Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Let’s go!
First news item
Pope Francis weighs in on gender ideology:
Pope Francis has said that gender ideology is “one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations” today…“Gender ideology, today, is one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations,” Francis said in the interview published on the evening of March 10. “Why is it dangerous? Because it blurs differences and the value of men and women,” he added. All humanity is the tension of differences. It is to grow through the tension of differences. The question of gender is diluting the differences and making the world the same, all dull, all alike, and that is contrary to the human vocation…
While he is not writing something on gender ideology, the pope said that he talks about the subject “because some people are a bit naive and believe that it is the way to progress.”
He said that they “do not distinguish what is respect for sexual diversity or diverse sexual preferences from what is already an anthropology of gender, which is extremely dangerous because it eliminates differences, and that erases humanity, the richness of humanity, both personal, cultural, and social, the diversities and the tensions between differences.”
Second news item
Poland on Thursday pledged it would send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, the first NATO member to do so, in a significant move in Kyiv’s battle to resist Russia’s onslaught.
President Andrzej Duda said the planes – from about a dozen that it had inherited from the former German Democratic Republic – would be handed over in the coming days after being serviced.
“When it comes to the MiG-29 aircraft, which are still operating in the defense of Polish airspace, a decision has been taken at the highest levels, we can say confidently that we are sending MiGs to Ukraine,” Duda said.
Addtionally:
Duda said Poland’s air force would replace the planes it gives to Ukraine with South Korea-made FA-50 fighters and American-made F-35s.
Also, more good news as Slovakia is stepping up too:
Slovakia will donate 13 MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine, its prime minister has said, making it the second Nato member to announce such a shipment in 24 hours, after a similar move by Poland.
Meanwhile, Switzerland shames itself:
How far will Switzerland’s obstinacy in not helping Kyiv “militarily” – even indirectly – go? Since the beginning of the war, Switzerland has irritated its European partners by forbidding them to give Ukrainian forces the munitions it sold to them…
[The Swiss Army] will soon get rid of 60 Rapier ground-to-air defense systems, an anti-aircraft missile system developed by the British Aircraft Corporation in the 1960s for the British Army and the Royal Air Force. The Rapier entered service in 1971 and first saw action on the front lines during the Falklands War. Bern acquired 60 of them in 1980 (worth 1.7 billion Swiss francs at the time), which were modernized several times until recently, before being decommissioned and declared unfit for service at the end of last year.”
However, the report notes that while old, the missiles are not obsolete, and “could still be used “against low-flying targets…”
Several Swiss MPs are unhappy with the decision.
Third news item
In big news, Turkey’s President says he will support Finland’s admission to NATO:
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey would move forward with ratifying Finland’s NATO application, paving the way for the country to join the military bloc ahead of Sweden…“When it comes to fulfilling its pledges in the trilateral memorandum of understanding, we have seen that Finland has taken authentic and concrete steps,” Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara following his meeting with Niinisto.
Meanwhile, Turkey is still a “no” on Sweden’s efforts to become NATO member as believes Swedens is being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organizations, including Kurdish groups.
Fourth news item
Bank saved by $30 billion investment by 11 banks:
As San Francisco’s First Republic bank has seen its share price fall and credit downgraded, some of the nation’s largest banks deposited $30 billion into the bank amid concerns depositors would continue withdrawing money from the banks en masse.
In a statement, 11 banks said they would make uninsured deposits worth $30 billion into First Republic Bank to shore it up. The deposits came from Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon, PNC Bank, State Street, Truist and U.S. Bank.
Reportedly, some of the institutions that were part of the $30 billion deposit are interested in purchasing First Republic.
Fifth news item
Bipartisan Senate vote to scrap 1991 and 2002 Iraq War AUMFs.:
With the 20th anniversary of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq looming, the US Senate has begun the process of revoking the laws that allowed the United States to wage war against the Middle Eastern state in both the 1990s and 2000s.
On Thursday, the Senate voted to begin debate on a bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana that would repeal both the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force (AUMF) against Iraq.
The measure passed overwhelmingly, with 19 Republicans — ranging from self-styled nationalists like Sens. Josh Hawley and JD Vance to moderates such as Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski — joining all Democrats in support of the bill.
Immigrant veterans who fought for the United States are still struggling to secure US citizenship 20 years since the war began…His case echoes those of hundreds of veterans, according to advocates, who fought for the U.S. in Iraq and elsewhere on the understanding their service would help them gain citizenship but instead found themselves being deported to their birth countries.
Advocates say many fell into crime due to PTSD and other issues linked to their time in the military, and struggled to readapt to civilian life with insufficient support from government agencies.
Some veterans have since been granted citizenship, while others have given up trying to come back…Segovia Benitez is among dozens who are back in the country – some temporarily – after the Biden administration launched a program in 2021 to benefit deportees…But despite such initiatives and noted progress on the issue, advocates and former military personnel told Context the U.S. government continues to fail many foreign-born post-9/11 veterans 20 years since the start of the Iraq War.
Lawful permanent residents in the United States must generally live in the country for five years before applying to become a citizen, but the process is much quicker for foreign-born military personnel. They can apply for naturalization in as little as a year – and potentially less if they were on active duty during the “war on terror” declared by former President George W. Bush following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Bush issued an executive order in July 2002 intended to streamline the naturalization process for non-citizens who serve during a designated “period of hostility”, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But advocates say the order was not properly enforced – leading many veterans of both conflicts to be deported on a variety of grounds – even for minor infractions in some cases.
Sixth news item
Excellent: Arrest warrant issued for President Vladimir Putin:
The International Criminal Court said Friday it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in the abductions of children from Ukraine.
The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of the population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
It also issued a warrant Friday for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, on similar allegations.
Children as young as four months old were abducted…
Russia is a wee bit upset that the warrant has been issued:
The Kremlin said on Friday that an arrest warrant for war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against Russian President Vladimir Putin was outrageous, but meaningless with respect to Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia found the very questions raised by the ICC “outrageous and unacceptable”, but noted that Russia, like many other countries, did not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC.
This, this, this:
I don’t care if Putin leaves his bunker in chains or in a box, but his trial could be an education for brainwashed Russians who must confront their culpability in his crimes. There would be backlash and denial, but the facts would come out.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) March 17, 2023
Meanwhile, Trump and DeSantis are the gift that just keeps on giving:
Meanwhile in Russia: Vladimir Solovyov and state TV correspondent in the US rejoice about Trump and DeSantis declaring neither one of them would support Ukraine if elected president. Solovyov is urging everyone not to trust Americans and to be cautious.https://t.co/vTBcWtS8Cq
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) March 16, 2023
I knew this would happen. Useful idiots.
P.S.
As an Ivy League educated lawyer, I’m sure @RonDeSantisFL realizes most national leaders don’t receive a war crimes warrant from @ICCT_TheHague for a “territorial dispute.”
— MarkHertling (@MarkHertling) March 17, 2023
Seventh news item
The survey sponsored by FIRE…asked almost 1,500 university faculty members about their views on campus civil liberties. The data show that faculty members today are more fearful than during the Second Red Scare, with 72% of conservative faculty, 56% of moderate faculty, and even 40% of liberal faculty afraid of losing their jobs or reputations due to their speech. Untenured faculty are more afraid than tenured faculty, with 42% of untenured faculty censoring themselves, versus 31% of tenured faculty.
“We’re finally seeing the extent to which faculty have lost their peace of mind,” said FIRE Research Fellow Nathan Honeycutt. “When professors across the political spectrum become terrified of losing their jobs for exercising their rights, true academic inquiry and diversity of thought become nearly impossible.”
Even more concerning are findings that suggest that faculty are not just afraid of overzealous administrators, but also of students and each other.
Sadly, this will no doubt resonate with commenter Simon Jester.
Eighth news item
JVW on the ongoing decline of Los Angeles:
Drug use is rampant in the Metro system. Since January, 22 people have died on Metro buses and trains, mostly from suspected overdoses — more people than all of 2022. Serious crimes — such as robbery, rape and aggravated assault — soared 24% last year compared with the previous…“Horror.” That’s how one train operator recently described the scenes he sees daily. He declined to use his name because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Earlier that day, as he drove the Red Line subway, he saw a man masturbating in his seat and several people whom he refers to as “sleepers,” people who get high and nod off on the train. “We don’t even see any businesspeople anymore. We don’t see anybody going to Universal. It’s just people who have no other choice [than] to ride the system, homeless people and drug users.”
More:
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported that between November and January there were 26 medical emergencies at the station, the majority of them suspected drug overdoses. Last year, there were six deaths and one shooting, nearly all related to suspected drug activity. Earlier this year, a 28-year-old man was fatally stabbed in a breezeway of the station.
Maintenance crews are often called out for repairs at the station, and when they return to their vehicle they often find it has been burglarized. Gangs control the area and police say many of the informal vendors on the sidewalks are part of the larger drug economy, wittingly or not. Some are forced to pay the gang taxes, others sell stolen property.
Cue the clueless social justice advocates who think it would be positively beastly to crack down on the miscreants:
Some board members and social justice advocates have argued for less policing on the system, saying that racial profiling targets many passengers.
“What will harassment and jailing people who use drugs do to address drug use rates?” said Alison Vu, a spokesperson for the Alliance for Community Transit-LA, a social justice advocacy coalition that wants the agency to eliminate contracts with law enforcement. “We’ve poured so much money into policing, without any measurable impact on care or safety for transit riders.”
Ninth news item
As I was preparing to go onstage for an event recently, the moderator warned my co-panelist and me that the very first prompt would be “Please define the word woke for the audience.” We all sighed and laughed. It’s a fraught task, requiring qualification and nuance, because woke has acquired what the French philosopher Raymond Aron termed “subtle,” or “esoteric,” and “literal,” or “vulgar,” interpretations. Put simply, social-justice-movement insiders have different associations and uses for the word than do those outside these progressive circles. Before you can attempt to define what “wokeness” is, you should acknowledge this basic fact. Going further, you should acknowledge that as with cancel culture, critical race theory, and even structural racism, the contested nature of the term imposes a preemptive barrier to productive disagreement.
Chatterton Williams concludes (and I wholeheartedly agree):
But perhaps we can all agree, at bare minimum, to set ourselves the task of limiting our reliance on in-group shorthand, and embracing clear, honest, precise, and original thought and communication. If we want to persuade anyone not already convinced of what we believe, we are going to have to figure out how to say what we really mean.
This takes work as it rejects the laziness of catch-all-insider-phrases employed by both sides of the aisle. I want to do better. Put 10 people in a room, and ask them to define “woke,” and you’ll get at least 10 different definitions. And maybe even 15!
Tenth news item
While not conclusive, new study released on Covid origins:
A new analysis of genetic information conducted by an international group of researchers has found evidence to suggest that COVID-19 originated from infected animals sold at a market in Wuhan, China.
As first reported by The Atlantic, French evolutionary biologist Florence Débarre recently uncovered genetic data from the global virology database GISAID. The data had been submitted by Chinese researchers who collected the genetic sequences from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been scrutinized as being the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the name, thousands mammals were found to have been sold at the market, where they were kept in cramped and unhygienic spaces.
The genetic data suggested that raccoon dogs being sold at the market could have been carrying and shedding the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the time.
Have a great weekend!
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (1225fc) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:10 amPresident Zelensky on the warrant and Putin’s shrinking world: “World leaders will think twice before shaking Putin’s hand or sitting down at the negotiating table.”
Dana (1225fc) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:13 amPeace will come to Ukraine only when one side concedes or is exhausted, and it appears that the Ukrainian people haven’t reached that point.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:18 amWoke means alert to racial prejudice and discrimination.
Woke means overly focused on racial prejudice, often past the point of common sense.
Both meanings are valid and it’s necessary to understand the speakers meaning from context. Lots of words in the English language are like this.
In the case of woke there’s a rhetorical two step going on where ppl want to fix the definition of the word as only the 2nd meaning. Presumably as a tool to make valid concerns about racial prejudice and discrimination seem less pressing / valid.
Time123 (6bca34) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:25 amEighth news item
JVW on the ongoing decline of Los Angeles:
Seriously folks, read the entire piece if you want to be both heartbroken and infuriated at what has become of most of urban America (in this case Los Angeles), the lunatic ideologues who supported the decline, and the craven politicians who probably knew better but were too cowardly to intercede. And then read Joel Kotkin’s excellent piece “The Ghost of Ancient Rome Haunts America” in UnHerd. It posits that urban living, which had made a remarkable comback in the 90s, 00s, and early 10s, is now in a death-spiral which could take us back to the 60s and 70s. Very troubling.
JVW (25cf30) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:29 amSecond news item (from another thread):
MiGs are aircraft that Ukrainian pilots are already familiar with using, unlike American F-16s. Training Ukrainian pilots for the F-16 will take anywhere from 6-12 months, time that Ukraine does not have.
Source
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:37 amI’m loathe to use personal definitions for words when there are good dictionary definitions available, but “woke” is so fuzzy that I’m going to give it a shot: “The attempt by progressive activists to inject left-wing doctrine into society.”
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 11:33 amIn the past, it was “Social Justice” and “CRT” and, once “woke” gets sufficiently stigmatized, the Left will figure out another term to push their agenda.
Woke means alert to racial prejudice and discrimination.
Woke means overly focused on racial prejudice, often past the point of common sense.
Both meanings are valid and it’s necessary to understand the speakers meaning from context. Lots of words in the English language are like this.
Time123 (6bca34) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:25 am
Top lines and methodology. I’m sure all of those who will leap in and declare this is a push poll will have done a thorough analysis.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 11:36 amHere’s a PSA from Lady MAGA, to paraphrase: He/she/it will no longer identify as a “drag queen”. From now on, it’s “costume artist” to you, bub.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 11:37 amThis is a more persuasive (and paywall free) take on the definition of woke. It’s from an old school lefty.
https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/of-course-you-know-what-woke-means
MAGA stupid and woke stupid should find their own planet and do their mud wrestling away from the rest of us. Unfortunately, barring unforeseen technological breakthroughs in interstellar travel, that’s unlikely.
Appalled (e90758) — 3/17/2023 @ 11:47 am@5. It’s a sewer with zip codes.
DCSCA (5a394d) — 3/17/2023 @ 12:17 pmIt’s the Branda Straka-Peter Thiel-Richard Grennell-Charlie Kirk and the various ______s for Trump groups that going to be his primary contests margin against DeSantis. Freaks tolerated but only to the destination.
urbanleftbehind (a790f6) — 3/17/2023 @ 12:23 pmTwo earlier similar uses of awake: In 1860, some supporters of Lincoln called themselves Wide Awakes.
And in the 1930s, Hitler used the slogan “Deutschland Erwache”. (Germany, awake!)
Given such different historical meanings, I avoid awake metaphors in whatever form, when possible.
(And remind all of you that sometimes it is best to: “Let sleeping dogs lie.”)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/17/2023 @ 12:47 pmNBC News:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 12:55 pmTo give the flavor of my link in #10:
And, just to alert you this is no MAGA diagnosis:
Appalled (03f53c) — 3/17/2023 @ 12:59 pmRIP actor Lance Reddick (60), best known as Baltimore police lieutenant Cedric Daniels on “The Wire.”
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:02 pmBy the way, I believe the MAGA culture warriors are very close to a form of wokeness as described in #15, particularly this:
Hence, we have the endless purge of “RINOs” from the GOP. The idea that this approach is attractive on both sides of the spectrum suggests to me it’s derived from where our culture is today, which makes it hard to change, however much many of us detest it.
Appalled (03f53c) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:07 pmI would have been surprised by anything else. These are the same people who were so neutral during WWII they kept banking with nazis during and after the war.
Turkey should never have been allowed into NATO
That’s just scratching the surface. The conflicting concepts inherent in those ideologies a barrier to productive agreement.
That would unwind and undermine the entire grift.
Ok, so that’s just too easy. Show of hands, who believes “Chinese researchers” “collected” data that shows it really didn’t have anything to do with “Chinese researchers” in a bio-research facility doing research on the SARS-CoV-2 virus? Everyone with their hands up, I’d like to talk to you about an interesting business opportunity.
frosty (dcc7cd) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:14 pmAppalled, I think you can distill deBoer even further when he said “I much, much prefer the term ‘social justice politics’ to refer to the school of politics that is typically referred to as woke”.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:17 pmThe much nicer Dana wrote:
Switzerland has a long history of remaining neutral, in World War I and World War II. The country is not a member of either NATO or the European Union, and maintains its own currency, the Swiss franc, though the euro is accepted almost everywhere. Basically, the Swiss are following the same policies they have for more than a century.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (53cee2) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:33 pmThis is the least serious thing Russia has done. They are not even (maybe because of the possibility of encountering legal problems) for the most part not cutting off most children from their families- except that family members provided they travel to Russia to retrieve them. (which Ukrainians can, through third countries)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znEYZZdPWFc1
The reason this hit the top of the list is because Russia has been pretty open about what they doing.
The much worse attacks on civilian infrastructure has not ledto a warrant for anyone because it’s hard to assign responsibility or even intention without specific knowledge.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:38 pmI have a big question if it was thousands.
Sometime I think in 2021, China published a study which had pictures from 2017 that had not been published at the time.
https://www.idsociety.org/science-speaks-blog/2021/clues-to-covid-origins-via-wuhan-wet-market-study-2017-2019-of-severe-fever-with-thrombocytopenia-syndrome/#/+/0/publishedDate_na_dt/desc/
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:45 pmTime123 (6bca34) — 3/17/2023 @ 10:25 am
I think the problems with woke are more than simply disagreements over relative distinctions like “overly”.
The normal woke conversation these days seems to be more like:
wokester: Pardon me dear sir/madam/unknown can I ask you a question?
frosty: Out of respect for Fernande Wojokowski I prefer to not state my pronouns.
wokester: totally understand and agree. That was tragic. How do you feel about racism?
frosty: I’m against all forms of bigotry including racial, gender, etc.
wokester: totally agree. So what are we going to do about white people?
frosty: we? do?
wokester: maybe something easier. So what are we going to do about white men?
Filtering out the sarcasm how am I wrong?
frosty (dcc7cd) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:46 pmWhen Turkey joined NATO the world was a different place (1952). Its location made it bulwark against the USSR, and front line state (remember the Jupiter missiles during the Cuban Missile Crisis)? It controls the Bosporus Strait, which is the only way for numerous countries, including Ukraine, to access the Mediterranean. Under the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, it has prevented both Russian and NATO ships from accessing the Black Sea.
So it must be tolerated.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:46 pmChina keeps outbreaks of disease secret, if possible
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/world/asia/jiang-yanyong-dead.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:48 pmWith SARS 2 I think they tried to keep it contained, and secret after the first lab leak, probably from the Wuhan Insstitute of Virology, in late August or early September 2019 before Sept 12, 2019 when the WUV database of bat viruses was taken offline.
They succeeded in doing this, although we now know that some people working there were sick in November, 2019.
But then there was second lab leak, of a more virulent strain, (which Chinese authorities have tried to make it out to be the first once, but the fact it spread further doesn’t jibe with that) probably coinciding with the move of the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention to anew location about 300 yards away from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market on December 2, 2019. (the WIV is around 8 miles away)
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:57 pmHere’s one reason why Trump feels that Russia not a threat: They’re financiers of his social media operation. Conversely, those unnamed Deep State America-haters who could be investigating his sketchy finances are the real threat. Well, to him personally they’re a real threat.
In the other news, the weak-named Special Counsel got the go-ahead to put Trump attorney Evan Corcoran under oath before a grand jury, presumably relating to the governmental records he stole from the White House.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 1:59 pmhttps://www.science.org/content/article/wuhan-seafood-market-may-not-be-source-novel-virus-spreading-globally
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:02 pmMaybe this is a reason why my brain “broke” when Trump got nominated. That, and my party chose a planetary-scale louche.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:07 pmBut is one really “neutral” if they are in essence, helping one side by their actions/inactions?
Dana (1225fc) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:07 pmStill Blocked:
More from FIRE:
Related from Tallahassee:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:10 pmThere have been accusations that the United States government paid for some research at the WIV. To speak of the U.S> government paying for anything is actually nonsense.
The United States government or grantees were billed for some things but what they were billed for probably had minimal relationship to what happened at the WIV.
First of all, everything was paid for in Chinese currency.
Secondly, it has come out that there was double billing for the same things.
Obviously, the WIV knew how much money was available, and assigned expenses to get money, but sometimes used the same expense over again.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-government-agencies-may-have-been-double-billed-projects-wuhan-china-records-indicate-probe
You have to understand what this means. The (NIH) and USAID didn’t pay for anything! Semi-random expenses were assigned to them. It’s like you “paying” for green energy in your electric bill..
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:14 pmEr, this.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:14 pmMuch as I dislike Erdogan and his increasingly dictatorial ways, Turkey is too geostrategically important to not be in NATO, IMO. The important thing is that Norway is getting in and Sweden will, at the appropriate time.
Speaking of Europe, the OSCE guy in charge of their anti money laundering program attended Moscow State University and is the son of a Russian general in Putin’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the same arm of the Kremlin that poisoned Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent. What the…
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:23 pmBipartisan Senate vote to scrap 1991 and 2002 Iraq War AUMFs.:
Meanwhile, some Republicans want to pass one with regard to Mexico.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bomb-mexico-to-what-end-amlo-narcotics-trafficking-fentanyl-southern-border-matamoros-military-tamaulipas-state-guard-2c8deb9c
Letter in response:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/mexico-drug-cartels-us-military-force-dan-crenshaw-32cf4fd2
One thing I say is they will get them to bomb the wrong places. This happened with terrorist targeting both in Afghanistan and Yemen.
They’ll supply false or incomplete information and U.S. intelligence agencies aren’t good at evaluating human intelligence nor is everyone incorruptible.
The United States might bomb a Mexican police station, even one that is not corrupt (on the premise of key figures being there) or maybe even a church.
In Afghanistan and Yemen it was weddings. This would be a set-up designed to get the U.S. to back down.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:26 pmNobody’s Business:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:27 pm4th item bank bail out. During the depression the bank of the united states (private bank) asked for help from other banks. Because it was jewish owned it got no help. When it collapsed it triggered a bank run on non jewish owned banks. Similar to lehman bros. in 2008. Uncle milty’s economic libertarian conservatism wont strike again this time. So far. In 2018 trump and republicans and some democrats like sinema voted to gut dobbs frank for banks this is the results like bubba and congress did to glass-steagle in the 1990s If AOC or bernie were president the crooks in congress who voted for this would have been arrested by now. AOC 2024 the peoples choice.
asset (4827e4) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:29 pmPaul Montagu @33.
Donald Trump always wanted to be famous enough to be remembered long after his death. He’s mentioned in very many books printed between 2005 and 2009.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:29 pmPaging JVW:
About Downtown Ambassadors:
Dana (1225fc) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:29 pmRIP: Lance Reddick, actor, 60. “Natural causes” suddenly, at home.
Starring or recurring roles in The Wire, Fringe, Bosch and the John Wick movies.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:29 pm“Rip” beat me to it. Figures.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:30 pm@36 so how is banning teaching about Rosa Parks in floriduh text books solve that?
asset (4827e4) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:31 pmDear Putin: Perhaps you’d like Switzerland.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:34 pmHow to lie with statistics about the consequences of bail reform
https://nypost.com/2023/03/16/bail-reform-increased-crime-and-misleading-studies-dont-prove-otherwise
The first problem is that the other factors didn’t stay the same.
There wasn’t the same re-arrest rate per crime; some rearrests were not counted because now some people got desk appearance tickets and were never arraigned- and if they didn’t show up in court that was not counted as a re-arrest
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:37 pmThe much, much nicer Dana wrote:
Is that not the “if you’re not on our side, you’re helping our enemies” argument?
The Swiss are on their own side. In World War II, this actually provided a valuable service, since there were contacts between Germany and the allies through the Swiss. Russia is in far less of a position to harm Switzerland than Germany was, but the Swiss have has a policy which has served them well for a very long time.
Sweden remained neutral during World War II, sold iron ore to Germany, as they were doing before the Nazis came to power, and suffered 100 military casualties. You can say, well, they must have been on the side of the Nazis, but wasn’t Sweden’s government doing what was best for Sweden?
The countries on every ‘side’ will claim that the neutral ones are, in effect, helping the other side. That’s the thing about neutrality: it requires neutral nations to hold their tongues when other countries do appalling things, and they know that, but for the few truly neutral nations, it has worked out for them.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (53cee2) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:40 pm33. Megan Mullally (the woman in that song competition from the Emmys in 2005) on the Colbert show in late 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlqbVldCAYQ
Trump wanted to win that competition.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:41 pmApparently Dan Crenshaw hasn’t spoken to Vivek Ramaswamy, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, or Marjorie Taylor Greene recently. They have watched Clear and Present Danger too many times.
Does anyone think that the US wouldn’t face resistance from ordinary Mexicans (and the Mexican military) if they became involved in the drug war inside Mexico? It would be the Battle of Mogadishu all over again. Pure political posturing.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:42 pmBad bank regulation may have caused the failures but nt anything that changed in 2018.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-svb-profited-from-interest-rate-risk-accounting-rules-deposit-fdic-federal-reserve-coupon-held-to-maturity-ec43418a
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:44 pmBefore I left LA in 2018, I would take the light rail when I had to go downtown, as a car downtown is an albatross. Not a problem really. I mentioned this to someone recently, and got an OMG ARE YOU CRAZY?!?! reaction.
This is not the Metro’s problem, this is the city government’s problem. It is going to take horrific measures for public services to come back from this, and I doubt they will be happening with the new leftwing mayor.
Solution: end all services aimed at the homeless, close down encampments, roust people crashing in public transport or on sidewalks. Do what Santa Monica eventually did in the 80s.
No mas. Or no city.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:46 pmMr Murdock wrote:
The US had 39 obsolescent Jupiter IRBMs station in Turkey during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev demanded to be removed if he was going to pull his installations out of Cuba. President Kennedy said no, officially, but there was a wink and a nod that yeah, they were obsolete and would be removed.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (53cee2) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:49 pm@44 other factors didn’t stay the same. Correct. Demographics changed and corporate establishment democrats who run states with bail reform have to make reforms to stay in power as latter day squad members are ready to take them out if they don’t behave.
asset (4827e4) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:55 pmAfter getting help from Germany and Italy during the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco decided to keep Spain officially neutral during World War II. Spain remaining neutral helped keep the strait of Gibraltar open to British shipping. The one fascist stiffed the other two fascists.
Portugal remained neutral during World War II, and Lisbon remained one of the few debarkation places for civilians trying to escape Europe.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (53cee2) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:56 pmA nice historical tidbit, but the missiles were placed there to threaten the USSR. The fact that they were removed doesn’t change the strategic importance of Turkey overall. Turkey is among several countries were the US stores its remaining B61-3 and -4 nuclear gravity bombs. Fortunately the triggers are kept in the US.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 2:59 pmas latter day squad members are ready to take them out if they don’t behave.
Me, I’d just “take out” the squad assh0les.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:00 pmBecause intervening in third world crapholes has worked out really well for the US in the past.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:03 pmOn defining “woke”
I’ll go with Potter Stewart: “I know it when I see it.”
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:05 pmWhen the environment is more like a protest at Evergreen State College, there’s some seriously wrong sh-t going on at Stanford Law.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:10 pmI saw this tweet a few days ago and, yes, Circuit Court Judge Duncan wasn’t very professional, but it was stripped of context because he had been heckled and heckled beforehand until an associate dean came in to both restore order and lecture Mr. Duncan on his anti-woke ways. Here’s Duncan describing the situation in the WSJ, and it was appalling the way he was treated.
Switzerland has a long history of remaining neutral
Perhaps. It will probably remain their tradition long after other country’s interest in buying their arms ceases.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:16 pmTurkish bazaar. Turkey sees the opportunity to get itself a little baksheesh from us. They put up the same obstructionism in the 2001 Afghanistan invasion forcing us to turn to Pakistan much to the delight of the Taliban. It’s how Turks are.
nk (8668c4) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:19 pmFourth news item-It Didn’t Work:
“Analysts at Jefferies estimated that as much as $89 billion in deposits have left the bank over the past week…..”
This is what’s called a bank run.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:20 pm@58. Switzerland has a long history of remaining neutral
Neutral?
13 facts about the Swiss guards you probably didn’t know
https://www.newlyswissed.com/facts-about-the-swiss-guards/
Hit it, Orson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cydkTy6GmFA&t=9s
DCSCA (11e9ce) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:27 pmSVB parent files for bankruptcy; Credit Suisse shares slide again amid banking crisis – as it happened
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2023/mar/17/markets-us-banks-first-republic-rescue-business-live
DCSCA (11e9ce) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:32 pmThey put up the same obstructionism in the 2001 Afghanistan invasion forcing us to turn to Pakistan much to the delight of the Taliban. It’s how Turks are.
There’s also the bit about how the 4th Infantry Division, along with 80 ships carrying their equipment, were refused entry into Turkey at the last moment before the Iraq war began. The lack of a northern anvil to the southern hammer allowed Iraqi deadenders to regroup.
They still have not be adequately thanked for that.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:34 pmThis is what’s called a bank run.
But I have been reliably told that the bank run is not the problem.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:35 pmNo RIP for Jim Gordon (77). Gordon was a famed session drummer with The Wrecking Crew, played with Derek and the Dominos on Layla (including the ending piano coda, stealing it from then girlfriend Rita Coolidge) The Beach Boys, and was part of Joe Cocker’s famed “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” tour. He died Monday after spending the past 40 years in prison for murdering his mother in 1983 while suffering from schizophrenia.
Two excellent music documentaries are The Wrecking Crew (2015) and Learning to Live Together: The Return of Mad Dogs & Englishmen (2021).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:48 pmSeattle is having drug problems on its buses.
The Daily Mail suggests health officials aren’t helping.
(For the record: I often ride buses in three Eastside Seattle suburbs, Kirkland, Redmond, and Bellevue. So far, I haven’t seen any drug use, but I often see people on the buses who appear to be homeless.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:50 pmPaul Montagu @ 57,
I have questions:
1) Is there some reason that Judge Duncan shouldn’t have expected the commotion, given what we’ve seen when “objectionable” campus speakers attempt to speak? In this case, he was a guest of the Federalist Society, so automatically he’s not going to be received well.
2) Did the kids do anything that violated school standards/regs?
3) Were they well within their First Amendment rights?
I also read Ken White’s response, and it was pretty hostile.
My immediate reaction was one where I felt like the adults involved in these things need to wise up, and the kids involved need to grow up.
Dana (1225fc) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:58 pmSwitzerland counts on herd immunity for it’s safety.
Nic (896fdf) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:59 pmJim Miller,
I guess the transportation lines provide warmth, a measure of reprieve from being on the streets, and a fairly “safe” place to do their drugs. However, the risk posed to transit workers is just ridiculous. Prioritizing addicts and homeless over hard-working transit personnel is a sure way to lead to a strike or mass walking off the job. At the least, their safety should be prioritized.
Dana (1225fc) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:01 pm#69 Dana – And not helping the transit workers must be making it harder to recruit — and they are so short of workers they routinely advertise on their buses. And I have seen TV ads for bus drivers in the county north of here (Snohomish) offering free training, and sign-up bonuses of thousands of dollars.
It’s my impression that the drug problems are not quite as severe there, but I can’t recall having seen any recent numbers.
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:12 pmToo bad. It would make great television.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:12 pmHeh! This is the form of a federal arrest warrant:
The Secret Service would arrest him. But what is more likely, his lawyers will get a call from the Manhattans U.S. Marshall asking them to bring Trump to court.
nk (8668c4) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:35 pm@67. Dana, for those interested in Ken White’s take, here’s the link. And for a more comprehensive summary of events and reactions, see David Lat.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:41 pmJim Gordon was one helluva drummer and had such a sad story. Undiagnosed schizophrenia, which led to his horrible actions.
The guy was so talented, to hear the professionals tell it and, as mentioned, his presence on so many recordings of the best of American music is a testament.
But he was totally off his cracker and the drugs he was taking were adding fuel to the fire.
Years later, the drummer wound up killing his mother. Only afterwards was he diagnosed with acute schizophrenia. “When he was arrested, he said that he had also planned to kill his ex-wife but he was too tired from killing his mother,” [Rita] Coolidge recalls with a dark laugh. “He wouldn’t have been done killing. I think if he were out now, he still wouldn’t be done.”
Coolidge knew first hand how off he was, after he beat the Hell out of her.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:44 pmSince the indictment is by the Manhattan DA, not the DOJ, it is more likely that Trump would surrender to NYPD detectives or go directly to 100 Centre Street.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:47 pmI won’t answer point-by-point or linearly, Dana, but this was a Federalist Society event and the hecklers chose to be there. The FS has the right to assemble peaceably, and the hecklers disrupted that right, so that’s where the First Amendment violation comes in, IMO.
Also, Stanford Law disrespected this on-campus organization by allowing this chaos to happen, so they were complicit in shutting down a legit organization. It shouldn’t matter what their motivations are.
If the protesters wanted to raise a ruckus, they could’ve done it outside the room where they could express themselves freely.
As for Judge Duncan, he didn’t comport himself well, at all. In fact, to me he came across as a d!ck, but he should expect to not be shouted down while in that room, on a campus that purports to honor free expression of all kinds. It brings back memories of Jeanne Kirkpatrick in the 1980s, getting shouted down by left-wing agitators. The tactic sucked back then, and it hasn’t aged any better. Also, the associate dean couldn’t have been more patronizing.
I’m not going to speak to school regs because I don’t know them, just to what I saw. Lastly, I did find Ken White’s comments and I didn’t find anything disagreeable. I think he’s right that no one in that scrum came out looking good or better, and that all parties should grow up.
The irony is that Ms. Steinbach kept asking if the juice was worth the squeeze, and I’d say for Judge Duncan, the answer was “yes”, for getting a plum spot in the WSJ and I’m sure there are some FoxNews hosts who are beating down the doors to book him. I feel like taking a shower.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:51 pmOh, it’s a state case. Thanks! That could make an even funnier scenario. DeSantis would be the one to sign the extradition order. Would he?
nk (8668c4) — 3/17/2023 @ 4:53 pmJulia Davis…
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 5:02 pmThey’re Around Here Somewhere……
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/17/2023 @ 5:04 pmDon’t we have the The Hague Invasion Act? It authorizes the use of military force to free any U.S. citizen held for trial by the IOC?
nk (8668c4) — 3/17/2023 @ 5:06 pmIt’s unfortunate that, as appears likely, the first criminal charges brought against Trump will be for the Stormy Daniels payment and associated campaign violations. Not that he doesn’t deserve to be prosecuted. He’s guilty as he11, and lest there be any doubt that what he did is a real crime, his accomplice served prison time. But of the four crimes for which he’s under investigation, this one is the most ticky-tack. If you could pick one to be the first criminal charges brought against an ex-President, this one would be fourth out of the four. Public opinion-wise, I fear it will help him more than it hurts him.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/17/2023 @ 5:14 pmICC
nk (8668c4) — 3/17/2023 @ 5:27 pmAs I continue working my way through the Sandburg biography of Lincoln, I am enjoying it so much — and often learning from it — that I am taking it just a chapter a day, and sometimes skipping a day or two. Yesterday, I read chapter 17 and was amazed again by Sandburg’s one sentence on America as Lincoln traveled to his inauguration, and as war came nearer and nearer. That one sentence takes up a page and a half. (I would like to quote the whole thing, but think that might violate the copyright.)
As he traveled on his special train, Congress formally made him president:
That ceremony went off better than the last one we had.
(Breckinridge)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/17/2023 @ 5:50 pm@54 You will be out voted. Do you still live in the people’s democratic republic of california? over 100,000 minority kids turn 18 every month( with most hating conservatives) so your voters are falling down every month. For the racists these are american citizens not illegal alien kids and the teachers union and democrat party are spending zuckerberg’s& bezo’s money to get them registered.
asset (4c8e28) — 3/17/2023 @ 7:39 pm@83, Lincoln! That’s 183 years ago. Times have moved on. What 40 year old still remembers Lincoln?! The North lost a lot of soldiers under Lincoln…and his big goofy hat. /sarc
AJ_Liberty (fa996d) — 3/17/2023 @ 7:40 pm@85. Preserving the union was a nice idea, but was it vital?
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/17/2023 @ 7:53 pmMore from Julia Davis on our Blame America First GOP frontrunner, whose Blame America First message Russia Today gleefully picked up…
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 7:57 pmI’m just not sure Lincoln tried hard enough to find a different path. Was it really worth it?
AJ_Liberty (fa996d) — 3/17/2023 @ 7:58 pmIf there was a peace dividend, I haven’t seen it. Lincoln didn’t even bother to serve out his second term.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:04 pmYou may have misunderstood what you were told. You may also have not read the article again. When did you stop reading this one? Did you make it to “shares fell”?
Did you have any financial stake in SVB?
frosty (b0a241) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:26 pmIs one really not benefiting from slave labor when they’re using the products of slave labor for their benefit?
frosty (b0a241) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:29 pmDana (1225fc) — 3/17/2023 @ 3:58 pm
That’s a very good argument for the hecklers veto.
Well within? I’d say not “well within” but the better question is was the school and that’s a clearer no. The school administration didn’t act consistent with the first amendment.
frosty (b0a241) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:37 pmTenth news item
While not conclusive, new study released on Covid origins:
wow, that’s big news
unlike the opposite conclusion reached by the FBI, which was ignored
“The analysis, which is not conclusive, is being led by researchers Kristian Andersen, Edward Holmes and Michael Worobey.”
Ah, ok. Not noted in the article is that Andersen and Worobey wrote the letter that dismissed the lab leak theory back in 2020, the same letter that Fauci commissioned and then lied about having no connection to. The same letter that was used to silence discussion about the lab leak theory, and the same letter that spawned numerous fact checks branding it a “conspiracy theory that was already debunked” (h/t Glenn Kessler).
The two wrote three years ago, “Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.”
I’m guessing they’re just as confident now as they were then, which is all the anti-Trumper zealots need in order to silence discussion again and declare victory.
JF (e68188) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:41 pmWhat until he gets to the part about what Lincoln wanted to do with the former slaves after the war. Be careful though and don’t spoil the plot twist.
frosty (b0a241) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:44 pm(For the record: I often ride buses in three Eastside Seattle suburbs, Kirkland, Redmond, and Bellevue. So far, I haven’t seen any drug use, but I often see people on the buses who appear to be homeless.)
You would think this would be cause for a strike. Perhaps nationwide: no train or bus moves until this sh1t is dealt with.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:48 pmJF (e68188) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:41 pm
From what I’ve read they went to the market to collect samples after covid was a pandemic. The samples have all sorts of DNA including human.
But there’s absolutely no chance the wet market could have been contaminated by sick humans going to the market. Zero chance. Nada. Zilch.
frosty (b0a241) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:49 pmI guess the transportation lines provide warmth, a measure of reprieve from being on the streets, and a fairly “safe” place to do their drugs. However, the risk posed to transit workers is just ridiculous. Prioritizing addicts and homeless over hard-working transit personnel is a sure way to lead to a strike or mass walking off the job. At the least, their safety should be prioritized.
It also prioritizes them over bus and train riders, who after all are the declared mission of these systems. The trains and buses are not running so that addicts have a warm place to nod out. If the people stop riding, it’s a transportation disaster of epic proportions.
Right now it’s L.A. and Seattle. Suppose it was New York City.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:52 pmYou may have misunderstood what you were told. You may also have not read the article again. When did you stop reading this one? Did you make it to “shares fell”?
I would have no problem finding aseveral; posts of yours screaming that it was not the run on the bank that cause SBB to fail.
Did you have any financial stake in SVB?
No, to reply civilly.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:53 pmFrosty, the really funny thing is that people are now accusing China of HIDING it came from the wet market.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:55 pmDo you still live in the people’s democratic republic of california? over 100,000 minority kids turn 18 every month( with most hating conservatives) so your voters are falling down every month. For the racists these are american citizens not illegal alien kids and the teachers union and democrat party are spending zuckerberg’s& bezo’s money to get them registered.
It’s OK. When they drive out everyone who knows how to do things, they’ll all starve.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:56 pmThey’re separated by a lake, but Seattle and the Eastside are different worlds. The way Bellevue Police handled the homeless was drive them to Seattle.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:57 pmScreaming? That seems like an impressive feat given the medium. And I really don’t understand why this is so complicated for you. Have you ever seen a run on a perfectly healthy bank? You seem to be suggesting that once a bank is unhealthy and unable to continue operating people should leave their money in them in the hope that they will somehow become solvent. Or maybe as an exercise to see how that works out? A valuable learning experience?
If you read that article you’ll see
and
and
and if you look at the entire timeline it should be clear that deposits started leaving the bank after it was in financial trouble, ie the run was caused by the financial problems not the other way around. They weren’t perfectly healthy one day, deposits started leaving for no reason, and then they got in trouble.
I think your word choice is pointing to the misunderstanding;
“The” bank run isn’t “the” problem. It’s “a” problem for sure. “The” problem usually comes back to poor financial or risk management and those cause the bank run.
frosty (b0a241) — 3/17/2023 @ 9:24 pmKevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:55 pm
There are always people somewhere saying something about something else. Would you believe there are people who think Texas and UKR are equivalent?
frosty (b0a241) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:07 amhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/struggle-session-at-stanford-law-school-federalist-society-kyle-duncan-circuit-court-judge-steinbach-4f8da19e
Judge Duncan suffered a Maoist struggle session. These students and their dean broke Stanford’s policies on protesting to disrupt a speaker and should be expelled/fired.
Have a nice day.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:25 amSo the Chicoms moved on from pangolins, eh? To raccoon dogs?
Wet markets do not exclude labs. On the contrary, they necessarily involve labs. How does your doctor check you for strep throat? He takes a swab and sends it to a lab, and the lab puts it in agar-agar and sees what grows.
Frosty, the really funny thing is that people are now accusing China of HIDING it came from the wet market.
People who vote for Trump are the lowest-hanging of low-hanging fruit for Chinese smoke and mirrors.
We’ll never hear the truth from the Chinese. Not ever-ever. They’re like Trump that way.
nk (8668c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:25 amThe Federalist Society should have rented a hall. To hear Duncan, I mean.
From a church, like AA. They would not have gotten hecklers. They would have gotten church ladies with home-baked pastries.
nk (8668c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:32 amAny interest in the Biden’s getting millions through a Chinese cutout?
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:56 amIs $1.3 million from 2015 through 2017 still less than one two-thousandth of the billions the Trump family is getting from the Saudis right now?
nk (8668c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 6:40 amProbably an easier question: Is there any pocket the corrupt criminal crypto-Commie traitor Trump is not in?
nk (8668c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 6:58 amOn the bright side, an update to Comment 71:
nk (8668c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:03 amStandoff? Rather it be more like the last 15 minutes of Scarface. Just make sure RDS is busy at a bill signing. And Stanford Federalists would have go all the way out to Gilroy to find a non-rainbow flagged church.
urbanleftbehind (46a0a4) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:20 amnk (8668c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:03 am
— begin prophecy–
A prison sentence just might be the ticket to stoke Trump’s street-cred into incandescence in the minds of his supporters in this country; its brightness attracting even the indifferent who look for a source of light in the gloom like so many moths until the spectacle overcomes the inertia of slothful citizens who will sign any petition if it will only send away that pesky petitioner.
Do you want Trump’s image on Mount Rushmore, because that’s how you get Trump’s image on Mount Rushmore.
felipe (77b190) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:33 amnk (8668c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:03 am
famously soft-on-crime Alvin Bragg would be a fitting NeverTrump hero from central casting
prosecution driven by tribal affiliation, cuz principles first
JF (9a6ee8) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:41 amThis week’s Poltico collection of cartoons included three I especially liked, Ramirez’s bank hold-up, Bramhall’s indictment Bingo, and Ramirez’s how cultures go extinct.
(For the record: I sometimes like cartoons I don’t entirely agree with.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:43 amNot until there’s more confirmation, more details.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:45 amI didn’t see any Trumpist interest when China issued 41 trademarks of untold value to Ivanka. One standard.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:50 am@105
@108
@109
@116
the WhaddaboutTrump count stands at four so far, but the day is young
JF (9a6ee8) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:57 amfelipe (77b190) — 3/18/2023 @ 7:33 am
I only foresee an uptick in online searches for Stormy Daniels videos. A smaller than average uptick.
nk (85c77f) — 3/18/2023 @ 8:21 am“And in the meantime, the Bidens continue to get interest on their millions collected from multiple foreign nationals including from the CCP and no one in the legacy or mainstream media will even whisper it. (aside from maybe Tucker).
This is the biggest story of our lifetime and affects the last election, the covid shutdown, the vaxes, the war in the Ukraine and possibly WWIII, the economy, energy policies worldwide, and the loss of the US dollar as the world standard.
But Trump.”
Colonel Haiku (b69399) — 3/18/2023 @ 9:04 am”Remember Vaughn Meader’s “First Family” album? What a hoot if only he’d had the Bidens to analyze. F*cking the babysitter, f*cking the sister in law, showering w/daddy, all of ’em on drugs.”
Colonel Haiku (b69399) — 3/18/2023 @ 9:14 amCatturd ™
@catturd2
The FBI, FEDs, and Antifa to dress up like Trump supporters and try to incite riots in … 4 … 3 … 2 ….
Don’t fall for another Ray Epps situation.
It’s a trap.
Stay peaceful.
Colonel Haiku (b69399) — 3/18/2023 @ 9:19 am9:30 AM · Mar 18, 2023
A reminder:
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 9:26 amWe can all agree that Hunter Biden is a little sleazy and has capitalized on his name and relationship to his father. It appears that he has made investments around the world, including in China. Some of those investments have appeared to pay off. Now the investigatory challenge is to distinguish legal transactions from illegal payoffs or influence peddling. And to show, with regards to Joe Biden, that payoffs directly led to changes in policy or lobbying efforts. That Joe Biden was surreptitiously or openly helping Chinese firms or indirectly supporting CCP efforts.
It could be true but right now that proof is lacking. The goal may not be to prove it but to leave it out there for people to draw their own conclusions. This appears to have been the previous administration’s goal of pressuring Zelensky to announce an investigation of Biden in Ukraine. Create a cloud of doubt.
There is nothing new about alleging corruption or personal enrichment based on position. This is a standard tactic and Biden is vulnerable….as are others. But accusations of corruption and conspiracy are a dime a dozen. Personally, this doesn’t influence my Presidential vote, as Biden loses mine for a myriad of policy positions.
JF will claim that we tediously onanate over Trump’s dealings and accusations of corruption, so why isn’t there equal time? Well, it’s because most of us our Republicans (or exiled conservatives) who want a better option than Biden v Trump, and believe Trump lacks the character and competence to be POTUS. Democrats should clean their own house and offer a better candidate too. There are glorious sites like RedState where the comments will take Biden accusations and gloriously climax in derision. Not saying to go there…just saying if that’s your thing….
AJ_Liberty (fa996d) — 3/18/2023 @ 9:46 amTrump’s upcoming arrest (according to him) won’t hurt him politically, IMO, nor will a conviction in this case as it’s a misdemeanor, but obstruction and violation of the Espionage Act is a different matter. To a bit lesser of a degree, so is suborning electoral fraud.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/18/2023 @ 9:47 amThe way Bellevue Police handled the homeless was drive them to Seattle.
But the people in Bellevue all vote for the same policies that created “Seattle.”
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:15 am@124, Just more street cred with the posse. It’s something that 40% of the GOP apparently believe character does not matter. Essentially, all politicians are bad. Talk about schism.
AJ_Liberty (fa996d) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:18 amYou seem to be suggesting that once a bank is unhealthy and unable to continue operating people should leave their money in them in the hope that they will somehow become solvent
There is a difference between “unhealthy” and “unable to continue operating.” A difference that a panic run dissolves. A run is a stampede, with lots of people getting trampled. It is not something that belongs in a modern economy. It’s like all the men getting into the lifeboats because they are stronger than the women and children.
In short, it’s a plan for the assh0les to win.
The FDIC’s idea was to stop future runs by guaranteeing all assets. Perhaps a better way is to claw back all the money people took out over the $250K once the run started. That, too, would slow down future runs.
But a run is not something that happens after the bank has failed, it is the proximate cause of the failure. Grandma may be ailing, but that doesn’t mean that putting a pillow over her face isn’t murder.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:22 amDumb idea by Biden. Assuming they’re properly vetted, i.e., not spies, these disgruntled, disillusioned Russians would make stellar immigrants for the US.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:24 amThere are always people somewhere saying something about something else. Would you believe there are people who think Texas and UKR are equivalent?
You came up with a really dumb argument and I called you on it, as did others. Leave it be.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:24 amAll that Trump was ever going to get, in rubes and in bribes, he’s already got. The sediment has petrified. It can erode, but it will not grow.
Will he live on in Netflix specials? My Friend Trump? Donnie and Clyde? There might be a big enough audience for that.
nk (e94c67) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:27 amPlastered everywhere were photos of the students who had invited me and fliers declaring “You should be ASHAMED,”
Considering that this had the ironic participation of the DEI dean, those students have cause to sue the school, just based on the school’s guidelines. Pretty sure that photo doxxing of people based on their beliefs is contrary to policy.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:28 amThe Federalist Society should have rented a hall. To hear Duncan, I mean.
A free speech zone?
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:30 amTrump says he expects to be arrested Tuesday as New York law enforcement prepares for possible indictment
Words I want to hear: “Come in here and get me you lousy pigs!”
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:31 amA prison sentence just might be the ticket to stoke Trump’s street-cred
A prison sentence for trying to hide a blackmail payment might garner him some support. After all, one pays blackmail to hide things. Stormy should have been charged with extortion.
Of course, Trump also tried to write it off on his taxes, so there’s that.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:41 amRemember Vaughn Meader’s “First Family” album?
It’s not like Meader told the truth about JFK.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:43 amAJ,
It’s sufficient to show that Joe Biden was using HIS influence to protect his son’s illegal activities.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:45 amIt’s not as flippant as I made it sound. The Federalist Society did not show enough solicitude for their guest. Or didn’t they foresee that they might as well have invited him to speak at the monkey house at the zoo? And that the zookeepers would blame him for exciting the monkeys?
nk (e94c67) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:47 amWe can all agree that Hunter Biden is a little sleazy and has capitalized on his name and relationship to his father.
“A little”???????
ROFLMAOPIP.
DCSCA (043091) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:50 amHere’s what bothers me about Trump vs DeSantis: both men are riding on resentment and dysfunction. Neither is talking about the road forward, they are talking about who they don’t like and behavior they hate. The entire culture war (both sides) is metastatic dysfunction, like a family that cannot sit to dinner together without screaming at each other.
Now, I don’t much care for the road forward that the Democrats suggest, with high taxes, overbearing government “help” and a reliance on central planning. But they are at least stating a plan.
What does the right have? One guy who says “I am your vengeance!” while fighting indictments from about 7 directions, and another guy whose desire to fight the culture war is his entire platform.
I hope that those two beat each other silly, and some voices (e.g. Kemp, Nikki, Youngkin) who offer an actual plan for governing can get some traction. Because if only one side has a plan, the bulk of the voters, who tune out the screamers, will only hear that side.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:57 amYou would think this would be cause for a strike. Perhaps nationwide: no train or bus moves until this sh1t is dealt with.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:48 pm
i mean, isn’t the obvious solution to enforce fares
in Portlandistan, homeless encampments sprouted up in the suburbs since the transients, seeking to avoid fighting over space in the urban centers, could simply hop on the MAX and take it to the end of the line cuz fares haven’t been enforced for years
I used to ride the MAX with my kids, but that became very sketchy many many years ago
it’s not just Walmart and Nike that voted with their feet
JF (997ffe) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:58 am“The First Family” came out in late 1962, poking gentle fun at Kennedy’s wealth, large family, and “vigah”. It became the fastest-selling record of its time, racking up 7.5 million copies
and winning the Grammy for album of the year.
JFK LIKED HIS IMPERSONATOR. Even the president was said to be amused, picking up 100 copies of the album to give as Christmas gifts. At his press conference on December 12, 1962, Kennedy publicly underscored his commitment to good humor. The questioner noted the ‘heavy barrage of teasing and fun-poking and satire’ being directed at the White House both in book form and the ‘smash hit record’ and asked:
Reporter: “Can you tell us whether you read and listen to any of these things, and whether they produce annoyment or enjoyment”.
JFK: “Annoyment? No. Yes, I have read them and listened to them and I actually listened to Mr Meader’s record but I thought it sounded more like Teddy than it did, me–[laughter]–so he’s annoyed.” – President John F. Kennedy, Press conference, December 12, 1962
https://www.orwelltoday.com/jfkmeaderfirstfamily.shtml
DCSCA (043091) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:59 amElon Musk says Trump will win ‘landslide victory’ if indicted
Former President Trump will ultimately end up back in the White House if he is indicted by Manhattan prosecutors, Elon Musk predicted.
“If this happens, Trump will be re-elected in a landslide victory,” Musk said in a tweet.
Musk’s tweet came as Trump declared on his own Truth Social platform that “ILLEGAL LEAKS” from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office indicate he “WOULD BE ARRESTED TUESDAY.” Since taking over Twitter Elon Musk has restored hundreds of previously banned accounts, including Trump’s. The former president was also recently allowed to YouTube after a two year suspension.
https://nypost.com/2023/03/18/elon-musk-trump-will-win-landslide-victory-if-indicted/
DCSCA (043091) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:05 amHow a man stranded in freezing, snow-bound Oregon woods used a drone to call Uganda for help
drones might become an essential part of survival gear
JF (997ffe) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:19 am“
“Let me get this out of the way upfront: I’m no fan of The Bulwark or any of its writers. I find them to be lazy, opportunistic, profiteering Never Trumpers who have strayed so far from conservatism that they now profess to save it by actively supporting progressive Democrats. They are the print equivalent of Adam Kinzinger: their takes are contrived, and the tears they pretend to shed for the country are as fake as Joe Biden’s teeth.
So. Now that you know my biases, allow me to justify them. In today’s “Morning Shots,” Charlie Sykes, a one-time conservative radio host and now editor-in-chief of The Bulwark, dropped a piece entitled “Trump Picks an Enemy: Us.” In it, he claims Trump “sides with Russia” — which in Bulwark-speak means he doesn’t believe in a hot war with a nuclear power, nor does he believe Russia is our country’s greatest threat — arguing that the former President’s real enemy is the American people. To promote this idea, Sykes cites a Tweet from Ron Filipowski, another former Republican broken by Trump, that seeks to turn Trump’s critique of a massive, politicized, un-elected administrative state and a military-industrial complex overtaken by leftist ideologues, into an attack on Americans themselves — as if the average American citizen owes fidelity and allegiance to bureaucrats and the Defense Department, to General Milley or Ukrainian pensioners.”
—- Jeff Goldstein
Colonel Haiku (2d25ac) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:21 amAfter some consideration, props go to the late, unlamented Sen. Ted Kennedy.
The clown left a woman to die and then ran for president.
Colonel Haiku (2d25ac) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:31 amGossJankowski faces 33 years in prison, but given the lenient sentences most defendants have received, he probably won’t receive more than five years.
Statement of Facts.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:42 am“a military-industrial complex overtaken by leftist ideologues” Tell me the opinion piece is nonsense without telling me the opinion piece is nonsense.
Nic (896fdf) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:55 am“The Democrats’ obsession with getting Moby Trump is instead going to end up turning him into the Nelson Mandela for normal Americans who love this country and its constitution. I’ve been ready to vote for DeSantis, but if they persist in trying to humiliate Trump with a cuffed perp walk and especially an incarceration, I for one am going to feel it’s my sacred duty as a still free American citizen to vote for this guy. There is no doubt in my mind that he could run this country better from federal prison than Joe can from the basement of his Rehoboth Beach home.”
Colonel Haiku (a147e8) — 3/18/2023 @ 12:02 pmA good read: https://jeffgoldstein.substack.com/p/the-unbearable-lightness-of-being?utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Colonel Haiku (a147e8) — 3/18/2023 @ 12:05 pm“The fact is, Trump is absolutely correct about the enemy being within. And it is much bigger than the permanent political class, military adventurism, and an increasingly overreaching bureaucratic state. The great irony here is that, while Sykes and the Never Trump brigade try to tether Trump to Russia, it is the very Cultural Marxism the Soviet Union exported that is responsible for the internal problems we face in the US and much of the contemporary west, and to which pundits like Sykes surrender when they aren’t embracing it like it’s a John McCain blowup doll with tassels on its t*ts.
The US is suffering from the mainstreaming of Cultural Marxism, which has made the long march through our institutions and is now policed by a progressive power structure living happily alongside the desires of the Uniparty. Such a political ideology is a form of authoritarian collectivism brought about by a carefully manufactured — then viciously enforced — “cultural revolution.” As Mao did in China, our domestic left ideologues and the elite globalists of the Uniparty hope to do something similar here, though largely without the epaulets and outward violence. This is, after all, the west, and western sensibilities must be taken into account as part of any plan to re-make American society. Still, from our media to our woke corporations to our schools and academies, Cultural Marxism has taken root in those places where a particular narrative can be set, reinforced, taught, and defended. Once the ideology is in place, the specifics of the narrative can then be crafted. Tweaked for an American audience, the left’s narrative in the west is a combination of the beatification of “tolerance” and an iteration of removing the Four Olds, the latter of which is how Mao crafted his revolution. Individual liberty; a strong nuclear family; a propositional, color blind citizenry; and science as ordinarily understood, are all under attack from the Cultural Marxists, who seek to redefine reality to fit the parameters of their ideological push to remake Man. Gender is fluid, a mere construct; race is dispositive of victimhood and oppression, an essential trait from which the content of your character cannot escape.”
Colonel Haiku (a147e8) — 3/18/2023 @ 12:11 pmFeel free to do so under any circumstances. It’s your decision.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 12:20 pmcorruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding before Congress
I get the rest of it, but what was “corrupt” here? Did he take money from Trump?
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 12:21 pm“Corruptly” means acting with improper purpose.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 12:28 pmFrom the FindLaw Legal Dictionary:
The benefit presumably in this case would be preventing the Electoral College vote count and overturning of the election results.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:03 pm“The US is suffering from the mainstreaming of Cultural Marxism, which has made the long march through our institutions and is now policed by a progressive power structure living happily alongside the desires of the Uniparty.”
Well, we know where FWO landed.
Jeff Goldstein: “I find them [Bulwark writers] to be lazy, opportunistic, profiteering Never Trumpers who have strayed so far from conservatism that they now profess to save it by actively supporting progressive Democrats”
This is rich. Profiteering!? Seriously? Does he really believe there’s more profit in criticizing Trump than there is in criticizing Liz Cheney et al? Opportunistic sounds more like all of excuses and rationalization for the new GOP and, as Kevin points out vividly above, it’s complete lack of coherent, positive, agenda. 40% of the GOP is content with “retribution”, serial election denialism, abandonment of NATO, and trying to stack the government with loyalists. And 30% just want an authoritarian with less baggage. Again the acid test is, can you win a general election with this? I’m skeptical and, as they say, losing is the best antidote for curing dysfunction.
More Goldstein: “…a military-industrial complex overtaken by leftist ideologues”
Like Belushi in Animal House, he’s rolling.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:06 pmThe benefit presumably in this case would be preventing the Electoral College vote count and overturning of the election results.
Considering that NOT getting that is inadequate harm for “standing”, calling it a corrupt benefit is rather a stretch.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:19 pmThis is rich. Profiteering!? Seriously? Does he really believe there’s more profit in criticizing Trump than there is in criticizing Liz Cheney et al?
“Rich,” indeed. Seriously:
For Five Years, Trump Outrage Has Fueled Media Profits. So Now What?
https://www.wgbh.org/news/commentary/2021/01/27/for-five-years-trump-outrage-has-fueled-media-profits-so-now-what
Cable news profits from its obsession with Trump.
https://www.cjr.org/politics/cable-news-trump-obsession.php
Donald Trump Is Helping the Very Media Organizations He Despises
‘Pay TV is in structural decline, as younger viewers cut the cord or never subscribe in the first place. But the three major cable-news networks have each set viewership records in the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. Fox News had the best quarter in cable news history. MSNBC grew more than 50 percent in both daytime and primetime. CNN also saw double-digit growth over its sensational 2016 ratings. Feeding off the fumes of Trump’s whirling-dervish presidency, the networks seem to be growing at the expense of practically everything else on television.’
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/05/donald-trump-media-enemies/525381/
“Never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump.” – Larsen E. Whipsnade [W.C. Fields] ‘You Can’t Cheart An Honest Man’ 1939
DCSCA (043091) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:20 pmIf it means “committing a crime while having unlawful purpose” it’s rather redundant.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:21 pm“I find them [Bulwark writers] to be lazy, opportunistic, profiteering Never Trumpers who have strayed so far from conservatism that they now profess to save it by actively supporting progressive Democrats”
Or whoever else will give them money to talk.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:22 pmThat was quite an arrest:
As I understand it, the feds were able to seize many of his assets, so it is possible that his victims may recover some of their losses.
Just to make the story even more interesting, the New York Post is passing on speculation about a little fire in his Manhattan apartment.
(I imagine the CIA has had some interesting conversations with him since he fled China — to escape prosecution for corruption.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:31 pmKevin: “It’s sufficient to show that Joe Biden was using HIS influence to protect his son’s illegal activities.”
Still, doesn’t it seem step #1 ought to be actually proving illegal activities by Hunter. Just alleging that someone should not be paid a substantial salary, does not make for a criminal offense. The gun charge is probably the one that has the most promise, though I doubt there is any connection back to Joe. I have relatives that I chat with on the phone. They watch a lot of FNC and keep wondering why Hunter isn’t arrested and why the dirt on the “Big Guy” isn’t coming out. Indeed. Everyone cannot be on the take and being muscled by Joe Biden. If all of this is a slam dunk, why are only ideologically motivated pundits convinced? Where is the grand jury indictment? Where’s the beef?
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/18/2023 @ 1:41 pmYahoo news: Desatan dropping in polls! Trump’s attack on empty suit pander politician is having an effect. Populist republicans like soc. security and medicare. Most americans take the side of ukraine not putin. As Lincolln said you can only fool some of the people all of the time! Trying to be trump with out the charm doesn’t seem to work for the bully.
asset (4154c4) — 3/18/2023 @ 2:02 pm“For Five Years, Trump Outrage Has Fueled Media Profits. So Now What?”
Of course the discussion was with regards to the Bulwark and was it more popular on the Right to be pro-Trump or anti-Trump media.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/18/2023 @ 2:02 pmAh, yes, the logorrheic Mr. Goldstein, who searched for a heuristic and found a hubristic. I’ve had my differences with him but these days I cannot be bothered.
nk (c0cb29) — 3/18/2023 @ 3:12 pmLast week, the Washington Post suprised me, pleasantly, with this editorial;
(And they cite comprehensive studies in support of that firm conclusion.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/18/2023 @ 3:48 pmR.I.P., Hugh Harris, 90
‘His communications from Shuttle Launch Control for the first 25 shuttle flights led to his being dubbed “The Voice of NASA.” Harris, however, pushed back against this designation and assembled a small team which rotated launch assignments. Nonetheless, Harris provided commentary for 90 shuttle launches and played a critical role during the Challenger accident. Harris retired in 1998 but remained active over the years as a public speaker and NASA volunteer. Harris passed away in February 2023 at age 90.’ – NASA.gov
The footprints from Gemini/Apollo era Jack King’s shoes were big to fill. But Harris managed it just fine. Well done, Hugh; your words will echo into the centuries ahead… over and out.
Ad Astra.
DCSCA (df12b3) — 3/18/2023 @ 4:01 pmLook around using a search engine and you can find interviews with transit drivers that have gotten high off of the drugs burning inside and had to take an emergency substitute and go home because they were operating while impaired. I can’t find it now, but there is video of people smoking meth in a bus behind the driver
steveg (4019b8) — 3/18/2023 @ 4:24 pmAn interesting question if Trump is indicted while at MAL. Does DeSantis sign off on his extradition to New York, or does he refuse to do so and give Trump sanctuary?
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 4:37 pmPlus I’ve never met a heavy meth user that didn’t have horrible bad breath. I wonder if the driver found relief in the smell of cooking meth vs the breath. I was eating outside once with two friends and a methed up panhandler with two teeth put his hand on a 7-8 year old girl sitting having lunch with her mom. My buddy stood up and told the guy not to bother kids please and the guy lost it. He started the meth argument with all the demons of the universe, raging around then he stuck his hand into his mouth and ran at me. I thought he was digging for a tooth to throw at me, but maybe he was trying to hold them in. I’ll never know because some sudden and different hallucination grabbed him and he took off to kick over the trash cans at the gas station.
steveg (4019b8) — 3/18/2023 @ 4:40 pm1. There is no sanctuary in the criminal extradition acts of any State. Arizona allowed one a long time ago in the circumstance described below but they have since repealed it.
2. Unless Trump did not “flee from Justice” but instead was brought to Arizona by extradition from another State, sanctuary would be unconstitutional under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. That was the loophole in the defunct Arizona law.
nk (c0cb29) — 3/18/2023 @ 4:48 pmOne Arizona too many and not enough Floridas in my previous comment.
nk (c0cb29) — 3/18/2023 @ 4:57 pmCringy:
McNally’s posts are at the link.
Related:
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:00 pmMEGHAN MCCAIN: If faithless liberals just got out of the way, Americans will vote Trump into oblivion. But these left-wing zealots insist on corrupting the system to get Don by any means necessary… and it’ll put him back in the White House
JF (997ffe) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:00 pmOne could infer you think whaddabouting is bad. Is whaddabouting bad, JF?
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:01 pmNot redundant. It’s question begging.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:07 pmMr g wrote:
Not getting close enough to meth heads to smell their breath is a good thing.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:17 pmMann Act. You can take a woman or girl across state lines for a lawful purpose but not for an unlawful purpose. Matt Gaetz could explain it better.
nk (c0cb29) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:19 pm“If all of this is a slam dunk, why are only ideologically motivated pundits convinced? Where is the grand jury indictment? Where’s the beef?”
Just give it time, Clara. Those “walls closing in” takes time… 😊
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:29 pmQ: Mr. Gaetz, what can you tell us about the Mann Act?
nk (c0cb29) — 3/18/2023 @ 5:42 pmGaetz: Whatever you do, don’t pay her!
Q: You mean stiff her?
Gaetz: You can stiff her. Just don’t pay her!
If you think your bank is unhealthy, move your money to SVB or to Signature. The $250K limit doesn’t apply there because lots of Biden donating Venture Capital firms have pushed their clients to deposit VC money there and then told Biden he needed to make sure they didn’t lose money so they could turn around and donate to Democrat PAC, and candidates in the all important 2024 cycle. But lets not be so gauche as to indulge in any sort of critique lest it be called whataboutismses (smeagol double plural for emphasis)
steveg (e44a75) — 3/18/2023 @ 6:42 pmHomelessness Inc.
JF (997ffe) — 3/18/2023 @ 8:53 pmDana: Not certain why my post 187 is in moderation. Please release if possible.
Thx.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 9:00 pmRIP Bert I. Gordon (100), aka Mr. B. I. G.
The cast of Village of the Giants included Tommy Kirk (starred in Old Yeller and other Disney films), Ronny Howard, and Beau Bridges.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/18/2023 @ 10:49 pm1. There is no sanctuary in the criminal extradition acts of any State. Arizona allowed one a long time ago in the circumstance described below but they have since repealed it.
What about Dennis Banks, who received sanctuary in California for crimes in South Dakota?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Banks#Aquash_murder_and_trial
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:27 pmMann Act. You can take a woman or girl across state lines for a lawful purpose but not for an unlawful purpose
But if lawful, it’s not a crime..
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/18/2023 @ 11:29 pmHey Rip,
You forgot to name the juror. She was all over the media promoting her delusions and that she was a witch. Wonder how yoy and the site you cherry picked from missed that?
You lovw recycling though.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:03 amhttps://www.dailywire.com/news/teen-suing-doctors-for-removing-breasts-at-age-13-putting-her-on-puberty-blockers-letter
Hope she bankrupts those that mutilated her.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:09 amHey NJ (#192)
You forgot to notice that the arc article explicitly did not talk to the juror who was into witchcraft. Talk about cherry-picking.
Appalled (12dadd) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:12 amHey Appalled,
they directly quoted her. The quote’s been all over the news. It’s a fact.
Thanks for running interference though. Have a nice day.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:43 amhttps://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/03/18/public-library-director-fired-after-staff-allegedly-tried-to-shut-down-kirk-cameron-reading-event/
Leftists hate Christians example # 1,000,000,000.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:43 amwretchardthecat
@wretchardthecat
“The strategy of going back to the old days by destroying DJT is doomed to failure because **even if it succeeds** the factors which stoked the 2016 rebellion still obtain and even more so. Restoring the economy, cooling the ideology and limiting corruption are all that can work.”
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:41 amWhat about Dennis Banks, who received sanctuary in California for crimes in South Dakota?
I can’t explain it, Kevin. Honestly, I am shocked, shocked, that Jerry Brown thought he could get away with something like that in California in 1973.
(Well, okay, not honestly.)
nk (c0cb29) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:41 amAnyway, the only one who is saying that Trump will be arrested on Tuesday is Trump and you know what that’s worth.
nk (c0cb29) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:44 am“A Trump indictment would be a handy distraction to divert attention from all the banks that are going to fail this week.”
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:51 amAt some point – perhaps after we witness a sitting president imprison his political enemy – we’ll see Biden indicted for illegal influence peddling, international money laundering and tax fraud.
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:09 amWell, gee whiz… the Pantsuited Pantload paid a fine and never got arrested? She must’ve had a top shelf scheister !
NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee have agreed to pay $113,000 to settle a Federal Election Commission investigation into whether they violated campaign finance law by misreporting spending on research that eventually became the infamous Steele dossier.
That’s according to documents sent Tuesday to the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, which had filed an administrative complaint in 2018 accusing the Democrats of misreporting payments made to a law firm during the 2016 campaign to obscure the spending.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-2022-midterm-elections-business-elections-presidential-elections-5468774d18e8c46f81b55e9260b13e93
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:17 amnk (c0cb29) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:44 am
I know, right? I was thinking, “now you believe him?” Trump’s critics took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.
I don’t know how it works. Maybe like this?
1 Make provocative troll statement
2 let critics react with glee on social media
3 point to critics statements
4 profit politically.
Maybe there’s supposed to be underpants in there, somewhere. Like I stated previously, I do not profess knowledge in this area.
felipe (77b190) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:20 am“Let me see if I got this straight.
1. Government shuts down economy due to the “pandemic” bankrupting businesses and putting millions out of work.
2. Government doles out trillions in funny money to mitigate the effects of item 1 above.
3. Federal reserve in reaction to and in support of 1 and 2 above, reduces banks reserve requirement to historically low levels, even briefly into negative numbers (which I didn’t think was mathematically possible).
4. Banks respond by making lots and lots of loans backed by almost no reserves. (I should note that banks run by actual bankers resisted this trend and kept their reserves at more prudent levels)
5. Along came the entirely predictable inflation caused by items 1 and 2.
6. Federal Reserve responds by increasing reserve requirements back to pre-pandemic levels and a little bit more.
7. Banks that fell for item 3 by making lots and lots of loans suddenly find themselves catastrophically short of reserves and go bankrupt.
8. Government predictably responds to item 7 by bailing them out with even more trillions in funny money, thus hamstringing the Feds ability to control inflation.
9. Hilarity ensues.
—- Jersey Fled“
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:50 amJF may call it a “WhaddaboutTrump”. I call it a hypocrisy check.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 8:19 amIf it’s wrong that a private citizen related to a VP gets renumeration from a ChiCom concern after the VP is out of office (and is a private citizen), then it’s also wrong that the daughter of a Prez who was actively involved in his campaign and in the White House gets renumeration from a ChiCom concern while the Prez is in office.
I don’t say “one standard” for the sake of sh-ts and giggles.
Now, don’t laugh, but if the Fed cannot use monetary policy to stop inflation, that leaves fiscal policy. So, our economy will shortly rest on the ability and desire of Congress and the Executive to rein in spending.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/19/2023 @ 8:38 amRegarding DA Bragg, if Sullum is right (and I think he is), the felony case against Trump is beyond shaky.
If the FEC believed they didn’t have a case that Trump committed a campaign finance crime, then Bragg is stuck with just a pedestrian misdemeanor for falsifying business records, and mostly likely no time behind bars for our ex-president always-louche.
If Bragg decides not to indict, and he shouldn’t, Trump will certainly declare victory and proclaim he’s “exonerated!”. But the Trump taint of paying an adult-film actress hush money for an affair while married to his pregnant third wife will always be there and will always be sleazier than Bill Clinton, who conservatives used to rail for his sleazy immoral ways.
Trumpist favorite David French also weighed in. You know that IANAL because I had never before heard of the Rule of Lenity, but fair point.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 8:46 amJF may call it a “WhaddaboutTrump”. I call it a hypocrisy check.
I also call it a hypocrisy check
as in, accuse Trumpers of whaddabouts, then do it yourself when you feel like it
but don’t worry Montagu, commenters like lurker will pretend to be too dumb to notice
JF (66f947) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:16 amI was watching the movie “Alexander” with Colin Farrell in the lead role a few days ago and remembered back when it was first released that all people seemed to be talking about was how he was a bisexual. How he liked men as well as women.
And yet here was a man who could take a group of fresh-faced boys and whip them into an army, the greatest the world had ever known. And it was not easy getting these boys to follow him. As everyone knows it’s very hard to get Greek men to run off and leave their brother’s behind.
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:18 amMr g wrote:
First of all, as a frequent user of the plural eggses, which we produce ourselfs, I approve of the Smeagol double plural. As for worrying whether your bank is “unhealthy,” no one worried about SVB until it failed, and CNBC’s Jim Kramer even suggested investing in it just a couple of months ago. But to be safer, don’t keep more than $250,000 in any one federally insured account, regardless of how safe you believe your bank to be.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:27 amNo one’s stopping you from your own hypocrisy checks, JF.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:41 amThe libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:27 am
Or any bank.
The Federal Reserve Board was so oblivious to the maturity risk caused by their raising of interest rates that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testified to Congress on the Tuesday and the Wednesday before SVB failed without indicating any worries, and he had to cancel a trip to a banker’s meeting in Europe and another official cut short his vacation.
Sammy Finkelman (d7aac6) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:57 amMr Montagu wrote:
I have never met Donald Trump, so his personality means nothing to me. I never met Joe Biden, either, even though he was “my” senator for the two years that I lived in Delaware. He could have been absolutely saintly, for all I know.
But I have lived under each of them as President, and it’s the President’s policies, not his personality, which matter most. President Trump might have been the worst person in the world personally, but he significantly reduced illegal immigration with his policies. Perhaps President Biden is a saint-awaiting-beatification — no, not really, not with his support of an unlimited prenatal infanticide license — but his policies have reopened the floodgates to illegal immigration.
So, on that issue, who was the better President?
Under President Trump, inflation was under 2% per year, while under Mr Biden, the year-over-year inflation rate in February was 6.0%, and that’s on top of the February 2022 inflation rate of 7.9%. The compounded two-year inflation rate was 14.37%. Wage growth for February was 4.6%, so workers fell behind by 1.4% in February. Average wage gains for the two years, February 2021 – February 2023, were 10.07%. The average worker was 4.30% poorer, in real terms, in February, than he was two years ago.
Average hourly earnings, over the two years February 2019 – 2021, were 6.06%, while the two-year February inflation rate was 4.04%; over the same two months under President Trump, the average worker was 2.02% wealthier in February of 2021.
So, in terms of the results produced for the American people, who was the better President, the utter scumbag Donald Trump, or the oh-so-nice Mr Biden? Should the workers who were better off under President Trump really care that he was sleazier than Bill Clinton? Should we really care that Mr Biden is (supposedly) purer than the wind-driven snow, while Mr Trump looks like three-day-old road driven brown slush?
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:58 amThe New York Times published as fact a story about someone (Ben Barnes) claiming the October Surprise story about Republicans in 1980 wanting to keep the hostages in Iran, this time making the chief protagonist John Connally, and this was also featured on Meet the Press.
This is happening now because Jimmy Carter is on his deathbed, and he’s not there to stop them – not because he cares about the truth, but because of aa fear this could blown up in their faces,
Iran released the hostages before Ronald Reagan became president because they thought he would be worse for them.
Sammy Finkelman (d7aac6) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:09 amThere may be some contingency planning for the arrest of Donald Trump by the Manhattan DA with the earliest possible day being Tuesday, but there is probably no firm decision (but they would consult with the Secret Service)
The ccharge being bruited about is fallacious. From Trump’s point i=of view that was not a proper campaign expense, and if he had treated it that way, he could have been indicted for that.
Sammy Finkelman (d7aac6) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:15 amI care that Trump is an utter scumbag who is far sleazier than Bill Clinton and looks like three-day-old road driven brown slush. It is a pity that you don’t care, adjective Dana.
DRJ (b39202) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:19 amI didn’t forget anything. I excerpted new information from the AJC article, which interviewed a subset of the 23 jurors. As you said, Emily Kohrs’ quotes were all over the news, so there was no need to repeat (and the are not repeated in the article.) I assumed posters here knew about her statements. And she is named in my excerpt.
Another NJRob fail.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:20 amBy the way, Dana. Policies matter but Trump doesn’t care about policies, which is why he has never Hasan platform in any election. Trump and his underlings cared about policies and promises to get elected again. They won’t care about policies and promises if Trump is elected in 2024.
DRJ (b39202) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:25 amTrump did not have an affair with “Stormy Daniels” and his wife had already given birth. He had a one night stand arranged by some people for their own reasons, in which she approached him, but Stormy Daniels refused to do it again unless he made her a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice. He had an 10-month affair with the other woman, Karen McDougal, which lasted until Donald Trump wanted to introduce her to his wife, and she broke it off.
The National Enquirer bought the rights to Karen McDougal’s story and killed it, but later was reimbursed by Michael Cohen because its lawyers worried that it could be considered an illegal corporate campaign contribution. Donald Trump
Sammy Finkelman (d7aac6) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:29 amagreed to reimburse the National Enquirer, not knowing that Michael Cohen already had (I may be mixing uppp which woman MC used his own money for) and wanted to write a check but MC said no and agreed to let Wesselberg handle it and MC was paid back by du=isguising the reimbursement as legal fees, which MC no doubt treated as expenses. There;s a possible side effect of treating this, for tax purposes, as abusiness expense.
“We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember, my friend… future events such as these will affect you in the future.”
—- Criswell
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:35 amTrump, the first time he had intercourse with Karen McDougal, thought she was a prostitute (according to her) and I think this proves the liaisons were arranged by other people in the hopes of getting Trump close to them or something. Both incidents happened on the same trip to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in 2006.
Sammy Finkelman (d7aac6) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:38 amDRJ wrote:
Well whatever his platform was or was not, what he actually did in office — and certainly not all of it was perfect — was far better than what the dummkopf from Delaware has achieved.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:39 amTrump Added 2+2=5:
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:42 amCharlie Kirk
@charliekirk11
“If Alvin Bragg perp walks President Trump for a misdemeanor charge he needs a “novel” legal theory to elevate to a felony, then the House GOP should immediately file articles of impeachment against Joe Biden for his illegal business dealings with Hunter.
Fight fire with fire.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This is about principle, not a person. This is about our country, not one man. The silence from the rest of the GOP field is deafening.”
—- Vivek Ramaswamy
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:44 amPure speculation.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:47 am“It takes very little to govern good people. Very little. And bad people cant be governed at all. Or if they could I never heard of it.“
I guess this helps explain why Democrats are so fond of promoting bad behaviors. Behaviors that send people down the path to destruction.
Colonel Haiku (0ddd28) — 3/19/2023 @ 11:03 amDRJ, always glad to see your posts. Isn’t it sad that people are fixated on duking it out here, rather than honoring Patterico’s father’s memory?
In my field, there is a concept: disruptive selection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_selection#
I think it is much more applicable to everyday life—and certainly partisan politics— these days than merely to academic ecology.
It also makes me sad to reread Eric Hoffer’s “The True Believer.”
We are in real trouble as a society.
Simon Jester (ff9c91) — 3/19/2023 @ 12:02 pmIt’s not about Trump’s “personality”, Dana From Somewhere, it’s about his character, same as it was for Clinton’s character that led to his impeachment, and this doesn’t mean one thing or the other about Biden.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 12:16 pmBut if you want to know my opinion about Biden, except for doing a few favorable things wrt to Putin’s War Against Ukraine, his presidency has ranged from trainwreck to substandard, IMO.
@229, all I can say about KyDana’s comment is that character doesn’t matter…until it does.
Yes, I disagree with most Democrat/Biden priorities and policies…though I refuse to look simplistically at the economy…and look at the re-start of the economy after a massive pandemic shutdown….and foolishly conclude that all would have been better if only we had the magical Trump pulling the levers and twisting the knobs of fiscal policy. The President does not control the economy in that way. Yes, the $1.7T final Biden stimulus…on top of the previous Trump stimulus packages and broad tax cuts….was likely unwise and added to our inflation condition, but inflation was going to happen, just as it happened for every major economy in the world. Biden muffed preemptively addressing clogged supply chains, but the GOP wasn’t actively proposing anything either. The GOP was off wringing their hands over Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head, or fretting about the “jab”.
Everything policy-wise could be accomplished by another GOP candidate who was competent. Everything…including conservative judges and smart regulations. And so much embarrassment and buffoonery could be avoided by moving on from Trump. His insistence to stick with a thoroughly discredited stolen election meme is an albatross for the GOP who should still be in charge of the Senate and confirming judges. Trump’s willingness to get others to commit election fraud…whether pressing Pence to act unconstitutionally…or suggesting officials in Georgia and Arizona “find” votes…and his willingness to rip apart NATO for whatever motivation….makes him a menace to our democratic system. Add in his irresponsible critiques of the FBI, our intelligence agencies, and the state department, and you have someone who is only able to rip apart things and someone not smart or creative enough to replace those institutions by anything better. The authoritarian Right taking trying to take over ain’t gonna sell.
I really am starting to fear that the GOP will end up pushing plurality Trump through to the general. It’s as if they want more violence, chaos, and drama. America First indeed…
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/19/2023 @ 1:38 pmYou say that because you’ve never met Trump his personality means nothing to you. But here’s the thing: character is part of one’s personality, and so we all know him. And we’ve seen his character/personality evidenced in a number of negative ways. You may not care that he is a sleazy con artist who will bilk anyone of anything if it benefits him, even to the point of breaking the law and beyond, but a number of us do. It sounds as if you’re fine with him because he gave you what you wanted. But that ignores the multitude of long-lasting impacts his personality and character have had on the nation, the Republican Party, and the rule of law. And because he doesn’t care about pesky things like policy, he was able to indulge his greed by doing whatever benefitted him most (whether financially, coalescing his base, or promoting himself) but not necessarily in the best interest of the American people, our nation, or our position in the world. Not necessarily in the short term, and certainly not in the longterm.
Dana (1225fc) — 3/19/2023 @ 1:45 pmDana, I believe that character matters, and always has. What disturbs me is how willing so many people are to believe or disbelieve it when it comes to a particular politician (or person) whom the like or dislike. There is no real center.
It’s all cheerleading, by cheerleaders who really don’t care what their team does.
Sorry for sounding like the curmudgeon I have become.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 3/19/2023 @ 2:13 pmThe problem with Trump as president isn’t that he’s venial, we’ve had plenty of venial presidents before who were fine or even good. It isn’t that he’s bombastic, we’ve had a few of those who were ultimately OK or good too. The problem is that he’s motivated solely by self-interest and has no stopping point. Most people have some kind of idea of even vague guiding principles and a point beyond which they won’t go. Trump doesn’t have either with the biggest problem being no stopping point. Even if someone is only motivated by self interested, if they have a stopping point, things are only going to get so bad. Having no stopping point, however, is the most dangerous thing for someone in power, and it’s the thing we see that all of the worst and most dangerous people throughout history.
Nic (896fdf) — 3/19/2023 @ 2:28 pmYou still haven’t answered my question, JF: Is whaddabouting bad?
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 3:07 pmYou still haven’t answered my question, JF: Is whaddabouting bad?
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 3:07 pm
you already know the answer, but let’s play along
whaddabouting is bad if a conservative does it, good when a lefty does it
asked. answered.
JF (cbd88a) — 3/19/2023 @ 3:46 pmIf Trump is elected in 2024, any stated policies, however logical or well-constructed, will not matter. His term will be about retribution. Now, maybe this could be channeled into deconstructing the federal government, but I think it would be more chaotic than that. At the same time he’s breaking up the FBI, he’ll have martial law in Portland.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:19 pmNo, JF. Not answered. Evaded. What you imagine some lefty believes doesn’t say what you believe. Do two wrongs make a right? Do your opponents’ flaws absolve you of agency for your own choices? Believe it or not, there’s this thing called a neutral principle. I’d say try it you’ll like it, but who are we kidding?
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:33 pmThe retribution Trump will inflict will not be his. It will be Russia’s whose mole he is. To bring down America the way we brought down the Soviet Union. And his co-conspirators have already let the cat out of the bag with “national divorce”.
nk (bb1548) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:36 pmI wouldn’t know if Oregoners (goners?) are there, yet. I doubt it hinges on any occupant of the WH.
felipe (77b190) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:37 pmnk (bb1548) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:36 pm
I like this word “retribution.”
felipe (77b190) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:39 pmMotes and beams, comrades. Motes and beams. Why do you point to an apocryphal $1.3 million mote in the Biden family’s eye when you have a documented more than $2 billion (that’s a “b”) beam in the Trump family’s eye?
“Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” — Matthew 7:5
nk (bb1548) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:45 pmPutin and Xi are alreadyt meeting tomorrow for their own Treaty of Tordesillas to divide up America.
I wonder if they’ll warn us of “escalation” if Trump is not nominated and elected.
nk (bb1548) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:50 pmInteresting idea, nk, about the treaty. I would think there will be another jealous girl-friend meme depicting Putin looking back at Pres Trump while a jealous Xi makes the angry face.
felipe (77b190) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:57 pmUs Washingtonians call them Oregonians, felipe, for residents of the Schizophrenic State.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:01 pmnk, we still haven’t heard how much the Saudis have enriched Trump for his hosting two Wahabbi Tour events at his country clubs last year.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:03 pmPaul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:01 pm
Thanks, Paul.
felipe (77b190) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:03 pmPutin’s visit to Mariupol (assuming it wasn’t deep-faked or photo-shopped) was historic.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:06 pmBelieve it or not, there’s this thing called a neutral principle. I’d say try it you’ll like it, but who are we kidding?
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:33 pm
i don’t hold myself out as being neutral, lurker, just honest and straight up
I’d say try it you’ll like it, but who are we kidding?
JF (ba7930) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:15 pmMr Montagu wrote:
LOL! I’d have to ask: what part of his presidency has risen to the level of just “substandard”? 🙂
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:23 pm“Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” — Matthew 7:5
nk (bb1548) — 3/19/2023 @ 4:45 pm
you clearly don’t understand the meaning
else we’re talking about a crapload of beams cast out by the trump haters here over the years
JF (e68188) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:25 pmnk @ 241,
Right on.
Dana (1225fc) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:31 pmMr Liberty wrote:
In 2024, perhaps, but not in 2016; all of the rest, to one extent or another, including Ted Cruz, were still part of the Republican establishment, and would not have accomplished as much.
In 2016, Mr Trump touched on something none of the other Republican candidates did, an appeal to what could sort of be considered populism, though perhaps not quite fitting the specific definition. Perhaps he didn’t really believe in it himself, and only saw an opportunity, but he pretty much governed the way he said he would. Of all of the Republican candidates who said that they would “do something” about illegal immigration, he was the only one who actually did something; neither President Reagan nor either President Bush did anything to try to stop it. Every Republican candidate has promised to do something to try to outlaw or restrict prenatal infanticide; President Trump, very ably assisted by Senator Mitch McConnell actually got that done, by getting three truly conservative Supreme Court Justices confirmed.
Sure, he’s a narcissistic [insert slang term for the anus here], but he’s a narcissistic [insert slang term for the anus here] who got things done.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:35 pmDana #251, with a hat tip to nk: it’s the kind of curse the Greek gods would deal a foolish mortal…to give them what they want, and watch while they turn themselves into something that they claim to despise.
Simon Jester (c8876d) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:43 pmThe much nicer Dana wrote:
So, when the oh-so-nice President Biden leaves office, with a flood of illegal immigrants in our country, with the utter abnormality of ‘transgenderism’ not only enshrined legally but in actual people in our armed services who can’t actually be deployed due to their medical conditions, with increased use of Affirmative Action and the racial classification of everything, with an economy in which working Americans are significantly poorer, in real terms, isn’t that going to leave the next Republican President with not just a far more difficult task to set things right, but an impossible one given the existence of the damage Mr Biden has wrought and will continue to wreak?
Yes, Mr Biden seems to be a nice guy — sort of; his family’s treatment of Hunter Biden’s unwanted daughter is appalling — but he’s a nice guy causing real damage.
Whether Mr Trump is re-elected in 2024 or not, whether he is convicted of a crime or not, eventually he’s going to be just as the rest of us will be, stone-cold graveyard dead. But the policies of every President, good or bad, linger throughout our legal system, our government, and our country, long after the individuals in office are gone.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:54 pm@254. It’s the Royalists vs., the Populists… this cauldron of discontent w/t establishment apparatchik entrenched in both major parties has been simmering to a boil for 45 years… If it wasn’t Trump it would be somebody else to carry the banner forward… and they’ve tasted victory. It keeps rooting deeper, growing– and is going to be with us for several cycles to come, too.
‘Critics said ‘he’ was unfit for office because he had limited governing experience… But supporters flipped the script, claiming that ‘his’ outsider status would provide exactly the housecleaning that the country needed.’
Donald Trump? Nope. Andrew Jackson.
https://www.history.com/news/andrew-jackson-populism
DCSCA (678079) — 3/19/2023 @ 5:55 pmBiden made the right decision to let Ukrainians have some of our surplus to shred Putin’s army.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:01 pmFun fact: Oregonian is an example of a demonym:
(Links omitted.)
Wikipedia is pretty good at giving the demonyms for most of the larger places we talk about. (And, as far as I know, most smaller places don’t have them.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:02 pmWhat are the potential charges that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg may indict Donald Trump?
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:33 pmBut that ignores the multitude of long-lasting impacts his personality and character have had on the nation, the Republican Party, and the rule of law.
what does it say about NeverTrump, that bringing the country to its collective knees financially, fiscally, militarily, culturally, criminally and its sovereign borders compromised is seen as an improvement over the prior administration?
JF (e68188) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:39 pmThe ChiComs are extending their surveillance even further, in Tibet.
“Czar” Putin, will be jealous, when he hears about this.
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:40 pmDon’t think that I, for one, does not see what you did there, libertarian Dana: “Trump is good because Biden is bad.”
I don’t buy it. Trump is not fit to be President of the United States. Period. Your dislike of the deck chair arrangement means nothing in the face of the orange iceberg at the prow.
nk (bb1548) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:42 pmI look at it like this: Trump has 10 heads in his bowling bag, Biden only has two. In this arena, Biden is an underachiever
steveg (afc6e6) — 3/19/2023 @ 6:47 pmjury selection should be interesting as mr, spock says. If trump or his supporters doesn’t like someone put on the jury. Again interesting. Proud boys were arrested in a tuneup for indictment day. On jan 6 they kept from using their guns or taking hostages. (nancy ran to fast) Should be interesting. Not being republican or corporate establishment democrat I don’t have a dog in this fight. Its like when hitler attacked stalin you don’t know who to boo for!
asset (14c686) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:00 pmWay to miss the point (I won’t say intentionally, though I wonder). It’s the principle that’s neutral, not the person. And I never claimed to be neutral. I want nothing to do with either team, but I make no bones about which one (yours) I find more destructive and dangerous at the moment.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:29 pmOur Windy City barrister wrote:
Actually, I listed some — not all — of the things President Trump did that I believe were good, above. Most of the things President Trump did were things with which the majority of the commenters on this site would have approved, had they been done by anyone not named Donald Trump: reduced illegal immigration, kept inflation low, pushed against Affirmative Action, worked to reduce dependence on imports, cut taxes, started the process of getting us out of Afghanistan, and appointed conservative judges. On some things he failed, such as not being able to end Obysmalcare.
Well, Joe Biden did win in 2020, and look what he has done, which is pretty much the opposite, and things with which most people commenting here would not be happy, but they were done by President Biden, so, apparently, that’s not all that bad.
Really, the only major policy disagreement I have with most people here is on the ever-increasing aid to Ukraine, but I also care far more about policy than personality.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:34 pmThe libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:34 pm
I would add the restoration of religious freedoms, the reduction of so many regulations, the US officially recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as a new US Embassy opened there, and especially, the Abraham Accords which should have won someone a Nobel Peace prize.
felipe (77b190) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:41 pm266 hitler made some nice autobahns. to drive people to belsen and dachau. However I am an observer to this fight.
asset (14c686) — 3/19/2023 @ 8:03 pmnk: “The retribution Trump will inflict will not be his. It will be Russia’s whose mole he is. To bring down America the way we brought down the Soviet Union. And his co-conspirators have already let the cat out of the bag with “national divorce”.”
A good number of MAGA radicals just want to break the country. They just want an authoritarian who will use the power of government to deliver retribution. KyDana pretty much says it. As long as he sees things he wants done getting done, will he strain to question if the rules are being followed or the actions are just? Might makes right. Indeed. As long as Trump gives him a nibble, who cares if he’s destroying institutions….who needs them, apparently? NATO? An anachronism. FBI? Needs people who understand perfect calls and why ex-Presidents just need to hold onto classified documents. Constitution? An impediment. An adversarial press? Trump wants us to rethink it, maybe chill it.
Listen to the hyperbole from JF: “that bringing the country to its collective knees financially, fiscally, militarily, culturally, criminally and its sovereign borders compromised”. Wait, what? Does this sound like someone persuadable? How about rational? This is what the internet has become, let’s say outrageous things and see who bites. I’ve lost patience entertaining anonymous commenters who have sacrificed all objectivity and pray at the altar of hyper-partisan ideology. As if we need their constant correction…
As long as the trains are running on time and the unborn babies are saved….the ends justifies the means. How can this moral philosophy go wrong?
AJ_Liberty (f1ba3c) — 3/19/2023 @ 8:14 pmBrown barred Banks’s extradition in 1976; the Supreme Court didn’t make extradition mandatory until 1987 (Puerto Rico v. Branstad, 483 U.S. 219).
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/19/2023 @ 8:16 pmI want nothing to do with either team, but I make no bones about which one (yours) I find more destructive and dangerous at the moment.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 7:29 pm
“either team”, as if there’s just two
the team that holds itself out as not being on a team and above it all isn’t the most destructive, but it is corrosive in its own way and an enabler of the most destructive elements
and I do look forward to you practicing neutrality in principle, but when two commenters are whaddabouting and you jump in for some reason and hall monitor only one, sorry that ain’t it
it would be great if you could acknowledge that, but I’ll keep breathing
JF (e68188) — 3/19/2023 @ 8:18 pmThat tweet noted is dumb. The war crime is not the territorial dispute, it is in the actions undertaken during the territorial dispute that are and were criminal.
steveg (99c795) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:02 pmObviously in this case a dispute is a verb: compete for; strive to win.
steveg (99c795) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:05 pm“the two drivers crashed while disputing the lead”
I’m sure the current war crime charges will only be the first. “Waging aggressive war” is a war crime, and one clearly committed by Russia and its leadership.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:17 pmThe Vietnam Special Military Operation was precipitated by the Gulf of Tonkin dispute(s). There were many war crimes during this territorial dispute.
steveg (99c795) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:23 pmPlease show where I’ve done that. I probably do criticize your whaddabouting more than I criticize anyone else’s, but guess who whaddabouts here more than anyone else by a large margin. If you don’t understand why criticizing that kind of disproportional behavior disproportionately is consistent with neutral principles, I’m afraid you’re again unclear on the concept.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:23 pmIn the spirit of beam and mote. Nothing personal
steveg (99c795) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:24 pmAnd his co-conspirators have already let the cat out of the bag with “national divorce”.
Picture something like Kris Kristofferson’s “Amerika“
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:50 pmThe New York Times published as fact a story about someone (Ben Barnes) claiming the October Surprise story about Republicans in 1980
The story is silly as it has people going around saying that “Reagan’s election is inevitable” when he was about 10 points down in the polls.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:53 pmIf you don’t understand why criticizing that kind of disproportional behavior disproportionately is consistent with neutral principles, I’m afraid you’re again unclear on the concept.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:23 pm
yes, I knew I shouldn’t hold my breath
disproportionate in this case involves an invalid ratio — you know, where you divide by zero
and, I know you wrote the book on neutral principles, but I’ve heard we shouldn’t give Putin a break cuz he hasn’t conquered near the countries and murdered near the people as Hitler — so, no I don’t think you’re practicing neutral principles at all
JF (ba7930) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:55 pmSpeaking of holding one’s breath, when will you tell us if whaddabouting is bad, JF?
I was going to rebut your other assertions and insinuations, but since you cast yourself as Hitler in your own analogy, I think I’ll sit down now and stop arguing.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/19/2023 @ 11:52 pm@279 yasser arafat and bani sader who were in on it confirmed it. Arafat told jimmy carter about bill casey and the start of Iran/contra. Carter being a wimp establishment liberal refused to talk about it as he thought it would destroy the republican party and the two party system. I know. This is what I have to deal with in the democrat party. At least now the democrats are going after trump.
asset (14c686) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:24 amAJ,
You sound just like the typical leftist who minimizes the concerns of those who disagree with you while ignoring their successes. But you know that already.
NJRob (eabb7b) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:14 am“You sound just like the typical leftist”
All you have is name calling. If you have an argument, make the argument. Unfortuately, it’s usually just some tribal gobblygook,
AJ_Liberty (f1ba3c) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:29 amJust for the record, Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the Supreme Court case which recognized both transgenderism and homosexuality as “sex” under the definition of Title VII, was written by Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s appointment to replace Scalia.
Meantime, Russian was developing Mach 5 cruise missiles.
Successes!
nk (9ab84f) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:39 am278, more like an alt-Man in the High Castle with a Sick Man China-Loa out west and a Based Eastern European confederation in the east.
urbanleftbehind (7f9fdd) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:52 amA commenter who is an asset to this blog wrote:
Volkswagen was begun by the Deutsche Arbeitsfront, under the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, so clearly anyone who owns or drives a Volkswagen is a Nazi supporter. The People’s Republic of China are Volkswagen’s largest importer, and China at least somewhat backs Russia against Ukraine, so there’s that as well.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:53 amIf the subject is crime in this open thread, it’s that the best college basketball team in WA State is Gonzaga, and not a football powerhouse like my alma mater, the UW, but I’m glad the Zags made it to the Sweet 16 (along with Princeton!?) despite an underwhelming 1st half against TCU.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:09 amAJ,
Pot=kettle. You insulted 2 people here, dismissed their remarks and acted holier than thou. Hypocrite.
NJRob (3ecc0f) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:12 amAn ISW update…
“Culmination” is a bad word for Putin, which is another way to say “no progress” or “quagmire”.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:36 am@140
All DeSantis needs to do, is to tout is Florida policies that he’s enacted. He did way more than just the “cultural wars” stuff.
whembly (c88102) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:58 amI figured out why Trump picked tomorrow to be “arrested”. It will be the nicest day in NYC so far this year — sunny, wind at 3-5 mph, and a high of 61F. Thank you, 10-day Weather Channel!
nk (9ab84f) — 3/20/2023 @ 8:01 amhttps://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brigham-young-son-drag-queen/
nk (9ab84f) — 3/20/2023 @ 8:23 amTwenty Years Ago Today……
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 9:16 amI’d mentioned watching the movie Alexander the other day and have a few additional thoughts. The famous general found many young Greek men who were anxious to leave home because they didn’t like the way they were being reared.
During this time, the Greeks were constantly being attacked by the Persian army… the Persians were strong fighters. But Alexander managed to beat off the entire Persian army.
Think about it. Alexander united all of Greece, and got them to fight together as a nation. And all some people who viewed this movie can talk about is Alexander might be gay.
This man used Greece to beat off the men of the Persian army!
Without his Greeks the job of beating off the entire Persian army would’ve been much harder. Using his army this way, Alexander finished them off quicker.
Alexander’s preference was always to take the Persians from behind. He would use his troops to form a long phalanx, and then he would spread their flanks and ram the head of the phalanx into the Persian rear.
And then the master stroke… unknown to the Persians, Alexander would hide an entire battalion of the Greek navy inside that phalanx. A big surprise… and after pounding away for hours and hours, a raging torrent of Greek seamen would erupt into the Persian rear.
It was a good movie! One of Oliver Stone’s best.
Colonel Haiku (dcb5d2) — 3/20/2023 @ 9:29 am@294. The costs of the 2003–2010 Iraq War are often contested, as academics and critics have unearthed many hidden costs not represented in official estimates. The most recent major report on these costs come from Brown University in the form of the Costs of War, which totaled just over $1.1 trillion. The United States Department of Defense’s direct spending on Iraq totaled at least $757.8 billion, but also highlighting the complementary costs at home, such as interest paid on the funds borrowed to finance the wars.
Those figures are dramatically higher than typical estimates published just prior to the start of the Iraq War, many of which were based on a shorter term of involvement. For example, in a March 16, 2003 Meet the Press interview of Vice President Dick Cheney, held less than a week before the Iraq War began, host Tim Russert reported that “every analysis said this war itself would cost about $80 billion, recovery of Baghdad, perhaps of Iraq, about $10 billion per year. We should expect as American citizens that this would cost at least $100 billion for a two-year involvement.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_cost_of_the_Iraq_War
DCSCA (bb0c76) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:09 amU.S. Opposes Chinese Cease-Fire Proposal in Ukraine
WASHINGTON — The White House is rejecting Beijing’s proposal for a truce in Ukraine, ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week and a subsequent phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-opposes-chinese-cease-fire-proposal-in-ukraine/7010939.html
DCSCA (bb0c76) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:12 amAll DeSantis needs to do, is to tout is Florida policies that he’s enacted. He did way more than just the “cultural wars” stuff.
And really, this brings up the real problem with modern campaigns: We only hear what the MSM wants us to hear. A candidate may say 100 things; only one or two is reported, and that defines him.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:27 amso clearly anyone who owns or drives a Volkswagen is a Nazi supporter.
Just like all Ford owners are antisemitic.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:29 amHere’s some good news:
A French journalist, Olivier Dubois, was released at the same time.
(I have thought for some time that we should be routinely collecting hostages from all our enemies, in order to have some to trade, should we need to. As we do, from time to time.)
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:37 amHow would that work with non-governmental terrorist organizations or drug cartels? They probably wouldn’t care about any hostages we had.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:53 am“I have thought for some time that we should be routinely collecting hostages from all our enemies”
What could go wrong?
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/20/2023 @ 11:03 am#301 Rip – The Israelis have done some of this hostage trading, in just those circumstances.
#302 AJ – Many things can, and will, go wrong, but I think my suggestion is one of the “least bad” alternatives. If you have a less bad idea, please share it with us.
Jim Miller (f29931) — 3/20/2023 @ 11:41 amWell at minimum, if we believe in due process and fairness, we would need to find people who have violated the law. We just can’t collect innocent people or else we are no better than the Russians, North Koreans, or Iranians. As to Niger, the U.S. has several bases there and they are ostensibly cooperating with terrorist concerns. So in your example, I’m not sure who you grab. Once you start grabbing people that will put a target on Americans traveling abroad. Sure it happens anyways, but would we see more of it? Also, if we can find criminal people, then by definition we should be arresting/detaining them for trial anyways.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/20/2023 @ 11:54 amIsrael has a defined enemy, adjacent to the country. Most of the American hostages have been taken by transnational terrorist organizations (such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, believed to be the kidnappers of Jeffery Woodke), operating in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. A French reporter was also released at the same time, reportedly held by an al-Qaeda-linked affiliate known as Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin.
How would you identify who to take as a hostage, given the fact that many of these countries can’t prevent the terrorist organizations from occupying square miles of territory outside the major cities? In most cases no one knows who the hostage takers are until demands are received. Sometimes demands are never made.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:00 pmCut off commercial and travel ties with the those countries who cannot defeat their insurgencies.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:02 pmBreaking-
Six Oath Keepers convicted in connection with January 6 US Capitol riot
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:14 pm303. There is/was still one witness scheduled to appear before the grand jury today
https://www.newser.com/story/332918/in-last-minute-move-trump-ally-testifying-before-nyc-grand-jury.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:43 pm307. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:02 pm
Does this include Mexico, assuming that a drugcartel can morph into an insurgency?
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:44 pm97. Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/17/2023 @ 8:52 pm
New York Post front page for Sunday, March 19, 2023:
https://nypost.com/cover/march-19-2023
https://nypost.com/2023/03/18/new-nyc-subway-already-defiled-by-homeless-rowdy-riders
The favorite train of the homeless is sad to be the “E” train, because its route in entirely underground.
The “A” train and the “E” train share apart of the same route from 50 St to lower Manhattan. The “E” train end at the World Trade Center stop.
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:56 pmWhy not. It would certainly force the Mexican government to confront the cartels, and make it more difficult for the cartels to smuggle, both humans and drugs, into the US. And it is better than the military force strategy proposed by leading Republicans. The last time we tried that (the Pancho Villa Punitive Expedition in 1916-17) it failed. Villa escaped capture.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 12:56 pmnk (9ab84f) — 3/20/2023 @ 8:01 am
The nicest day in some time.
We have recently been having the January weather we missed -although it still didn’t snow in a way that needed to shoveled.
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/new-york-city-latest-first-snow-record-2023
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 1:05 pm219. 212
And 225:
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/19/2023 @ 10:47 am
I didn’t give my sources but about the relationships that’s what the women said. Donald Trump offered Karen McDougal money and she said that she was not that kind of girl. He assumed she was a prostitute (sent to him as a courtesy by someone else)
She had an affair but “Stormy Daniels” did not, despite people repeatedly saying that. A one night stand, after which Trump pursued her, without result, because he would not promise her an appearance on his show – although initially he had brought it up by boasting of his ability to do so – is not an affair.
There is speculation on my part, (that some people arranged for both trysts while he was in Lake Tahoe, Nevada) and some of it is wrong
I got a bit mixed up and am still not straight on it. It seems like this: Stormy Daniels was going to go public first. She came to Trump’s attention in 2011. But Karen McDougal was a paid first.
Michael Cohen wanted Trump to reimburse the National Enquirer -it’s on tape – Cohen used the argument that David Pecker might get hit by a truck and the National Enquirer could change its policy and print it. When? After the election of course. And MC (I think) wanted Trump to buy the rights to Karen McDougal’s story from the Enquirer – but I think this was never done.
Michael Cohen himself paid off Stormy Daniels (probably without checking with Trump) right before the election. He initially claimed he was not reimbursed.
But he was reimbursed by the Trump Organization paying him extra for legal fees. Trump agreed to make it up to him. It was probably Cohen who did not want a plain old check from Donald Trump. Cohen had tried to hide his connection by using a new company he set up in Delaware, called Essential Consultants L.L.C.so he was still trying to keep this off his records.
It is legal for lawyers to put anything (even false) on bills, provided the client knows what’s going on, (or else it would be fraud) but here one kind of payment was a business expense for the Trump Organization and the other was not.
The 2-year statute of limitations for misdemeanors has no doubt expired but the 5-year one was probably tolled first by the virus and second because Donald Trump has not lived in New York since at least when he registered to vote in Florida, except maybe for short trips.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 1:38 pmSome history:
Trump first brought up “Celebrity Apprentice” but he only said she should be on the show:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/nyregion/trump-stormy-daniels-felony-charges.html
Later she was to demand that for a repeat.
In 2011,she tried to make some money off the story:
We know he did that. There was the infamous case of trying to claim in May 2016, sing an unclear picture, that Ted Cruz’s father knew Oswald. I think Roger Stone took credit for that
Nobody at that point was thinking this could be, if discovered, considered an illegal corporate campaign contribution
Enter Karen McDougal:
Back to Stormy Daniels:
It sounds like the NYT is trying to hint that Trump knew about this but they are not sure what he knew]
If they were personal checks, I don’t see how it becomes falsifying business records. Something is left out here,
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 2:09 pm@299. “Have A Coke And a ‘Heil?'”?!?!
–Fanta, one of Coca-Cola’s most popular products, comes in over 70 flavors today and is sold in 188 countries. It was first concocted and manufactured in Nazi Germany during World War II.
-Throughout most of the 20th century, Kodak was a corporate giant and the world’s leading photographic film company, before its failure to keep abreast of digital camera technology doomed it to relative oblivion. What few knew for decades after the end of World War II was that Kodak had collaborated with Nazi Germany, and traded with the Germans even after America had entered the war.
-In 2001, a bombshell of a book by Edwin Black, IBM and the Holocaust, drew on over 20,000 documents unearthed from archives in numerous countries, to describe a twelve-year-old alliance between IBM and the Third Reich.
– In Addition to its Founder Being a Notorious Anti-Semite, Ford Collaborated With the Third Reich
https://historycollection.com/10-famous-companies-collaborated-nazi-germany/10/
DCSCA (0e648b) — 3/20/2023 @ 2:25 pm@298 All desatan has to do is tout his evil doings. Republicans control the government in floriduh by not allowing felons who have committed their sentence to vote even though voters approved an initiative to stop jim crow laws to prevent blacks from voting along with other vote suppression tactics States outside the south will have a different view of desatan when he tries to campaign there.
asset (5cb3ab) — 3/20/2023 @ 2:26 pmKevin M (1ea396) — 3/19/2023 @ 9:53 pm
he story makes no sense as it has Connally telling several Arab leaders, who were themselves not friendly to the new regime (including Anwar Sadat of Egypt) that Reagan would be more friendly toward Iran and that they should tell Iran not to release the hostages so that Jimmy Carter would not have a better chance of re-election. And then Iran believes it but they still release the hostages when Jimmy Carter is still president, making the deal with him (they got money) and not with Reagan.
The trip really did take place and Connally did indeed report to Reagan on that trip. (if not with Casey, as Ben Barnes claims. There’s no corroboration for that.)
But the NYT reports: (in that same story)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/us/politics/jimmy-carter-october-surprise-iran-hostages.html
Ben Barnes claims he told four people about this before. But this sounds like Christine Blasey Ford.
The NYT claims something about it was published in a book in 2015 but does not decribe what exactly that book said.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 2:34 pmThe book is called Reagan: The Life by H. W. Brands
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 2:40 pmhttps://historynewsnetwork.org/article/185271
Of course Reagan knew of the trip. The question is what happened on the trip.
NYT Sunday:
Almost four weeks.
Connally might have been interested in exploring private business deals.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 3/20/2023 @ 2:43 pmCouldn’t Happen to a Better Set of Guys:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 3:42 pmRelated:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 3:50 pmCircling the Drain:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 4:14 pmHey! That’s Nikki, Rip.
nk (9ab84f) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:05 pmA broken clock is right twice a day.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:09 pmIt took until February, but New York City finally saw its first measurable snow of the season early Wednesday morning, ending a 328-day snowless streak that dated back to March 2022.
We had snow last weekend at my house in NM.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:19 pmThe trip really did take place and Connally did indeed report to Reagan on that trip. (if not with Casey, as Ben Barnes claims. There’s no corroboration for that.)
The message that WOULD have been in line with Reagan’s character would have been “God help you if those people are still captive when Reagan takes office!”
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:21 pmWe can debate whether the administration’s actions regarding these banks is helpful, or fair, or likely to work. But what cannot be debated is that it is largely Biden’s fault.
The problem is that the banks had been putting money into low-interest notes for the last decade, and when inflation took off and the Fed jacked up rates, they all got caught in a bind. Some more than others. ANd inflation took off because the Biden administration flooded the world with printing-press money.
See Secretary Yellen and her promises of Feb 2021:
Yellen said she’s not worried that all of the government spending could cause inflation down the road.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:29 pmAnd, with all caution thrown to the wind, Biden signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/biden-1point9-trillion-covid-relief-package-thursday-afternoon.html
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:34 pmWhen we discuss what the difference is between the two parties, and decry the influence that Trump still has over the GOP, we also need to remember that NOT ONE GOP legislator voted for this bill, and that all Democrats did.
It is hard to say that there is no reason to vote Republican. They are hardly perfect, but fiscal insanity is not their problem.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:36 pmWe’ll see if the House fails to pass a debt extension.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:41 pmRIP Dick Fosbury (76).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:50 pmWhat? Doesn’t he want his TOTAL EXONERATION?
Trump moves to quash report from Fulton County special grand jury
nk (c0bb18) — 3/20/2023 @ 5:56 pm@324. A port in any storm; the subhead of the piece says it all; it’s merely a reactive slap at DeSantis as she struggles for recognition and numbers in the primary races. My Darlin’ Nikki is swimming against a strong current this cycle… and a VP spot may be the best she can hope for…
55 Things You Need to Know About Nikki Haley
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/14/nikki-haley-2024-bio-what-you-need-to-know-00082742
DCSCA (bba9fb) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:01 pmNikki (and some other potential candidates) are not running against Trump and DeSantis. They’re in a different bracket and will face the winner of Trump v DeSantis in the finals.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:28 pmMr Murdock quoted:
Using this logic, wouldn’t it be better for China the longer the war over Ukraine drags on, causing the US and NATO to keep spending money and sending military equipment to Ukraine, leaving less for the US to use to defend Taiwan?
We’re already at a huge strategic disadvantage in defending Taiwan, because China is a hundred miles from Taiwan, while we’re — not counting Hawai’i — almost 7,000 miles from the island. If China launches an invasion with any surprise at all, they could control muck of the island before we could ever muster significant forces there.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (364b6e) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:29 pmWe can have borscht for the soup and Peking Duck for the main course.
nk (c0bb18) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:35 pmTrump-DeSantis will be the finals. No one else will make it that far.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:55 pm@337. Some ‘folks’ are just waking up to the bigger game that’s being played– and a strategy that has been methodically underway for years…
“Oh, Jesus, Jennifer, what am I gonna do? They’re going to come get me. I’m really screwed! I am screwed!” – David Lightman [Matthew Broderick] ‘WarGames’ 1983
DCSCA (dde0b2) — 3/20/2023 @ 6:55 pmWhatever happened to “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”? Is this America or Costa Rica?
nk (c0bb18) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:00 pmDarling Nikki, Vivek Ramaswamy, and anyone else are on JV team.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:05 pmThe problem for the JVs is that the Republican primaries are winner take all, so if one the JVs comes in second to either Trump or DeSantis they still lose. Let me know when there is polling showing Nikki or Vivek leading in state.
Rip Murdock (2ac749) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:14 pmthe Republican primaries are winner take all
What did I miss? https://www.270towin.com/content/republican-primary-and-caucus-delegate-allocation-methods
Are you trying to depress me?
nk (c0bb18) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:50 pmnk (c0bb18) — 3/20/2023 @ 7:50 pm
Source
The JVs have very little chance of getting the nomination.
Rip Murdock (ac65cf) — 3/20/2023 @ 8:09 pmPolands ambassador to france says poland ay have to enter the war in ukraine.
asset (ef5f77) — 3/20/2023 @ 9:24 pm@318/320 Thanks sammy I learn so much from you and the other posters..
asset (ef5f77) — 3/20/2023 @ 9:45 pmTrump-DeSantis will be the finals. No one else will make it that far.
Not a dime’s worth of difference.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:08 pmTrump-DeSantis will be the finals. No one else will make it that far.
There can only be one Trump.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/20/2023 @ 10:11 pmJimmy kimmel tonight shows the truth social picture of desatan having a drinking orgy with scantly clad underage teenage girls while he was their teacher. Matt gaetz is jealous. Trump will hang that picture around desatan’s neck. Interviews with the girls on what a pervert desatan is will be next to define him. trump plays hardball!
asset (ef5f77) — 3/21/2023 @ 1:01 amYou previously stated that the non-Trump/DeSantis candidates are in a different bracket from Trump/DeSantis. They aren’t. All the candidates are in the same bracket, it’s just that Trump and DeSantis are the #1 and #2 seeds and the rest are seeded between #100 and #200.
The top two seeds don’t care about the rest of the field because they are so far ahead in organization (for example) and financing the bottom seeds won’t be able to compete. I’ll bet after DeSantis enters the race and campaign finance reports are filed there will be a huge difference between what Trump/DeSantis have raised and everyone else.
The primary campaign will be like Kansas and Kentucky playing a couple of high school JV teams in the final four.
Rip Murdock (ac65cf) — 3/21/2023 @ 4:23 amI remember when the binary choice was Jeb Bush or Scott Walker.
nk (603c4e) — 3/21/2023 @ 4:52 am@351, maybe. It all depends on DeSantis’ broader likability and how his stance on Ukraine evolves. “Territorial dispute” was not received well. The base may remain quasi-committed to Trump, but there’s also a lot of general desire to move on from the baggage and move on from election denialism. A healthy majority wants another option, even if it’s imperfect and polling low right now. DeSantis (aka Little D) may just end up being Trump-lite without the personality and surreal black comedy entertainment. Maybe that’s enough to hang tough. Scott Walker says hello.
I still hold out hope that Trump fades with the impending Georgia indictment and the inevitable calls for revolution and retribution. Oath Keepers standing ready will remind people that the seeds of J6 continue to be incubated by Trump. I anticipate a void. Certainly the GOP has not yet self corrected and is still high on populism and giving the finger to the establishment, whoever that is today. Right now we are just seeing name recognition and there’s very little side-by-side comparisons.
Can Trump win a general? Can DeSantis win a general? There’s a rush to crown someone. Except ask Purdue and Kansas, sometimes events overcome odds.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/21/2023 @ 5:16 amThe Trump miasma has so stenched the Republican Party, with the help of Rancid Ronna and Craven Kevin, that RINO has become almost a compliment. There are any number of decent Republicans with national hopes who will stay out of contention this season because they do not want to be mentioned in the same breath as Trump. And that’s why we have only the ones indelibly stained with Agent Orange so far.
nk (603c4e) — 3/21/2023 @ 5:44 amhttps://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/03/20/tulsi-gabbard-says-attacks-faith-god-drove-her-leave-democrats-many-think-they-are-god/
Obvious and true.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 3/21/2023 @ 6:17 amasset tells us that a Polish ambassador says that Poland might have to enter the Russo-Ukranian War. (#346)
Thank goodness, it’s more nuanced than that:
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/polish-ambassador-france-poland-forced-201021342.html
Appalled (f1bcf0) — 3/21/2023 @ 6:37 amAnother good insight in the bruhaha over DeSantis’ “vital” statement:
whembly (d116f3) — 3/21/2023 @ 7:43 amRussia;s next (actually current) target is Moldova (the part of Romania annexed by Stalin – there is also the unrecognized state of Transnistria between them) However Putin is using KGB-style tactics. Russia created an economic crisis in Moldova, and is now organizing anti-government demonstrations,
Sammy Finkelman (274012) — 3/21/2023 @ 8:08 amNew York City police on alert – with plainclothes police told to come in with their uniforms – probably for nothing. This refklects an absence of information.
Sammy Finkelman (274012) — 3/21/2023 @ 8:12 amNorth Korea coming close to beating its swords into plowshares – but it’s for the purpose of continuing its nuclear bomb program without the country collapsing into famine:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/19/world/asia/north-korea-kim-jong-un-food.html
At least, for now, North Korea is not planning on a conventional war,
Sammy Finkelman (274012) — 3/21/2023 @ 8:18 am@356, when you can’t count on asset for accurate news relaying, who can you count on? Shocker!
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/21/2023 @ 8:38 amTrump lied, cops got overtime.
nk (603c4e) — 3/21/2023 @ 8:48 amThe least he could do for his adoring public is to pull an “AOC arrested at Supreme Court” and let himself be photographed walking out of Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by his Secret Service detail, with his hand behind his back as though he were cuffed.
nk (603c4e) — 3/21/2023 @ 8:57 amThe problem becomes if Bragg overcharges and tries to elevate a misdemeanor to a felony. On the totem pole of offenses, this has to be lowest. Most people view it as old news and a venial sin in a sea of more provocative mortal sins. Should the point be made that powerful people should still be made to play by the rules? Yes, especially with Cohen facing similar charges. Ex-presidents just can’t be bothered with this minutia. He has bigger frauds to architect!
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 3/21/2023 @ 9:01 amA Little Over the Top:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 3/21/2023 @ 9:07 amI disagree, AJ_Liberty. There is no percentage in being moderate with Trump and his cult. They will only take advantage of you. We just saw what happened with the shaman and the Capitol video clip. If Felony Review thinks they can prove a felony beyond a reasonable doubt, they should prosecute the felony.
nk (603c4e) — 3/21/2023 @ 9:32 amJust for the record, I was not dragging on asset — except I would have liked a link. There was a story but it was walked back by the Poles.
And let’s face it, AOC is nice to look at and plays the role of revolutionary well. I’d rather look at her than MAGA it girl MTG.
Appalled (136349) — 3/21/2023 @ 9:52 am@355ever here about torquemada and the spanish inquistion? The salem witch trials? Persecution of homosexuals like alan turing?
asset (7a3b9c) — 3/21/2023 @ 2:17 pmA careful listening to the entire conversation makes it clear that there was no announcement of Poland’s direct involvement in the conflict, only a warning of the consequences that a Ukrainian defeat could have: the possibility of a Russian attack, or the involvement of more Central European countries – the Baltic States and Poland.
If Ukraine is facing imminent defeat, Poland, Romania and the Baltics have some decisions to make.
Kevin M (1ea396) — 3/21/2023 @ 3:50 pm@369 don’t we all?
asset (4255d8) — 3/21/2023 @ 9:42 pmEvery teacher in California that abandoned their students needs to be fired, today. They already abdicated their teaching responsibilities for years using the virus as an excuse, but striking now just drills down on how educating the young in even the most basic of skills is too much effort for them.
A pox on their houses.
NJRob (c11b53) — 3/22/2023 @ 12:33 pmA superb statement today from Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez on the disrupted Federalist Society speech by CA5 Judge Kyle Duncan. Guaranteed to p1ss off angry extremists on both sides.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 3/22/2023 @ 6:30 pmMeanwhile, back in Democrat-run Portlandistan
JF (79b5b0) — 3/22/2023 @ 8:48 pm