies.

    There is really no way to stop that without having speech police. Ans what would the speech police have done with a Senate majority leader’s outright lies about a candidate?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  111. asset, what IS the popular vote? Is a vote in CA the same as a vote in Indiana, even though they have wildly different registration and access rules? Pick the state you most detest and consider the presidential election decided by how they count votes. Worse, suppose that the popular vote is close, as it was in 1960 (which also had TRUE charges of vote fraud). Do you think a national recount would proceed quickly? Wasn’t Florida 2000 bad enough?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  112. 111,

    …twice, actually, depending on what year the millennium was considered to have begun.

    urbanleftbehind (dabadf)

  113. AOC was installed with 152,661 votes in a district of nearly 700,000 people. That’s 22%! Some democracy! Especially when the district’s Latinx are 47% of the population!

    nk (bb4efa)

  114. The hipsters are who put her in… Crowley was akin to a Burke or Madigan, getting the HDO vote.

    urbanleftbehind (dabadf)

  115. Idiots to the total of 81 million voted for a senile replica of themselves.

    mg (8cbc69)

  116. nk, stop trolling poor asset.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  117. replica of themselves.

    What does this say about the other 75 million? Are they really out-of-control pussy-grabbing rage-a-holics who put ketchup on a prime ribeye?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  118. @89 I haven’t noticed many people bothered about politicians tied to China or their shenanigans. But hey, we really need to do something about those pesky Russians who may or may not have been behind the leak of true information.

    And I’m glad we never really talked about how HRC’s emails not being secure was likely the point.

    frosty (cde2f9)

  119. Trump is a sissy-boy

    Said an old Irish Catholic coat-holder who never seems to get his azz off the barstool and ‘behind the gymnasium’…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkHqCEu9ogs

    DCSCA (6a417b)

  120. once putin is gone, i wonder what the biden fans here will talk about

    Where his library should go: stacked aboard an old Amtrak car the trundles between Scranton and Wilmington– or on one of Hunter’s hard drives.

    DCSCA (6a417b)

  121. Russia Claims Kalibr Missiles Destroyed U.S. Weapons Shipment

    ‘Russia has said that it launched sea-launched Kalibr missiles to destroy arms the west had supplied to Ukraine. Chief spokesman for Russia’s defense ministry Major General Igor Konashenkov said the long-range weapons had hit a number of targets, which included a batch of arms and equipment at a train station in the Zhytomyr region.’ – Newsweek.com

    And the Military Industrial Complex smiled; Xi grinned– and the Taliban will buy and sell parts.

    DCSCA (6a417b)

  122. Exactly how Putin wants it played. A useful idiot.

    Pfft. Crowed the myopic, indebted, deficit-riddled American desperately borrowing billions from New World Order China to fund dead-beat Europeans who enrich Capone with energy dollars while the USA pays protection money to the Moran gang.

    …Xi Jinping smiled.

    DCSCA (6a417b)

  123. “Crowed the myopic, indebted, deficit-riddled American desperately borrowing billions from New World Order China to fund dead-beat Europeans who enrich Capone with energy dollars while the USA pays protection money to the Moran gang.”

    DCCCP: $5T in Covid financed by the Chinese = awesome, keep it coming, faster, faster
    DCCCP: 1% of that going to help level the playing field against a geopolitical aggressor who wants to spread his evil = oh my god I’m p*ssing in my pants this is so terrible and awful….we have to say goodbye to Ukraine and double-down on spending billions protecting Taiwan….because it’s not about the billions….it’s about what I want….waaaaahhhhhhh!

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  124. @125. Pffft. And who does Chinese Covid financing help keep alive, AJ? Americans. And where did COVID originate? China. When you pee in your pants, check and see where your adult diapers come from… Hint: not Ukraine:

    https://www.made-in-china.com/products-search/hot-china-products/Adult_Diapers.html

    DCSCA (eb9da1)

  125. @125. Yeah, AJ, let’s keep being suckered and going deeper and deeper and deeper into debt to bail them out:

    15 Reasons Europe Is Better Than America
    https://www.theodysseyonline.com/15-reasons-europe-is-better-than-america

    They’re wealthy, had their butts pulled out of the fire three times in 110 years with 2 land wars, a Cold War on American blood and treasure and now a third land war is lit. Time for them to put out their own damn fires, kiddo. Someday you’ll understand Europeans don’t particularly like Americans; only American money. But in 21st century America, it’s borrowed from out biggest threat/rival/adversary: Copmmuniat Red China. You wanna help them? SELL WAR BONDS.

    … and Xi smiled.

    DCSCA (eb9da1)

  126. SNL Cast gutted: Pete Davidson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney leave as of tonight.

    Too bad the writers aren’t leaving, too.

    Ukraine is looking for recruits.

    DCSCA (eb9da1)

  127. “And who does Chinese Covid financing help keep alive”

    Then at least drop the inflation and debt histrionics. It’s clear that borrowing money only matters when it gets spent on something you don’t want. End the droning hypocrisy. Also, though you’ve created your own little MIC meme, that’s hollow as well, as you are fine with moving in and protecting Taiwan — which in the end might be more expensive and a more difficult task. So drop the military contractor sanctimony, it’s more fetid gas.

    I get that you think it’s not in our national interest and that ONLY an attack on a NATO ally should justify discouraging Russia. We get it. Most here disagree. The Congress disagrees (368-57 and 86-11). You and Trump can whine about the military aid and cry about baby formula while HIS party then votes against doing something about the “formula crisis” (231-192, holy cognitive dissonance Batman). The urgency of the Ukraine situation, its vivid geopolitical lesson for Xi, containing the humanitarian nightmare, and its ultimate potential for Moscow regime change persuades most people who aren’t in Putin’s pocket. Why are you so beholden to someone so evil….when did you sell your soul?

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  128. @129. Pfft. Helping Americans makes perfect sense, AJ; and dollars and cents for China. But at least it’s helping our own people.

    I get that you think it’s not in our national interest and that ONLY an attack on a NATO ally should justify discouraging Russia.

    Huh? NATO Article 5 HAS deterred a Russian (and Soviet back in the day) attack on any NATO member since its inception. That’s the whole point of it; it’s a defensive alliance. Ukraine is not a member of NATO. What you’re advocating is for NATO to take a more aggressive, offensive posture toward Russia which is EXACTLY what Putin rails about and has him literally up in arms over it from his POV and validates it for him.

    The urgency of the Ukraine situation, its vivid geopolitical lesson for Xi

    No it’s not. China will take Taiwan in it’s own time. They will not be deterred. MacArthur didn’t believe China would invade North Korea– until they did:

    ‘When President Truman flew to meet General MacArthur at Wake Island in October, 1950, the President continued to convey his trepidation with regard to China. MacArthur, however, dismissed the likelihood of Chinese intervention.’https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/07/08/the-beginning-of-the-end-macarthur-in-korea/

    China has made no secret of their POV for decades and they’re more than willing to ‘lend’ the U.S. $50 billion to fall further in a controlling debt to screwing around in Europe. The supply line alone to check China makes Ukraine look easy.

    And there is no NATO facing China; SEATO is defunct, AJ. And the U.S. has interests in Taiwan, not Ukraine.

    DCSCA (eb9da1)

  129. The Congress disagrees (368-57 and 86-11).

    Pfft. Royalists do a lot of stupid things, AJ.

    Vietnam, the Susan B. Anthony Dollar… Strom Thurmond’s piss bucket:

    The king of senatorial jackassery, however, has to be Strom Thurmond (D-S.C.), who holds the record for the Senate’s longest filibuster: 24 hours and 18 minutes. What got his panties in a wad so much that he chose to speak for over a day on the Senate floor? The Civil Rights Act of 1957. But his ultimate enemy that day? His bladder. If the senator has to leave the Senate floor to go take a leak, his speech is over, and so is the filibuster.

    That’s why, in order to keep the civil rights dragon at bay, Thurmond prepared for his filibuster by taking a steam shower to sweat out any excess fluids. For 24 hours, he rambled: He read the Constitution and the phone book and ranted random musings about random sh-t. Oh, and just in case his bladder turned on him, he made an intern hold a bucket in the Senate cloakroom, so that Thurmond could piss in it while keeping one foot on the Senate floor.‘ – source, https://www.cracked.com/article_19028_the-6-most-childish-things-ever-done-in-congress.html

    Why the hell do you think American Populism is rooting deep and deeper w/each cycle.

    DCSCA (eb9da1)

  130. You and Trump can whine about the military aid and cry about baby formula while HIS party then votes against doing something about the “formula crisis” (231-192, holy cognitive dissonance Batman).
    AJ_Liberty (a36eed) — 5/21/2022 @ 9:03 pm

    Liar

    is there a left wing narrative you won’t swallow whole?

    the bill threw $28 million to the FDA, doing absolutely nothing to alleviate the shortage

    zilch

    it’s a classic bureaucrat boondoggle, getting support from all democrats and just twelve republicans, which is the hallmark of any BS legislation you’d give a thumbs up to

    JF (856f12)

  131. Goodbye JF

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  132. #132,

    Do you really believe AJ_Liberty is left wing?

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  133. lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/21/2022 @ 10:11 pm

    why not comment on the legislation, and provide a plausible alternative as to why anyone would frame it as something that addresses the formula shortage

    maybe you can convince me, if that’s worth anything to you

    JF (856f12)

  134. Here is another reason I am skeptical of those who claim scientists have absolute certainty regarding anthropogenic global warming.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/scientists-really-surprised-after-gene-editing-experiment-unexpectedly-turn-hamsters-into-hyper-aggressive-bullies/ar-AAXyKcP?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=577f67c457694ced85980a5ed155e75a

    In this experiment regarding gene-editing, scientists found just the opposite of what they expected.

    I’d hate to upend freedom of choice and the world economy to “fight” climate change, only to hear scientists say, “Oops”. Like Kevin M has said, the theory of man-made climate change is not testable in a controlled environment.

    norcal (3f02c4)

  135. I just asked a question. I’m not trying to convince you of anything.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  136. Neither party is moving legislation they hope will pass. Biden could have gobs of bills passed if he was willing to talk to a Republican, but he’s made it clear that he’s got 50 votes in the Senate and by gum they should just rubber stanp whatever he wants.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  137. The same thing happened when Trump had the Congress, too, like on Obamacare, where they didn’t bother asking Democrats what they wanted.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  138. Mittens and the democraps stand to make billions from the war in Ukraine. And, of course, 10% for joementia.
    Mitty wants to protect his interests in Ukraine as well as his sons involvement. Such a pos. Nuke him.

    mg (8cbc69)

  139. No mention of the Sussmann trial at all (as usual) and no mention of Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook’s unexpected revelation that Hillary herself approved spreading the false Alfa bank story. News undertakers doing the best to ignore.

    mg (8cbc69)

  140. Most of the press will ignore this news, but the Russia-Trump narrative that Mrs. Clinton sanctioned did enormous harm to the country. It disgraced the FBI, humiliated the press, and sent the country on a three-year investigation to nowhere. Putin never came close to doing as much disinformation damage. You people are a pandemic.

    mg (8cbc69)

  141. @113 The popular vote is the total vote of all u.s. citizens who were allowed to vote. I have no problem with all states having the same registration and voting laws ;but those who control elections do. Examples New York for democrats Texas for republicans are two of many states that try to prevent as many citizens as possible from voting. By the way the world runs out of wheat in six weeks according to UN. Start hording in 1 2 3!

    asset (9651e6)

  142. Like Trump ever gave a drop of formula to a baby. Tried to sell it a Trump steak … absolutely!

    nk (666034)

  143. And then he stole its chocolate cake.

    nk (666034)

  144. @mg, I know what you mean. If HRC hadn’t used mind control powers to make Trump go on TV and announce he fired the head of the FBI to stop the investigation into Russias hack of the DNC it would have totally different. Curse her for making him do that.

    Time123 (c96726)

  145. Hillary Clinton Did It

    Her 2016 campaign manager says she approved a plan to plant a false Russia claim with a reporter.

    The Russia-Trump collusion narrative of 2016 and beyond was a dirty trick for the ages, and now we know it came from the top—candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton. That was the testimony Friday by 2016 Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook in federal court, and while this news is hardly a surprise, it’s still bracing to find her fingerprints on the political weapon.

    JF (856f12)

  146. JF @ 132,

    I strongly encourage you to read Patterico’s commenting rules before you comment again. Perhaps you are unaware of them. The link will explain our host’s commenting standards and it is expected that all commenters adhere to them. They are vital to keeping this place a thriving hub of polite debate and civil discourse, as well as preventing any commenters from driving away other commenters by lobbing personal insults. If/when that happens, it is expected that the commenter own their insult/attack and offer an apology to the target of their ire. Because you disagree with someone does not mean that you can call them a “liar”.

    In part:

    Personal attacks on commenters (or me) are out. Criticizing the arguments is fine. Criticizing the person is not. [UPDATE: Criticizing public figures is just fine. What would a blog comment section be without that?]

    That leads me to the key principle: DO NOT MISCHARACTERIZE OTHER PEOPLE’S POSITIONS. Also, do not mischaracterize other people’s positions. One more thing: do not mischaracterize other people’s positions.

    Few things are more corrosive to honest discussion than constantly having to say: “That’s not what I said. Nope, that’s not what I said either. Nope, you’re still misrepresenting what I said.” One particular commenter here — a longtime commenter who used to guest blog here and often had interesting and insightful things to say — is no longer welcome to comment at this blog because he simply could not stop doing this to me. Virtually any time he took a position opposite to mine, he would mischaracterize my position — and the more viscerally upset he became, the more vicious the distortions of my statements. It became unworkable to keep him around — and when, in a single thread, he misrepresented my position badly in three separate ways, I used the “retract and apologize or prove it” strategem. He failed to retract and apologize, and the rest is history — and so is he, as far as this blog is concerned.

    In general, eliciting robust conversation and debate is done through respectful commenting, rather than **accusing commenters of being liars, dumb, stupid, or lobbing any other kind of personal insult. It’s disrespectful and breaks Patterico’s commenting rules. Consider this a friendly warning. And do make sure to read all of the commenting rules at the link above. (It’s probably a good idea for all commenters to review the rules, given that a few are getting pretty darn close to breaking the rules themselves. Also, it’s a good idea to review the rules given that the ramp-up to 2024 is right around the corner. I will be putting people in moderation who make a habit of breaking the rules and our host can decide their fate…)

    **I am making a general statement here. I’m not accusing you of making all of these attacks on other commenters.

    Dana (2c7c1d)

  147. How the Sussmann trial revealed Hillary Clinton’s role in the Alfa Bank scandal

    The trial of former Clinton campaign attorney Michael Sussmann crossed a critical threshold Friday when a key witness uttered the name “Hillary Clinton” in conjunction with a plan to spread the false Alfa Bank Russian collusion claim before the 2016 presidential election.

    For Democrats and many in the media, Hillary Clinton has long held a Voldemort-like status as “She who must not be named” in scandals. Yet, there was her former campaign manager, Robby Mook, telling a jury that Clinton personally approved a plan to spread the claim of covert communications between the Trump organization and the Russian bank. It was one of the most successful disinformation campaigns in American politics, and Mook implicated Clinton as green-lighting the gas-lighting of the electorate.

    The mere mention of Clinton’s name sent shockwaves through Washington. In past scandals, the Clintons have always evaded direct responsibility as aides were investigated or convicted, from the Whitewater land dealings to cattle futures. Even when long-sought documents in Whitewater were discovered outside of the family quarters and bearing Hillary Clinton’s fingerprints, Washington quickly moved on.

    Clinton was not supposed to be the object of the Sussmann trial, because Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee, issued a series of orders limiting the scope of the trial and its evidence. The orders were viewed as “spar[ing] the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee … potential embarrassment.”

    Yet, even after winning such limiting orders, it was the defense that called Mook to the stand — out of order, in the midst of the prosecution’s case, because he was scheduled to leave on vacation — and he proceeded to confirm that Clinton herself approved of the tactic.

    JF (856f12)

  148. @149 I’m well aware of the commenting rules, and how arbitrarily they get applied

    I’ve been personally attacked numerous times, by the usuals, and it never seemed to capture the notice of the commenting police

    but it’s not my blog, and I have no say in how it should be run, nor should I

    JF (856f12)

  149. norcal (3f02c4) — 5/21/2022 @ 10:19 pm

    Here is another reason I am skeptical of those who claim scientists have absolute certainty regarding anthropogenic global warming.

    They could be more certain if they only paid attention and were not wedded to certain onsensus.

    I think the following is most likely true:

    1. \People affect the climate both ways – cooling and heating.

    2. The stronger effect is that of cooling, but it is very short term. Right now there is some cooling thanks to war in Ukraine and China burning more coal. World War II also reduced global temperatures, especially by the winter of 1944-5, and so did nuclear bomb explosions in the atmosphere from 1945 to 1962. Volcanic eruptions and wildfires do so as well. And the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions during the Great Depression caused record high temperatures throughout the world, and the Oklahoma Dust Bowl.

    3. There is a small, lingering, long term effect of heating.

    4. There is also an up or down effect probably related to sunspots. In the 1980s one trend was superimposed on another and it looked like temperatures were rising rapidly.

    5. Change we make will make no practical difference because the warming effect is the result of the sum total of greenhouse gases that have been added to the atmosphere in the last 150 years or so (albeit it was accelerating) and the amount added each year is small, and the amount by which the addition might be reduced smaller still and the amount added by one country or a few is still less. Even according to the advocates own projections, the maximum amount of reduction hoped for does not change things enough to matter.,

    6, The main effect of additional greenhouse gases – the most important of which is dihydrogen monoxide – is that of increased climate variability – both in temperature and in rainfall.

    7. There may be more good than bad from the change.

    8. It is perfectly obvious that reducing greenhouse gase does not pass any minimal cost benefoit analysis

    9. If it gets too hot, we can always cool the planet quickly (and temporarily) but we cannot raise the temperature quickly.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  150. even cnn notices

    Hillary Clinton personally approved plan to share Trump-Russia allegation with the press in 2016, campaign manager says

    Hillary Clinton personally approved her campaign’s plans in fall 2016 to share information with a reporter about an uncorroborated alleged server backchannel between Donald Trump and a top Russian bank, her former campaign manager testified Friday in federal court.

    Robby Mook said he attended a meeting with other senior campaign officials where they learned about strange cyberactivity that suggested a relationship between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank, which is based in Moscow. The group decided to share the information with a reporter, and Mook subsequently ran that decision by Clinton herself.

    “We discussed it with Hillary,” Mook said, later adding that “she agreed with the decision.”

    JF (856f12)

  151. I don;t believe that what Christopher Steels reported was all made up by ordinary people, but think it probably traces back to genuine Russian disinformation.

    What the Hillary campaign tried to sell people on, however, (the Alfa bank story and another one also alleging regular contact between the campaign and Russia) was all made up by people affiliated with the campaign.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  152. Vladimir Putin has cancer, is being followed around by doctors all the time, and may be sent toa sanitarium,,,,

    …says Christoper Steele

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/putin-sick-cancer-russia-ukraine-spy-b2083415.html

    Putin is surrounded by doctors and takes breaks during meetings for treatment, claims ex-British spy

    ‘He’s constantly accompanied around the place by a team of doctors’

    More on this:

    https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/is-putin-sick-or-are-we-meant-to-think-he-is

    Now, he amay be being slowly poisoned — who knows?

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  153. Why Did Sussmann’s Attorneys Put Robby Mook on the Witness Stand?

    In 20 years as a prosecutor, it never ceased to amaze me how often a defense case at trial ends up helping the government far more than it helps the defense. Is that what happened today when, as Isaac Schorr reports, Michael Sussmann’s defense called Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager, Robby Mook?

    Probably. That is to say, it looks like a harebrained move now.

    Remember, prior to trial, the defense persuaded Judge Christopher Cooper to suppress tweets posted by Hillary Clinton on the eve of the election about the bogus claim that Donald Trump had a secret communications back channel to the Kremlin. This was a blow to special counsel John Durham, who has been trying to prove that Sussmann’s alleged false statement — claiming he was not representing a client, though he was actually representing the Clinton campaign, when he brought the FBI the now-discredited back-channel evidence — was part of a broader political dirty trick orchestrated by the campaign, and perhaps by Clinton herself.

    Yet, putting Mook on the stand predictably opened the door to the introduction of the very Clinton tweet the defense had been trying to keep the jury from seeing. When Mook bracingly testified that Clinton herself approved the campaign proposal to leak the back-channel smear to the media, that enabled Durham to do exactly what he had hoped to do: place Sussmann’s alleged false statement in a larger context of a Clinton-driven conspiracy.

    JF (856f12)

  154. The entire basis for Russiagate was fabricated by the HRC campaign using foreign actors and washed through the US media by the CIA and FBI.

    Entire? Mueller and the GOP-majority Senate Intelligence Committee was well established that Putin launched a “sweeping and systematic” cyber and propaganda on America in 2016. That Hillary engaged in her usual campaign skulduggery doesn’t take away from what Putin did.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  155. Dana (2c7c1d) — 5/22/2022 @ 7:21 am

    Thank you! You rock!

    JF (856f12) — 5/22/2022 @ 7:30 am

    JF, the commenting rules is why so many of your fellow commenters are silent in the face of some of your comments. If we all weren’t as tolerant as we are, this site would not be fit to read. So when Dana strongly encourages you, you should give it a try.

    Take a look at the robust interaction between DCSCA and AJLiberty. These two can exchange “body”-blows, argumentative blows that would reduce a troll to all-caps, and the they each shrug them off because their minds are made of sterner stuff.

    Take Dana’s admonitions to heart, and your fellow commenters example, into your amrory – you will become a better commenter for it – and when you do, do, you will be thanked for it.

    felipe (484255)

  156. and when you do, do, you will be thanked for it.
    felipe (484255) — 5/22/2022 @ 8:05 am

    LOL! No! I am not saying “doo-doo.”

    felipe (484255)

  157. anybody who ever heard of True the Vote before now, speak up

    I have. They have a record of being all hat allegation and no cattle evidence.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  158. @158 I will certain take your admonitions to heart, felipe

    you are a rare voice of reason here

    JF (856f12)

  159. no one seems to be interested in backing up AJ’s claim that the baby formula legislation opposed by most all republicans in the house would “do something” about the shortage

    that should tell you something

    JF (856f12)

  160. Report by court and special master on redistricting Congressional districts and State Senate districts in New York State.

    https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=/lFG/XXdjY08ES/1iAco1A==

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  161. I strongly encourage you to read Patterico’s commenting rules before you comment again.

    Dana, I couldn’t find a link to those rules on the front page. Haven’t seen ’em for awhile.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  162. @162 Just because no one feels like discussing it with you doesn’t mean they agree with you.

    Time123 (9b76f4)

  163. By the way the world runs out of wheat in six weeks according to UN.

    Finally!! Gluten-free!!

    /sarc

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  164. The baby formula shortage was caused by regulation, and the regulators ignoring the consequences of their regulations and of enforcement, or thinking that’s the companies’ problem.

    Now that it reached the attention of the White House, they found a few workarounds that compromised their regulations the least.

    But more babies went to the hospital because they had not enough nutrition than went because of bacterial infections – which was not the fault of Abbott anyway.

    One point: It is not that there are too few companies producing baby formula — it is that there are too few factories Too few companies only relate to price.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  165. Just because no one feels like discussing it with you doesn’t mean they agree with you.
    Time123 (9b76f4) — 5/22/2022 @ 9:21 am

    if i really didn’t want to discuss something, i wouldn’t take the time to post a comment announcing that I didn’t want to discuss it

    but that’s just me

    JF (856f12)

  166. @164 They don’t get pulled out very often. That whole section on mischaracterization is a doozy.

    @158 JF isn’t wrong about there being an arbitrariness to those rules. Most of the people who post have figured that out though and there’s some value to that.

    frosty (35ae4e)

  167. @168 You can try thinking of @165 as a learning opportunity. You’re being given an example of a personal attack that won’t violate the rules. It also has the added benefit that if it’s called out for what it is the person making it can claim they’re being unfairly criticized.

    frosty (35ae4e)

  168. Neither party is moving legislation they hope will pass.

    Unless it’s $50 billion of freebees, passed PDQ, gleefully lent by a global adversary who wants more and control over the fate of America, given to non-taxpaying, non-voting, non-citizens of that same USA in the vacation spot of Europe, Ukraine.

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

    “Can’t Buy Me Love” – ‘The Beatles’ 1964

    DCSCA (ed7c31)

  169. it of course has nothing to do with not wanting to discuss it with me

    it’s simply not a winning issue for biden

    it would only get discussed if there was some rumor that putin hacked into the formula factory causing it to shutdown cuz trump wanted to start his own with Alfa bank bribes

    JF (2e7f6f)

  170. I fixed the link, Paul Montagu. Here you go.

    Dana (2c7c1d)

  171. @157 Are you talking about the Facebook ad buys? What mueller and the committee didn’t find was any actual effect on anything. And Russian propaganda wasn’t the basis for the investigation. DNC and HRC propaganda was.

    Yes, the basis for that entire conspiracy theory was made up.

    frosty (35ae4e)

  172. I’m going to quote another excerpt from Patterico’s commenting rules:

    I have always encouraged freedom of expression. However, the level of nastiness has driven some good people away, and made reading the comments difficult for the rest of us. This is an attempt to do better.

    The rules are simple, and won’t affect most honest and good-natured people at all. The rest of you will have to be more careful.

    Dana (2c7c1d)

  173. AJ_Liberty: “You and Trump can whine about the military aid and cry about baby formula while HIS party then votes against doing something about the “formula crisis” ”

    The crux of my comments @129 is why DCCCP’s anti-Ukraine military aid argument is weak. I did slip in the above because the implication by Trump and DCCCP is that (1) the government cannot address both the military aid and the baby formula supply problem and (2) the government must prioritize the latter. My claim above does not assert that the congressional bill would solve the shortage, but that it does something. Now is that claim provably false?

    What are the facts? Abbott Labs, a leading domestic baby formula provider, was shut down by the FDA because of a suspected link to the deaths of two infants from bacterial infections. The legislation does primarily provide funding for more FDA personnel and, specifically more FDA inspectors to expedite getting more formula into the marketplace, as well as creating a plan to address future shortages. That sounds like a “something”. I might agree that it could have done more in terms of actually importing formula from other sources, though Biden appears to be using executive powers to do that separately. Not being an expert on staffing at the FDA and what details are planned for the use of new personnel, I can’t assume that it’s simply a boondoggle for the FDA, that the number of inspectors is adequate, or that more planners is unwarranted. Maybe other commenters know more.

    Personally, supply chain shortages….whether it’s completely fair or not….fall on the people in power, which are all Democrats. I think the lack of creativity at getting things moving will be a prime reason the Congress swings GOP. But it also illustrates dysfunction in our political process…in that we are unable to come together and solve problems as a country. That’s why the Ukraine Aid stands out as transcending politics…for the moment, and why I used the vote in my argument.

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  174. JF, the point I was trying to make is that no one owes you a detailed explanation or justification just because you asked for one.

    The reason I’m pointing this out is that I’ve read several comments of the form “No one here is arguing X so that must mean not-X is true.” Unless there’s been some ongoing discussion of x and not-x the lack of argument can be explained by any number of other reasons.

    In this specific case you didn’t write a substantial critique of the bill, you weren’t engaged in any sort of lengthy or detailed discussion of the topic. you just called AJ a liar and made a high level assertion that it was a boondoggle without any real justification.

    Time123 (fcfc1c)

  175. Frosty, I didn’t intend my comment as a personal attack so I’m curious what insult you thought I was trying to subtly make?

    Time123 (fcfc1c)

  176. “Folks, I’m excited to tell you that the first flight from Operation Fly Formula is loaded up with more than 70,000 pounds of infant formula and about to land in Indiana. Our team is working around the clock to get safe formula to everyone who needs it.”- Joe Biden

    Excited, eh. Too bad babies don’t vote. Guess when you’re down so far anything looks like up to you, eh Joey.

    ‘Sad.’

    DCSCA (ed7c31)

  177. The crux of my comments @129 is why DCCCP’s anti-Ukraine military aid argument is weak.

    Speaking as DCSCA: except it’s not.

    DCSCA (ed7c31)

  178. That’s why the Ukraine Aid stands out as transcending politics…for the moment, and why I used the vote in my argument.

    =blink= Huh? The Ukraine aid is wholly political; you suggested so yourself in #125 and in #129: The urgency of the Ukraine situation, its vivid geopolitical lesson for Xi…

    =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (ed7c31)

  179. AJ, One analysis I haven’t seen is FDA funding over time and resourcing in this particular area. Not asserting the funding is necessary or appropriate but I once had to turn around a failing department. I found of that the team had been getting more and more work and had not been allowed to replace team members when they left. Eventually their performance and moral were terrible. The entire operation had been trying to cut their ways to profitability. I was able to show my leadership that the results they needed couldn’t achieved without either a reduction in work to focus on key deliverables or an increase in resources. We got part of what we wanted by getting a lot of our the deliverables scaled back and clairity on our main mission.

    Again, I don’t know if they FDA is in that situation but would love to see that aspect analyzed. I think it’s a common (and flawed) argument to say “This agency has done poorly so we need to cut their budget as a punishment. It feels good, who doesn’t want to see the team that screwed up punished? But I’ve seen too many good, well intentioned people fail for reasons beyond their control to think it’s going to frequently be the right answer unless you first understand WHY the team failed.

    I do think someone in a leadership role at the FDA messed up by not getting this issue contained before infants started to suffer from malnutrition, but that’s probable going to fall a small group of people. I hope they are held accountable in whatever way is appropriate.

    Time123 (fcfc1c)

  180. @174,

    The basis for the investigation into Russian interference was the Hack of the DNC.

    The predicate for Crossfire Hurricane were statements made to a foreign diplomat by a drunken Trump staffer that the campaign was working with Russia on the leaks.

    The SC was appointed by Trumps long time supporter Jeff Sessions because Trump fired Comey and announced on TV that he did so to stop a property predicated investigation.

    All of this is publicly available information and the start of CH was investigated by the IG.

    Time123 (fcfc1c)

  181. Sen. Mitt Romney suggests ‘NATO could engage’ in Ukraine, ‘potentially obliterating Russia’s struggling military’ if Putin used nuclear weapons – businessinsider.com

    The only bigger azz in America than Pierre Delecto is stitched to the butt-end of the ‘King Kong’ exhibit at Universal Orlando.

    DCSCA (ed7c31)

  182. this whole thing reminds me of efforts, back when republicans were actually conservative, to abolish the department of education

    see there, republicans are against education!!!!

    calling legislation a “baby formula bill” which only throws money at a government agency tied (by numerous articles I’ve linked in this post and others — go read them) to the crisis, just gives some the opportunity to peg republicans as being against baby formula

    more money to bureaucrats, and a partisan talking point — win, win!!

    who would allow themselves to be suckered into this crap?

    there were actually two baby formula pieces of legislation, one of which was approved overwhelming by republicans. It was to remove arcane restrictions on what formula WIC would allow parents to buy. This is actually “doing something”, albeit small, about the crisis

    JF (856f12)

  183. Dana rocks!

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  184. @185. Making America ‘Grate’ Again:

    53 years ago at this time Americans astronauts were flying around the moon; today, Americans cheer less than 78,000 lbs., of baby formula flying into Indianapolis. The forecast for tomorrow: toilets flush in all 50 states. Oh, how far America has fallen– 250,000 miles or more…

    “Sad.”

    DCSCA (ed7c31)

  185. “=blink= Huh? The Ukraine aid is wholly political”

    The vote was bipartisan and one-sided: 368-57 in the House and 86-11 in the Senate. This is about as much agreement as we’ve seen on a potentially heated matter.

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  186. @157 Are you talking about the Facebook ad buys? What mueller and the committee didn’t find was any actual effect on anything. And Russian propaganda wasn’t the basis for the investigation. DNC and HRC propaganda was.

    One, it wasn’t simply “Facebooks ad buys”, which is a typical ploy among Trump defenders to downtalk Putin’s role in an unprecedented intrusion into our electoral system.
    Two, what started the FBI counter-intelligence investigation into Putin wasn’t “DNC and HRC propaganda”, it was Papadopolous, who in May 2016 “received information from Joseph Mifsud that Russians had “dirt” in the form of thousands of Clinton emails”. Obviously the investigation ramped up when the Russian-hacked DNC emails were splashed by Wikileaks.
    Also, there weren’t indictments against “Putin’s Chef” and others for no reason. It was established that Russian agents hacked DNC servers and Podesta emails, and it was established that Putin intended to put his thumb on our electoral scale to help Trump win and sow chaos and discord.
    We weren’t forced into shuttling a spy out of Russia for nothing.
    Hillary’s malfeasance stands by itself, and it’s no secret that she was a sleazy campaigner ever since her husband stepped onto the national stage.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  187. I’m not saying the conservative leadership at who went CPAC Hungary agree with all of the racist anti-Semitic things this POS has said, but it’s clear that they don’t view his ideas as so disqualifying they wouldn’t want to invite him to join them on stage.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/21/trump-shares-cpac-hungary-platform-racist-antisemite

    Important to remember how worthless someone can be and have the modern GOP still consider you a very fine person.

    Time123 (fcfc1c)

  188. Time: “I think it’s a common (and flawed) argument to say “This agency has done poorly so we need to cut their budget as a punishment. It feels good, who doesn’t want to see the team that screwed up punished?”

    I agree with your entire thought. National Review seems to be the most outspoken about the FDA funding, though in scanning their arguments, I don’t see a detailed analysis of the FDA organization and what might be driving the plus-up. Hey, maybe it’s true that agencies are bad and there’s over-regulation. I just think there should be evidence to back up the ideological fire.

    I think the Left generally loses the over-regulation battle but it’s noteworthy to point out that the GOP has controlled both houses of congress and the Presidency in the recent past and has it ever strongly pushed for eliminating the Departments of Education, Commerce……and oh yeah….Energy? Yeah, Massie proposed something this past year, but minority proposals aren’t especially courageous or relevant (especially pieces of legislation that cotain one whopping sentence!).

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  189. Theoretically speaking, if there are a lack of factories producing baby formula, the price of formula is too low, or there is some kind of industrial interference happening (or both). Yes there are a fair number of regulations surrounding baby formula, but they don’t appear to create a prohibitive cost for production, so why isn’t anyone taking advantage of what appears to be a market opportunity?

    Nic (896fdf)

  190. (artificially too low)

    Nic (896fdf)

  191. “Two, what started the FBI counter-intelligence investigation into Putin wasn’t “DNC and HRC propaganda””

    It’s unfortunate that this has to be revisited every several months….as if these revelations have been hidden away somewhere. I guess it’s why 61% of the public still believes the JFK assassination involved a conspiracy.

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  192. Reasons why:

    Decades of market consolidation in the US have resulted in problems like the one the Crohares and millions of other American families are now facing. Four companies — Abbott, Perrigo, Nestle SA and Mead Johnson — control 90% of the US supply of formula.

    All of this has meant very few brands have much of a footprint in the US formula market. Marc Scheineson, an attorney at Alston & Bird who has represented formula startups, said that when a smaller player wins FDA authorization for a new formula product, it’s often immediately taken over by one of the bigger companies.

    “The antitrust laws are supposed to prevent that from happening, but they haven’t been zealously enforced in years,” Scheineson said. This type of unchecked market dominance, along with WIC contracts and heavy FDA regulations, have created an industry where “entry barriers are too high” and “competition is too great” for new formula makers to stand a chance.

    However, there is a break-through company on the rise:

    That hasn’t stopped a startup called ByHeart from trying. Just a few weeks ago, it said it got FDA approval for its new plant in Pennsylvania, making it the first new formula manufacturing entrant in the US in the past 15 years. The company’s new formula launched on March 23, in the midst of Abbott’s recall.

    ByHeart’s co-founders Mia Funt and Ron Belldegrun said they realize the company has launched during a “very complex time,” but that has only emboldened their mission. Just last week they took in three months’ worth of new customers, and they’ve invested millions into scaling the company to ensure they’re able to keep up with growing demand.

    Belldegrun said other companies that have tried to enter the baby formula market in recent years “haven’t brought anything to the industry.” Years of commitment to innovation and owning their supply chain have positioned ByHeart to “be part of the solution,” he said.

    Dana (2c7c1d)

  193. Sen. Mitt Romney suggests ‘NATO could engage’ in Ukraine, ‘potentially obliterating Russia’s struggling military’ if Putin used nuclear weapons

    If Putin uses weapons of mass destruction (not just nuclear), our response will be conventional, but there WILL be a response.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  194. Thanks Dana, that does definitely indicate some kind of industrial interference indeed. It seems like this is yet another area of industry that would benefit from some anti-trust enforcement. Also, good for ByHeart.

    Nic (896fdf)

  195. calling legislation a “baby formula bill” which only throws money at a government agency tied (by numerous articles I’ve linked in this post and others — go read them) to the crisis, just gives some the opportunity to peg republicans as being against baby formula

    YEs. Agreed. And the GOP, when it had power in 2017-18, but could not break the Dem’s Senate filibuster, did the same thing. BOth parties are quite capable of putting up “Apple Pie and Motherhood” bills that the other side cannot vote for because they are really about something else. They rely on the laziness of reporters to never get past the title of the bill.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  196. Dana,

    The problem is not too few companies, but too little diversity in their operations. If Abbot had their operation spread out geographically, they would not find their entire output condemned.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  197. baby formula factories don’t get built overnight

    the one in question was shut down back in february, meaning the administration had plenty of time to prepare

    they didn’t, but don’t dare blame them

    except if it’s something like the census, under trump, then yeah it’s administrative incompetence all day long

    JF (856f12)

  198. @JF@200 indeed they do not get built overnight, but we should be seeing some moves in that direction. This is an indicator that there has been a problem for some time, we just hadn’t noticed it yet.

    Nic (896fdf)

  199. Like they (and “they” know who “they” are) give a hoot about baby formula or the FDA or Ukraine. They care about two things:
    1. Is it a stick to beat Biden with?
    2. Is it a bouquet to throw at Trump?
    Discuss? Yeah, sure. Discuss.

    nk (b03a15)

  200. nk, i didn’t mean to divert attention from those massacred in buffalo and the republicans who made that happen

    JF (856f12)

  201. Dana – I thought you might like this WW II story from Ernie Pyle’s “Here Is Your War”:

    Pyle was describing a field hospital in North Africa, and included these bits:

    One nurse was always on duty in each tentful of twenty men. She had medical orderlies to help her. Most of the time the nurses wore army coveralls, but Colonel Bauchspies wanted them to put on dresses once in a while, for he said the effect on the men was astounding. The touch of feminity, the knowledge that a woman was around, gave the wounded man courage and confidence and a feeling of security.
    . . . .
    The usual bunkhouse profanity was strangely absent from those tents, for there was always a nurse around.

    (The commanding officer, Colonel Bauchspies, was a Regular Army man, originally from Pennsylvania. He was bossing an activated reserve unit from Charlotte, North Carolina. He and they mostly got along well, according to Pyle’s account.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  202. Discuss? Yeah, sure. Discuss.

    Some of them think “Can I beat Trump with this stick without him knowing I did it?”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  203. On the number of baby food manufacturers: For some time, I have wanted to have at least five serious competitors in any large field, because it is too easy, when there are fewer, for producers to coordinate their prices, and quality. When there are just two, for example, it is easy to coordinate. They need not even meet, though, as Adam Smith explained, that does make it easier.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  204. If you beat Biden with a stick it may knock some sense in to him.

    mg (8cbc69)

  205. Here’s some practical advice on passwords.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  206. Link to fill report

    Time123 (9b76f4)

  207. @188. The vote was bipartisan and one-sided: 368-57 in the House and 86-11 in the Senate. This is about as much agreement as we’ve seen on a potentially heated matter.

    Pfft. Bipartisian… so? It’s a ‘political matter’ you said so yourself in #125 & #129… And, of course:

    ‘The United States Congress overwhelming voted to approve the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson nearly unlimited powers to oppose “communist aggression” in Southeast Asia. The resolution marked the beginning of an expanded military role for the United States in the Cold War battlefields of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was the beginning of the United States’ formal involvement in the Vietnam War, with the stated goal of stopping the spread of communism in the region. [Sound familiar?]

    It passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives, and with only two opposing votes in the U.S. Senate.’ – history.com

    “In August 1964, the United States entered the Vietnam War after reports of an unprovoked attack in the Gulf of Tonkin. But the reports were false — and the president knew it.“ – source, Quora.com

    Based on a lie. And the vote was wrong.

    Cost in blood: 58,269 servicemen were killed and another 1,672 recorded as missing.
    Cost in treasure: the Vietnam War cost $1 trillion in today’s dollars. That included $111 billion in military operations and $28.5 billion in aid to South Vietnam. Compensation benefits for Vietnam veterans and families still cost $22 billion per year. Surviving spouses qualify for lifetime benefits if the veteran died from war wounds.

    Not to mention tearing apart the U.S. for a decade. Many who took this Ukraine vote will be out of office in a decade- or dead; but their bad decision, their vote and the $50 billion debt will live on– as the Vietnam War Memorial does, for the living whop must pay for their mistakes.

    Want to discuss the bad decision and bucks blown on the Susan B. Anthony Dollar, approved by Congress, too?

    ‘Due to its persistent unpopularity, production of Anthony dollars for circulation was suspended… Melting the coins was impractical; the cost of manufacture was approximately 2 cents, and the 98 cents earned from seignorage [the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it.] was applied to the national debt. Had the coins been melted, it would have been added to the debt. Accordingly, the coins were placed in government storage. Gee, AJ, too bad Congress didn’t just ship the bags of bum metal bucks to Ukraine instead of borrowing from China.

    Or do you prefer to jump right to Strom Thurmond’s pee bucket? See #131 for details.

    =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (0b705c)

  208. Decades of market consolidation in the US have resulted in problems like the one the Crohares and millions of other American families are now facing. Four companies — Abbott, Perrigo, Nestle SA and Mead Johnson — control 90% of the US supply of formula.

    Shorter: free market capitalism.

    Shortest: Reaganomics!

    😉

    DCSCA (0b705c)

  209. Theoretically speaking, if there are a lack of factories producing baby formula, the price of formula is too low, or there is some kind of industrial interference happening (or both). Yes there are a fair number of regulations surrounding baby formula, but they don’t appear to create a prohibitive cost for production, so why isn’t anyone taking advantage of what appears to be a market opportunity?

    It would seem to be in the wheelhouse of possibility for PepsiCo (Quaker Oats/Gatorade) and many of Mitchy Boy and Marsha B’s constituent distillers.

    urbanleftbehind (07559c)

  210. @204. https://www.historynet.com/ernie-was-one-of-us/?f

    Archives rediscovered, ID’d and publicly published the casualty photo in this piece on Pyle about 15 years ago.

    https://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=5562

    DCSCA (0b705c)

  211. “baby formula factories don’t get built overnight”

    Iraq saw a bunch sprout up over night when we started bombing….go figure

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  212. @207. If you beat Biden with a stick it may knock some sense in to him.

    Well, he’s certainly ‘sticking’ it to us, cents and dollar wise:

    Biden approval rating drops to 33 percent, hitting new low in key poll

    Just a third of all Americans (33%) approve of how President Biden is handling his job responsibilities, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll, the commander-in-chief’s worst performance yet in the benchmark survey.

    https://nypost.com/2022/04/14/joe-bidens-approval-rating-hits-lowest-point-in-new-poll/

    That’s approaching crush-depth,’I-shall-resign-the-presidency-at-noon-tomorrow’-“Stick”-Nixon-territory. But don’t them-there-down-to-earth-man-of-the-people-Irish-Catholic types call them sticks ‘shillelaghs’ in Scranton?? Or is it Wilmington this week?! 😉

    DCSCA (0b705c)

  213. “Top lawmakers in both parties insist the multibillion-dollar injection is just what Ukraine needs to bolster its defenses as Russia approaches its fourth month of conflict.”

    Vietnam… Afghanistan… move your snout over, Big Pharma, the Military Industrial Complex is back at the feeding trough.

    … and the pork-chompers smiled.

    DCSCA (0b705c)

  214. “Many who took this Ukraine vote will be out of office in a decade- or dead; but their bad decision, their vote and the $50 billion debt will live on– as the Vietnam War Memorial does”

    You do understand we don’t have any soldiers deployed in Ukraine, right? Not every military decision is Viet Nam and destined to become it. I know you’re hoping for the worst but sometimes it’s good to cheer for your country and not filter everything through the prism of who you hate.

    Now there’s always a chance for escalation, but the facts suggest that the Russian army does not quite seem poised to want to take on NATO at this point….and a tactical nuke will just compel a conventional strike that they don’t want….and earn an even greater pariah status world wide. Giving Ukraine the ability to protect itself is morally correct and in our interest….but kep beating that drum, it’s at least good exercise….

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  215. the $50 billion makes total sense

    it’s like when you beckon your friend into the crosswalk cuz there’s a food truck with killer tacos on this side of the street, assure him he has the right of way, which all pedestrians do (i mean, it says right there in the dmv handbook), and he gets mowed down by an 18 wheeler which pretty much everyone saw coming

    i’d feel obligated to pay his medical bills

    we haven’t maxed out the deductible though

    JF (856f12)

  216. sussmann got “confidential informant” status

    the hunter laptop repair guy got death threats, had to flee the state and faces bankruptcy

    pretty much sums up the nevertrump clown show

    JF (856f12)

  217. DCSCA, the issue with the costs of the military industrial complex aren’t the 40 bill we are sending to Ukraine, it’s the billions and billions we pay to the MIC every year for random weapons research that doesn’t even have the most basic proof of concept. The US government pays ALL the R&D and the MIC takes zero risks and then gets paid again by us when they manage to come up with a working weapons system and sell it to us and the again when they sell them to other countries. There is zero risk in military grade weapons research and production once a government contract is in place.

    Nic (896fdf)

  218. sussmann got “confidential informant” status

    the hunter laptop repair guy got death threats, had to flee the state and faces bankruptcy

    So sad. If only Mr. Trump had been in charge when all that happened.

    nk (ac06de)

  219. @189 And we still haven’t found anything that had any actual effect on the election. Unless your point is that absent people finding out how corrupt the DNC and HRC was via those emails we’d have had a different result. That’s just wishful thinking.

    We keep talking about what Putin wanted and what he tried to do and his intent as if this had some impact on 2016.

    We also keep talking about how the hack was the big deal and how we should deal with this illegal activity. I completely agree and I also agree that we should do something about the obvious illegal activities related to HRC and her email server and her election shenanigans or with Hunter. It’s odd how some illegal activities are important and some not so much.

    frosty (f4d8a0)

  220. So sad. If only Mr. Trump had been in charge when all that happened.
    nk (ac06de) — 5/22/2022 @ 5:52 pm

    yeah, if only you were aware that he wasn’t

    JF (856f12)

  221. @219. You do understand we don’t have any soldiers deployed in Ukraine, right?

    You mean like we didn’t have any ‘soldiers’ in Cambodia– until we did, AJ?! Like Air Amerfica wasn’t operating back in the day, AJ? Are you really that naive? You have no idea what ‘special teams’ and covert ops are going on there w/U.S. help on the groiund and it’s a certainty they’re not going to make it public. Ukrainians were weaned and working w/Russian [Soviet] era toys, too, AJ. Somebody has to teach them how to use the new equipment. Maybe the Taliban, eh AJ?! =mike-drop=

    @222. Disagree, Nic. Afghanistan was a 20 year cash cow for the MIC- to the point of abandoning billions in equipment in Afghanistan to the Taliban; then Big Pharma was syphoning up billions for Covid while the MIC was benched for six months; now they’re back in the game w/$50 billion so far- and only through September, no less. The waste is perpetuating and atrocious; and the powers that be rammed this package through in three weeks. While American seniors -retirees- have had to wait years for a bump in their SS COLA- and it’ll never off-set Joe’s 8.5% inflation. America the most costly, expensive, and mismanaged military in the world- fnanced now with borrowed $ from China- and far outpacing the expenditures our closest rivals and adversaries. And it’s never enough for them.

    Ike was right:

    “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the Military Industrial Complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” -President Dwight D. Eisenhower, January, 1961

    DCSCA (4d91ce)

  222. The Air Force admits the F-35 fighter jet costs too much. So it wants to spend even more.

    With an estimated lifetime cost of $1.6 trillion, the F-35 Lightning II, conceived as a versatile, super stealthy next-generation fighter plane, is the most expensive weapon system ever built. When the program began way back in 1992, the F-35 was supposed to be an affordable one-size-fits-all solution for the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy. It took until this February for the Air Force to publicly admit that the F-16 replacement failed the affordability test.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/air-force-admits-f-35-fighter-jet-costs-too-much-ncna1259781

    US aircraft carrier costs are rising again, Navy budget shows

    https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2021-06-07/US-aircraft-carrier-costs-are-rising-again-Navy-budget-shows-1652936.html

    An F-35 pilot’s helmet costs more than a Ferrari and takes two days to get fitted

    If you’re looking for a helmet for the advanced F-35 Lightning II, then get ready to put down enough money to buy a Ferrari sports car, undergo a two-day fitting process, keep your hair generally in the same shape, avoid putting on weight, and check in three times a year to make sure it still fits perfectly.

    https://armedforcesconnect.org/2021/08/11/an-f-35-pilots-helmet-costs-more-than-a-ferrari-and-takes-two-days-to-get-fitted/

    F-35 helmet costs $400,000 — 4 times that of predecessor

    $400,000 per helmet — more than four times as much as the Air Force paid for head wear for other aircraft such as the F-16.

    https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2015/10/26/f-35-helmet-costs-400000-4-times-that-of-predecessor/

    … and the Military Industrial Complex smiled.

    DCSCA (4d91ce)

  223. I have always been aware that the only thing Trump can run is his mouth. He is like the Marxists that way.

    What perplexes me is the disconnect I see in his supporters. That a poor, pitiful, oppressed victim of a cruel and inequitable World deserves to be The Leader who leads America, and them, to greatness. It just doesn’t grokk.

    nk (ac06de)

  224. We build $15 billion aircraft carriers that cost $4 billion/year or so to operate which can be sunk by $2 million dollar Exocet missiles. It’s nuts.

    Look at the cost of the arson fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard. The cost of repairing the ship was estimated to be between $2.5 billion and $3.2 billion. The cost and time involved were deemed to be too much by Navy leadership- so they’re scrapping it. Replacing it: in 2020, the cost of replacing the ship was estimated to be about $4 billion. Nuts!

    Watch a $2 billion B-2 bomber go up in smoke- not in combat, but in an accident:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9hb-OutGAY

    This is just crazy. We procure weapons systems today not designed to be affordable, acceptable losses in combat, as in WW2, but hardware and systems too costly and expensive to afford to lose in war. Or worse, abandon to the enemy as in Afghanistan. And the Military Industrial Complex loves it- and laughs all the way to the bank– which is exactly what President Eisenhower warned of in 1961.

    DCSCA (4d91ce)

  225. The Biden Administration had plenty of warning about the baby formula shortage, but there is much more opportunity for porking up the bill and other $Millions here and there for friends and family consulting and raising awareness if you wait until babies are almost ready to die

    steveg (251cff)

  226. DCCCP, you’re repeating yourself….and I think your fly is down. I disagree with your strageic recommendations — we need transformative technology, modernization, and investment in readiness. We certainly don’t want the meat grinder approach that was WW2. I can buy affordability from the perspective of swarming, be it drones or fast sea craft….and an evolution in AI. Heck, even quantum computing could give us new strategic advantages wrt breaking encryption. We need our best minds imagining the battlefield of 2050 and charting the required innovation path. I’m just not sure that’s you….unfortunately.

    As per Ike, you have to accept the whole Ike, not just snippets of his goodbye speech. Ike madly loved covert operations and gave the CIA under Dulles a long tether. Guatemala and Iran were his babies and he went on to Indonesia, China, Eastern Europe, the Congo, Cuba, etc, with covert interventionist gusto. Maybe we can call him the father of intervention. He personally ordered assassinations of foreign leaders and pushed for ‘more extreme’ regime-change ops. On one hand he was warning of a military industrial complex, but on the other he was constructing and nursing along the covert alternative, full of spies, researchers, collaborators, and immense black budgets beyond public view and direct accountability. So how many failures go back to bad intelligence (Bin Laden, WMD, etc.) harvested from Ike’s pet beast that grew big and sloppy. Now I don’t buy much of this blather, but we can easily construct an Ike with a different accountability…..

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  227. On a side note regarding the baby formula situation: It is ironic that we prohibit the import of most European baby formula because it doesn’t meet FDA standards, and yet we are now receiving emergency shipments from…Europe. If it’s good enough for American babies now, why wasn’t it good enough two weeks ago or two months ago or two years ago?

    Dana (2c7c1d)

  228. @232. Meat grinder???? Affordability vs. need. AJ. Cost effectiveness, AJ.

    We procure weapons systems today not designed to be affordable, acceptable losses in combat, as in WW2, but hardware and systems too costly and expensive to afford to lose in war. Or worse, abandon to the enemy as in Afghanistan.

    You really don’t get it. Or else, are heavily invested in MIC stocks and squeal with delight at spending other people’s money on expensive new play things.

    As per Ike, you have to accept the whole Ike, not just snippets of his goodbye speech.

    Pfft. Says who? You? You work for my cable company, too, AJ? A la carte POTUS is SOP in the USA, AJ; on the menu of American life, kiddo. Once can agree w/Nixon’s decision on cratering the draft and still consider The Big Dick a crook, AJ. One can support FDR efforts through the DEpression but oppose his plan to pack the SCOTUS, AJ. One can agree w/Reagan’s decision to direct NASA to build a space station but oppose Reaganomics, AJ. One can agree w/Trump kicking NATO deadbeats in the azz to pay up its fair share to the alliance but oppose his Helsinki presser optics, AJ.

    ‘We need our best minds imagining the battlefield of 2050 and charting the required innovation path. I’m just not sure that’s you….unfortunately.

    And I’m certain it’s not you. You’re vision for the future is focused on my fly– and you don’t see very well; I’m wearing sweatpants, AJ. Just like Reagan did on AF1. 😉 =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (aaffa2)

  229. Jim Miller @ 204,

    Thanks much for sharing the Ernie Pyle story. What an amazing journalist he was. But also, I’m interested in the male/female dynamics of the story you posted. There’s a part of me that cringes at the parading of women in their femininity before men because 2022, but it’s easy to see how, at that particular time in history and during such an horrific circumstance that one did whatever necessary. On another level, it’s really astounding what a difference it made to the soldiers. It speaks volumes to the different dynamic between men and women at the time. An admiration and respect for the feminine, despite us being told that it was nothing but oppression for women in that era. While women have certainly come miles and miles in reaching success in endless opportunities and the “oppression” has certainly been erased to a great degree, there remains something solely and beautifully unique about the feminine mystique. I think both then, and now.

    Dana (2c7c1d)

  230. @232:

    Pentagon Waste Fact Sheet FY2019 [Last Updated on January 11, 2021.]

    Examples of the Pentagon’s wasteful spending abound:

    -The Pentagon overspent $16 million on electronic breast pumps.

    -The U.S. Air Force’s Assistant Secretary Will Roper reportedly claimed that the Pentagon is spending $10,000 on toilet seat covers for C-17 cargo planes.

    -A Pentagon-commissioned study found $125 billion in bureaucratic waste over five years.

    -The Pentagon awarded a $7 million cloud-computing contract to a 1-person company.

    -The Defense Logistics Agency lost track of $800 million in construction projects.

    -Guantanamo Bay cost $454 million in 2013, averaging $11 million per prisoner, compared to annual costs of $78,000 per prisoner at the most expensive federal prison.

    -The F-35 program is projected to cost $1 trillion to build and maintain, costing $30 million a day for a total of $11 billion in 2016 alone. Congress should be halting this program and reassessing its value as it is behind schedule, way over budget, and may never be fully combat-ready – not throwing more money at the problem.

    -Almost half of the Pentagon’s annual budget goes to defense corporations and the CEOs of the top five defense contractors in the U.S. earned a cumulative of $96 million in compensation last year. Lockheed Martin receives an estimated 90% of its revenues from the federal government [per 2021 update.]

    The United States already spends more on defense than the next ten nations combined (Source: IISS). This out of control spending threatens to undermine our economic stability as a nation and does not make us safer.

    https://winwithoutwar.org/policy/pentagon-waste-fact-sheet-fy2019/#:~:text=Despite%20possessing%20more%20than%20%242.2%20trillion%20in%20assets,Pentagon%20overspent%20%2416%20million%20on%20electronic%20breast%20pumps.

    ________

    – The Department of Defense spent $40 billion between 2001 and 2014 on a missile defense program called Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System. It has been a complete flop.

    – At the end of 2014, Congress allocated funds for programs the Pentagon didn’t even want:

    $1.46 billion for fifteen EA-18G Growler electronic warfare planes
    $1 billion to begin work on an additional San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship
    $479 million for four additional F-35 fighter jets (bringing the total number funded to 38)
    $341 million to modernize twelve Apache helicopters and nine Black Hawk helicopters
    $200 million for an additional Joint High Speed Vessel ship
    $155 million for twelve additional MQ-9 Reaper drones
    $154 million for an additional P-8A Poseidon Navy surveillance aircraft
    $120 million for M1 Abrams tank upgrades
    $150 million for medium and heavy tactical vehicles

    – In 2016 an analysis of Pentagon practices turned up $125 billion being wasted on paperwork, flawed procedures, and inefficiencies. Those responsible buried the report so that Congress wouldn’t cut their budgeting: [WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Defense Department study that proposed cutting $125 billion in administrative waste from the Pentagon budget was buried amid concerns the findings would give Congress an excuse to further slash defense spending, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The report, issued in January 2015, identified a “clear path” for the Pentagon to save $125 billion over five years by streamlining the bureaucracy through attrition and early retirements, curtailing the use of contractors and making better use of information technology, the Post said. The study was carried out by the Defense Business Board, which is an advisory panel of corporate executives, and consultants from McKinsey and Co, the Post said.]

    https://peacedividend.us/DOD-waste/

    ____

    The 10 Most Blatantly Wasteful Defense Items In The [2016] $1.8 Trillion Spending Bill

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/charlestiefer/2016/01/01/the-10-most-blatantly-wasteful-defense-items-in-the-recent-1-8-trillion-spending-bill/?sh=1d809b3f68cd

    And Forbes is a conservative publication, hardly leftist, AJ.

    Stop making this so easy, AJ.

    DCSCA (aaffa2)

  231. Prattle on old man….sing your ode to Dulcinea del Toboso

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  232. @237. Old man… ROFLMAO:

    https://www.etsy.com/listing/1096370198/facts-are-stubborn-things-ronald-reagan

    “Facts are stubborn things.” – Old Man Ronald Reagan

    DCSCA (aaffa2)

  233. @189 And we still haven’t found anything that had any actual effect on the election.

    Not quite. What couldn’t be confirmed is that Putin’s meddling made the difference in the outcome. After all, Putin didn’t tell Hillary to not campaign in WI in the last month, among other things.
    However, it doesn’t mean that Putin’s unprecedented efforts to change the outcome were meaningless or inconsequential. A hostile foreign power made a concerted effort to help their guy win, and we’re still obviously dealing with that aftermath.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  234. @233. On a side note regarding the baby formula situation: It is ironic that we prohibit the import of most European baby formula because it doesn’t meet FDA standards, and yet we are now receiving emergency shipments from…Europe. If it’s good enough for American babies now, why wasn’t it good enough two weeks ago or two months ago or two years ago?

    Yea, it doesn’t add up, does it. Protectionism, perhaps? Dort of like OTC drug costs overseas vs.in the U.S. There’s a reason seniors caravan down to Tijuana from SD to get meds- even canned foods andcsuch marketed by U.S. firms: significantly cheaper there for the fixed income groups.

    Might be interesting to delve into any legislative histories or Congressional voting to see if there was some lobbying going on regarding the formula makers stateside.

    DCSCA (aaffa2)

  235. When the program began way back in 1992, the F-35 was supposed to be an affordable one-size-fits-all solution for the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy.

    The DoD has had this persistent blind spot for “versatility” since Vietnam, believing they can develop a cross-service platform while repeatedly refusing to acknowledge that the services have different missions and different capabilities. That’s how you get the Air Force using what John Boyd called a “salt-water plane” in the Navy’s F-4, or the maintenance nightmare that is the V-22.

    As per Ike, you have to accept the whole Ike, not just snippets of his goodbye speech.

    Both the right and the left really do themselves a disservice by not reading Ike’s speech in whole. Even after all this time, it’s still misinterpreted as simply a warning about the overreach of the US military into ever facet of American life. In reality, it’s deeply conservative speech that cautions of the US being far too influenced by a growing post-war technocracy, and the dangers of long-term deficit spending to meet the demands of today. What’s tragic is that it’s clear US leaders in both the public and private sector ignored every recommendation he proposed in the last 60-plus years after he left office.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  236. Both the DoD and Congress have forgotten a critical aspect of warfare–all the fancy equipment in the world doesn’t mean squat if you don’t have the human capital to keep that machine running, and it’s a massive requirement. For every person actually responsible for firing a shot in anger, you need hundreds of support staff behind them to keep operations running smoothly.

    Both entities would be better off not chasing after the latest gadgetry (which are already compromised from using Chinese-made hardware to run them), and increasing authorized manning levels instead, especially at CONUS stations where the installation hosts inevitably have enough manning to support their own organizations, but not the endless tenant units and mission partners. These organizations occasionally even cut off their nose to spite their face by data-masking their personnel numbers, so they don’t have to provide the host with billets from their own docket to provide them the support they require.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  237. ‘The United States has a longstanding one China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances. Though the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, we have a robust unofficial relationship as well as an abiding interest in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, the United States makes available defense articles and services as necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability. The United States continues to encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait differences consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan.’

    aka- ‘STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY.”

    Clean-up on Aisle Joe:

    BREAKING NEWS- At the end of his global televised presser in Tokyo, responding to a reporter’s question, Biden counters establish U.S. policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ regarding Taiwan and verbally commits the United States to intervene with military force against China in defense of Taiwan.

    DCSCA (d7b73a)

  238. ‘The oldest and longest running of the United States’ deliberately ambiguous policies [strategic ambiguity] was whether and how it would defend the Republic of China on Taiwan in the event of an attack by the People’s Republic of China (Mainland China). This issue is at the cornerstone of United States–Taiwan relations and a central sticking point in United States–China relations. This policy was intended to discourage both a unilateral declaration of independence by ROC leaders and an invasion of Taiwan by the PRC.

    The United States seemingly abandoned strategic ambiguity in 2001 after then-President George W. Bush stated that he would “do whatever it takes” to defend Taiwan. He later used more ambiguous language, stating in 2003 that “The United States policy is one China”.

    In October 2021, President Biden announced a commitment that the United States would defend Taiwan if attacked by the People’s Republic of China. But then the White House quickly clarified: “The president was not announcing any change in our policy and there is no change in our policy”.- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy_of_deliberate_ambiguity

    Now in May, 2022, in Tokyo on live global television, ol’Joey opened his mouth and put his foot in it again.

    DCSCA (d7b73a)

  239. @241. ‘…the US being far too influenced by a growing post-war technocracy…’

    growing post-war technocracy = military industrial complex;

    Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) = Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP)

    “A rose by any other name…” =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (d7b73a)

  240. Biden: US would intervene militarily if China invades Taiwan

    TOKYO (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, in one of the most forceful and overt statements in support of Taiwan in decades. Biden said the burden to protect the self-ruled island was “even stronger” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Biden said, “That’s the commitment we made.” He said an effort by China to use force against Taiwan would “just not be appropriate,” saying it “will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine.” Under the “One China” policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, it maintains unofficial contacts with Taiwan, including a de facto embassy in Taipei, the capital. The U.S. also supplies military equipment for the island’s defense.’ – AP.com

    Biden’s presser statement contradicts his own State Department’s official position of ‘strategic ambiguity’ regarding U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

    ‘Gaffhoooo!!!’

    Gesundheit, Joey!

    DCSCA (d7b73a)

  241. and a tactical nuke will just compel a conventional strike that they don’t want…

    Like sinking every Russian ship in the Black Sea.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  242. I have always been aware that the only thing Trump can run is his mouth. He is like the Marxists that way.

    The saddest thing is that the people who supported Trump had some real grievances, but they chose a champion who was all talk. Eventually they will notice this.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  243. DCCCP, you’re repeating yourself….and I think your fly is down. I disagree with your strageic recommendations

    His recommendations are “they’re doing it all wrong!” And when something bad happens, as it must, he will say “I told you so!”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  244. Biden’s presser statement contradicts his own State Department’s official position of ‘strategic ambiguity’ regarding U.S. policy toward Taiwan.

    The economic welfare of the western world hinges on Taiwan. Every advanced chip made in the world is made in Taiwan or South Korea, but mostly in Taiwan. In order of bad to worst:

    1. China invades Taiwan, is pushed back.
    2. China invades Taiwan, destroying all the semiconductor fabs.
    3. China invades Taiwan, capturing all the semiconductor fabs.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  245. Breaking- CNN REPORTS WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL WALKS BACK BIDEN COMMENTS ON TAIWAN AT TOKYO PRESSER LESS THAN 20 MINUTES AFTER HE MADE IT.

    WH cleans up gaffe; same one he made in October; reaffirms U.S. policy commitment to ‘One China Policy’ and ‘strategic ambiguity.’

    Idiot.

    DCSCA (35925d)

  246. @248 Trump won white trash democrats and tea baggers with a simple message I hate the same people you hate. The news medial and hollywood libs. The corporate establishment. Economic libertarian free trade conservatives. Neo-con war mongers. Elitists in general and I could go on such as china. This was the deal closer: The vermin in the news media says I can’t deliver. Well I can at least try to fight them unlike the 16 corporate establishment dwarfs who are owned by them. I am running against the same people you hate. Then I will take on the corporate grifters clinton and biden. I will put judges in office who will end abortion. I will change laws in swing states so state legislators not democrat voter decide who votes and who gets the states electoral colleges votes. The republican establishment has nothing to offer these voters. It only takes 40% of the voters who vote republcan to control the majority of states if they come out and vote.

    asset (e7f113)

  247. ‘strategic ambiguity.’

    He achieved that actually. It won’t matter much. Xi is done and his successor will be paying nice-nice with the West for some time to come.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  248. I will be very pleased to see the Netroots do to the Democrats what Trump did to the GOP. But who is your Trump?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  249. ‘‘strategic ambiguity.’ He achieved that actually. It won’t matter much.’

    Most of his gaffes don’t; like clearing his bowels in his pants in the Vatican. And breaking winds before Camilla.

    DCSCA (7163b4)

  250. @254 AOC and the squad They just got another one in PA. last week and two more in texas this tuesday. All are in blue districts not swing districts and rabid pro abortion rights voters are now angrier then republican voters. In NY anti gerrymandering redistricting rulings is tearing the democrat establishment apart. Examples : Corporate establishment grifters jerry nadler and carolyn maloney were put in the same district to fight it out in a cage match. Sean patrick murphy jumped out of his district and into the district of a black gay democrat incumbent. Blacks are yelling racist and gay groups are going after his white ass too! Redistricting put more lefty voters in AOC’s district.

    asset (e7f113)

  251. Three weeks; still no SCOTUS leaker pegged.

    Bring on ‘The Dancing Alitos!’

    2 drink minimum, eh Brett.

    DCSCA (7163b4)

  252. With $40 billion secured, Zelenskyy says Ukraine War must be solved through diplomacy and negotiations.
    As 81 million have a belly laugh.

    mg (8cbc69)

  253. BTW; JB just sent another warning to China about invading Taiwan. So, there’s a pretty good chance China is about to invade.

    He should have used that money for Ukraine to build some of the things we’ll want in the US after the invasion. That he isn’t, or rather we aren’t, taking some of the more obvious steps will be unfortunate.

    frosty (f4d8a0)

  254. FWO: “In reality, it’s deeply conservative speech that cautions of the US being far too influenced by a growing post-war technocracy, and the dangers of long-term deficit spending to meet the demands of today.”

    I agree. The entire speech can be found here https://www.airforcemag.com/article/1083ike/ with a key paragraph emphasizing “balance”. I was with Adm Mullen when he declared in 2012 our top national security threat was debt. The average interest rate paid on the debt in 2021 was a historically low 1.5%. The comet is now heading toward the earth. Interest rates are heading up with multiple rate hikes anticipated this year to combat inflation. If rates return to 2001 levels, about 5.4% (which is a long journey but not inconceivable), with current debt over $30T the interest payment balloons to $1.4T. For those counting, that’s twice the current pentagon spending. Interest payments will crowd out both domestic and military investment.

    We need a glide path to sanity but neither party wants to take off the clown nose and start making tough decisions. Yes, Putin and Xi are smiling (though Putin thankfully might have other things on his mind at this moment). We want to yell at each other about transsexuals and systemic racism while a bomb is ticking in the basement. Now this will cause DCCCP to roar hypocrisy over Ukraine. That’s ok; he’s in dog-on-bone mode and won’t grasp $40B vs $30T and the implication, including future cost, of a destabilized Eastern Europe. He’s irredeemably Pro-Putin, with an insatiable appetite to spin for him. Penny-wise and pound-foolish.

    So we need serious people in office, not just people wanting to play politics and enjoy the trappings of power. We can’t afford AOC’s Green New Deal or Civilian Climate Corps. We can’t grow the military and can’t pretend that tax cuts are magically paid for. We need to make hard tough calls about entitlements. We can’t magically keep paying ourselves regardless what Modern Monetary Theory foolishly preaches. We need new voices…not Boeberts, Greenes, Gosars, and Gaetz’s….and no one else enthralled by Trump’s schtick. We need patriots across the board…people in media who will tell the truth and understand priorities. We as a people need to want that….

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  255. @239

    Not quite.

    I had my hopes up.

    What couldn’t be confirmed is that Putin’s meddling made the difference in the outcome.

    Then you restate what I said.

    What we are dealing with is a lot of people married to a narrative that wasn’t that good to begin with and has steadily crumbled over time. But hey, illegal stuff is a really big deal sometimes. It’s a case by case thing.

    frosty (f4d8a0)

  256. @260

    We want to yell at each other about transsexuals and systemic racism while a bomb is ticking in the basement.

    There is no “we”. There is really only one side that wants to yell about any of that.

    We can’t afford AOC’s Green New Deal or Civilian Climate Corps.

    Yep

    We can’t grow the military

    Let’s put a pin in that.

    and can’t pretend that tax cuts are magically paid for.

    And that

    We need to make hard tough calls about entitlements.

    Yep

    We can’t magically keep paying ourselves regardless what Modern Monetary Theory foolishly preaches.

    Yep

    We need patriots across the board

    There it is. I haven’t seen any evidence that we need more military spending or to grow the military. So, this reads like an argument against some spending followed by wrapping the flag around the one you like and still trying to grab the easy taxpayer money.

    How about we just cut spending? Cut the size of the federal government? Maybe cut some waste because the DoD is a corrupt slush fund. Maybe do some actual infrastructure investment instead of using that as another way to launder tax dollars. Maybe do some house cleaning because all of the people put up by the

    not Boeberts, Greenes, Gosars, and Gaetz’s

    crowd are corrupt lying grifters playing the uni-party how do I get rich off taxpayer money game. Maybe we let people keep more of their money and spend it on things that actually grow the economy?

    frosty (f4d8a0)

  257. Famous Last Words Award entry:

    “Regardless of the outcome on Tuesday, Perdue rally attendee Robert Weinger, 70, said his mind is made up about November.

    “I will not vote for Gov. Kemp,” he said, brushing aside gloom-and-doom scenarios about Abrams carrying the state this fall.

    “Anybody can beat Stacey Abrams,” Weinger said. “She’s a fraud.”

    https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-david-perdue-brian-kemp-georgia-governor-protest-vote-2022-5

    urbanleftbehind (fc3821)

  258. @263 Weinger is right about one thing at least. She’s definitely a fraud. And she likes the racism and the pandering.

    It’s be nice if he were right about the other thing.

    frosty (f4d8a0)

  259. On that note, I do believe the ATL PD killing of the guy who fell asleep in the drive thru post-GF riotd was premeditated in the sense an embarrassing incident was needed to stymie Kesha Lance Bottoms, who at that time had a far brighter future than Star Trek Stacy.

    urbanleftbehind (fc3821)

  260. Then you restate what I said.

    I didn’t, that’s okay, I’m uninterested in going down that rabbit hole.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  261. @260. =yawn= CNN reports U.S. may send troops into Kyiv, Ukraine to “guard” reopened embassy. Lest you forget your ‘no troops’ whine of 12 hours ago.

    So naive.

    DCSCA (f7f5eb)

  262. @259. Gates has Joey pegged; as do Vlad & Xi:

    “I think he [Joe Biden] has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” – former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

    DCSCA (f7f5eb)

  263. Biden says U.S. willing to use force to defend Taiwan — prompting backlash from China

    ‘U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday said he would be willing to use force to defend Taiwan, prompting thanks from the democratic, self-ruled island — but sharp criticism from China.

    When asked at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida whether the U.S. would be prepared to defend Taiwan if attacked, Biden replied, “Yes.” China’s Foreign Ministry expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the [Biden ‘Tokyo gaffe] remarks, before adding that Beijing has no room for compromise or concessions relating to matters of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    “No one should underestimate the strong determination, firm will, and strong ability of the Chinese people to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and do not stand against the 1.4 billion Chinese people,” China’s Foreign Ministry said.’

    https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/23/biden-says-us-willing-to-use-force-to-defend-taiwan.html

    Woe is Joe: Tokyo ain’t the Senate floor, Senator Squinty.

    DCSCA (f7f5eb)

  264. Now this will cause DCCCP to roar hypocrisy over Ukraine. That’s ok; he’s in dog-on-bone mode and won’t grasp $40B vs $30T and the implication, including future cost, of a destabilized Eastern Europe. He’s irredeemably Pro-Putin, with an insatiable appetite to spin for him. Penny-wise and pound-foolish.

    Pfft.

    AJ: your fly is open. 😉

    DCSCA (f7f5eb)

  265. We can’t grow the military and can’t pretend that tax cuts are magically paid for. We need to make hard tough calls about entitlements. We can’t magically keep paying ourselves regardless what Modern Monetary Theory foolishly preaches. We need new voices…not Boeberts, Greenes, Gosars, and Gaetz’s….and no one else enthralled by Trump’s schtick. We need patriots across the board…people in media who will tell the truth and understand priorities. We as a people need to want that….

    Bull, AJ.

    For 2022, United States is ranked 1 of 142 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review. It holds a PwrIndx* score of 0.0453 (a score of 0.0000 is considered ‘perfect’). This entry last updated on 04/09/2022.

    https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.php?country_id=united-states-of-america

    “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the Military Industrial Complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” -President Dwight D. Eisenhower, January, 1961

    DCSCA (f7f5eb)

  266. He should have used that money for Ukraine to build some of the things we’ll want in the US after the invasion. That he isn’t, or rather we aren’t, taking some of the more obvious steps will be unfortunate.

    He’s been pushing pretty hard for funding US a huge semiconductor fab buildout — he even had the Intel CEO present at the last SotU — but it seems lost in the bowels of Congress.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  267. Putin survived assassination attempt two months ago: Ukraine military official

    Russian President Vladimir Putin survived an assassination attempt two months ago, a top Ukrainian military official said Monday.

    Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, said an “unsuccessful attempt” on the Russian strongman’s life occurred in Caucasus shortly after Russia invaded the nation on Feb. 24, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

    https://nypost.com/2022/05/23/putin-survived-assassination-attempt-two-months-ago-official/

    Maybve; maybe not. Wouldn’t be the first try; OTOH, lest you forget the Snake Island myth, consider the source: Ukraine—–

    https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2022-03-12-ghost-of-kyiv–ukrainian-reaper-and-snake-island–three-war-myths-from-the-ukraine-war.Hkev9BqYWc.html

    ‘Truth is always the first casualty of war.’ – Aeschylus

    DCSCA (f7f5eb)

  268. @259. You have to listen carefully to what the WH says- some weeks ago they mentioned in a briefing plans to ‘aid’ Ukraine during and ‘after’ the conflict ends.. the ‘we’ll be there’ line. So choose your contractor; Halliburton, Caterpillar, General Electric… they’ll line up across the board for contracting to rebuilding infrastructures along w/European subsidiaries and restore the quality of life to wealthy, modern Europe standards– as Detroit crumbles.

    DCSCA (f7f5eb)

  269. DCCCP, you’re repeating yourself…..

    More like Raymond Babbitt….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  270. Crusader Rabbit.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  271. Biden has just spoken out load what would happen if China attacked Taiwan. Taiwan is the Asian Israel. The politics are such that, like Israel, there is no way the US wouldn’t defend Taiwan. The current Senate Minority Leader would see to that.

    There is a nearly $14 billion backlog in aid provided to Taiwan since 2019.

    (The backlog) includes Taiwan’s $8 billion purchase of 66 F-16 fighter jets as well as $620 million to replace expiring components of its Patriot missile system.

    The delayed deliveries also consist of smaller, asymmetric weapons systems Washington believes would be useful in deterring and thwarting a potential Chinese invasion. China considers the self-governing island a rogue province and has promised to bring it back under Beijing’s control, by force if necessary.

    Those asymmetric weapons include Stinger missiles, heavyweight torpedoes, high-mobility artillery rocket systems, Paladin howitzers, MS-110 reconnaissance pods and a field information communications system. They also include $2.37 billion in Harpoon Block II surface-launched missiles and $1 billion in air-launched SLAM-ER missiles.

    The $14.2 billion backlog of sales accounts for the vast majority of the approximately $17 billion in military equipment Taiwan agreed to purchase from the United States since July 2019. The U.S. State Department notified Congress of another $95 million sale to provide contracting support for Taiwan’s Patriot missile system just last week (in April 2022)…….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  272. Correction:

    Biden has just spoken out loud…..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  273. Preparing a Post-Invasion Taiwan for Insurgency
    ……..
    The CCP is increasingly vocal about its interest in reunifying with Taiwan, and the Chinese military is undertaking more aggressive actions in the Taiwan Strait. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has a quantitative advantage over the U.S. Navy, and most U.S. wargames suggest that after the outset of high-intensity conflict, U.S. forces may also lose their qualitative advantage. A former Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy has suggested that Russia’s initial failures in Ukraine may cause the PLAN to redouble its efforts to overwhelm Taiwan’s defenses at the outset. If China invades Taiwan, it “wins” if it can successfully subdue the population and assimilate it as it has Hong Kong and other restive provinces.
    ……..
    The Marine Corps appears poised to play a larger role in Taiwan. Some defense analysts suggest that one of the experimental Marine littoral regiments may be ideally suited to be deployed in Taiwan. Marine Corps Commandant General David H. Berger has reoriented the service to focus on the Pacific and China, with critics suggesting he has done so to the exclusion of all other threats.14 If General Berger’s assessment is correct, Marines will be uniquely postured to respond as the “911 force” to a contingency in Taiwan, directly involving them in any defense of the ROC. A key role in that defense should be developing a resistance capable of an insurgency against the PLA—prohibiting its successful pacification of the country while the United States and allies continue to fight China in the broader theater.

    In a recent exercise simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John E. Hyten assessed that the U.S. military “failed miserably.” General Hyten said the adversary force “ran rings around us.” While Chinese annexation is not inevitable, U.S. planners should be prepared for this worst-case scenario. In such an event, China’s occupation of Taiwan should be seen no more as ending the conflict than the United States’ successful rout of the Iraqi military in 2003 concluded the Iraq War. To prepare for this contingency, the Marine Corps should plan to assist a Taiwanese insurgency.
    ………
    ………To enable a successful guerrilla campaign, Marine war planners should prepare to help execute sabotage against Taiwan’s monitoring technology to eliminate the PLA’s ability to repurpose it. Targets may include Taiwan’s system of surveillance cameras, its satellite relays, internet/fiber nodes, and associated means of data storage. Furthermore, working with Taiwan’s defense ministry, the Marine Corps should identify locations used to exfiltrate data back to China for analysis and exploitation via big-data algorithms run on massive Chinese server farms and plan to help render them inoperable. The goal must be to make the island’s surveillance networks dark.

    Destruction of Taiwanese information infrastructure could be carried out in the physical as well as the virtual world. Physical attacks could be assigned to conventional units and/or MarSOC Raiders. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command (MarForCyber) could conduct computer network operations to help map and destroy, as necessary, existing Taiwanese cyber networks. While the PLA may be pleased that civilians cannot communicate using the internet, the adverse effects on their occupation would be more significant and would give resistance cells freedom to operate.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  274. Taiwan is of critical importance to the West’s economy (and a strategic imperative to the USA). Not only would China deprive the West of advanced semiconductors by capturing Taiwan, they would have access to technologies that are a decade past their theirs.

    We should come right out and say “we will use nuclear weapons to defend Taiwan.”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  275. Of course, if you think an invasion is imminent, you should be buying up Intel shares.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  276. mg (8cbc69) — 5/23/2022 @ 3:01 am

    Zelenskyy says Ukraine War must be solved through diplomacy and negotiations.

    What else? Its not going to be the unconditional surrender of Russia to Ukraine.

    Even World War I was solved through diplomacy.

    An armistice on November 11, 1918 and then the Treaty of Versailles.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  277. 163. I think this link works:

    file:///C:/Users/AdultPatron/Downloads/E2022_0116CV_TIM_HARKENRIDER_et_al_v_TIM_HARKENRIDER_et_al_ORDER___OTHER_670%20(7).pdf

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  278. Latest polls democrats pass republicans 47% to 42% in support msnbc reports. Last month before abortion ruling leak democrats 44% republicans 47% Thanks leaker for doing your duty.

    asset (00337a)

  279. Eisenhower’s farewell speech is of interest, even today.

    But it should be read in context. For example, defense in 1961 accounted for about 50 percent of the federal budget. It is now just over 20 percent.

    In the speech, Eisenhower said (correctly, I am sure) that “three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment.” Now, there are about 1.3 million in the armed forces, and about 730,000 civilian employees in the Defense Department.

    Our population then was about 55 percent of what it is now, so, if we had proportionately as many as in 1961, our “establishment” would now be somewhere around 6 million, or roughly three times as large now as it is.

    Eisenhower also warned, again correctly, that there were risks to the immmense federal research spending:

    For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

    THE PROSPECT of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present — and is gravely to be regarded.

    YET, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

    IT IS THE TASK of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system — ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

    In sum, the dangers from our “military-industrial complex” have been much reduced since Eisenhower spoke, but I am not so sure we can say the same about that second problem, the dangers of too much federal control over research.

    (One of the problems in understanding this speech is that it isn’t well written, reading more like the thoughts of a bureaucrat, that lack the clarity of, for example, an Orwell. Nonetheless, it is posssible to make out the meaning, if we are honest and careful, and avoid almost mindless sloganeering.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  280. Did you know that IKE (yes, DCSCA’s Ike) threatened the Chinese with nuclear weapons should they dare invade Quemoy (a Taiwanese possession of little interest that sits at the mouth of a mainland bay, 6 miles from China and 115 miles from Taiwan).

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  281. I’ve having trouble

    `Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  282. 163. 283.

    file:///C:/Users/AdultPatron/Downloads/E2022_0116CV_TIM_HARKENRIDER_et_al_v_TIM_HARKENRIDER_et_al_ORDER___OTHER_670%20(7).pdf

    That’s a link to a file on a local computer!

    This link will create a link

    https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/05/six-things-to-know-about-new-yorks-new-congressional-map.html

    Click on the words: lengthy response to complaints

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  283. #235 Dana – I’m glad you liked that Pyle story, and agree with your ambivalence. I posted it because I think our largest long-term domestic problem in the United States is our weakening families. We no longer agree, as we mostly did during World War II, on how families should work, which depends on how men and women relate to each other.

    The 2016 election gave us, I think, the choice between two attacks on traditional families: Trump’s “Playboy” philosophy, and Clinton’s from Ms. magazine. Both, in my opinion, are worse than what they want to replace, and neither offers a criticism that would help make the improvements we need. As you know, but a few readers may not, the two magazines agree on abortion: (Both are in favor of no restrictions, though for different reasons.)

    There’s another story in that section of Pyle’s book that I will post tomorrow, to remind us that matters could be worse.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  284. asset,

    My state thinks that it’s just fine for a 13yo to decide to have an elective abortion as the baby is crowning during labor, without any input from her parents.

    Do you think this is an absolute constitutional right?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  285. And, now, monkeypox!

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  286. Biden has just spoken out loud…..

    Pfft. As Bud and Lou would say:

    ‘You know what makes a balloon go up? Hot air. So what’s holding him down.’

    DCSCA (3e446b)

  287. In sum, the dangers from our “military-industrial complex” have been much reduced since Eisenhower spoke,

    Except it hasn’t. If anything it’s worse than ever; a malignancy embedded into the operational mindset of the most costly, bloated military in human history which couldn’t tame a country of goat and sheepherders over 20 years and bugged out disastrously; similarly lost to a determined nation of that subsisted on rice and bamboo in Southeast Asia after 12 years, 58,000 dead and a trillion dollar blown; and was beaten by 19 middle eastern terrorists with $500,000 who did more physical damage to the USA than Hitler could have dreamed. An elephant can pirouette in a phone both better.

    DCSCA (3e446b)

  288. 290
    No worries Pfizer came out with the vaccine yesterday. Miraculously on time.

    mg (8cbc69)

  289. Pretty sure dumb and dumpy Milley already told China we wouldn’t do anything if they went into Taiwan in a not so esoteric statement.
    Ice Cream brain wants a war with China as well as Russia.
    Orange Man BAAAAD.

    mg (8cbc69)

  290. The Marine Corps appears poised to play a larger role in Taiwan… In a recent exercise simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John E. Hyten assessed that the U.S. military “failed miserably.”

    My neighbor, a Marine Lt., stationed at Pendleton, was deployed to Palau last summer first three months, then extended to six months- specifically for duty war gaming scenarios regarding a China/Taiwan invasion. He wasn’t optimistic when gaming it out either– and he and his family are concerned a deployment and expect China to make a move. He mentioned the real basic problem for the U.S. is simple geography– maintaining a supply chain. And we know how effective and efficient ol’ Scranton Joe is on keeping Americans supplied and satisfied. Or is it Wilmington this week.

    DCSCA (3e446b)

  291. Joe Biden flies home from Asia….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWoCLqMq8qM

    DCSCA (3e446b)

  292. No worries Pfizer came out with the vaccine yesterday. Miraculously on time.

    There’s been a vaccine for years. JYNNEOS™ protects against smallpox and monkeypox.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  293. @289 As I have said before their are no rights just privileges that have to be enforced. Its her choice not yours or the states ;but again that has to be enforced. The catholic church position I disagree with no abortion ;but protect the child after their born. The conservative position of no abortion ;but your on your own kid after your born don’t expect me to pay for welfare thats socialism! Maybe private charities and if they are overwhelmed as they have been in the past well tough!

    asset (149d0b)

  294. @241. ‘…the US being far too influenced by a growing post-war technocracy…’

    growing post-war technocracy = military industrial complex;

    Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) = Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP)

    “A rose by any other name…” =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (d7b73a) — 5/22/2022 @ 11:28 pm

    For people with short attention spans, maybe. For those who aren’t manically fixated on a single phrase, they tend to also read what he wrote in the surrounding paragraphs:

    Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research-these and many other possibilities, each possibly promising in itself, may be suggested as the only way to the road we which to travel.

    But each proposal must be weighed in the light of a broader consideration: the need to maintain balance in and among national programs-balance between the private and the public economy, balance between cost and hoped for advantage-balance between the clearly necessary and the comfortably desirable; balance between our essential requirements as a nation and the duties imposed by the nation upon the individual; balance between action of the moment and the national welfare of the future. Good judgment seeks balance and progress; lack of it eventually finds imbalance and frustration.

    The record of many decades stands as proof that our people and their government have, in the main, understood these truths and have responded to them well, in the face of stress and threat. But threats, new in kind or degree, constantly arise. I mention two only.

    A vital element in keeping the peace is our military establishment. Our arms must be mighty, ready for instant action, so that no potential aggressor may be tempted to risk his own destruction.

    Our military organization today bears little relation to that known by any of my predecessors in peace time, or indeed by the fighting men of World War II or Korea.

    Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United State corporations.

    This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence-economic, political, even spiritual-is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

    In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

    We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

    Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades.

    In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.

    Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been over shadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

    The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.

    Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite.

    It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system-ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.

    Mic drops are for the Poloniuses of the world.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  295. @299. Pfft. Shorter: ‘Facts are stubborn things’ – Ronald Reagan

    “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the Military Industrial Complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” -President Dwight D. Eisenhower, January, 1961

    _____

    F-35 helmet costs $400,000 — 4 times that of predecessor

    $400,000 per helmet — more than four times as much as the Air Force paid for head wear for other aircraft such as the F-16.

    https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2015/10/26/f-35-helmet-costs-400000-4-times-that-of-predecessor/

    US aircraft carrier costs are rising again, Navy budget shows

    https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2021-06-07/US-aircraft-carrier-costs-are-rising-again-Navy-budget-shows-1652936.html

    Appetizers. Hungry for more? Feel free to dig in– but it’ll cost ‘ya: billions. Stop making this so easy.

    “I saw one of those flying saucer-ers;
    Everything they say in the papers is true;
    I saw one of those flying saucer-ers;
    Boy I’m scared; ain’t you?!” – ‘The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,’ CBS TV, 1967-1969

    DCSCA (babb50)

  296. DCSCA (babb50) — 5/23/2022 @ 6:57 pm

    Pfft. Literally nothing you posted there refutes that excerpt. As to facts being stubborn things:

    Table 4. Receipts of the U.S. Government, September 2021 and Other Periods
    Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund Receipts: $294 billion

    Table 5. Outlays of the U.S. Government, September 2021 and Other Periods
    Total Department of Defense Military Programs: $719 billion
    Total Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: $1.859 trillion

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  297. @301. Except it does.

    But feel free to dig into the billions blown by the MIC and justify the endless, massive waste…

    We procure weapons systems today not designed to be affordable, acceptable losses in combat, as in WW2 or even Korea, but hardware and systems too costly and expensive to afford to lose in war. Or worse, abandon to an enemy or shove into the sea from carrier decks– as in Vietnam and Afghanistan.

    Ike was right.

    … and the MIC smiled.

    DCSCA (babb50)

  298. @301. Except it does.

    Except it doesn’t.

    But feel free to dig into the billions blown by the MIC and justify the endless, massive waste…

    Literally no one on a conservative blog is making the argument that a government agency isn’t wasteful.

    We procure weapons systems today not designed to be affordable, acceptable losses in combat, as in WW2 or even Korea, but hardware and systems too costly and expensive to afford to lose in war.

    I already pointed that out with the DoD’s tendency to want to make “jack of all trades” weapons platforms, using the F-4 and V-22 as examples.

    Ike was right.

    You mean about the part where he said, “Of these, I mention two only,” “We recognize the imperative need for this development,” or “Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite”?

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  299. The F-22: cost of one aircraft alone is an estimated $334 million which includes research and development (unit cost of $150 million). The Air Force originally wanted 700 F-22s to be produced but had to cancel production just shy of 200 because they were already over-budget.

    In fact, the U.S. Air Force stopped production early on the fifth generation fighter because of the soaring F-22 costs. The cost of one aircraft alone is an estimated $334 million which includes research and development (unit cost of $150 million). The Air Force originally wanted 700 F-22s to be produced but had to cancel production just shy of 200 because they were already over-budget. The flight cost per hour for an F-22 is roughly $70,000.

    https://militarymachine.com/f-22-cost/

    Crazy. And an unsustainable mindset.

    … and the Military Industrial Complex smiled.

    DCSCA (babb50)

  300. @303. Except it does.

    Whether you like it or not.

    “Reality. What a concept.” – Robin Williams

    DCSCA (babb50)

  301. FWO, I think you broke the DCCCP AI with the extended Eisenhower quote…..too much contradiction and data to process, maybe? The overload spun its programming right into weirdly repeating the MIC quote yet one more time, helmet data redux, carrier warning, and random entertainment nugget. It was almost like watching Captain James T. Kirk using logic to cause the sentient computer Landru to self destruct. In a word, fascinating. +1

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  302. @306. AJ- your fly is open.

    DCSCA (babb50)

  303. Oh wait, quasi re-boot

    “Except it does. Whether you like it or not.”

    Nope, still broken

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  304. @308. Nope, still broken

    Then get a new zipper, AJ. eBay should fit your pistol:

    REPLACEMENT REPAIR ARMY TALON $49.95 $8.50 shipping

    … and the MIC smiled. 😉

    DCSCA (babb50)

  305. @298: Yes or no. Its it ok to abort a “fetus”, simply on the birthing person’s demand, after birth has begun?

    This is the extreme “pro-choice” position. The extreme pro-life position is much milder than this as no one dies.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  306. From those wonderful people who brought you the Pentagon Papers:

    Are Cost Overruns a Military-Industry-Complex Specialty?

    https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4311.html

    This is just too easy.

    … and DCSCA smiled.

    DCSCA (babb50)

  307. @310. 3 weeks; still no leaker outed.

    Guess what:

    Within three weeks, the blastocyte cells ultimately form a little ball, or an embryo. By this time, the first nerve cells have formed. Your developing fetus has already gone through a few name changes in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

    https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/7247-fetal-development-stages-of-growth#:~:text=Within%20three%20weeks%2C%20the%20blastocyte%20cells%20ultimately%20form,changes%20in%20the%20first%20few%20weeks%20of%20pregnancy.

    Oh my, SCOTUS. Bring on ‘The Dancing Alitos!’ [-)

    DCSCA (babb50)

  308. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.

    It wasn’t the military that proved the danger.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  309. I’m taking donations for getting DCSCA his own blog.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  310. …and maybe a therapy dog….or a hooker. I’m in for 100 Eisenhower $1 coins just because it seems right

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  311. 5 Insanely Wasteful Projects the Pentagon is Spending Your Money On

    USS Gerald Ford-class Carriers

    The U.S. Navy recently launched its first Ford-class aircraft carrier — the first new carrier designed in over 40 years. Although the carrier’s sleeker equipment will require lower maintenance and reportedly save the Navy billions, it cost roughly $15 billion to construct, including $1 billion in overrun. A Government Accountability Office report from September noted that the combination of cost problems, engineering obstacles, and untested technology systems was alarming and should be addressed by Congress. Some experts have also pointed out that in an age of long-range and heavy-yield precision missiles, aircraft carriers are becoming obsolete (but still incredibly expensive) strategic assets.

    The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

    The program for developing the F-35 has cost taxpayers $400 billion over 12 years of intense development and engineering. And that’s not even half the real price tag: building and maintaining a fleet of 2,443 planes for 30 years (their approximate lifespan) will cost more than $1 trillion. It remains to be seen if the F-35 is worth even a fraction of the development cost. The planes currently aren’t able to fly in bad weather or at night, and none have been used in combat.

    Littoral Combat Ship

    The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program was designed to create a next-generation asset for the Navy as it shifts the bulk of its fleets to the Pacific Ocean. So far LCSs have been plagued by numerous problems, including structure cracks, computer system failures, generator meltdowns, burst pipes, propulsions problems, and potentially disastrous communication errors. And to boot, naval officials are skeptical that they will do well in combat. The Pentagon may cut down the planned fleet size of 55 ships, but if they don’t, the LCS program will cost taxpayers more than $30 billion dollars.

    “Green Navy”

    In a nod toward sustainability, the U.S. Navy has been attempting to create a “green fleet” by adopting alternative biofuels. The catch is that the cleaner fuel costs $26 per gallon, which is much more expensive than the $2.50 the Navy pays for each gallon of petroleum. Despite reports that there isn’t a clear long-term cost benefit of adopting biofuel, the DoD has spent millions on private companies that are developing alternative fuels. And green projects aren’t confined to a single branch of the military; last year the Air Force paid for 11,000 gallons of biofuel at a rate 10 times higher than the price of regular jet fuel.

    Human Terrain System

    The Human Terrain System (HTS) is a $600 million program that helps service members develop a greater understanding of the cultures where they are deployed. A recent investigation criticized HTS for chronic mismanagement, incidents of racism and sexual harassment, serious fraud. Anthropologists have derided it for militarizing their field without producing useful fieldwork — an opinion shared by some military officers, who dismiss HTS reports as useless. As Congress goes through the motions of debating the National Defense Authorization Act, they are poised to approve an additional $15 million for the program.

    https://www.mic.com/articles/74159/5-insanely-wasteful-projects-the-pentagon-is-spending-your-money-on

    ___________

    @314. Put your two cents in wher it matters, Kevin: buy me an aircraft carrier or two, instead. The Navy unloaded two of the real things for a penny a piece, per Business Insider a while back:

    The USS Kitty Hawk was deployed in the Vietnam War, and the USS John F. Kennedy featured in the Gulf War.The US Navy sold two aircraft carriers to a ship-breaking company for 1 cent each after decades of service. The cut-price fee reflects the fact the company will profit from selling the ship metal for scrap, officials said. Naval Sea Systems Command, a US Navy suborganization, said it had agreed to sell the USS Kitty Hawk and the USS John F. Kennedy to International Shipbreaking Limited, which is based in Brownsville, Texas, USA Today reported.

    https://www.businessinsider.com/us-sells-2-aircraft-carriers-1-cent-each-2021-10#:~:text=The%20US%20Navy%20sold%20two%20aircraft%20carriers%20to,selling%20the%20ship%20metal%20for%20scrap%2C%20officials%20said.

    Hobby Lobby sells a model of the Kitty Hawk for $29.99– made out of that evil petroleum derivative: plastic. Say it ain’t so, Joe?!

    Waste, waste, waste.

    … and the MIC smiled.

    DCSCA (babb50)

  312. The average cost of a Nimitz-class carrier (in 2022 $) is 9.2 billion. Ten were built. The first one cost more. The Ford may be $15 billion but the subsequent ones, where they don’t have to rebuild things several times, will be cheaper.

    Not mentioned is the cost of not having them.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  313. I take it back. Pay for your own blog. Maybe you can charge for subscriptions.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  314. @310 What ever the woman decides. Not my choice to make for her nor yours.

    asset (a8436f)

  315. @310 You really wouldn’t want me making choices for conservatives. Trust me on this.

    asset (a8436f)

  316. So, you think it’s not murder to kill a child just because it hasn’t quite left the woman’s body? Luckily few doctors would respect that choice.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  317. Suppose we give the infant a choice.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  318. But really, this insistence on a completely unsupportable opinion, held only by about 1% of the public, is why you guys will continue to lose.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  319. Kevin.m Latest polls after leak Democrats 47% republicans 42% Women voters thanks to alito et.al remember again why they hate republican. Democrats will be passing out coat hangers to women with the message vote democrat or use this! Biden, schumer, pelosi and the DNC fears AOC and the left taking over the democrat party a lot more then they fear republicans and rightly so!

    asset (a8436f)

  320. The average cost of a Nimitz-class carrier (in 2022 $) is 9.2 billion. Ten were built. The first one cost more. The Ford may be $15 billion but the subsequent ones, where they don’t have to rebuild things several times, will be cheaper.

    Except they won’t. Inflation; operations costs; upgrades– then scrapped.

    A boat is a hole in the water into which one pours money.

    DCSCA (95f1bd)

  321. The average cost of a military rifle round is maybe 25 cents. What’s the cost of the soldier it kills?

    Let’s do one more. An Ohio class submarine carries 20 Trident missiles, with a 6,000 mile range, each of which can be launched with 8 to 14 independent reentry nuclear warheads (that’s 160 to 280 total). Should the world stop building countries?

    Your arguments are specious, DCSCA, and that’s putting it mildly. There are lots better reasons for wars to be fought with popguns that shoot a cork attached to a rubber band (for a big savings in ammunition) than “cost”.

    The cost of war is not the weapons and ammunition.

    nk (aa7b70)

  322. giving FDA bureaucrats $28 million more clearly wasn’t enough

    Why Is the FDA Seizing Baby Formula During a Baby Formula Shortage?

    Hundreds of thousands of parents in the U.S. are scrambling to find formula for their babies, and President Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era national-security law to boost domestic production. Yet the Food and Drug Administration has been enforcing an effective ban on formula from Europe, the world’s largest producer and exporter.

    give them $81 million, just to drive the point home

    JF (f25071)

  323. abortion is the dem’s best solution for the formula shortage

    JF (f25071)

  324. Yet the Food and Drug Administration has been enforcing an effective ban on formula from Europe, the world’s largest producer and exporter.

    Purely protectionism. For the dairy industry and pharma. The FDA is enforcing what Congress lobbyists wrote into law.

    nk (aa7b70)

  325. The extreme pro-life position is much milder than this as no one dies.

    Not entirely true. More than 800 women in the United States died from pregnancy or delivery-related complications in 2020, and the numbers are rising (754 died in 2019). The maternal mortality rate for 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births compared with a rate of 20.1 in 2019.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  326. Protectionism can be waived but some industries need to be kept viable within the USA.
    I am not normally in favor of protectionism, but relying exclusively on overseas sources for baby formula seems unwise.

    we’d all get sick to our stomachs if we knew how much is outsourced to feathernesting lobbyists

    steveg (ef8432)

  327. Having worked for NAVSEA, selling derelict warships for one cent is typical; alternatively they would have been live fire targets. The carriers are far beyond their useful lives-the Kitty Hawk was commissioned in 1961 and decommissioned in 2009; the John F. Kennedy was commissioned in 1968 and decommissioned in 2007. Given that after decommissioning both ships were stripped of all useful material, there was no reason to keep the ships in the Reserve Fleet. Even assuming that they could have been recommissioned, both ships would not be able to handle 21st century aircraft, and would have been expensive to operate as the only conventionally fueled carriers in the fleet.

    DCSCA is a curmudgeonly nostalgist.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  328. I am not normally in favor of protectionism, but relying exclusively on overseas sources for baby formula seems unwise.

    The problem is not relying on overseas sources, but relying exclusively on domestic sources.

    The infant formula industry is a multi-billion dollar business dominated by a handful of firms. In the U.S., just four companies control about 90% of the market, including Abbott Nutrition — the firm behind the shuttered Michigan plant.
    …….
    Typically, the U.S. buys almost no infant formula from other countries. There are steep, 17.5% tariffs on most formula that is brought in. And regulatory barriers make it almost impossible for formula makers outside the country to sell to the customers in the United States.

    “It’s clear that the U.S. has basically closed off its market to imports,” says Mary Lovely, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

    Regulations governing the manufacture and labeling of formula are ostensibly designed to protect the safety of U.S. infants. But they also serve to protect the domestic formula companies from overseas competition.
    ……..
    Lovely says the formula shortage illustrates the pitfalls of believing that an entirely domestic supply chain is necessarily more secure.

    “Having one or two factories in the U.S. or suppliers in the U.S. is not a way to be resilient,” she says. “In fact, it’s a recipe for being vulnerable.”

    Security comes from having a variety of suppliers — at home and in friendly foreign countries. In other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, or all your baby formula in one bottle.
    ……..

    Source

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  329. So, you think it’s not murder to kill a child just because it hasn’t quite left the woman’s body? Luckily few doctors would respect that choice.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 5/23/2022 @ 11:33 pm

    Maybe you should reread

    @310 You really wouldn’t want me making choices for conservatives. Trust me on this.

    asset (a8436f) — 5/23/2022 @ 11:31 pm

    I don’t think you and asset agree on basic things. The various and possible uses of ditches and walls for example.

    It’s also interesting how that 13yo turned into a woman with a complete ability to consent.

    frosty (5831e5)

  330. Not entirely true. More than 800 women in the United States died from pregnancy or delivery-related complications in 2020, and the numbers are rising (754 died in 2019). The maternal mortality rate for 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births compared with a rate of 20.1 in 2019.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/24/2022 @ 9:13 am

    I’m no accountant but I think 800 – 754 -> 46

    On the other hand

    A total of 629,898 abortions for 2019 were reported to CDC from 49 reporting areas

    But let’s ignore the tenuous relationship between the pro-life position and those additional 46 deaths. Let’s ignore the statistical significance of a variation of 46 between two years without looking at any other years. Other than that, sure Kevin M was not entirely correct. I mean 46 vs 629898 is hardly an argument for less abortion. It’s not like Wyoming has less than 600k people and we give them 2 senators, some congress-people, federal funding for a couple of post offices, and a few miles of interstate.

    frosty (5831e5)

  331. @326.Your arguments are specious, DCSCA, and that’s putting it mildly.

    Except they’re not. Your arguments are to attack the facts.

    And RR said, ‘Facts are stubborn things.’

    @332. Ditto.

    This is just too easy. Keep shilling for your favorite DoD toys and hold on to your MIC stocks, boys.

    Sad.

    DCSCA (cc071a)

  332. I don’t think you and asset agree on basic things.

    Oh, I got that. Heads, pikes, walls. His opinions read like from a hateful murderous far-left Nazi who would put people like us in death camps. Just tyying to see how far it goes.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  333. I think that, in the absence of Roe, a political compromise is possible on abortion, that protects an adult woman’s right to an elective abortion for roughly 12 weeks, as is the case in most of the world’s countries, and places significant restrictions afterwards (e.g. life-saving or severe impairment).

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  334. It is instructive to note that the “draconian” Mississippi law that the Court is considering is more liberal than most in Western Europe.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  335. The VP is not an imbecile. That is demeaning to actual imbeciles. Clinically, she’s an “idiot.”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  336. @340. With apologies to Ted Daugherty [David Janssen] and Charles Keith [Gregory Peck]:

    Daugherty: “Yeah, what do I tell the citizenry?”
    Keith: “Tell them that she is outside the area of her competence.”

    DCSCA (cc071a)

  337. Kissinger says Ukraine must give up land to Russia, warns West not to seek to humiliate Putin with defeat

    Henry Kissinger said Ukraine must be prepared to give up territory to Russia in peace talks. He warned of the risk of escalation unless peace negotiations start in the next 2 months. Ukraine has angrily rejected the suggestion that it could give up territory. – businessinsider.com

    What’s the matter, Z– waiting for the $50 check to clear, first, eh.

    DCSCA (cc071a)

  338. #288 No way to treat a lady: As promised, here’s another story from that chapter of Ernie Pyle’s “Here Is Your War”.

    Most of the population of the French North African colonies was Arab or Berber, but there were substantial European populations, especially in the large cities. The field hospital I described earlier took anyone who came:

    There were a lot of things the Charlotte doctors and nurses hadn’t visualized before thy set up their big tent hospital there in the field. The natives, for instance. Arabs in their long gowns came wandering across the plains hoping the miraculous Americans could cure their ailments. So the hospital had to set up a separate tent for them. They had local people in there wounded by shrapnel in the first battle. There was one old woman of eighty-one whose arm had been blown off. There were several patients on whom they had done normal operations.
    One Arab woman had been shot through the stomach. Her condition was grave, but on the second morning her husband arrived, said he had to go to work, and there wasn’t anybody to take care of the children, and for her to get the hell home where she belonged. So she got up and walked out. The doctors didn’t think she could have lived through the day. But you know how it is with us Arabs–we don’t like our woman gadding about when there’s work at at home.

    I think almost every American, then and now, would say that the husband was wrong. But I would add that their families were wrong too, not to have helped her, assuming any of their relatives were near, and that the community they lived in should have come to her aid, too.

    Seeing something that wrong doesn’t tell us much about what is right, but it does remind us that the West, for all its faults, has better relationships between men and women than much of the world.

    (That last quoted sentence reminds me just how great a writer Pyle was, using humor to emphasize the horror.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  339. 15 killed (14 children) at elementary school.

    Shooter also dead, by police.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  340. On the front page of the New York Times today is an article about first M777 howitzers to arrive in Ukraine from the United States. The Ukrainians are delighted to have them, since they outrange the Russian artillery, can be moved quickly, and are easy to camouflage, all advantages in artillery duels.

    They may make Putin cry, even more than he has already.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  341. Hopefully we’ve put GPS governors on them, so they cannot fire into Russia.

    /sarc

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  342. If one of you has some time — I don’t — perhaps you could find a good version of Monty Python’s “BLack Knight” episode for DCCCP.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  343. #346 Kevin – The longest-range type of ammunition (Excaliburs) for the M777s does, in fact, have GPS guidance.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  344. @347. Pfft. Translation; no valid argument.

    ‘Facts are stubborn things.’ -Ronald Reagan

    DCSCA (cc071a)

  345. @347, here you go. A classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmInkxbvlCs

    DCCCP will make valid claims. Like, military system procurement is very expensive. It has a collusion element to it with military leaders, congressional leaders, and industry leaders shuffling about and impacting decisionmaking. This is a hard nut for the government to crack.

    The problem is, what is the alternative? Do we want the government in charge of doing the research and development of weapon systems? If we want to see inefficiencies multiply, lose innovation, and lose the other benefits of competition, then sure. But I think anyone who has seriously thought about defense acquisition reform understands that’s not the path.

    So, what of the level of defense spending? Can we cut from $720B down to $600B, $5500B, $360B? What is the right number? Well, I would argue that any cost benefit analysis must look at what deterrence, capability, and influence is being lost. What bases are being closed and which defense contractors will shutter their doors? A further consideration that many overlook is the brain and expertise drain that happens when you stop building certain systems, be it aircraft carriers, jet fighters, or tanks. If you decide to build fewer submarines, then that expertise goes elsewhere and trying to recover it might be even more expensive down the road. Shrinking the number of big contractors removes competition.

    So yes, defense spending is terribly expensive but there’s a reason that Russia hasn’t absorbed the Baltics, China hasn’t moved on Taiwan, and N. Korea isn’t more mischievous. It’s deterrence and regional presence. Should NATO and S. Korea do more? Probably, but that’s a delicate negotiation and hopefully the current Russian threat brings about more cooperation. I disagree that retreating from NATO is anywhere near the solution. It is in there backyard but they’re not equipped to handle it right now. Our response should not be to allow a nuclear superpower to act with impunity and destabilize a region and threaten our NATO allies.

    DCCCP makes some valid observations. His problem is that he misses a lot of steps between his “facts” and his “conclusions”. That and he has thrown everything possible against the wall to protect Russia’s aggression, which makes me question his objectivity. From blaming the victim to justifying Russia’s claim to denigrating the EU to claiming Ukraine can do fine without our assistance to inflation to escalation. There’s an almost desperation to it that is unmissable. I get a sense that he prizes volume over quality and deep consideration. Any challenge is greeted by a pfft, a yawn, an evasion, or a near comic repetition. He wants attention and to drive the narrative. It’s not exactly what I come to patterico for. It’s just a different version of happyfeet’s performance art. NK loved it…..me, eh, not so much.

    AJ_Liberty (a36eed)

  346. What is the right number?

    Start with 20% across the board.

    DCSCA (cc071a)

  347. That and he has thrown everything possible against the wall to protect Russia’s aggression, which makes me question his objectivity.

    AJ, your fly is still down.

    DCSCA (cc071a)

  348. Texas seems to have its own share of mass shootings, without even counting such events at Fort Hood or Waco. In last 30 years, there was the mass killing at Sutherland Springs (2017, 27 killed); Luby’s Cafeteria (1991, 24); El Paso Walmart (2019, 23); Santa Fe HS (2018, 10); Plano (2017, 9), Harris County (2015, 8); Wedgwood Baptist Church (1999, 8); and Midland–Odessa (2019, 7).

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  349. @303. Except it does.

    Whether you like it or not.

    “Reality. What a concept.” – Robin Williams

    DCSCA (babb50) — 5/23/2022 @ 7:55 pm

    Except it doesn’t.

    Whether you like it or not.

    “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”–Prince Ali, Mighty is He, Ali Ababwa

    Is the rest of the Farewell Address too complex for you that you can only understand one phrase from it?

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  350. @355. Translation, no argument.

    DCSCA (829516)

  351. @355. Translation, no argument.

    DCSCA (829516) — 5/24/2022 @ 7:10 pm

    Pfft. Consider it an in-kind contribution.

    And Fum McGraw smiled.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  352. @357. Pfft. US submarine that crashed into an underwater mountain in the South China Sea ran into a pier months earlier – businessinsider.com

    Billion dollar screw-ups. And the band played on… Stop making this so easy.

    ‘Facts are stubborn things.’ -Ronald Reagan

    DCSCA (bd6bf7)

  353. https://dailycaller.com/2022/05/26/victor-davis-hanson-a-cabinency-of-dunces/
    I am praying to God 81 million get it together.

    mg (8cbc69)

  354. frosty (ec42a1) — 5/21/2022 @ 7:18 am

    Ds take the L – 2022 – the election was stolen, democracy has failed us, time to riot for abortion

    No, it would be: People were fooled by social media/conservative radio, there must be more censorship, if not de jure then de facto.

    People can be fooled – by various sides, but what they want to stop most is truth that contradicts things that are not true/

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  355. You know, I think those 4 Iraqis, members of ISIS, who were supposedly going to be smuggled into the United States to help kill ex-President George W, Bush…were figments of the FBI’s imagination, made real to their target by the FBI’s informant. (invented to upgrade the chargs)

    We haven’t heard any more about that plot.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  356. He’s probably getting death threats.

    Former New York City Police Commissioner Howard Safir is quoted by New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams as saying various things, including that he paid $2,000 down

    I don’t know where he gets his information or if it right or wrong but I did hear that he had posted a receipt for $1,800 and something — and I heard nothing about a receipt for the rest so it could be he got store credit.

    https://nypost.com/2022/05/30/regulate-assault-rifles-like-machine-guns-says-ex-nypd-commish-safir/

    “Uvalde’s Salvador Ramos put $2,000 down, filled a voluntary form and got two legally purchased assault weapons plus 375 rounds of ammunition. That’s crazy. Mass school shootings since Columbine are mainly by 18 or younger males — with legally bought weapons of mass destruction.

    They are done also by people slightly older — but they tend to do it in colleges, rather than in K-12 schools, or, if scared off they avoid educational institutions altogether.

    The Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooter was scared off after being banned from campus, and Dylan Roof in South Carolina also changed his target from a mainly black college to a church (probably figured that people in a church were much less likely to be armed).

    It’s not enough just to protect one place or type of place and call it a day.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  357. * He’s probably getting death threats

    The Uvalde school police chief turned city councilman

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)


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