Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Let’s go!
First news item
Former Vice-President Mike Pence says ‘thanks but no thanks”:
Pence was speaking to CBS, to promote a new book in which he sets out his version of events on the day supporters of his president, Donald Trump, attacked Congress, some chanting that Pence should be hanged.
Pence previously said he would consider testifying. But to CBS, he said: “Congress has no right to my testimony on separation of powers under the constitution of the United States.
“And I believe it will establish a terrible precedent for the Congress to summon a vice-president of the United States to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House.”
Pence, who is weighing out a run for the presidency in 2024 and can’t afford to lose the support of, well, anyone, added:
But I must say again, the partisan nature of the January 6 committee has been a disappointment to me. It seemed to me in the beginning, there was an opportunity to examine every aspect of what happened on January 6, and to do so more in the spirit of the 9/11 Commission, non-partisan, non-political, and that was an opportunity lost.
January 6 Committee chair Rep. Benny Thompson and vice-chair Liz Cheney responded to Pence:
“The select committee has proceeded respectfully and responsibly in our engagement with Vice-President Pence, so it is disappointing that he is misrepresenting the nature of our investigation while giving interviews to promote his new book.
“Our investigation has publicly presented the testimony of more than 50 Republican witnesses, including senior members of the Trump White House, the Trump campaign, and the Trump justice department.
“This testimony, subject to criminal penalties for lying to Congress, was not ‘partisan’. It was truthful.”
Second news item
Moms for Liberty, the group in which members had a shameful view of Ruby Bridges Goes To School, pushed conservative candidates in school boards elections across the country:
Moms for Liberty said it has endorsed more than 500 school board candidates across the country this year, 49% of whom have won. The organization’s candidates were highly successful in Florida, but they had mixed results in Arkansas, California, Michigan and other states.
Moms for Liberty celebrated the six candidates’ wins in Berkeley County as an example of flipping a school board in favor of people who “value parental rights.”
School boards are powerful entities. Thankfully, board members are elected by the public, so it remains an avenue in which parents – for better or worse – can make their voices heard if they’re willing to do the hard work of running for a seat.
Third news item
Trump faces criticism over Covid response:
March, 29, 2020, is a day that should live in infamy. The national mitigation plan against Covid-19, “15 days to stop the spread,” was about to expire. In the Rose Garden, President Trump declared that lockdowns would continue for another 30 days. I tweeted: “President Trump just lost the election.”
When Mr. Trump announced his 2024 campaign Tuesday, he didn’t apologize for the lockdowns or even mention them. I supported him in 2016, and during his tenure he did much to dredge the political swamps, but his decision to approve and extend drastic Covid interventions should disqualify him for a second term.
Fourth news item
Not good news about American Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia:
Brittney Griner has begun serving her nine-year sentence for drug possession at a Russian penal colony, her lawyers and agent said Thursday.
Griner was transferred to a penal colony in Mordovia, about 350 kilometers (210 miles) east of Moscow, after a Russian court last month rejected her appeal of her sentence.
According to the report, President Biden is hopeful that President Putin will want to resume talks about a prisoner exchange concerning both Griner and Paul Whelan.
This morning, Axios is reporting that “The Kremlin aims to secure the release of convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in any prisoner swap with the U.S., a senior Russian official told the news agency Interfax on Friday.”
Also, it as been reported that Navalny has been permanently moved to solitary confinement:
Aleksei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader jailed after surviving an assassination attempt, said on Thursday that he has been transferred permanently to a solitary confinement cell that would limit his contact with other prisoners and the outside world.
“They’re doing it to keep me quiet,” Mr. Navalny said in posts on his verified Twitter account, adding that staying in the small, cramped cell was typically limited to 15 days as a punishment. The rules also bar “long visits” from relatives, he said.
The order came just four days before his family was expected to come see him, according to a post on Twitter from Team Navalny, the core organizers behind his opposition movement, who have all fled Russia.
…
At least nine years have already been added to his initial two-year sentence, and few expect him to emerge from prison while Mr. Putin is still president.
Fifth news item
Yet again President Biden capitulates and plays politics with human rights abuser:
1.
Biden as a Democratic presidential candidate vowed to make a “pariah” out of Saudi rulers over the 2018 killing of Khashoggi.
“I think it was a flat-out murder,” Biden said in a 2019 CNN town hall, as a candidate. “And I think we should have nailed it as that. I publicly said at the time we should treat it that way and there should be consequences relating to how we deal with those — that power.”
2.
The Biden administration says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s high office should shield him from a lawsuit over his role in the killing of a U.S.-based journalist, making a turnaround from Joe Biden’s passionate campaign trail denunciations of the prince over the brutal slaying.
The administration spoke out in support of a claim of legal immunity from Prince Mohammed — Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, who also recently took the title of prime minister — against a suit brought by the fiancée of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and by the rights group Khashoggi founded, Democracy for the Arab World Now.
Note:
A federal judge in Washington had given the U.S. government until midnight Thursday to express an opinion on the claim by the crown prince’s lawyers that Prince Mohammed’s high official standing renders him legally immune in the case.
The Biden administration also had the option of not stating an opinion either way.
Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancé responds to the news: “Biden himself betrayed his word, betrayed Jamal. History will not forget this wrong decision.”
Sixth news item
Protesters in Iran have set on fire the ancestral home of the Islamic republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini two months into the anti-regime protest movement,
The house in the city of Khomein in the western Markazi province was shown ablaze late Thursday with crowds of jubilant protesters marching past, according to images posted on social media, verified by AFP.
Khomeini died in 1989…The house was later turned into a museum commemorating Khomeini. It was not immediately clear what damaged it sustained.
…
Images of Khomeini have on occasion been torched or defaced by protesters, in taboo-breaking acts against a figure whose death is still marked each June with a holiday for mourning.
Masih Alinejad lays out key points:
The leaders of democratic countries should recognize this as a revolution, as it is. This is just the beginning of the end. When teenagers are getting killed… but the day after, they take back to the streets… this is called a revolution”
In contrast w. Russia, would add not even one Islamic Republic diplomat has been asked to leave European soil despite its arming of Putin; hostages; human rights abuses; & terror plots. That must change.
Seventh news item
Cut from the same cloth, I would expect nothing less from these two:
1.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO) declared herself the winner of her congressional race Thursday evening, despite the race heading to an automatic recount. While media outlets, including The Associated Press, have deemed the race far too close to be called, the MAGA-loving firebrand conveyed to her over 1.7 million Twitter followers that she’s the victor, while only being ahead of Democrat opponent Adam Frisch by around 550 votes. “We won! I am so thankful for all of your support, and I am so proud to be your Representative!” Boebert tweeted. “Come January, you can be certain of two things,” she added in an a video with the Capitol building serving as a backdrop. “I will be sworn in for my second term as your congresswoman, and Republicans can finally turn Pelosi’s house back into the People’s House.”
2.
Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake (R) declined to concede governor race to Democrat Katie Hobbs Thursday, raising concerns about the election process.
The Associated Press and other outlets projected that Hobbs won the race on Monday. But Lake indicated she is assembling a legal team that is “collecting evidence and data” pertaining to the electoral process.
“Rest assured, I have assembled the best and brightest legal team and we are exploring every avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week,” Lake said in a video address posted Thursday morning. “I’m doing everything in my power to right these wrongs.”
P.S. Jim Geraghty shows his work: Even if all of the remaining votes were for Kari Lake, Hobbs would still win the election by about 6,000 votes.
P.P.S. Yesterday, Lake’s team confirmed that she was at Mar-a-Lago. Possibly auditioning to be someone’s running mate??
Eighth news item
Only Congress can solve coming border surge:
The progressive collapse of this country’s asylum system over many years, and not the Biden administration’s admittedly murky messaging on migration, is the main cause of today’s accelerating disarray at the border….
Granted, the president and his border policies have contributed to the problem. On taking office, President Biden set about dismantling the Trump administration’s restrictions, including trying to scrap Title 42 expulsions earlier this year. Simultaneously, officials pleaded in vain for migrants not to attempt to enter the country — without any effective strategy to deter them.
In response to Judge Sullivan’s ruling, the Biden administration asked for a five-week grace period to prepare for the anticipated surge of migrants. It has prepared to rush resources to the border, including thousands of beds to hold detainees in tent facilities, and is planning for quicker deportations as a deterrent. Ultimately, though, the fix, and the failure, lie with Congress.
Ninth news item:
— Oluwajomiloju (@JomiAdeniran) November 18, 2022
–Dana
Good morning!
Dana (1225fc) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:07 amI like the positive view of the future in Item 9.
Appalled (d74a32) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:17 amGood morning, Dana!
Re the fifth news item:
Can somebody explain to me how an Article III court has jurisdiction to hear a wrongful death suit arising for the killing of a Saudi citizen by the Saudi government in a Saudi consulate in Turkey when the deceased was neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. permanent resident;
And how a fiancée has standing to bring the suit?
nk (51a6b4) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:22 amAppalled,
I’m torn. Mostly, I think: die already, Twitter. But then I am reminded of the countless number of people throughout the world in conflict areas who are experiencing life-and-death situations (Ukraine, Iran, etc.) where Twitter is their lifeline and vehicle to get critical news out to the world in real-time about what is really happening on the ground. It is truly an invaluable, life-saving tool in many parts of the world. Here in the West, it can certainly be informative, but it’s also a tool to play a more sophisticated and ugly game of tit-for-tat telephone.
Dana (1225fc) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:24 amTwitter delenda est
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:12 am@3: Fairness!
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:14 amBrittney Griner:
Apparently we need more hostages.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:17 amOnly Congress can solve coming border surge:
Except that at least one party has no interest in fixing this on any compromise terms. Both parties prefer to let problems fester, so they can raise money using them.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:24 amI don’t see anything wrong with a Congresswoman who claims victory when leading by 550 votes. Most would. They, more than anyone, know that perception is 90% of truth in politics.
Keri Lake is another matter. It’s one thing to seek a recount, or to claim victory in a closer election. It’s quite another to attack the vote counting itself. She had better have film.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:33 amOops, I put my Kari Lake comment in the “agenda” thread, rather than this one:
Jim Miller (f29931) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:58 amKari Lake said in advance she was not going to accept the results of the election (unless she won, of course). She also told McCain supporters to “get the hell out”. Arizona really dodged a
nk (51a6b4) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:59 ambulletrabid ferret this time, I think.Kevin @ 5,
Your argument, which echoes Beldar’s, ignores what I pointed out in my comment: Twitter, right now, is and has been an invaluable tool for Ukrainians trapped in the war and for protesters risking life and limb in their revolution. Whether it’s reassuring loved ones of their safety, whether it’s strategic information of an enemy’s next target, or where life-saving medical aid can be found, these people in desperate straits rely on the availability and existence of Twitter (and Telegraph. Because it’s a hellscape here doesn’t mean it is there.
Dana (1225fc) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:15 amBreaking news item:
Qatar bans sale of beer at World Cup stadiums in about-face
FILE – In this Thursday, March 5, 2015, file photo, Budweiser beer cans are seen at a concession stand at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla. World Cup organizers reportedly have made another late change in alcohol policy only two days before games start in Qatar by banning beer sales at the eight soccer stadiums in and around Doha. Media reports say Qatari authorities are pressing FIFA to ban all sales of long-time World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser at the eight venues. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:18 am1 of 4
FILE – In this Thursday, March 5, 2015, file photo, Budweiser beer cans are seen at a concession stand at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Fla. World Cup organizers reportedly have made another late change in alcohol policy only two days before games start in Qatar by banning beer sales at the eight soccer stadiums in and around Doha. Media reports say Qatari authorities are pressing FIFA to ban all sales of long-time World Cup beer sponsor Budweiser at the eight venues. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Dana,
I was actually channeling Beldar. I agree that Twitter (and other services) are useful to those denied traditional communications channels.
For the last year, my wife has been facilitating 12-Step groups in Iran dealing with certain behavioral issues, to the point she began learning Farsi. She was mostly using Zoom and WhatsApp. These are now closed off and VPNs are shut down as quickly as they appear. She’s had no contact with her Iranian groups for over a month. It’s a problem for her (and no doubt to those in Iran). While these services ARE useful, they don’t stand a chance against a regime committed to throttling them.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:24 amHere’s a book recommendation: Steven E. Koonin’s Unsettled.
I finished it recently and found it a good treatment of “what climate science tells us, what it doesn’t, and why it matters”.
(I was charmed to see that the comments at B&N are, as I write, perfectly bimodal, seven top ratings, one bottom rating — and none in between.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:38 amSorry for the repeat posting in #13
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:41 amKevin M,
Because these services are facing such challenges doesn’t mean that they should be shut down by the West. Starlink provided immense help to Ukraine at a critical time.
Also, Bill Browder writes about how he was picked up by the authorities in Spain, without explanation or telling him where they were taking him. He was terrified because he knew he was on Putin’s radar and the FSB was after him. Scared to death, he remembered that his lawyer had said if anything ever happened like this, tweet it out and then thousands upon thousands of users would know what was happening. Because he did just that, rescuers reached him in time.
These modern forms of communication have their downsides because people are loons. But not everyone.
Dana (1225fc) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:45 amI don’t think I said they should be shut down. I dislike Twitter for its bumper-sticker level of “discussion” — and the bumper-sticker minds it attracts. Back when they were gleaning bandwidth for cell phones, it was a structural limit, but that is no longer technologically necessary.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:53 amIf Twitter were to die, not from evil intent but from dissatisfaction and obsolescence, it would not be the end of things. A Bill Browder would have other avenues to get his message out, such as Facebook or WhatsApp, even if Twitter died. And really, would Twitter be the best call now?
Services die. I once had a dial-up modem, then ISDN (yes, really). I have cut several cords in the last 5 years and am starting to wonder about email (this happens every election cycle). I used to facilitate several email discussion groups, but this is no longer useful (especially after the Covid/Zoom thing).
—–
All that being said, I think that a lot of what is going on with Twitter is an organized campaign to get Musk to sell his control so that the Millennial gatekeepers of truthiness can return.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:01 amSchool boards are powerful entities. Thankfully, board members are elected by the public, so it remains an avenue in which parents – for better or worse – can make their voices heard if they’re willing to do the hard work of running for a seat.
School boards oscillate between self-serving union-backed “educators” and populist mobs of parent-backed firebrands. It’s a beautiful system really.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:10 amMike Pence used somewhat indirect language and they didn’t pick up on it:
MP>
January 6 Committee chair Rep. Benny Thompson and vice-chair Liz Cheney: BT+LC>
He’s talking about the fact that they only looked into Trump’s role.
He’s talking about the poor intelligence, like with 9/11. And there is a lot to look at there. The Republicans talk about intelligence ignored or national guard troops rejected (probably a distortion of the facts) but what’s really important is why an intelligence assessment was changed:
From the Senate report, page 45:
Follow the links: (it’s difficult with later versions of Windows)
https://www.rules.senate.gov/news/press-releases/peters-portman-klobuchar-blunt-release-bipartisan-report-investigating-january-6th-capitol-attack
https://www.rules.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Jan%206%20HSGAC%20Rules%20Report.pdf
It seems to be that it is quite plausible that the Capitol Police was infiltrated by the planners of the riot.
(and also that probably only a Russian could think it would accomplish anything) This is not like Yeltsin’s attack on the Duma in 1993.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:29 amYou could also talk about, but Pence is probably not that familiar with the question as to came up with the idea for rallies because I think Trump was roped into somebody else’s conspiracy. The genesis was not with him, nor was it a likely outcome of speech on the Ellipse — That a rally planned for the Ellipse also received a “Highly Improbable” rating as taking place at all!
The committee has a serious problem with Trump wanting to go to the Capitol. That is not consistent with him knowing there was going to be a riot, or, if he learned about a disturbance and still wanted to go, that anything that couldn’t immediately easily be taken care of was occurring.
They are reduced to speculating improbabilities:
https://sports.yahoo.com/jamie-raskin-trump-thought-could-041033771.html
More likely, this proves that Trump had no idea that the work of Congress would be interrupted.
I also can say that I don’t think that’s exactly what happened with Mussolini and the March on Rome 100 years ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Rome#:~:text=The%20March%20on%20Rome%20(Italian,in%20the%20Kingdom%20of%20Italy.
The truth is, the legitimate government of Italy caved in, on more or less pacifist grounds.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:46 amThe rampage on January 6 2021 was inconsistent with any of Trump’s, Giuliani’s and Eastman’s plans for the day.
It was planned in advance but it was planned without Trump or any of the people close to him.
Trying to pin this on Trump is indeed partisan (or stupid).
Trump didn’t want to disavow his supporters or tell them to disperse, because having a crowd there, whose numbers he greatly exaggerated, was part of his plans for the day.
By the way, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a big mistake the day of the occurrence – she was recorded by her daughter as saying she thought stopping the proceedings could somehow maybe cause Trump’s term to be extended or that that was intention.
Actually per the 20th amendment and legislation, had a failure to qualify a president by Jan 20 occurred, it would have made her Acting President!
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:47 amThird news item
Trump has a problem. His biggest supporters are anti-vaxxers, yet the biggest thing he can take credit for is pushing the development of vaccines and other treatments — not enough.
He could even make an Carter like “October Surprise” accusation against the Democrats for stalling the vaccine past Election Day 2020 — but he can’t.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:59 amIncidentally, there was some news in Science section of the New York Times printed this week (dated online Nov 7) about Covid.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/07/health/covid-patients-ventilators-consciousness.html
But some didn’t. Some people went into a long term coma after being given anesthesia and didn’t come out of for weeks or months. They usually did eventually regain full consciousness, with no sign of brain damage.
A mystery.
Finally somebody thought of turtles.
I wonder if it happens any other time.
It happened over and over again wit Covid early in the epidemic. The doctors apparently did not try to force them to wake up., which might be dangerous.
They collected instances of 795 severe Covid patients with delayed recovery in three hospitals in New York City and Boston. One-quarter of the patients took 10 days or more after coming off a ventilator to indicate consciousness After 23 days, 10 percent were still not conscious.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:05 amR.I.P. Robert Clary, last remaining main cast member of Hogan’s Heroes (Corporal LeBeau)
Icy (7a93eb) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:08 amThere’s a problem with telling time.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/science/time-leap-second.html
Now the earths rotation is speeding up. Subtracting asecond could maybe create a problem.
Cellphone transmissions, power grids and computer networks are synchronized to minuscule fractions of a second. High-frequency traders in financial markets execute orders in thousandths and even billionths of a second. And there’s GPS. (Of course, Einstein’ Theory of Relativity makes the passage of time not the same everywhere anyway – a fact not mentioned in this article)
Maybe that could be a way to get North Korean Iranian and even Chinese and Russian ICBMs to miss their target – if they use American GPS, which might be tweaked in an emergency.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:14 am19. Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:01 am
Doesn’t work, even with Pulse dialing under FIOS. But long before I had FIOS, the last BBS I connected to via modem went down on August 15, 2007.
Email is cumbersome, but mailing lists are still useful (it gets funneled through a central address where a moderator forwards it. Not instantaneous, but it is better. You don’t get such fear of missing out.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:19 amThat was what caused the drop off in advertisers, but Musk telling everyone to work longer hours or quit is his own doing.
He could get some from subscribers. He wants to charge $8 for prominence? He could offer a lifetime membership for $480 (equal to 60 payments) and allow people to pay 2 cents or 5 cents to a handle – and if someone got a surplus, they could give it to someone else. Maybe you could find a way get people to self-select who or what is interesting.
Elon Musk seems to believe that the quickest way to learn something is to make mistakes.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:24 amnk,
The Saudi was – I think – a green card holder on assignment from the NYT when killed
EPWJ (650a62) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:29 amHe wrote for the Washington Post.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:31 amParody in 1989 at the time of the Salman Rushdie fatwa:
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:36 amBiden plays politics with everything.
But I think his default inclination is moderate. He caves i very very easily.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:38 amThe Saudi was – I think – a green card holder on assignment from the NYT when killed
WaPo like Sammy said, here on a non-immigrant temporary worker’s visa, in Istanbul on personal business.
nk (51a6b4) — 11/18/2022 @ 12:14 pmJanuary 6 Committee chair Rep. Benny Thompson and vice-chair Liz Cheney responded to Pence
that Bennie Thompson is a 2004 election denier should inform everyone about the partisanship of the investigation and that Liz is oblivious
JF (992c3e) — 11/18/2022 @ 12:33 pmEighth news item: Only Congress can solve coming border surge
translation: Republicans will be blamed if they don’t fix the mess Democrats made
this seems to be the default sentiment for every problem lately
JF (992c3e) — 11/18/2022 @ 12:38 pmMitch mcconnel votes against bill to ban laws against interracial marriage even though his wife is asian. Want to cut the budget? What percent of the defense budget do you want to cut? Border patrol and ICE? We cut interest and only pay back principal. Other countries do this all the time and their currency is not backed by thermo nuclear weapons.
asset (7d1c64) — 11/18/2022 @ 12:45 pmBiden’s flip on Khashoggi, Trump being his usual bah humbug self reminds of a warning that is going around.
steveg (2e960f) — 11/18/2022 @ 12:48 pm“The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed”
Lest you forget: ‘you bought him; you own him’– but hey, no mean tweets, tailwaggers:
The oily ‘principles’ of plagiarist swamp creature Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.:
Biden administration says Saudi prince has immunity in Khashoggi killing lawsuit
WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) – The Biden administration ruled on Thursday that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has immunity from a lawsuit over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, drawing immediate condemnation from the slain journalist’s former fiancee.
Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in October 2018 by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an operation which U.S. intelligence believed was ordered by Prince Mohammed, who has been the kingdom’s de facto ruler for several years. – https://www.reuters.com/legal/biden-admin-says-saudi-prince-has-immunity-khashoggi-killing-lawsuit-court-2022-11-18/
Biden Scoffs at Reporter’s ‘Silly Question’ About Khashoggi Killing
‘… During a Democratic party debate in November 2019, Biden said that he would “make them [the Saudis] in fact the pariah that they are” as he vowed to take an opposing stance against Saudi Arabia over allegations of human rights violations…’
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-dismisses-reporter-question-jamal-khashoggi-death-1725171
Biden disputes Saudi account of Khashoggi murder discussion
July 17 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday differed with Saudi Arabia in their account of discussions at a bilateral summit about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a major point of contention between the two countries.
U.S. intelligence agencies believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing in 2018 of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic who had been living in self-imposed exile in Virginia. The de facto Saudi ruler denies it.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-disputes-saudi-account-khashoggi-murder-discussion-2022-07-17/
Our incompetent, 20th century bum starts his 81st year on Earth in 48 hours.
…and Putin smiled. Xi grinned… Kim started another countdown… and Musk will outlive them all.
DCSCA (67238f) — 11/18/2022 @ 2:13 pmSo, Garland lets Trump pester the GOP for another year or two. After doing all this investigation, they punt over to a Special Prosecutor who will probably have to go over the same ground again de novo. Every witness gets one more run through the gauntlet.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/18/2022 @ 3:12 pmMEMO to Bureaucrat Garland: and what of Hunter;
Backfire is a Russian bomber.
DCSCA (8d3350) — 11/18/2022 @ 4:27 pmAlready a special counsel appointed, Garland has.
nk (3ffd95) — 11/18/2022 @ 5:00 pmQuote of the day:
“We are running out of comedians.” – Swanson TV Dinner heir & current FoxNews comedy star Tucka Carlson
Another Biden-fueled shortage, Tucka?
Memo to Tucka:
It’s Putin’s fault.
DCSCA (8d3350) — 11/18/2022 @ 5:08 pmCNN bans on-air drinking during New Year’s Eve broadcasts — except for these hosts [Coop & Cohen]
CNN’s new boss told staffers that on-air talent won’t be able to booze it up when the ball drops on Dec. 31 to ring in 2023, although the yearly shindig’s hosts Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper will be exempt from the ban. The left-leaning cable network’s new CEO Chris Licht told employees at a town hall meeting at the network’s Midtown Manhattan headquarters earlier this week that on-camera drinking damaged CNN’s credibility in the eyes of viewers, according to a Variety report which cited unnamed CNN staffers. The clampdown comes after CNN personalities like Don Lemon got demonstrably tipsy and boozy during New Year’s Eve festivities…
This year’s New Year’s Eve broadcast will be the first of the [Chris] Licht era, which began earlier this year after the unceremonious departure of his predecessor, Jeff Zucker. Licht’s recent town hall, which was moderated by CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota, left staffers worried about their future after the boss made clear that the network will announce another round of layoffs in early December. The network has been forced to tighten its belt as part of a mandate handed down by its corporate parent, Warner Bros.,/Discovery.”
https://nypost.com/2022/11/17/cnn-bans-on-air-drinking-during-new-years-eve-broadcasts-except-for-these-hosts/
What?? No more immature Walter-wannabes mooning the world w/self-aggrandized importance on global TeeVee?!?!
“And that’s the way it is…” -dead CBS News anchor, Walter Cronkite
DCSCA (8d3350) — 11/18/2022 @ 5:45 pmElon Musk convenes his content moderation council.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 11/18/2022 @ 6:02 pmIt’s a trick to out the Russian bots.
nk (3ffd95) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:09 pmAlready a special counsel appointed, Garland has.
nk (3ffd95) — 11/18/2022 @ 5:00 pm
investigating a political opponent is so 2016
JF (4d5b3d) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:22 pmIt was 2017. And like Star Wars, I’ll tell the last past first, so you’ll understand the first part better.
When Trump wanted Barr to be his AG, Barr said “The DAG has the AG’s balls in his pocket”. And he took the job only if he could choose his own DAG.
What happened with Sessions is that when he was confirmed as AG he fired DAG Rod Rosenstein. And Trump overruled Sessions and re-appointed Rosenstein. Who appointed Mueller as special counsel.
That’s our Jar-Jar!
nk (3ffd95) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:54 pmIt was 2017
it was 2016, and like Star Wars your yarn is fiction but has batsh!t crazy super fans who take it way too seriously
JF (4d5b3d) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:16 pmDespite being on the Trump bandwagon that there was “massive fraud” in the 2020 election, Boebert was so confident in her election that she declared victory with only a 550-vote spread. Funny that.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:28 pmMueller was appointed on May 17, 2017.
I have noticed that you have a severe problem with equivalences. I refuse to cater to it. In this instance, equating the Steele dossier which showed up some time during the transition with the appointment of a special counsel.
And likewise your penchant for alternative facts. Facts are facts, and it’s pointless to argue them.
nk (3ffd95) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:36 pmMueller was appointed on May 17, 2017.
cool
JF (4d5b3d) — 11/18/2022 @ 8:43 pmMick Ryan has a good thread on how the respective militaries will handle Putin’s War. The way I see it, the Ukrainians have homefield advantage.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/18/2022 @ 9:39 pmThis got my grumpy old man ire ratcheted up a few notches:
Women Are Getting Designer Nipples to Look More Like Kendall Jenner
We are in the late stages of decadence appropriate to a collapsing empire. Not to go all Mark Steyn on all of you, but this is just how it is.
And since this is a political blog, let me point out that all of these young ladies who are prioritizing their disposable income towards the aesthetics of their nubbins rather than — oh, I don’t know — paying back their student loans appear in this article to be located in New York City. I think that young, single women in New York City probably voted for progressive Democrats by a 19:1 margin in the past few elections.
JVW (15c733) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:09 pmpoint out
JVW (15c733) — 11/18/2022 @ 10:09 pm
Heh.
norcal (a1f318) — 11/18/2022 @ 11:19 pm“Former Vice-President Mike Pence says ‘thanks but no thanks'”
I’m not sure what Mike Pence sees as a path to the White House. He utterly disappointed MAGA, yet won’t go under oath to officially document his view of events leading up to and culminating on Jan 6th. I suppose there is always the chance that DeSantis will implode on the national stage. I get that Pence is try to appear to be standing up to the 1/6 committee, but he comes across as terminally weak. Sure Trump did nothing as his most avid supporters were chanting to hang the VP. Pence gives the impression that it all was just a big disagreement. His loyalty to team over all means he will never get my vote. He’s part of the problem….
“Yesterday, Lake’s team confirmed that she was at Mar-a-Lago.”
I’m shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on in here.
AJ_Liberty (6a18fd) — 11/19/2022 @ 1:57 amWe can say with some confidence that Lake would not have certified the electoral votes….it’s the minimum requirement for the privilege of running with the Don. More part of the problem….
If you are upset with how Biden is treating the Saudi government over one death wait until you find out we’ve been helping them slaughter and starve civilians in Yemen by the 1000s for years. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%93present)
kaf (e7633c) — 11/19/2022 @ 3:40 am44, well maybe there will be another Mariah Carey meltdown, this time the foundation wear fails on live TV.
urbanleftbehind (153056) — 11/19/2022 @ 6:55 amSo that’s what I had last weekend. That’s my excuse for being such a lollygag, and I’m sticking to it.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/19/2022 @ 8:41 amFrum is right. It’s also interesting how the “realists” are so unrealistic about Putin and his ambitions, denying that his expanding his empire through military conquest is not actually imperialism.
The New Yorker piece shows Mearsheimer cheerleading for Putin’s attempts to secure the four oblasts he illegally annexed, going with the canard that “what motivates him is fear of Ukraine becoming a part of nato.” It was also interesting how Mearsheimer got so b1tchy near the end of the interview. My read is that both are unpleasant men, with Chotiner having the unique skill of getting the interviewee’s skin.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/19/2022 @ 9:11 amThere were three cartoons in Politico’s weekly colllection that I especially liked: Kal’s running again, Wuerker’s Murdoch, and Ramirez’s wolf.
(Wuerker included another of his own cartoons in the collection, something he usually doesn’t do. And shouldn’t have this time, since the second one is a failure.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 11/19/2022 @ 9:34 am“with Chotiner having the unique skill of getting the interviewee’s skin.”
I would NEVER let him get my skin….EVER. Heck, I wouldn’t even let him get under my skin. 🙂
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 11/19/2022 @ 10:01 amAs Biden turns 80, Americans ask ‘What’s too old?’
WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) – The 2024 race for the White House could be uncharted territory in the United States, which celebrates youth, but where millions of Americans – including presidents – now keep working well beyond the traditional retirement age of 65.
Ronald Reagan was 77 when he left the White House, but President Joe Biden, who turns 80 on Nov. 20, would be 86 by the time a second four-year term ends, should he win it. His leading potential Republican opponent, Donald Trump, would be 82 when he left office if he won in 2024.
While 71% of Democrats think Biden is “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” 46% say he may not be up to the challenge of running in 2024, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken Wednesday and Thursday. About a quarter of Republicans, 26%, think Trump may not be up for 2024 because of his age.
Political affiliation aside, 68% of people surveyed think Biden may not be up for the challenge two years from now, and 49% say the same about Trump. Some 86% of Americans said they believe the cutoff for serving as president should be age 75 or younger, the poll found. – reuters.com
… and Putin smiled; Xi showed glee… as Prince MBS watched ‘Never Give A Sucker An Even Break.’
DCSCA (51fc26) — 11/19/2022 @ 11:07 amDana @17:
So, I thought a bit more about Twitter’s troubles and its utility to bypass dictators and such. Then I looked at what is happening to Musk’s attempt to use Twitter to bypass the MSM’s control on “misinformation” and the dots begin to connect. It’s not just sh1th0le countries that try to suppress information they don’t care for.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 1:38 pmBiden is now at the point that Reagan was when he left office — mentally rigid and with declining powers. It wasn’t until after the 1992 election that Reagan’s Alzheimer’s got to the point where he withdrew from public view.
Biden *might* be able to function in the 2024 election — but he’s quite unlikely to be able to complete that term without significant help from the news media and, well, everyone he contacts. I think that any credible candidate in 2024 could beat him in the primaries, let along the general election. This does not include Donald Trump who has his own mental issues (and his growing rage and pettiness is a sign of Alzheimer’s itself).
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 1:45 pmSammy the fish alito leaker! NYT Mr schenck a former anti abortion leader said alito told him and mrs. wright who told her husband about dobbs and hobby lobby decision so states could get ready to pass anti-abortion laws!
asset (fcf99a) — 11/19/2022 @ 1:49 pmThere were three cartoons in Politico’s weekly collection that I especially liked
The Horsey cartoon should have had Trump saying “Give Up? In our moment of triumph?”
That second Wuerker cartoon is not just a failure, but demonstrates the man’s hard hard left politics. So the the three he chose just before that.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 1:55 pmTrump admits abortion ruling cost gop in mid terms. You think! Alito also leaked dobbs decision to stop justice roberts from changing the decision DU.
asset (fcf99a) — 11/19/2022 @ 2:13 pmTrump admits abortion ruling cost gop in mid terms. You think!
I think he also blames Hannity, Melania and sunspots.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 2:15 pm@65. Did Ronald Reagan have Alzheimer’s while in office? Early signs of dementia are revealed in former president’s speech
‘Long before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Ronald Reagan’s speech may have contained clues to his worsening mental state. This is according to U.S. scientists who have found subtle changes in the former president’s speech during his term in office from 1981 to 1989.
Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1994, and always maintained that he would resign from his post if his mental health went into decline. Now researchers at the University of Arizona believe Reagan was suffering from the early onset of Alzheimer’s while acting as president. They came to the conclusion after comparing transcripts of 46 news conferences that Reagan held to the 101 sessions George H. W. Bush held in his term.
‘Key word counts previously associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease were extracted and regression analyses were conducted,’ the authors wrote. Reagan used words such as ‘thing’ as a trigger to recall the correct words more often Bush. He also used more repetition. The team used a new algorithm based on a technique used by others to analyze changes in writing by novelists, according to a report in the New York Times.
‘President Reagan showed a significant reduction in the number of unique words over time and a significant increase in conversational fillers and non-specific nouns over time,’ the researchers said. There was no significant trend in these features for President Bush,’ they added.
The findings, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, do not conclusively prove that Reagan had dementia that affected his judgment as president. But the scientists involved in the project hope the technique will help reveal signs of Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases much earlier. Early detection could slow the progression of the disease before it severely damages the brain. Ronald Reagan died at the age of 93 in 2004.
In 2010, a book marking the 100th anniversary of his birth included claims by his son Ron, that he saw early signs of dementia in ‘an out-of-touch president’ during the 1984 campaign. He says he saw those signs again in 1986 where he claimed his father could not remember the names of the familiar California canyons he was flying over. While some people suggest they knew Reagan had the disease while in office, his four White House doctors said they saw no evidence of it… ‘Had the diagnosis been made in, say, 1987, would he have stepped down?’, Ron asks in the book. ‘I believe he would have’.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3020517/Did-Ronald-Reagan-Alzheimer-s-office-Early-signs-dementia-revealed-former-president-s-speech.html
DCSCA (51fc26) — 11/19/2022 @ 2:20 pm@65, I still strongly doubt that the DEMs will put forward Biden. It’s a hard image to sell. He couldn’t announce not running before the midterms; I suspect it comes sometime between now and the summer. The midterms should not falsely suggest great love for Biden, but disdain for denialism and some pushback on Roe. Yes, there’s no great or obvious alternatives on the DEM side, but the DEMs need a younger, more energetic look to inspire confidence. 2022 wasn’t a vote of confidence….I think the DEMs understand that.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 11/19/2022 @ 2:22 pmI’ve more than once mocked DCSCA’s (and now asset’s) assertion that Alito leaked the Dobbs draft opinion. So I take no pleasure in admitting that that assertion just became a lot more plausible.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 11/19/2022 @ 3:02 pm@71. Who in the party is going to push him off his bicycle? Steny? Nancy? Chuckie? Who does he listen to? Jill– or whispers from Dead Beau?? He is a thick-headed, Irishman; obstinate–certain he is in the right when wrong–and already said no to change any policy– and that rigidity only roots deeper w/age. Look at his history. He’s starting his 81st year on Earth tomorrow… firmly rooted in 20th century thought and deeds; OPEC butt kissing, inflation burdened, Amtrak ridin’ Joe– our 18-wheeler Corvette drivin’ man. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Carterrific!
DCSCA (51fc26) — 11/19/2022 @ 3:13 pm@72. Tip of the cap to you. There’s no pleasure at all points of the compass in considering or recognizing any zealotry that degrades another American institution.
DCSCA (51fc26) — 11/19/2022 @ 3:17 pmSchenck says that Mrs. Wright told him that Alito told her at dinner at his house that Hobby Lobby would prevail in the 2014 Obamacare contraception case. Mrs. Wright says Schenck is lying. About everything, including dinner with the Alitos.
I believe Mrs. Wright. I believe Schenck is lying. But most of all I believe Politico getting a draft of the Dobbs opinion in 2022 is as different from dinner conversation about Hobby Lobby as self-appointed Evangelical plate-passers are from the College of Cardinals.
nk (63fa21) — 11/19/2022 @ 4:28 pmabout Hobby Lobby *in 2014*
nk (63fa21) — 11/19/2022 @ 4:29 pmDon’t get me wrong, I still doubt Alito leaked Dobbs, and I’m agnostic as to whether Schenck’s story is accurate. But if it is, and the Times article makes a stronger case for it than you’re allowing, then IMO the Alito-leaked-Dobbs theory goes from tin-foil-hate nuttery to not laughably implausible.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 11/19/2022 @ 4:45 pm*tin-foil-hat*
lurker (cd7cd4) — 11/19/2022 @ 4:46 pm@77. I don’t; he did it. His zealous behavior and own tin-foiled, 13th century musings all but ooze it– and he is dying to go full Jack Nicholson/Nathan Jessup and tell you he ordered the Code Red. It’s a small circle; and it’s a good bet the CJ know it was him, too; hence he hasn’t been publicly outed to do further damage the institution. But as with Deep Throat back in the day- in time, we’ll know.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 11/19/2022 @ 6:14 pmSammy the fish lied at his confirmation hearing that roe was settled law. E mails by wright suggest she told schenek about hobby lobby. Alito was worried that roberts was getting to gorsuch on dobbs. His carefully worded denial is lawyer speak. He is lying now as he lied about roe at his confirmation hearings. Now he says the donor lobbyists at his house dinner parties weren’t lobbying him.
asset (b68f60) — 11/19/2022 @ 7:01 pmThis is according to U.S. scientists who have found subtle changes in the former president’s speech during his term in office from 1981 to 1989.
It’s possible the derangement was ant the other end of the analysis, like Lowell’s Martian canals were at the other end of the telescope.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 7:14 pmI’ve more than once mocked DCSCA’s (and now asset’s) assertion that Alito leaked the Dobbs draft opinion. So I take no pleasure in admitting that that assertion just became a lot more plausible.
Uh, no, it didn’t.
We have a second-hand account, where someone told him they she got it from the Alitos at a dinner party. Hearsay, to begin with, and we don’t know if she was told outright or inferred it for some more vague comment, or possibly a mistake by Mrs Alito, whom I suspect Justice Alito talks to.
Even assuming this is true, this is a far cry from distributing an opinion to the press, and the jump from one to the other is a vast gulf. It also neglects similar mistakes by other justices that must happen from time to time.
There have been leaks of this sort since the beginning of the court, but copies of opinions has not been done. In one extreme case, Justice Fortas used to brief LBJ after every Friday conference, but even he never delivered a draft opinion.
Wikipedia:
In short, I will continue to ridicule this idea. Why would he do it? There is no profit for him. There is huge political profit for the liberals, as we saw on November 8th.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 7:28 pmSammy the fish lied at his confirmation hearing that roe was settled law.
It was a group lie. If everyone thought it was settled law, they would not be asking all those questions about it. Fifty years later, everyone expects it will be overturned some day and are trying to hold of that day.
Then again Plessy WAS settled law when it was overturned.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 7:31 pmGuy steals coat rack and a bottle of booze from the Capitol and gets 3 years in prison. Terrorist admittedly hits cops with rocks and firebombs a cop car and gets a year and a half.
Equal justice under the law is a joke.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/19/2022 @ 7:40 pmAs far as Kari Lake is concerned, I did report on election day that there were huge delays at 70 polling places in Phoenix as officials struggled with misprogramed voting machines that printed scan cards that were unreadable by counting machines. People reported standing in line for 3 hours, and while all who waited got to vote, not everyone could or would wait. Calling that voter suppression is defensible. That a judge refused to delay poll closing in Phoenix exacerbated the situation.
I have no idea whether this was enough to cause Lake to lose — party registration of early/mail voters was about equal this year, so the day-of vote might also have been equal.
It would really be a good idea to find out how the voting machines got misconfigured. If it was an intentional act by a partisan, the entire AZ election is probably undone.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 7:50 pmhttps://www.bizpacreview.com/2022/11/19/georgia-county-election-officials-reverse-course-after-finding-more-votes-1310739/
Ho Hum. Nothing to see here. Memory cards for the win.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/19/2022 @ 8:16 pmUh, yes, it did. I didn’t say it was plausible. I said it was a lot more plausible. I’m not assigning any probabilities, so take these only for examples’ sake: If a .5% plausibility goes to 5%, that’s a lot more plausible. Heck, if it goes to 1%, that’s a 100% increase, i.e., still a lot more. Without the Times article, there’s no evidence Alito ever betrayed a SCOTUS confidence; ergo, given the taboo against such betrayals and the magnitude of the betrayal in Hobbs, baselessly accusing him of being the Hobbs leaker is motivated, tin-foil nonsense. But if the Schenck allegation is true, then Alito is an established leaker of one SCOTUS confidence, so suspecting him of this one has at least some nexus to his historical behavior. Yes, Hobbs is orders of magnitude more egregious than what Schenck alleges, but for purposes of whether the plausibility of the Hobbs allegation has substantially increased, the question isn’t whether the Overton Window is wide open; it’s whether it was opened at all.
As for the reliability of Schenck’s story, again yes, you recite valid reasons for skepticism. But like nk, you also fail to acknowledge any of the corroborative evidence adduced by the Times. I won’t repeat that evidence, since I assume you read the article. As I said, I’m convinced neither of Schenck’s truthfulness nor falsity, but to suggest the matter isn’t in legitimate dispute would be silly.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 11/19/2022 @ 8:42 pm@82. Given the incredivly small and secure small circle involved, he did it. It was his draft. His pattern of outspoken behavior over the years reinforces this– and like Nathan Jessup– he’s just itching to tell you he did it– has inferred same in post leak comments [as in Rome] and the CJ likely knows he did it; and won’t compromise nor humiliate his court further by disclosing it publicly while Alito remains a sitting justice- or alive. It’s either that- or our the Berobed Bureaucrats- our ‘Dancing Alitos’ are utterly incompetent government paper jockeys, wholly unqualified to be ruling on how the rest of the citizenry should live. Shut it down and run the leak to ground.
Faith in Supreme Court hits historic low, poll finds
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2022/09/29/faith-in-supreme-court-hits-historic-low–poll-finds
DCSCA (05f99b) — 11/19/2022 @ 9:26 pm‘The people have spoken’: Musk lifts Twitter ban on Donald Trump
https://www.politico.com/
DCSCA (05f99b) — 11/19/2022 @ 9:31 pm@86 it was found so no fraud. Trumpsters talk about votes that weren’t found. Trumpsters in cochise county refuse to certify election because no fraud was found!
asset (b68f60) — 11/19/2022 @ 10:11 pmPlausible deniability One of his anti-abortion lobbyist photo copies decision while sammy the fish is out of the room so he can denied he knows any thing about. This is standard operational procedure.
asset (b68f60) — 11/19/2022 @ 10:21 pmBreaking trumpsters on line wont certify election in cochise county saying votes for democrats illegitimate and asking other counties to do the same. On line asking trumpsters to jan.6 maricopa county voting center. (ace)
asset (b68f60) — 11/20/2022 @ 1:49 amEmbellishment is not corroboration. It’s giving your editor a quarter-page.
There are two, and only two, pieces of competence evidence in the article:
nk (a77063) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:13 am— Mrs. Wright’s denial.
— Alito’s denial.
Everything else is filler.
What you are really seeing is the champagne-and-canapés set’s (i.e. NYT’s) contribution to the campaign to delegitimize the Supreme Court in its present composition.
nk (a77063) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:21 am85. Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/19/2022 @ 7:50 pm
It was the printers not the ballot reading scanners, that didn’t work right.
In Maricopa County, which contains appproximately 60% of the voters in Arizona, any person could vote in any precinct. If the list of offices standard for that precinct was different than the ballot style that the voter was supposed to get, a ballot was printed for that voter. They didn’t realize that the problem was not particular to that precinct and they told voters who didn’t want to let them put the ballot in a secure “Box 3” to be counted later at election headquarters to try at another voting place.
But all the printers were the same.
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:27 am89. Musk did one of his Twitter polls, and letting Trump back on won the vote by a slight majority.
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:29 amhttps://www.factcheck.org/2022/11/ballot-printer-delayed-maricopa-voting-contrary-to-unfounded-claims
https://twitter.com/maricopacounty/status/1590088467983499265
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:36 amMaybe only 25% of the printers were set wrong. (you can’t tell from these stories)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/printing-malfunction-in-arizona-polls-slows-vote-count-fuels-conspiracy-theories
https://www.azmirror.com/2022/11/08/maricopa-county-sees-widespread-problems-with-ballot-tabulators-on-election-day-but-votes-will-still-be-counted/
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:51 amcomment 98 is in moderation for some reason I don’t know
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:53 am70
Then what about Donald Trump?
Repetition is very noticeable with Trump whenever he speaks extemporaneously..
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:57 am36. Only MAGA Republicans, and bureaucrats, are bothered by anything having to do with the border. Only strong Democrats worry about climate change.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/AVS-2021-Presentation-V6-rpj.pdf
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/gs_20221027_inclusive_democracy_transcript.pdf
Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:06 amWrong way to fight a culture war.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:24 amHe also lied in court, which had to have affected his sentencing. I hear that judges don’t like it when defendants lie under oath.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:46 amIt was a travesty of justice that the terrorist attorneys got off so lightly.
The criminals who burned a police car also took a plea deal. I’m told that a plea deal often gets you more lenient sentencing the going to trial. Not that Rob cares about facts.
Time123 (2613bf) — 11/20/2022 @ 8:19 amLooks like Garland found the right guy
Plenty of experience leveraging federal investigative and prosecutorial powers against political opponents.
JF (06dd5d) — 11/20/2022 @ 8:51 am“Aldrich is accused of firing on patrons at Club Q in Colorado Springs, killing at least five and injuring at least 18. He had previously been arrested in June 2021 for making multiple bomb threats and refusing to surrender to police.
Police received reports from Aldrich’s mother on June 18, 2021, stating that Aldrich was “threatening to cause harm to her with a homemade bomb, multiple weapons, and ammunition,” according to the El Paso Sheriff’s Department.
Aldrich was charged with two counts of felony menacing, and three counts of first-degree kidnapping for the incident. The El Paso Sheriff’s Office, which handled his arrest, did not release a mug shot from the incident and did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.”
Sounds like someone who needed to be out on the streets, and have access to an “AR-15 style rifle.”
I guess he didn’t have a J6 connection.
JF (cb4f79) — 11/20/2022 @ 9:44 amA fraudster comes to the aid of his fellow fraudster:
Cory Booker asks for leniency for Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes: Wants to make world ‘a better place’
JVW (15c733) — 11/20/2022 @ 9:53 amWrong way to fight a culture war.
Be careful about jumping to conclusions before the facts are all in. Remember how the left immediately ran with the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando to try and score cheap points about how redneck America seethed with hatred for the LGBT community, only to have egg on their faces when it turned out to be a radical Muslim immigrant who was responsible? You know, the same people that progressives earlier insisted should be coddled and exempted from criticism because of Islamophobia?
JVW (15c733) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:02 am@107 Her mistake was founding the company somewhere other than DC or northern Virginia, where a jury swayed by a defendant’s political leanings can be had.
JF (06dd5d) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:05 amRejoice: Squinty McStumblebum begins his 81st year on Planet Earth today.
A birthday message from one brain-damaged Irish Catholic POTUS to another who, =surprise=, spoke of MAGA– of making America great again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt2efsDbYzY&t=11s
DCSCA (05f99b) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:43 amR.I.P. science fiction author Greg Bear
Icy (cffdd6) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:45 amDamn. I liked Greg Bear’s stuff. “Forge of God”, “Queen of Angels”, “Darwin’s Radio”, “Eon” — all good reads.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:53 am“Everyone is still getting to vote,” Gates said. “No one is being disenfranchised. And we have redundancies in place.”
The lie of the half-truth. Those who could not stand in line for 3 hours while officials got their thumbs out WERE disenfranchised.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:56 amIt was the printers not the ballot reading scanners, that didn’t work right.
The printers are part of the voting machines. I specifically differentiated those from the counting machines. Take some time to read the post before you rush to correct it.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:57 amI’m told that a plea deal often gets you more lenient sentencing the going to trial
When offered.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 10:59 amA birthday message from one brain-damaged Irish Catholic POTUS to another. . .
Reagan’s dad was a non-practicing Catholic, but the Reagan boys were raised Presbyterian.
JVW (15c733) — 11/20/2022 @ 11:26 amTime,
Your slanders are repulsive, but par for the course.
The plea they agreed to had substantially more jail time when Biden’s Dept of Injustice wiped it out and gave them a sweetheart deal. Then she asked to walk instead.
Just like Obama’s DOJ did with the racist Black Panthers that interfered in elections.
NJRob (8b1405) — 11/20/2022 @ 11:43 amDr. John. He got two years one time on a federal drug conviction. I saw him perform in person a long time ago at the late Blues Etcetera in Chicago.
Different offenses, different circumstances, different defendants, get different sentences, at different places, by different judges. Theseus killed Procrustes a long time ago.
nk (6e544c) — 11/20/2022 @ 11:49 amBTW, a federal “plea bargain” is nothing more than a promise by the U.S. Attorney not to ask for more than such-and-such a sentence. It’s only binding on the U.S. Attorney. The defendant can ask for less and the judge can impose less or more.
nk (6e544c) — 11/20/2022 @ 11:54 amI’ve seen a lot of Shipwreckedcrew’s tweets recently.
Apparently his shadow ban has been lifted. He says it started in 2020 when Trump tweeted about an article he’d written. Contributions to his Jan 6 defense fund for 12 hours were 5x higher than his best previous half day.
He’s still fighting the good fight.
https://twitter.com/shipwreckedcrew/status/1594348486064865280?s=46&t=U6fS8YYn2FA3X3vpEeD5kA
Obudman (a1c23a) — 11/20/2022 @ 12:32 pm@113 I think the precedent has been established many times over that long waits aren’t disenfranchisement.
If you feel otherwise that’s okay, but that opens up a long conversation about we do voting infrastructure and registration requirements in many parts of the country.
The waits you’re calling unacceptable are normal in a lot of areas.
Time123 (2613bf) — 11/20/2022 @ 12:40 pmNJRob, I notice that you have no refutation to my point that taking the case to trial likely contributed to a longer sentence.
Another scumbag who was with him plead guilty and was sentenced to 40 days.
Just to further drive my point home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/us/dustin-thompson-capitol-riot-sentenced.html
Time123 (2613bf) — 11/20/2022 @ 12:48 pmnk (6e544c) — 11/20/2022 @ 11:49 am
When listening to the music played at a family gathering at a funeral home, my brother asked me “do you know what I want played at my wake?” I quickly responded with “Dr. Johns’ Right place, wrong time!”
felipe (484255) — 11/20/2022 @ 12:50 pmThe lady trial judge presiding over Jan 6 trials made it explicitly clear that she would impose a trial penalty on any defendants pleading not guilty. It’s legal and Constitutional, and one of the perks of being a judge — getting your BDSM kicks and getting paid for it.
nk (6e544c) — 11/20/2022 @ 1:17 pmTime,
I note that you are defending all the bounces that go your way today.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 1:50 pmThe lady trial judge presiding over Jan 6 trials made it explicitly clear that she would impose a trial penalty
So, not so many bench trials.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 1:52 pmStill, reducing the plea-bargain sentence for firebombing cop cars seems to be appeasement of the mob. Judge didn’t want them calling her a cop-lover.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 1:54 pmKevin, I think we should make it easier to lawfully vote and that excessive waits should be avoided. But I’m not much moved by complaints from people who’ve never been concerned with delays and other voting inconvenience when those issues stacked up to their advantage.
For the other issue I think the arsonists got off way to lightly, but the penalties for the people who violently attacked the police to stop the lawful transfer of power on Jan 6 have been fair in the cases I’m aware of. And that Rob is (as usual ) being deceptive in his representations.
Time123 (8b829e) — 11/20/2022 @ 2:13 pmKevin, further proving my point that this is a trial penalty and not political persecution:
He turned down a plea deal for 60 days
Time123 (07b41a) — 11/20/2022 @ 2:54 pmPlea deals favor the guilty over the innocent.
felipe (484255) — 11/20/2022 @ 2:58 pmForgot to include “bumper sticker suggestion.”
felipe (484255) — 11/20/2022 @ 2:59 pmI like that one! The trial penalty is a serious problem and i think sentencing reforms are a needed.
Time123 (07b41a) — 11/20/2022 @ 3:26 pmCory Booker asks for leniency for Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes: Wants to make world ‘a better place’
JVW (15c733) — 11/20/2022 @ 9:53 am
Honestly, the automatic response for any these type of appeals is, “So what?” I’ve noticed the same remarks made about Bankman-Fried.
Pathological altruism is the cause of most of today’s social problems.
Factory Working Orphan (490897) — 11/20/2022 @ 3:37 pmFWO, why would we believe bookers statement? He’s not well known for honesty
Time123 (07b41a) — 11/20/2022 @ 3:59 pmSo, Paul Ryan has been making news today, talking aobut how we go forward from here. He says that he was never #neverTrump — having supported him in 2016 and worked with him as Speaker. But he says he is now #NotTrumpAgain as Trump has shown that he is a drag on the Party and Ryan wants to win.
He also has a new (free) book out: American Renewal, talking about how we get ourselves out of our existential fiscal mess. Its 20 contributors (mostly from the AEI) set out a platform for the future.
Folks who want to see changes in Social Security and Medical entitlements will find it a useful resource.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:02 pmSome speculation about the new House:
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2022/11/20/mccarthy-omar-swalwell-and-schiff-to-lose-committee-assignments-n1647343
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:21 pmKevin and felipe, along with a few others, I am always happy to read your comments. Thank you for taking the time.
Simon Jester (e87920) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:24 pmP.S. Dr. John was very much a trip.
Simon Jester (e87920) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:24 pmTime123 (8b829e) — 11/20/2022 @ 2:13 pm
no, voting is meant for productive members of society said the founding fathers
EPWJ (650a62) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:53 pmFWO, why would we believe bookers statement? He’s not well known for honesty
Time123 (07b41a) — 11/20/2022 @ 3:59 pm
True, but I suspect the only reason he’s inserting himself in this to begin with is because Holmes was dialed in to the political elite before Theranos blew up. She was scheduled to host a fundraiser for Hillary in 2016 right after the WSJ expose came out, and she had all those DC heavy hitters on her board and staff.
When it comes to Holmes, I’m not sure who the bigger mark is, her current husband or all the Illuminati types she played.
Factory Working Orphan (490897) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:54 pmIncidentally, I strongly recommend checking out “Bad Blood” if you some spare coin. It’s a quick read and a hell of a window into how warped Silicon Valley’s culture is.
Factory Working Orphan (490897) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:56 pmRepublican Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO) declared herself the winner of her congressional race Thursday evening, despite the race heading to an automatic recount.
If memory serves, a similar situation occurred in the ’00 Bush/Gore mess; the Vulcans- led by Daddy Darth andhis minions, pressed ahead w/setting up government transfer offices etc., even though the election finalities, hanging chads and so forth, remailed in recount limbo. Quite Cheneyesque.
DCSCA (fef516) — 11/20/2022 @ 4:58 pmWordle in three with NOVEL as my starter word.
nk (139ccf) — 11/20/2022 @ 5:38 pmTrue, but I suspect the only reason he’s inserting himself in this to begin with is because Holmes was dialed in to the political elite before Theranos blew up.
Bingo. Don’t forget that he’s a Stanford alum and is thus deeply dialed into the Silicon Valley and ancillary power structure.
JVW (15c733) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:05 pmhttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/mccarthy-vows-remove-swalwell-schiff-omar-house-committees
It’s a start.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:23 pmIn four with PIETY as starter word. Meh.
Dana (1225fc) — 11/20/2022 @ 6:46 pmLOL
Patterico (911dec) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:09 pmhttps://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1514896/download
Guilty.
Patterico (911dec) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:09 pmThis is a pretty good article on swc’s client.
That should make entertaining viewing for the jury.
Everyone is entitled to a defense. That said, I think this guy is dead to rights.
Patterico (911dec) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:15 pmTreason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.
There is intent here, openly express, to levy war against the United States.
No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Founders did not have cell phones or recordings. I think this would be an easy update for them.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:23 pmWe watched the event live, and when they entered the building my wife turned to me and said “That’s not a protest any more.”
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:27 pm@145 Swalwell, schiff malfeasance in office. OK. Ilhan Omar opposes israel policy and its support in U.S. That is her opinion not censorable other wise election deniers should be censored for their opinions. Squad should be given top positions in democrat leadership not party hacks and corporate stooges like hakeem jefferies.
asset (597fb7) — 11/20/2022 @ 7:44 pmDarling Nikki better start polling more than her current 1%.
TrumpWorld not amused:
<blockquote<There’s always a first time, Nikki…. Another idiotic gift South Carolina has given America……. America first? She’s a full on neocon. There is no daylight between her, Bill Crystal, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain. Or Barack Obama or Joe Biden for that matter. Nor Hillary Clinton. No thank you. She is not America first she is neocon globalist first……. Better start learning how to lose now girl. I would hope that President Trump would not pick her to be his running mate. I don’t think I could accept another RINO as his running mate, and would probably stay home. Then of course there is the question of her eligibility to run for President.…….. Her competitors will quickly drive a steak through her campaign……. Get used to disappointment…….. She got the ball rolling on destroying monuments and heritage. What’s it matter to her anyway? She’s a foreigner……… Many conservatives will never support Haley. She started the campaign to remove flags and statues when she was SC governor.…… She is as delusional as Pence.……..
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 11/20/2022 @ 8:08 pmIn four with PIETY as starter word. Meh.
Heh! Four is my average. Now that I’ve learned it, I’ve become whimsical in order to enjoy it. NOVEL was because I just finished one and was looking to start another, and my second word was equally the clues from the first word and because I had Thanksgiving on my mind.
nk (139ccf) — 11/20/2022 @ 8:25 pmBecause of one specific letter, you made a great opening selection. I won’t say which in case someone here hasn’t yet done it.
Dana (1225fc) — 11/20/2022 @ 8:42 pm“She’s [Haley’s] a full on neocon. There is no daylight between her, Bill Crystal, Lindsey Graham, and John McCain.”
Is the GOP fixable….or is this the new normal?
AJ_Liberty (6a18fd) — 11/21/2022 @ 3:34 am#156
Is the GOP fixable…
Depends if the GOP thinks it can win general elections with Trump. My eight ball says Outlook Cloudy.
The GOP-notTrump needs to agree on a candidate and freeze out other notTrumps to eject the man — as things stand now. The risk is that will drive him to try a third party run.
I don’t want the values of the current Democratic party to triumph. But they are better than the authoritarian means and ends of today’s Trump supporting right.
Appalled (03f53c) — 11/21/2022 @ 6:12 amBill Crystal
What does a smarmy Hollywood actor have to do with GOP politics?
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/21/2022 @ 8:59 amThe way out is to repudiate Trump at the polls. Let him run, but offer better candidates to his former backers. Also, change the primaries to something more proportional rather than giving lopsided delegate counts to someone who takes 30% in a 5-way field.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 11/21/2022 @ 9:01 amThe GOP-notTrump needs to agree on a candidate and freeze out other notTrumps to eject the man — as things stand now.
That kind of coronation-type nomination process happened in 2012 with Romney, and tried to do with Jeb in 2016. Those kind of reindeer games aren’t going to do anything other than piss off the base and undermine the candidate’s support in the general even if that person gets the nomination. The GOPe can’t rely on “well, at least it’s not a Democrat” anymore when it acts like that, and running that playbook again is going to be immediately recognized.
Rather than trying to pull what the DNC did with Biden in 2020, or what they did in 2012 and 2016, they should let each candidate make their case on an equal playing field, and accept who the voters actually want, rather than try to manipulate the process in a top-down manner by freezing out threats to their preferred candidate. If they have to put their thumb on the scale for someone, that shows they don’t trust their own voters, and probably shouldn’t be running the party anyway.
And if they don’t want MAGA types, they need to figure out a way to nerf the DNC funding those candidates in the primary, because the Akin playbook is going to continue to be used as long as it produces more wins than losses for the DNC.
Factory Working Orphan (490897) — 11/21/2022 @ 9:19 amI think the person meant former General William Chrystal.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/21/2022 @ 9:26 amMorning Consult/Politico National Tracking Poll (Nov. 10-14, 2022)
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 11/21/2022 @ 9:36 amFWO —
The primary system we have now makes me feel very reactionary. I would prefer that the party have its convention and pick it candidate rather than have mob rule pick out the bad idea who is popular at the moment. If the conventions give us a string of Jebs and Mitts, they’ll lose and they will stop.
I think 2022 (when combined with 2020) has delivered the electoral verdict on Trump. He may be the GOP candidate for 2024. He will not be the winner of the election.
But the GOP does not have a good system that can prevent too many candidates from running, when one guy has cornered the market for a wing of the party. Trump can win the primaries by just getting 30% while everyone else gets 5% or 10%.
Appalled (019ddd) — 11/21/2022 @ 9:51 amThe primary system we have now makes me feel very reactionary. I would prefer that the party have its convention and pick it candidate rather than have mob rule pick out the bad idea who is popular at the moment.
Funny how “democracy” becomes “mob rule” depending on whose goose is getting cooked.
This system has been in place for decades. The GOPe doesn’t like it anymore because their preferred candidates are being rejected, just as Democrat activists want to eliminate the Senate because its mechanisms allow their enemies more of a say–despite the fact that it was Democrats who brute-forced an amendment that changed how Senators were elected to a state-wide popular vote.
In both cases, the system only became a problem it didn’t secure permanent power anymore for the people who thought they had the game rigged.
I think 2022 (when combined with 2020) has delivered the electoral verdict on Trump. He may be the GOP candidate for 2024. He will not be the winner of the election.
If the other candidates can’t make the case for why they’d be a better candidate than Trump in the general–and making that case should be easy as pie at this point–then they don’t deserve the nomination. If they can’t beat Trump, how are they going to beat Biden?
Factory Working Orphan (490897) — 11/21/2022 @ 10:00 amLast week, Kathleen Parker described a rehab center for women, with an unusual feature.
The feature? Artists paint portraits of the women, showing them what they could be.
(Lovelady Center and
Jim Miller (f29931) — 11/21/2022 @ 10:01 amPortraits of Hope)
3. nk (51a6b4) — 11/18/2022 @ 7:22 am
It seems to be modern revival of the Alien Tort Act, passed in 1789, and intended to deal with crimes committed on the high seas, including piracy, on or by a ship that came into a U.S. port
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Tort_Statute
AND ALSO the Torture Victim Protection Act, passed in 1991.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_Victim_Protection_Act_of_1991#:~:text=102%E2%80%93256%2C%20H.R.,torture%20and%2For%20extrajudicial%20killing.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/21/2022 @ 12:41 pmFrom the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/khashoggi-family-sues-mohammed-bin-salman-/2020/10/20/f12076b6-12d5-11eb-ad6f-36c93e6e94fb_story.html
Which this was.
The action that took place in the United States was the assurance to Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States that it was safe for him to go into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
More:
This has just changed, MbS was the deputy prime minister, but he became the Prime Minister on Sept 27, a tittle usually held by the King.
The crucial nexus:
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/21/2022 @ 12:48 pm@157 the gop cannot win with out trumpsters let alone populists they are 60% of the party at the least. Cochese county az trumpsters refuse to certify election vote. Az ag investigating voting machines. Bill gates county board of supervisors (gop) in hiding in secure site from gopper trumpsters driving around his house with guns.
asset (bc40c3) — 11/21/2022 @ 1:12 pmMr. Musk decides on subtraction by addition for his brand.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/21/2022 @ 1:16 pmhttps://www.dailysignal.com/2022/11/19/mike-lee-urges-gop-senators-who-voted-for-respect-for-marriage-act-have-the-courage-to-protect-free-exercise-of-religion/
Sen Lee understands the purpose of the bill is to attack those of faith.
NJRob (b7d77c) — 11/21/2022 @ 2:00 pm@161. Try again: William Kristol; Bill’s the former D turned radical, out of favor, R, Neocon whose claim to fame is Chief of Staff for Kamala ghost, Dan Quayle, and editing a defunct rag that never turned a profit- The Weekly Standard.
She’s a full on neocon.
Neocon Nikki? Nyet. She is a saner path for VP than a volatile opportunist like DeSantis- but Haley will end up being DeSantis’s Jeb as Jeb was to Trump. JVW should be pleased, though- unlike Daughter Darth, Tulsi has a future in a new, improved GOP.
DCSCA (3e2995) — 11/21/2022 @ 2:27 pmTHE SAMUEL ALITO LEAK ALLEGATIONS PUT THE SUPREME COURT’S ACCOUNTABILITY PROBLEM ON FULL DISPLAY
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/11/samuel-alito-leak-allegations-supreme-court-accountability-problem
Hmmmm…
“I had no prior knowledge of the Watergate operation. I took no part in, nor was I aware of, any subsequent efforts that may have been made to cover up Watergate.” – The Big Dick
DCSCA (2c52be) — 11/21/2022 @ 3:30 pm@NJRob@170 I know that you think that any bill that passes that offends you is an attack on your beliefs, but do you realize that any bill that strengthens an individual’s ability to live their individual beliefs also protects and strengthens your ability to live your individual beliefs? Even the ones you are offended by? Because there are undoubtedly people who are as offended by your beliefs as you are by theirs and would be equally happy to suppress yours as you are to suppress theirs and if you go down a route of suppressing other people’s beliefs, you are leaving a route for other people to suppress yours.
Nic (896fdf) — 11/21/2022 @ 3:49 pmhttps://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2022/11/cbs-reports-inside-hunters-bidens-laptop.php
CBS finally gets around to admitting they rigged the 2020 election in concert with the rest of the leftist media and social media conglomerates.
NJRob (ba8f28) — 11/21/2022 @ 5:56 pmNic,
You”ve already made it clear you use your position of authority to encourage children to mutiliate themselves and pretend to believe something that is a genetic possibility. I will never support that abomination and destruction of God’s children.
I would say what I truly think of your conduct, but I’m a guest here and will leave it to the owner to decide how to respond to those who support destroying our children.
NJRob (ba8f28) — 11/21/2022 @ 6:03 pm@NJRob@175 What is wrong with you that you can’t make an honest reading of another person’s position, and can’t stay on topic or comment back to a person you disagree with without insulting them? I have 12 year olds who can address delicate topics better. Grow up.
Nic (896fdf) — 11/21/2022 @ 6:45 pm*impossibility.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/21/2022 @ 7:54 pmWho knew that biased media coverage = “rigged election”. Using that “standard”, every election since Hoover was rigged.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/21/2022 @ 8:18 pmPravda agrees with you Paul.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/22/2022 @ 6:04 amObservaton from older posts in this thread. The fact that most of us political savy commenters can’t identify Bill Kristol shows how time wounds all heels.
There are an awkward number of Iraq hawks among the GOP Trump opposition. Doesn’t make the Donald acceptable.
Appalled (03f53c) — 11/22/2022 @ 6:37 amNah, I just don’t agree with your whacked hyperbole.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/22/2022 @ 6:41 amFailure of one media outlet to cover a favored story doesn’t constitute “election rigging”. There was plenty of coverage by other media on the Internet. Anyone could have easily found it.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 11/22/2022 @ 7:42 amOne outlet… hahahaha.
Rip, I didn’t know you were a comedian.
How’s the modern day Journalist treating ya?
NJRob (c44c94) — 11/22/2022 @ 1:13 pmFarside is back:
Jim Miller (f29931) — 11/22/2022 @ 6:03 pmhttps://www.thefarside.com/
Geez, how did that formatting get messed up? Let’s try that again:
If she’s done that, I missed it, so please point to where it happened.
Lol. So if it weren’t uncivil, you’d tell her what you really think of her, instead of merely accusing her of wanting children to destroy themselves? How genteel of you.
If you can point to where nic said she supports destroying our children and encourages them to mutilate themselves, I’ll concede you were right and I’ll apologize for these comments. If you can’t, this is a vicious smear for which an apology would be inadequate, but IMO you should offer it anyway.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 11/23/2022 @ 12:56 amOK, that’s better.
And now, in 5,4,3… will come the usual suspects complaining that I’m “hall-monitoring.” Well first of all I’m a lawyer. On a good day I may make it all the way to lunch before I’m called worse than that, so bring it on. But the thing is, it’s not even accurate. A hall monitor enforces rules. I’ve never so much as mentioned the sites’ commenting rules, much less threatened to call their violation to the attention of a moderator. That I do consider none of my business. IMO site rules violations are between each individual commenter and the mods. What I do, and what I believe is proper, is what my parents taught me is basic citizenship. When I see someone bullying, abusing, or otherwise being a bad neighbor, don’t report them. Tell them directly to cut it out. Tell them this is a nice neighborhood with nice people, and we’d like to keep it that way.
To which I’d add that if you don’t think nic is nice people, then you don’t know what nice people are. For which I pity you.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 11/23/2022 @ 1:02 amAppalled: “The GOP-notTrump needs to agree on a candidate and freeze out other notTrumps to eject the man — as things stand now. The risk is that will drive him to try a third party run.”
Unfortunately, most GOPers….for whatever reason….aren’t ready to eject Trump. That’s the challenge. Otherwise he would have been impeached post Jan 6th or at least made persona non grata. You have a smaller number, say 30%, who are still personally invested in Trump and will remain loyal to the end. This group wants a broad collection of challengers to create the same 2016 dynamic that gave them an over-inflated voice. The reality is that the GOP as a party is simply not organized enough to smartly winnow a field.
The nature of politics…specifically the nature of media and social media….has cleared the smoke-filled rooms. Candidates can bypass party structure and go grass roots. Now you can applaud this as democracy in action, but you must also recognize that it breeds the insanity of 21-person fields like 2016, where debates become little more than personality contests and who can be the most entertaining. Hardly the best way to choose a leader.
A functional party does establish some pecking order…and through polling (which we have an abundance of)….should be able to identify candidates with clear constituencies or broad appeal and persuade others to try again later. I get that election dynamics change and a low probability candidate initially can surge later. If I recall, Bill Clinton followed that path. But if we want ideas and resumes to matter more than drama queenery, there should be some culling process.
There is a case for DeSantis. There could be a case for Haley. I struggle to see a path to relevance for Pence or Pompeo. The Hogan and Cheney wing will have to decide on one champion and recognize the difficulty in unifying the party in the end.
I’ve never been a big fan of someone who has only been a senator running for President, especially with no major legislative accomplishments. The same with someone who has never held any elected office. Being leader of the free world shouldn’t be an entry-level job. But none of this is rational any more. Everyone is whiney. People do want to be entertained and they want drama….so I expect more of that…
AJ_Liberty (6a18fd) — 11/23/2022 @ 5:08 amYou have to consider the source of that accusation, a guy who soapboxes generalities and avoids answering questions.
Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/23/2022 @ 6:13 amWhile Democrats are accusing Republicans of wanting to damage Medicare, the Anti-Inflation” bill is poised to destroy it at the beginning of 2025 according to a Op-ed in the Wall Street Journal yesterday.
It makes Part-D uneconomic, unless the pharmaceutical companies are bargained into reducing prices (which has its own problems, given drug FDA drug regulation) , and therefore pushes people into Medicare Advantage, while reducing its utility.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-inflation-reduction-act-comes-for-medicare-ira-elderly-voters-payments-benefits-cuts-revenue-losses-subsidies-11669060307
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/23/2022 @ 9:19 amThe Wall Street Journal wrote an editorial saying that there was a
great gerrymander by Democrats in Illinois and they did other things to entrench themselves in power:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/democracy-dies-in-illinois-democrats-unions-j-b-pritzker-11668462531
Which is as much as they lost on New York.
The Wall Street Journal got letters saying that Republicans did similar things in Texas and in Ohio:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/republicans-democrats-ohio-texas-illinois-gerrymander-electoral-map-11669050806
In Ohio:
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/23/2022 @ 9:28 amSlowdown in drug development:
It’s taken 40 years to develop a vaccine that may delay Diabetes Type I for 2 years or more. (of course the problem is 90% or more caused by feeding infants cows milk before the age of 6 months – the diabetes develops years later.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/health/fda-type-1-diabetes-delay.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/23/2022 @ 9:36 amOh, and this limited value drug will cost nearly $200,000. (but if it didn’t, it never would have been pushed through the approval process)
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/23/2022 @ 9:44 amzWhen it comes to new drugs and Vaccines it’s regression to the pre-Operation Warp Space mean:
There’s a new vaccine that targets more variants of Covid, which is being promoted on television, but it doesn’t do much good and it’s out of date.
Near useless, although it possibly can limit the spread, because it targets both the newer versions and the “original” version of Covid, which is now nearly extinct, and two recent versions, when used as a booster stimulates more immunity to the extinct version. Out of date because, of the two more recent versions, one is disappearing and the other is diminishing and some others not covered are now spreading — but they lag too far behind.
The Wuhan variant was only nearly original – I think the real spread came from the second lab leak which China is pretending was the original version
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/18/health/covid-boosters-surge.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/23/2022 @ 9:55 amhttp://blog.archive.org/2022/11/15/digital-books-wear-out-faster-than-physical-books/
I think it’s not so much time, as abrupt changes in software and hardware.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/23/2022 @ 10:00 amPerspective.
This is real.
And in another December, in 1968, the entire world [except for Pierre Delecto who was chasing his babe through an airport] was totally transfixed by this kind of imagery and awed by the country that could accomplish it…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNSmLNWyojA
Today, this country is so fvcked up in its politics and priorities…
“Bring back Walter Cronkite.” – Elon Musk
DCSCA (39b99d) — 12/1/2022 @ 10:45 amFrance thanks America for picking up the dinner check for Ukraine.
“‘We are all out of Corn Flakes. -F.U.’ It took me three hours to figure out that ‘F.U.’ was Felix Unger!” – Oscar Madison [Walter Matthau] ‘ The Odd Couple’ 1968
DCSCA (39b99d) — 12/1/2022 @ 10:57 amThe cost of making a photocopy in drugstores just went up (in November) from 5 cents to ten cents.
It was the last thing you could buy for a nickel.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/1/2022 @ 4:37 pm