Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Let’s go!
First news item
Big government guy on the loose:
Mandatory stop-and-frisk. Deploying the military to fight street crime, break up gangs and deport immigrants. Purging the federal workforce and charging leakers. Former president Donald Trump has steadily begun outlining his vision for a second-term agenda, focusing on unfinished business from his time in the White House and an expansive vision for how he would wield federal power. In online videos and stump speeches, Trump is pledging to pick up where his first term left off and push even further.
Where he earlier changed border policies to reduce refugees and people seeking asylum, he’s now promising to conduct an unprecedented deportation operation. Where he previously moved to make it easier to fire federal workers, he’s now proposing a new civil service exam. After urging state and local officials to take harsher measures on crime and homelessness, Trump says he is now determined to take more direct federal action.
“In 2016, I declared I am your voice,” Trump said in a speech last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference and repeated at his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco a few weeks later. “Today, I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”
Trump’s emerging platform marks a sharp departure from traditional conservative orthodoxy emphasizing small government, which was famously summed up in Ronald Reagan’s first inaugural address: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Trump, by contrast, is proposing to apply government power, centralized under his authority, toward a vast range of issues that have long remained outside the scope of federal control.
Trump team’s bottom line:
“There’s a glove of power needed to beat back the administrative state or deep state,” [former Trump budget director Russ Vought] said, “and if you’re not willing to put your hand in that glove you will fail, regardless of how much credibility you have with the base.”
Trump wants to build “Freedom Cities” from scratch:
The new cities proposal consists of a national contest to charter up to 10 D.C.-sized metropolises on undeveloped federal land. Administration officials discussed the concept toward the end of Trump’s term, but he did not campaign on it in 2020…Trump has discussed the new “Freedom Cities” in utopian terms, with flying cars, manufacturing hubs and opportunities for homeownership, promising a “quantum leap in the American standard of living.” The campaign has provided few details on how the plan would work in practice.
Second news item
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian forces on American-made Abrams tanks in the coming weeks…Thirty-one Abrams M1A1s will arrive at a training area in Grafenwoehr, Germany, in mid to late April, with up to 250 Ukrainian troops beginning a 10-week course there soon after, according to U.S. officials. Follow-on maneuver training might also be done on a different base in Germany…In March, after consultation with Kyiv, Pentagon officials announced a plan to dramatically speed delivery of the 31 tanks the U.S. had committed to Ukraine by refurbishing older models instead of building new ones from scratch, which was the original plan. Building new M1A2 Abrams could have taken years, according to defense officials. Milley clarified that the 31 tanks heading to Germany are training models not suitable for combat. The training will be conducted as the U.S. refurbishes another set of 31 Abrams M1A1 tanks to send to the battlefield, which are expected to arrive on the battlefield this fall.
**“Great news” in that this is finally happening. As I’ve long maintained, the administration needed to move with urgency and provide Ukraine with what *they* they determined they would need to defeat Russia. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Worries about Putin and nuclear threats, thus fears of ratcheting up the tension has slowed down the decision-making. But this is great news if it helps boost morale for Ukrainian troops, knowing that the tanks will be coming soon…but admittedly, perhaps not soon enough.
By providing aid sufficient to produce a stalemate, but not enough to roll back Russian territorial gains, the Biden administration may be unintentionally seizing defeat from the jaws of victory. Out of an over-abundance of caution about provoking Russian escalation (conventional as well as nuclear), we are in effect ceding the initiative to Russian President Vladimir Putin and reducing the pressure on Moscow to halt its aggression and get serious about negotiations.
Third news item
Public schools in Texas would have to prominently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom starting next school year under a bill the Texas Senate approved Thursday.
Senate Bill 1515 by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, now heads to the House for consideration.
This is the latest attempt from Texas Republicans to inject religion into public schools. In 2021, state Sen. Bryan Hughes, a Mineola Republican, authored a bill that became law requiring schools to display donated “In God We Trust” signs.
King believes the bill is necessary because he believes that the Ten Commandments are part of American heritage and thus should be visible in school classrooms.
In an interesting twist and making sense:
In opposition to the bill, John Litzler, general counsel and director of public policy at the Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission, said at the committee hearing that the organization has concerns about taxpayer money being used to buy religious texts and that parents, not schools, should be having conversations about religion with their children. “I should have the right to introduce my daughter to the concepts of adultery and coveting one’s spouse,” Litzler said. “It shouldn’t be one of the first things she learns to read in her kindergarten classroom.”
(The same parents that agree with Litzler regarding the religious teaching of their children would likely include issues relating to sex as well.)
Fourth news item
From the usual suspects, of course:
A coalition of GOP lawmakers has urged the Biden administration to stop sending “unrestrained” aid and weapons to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with neighboring Russia… The lawmakers noted in their letter the risks associated with supplying Ukraine with necessary aid and weapons, saying how the country’s continued contribution could escalate the conflict between the two countries and create a proxy war with Russia… The lawmakers also said that Biden should prioritize more diplomatic efforts to advocate for a peace agreement between the two countries…
“There are appropriate ways in which the U.S. can support the Ukrainian people, but unlimited arms supplies in support of an endless war is not one of them. Our national interests, and those of the Ukrainian people, are best served by incentivizing the negotiations that are urgently needed to bring this conflict to a resolution,” the letter concludes. “We strongly urge you to advocate for a negotiated peace between the two sides, bringing this awful conflict to a close.”
For the thousandth time: How does one negotiate with a morally bankrupt terrorist state that has unlawfully invaded a sovereign nation, annexed territories, targeted civilians (death, torture, rape, imprisonment), and committed war crimes by abducting thousands of children and sending them to Russia for re-education, and disposed of civilians in mass graves, etc.? Not until Russia pulls out of Ukraine and the annexed territories (including Crimea), then and only then, should negotiations be considered. Why do these far-right Republicans constantly put the burden on Ukraine to end this unjust war? Why don’t they put the responsibility for the war and its end on Russia? These Republicans are the gift that just keeps on giving…to Russian propagandists:
Meanwhile on Russian state TV: after months of calling Marjorie Taylor Greene dim-witted and funny, Russian propagandists are more than happy to feature her on their multiple programs. As Vladimir Solovyov says, thank goodness she exists. pic.twitter.com/WLcvqpMykA
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) April 19, 2023
A few excerpts from the letter:
Over the past year, the U.S. has been the principal financier of the Ukrainian defense effort. As the war enters its second year, there is no end in sight and no clear strategy to bring this war to a close. A proxy war with Russia in Ukraine is not in the strategic interest of the United States and risks an escalation that could spiral out of control. The recently announced shipments of M1 Abrams tanks will require months of training and transport. Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs will similarly take months to arrive.2 These announcements signal that your administration is settling in for a long-term conflict. The current strategy of sanctions and drawn-out aid will only prolong the conflict, leading to escalation and more violence.
Our national and economic security demand an alternative. Unrestrained U.S. aid for Ukraine must come to an end, and we will adamantly oppose all future aid packages unless they are linked to a clear diplomatic strategy designed to bring this war to a rapid conclusion.
Our military assistance goes beyond tangible assets to include military training6 and intelligence support. The extent of our aid makes it increasingly difficult to deny Russian accusations of U.S. complicity in a proxy war. Vladimir Putin’s advisors are already framing the conflict as “a military confrontation between Russia and NATO, and above all the United States and Britain.” Russian tolerance for fighting a proxy war with NATO could run out at any point. The decision to invade Ukraine should be evidence enough of Putin’s willingness to use military force and should give us pause in continuing to push the limits at the risk of catastrophe.
Fifth news item
Mayor Adams charged Friday that New York City is getting “destroyed” by the federal government’s failure to contain the nation’s migrant crisis — a thinly-veiled broadside against President Biden delivered just hours before Hizzoner was set to meet with White House officials about the matter.
Adams, who claimed earlier this week that Biden has “failed” the city by not providing more migrant-related financial assistance, leveled the latest jab against the president in remarks at the African American Mayors Association’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.
Sixth news item
His age is the problem, according to those polled:
President Joe Biden intends to announce his 2024 reelection campaign as soon as Tuesday, multiple outlets report, though a new Associated Press/NORC poll suggests that most Americans, even Democrats, would prefer he didn’t run—even as Democrats are still prepared to vote for him in a general election.
The poll, conducted April 13-17 among 1,230 U.S. adults, found only 26% of respondents would like to see Biden run again in 2024, versus 73% who said he shouldn’t.
That includes 47% of Democrats, while 52% of Democrats do not want him to run.
The vast majority of Democrats—81%—say they’re likely to support Biden in a general election if he does run, however, with 41% saying they would “definitely” vote for him and 40% saying they “probably” would.
Seventh news item
Count me out of any overt or covert enthusiasm for [Robert F.] Kennedy’s bid…
Last year, Kennedy said during a speech, “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did… the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run and none of us can hide.” Kennedy later apologized.
Anyone who is going around arguing that today’s Americans have it rougher than Anne Frank needs his head examined.
…
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, and American politics has way more than enough crazy people, statements, and behavior as is. This country’s paranoid schizophrenics are in bad enough shape; they don’t need another presidential candidate running around the country telling them that Cigarette-Smoking Man, the Illuminati and Bigfoot are all teaming up to work against them. Do you want more unhinged paranoid political enthusiasts sending pipe bombs in the mail?
Is it conceivable that some aspect of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign redounds to the benefit of Republicans? Sure. But for that to happen, Kennedy’s bid has to matter, and for Kennedy’s bid to matter, more Americans have to buy into his nonsense conspiracy theories. That leaves the country as a whole in worse shape, no matter who benefits politically in the short-term.
Eighth news item
Aid workers at non-profit organizations in Afghanistan that receive financial support from the U.S. government say they’re being forced to pay fees and provide services to the Taliban. They spoke to CBS News days after the head of a U.S. government oversight office tasked with monitoring how U.S. tax dollars are spent in Afghanistan told lawmakers that his staff “simply do not know” the extent to which the American people may unknowingly be funding the terrorist group.
“Since the Taliban takeover, the U.S. government has sought to continue supporting the Afghan people without providing benefits for the Taliban regime,” Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko said Wednesday in testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. “However, it is clear from our work that the Taliban is using various methods to divert U.S. aid dollars.”
Ninth news item
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising anniversary:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the first German president to speak at the commemorations, joined Polish and Israeli heads of state to mark 80 years since a doomed uprising by Jewish insurgents against Nazi German occupiers.
“I stand before you today and ask for your forgiveness for the crimes committed by Germans here,” said Steinmeier, speaking at the annual ceremony held in Warsaw’s former Jewish district.
During his speech, the German president also blasted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for waging war against Ukraine.
“This war brings immeasurable suffering, violence, destruction and death to the people of Ukraine,” he added.
Ultimately, the Nazis shut down the uprising by setting fire to it. Estimates are that 7,000 Jews died in the battles and another 6,000 in the fires. And yet, incredibly and heroically, the Jews remained determined while knowing the odds were strongly against them:
“The revolt was suicide. We couldn’t win, but we had to do them harm,” ghetto survivor Halina Birenbaum, 93, told AFP ahead of the anniversary.
Tenth news item
Another Russian dissident condemned for telling the truth about Vladimir Putin:
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., along with more than 70 other members of Congress, sent a letter to the U.S. State Department urging Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate U.S. Legal Permanent Resident and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza as “unlawfully and wrongfully detained” under the Levinson Act (22 U.S.C. 1741 et seq.). The legislators also called upon the U.S. government to use its resources to free Kara-Murza, who was arrested by Russian police in April 2022 and was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison. Kara-Murza is reportedly in poor health after suffering complications from two previous Kremlin-directed poisonings.
“Since his arrest in April 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza has suffered from unjust treatment. His health has declined, and he has lost 40 pounds. As a result of two poisonings President Putin inflicted on him during trips to Russia in 2015 and 2017, he had already been diagnosed with polyneuropathy. He has now lost feeling in both feet and one arm… It is very likely he will die soon unless he is released,” the legislators wrote.
The legislators cite Kara-Murza’s strong support of human rights and his anti-war speech in their call for his release.
“His only crime is using his voice to oppose Putin’s evil. It is in the U.S. national interest to save his life and liberate him from Russian captivity,” the legislators wrote.
To rid the world of Putin, freedom fighters like Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has been the target of two assassination attempts by the Kremlin, must be supported:
On Monday, a judge in Moscow handed down the harshest penalty ever imposed on a member of the Russian pro-democracy opposition. For the crime of publicly stating his political views, Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years of hard labour in a decrepit Russian gulag prison camp.
Mr. Kara-Murza was detained in April, 2022, as he told the court last week, “for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For many years of struggle against Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship. For facilitating the adoption of personal international sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against human rights violators.” He is among more than 20,000 Russians who have been detained for speaking out against the regime over the past year.
Mr. Kara-Murza’s vision for a free and democratic Russia – one that respects the rule of law, human rights and the sovereignty of its neighbours – made him a victim of Mr. Putin’s domestic war on democracy and the truth, but it is a vision that the democratic world should support…
Russian opposition leader and chess grandmaster, Garry Kasparov, says Mr. Kara-Murza’s fate depends on the fate of the Putin regime. “The path to his freedom is readily available: give Ukraine the weapons it needs to win this war and accelerate the downfall of Putin and the liberation of all Russian political prisoners.”
Ultimately:
It’s unlikely the democratic world will be able to bear another 25 years of Vladimir Putin. This is why we must do all we can today, to take the battle to Russia’s crypto-Stalinist kleptocrats by enabling and empowering the movement for freedom and democracy in Russia and supporting brave heroes like Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Have a good weekend.
–Dana
Hello.
Russia acknowledged dropping a bomb on one of its cities leaving a 60′ crater in the ground.
Dana (560c99) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:08 amDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian forces on American-made Abrams tanks in the coming weeks. . .
It’s just so frustrating. The Biden Administration continues to do the right thing, only they do it somewhere between 12-24 weeks later than they should have. I’ve been trying to be gracious, see it from the Administration’s perspective, and give them the benefit of the doubt, but they continue to act as if this war just needs to be managed instead of won. And the leaks that came out recently which suggest that the Administration is lying about Ukraine’s successes should be an eye-opener to all of us. I said this earlier and I will reiterate it now: at this point the West needs to announce that henceforth Ukraine will be armed with the weapons it has requested, so long as Russian boots are on Ukrainian soil. If they can’t or won’t do that, and if we aren’t willing to escalate this war with NATO troops (which is probably a nonstarter) then we need to work with China and a whole lot of miscreant countries to negotiate a cease-fire and agreement, which will no doubt lead to Ukraine giving up some territory.
JVW (c9d271) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:17 amYes, the Russian economy is taking a hit. More weapons for Ukraine, more sanctions against the Putin regime.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:21 amRobert F. Kennedy Jr. is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. . .
I actually listened to a few moments of his speech. What is wrong with this voice? It is just awful, especially since his dad and his Uncle Jack (if not exactly Uncle Ted) had very memorable speaking voices, their thick Bhawston accents notwithstanding. But RFK Jr. has this high-pitched reedy voice which rises with weird inflections and weird points and to me was just heavily distracting. It sounded like he was having an emotional breakdown, or was reverting to a 13-year-old with his voice cracking. There is no way the American people will react favorably to his oratory coming from that weak of an instrument.
And yeah, he’s a nutjob.
JVW (c9d271) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:22 amRFK Jr. has the same ailment that ails Susan Collins and ailed Katherine Hepburn. Some kind of blueblood nervous disorder, but I’m sure he was always a nutjob.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:34 amBack in 2005, after Lancet retracted their bogus report on the link between MMR vaccines and autism, RFK Jr. rejected the retraction and doubled down.
@4. What is wrong with this voice?
‘In 2008, it was reported that Kennedy has spasmodic dysphonia, which causes his voice to quaver and makes speech difficult. It is a form of an involuntary movement disorder called dystonia that affects only the larynx.’ – wikibio
Better to ask, what is wrong with THIS voice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfoWQRnALiQ&t=8s
DCSCA (f256de) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:41 amhttps://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2023/04/21/revealed-biden-campaign-and-tony-blinken-orchestrated-letter-from-intel-officials-disputing-hunter-biden-laptop-n1689030
How many millions of dollars was this campaign collusion worth? Lying to the public and banning the truth. Very stalinist.
NJRob (9ff225) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:02 pmhttps://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/catherinesalgado/2023/04/20/judicial-watch-obtains-docs-showing-u-s-funded-wuhan-lab-research-from-2013-2020-n1688994
And more lies from our government. Judicial Watch doing the job our media won’t do. Reporting on our government funding illegal research overseas.
At least conservatives are reporting on this. No one else will.
NJRob (9ff225) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:05 pmRob, according to the link you provided the people who said “this has all the earmarks or a Russian operation” sincerely believed that was the case and were trying to inform the Public of that fact. I also note that unsurprisingly Jim Jordan misrepresented the testimony.
You should really read the links you provide.
Time123 (f43840) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:26 pmDCSCA, dogs will be yelping in distress come October 2024 if it becomes RFK Jr vs DeSantis.
urbanleftbehind (56e746) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:26 pmTime,
Biden told him what to do. He said he wouldn’t have otherwise. He’s repeating the same propaganda you are.
NJRob (9ff225) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:27 pmNotice what you left out.
NJRob (9ff225) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:29 pmI left it out because it doesn’t change the fact that he testified he believed what he was saying and wanted to share that. I’m not denying that he was also motivated to help the Biden campaign. I’m saying his testimony doesn’t show that he lied. Which is what you claimed.
Time123 (0a11f0) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:37 pmMandatory stop-and-frisk. Deploying the military to fight street crime, break up gangs and deport immigrants.
None of this is very surprising, as the whole “Commander-in-Chief” thing allows a president direct control. Up to the point where Congress and/or the courts intervene.
I would imagine that Trump would declare sanctuary cities and states to be in rebellion to justify use of troops, and if he had control of either house of Congress he might get away with it. Probably also suspend habeas corpus.
Would he obey a district court order (one can always be arranged)? Probably not. Would states or cities resist? Trump would (possibly correctly) call that treason. And even the Supreme Court might hesitate or go along: their track record of opposing presidential uses of the military isn’t all that good. Both Jackson and (less directly) Lincoln told them to get stuffed.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 12:58 pmBTW, if you think that Trump wielding military power in the no-so-United States is frightening, consider that many voters see it as “about time.”
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:02 pmDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian forces on American-made Abrams tanks in the coming weeks…Thirty-one Abrams M1A1s will arrive at a training area in Grafenwoehr, Germany, in mid to late April
There were no tanks already in Germany? Or are these special tanks with all the secret bits removed? I don’t see this as great news, so much as too little, too late.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:05 pmPublic schools in Texas would have to prominently display the Ten Commandments in every classroom starting next school year under a bill the Texas Senate approved Thursday.
This is an outright challenge to the Established Religion called “Secular Humanism.” This heresy must be stamped out.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:07 pmI think, although possibly too little, too late, something is better than nothing. If knowing that the tanks are coming in the near future can boost troop morale and give them hope to hold on for a while longer, then that’s good. But I have always maintained that we need to give them everything *they* need ASAP.
Dana (560c99) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:08 pmthe risks associated with supplying Ukraine with necessary aid and weapons, saying how the country’s continued contribution could escalate the conflict between the two countries and create a proxy war with Russia
I could argue that we are already in a proxy war — with China.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:08 pmAdams, who claimed earlier this week that Biden has “failed” the city by not providing more migrant-related financial assistance, leveled the latest jab against the president in remarks at the African American Mayors Association’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.
Former California Governor Wilson said the same things to President Clinton in the 1990’s, only to be ignored. New York saw no reason to help California then. This is, I guess, the meaning of “being eaten last.”
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:12 pmI’ve added a clarification to item #2 and the “Great news”.
Dana (560c99) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:22 pmThis should be much bigger news:
https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1649202188684611584
Please tell me why it isn’t.
By any definition, is this election-rigging?
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:22 pm@9
The problem here Time, is that the FBI knew it wasn’t a Russian plant at the time.
It doesn’t take long at all to make that determination, and in the run up of the election, it’s obvious that the Biden-allies, social media and established media were more interested in given Biden cover than to do any sort of good-faith accounting.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:25 pmHi Dana
Not saying Trump’s version of help is the answer, but you need a government of some magnitude to disassemble a government of magnitude. The disassembly positions should be temporary. It might be hard to get good people to fill temporary positions so you’d have to pay well, treat people well, protect them from the inevitable character smears engineered by the opposition. Trump Administration positions 2024 would be poisonous to careers. Yet another reason for me to ask the GOP to choose a viable candidate who won’t have to hire the dregs of the party for important positions. Trumps calls to ask if you’d be interested in being his AG? Ha ha ha ha ha. Click. White House Solicitor. Sorry my great, great grandfather died and we’ve begun a 4 year mourning period.
Can you imagine the “brain trust” Trump would be able to assemble? All the smart people will say no
steveg (263377) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:26 pm@14
I can emphasize with Trump on this, as he lived in NY when Guilliani instituted this. A brute tactic that did work for the time being, but unambiguously caused higher racial tensions.
The problem is, it’s DOA coming from Trump as he’s so polarizing, people will believe he’s only doing this out of racial hostility.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:28 pmI don’t particularly blame the Loser much for this mistake, since so many get it wrong, but a “quantum leap” is not large, but incredibly tiny.
The Loser knows so many things that aren’t so.
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:32 pmThe problem is, it’s DOA coming from Trump as he’s so polarizing, people will believe he’s only doing this out of racial hostility.
But, he fights!
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:33 pm@2
I have a sneaking suspicion that there are a lot more equipment/training being done in various places that the public doesn’t know.
I suspect it’s because no one wants it blasted out in the media for Russia to turn it around for their own public needs.
Besides, heavy tanks from what I understand are limited around Ukraine till almost summer time due to poor road/ground condition. So, they’re probably purposely earmarking the big push for these tanks when the next freeze occurs in the fall. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other non-tanks equipment (and training) being sent to Ukraine.
But, I do concede your larger point: In that there’s no denying that the US (and the West) is helping Russia. If we want this war to end, we should send exactly whatever Ukraine needs to stop Russia.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:33 pmI don’t particularly blame the Loser much for this mistake, since so many get it wrong, but a “quantum leap” is not large, but incredibly tiny.
It’s a discontinuous change in position. Almost always very very tiny, but not (strictly speaking) always. In the popular use, it’s the discontinuity part that’s referenced.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:35 pmI’ve added a clarification to item #2 and the “Great news”.
Biden seems to have adopted the “incrementalism” that was characteristic of US military postures in the Vietnam era. He’s clearly rejected General Powell’s “overwhelming force” doctrine and returned to the 1970s. Unfortunately, this leads to the “boiling frog” scenarios, where both sides get in way too deep because the pain at any moment of the process is tolerable.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:41 pmWhembly, that may be true. (Honestly don’t know) but if it is it has zero bearing on Rob’s claim that they lied. Especially since his proof is testimony where they say part of their motivation was that they believed this was a Russian operation.
Time123 (f43840) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:42 pm@24
I would argue that the next GOP president (Trump/DeSantis/Haley/etc…) should go ham against the administrative state and civil service.
There are scenario that these folks cannot be outright fired, but they can be order to “go do something else”.
Hence why I like DeSantis’ Florida governance, in that he installs personnel that are purposeful to get “points on the board”.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:49 pm@31
No, I do think they’re lying. Lying by omission and a legalese statement designed to give Biden allies the pretext to shut down the line of questionings.
They *know* what it would take to ascertain whether or not such laptops is real or Russian disinformation.
Gutter politics that turned out great for the Biden campaign.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 1:55 pmBut it didn’t shut things down. It slowed things down about a few days and might have given them some talking points. But the slow down came at the expense of a lot of stories about what Twitter did.
Time123 (f43840) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:00 pmDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian forces on American-made Abrams tanks in the coming weeks…
A complete waste of U.S. taxpayer resources. An incompetent bureaucrat who deserved to be fired after the Afghanistan debacle.
Been there, done that: ‘The United States supplied a dizzying amount of firepower and equipment to ARVN forces, providing everything from tanks, APCs, and helicopters to bullets, small arms, and rations. American training further enhanced the ARVN troops. Despite this support, ARVN troops were often poorly led and suffered from internal strife amongst the South Vietnamese high command.’
A complete waste of U.S. taxpayer resources. An incompetent bureaucratic parasite nested w/t MIC who deserved to be fired after the Afghanistan debacle.
https://www.pritzkermilitary.org/explore/vietnam-war/armed-forces
…and the MIC smiled.
‘This Letter’s postmarked Vietnam’… SSgt. Barry Sadler, 1966
DCSCA (998c85) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:03 pmToo good to be true? Probably.
(Links omitted. They all point back to the site where I found this, anyway.)
But it is still a fun thought, and will remind those who know a little history of the death of Stalin. And the way Hitler was cracking up at the end.
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:08 pmCopied from the previous weekend open thread:
Two notable quotes I read:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/opinion/leaked-documents-desantis-biden-budget.html
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/wonder-land-henninger/wsj-opinion-jack-teixeira-and-the-gamification-of-accountability/F3191764-F680-442C-97CA-98760AE832FB
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:28 pmEven more true of Russian and Iranian ally orclient state Syria.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:34 pmThe Wagner Group is offering to side with one of the generals in Sudan:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/20/africa/wagner-sudan-russia-libya-intl/index.html
That general is wary of being perceived to be as siding with Russia (in other words, Russia appears to be losing – at least losing in places not close to Russia)
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:37 pmMandatory stop-and-frisk.
Frisk for what? What happened to constitutional carry?
nk (0e94ce) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:38 pmYou can organize whatever you want, and spend as much as you want, to help your candidate win. Citizens United and progeny. Also the First Amendment.
It’s not an illegal campaign contribution if you do not coordinate your efforts with the candidate.
nk (0e94ce) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:41 pmEmerging Biden scandals:
https://nypost.com/2023/04/20/merrick-garland-at-center-of-hunter-biden-whistleblower-claim (Delaware Prosecutor is not completely independent)
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/politics/hunter-biden-laptop-story-antony-blinken/index.html (not clear, but Biden campaign may have engineered the letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials
https://nypost.com/2023/04/17/six-more-bidens-may-have-gained-from-family-business-schemes-comer )Nine Biden family members may have gotten or been given some money from the influence peddling schemes.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:43 pmJoe Biden probably to announce for president next Tuesday in low key video.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:43 pmNo.
At best the letter was an attempt to discourage attention to a story whose outlines were unclear at the time. I doubt massive numbers of votes were based on the letter.
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:51 pmHow does one negotiate with a morally bankrupt terrorist state that has unlawfully invaded a sovereign nation, annexed territories, targeted civilians (death, torture, rape, imprisonment), and committed war crimes by abducting thousands of children and sending them to Russia for re-education, and disposed of civilians in mass graves, etc.?
The average PhD at Ferris State, CSUDH would intuit from your intro phrasing that you are talking about the USA and starting gibbering on about Bush, Cheney, Trump; never getting to the point of understanding that the subject is Russia, not the USA
steveg (263377) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:55 pmRIP Richard Riordan (92. The most recent (and probably last) Republican mayor of Los Angeles (1993-2001).
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:56 pmFirst item when reagan and his administration wasn’t committing treason with iran and selling crack to black school children to finance the contras along with ollie north/eden pastore he was enlarging government and the deficit.
asset (319cdc) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:02 pmOn the subject of immigration, Eric Adams is going to get a lot of Federal money if he shuts up and toes the party line. I don’t think much of Eric Adams because he got a couple busloads into NYC from Texas and pitched a fit, while at the same time the Border Patrol was releasing border crossers into fellow Democrat run El Paso at rates up to 350 per day.
steveg (263377) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:06 pmNYC arguably has more local resources per million residents than El Paso does.
But it didn’t shut things down. It slowed things down about a few days and might have given them some talking points.
It gave social media like Twitter a basis for censoring “disinformation.” It should be obvious my now that governments and politicians use the disinformation label too freely for any responsible 3rd party to rely upon it.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:09 pmRIP Richard Riordan
Now that he’s safely dead:
Opinion: The mayor who ‘could see around corners’ made L.A. a better city
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:13 pmFrisk for what? What happened to constitutional carry?
A really bad idea. Terrible, in fact. The only difference between licensed carry and constitutional carry is that for one you have to demonstrate proficiency and legal ability to have a gun, and the other playing a few rounds of Grand Theft Auto is enough.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:18 pmA New Forever War:
Related:
Apparently those in favor using military forces against the cartels have watched Clear and Present Danger too many times; and they forgot the last time we invaded Mexico-the Pancho Villa Expedition (1916-17), which resulted in failure to capture Villa but united Mexican citizens against the US.
What could possibly go wrong?
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:19 pmIt’s not an illegal campaign contribution if you do not coordinate your efforts with the candidate.
At least here. In Canada, people who expose criminality that “both sides” want to keep quiet have been jailed for illegal campaigning.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:20 pmApparently those in favor using military forces against the cartels have watched Clear and Present Danger too many times
Whoever wrote that has not watched it even once.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:21 pmAt best the letter was an attempt to discourage attention to a story whose outlines were unclear at the time
Unclear to whom? Not to Joe Biden or his posse.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:24 pmThe Russians bombed Belgorod. One of the explanations was that it was a glide bomb that didn’t glide. My question there would be why are those being released over a city? The Russians crashed one of their planes into an apartment building in Yeysk which is in Russia across the Azov from Mariupol, Ukraine. Their aviation maintenance problems history maybe should have their pilots routed around population centers?
steveg (263377) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:28 pmGallows humor wagers are being taken on the following: In the event of nuclear war with the West, how many Russian atomic weapons will actually detonate in Russia? and how many of USA atomic weapons will actually detonate in the USA? I am guessing that the USA has one. Russia 3-5 all in the hinterlands plus 1 in Kaliningrad which they’ll call a win if some of the fallout drifts into Poland
The truth was very clear to Joe Biden and the top Biden campaign: the files the New York Post had from the lsptop were genuine and not hacked.
Although maybe not clear to Blinken, who was used as an intermediary
And the Politico headline went further than the letter itself in ascribing the info to Russia.
Sammy Finkelman (83ca36) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:29 pmTo the best of my knowledge, this Wikipedia article is a reasonable summary of “stop and frisk” in New York.
It even quotes Michael Bloomberg’s politically incorrect, but factually correct, claim:
(One consequence of the program was that some small time crooks, rather than carrying guns regularly, hid them in public places, retrieving them only when they were about to commit a crime.)
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:38 pmFirst item when reagan and his administration wasn’t committing treason with iran and selling crack to black school children to finance the contras along with ollie north/eden pastore he was enlarging government and the deficit.
So many things wrong or just whackjob conspiracy theory.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/special/cia.html
We’ve been over the Reagan/Iran “treason” lie before. I guess you prefer lies.
As for enlarging government, that was Tip O’Neil’s price for allowing the final Cold War buildup that broke the USSR’s economy. It’s hard to keep up with the Joneses when they are using credit and you are using hard cash.
The government’s share of the GDP was 20% when Reagan left office, and was also 20% midway through Trump’s term. It peaked at 31% in 2020. It’s about 25% NOW. The record was 40% in 1943-45.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:38 pmSo the “experts” honestly believed the Russian Trump pee tape was real, but the Hunter Biden laptop “had all the earmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign”. Right. Because the Russians really believed that the USA with a heavily medicated dementia patient at President was going to be more dangerous to them than an erratic Trump, so they launched their invasion under with Biden at the helm. That is the only thing we know as an absolute action packed fact on Russian preference of American Presidents and their war timing.
steveg (263377) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:45 pmJulia Davis over at the very entertaining, Twitter page at Russian Media Monitor that I highly recommend, is swift on exposing Russian disinformation, but also thinks when their propagandists say favorable thing about Trump, that is NOT disinformation, it is gospel truth and adds to all the evidence that Trump is their toady. Me? I think its best to treat everything a propagandist says as not truthful, filled with ulterior motive and manipulation, USA propagandists of all stripes included
https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1649544640310198282
Documents in the link.
Davethulhu (fe2f72) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:49 pmBreaking-
Supreme Court Freezes lower court rulings on mifepristone, preserving access
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:53 pmHere’s a Wikipedia chart showing government spending as a percent of GDP through 2018. It includes state and local spending, as one should when talking about government spending.
You’ll probably want to look at one of the larger versions; I certainly did, with my old eyes.
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:58 pmhttps://nypost.com/2023/04/17/senate-gop-report-raises-possibility-of-two-covid-lab-leaks/
As I said, although I think they have the second lab leak too early.
There were two leaks because there were two strains circy=ulaing.
I now think the second lab leak must have been massive – a leak of many different varieties of virus, most of which could not spread to humans.
The leak happened when the Wuhan Center for Disease Control moved near the seafood market on December 2, 2019. The first leak must have happened before September 12, 2019 when the bat virus database of the Wuhan Center for Virology was taken offline
They know that the virus or a version of the virus had leaked by November because there was a Chinese patent application for a vaccine in Feb. 2020 and that application revealed that work must have started no later than November, The scientist applying for the patent had a connection to thee Chinese military – as did the WIV.
Also, in November there was suddenly a lot of interest in the WIV and higher up in bio-containment at the WIV. (also som clues a few people there got sick)
https://nypost.com/2023/04/18/ex-dni-john-ratcliffe-calls-covid-lab-leak-only-explanation/
Sammy Finkelman (83ca36) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:00 pmNot true. If someone arranges to have donations made in other persons’ names (straw donors), and reimburses the straw donors, the arranger is guilty of exceeding the donation limits. whether or not there is coordination with the candidate.
What is the source for your proposition that there must be coordination?
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:03 pmBlinken forwarded a news article to Mike Morrell.
Mike Morell refused to comment to CBS News about whether th=the characterization of his testimony was accurate, although he used to work for CBS News (after his leaving the government)
Sammy Finkelman (83ca36) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:04 pmTime,
They lied. I said they lied which is the government, Biden, his team, and the media.
Keep trying to obscure the truth.
NJRob (9ff225) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:05 pmThere are two things: donations to the campaign and spending money outside of a campaign.
Sammy Finkelman (83ca36) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:06 pmA lot of people believed what they were signing – but it all probably can be traced to being misled by the Biden campaign. The Republicans don’t have that nailed yet maybe.
Sammy Finkelman (83ca36) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:10 pmActually I have watched it several times-it’s one of my favorite films. And one of its themes is that using CIA/special forces capabilities should be used against the cartels (except, of course, things go haywire).
Rather than focusing on the movie reference, do you think it would be a good use of the military to directly attack the cartels (like many Republicans seem willing to do)? What do you think the consequences will be?
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:10 pmCampaign contributions under either scenario can be illegal without coordinating with a candidate. Do you have any citation that backs up your assertion?
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:14 pm@34
Look, Time, buddy… lemme try to break it down why this is a bigger deal.
Major news organization claimed it was Russian disinfo.
Social Media literally censured post (and twitter locked out The NY POST for this!).
So, yes, discussions of this was effectively shut down.
TO recap: Former intel officials, led by Morrell, used their intel titles to give themselves credibility and to suggest they had nonpublic information that validated their claims. Then, Morrell engineered this letter WITH the Biden campaign (Blinken), strongly claiming something they knew to be false, then planted it via compliant journalists in order for Biden to reference it in a debate, knowing it was a lie on his behalf.
Funny how its Blinken got that Sec of State position, eh? Not a small thing.
Do you not see how pervasively corrupt this is and how toxic this will be going forward?
In the future, the next “former CIA/FBI/pick your government agency” says this “looks” like something that shields or indicts a political figure will NOT be met with the same sort of respect that these titles once conferred.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:15 pm@44
Rip. Fair enough.
Gutter politics at its worst.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:16 pm@52
One of the most insipid talking points from those on the right in a long time.
It’s absolutely lunacy to engage the cartels with the military, because at the end of the day, we do NOT want to destroy our neighboring country.
We should, however, ramp of intelligence and encourage Mexican government cooperation to tamp to cartel’s influence.
whembly (d116f3) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:19 pmBlinken is not having stellar time over at State. Afghanistan, diplomacy failure in Ukraine, Saudis Iranians Chinese Russia form an alliance to undermine the dollar as global currency standard, Mexico has reverted to claiming all of the blame on Fentanyl falls on the USA societal ills that cause everyone to self medicate, Taiwan is going to go hot, we just don’t know when, Egypt tried to re-enter the Russian goodwill umbrella by selling them munitions to be used against Ukraine, Israel has refused to share any cross licensed US/Israel weapons to Ukraine, NATO and USA have cost thousands of Ukrainian lives with their foot dragging on second or third tier weapons, and we still have 1.66 years to go.
steveg (263377) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:26 pmI take it back. Blinken has been very impressive, a real standout. He carried Hunters stash box for Joe and got a nice bump up.
You can bet it will loom big on Republican campaign trail.
Of course, no one will talk about the potential consequences-how the cartels fight back. I foresee political assassinations (mostly mayors) and bombings/mass shootings at restaurants, shopping malls and concerts.
In short, everything that’s happening in Mexico today.
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:28 pmStop-and-frisk = gun-grabber.
nk (730a58) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:31 pmAnd Then There Were Five:
So far the Republican presidential primary field is far more “diverse and inclusive” than the Democratic field.
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 4:42 pmEx-acting CIA director reveals he had 50 spies sign a letter saying Hunter Biden laptop scandal was Russian disinformation to HELP Joe ‘win the presidential election
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11997959/Ex-CIA-chief-spills-got-spies-write-false-Hunter-Biden-laptop-letter-help-Biden.html
DCSCA (d366b2) — 4/21/2023 @ 5:32 pmI’m doubling down on It Was Breyer On His Way Out, DC and Kev:
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/justice-thomas-is-man-of-integrity-says-ex-colleague-breyer
urbanleftbehind (152d21) — 4/21/2023 @ 5:37 pm@80. Leaker Alito. And Breyer’s venting gas out the aft end of his service module. SCOTUS has no ethics, wrecked its integrity, can’t keep track of a file full of papers and hasn’t found the culprit in a year. Funny how the press was able to nail the classified doc leaker for the brass hats in days… and even the Pentagon can keep track of a spy balloon for a week– just lacks the common sense to shoot it down.
DCSCA (d366b2) — 4/21/2023 @ 5:46 pmdo you think it would be a good use of the military to directly attack the cartels (like many Republicans seem willing to do)? What do you think the consequences will be?
In the movie, it was covert, and when that failed the politicians all ran for cover.
Would it be legal to use the military overtly? That depends on what you are trying to fight. If the cartels are seen as a non-governmental invasion, I think that the Constitution would allow the President to take immediate action. Same if it is seen as Mexican policy to allow it. See Pancho Villa and Blackjack Pershing last time this was done.
Would it be a good idea to use the military overtly? That’s a pretty broad question. Are we talking about airstrikes on cartel strongholds? Are talking more of the Israeli method — invading and denying territory to the gangs. Or do we go further and decide that the Mexican government is complicit and declare war?
The consequences could be huge, up to and including annexing Mexico and its 128 million citizens. But even something less would open all kinds of old wounds and make everything we say about Ukraine suspect.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 6:46 pmLarry Elder has a high opinion of Larry Elder.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 6:47 pmThomas and Alito dissent.
Now this is disappointing as the Texas ruling is terrible. It only aspires to be hogwash. There is not one iota of reason involved.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/21/2023 @ 6:52 pmBut it didn’t shut things down. It slowed things down about a few days and might have given them some talking points. But the slow down came at the expense of a lot of stories about what Twitter did.
Time123 (f43840) — 4/21/2023 @ 2:00 pm
the story was banned on Twitter starting Oct 14 2020 and the ban wasn’t lifted until April 17 2021
“about a few days” LMFAO
JF (47e9f4) — 4/21/2023 @ 7:00 pmDo you not see how pervasively corrupt this is and how toxic this will be going forward?
no, whembly, they won’t
this is the same crowd who screamed “Russia collusion”, when the only collusion in 2016 was the steele dossier which they embraced
2020 did have misinformation, and it was their own, with a conspiracy (yes, that’s exactly the right word) of corrupt intelligence officials putting their name behind it to turn an election
it’s just yet another “crazy right wing conspiracy” that ended up being true, and lefties are always the last to know
their only response is to minimize it or pretend it never happened, so to hear about it you have to read the Daily Mail, which is driven by clicks not partisanship, and you won’t see it on this blog either except in the comments
it just never happened
JF (47e9f4) — 4/21/2023 @ 7:18 pmThomas and Alito dissent.
Now this is disappointing as the Texas ruling is terrible.
They did not dissent on the merits. It was some kind of inside baseball on the stay. Whether it was necessary for the Supreme Court to issue its own stay (irreparable harm Alito did not see) when the Fifth Circuit was getting the case back for the merits and the Supreme Court would not consider certiorari on the merits until the Fifth Circuit had issued its decision.
nk (082dd5) — 4/21/2023 @ 7:41 pmThis Judge Kacsmaryk person is no stranger to the Supreme Court from what I looked up. He’s the go-to judge for Ken Paxton and other assorted wingnuttery and they have had to rap his knuckles several times already.
nk (082dd5) — 4/21/2023 @ 7:46 pmName a politician that doesn’t have a high opinion of themselves.
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 8:12 pmPershing failed to capture Villa.
I’m sure operations would be both covert and overt. Since Republicans have introduced an Authorization to Use Military Force I guess they believe the President doesn’t have inherent authority to attack Mexican territory.
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 8:19 pmTrump Civil Litigation Watch:
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/21/2023 @ 8:38 pmI am going to put this here instead of the gun violence page. I am convinced that in the media saturated world of today, we are not prepared for what every thousand newly adult Americans bring to the table. If the statistics are correct, 11,000 people a day in the USA become adults and 110 of them (majority are male) are going to be somewhat crazy. Biker gangs and their 1 percenter patches are onto something and we should acknowledge that
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/21/2023 @ 9:23 pmHi Rip at #89 High opinion and adjusted for earned credits
I’m going with Gavin Newsom as standard bearer on the left and Tim Scott on the right
When it comes to thought leaders and influencers I will go with humble Pete Strzok on the left and Dan Crenshaw on the right
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:26 pmDear Judge Kaplan: Certainly is a big word.
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/21/2023 @ 11:29 pm@59 here we go again. “No hard evidence” that the CIA “as an institution” or any of “its agent employees (what was eden pastore?) carried out or profited from drug trafficing. (they were funding the contras after congress cut off the money. Casey’s secret source!) Notice they didn’t say enabled. Wonder what pbs thinks was only soft evidence like the 50 intelligent officials who said hunters lap top was russian disinformation and cia now admits they lied to help biden win. PBS takes money from government that it needs to keep in good graces of. I watched a larry king show where a cia official hitched a ride on a CIA plane that was full of cocaine. He told king he complained to veep bush because his daughter was addicted. CIA planes flew into mina arkansas filled with cocaine when clinton was gov. We don’t know how much bubba was paid off. we have been over reagan treason before. The congressional investigation didn’t know about connallys trip to tell Iran to keep the hostage until after 1980. And evidence from the us embassy about casey’s trip to madrid was with held from them. Bani sader and yasser arafat testimony was ignored. You make excuses but admit about the deficit and government spending.
asset (681413) — 4/22/2023 @ 12:36 amhttps://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/04/too-hot-for-facebook.php
Powerline banned by facebook for reporting on the Biden laptop lies. The leftist media still going to bat for their narrative against the truth.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:28 amMore good news from Finland.
The Olkiluto nuclear power plant is finally fully operational:
Many years ago, I had a chance to talk to a lawyer who worked for a New Hampshire utility that was building a nuclear power plant. Demonstrations against the plant had attracted much TV coverage — but had little effect on the utility. However, the lawyer told me that a six month delay imposed by a judge had almost bankrupted the utility.
There are parallels in that Wikipedia account. But, in the end, the Finns did the right thing.
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/22/2023 @ 6:05 amLOL!
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/22/2023 @ 8:13 amRIP Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna):
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/22/2023 @ 8:23 amDame Edna’s performances would have been banned in several states.
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/22/2023 @ 9:00 amIt was certainly banned by my stomach. I watched a few minutes when somebody linked it here a while back. It had no redeeming social value but it did not have any appeal to prurient interest either.
nk (e2a448) — 4/22/2023 @ 9:56 amNo mention of A-10s……..
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/22/2023 @ 10:09 amWSJ Poll 4/21/23:
Free link.
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/22/2023 @ 11:17 amMore from the WSJ Poll:
Top Issues Affecting Vote:
Would Consider or Not Consider:
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/22/2023 @ 11:33 amDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that the U.S. will begin training Ukrainian forces on American-made Abrams tanks in the coming weeks…
Aside from failing to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon, lest we forget WHY this incompetent bureaucratic bastard should have been fired a year ago:
https://www.cruz.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Letters/20210819_MilitaryEquipmentDODLetter.pdf
DCSCA (be5969) — 4/22/2023 @ 11:43 amnk- on stop and frisk. that’s not a gun, I adore a snappy uniform
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/22/2023 @ 11:48 amReassuring
“In Belgorod, Russia, residents of 17 high-rise buildings were evacuated due to another bomb. It was found at the site where an explosion occurred on April 20 due to the Su-34 ammunition.
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/22/2023 @ 11:49 amFor two days, the Russians did not notice that the Su-34 had lost two bombs, not one.”
U.S. military will not be aiding Americans stuck in deteriorating Sudan crisis
Americans in Sudan should not anticipate the United States military coming to their aid as fighting between the army and a powerful paramilitary force remains ongoing. – https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/
So ‘here’s the deal’ -FU fellow citizens, non-citizens, non-taxpaying, Ukrainians come first, eh Joey. No. Really. He’s not joking!
Storm the castle.
DCSCA (be5969) — 4/22/2023 @ 11:53 amNote debris pops up as bomb hits at start of video. 18 seconds later boom. I don’t see the second bomb, so it probably fell a distance away
https://twitter.com/i/status/1649333567770468354
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/22/2023 @ 12:12 pmTo rid the world of Putin, freedom fighters like Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has been the target of two assassination attempts by the Kremlin, must be supported…
Twenty Years of Putin Playing the West in 3 Minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCCTf17ZiIs&t=4s
… and Putin smiled.
DCSCA (be5969) — 4/22/2023 @ 12:16 pmNot Too Sharp:
Rip Murdock (036a13) — 4/22/2023 @ 12:24 pm‘Extensive petroleum exploration first began in Sudan in the mid-1970s. Significant finds were made in the Upper Nile region and commercial quantities of oil began to be exported in October 2000, reducing Sudan’s outflow of foreign exchange for imported petroleum products. Today, oil is an important export industry in Sudan. Estimates suggest that oil accounts for between 70% and 90% of Sudan’s total exports. The primary importers of Sudanese oil are Japan, China, South Korea, Indonesia, and India.
The mining industry contributed little to GDP until the discovery of commercially exploitable quantities of petroleum in the late 1970s offered hope that the sector would play an increased role in the economy in the future. Nonhydrocarbon minerals of actual or potential commercial value include gold, chrome, copper, iron ore, manganese, asbestos, gypsum, mica, limestone, marble, uranium, silver, lead, talc, tungsten, zinc, and diamonds.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Sudan#History
DCSCA (be5969) — 4/22/2023 @ 12:25 pmOn Earth Day, I think it appropriate to honor an environmental hero, George H. W. Bush:
“These things happened under Bush: The 1990 Clean Air Act, the strongest air pollution legislation in the world; international agreements to abolish CFCs; the end of ocean disposal of sludge; the Exxon Valdez cleanup, which was flawed but did work; bans on driftnet fishing and importation of fish caught in driftnets; acceleration of Superfund cleanups; a moratorium on most offshore oil exploration; new drinking water standards; the Rio global warming treaty; the Basel conventions, which in most cases bars the First World from exporting hazrdous wastes to the Third (negotiated by Bush, ratified under Clinton); . . . .”
From Greg Easterbrook’s “A Moment on Earth”, p. 456.
That’s just the first half of the paragraph listing Bush’s achievements. There are many more. (Easterbrook says that he did not vote for Bush.)
The 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act have saved, certainly, tens of thousands of lives in the United States. And the introduction of cap-and-trade made the improvements come faster, and at a lower cost, than originally estimated.
(Cross posted at PoliticalBetting.)
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/22/2023 @ 12:40 pmTwo corrections: “hazardous” and “Gregg”.
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/22/2023 @ 12:43 pmA word about Mike Morell, and I’m not surprised that he was behind the letter involving 51 former members of the intel community, because the guy is a left-wing hyperpartisan Democrat political animal.
Back when Susan Rice was misleading America after the Benghazi terrorist attack, it was Morell who was involved in editing her talking points, erasing the fact that it was a terrorist attack by al Qaeda elements and that it wasn’t a “spontaneous” strike in response to an anti-Islam video but planned by those elements. He retired as Deputy CIA Director not long after and then went on to work with Hillary.
Like with Susan Rice, Morrell has shown himself to be too partisan to be trusted.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:02 pmName a politician that doesn’t have a high opinion of themselves.
But few are less justified than Elder. He’s a Stassen.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:17 pmSince Republicans have introduced an Authorization to Use Military Force I guess they believe the President doesn’t have inherent authority to attack Mexican territory.
In the case of invasion or other threat to national security, he does. Congress has its own opinions, but Panama, Grenada, Kosovo and several Libyan operations had no AUMF.
See the DoJ position
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:22 pmI find it hard to believe that all of Biden’s calls to and from Foreign leaders have always been perfect. Do Eric Ciaramella’s fellow travelers now think the US Presidency should be protected at all costs now that there is a member of their tribe in the seat?
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:23 pmWill Biden announce his candidacy on Tuesday? Or will he decline to run? His party wants him to bow out. If he does, Wednesday will be interesting.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:25 pmI’m going with Gavin Newsom as standard bearer on the left and Tim Scott on the right
I would not be surprised by this at all, as long as Biden quits the race. Biden stepping down would hurt Trump most of all, as it changes the dynamics and Trump is going on inertia.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:27 pmIt had no redeeming social value but it did not have any appeal to prurient interest either.
Kind of like an evening of modern dance.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:29 pmWould Consider or Not Consider:
Donald Trump 82/17
Ron DeSantis 82/12
Mike Pence 40/53
Nikki Haley 52/36
Haley: Is it just Trump cultists avenging heresy, or is there some misogyny & racism thrown in? I’ve going to embrace the power of AND.
Pence: It’s ironic that self-described Christians would opt for Trump over Pence.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:33 pmSo ‘here’s the deal’
Closer to: You go swimming where it says “Danger: Alligators and Piranha” and don’t expect lifeguards.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:36 pmIf convicted of the January 6th misdemeanors, it is likely he would have faced only probation.
Obviously, he should have bee Red Flagged!
/sarc
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:38 pmMore of the “I’m okay, you’re so-so” genre, please.
Colonel Haiku (cbda2a) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:38 pm#115 Two remarks about Susan Rice: When she served under Clinton, she said in a private government meeting that they should avoid calling the Rwandan genocide, a genocide — in order to protect Clinton’s political viability. Barack Obama did not see that as disqualifying her as a top official in his administration. But he did make one of Rice’s principal critics, Samantha Power, UN ambassador.
Which may have stopped Power from criticizing Obama, during the Yazidi and Christian gencides in the Middle East.
Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:51 pmInside the tent, peeing out.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 1:59 pmSarah huckaboo sanders wants to end segregation laws in arkie so white kids can use vouchers to get away from black kids in schools. (DU)
asset (20fe3b) — 4/22/2023 @ 2:56 pmZip-Tie Guy (And Mom) Zipped:
A mother-son bonding moment.
Joint stipulated statement by facts.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 3:10 pmIf you think racism has something to do with the opposition to Darling Nikki, why do you think it would be any different with opposition to Tim Scott?
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 3:16 pmSarah huckaboo sanders wants to end segregation laws in arkie so white kids can use vouchers to get away from black kids in schools.
So, what, you’re going to stand in the schoolhouse door chanting “Segregation Forever!”?
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 3:20 pmIf you think racism has something to do with the opposition to Darling Nikki, why do you think it would be any different with opposition to Tim Scott?
I don’t, but he hasn’t gone out of his way to offend the Trumpies (although Trump could invent something), and he’s not a woman or of suspect religion, so that isn’t in play.
And, frankly, if he’s the nominee all those who have been going on about binary choices and Socialism! can hold their nose and vote.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 3:22 pmFree link
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 3:44 pmOn Earth Day, I think it appropriate for Americans to honor… Earth:
https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/AS17-134-20466HR.jpg
DCSCA (03055c) — 4/22/2023 @ 3:52 pmBlowback:
Rip Murdock (ebd7d2) — 4/22/2023 @ 3:55 pmApril 22nd is also the birthday of Lenin, Vladimir Nabokov, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Jack Nicholson, Glen Campbell, and Jack Nitzsche.
Rip Murdock (ebd7d2) — 4/22/2023 @ 4:02 pm1. He announced his exploratory committee only 10 days ago, give him time.
2. He will need to if wants to win a primary.
3. He won’t win a primary.
Rip Murdock (ebd7d2) — 4/22/2023 @ 4:07 pmIf you think getting SWATted is bad, then 33 times (thus his elderly parents were SWATted) must be hell on earth. The SWATters need to be in jail, for a long time.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/22/2023 @ 4:23 pmI can’t pinpoint exactly why, but I love this photograph.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/22/2023 @ 4:26 pmYou go swimming where it says “Danger: Alligators and Piranha” and don’t expect lifeguards.
Posted at every frontier in Ukraine, of course… with a smiley face then the nation’s slogan, ‘Have A Nice Day.’
DCSCA (03055c) — 4/22/2023 @ 4:27 pmThe next time Trump tries to hit DeSantis on Covid, the FL guvnor can use this Trump ad against the ex-president.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/22/2023 @ 4:34 pmRon DeSantis Stays Quiet on Abortion (The Dispatch)
The Florida governor has been mum on the issue since signing a six-week ban.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:26 pm“We will oppose any presidential candidate who refuses to embrace at a minimum a 15-week national standard to stop painful late-term abortions while allowing states to enact further protections.
That’s two things and the first is probably doable. The second is a poison pill.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:28 pm3. He won’t win a primary.
Trump will not be a candidate in any primary.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:33 pmIf you think getting SWATted is bad, then 33 times (thus his elderly parents were SWATted)
The Florida sheriff vs. the neo-Nazi ‘scumbags’ (free link)
It gets worse. For the life of me, I cannot understand why some masked men haven’t beat the crap out of these fools.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:38 pmSince they will start in about eight months, I doubt anything will happen to prevent him from being on the ballot before then.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:47 pmHe’s already made his point.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:49 pmHe’s already made his point.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:49 pm
He’s already made his point to his target audiences-pro-life and evangelical Republican voters.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:59 pmSince they will start in about eight months, I doubt anything will happen to prevent him from being on the ballot before then.
They seem to be building one hell of a case in DC. A plea bargain could take him out of the race quickly.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 6:43 pmRussian Pilots lounge
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FuO9CcqXwAAqyWb?format=jpg&name=small
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/22/2023 @ 6:44 pmI found that at Darth Putin twitter
steveg (9f5d27) — 4/22/2023 @ 6:45 pmAt the rate things are going, an indictment won’t occur until the second half of 2023, with any trial occurring during the presidential campaign in 2024. And if the reaction to the NY indictment is any indication, a DC indictment will gift Trump the nomination. Since any prosecution requires the AG’s approval, it will inherently be seen as political.
I doubt Trump would take a plea. To do that would cause a complete mental breakdown.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 7:03 pmHe’s already made his point to his target audiences-pro-life and evangelical Republican voters.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 5:59 pm
Free link
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/22/2023 @ 7:25 pm@131 kevin I walked in with forrest gump.
asset (cc31f4) — 4/22/2023 @ 9:29 pm@133 Thats how democrats have been hounded by the gun control issue for over 50 years! Have fun! Republicans ban all abortions or we will primary you! Say the fundos. All democrats want to talk about is abortion and the media too! You cant win a primary if you don’t want to ban abortion and will find it difficult to win the general election in most states if you do. Even mississippi doesn’t dare put it up for a vote of the people!
asset (cc31f4) — 4/22/2023 @ 9:43 pmI doubt Trump would take a plea. To do that would cause a complete mental breakdown.
If losing would be 20 years, he would.
Or maybe this:
18 USC 2383: Rebellion or insurrection
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 10:49 pmI wonder if there are things in Trump’s past thhat would cause his followers problems. Did he maybe participate in some hedge fund that closed US companies and sold their assets to China? Or maybe Jared did.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 10:53 pmBad news for Biden:
Afghanistan has become a terrorism staging ground again, leak reveals [free link]
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 10:55 pmJames Ellroy on cancel culture:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2023-04-22/james-ellroy-michael-connelly-festival-of-books-lapd
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/22/2023 @ 11:03 pmSomebody is either very clever or the hired hands got the location confused:
https://abc7chicago.com/disneyland-tom-sawyer-island/13172788/
urbanleftbehind (ccd1ac) — 4/23/2023 @ 3:44 amhttps://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2023/04/21/pennsylvania-armed-citizen-shoots-wounds-two-home-invaders-n69735
4 invaders. Thankfully the owner of the house had a gun to protect himself and his family.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:50 am#157
Nothing causes Trump’s followers problems. They don’t care who he is. They just want him to be their retribution.
Fortunately, there probably aren’t enough of them.
Appalled (0a0460) — 4/23/2023 @ 6:41 amIf they were Ricans, would they merely be armed burglars? Could also be thug on thug.
urbanleftbehind (ccd1ac) — 4/23/2023 @ 6:48 amAppalled, I think he’s pretty close to officially disowning Ivanka, so anything Jared did was clearly not his idea.
urbanleftbehind (ccd1ac) — 4/23/2023 @ 6:51 amI don’t think Trump will be charged with insurrection, incitement, or seditious conspiracy, or serious felony. To do so would give Trump’s die-hard supporters a cause to turn to violence.
As I said before, a DC indictment will be seen as being politically motivated by his supporters inside and outside Capitol Hill. Trump would ride an indictment into the nomination, if not the White House.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/23/2023 @ 7:53 amFree link.
Rip Murdock (bec137) — 4/23/2023 @ 8:15 amhttps://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/04/news-blackout-in-effect.php
Accurate.
NJRob (adf028) — 4/23/2023 @ 8:40 amFunny, Rob. Deluded sh*tbirds wrestling with their fantasies of the attempts of the previous president to destroy democracy, while the country is being taken down real-time.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:18 am4 invaders. Thankfully the owner of the house had a gun to protect himself and his family.
If he’d shot all four, it might have been reported by the MSM. As a mass shooting.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:27 amI don’t think Trump will be charged with insurrection, incitement, or seditious conspiracy, or serious felony. To do so would give Trump’s die-hard supporters a cause to turn to violence.
Why do you think this bothers them?
As I said before, a DC indictment will be seen as being politically motivated by his supporters inside and outside Capitol Hill. Trump would ride an indictment into the nomination, if not the White House.
Considering that conviction on any count would bar him from the WH and likely mean that any electoral votes he got in those states that allowed him on the ballot would not be counted. By law. Also, nominating him anyway would be the end of the Republican Party, mid-convention.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:32 amAttorneys at both groups argue that Trump’s role before and during the Jan. 6 riot is evidence he “engaged in insurrection,” a claim that was specifically endorsed by the House select committee that investigated the attack.
It has to be the result of a conviction of a disqualifying crime.
Opponents also warn of the damage judges or election officials would do to the electoral process…
Indeed. See See More’s reply to Roper.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:36 amIt might not, Rip, so long as the other party was the willing to throw Bragg and his folly under bus a few days before hand.
urbanleftbehind (48a865) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:40 amThat only applies to a conviction for “engag(ing) in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” and not any other crime.
Rip Murdock (66c03d) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:50 amActually, it would apply to seditious conspiracy as well.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:55 amThere is also a question as to whether a President is “an officer of the United States” as it applies to Section 3.
Rip Murdock (66c03d) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:57 amI really don’t care how pissed off the Trumpies are. All the Replacement candidate would have to say is that s/he was willing to consider a pardon to get them to the polls. Then commute to time served, with conditions.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:58 amThere is also a question as to whether a President is “an officer of the United States” as it applies to Section 3.
Roadkill.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:58 amIn any event, an indictment on either charge (let alone a conviction) is highly speculative.
Rip Murdock (66c03d) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:59 amUnless they start shooting.
Rip Murdock (00a1f6) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:02 amIt may be roadkill to you but the Supreme Court (filled with conservative Trump appointees) it would be an argument to hang their hat on to allow Trump to become president despite a conviction.
Rip Murdock (66c03d) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:06 amit would be an argument to hang their hat on to allow Trump to become president despite a conviction.
At immense cost. Besides, he wouldn’t be on enough state ballots to gain 270 EVs. It would be suicidal for the Republicans to nominate him and if they did anyway, the successor party would disavow.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:15 amUnless they start shooting.
Putting them down would be cheaper than camps to the Left.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:16 amFor all his faults, Biden is not James Buchanan, to let a rebellion fester and grow. And it would be a perfect opportunity to round up all the guns.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:18 amSad!
Rip Murdock (66c03d) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:58 amA whopping two-thirds of Republican primary voters say they stand behind former President Donald Trump and dismiss concerns about his electability, despite his recent criminal arrest and the other legal investigations into his past conduct, a new national NBC News poll finds.
I said that the NY charges would be seen as political bullsh1t and would debase the other, more serious ones. I hate being right.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 11:04 amAfter seven years, we need polls to tell us what Trump supporters say?
nk (aaa265) — 4/23/2023 @ 11:34 am— Trumpygram for Mr. Mongo! Trumpygram for Mr. Mongo!
nk (824a3d) — 4/23/2023 @ 11:49 am— Mongo love Trumpy!
R.I.P. Bed Bath & Beyond
Years and years of incredible mismanagement. A few years back, in an attempt to compete with the Internet, they got rid of all their quality goods and sold cheap-ass crap instead. Exactly wrong and it killed them.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 12:20 pmBTW, if I might suggest a new avenue for investigation: Insider trading in the Trump WH. Sure, the administration was chaotic, but that’s not so bad as chaos churns the stock market. And if you know the day before, well, call it opportunity. I’m sure that Jared understood this.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 12:24 pmUpon further review, it seems that BB&B was doing fine until investors wanting a quicker return ejected the two founders from the board and hired a new CEO to shake up the company. Between that and Covid, they never saw a profit again.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 1:24 pm51 years ago today— when America was truly great…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZi295LcBRQ
“What a ride! What a ride!” – Charlie Duke, LMP, Apollo 16
DCSCA (fc41cc) — 4/23/2023 @ 1:32 pmBiden’s “MARA democrats” strike again!
Biden says US embassy evacuation in Sudan has been completed
‘American forces carried out a precarious evacuation of US embassy personnel in Sudan, President Joe Biden said late Saturday, calling for the end to “unconscionable” violence there as two rival leaders battled for power in the African country. Biden thanked the US troops who carried out the mission to extract American staffers in Sudan. With the last American embassy worker out, Washington shuttered the US mission in Khartoum indefinitely.
The U.S. said it had no current plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of an estimated 16,000 other Americans remaining in Sudan, calling the situation too dangerous. – https://nypost.com/2023/04/23/us-embassy-staff-evacuated-from-war-torn-sudan/
To dangerous???????????? Take note Taiwan.
…and Putin smiled, while Xi grinned with delight.
Save the government bureaucrats, abandon American private citizens to the wolves… Attaboy, MARAJoey: ‘Make America Retreat Again!”
“If my life has a single point, it’s this: I’ve learned to be unafraid of death but never to be unafraid of failure.” – General Charles ‘Chinese’ Gordon [Charlton Heston] ‘Khartoum’ 1966
DCSCA (fc41cc) — 4/23/2023 @ 1:50 pmThere’s a market in rural America for tiny Japanese pick-ups.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/23/2023 @ 1:52 pm“I said that the NY charges would be seen as political bullsh1t and would debase the other, more serious ones. I hate being right.”
People need to be smarter. The wrong, let alone the appearance of wrong, associated with January 6th, Georgia, and the classified documents is not difficult to tease out. And there is nothing morally correct about paying off porn stars and playboy models to keep quiet about extramarital affairs. If a voter uses New York felony charges to overlook the other politically relevant charges, then that voter is a moron or intentionally obtuse. We have a personality that is at best criminally sloppy with his affairs and at worst a Machiavellian sociopath (working with other Machiavellian sociopaths like Bannon). GOP leadership, right-wing opinionators, evangelical leaders should all be asking for Republicans to move on and choose a candidate with less baggage and more broad appeal. There are pockets of resistance that quickly get labeled as NeverTrump…as if that somehow neutralizes the arguments against Trump…but the bulk of opinion is positive for Trump, believing, in one of the great jiu-jitsu moves of all time, that really it’s Biden that is manifestly corrupt and the corrupt deep state is just trying to get Trump. It’s just dumb and we’re heading for yet another rude awakening in 2024. People will not vote for someone who could not recognize that he was morally, if not legally, obligated to help stop the January 6th riot.
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/23/2023 @ 2:09 pmBelgium destroys 2,350 cans of American beer after French outrage over ‘Champagne’ slogan
‘The guardians of Champagne will let no one take the name of the bubbly beverage in vain, not even a U.S. beer behemoth. For years, Miller High Life used the “Champagne of beers” slogan. This week, that appropriation became impossible to swallow. At the request of the trade body defending the interests of houses and growers of the northeastern French sparkling wine, Belgian customs crushed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life advertised as such.
The Comité Champagne asked for the destruction of a shipment of 2,352 cans on the grounds that the century-old motto used by the American brewery infringes the protected designation of origin “Champagne.” – source, https://www.yahoo.com/news/belgium-destroys-2-350-cans-172100793.html
Meanwhile:
Belgium’s trade in Russian diamonds continues despite moral pressure
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/20/belgium-trade-russian-diamonds-despite-moral-pressure
Lest you forget, NATO HQ is in… Brussels, Belgium.
DCSCA (108465) — 4/23/2023 @ 2:10 pmPeople need to be smarter…
An elitist lament, dissing the electorate; echoed behind the paywall curtain in stovepipe of the Alamo.
DCSCA (108465) — 4/23/2023 @ 2:13 pm58. Jim Miller (0e46f9) — 4/21/2023 @ 3:38 pm
Or at home or in somebody’s home.
That was true ever since the Supreme Court made an exception to the requirement for a search warrant to search — it was not necessary when there was a suspicion ofa gun.
That was true in 1982 in one incident I know. They went to get a gun.
Also in the Sean Bell incident in 2006.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Sean_Bell
The policemen there were dumb. They thought the gun was in the car. That would have been the case if a policeman was carrying a gun and went into a place he couldn’t take it. But they would have kept it at home.
In those days, until recently, in New York City if caught with an illegal gun you went directly to jail. Usually for one year.
That was not the case in Chicago so anti-gun laws there didn’t work to curb crime or prevent the carrying of guns.
Sammy Finkelman (9a4e31) — 4/23/2023 @ 2:28 pmMr. Teixeira’s crimes were earlier and more extensive and widespread than previously reported. He needs to be in jail for a lot longer than Winner or Manning.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/23/2023 @ 2:44 pmIf a voter uses New York felony charges to overlook the other politically relevant charges, then that voter is a moron or intentionally obtuse.
Or maybe one of the 80% who only lightly engage in political issues. Politicians can’t easily lie to you or me, but to the folks who don’t care until later in the cycle? There’s a reason that Obama’s lies regarding Benghazi worked so well.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 2:56 pmThere were 2,352 cans of Miller high life in Belgium? Why?
Nic (896fdf) — 4/23/2023 @ 4:18 pmWishcasting/a>
Vivek Ramaswamy‘s comment shows he doesn’t lack confidence. LOL!
Rip Murdock (e6a4f2) — 4/23/2023 @ 4:22 pmSorry about the formatting.
Rip Murdock (e6a4f2) — 4/23/2023 @ 4:22 pm“the radical left, they are selling the drug of victimhood and the narcotic of despair.”
The Democrat Party bases their entire platform on that.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 4:27 pmThere were 2,352 cans of Miller high life in Belgium? Why?
Indeed. Belgium is not really a country anyway. France and Holland should split it down the middle.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 4:29 pmFrom an earlier thread:
What’s good for Intel is good for America (there are no other fab operators of note in the US).
TSMC is now the largest buyer of chip making equipment.
They should also remember the Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules..
Rip Murdock (e6a4f2) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:29 pmSource for quote in post 206.
Rip Murdock (e6a4f2) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:30 pm@205. Belgium is not really a country anyway. France and Holland should split it down the middle.
Except it is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium
DCSCA (2c6a53) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:32 pmTSMC is trying to get a slice of money designed to go to rebuild American chipmaking, as a national security concern. The sharing of information is part of that rebuilding — cutthroat competition got us here, and it’s now a team effort. No reason that TSMC has to play, but they should expect prizes either.
The real truth: Samsung and TSMC are party crashers from the wrong set.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:37 pmExcept it is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium
Well, then, so is this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_cuckoo_land
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:38 pmcould someone please let 210 out of mederation
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:40 pmShorter 210 (one less link)
If a Wikipedia entry is all one needs to be a country:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_cuckoo_land
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:41 pmStupid nanny filter.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:42 pm@201. There were 2,352 cans of Miller high life in Belgium? Why?
‘The consignment was intercepted in the Belgian port of Antwerp in early February, a spokesperson at the Belgian Customs Administration said on Friday, and was destined for Germany. Molson Coors Beverage Co., which owns the Miller High Life brand, does not currently export it to the EU, and Belgian customs declined to say who had ordered the beers.
The buyer in Germany “was informed and did not contest the decision,” the trade organization said in a statement. –
https://www.newsnationnow.com/world/miller-high-life-destroyed-europe-slogan/
So who’d order the consignment? then let it go uncontested, get wasted and literally go down the drain??? Likely the roiutinely wasteful, impotent Pentagon bureaucrats in the U.S. military supplying brewskis for the bases in Germany– or for transit on into Ukraine.
DCSCA (2c6a53) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:53 pm@210- Perhaps in the echo chamber behind the paywall of the Alamo, but in the real world:
‘Since the Middle Ages, Belgium’s central location near several major rivers has meant that the area has been relatively prosperous, connected commercially and politically to its bigger neighbors. The country as it exists today was established following the 1830 Belgian Revolution, when it seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which had incorporated the Southern Netherlands (which comprised most of modern-day Belgium) after the Congress of Vienna in 1815.’
Next time, be a wiz… try Oz. 😉
DCSCA (2c6a53) — 4/23/2023 @ 5:57 pm@DCSCA@14 US Military bases have their own grocery and retail systems, generals don’t have to make personal grocery orders from the states. DeCa has it’s own shipment system and there’s no way that Belgium seized a US Military Commissary shipment. Besides, 400 six-packs is not nearly enough to supply all the US Commissaries in Germany. (and if they were going to seize one, which they aren’t going to do, it would be more likely a shipment to a base in Belgium).
Nic (896fdf) — 4/23/2023 @ 6:47 pm@161 How many innocent people were shot yesterday who weren’t home invaders ?
asset (ebdec8) — 4/23/2023 @ 7:16 pm@204 I am the radical left not a corporate establishment democrat. Why do you think we keep trying to kick these corporate bums out of power in the democratic party. But! you wouldn’t like the radical left’s motto By any means necessary! Malcolm X. We are problem solvers ;but you wouldn’t like are solutions.
asset (ebdec8) — 4/23/2023 @ 7:28 pm@216. They still need supplied so somebody ordered it. And Belgium authorities, for the Froggies, could easily seize stuff at random, just out of EU spite- which they’ve been known to do back in the day– the French did it w/baseball bats– they’s saw them in half to check for contents.
DCSCA (47c85f) — 4/23/2023 @ 7:41 pm@DCSCA@219 Somebody ordered it, but almost certainly not any members of the military.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/23/2023 @ 7:48 pm@220. State perhaps? It’s peculiar, if not conspicuous, how the ID of the ‘folks’ who ordered the consignment remain unnamed– and allowed the loss to go uncontested…. which stinks of the classic government waste mindset. Shipping canned domestic beer to Europe- where as a final destination or a way point… Belgium no less- famed for its local beers- seems quite odd, too.
DCSCA (7e9947) — 4/23/2023 @ 7:59 pm@218. I am the radical left not a corporate establishment democrat. Why do you think we keep trying to kick these corporate bums out of power in the democratic party.
Then RFK, Jr., is your guy for 2024.
DCSCA (7e9947) — 4/23/2023 @ 8:02 pm@DCSCA@221 Civilian contractors maybe? Embassy staff has access to the military system.
Nic (896fdf) — 4/23/2023 @ 8:13 pm@222 Anybody is better then biden. If biden wont debate have a card board cut out of him on stage holding a sign “AM I still alive?
asset (ebdec8) — 4/23/2023 @ 8:14 pmThat’s quite a dud of a Campaign Slogan: Your guy for 2024: RFK Jr
Yea RFK Jr. Boo polio Vaccine has a much better DNC national convention ring to it.
steveg (51fb37) — 4/23/2023 @ 8:45 pm@225 I would prefer AOC ;but she is not running for president. I voted green party in 2016 and 2020 I would like to vote for a democrat in 2024.
asset (a487b8) — 4/23/2023 @ 9:29 pmBut! you wouldn’t like the radical left’s motto By any means necessary!
Well, suppose that a re-elected Trump used that as HIS motto? Be careful with your bravado as the fascists have all the guns.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:17 pmI would prefer AOC ;but she is not running for president.
She’s been told not to, and is obeying her masters. Put not your faith in princesses.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/23/2023 @ 10:20 pm227/228 Not all the guns and the black community is seeing gun control means controlling them as more and more members of the black community are realizing the real reason the establishment wants black men disarmed. Trump’s problems will be with establishment of both partys not the left. AOC knows (and doesn’t have to be told) that 2024 is too soon and must wait for generation Z only half of which have reached voting age. By 2028/2032 enough boomers will have died off to overwhelm her haters. If biden doesn’t run or falters democrats will pick her for veep not another timmy kaine clone for the latinx vote.
asset (a487b8) — 4/24/2023 @ 12:48 am@229, AOC is a socialist.
She doesn’t really understand that “stuff”, like universal healthcare, generous paid leave and childcare, free tuition, maybe even a universal basic income, has to be paid for. She believes in magic money trees. If you want the “stuff” above, then you have to accept that EVERYONE will have to pay much more taxes. She can certainly lie and make incredible statements…and the media will likely cover for her a bit…but Americans understand the aphorism, too good to be true. Americans don’t want to throw out the baby with the bath water.
People make fun of AOC as having bartending as her main experience in the private sector. But that experience ought to have taught her a thing or two about microeconomics, supply and demand, wages, consumer choice, and possibly even entrepreneurship. It should have taught her that government meddling does not build businesses and make them successful. The bar owner has no magic money tree to pay for her “stuff”.
Even though the country has shown that it can fall for a grift and con artist…and they love a nice smile, they don’t want a bartender charting our economic future based on wishful thinking. Race and gender should not drive who we vote for….
AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/24/2023 @ 6:02 amIn your brain how do you reconcile these twonstatements since most gun violemce in America is done by gang bangers with illegal guns?
NJRob (eacb83) — 4/24/2023 @ 6:06 amGuess there were consequences to that Dominion settlement:
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/24/tucker-carlson-fox-news-out
Appalled (dab02b) — 4/24/2023 @ 8:47 amAccording to Google splash page, I can restore coral reefs by simply listening. Seems optimistic
steveg (d5f84e) — 4/24/2023 @ 9:02 amThis follows the departure of Dan Bongino from Fox, ostensibly due to “failed contract negotiations. “
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/24/2023 @ 9:09 amThe Bongino situation could be thorny for Fox as in he having undergone cancer treatments very recently.
urbanleftbehind (78ca23) — 4/24/2023 @ 9:29 amI don’t see why, he wasn’t fired, and Bongino views the parting as amicable.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/24/2023 @ 9:43 am@231 simple I support gun control that takes guns out of the hands of white racists so blacks don’t need guns to shoot back at racism. Until then arm the black community so they can shoot back! No contradiction at all.
asset (2405ff) — 4/24/2023 @ 1:57 pm@230 Neither AOC or Bernie Sanders are real socialists they don’t advocate the government taking over the means of production. Real socialists the few that we have will tell you the difference between them and real socialists. Hey ;but most conservatives call biden and clinton card carrying members of the communist party. AOC believes in the social welfare state with capitalist regulation so they can;t continue to buy politicians and stop government regulation. Not everybody to the left of you is stalin or mao as most conservatives think.
asset (2405ff) — 4/24/2023 @ 2:07 pmAJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 4/24/2023 @ 6:02 am
It’s known as Modern Monetary Theory.
https://www.businessinsider.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-ommt-modern-monetary-theory-how-pay-for-policies-2019-1
But she also offered as options cutting back on military spending and raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Monetary_Theory
The whole history of the United States since 1933 is that deficits do NOT cause arise in interest rates. It s the Federal Reserve Board that controls interest rates. That’s undeniable.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/24/2023 @ 2:32 pmShe’s actually a failed politically connected entrepreneur.
She tried to start a subsidized children’s book publishing business that would publish books that had minority characters — supposedly they would sell more.
She never published a single book.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6791097/Alexandria-Ocasio-Cortezs-defunct-book-publishing-company-owes-1-870-taxes.html
https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/aoc-still-hasnt-paid-taxes-5-years-after-state-of-ny-issued-warrant-demanding-she-pay-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-brook-avenue-press
She did succeed later in something: running for Congress.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/24/2023 @ 2:39 pmhttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/us/politics/gop-immigration-house.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/24/2023 @ 2:42 pmImpeachment talk is cheap. Just. Do. It.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/24/2023 @ 2:58 pmReports are coming out that Ukraine has crossed the Dnipro River, near Kherson and may have reached Oleshky. If they can secure the beachhead, this gives them a land route to Crimea, and to roll up the Russians from the south.
God willing.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/24/2023 @ 4:26 pmSomeone who agrees with Kevin M.
It’s not.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/24/2023 @ 4:36 pmWell, gee, if Robert Reich agrees with me, I must be wrong.
This is a fallacy, of course, the inverted appeal to authority. There are plenty of others who agree, including Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney. Probably our host.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/24/2023 @ 5:01 pmAOC believes in the social welfare state with capitalist regulation
AOC believes in government controlling the means of production without formal seizure. Just that they take orders from their masters in government.
Her New Green Deal resolution demanded:
The resolution in Congress from Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) calls for a “10-year national mobilization” that would include:
* “Guaranteeing a job with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security to all people of the United States.”
* “Providing all people of the United States with — (i) high-quality health care; (ii) affordable, safe, and adequate housing; (iii) economic security; and (iv) access to clean water, clean air, healthy and affordable food, and nature.”
* “Providing resources, training, and high-quality education, including higher education, to all people of the United States.”
* “Meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources.”
* “Repairing and upgrading the infrastructure in the United States, including . . . by eliminating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions as much as technologically feasible.”
* “Building or upgrading to energy-efficient, distributed, and ‘smart’ power grids, and working to ensure affordable access to electricity.”
* “Upgrading all existing buildings in the United States and building new buildings to achieve maximal energy efficiency, water efficiency, safety, affordability, comfort, and durability, including through electrification.”
* “Overhauling transportation systems in the United States to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as much as is technologically feasible, including through investment in — (i) zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing; (ii) clean, affordable, and accessible public transportation; and (iii) high-speed rail.”
* “Spurring massive growth in clean manufacturing in the United States and removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and industry as much as is technologically feasible.”
* “Working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the United States to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible.”
These would require not only utter control of businesses, but a command economy and the regimentation of society not seen since, well, ever. It would make the WW2 efforts pale by comparison.
But, no, it’s not seizing the means of production, it’s commanding that everything everywhere be demolished tand the country rebuilt to government specs. Stalin didn’t even try this — he limited himself to destroying Russian agriculture and killing all the landowners.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/24/2023 @ 5:11 pmLink for above list: https://wapo.st/3ArH3Os
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/24/2023 @ 5:12 pm@223. Could be… it’s just odd that the ‘folks’ who ordered the consignment aren’t contesting the loss and remain unnamed. Especially as it’s a customs issue.
DCSCA (c35512) — 4/24/2023 @ 5:14 pm“the border is secure — and we are working day and night to make it more secure.
Well, OK. The nation is also secure from mass shooters, and we are working day and night to make it more secure.
I could have a lot of fun with this.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/24/2023 @ 5:15 pmActually, it was just a joke. But I doubt any of those you listed, least of all our host, would agree that Trump has committed treason. Certainly beginning in the 20th century, no one has been charged with treason for purely domestic crimes.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/24/2023 @ 5:32 pmKevin Williamson continues to dazzle with his writing:
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/wanderland/a-draconian-constitution/
norcal (15fce4) — 4/24/2023 @ 5:34 pmBoth Reich and yourself are engaging in political hyperbole, nothing more.
Rip Murdock (43f210) — 4/24/2023 @ 7:39 pmOOPS! ‘Once the rocket is up who cares where it comes down,’ eh, Von Musk? 😉
Starship Launch Absolutely Wrecked SpaceX’s Facilities, Photos Show
As SpaceX’s Starship took to the skies last week during its inaugural launch, its Super Heavy booster inflicted untold damage to the launch pad below, blasting through layers of concrete and dredging up watery folds of the Earth.
Photos of the aftermath stand as testament to the sheer forces generated by the most powerful rocket ever made — but they may also indicate that SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk didn’t do their due diligence in preparing the launchpad.
One viral image shows the concrete forming the topmost layer of the launchpad almost completely blown away, leaving behind only a skeleton of deformed rebar. Gaping beneath is a massive crater, where water can be seen flooding its moldering interior.
[DC note- FWIW, when the Saturn Vs were launched they scoured about half-an-inch of concrete and asbestos-covered brick off the flame trenches at the launch pads at the Cape.]
The saving grace is that despite the massive damage below, the launch tower remains mostly intact.Overall, it’s more damage than what SpaceX engineers — or at least their CEO — were anticipating.
Leading up to the launch date, Musk shared the mission’s “low” bar for success: “Just don’t blow up the launchpad,” he said in a live Twitter Spaces session, as quoted by Insider. After Starship’s launch, when it became immediately clear that the launchpad was anything but intact, Musk soon gave his tentative analysis.
“The engines when they throttled up may have shattered the concrete, rather than simply eroding it,” he said in a tweet on Friday. “We wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that [the concrete] would make it through one launch,” he added.
Ambitiously, the CEO wagered that SpaceX could launch again in one to two months, but some experts have estimated that it will take at least several months or longer. Given the timelines involved, it could end up being a costly setback for SpaceX, as NASA is hoping to use the Starship launch system during its crewed Artemis 3 mission to the lunar surface as soon as 2025.
It’s got to sting, then, that the massive damage may have been avoided had Musk decided to wait and implement a few precautions that are widely used in other big rocket launches, as some are arguing. One common solution, as experts have noted, would be a flame diverter or trench of some kind, that redirects the rocket exhaust and its massive acoustic energy away from damaging the vehicle and the launchpad. Ironically, in 2020, Musk tweeted that SpaceX was “aspiring to have no flame diverter,” adding that “this could turn out to be a mistake.”
Another would be a water deluge system, which uses water to dampen heat and acoustic energy — something that SpaceX has been flirting with. According to Musk, SpaceX started building a “massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount,” he said in a tweet, but that it “wasn’t ready in time.” Other heavy lift systems, like NASA’s powerful Space Launch System, and SpaceX’s very own Falcon 9 rocket, use either flame diverters or water deluge systems, according to SpaceFlight Now.
To make matters worse, the blowback from the lack of dampening extended far beyond solely damaging the launchpad. Just ask the residents of a nearby city, who were engulfed by a billowing cloud of dust and grime kicked up by the launch, plus a shattered window for good measure.
The inadequate launchpad could even be responsible for significant damage to Starship itself, as some have theorized, including popular YouTuber and rocket scientist Scott Manley in a recent video.
The unconfirmed theory goes that the concrete and dirt blasted into the air by the powerful rocket may have struck and damaged some of Starship’s engines, which could explain why at least three appeared to have failed just seconds after liftoff, as seen in the live broadcast. This cascaded into what onlookers witnessed and what SpaceX has since confirmed: the expendable Super Heavy booster, short a few engines, failed to separate from the Starship spacecraft and began losing altitude. SpaceX, in turn, ordered the rocket’s self-destruction.
The aerospace company, however, has yet to comment on whether concrete impacts were partially responsible for the engine failure. Still, despite Starship exploding, the launch has been mostly hailed by experts and fans as a success. Above all, it’s been framed as a necessary “learning experience,” in the words of former NASA official Daniel Dumbacher, speaking to The New York Times.
But on the other hand, it’s fairly standard procedure to include some sort of flame diverter or water deluge system for large rocket launches, Eric Roesch, an environmental compliance and risk assessment expert, told the publication, which makes it all the more puzzling why SpaceX completely forewent including either solutions.
All told, it’s a hard-learned lesson, but the data gathered from the inaugural flight, whether you view it as a success or failure, will undoubtedly prove invaluable for exciting launches in the hopefully near future. – https://futurism.com/
VIDEO SHOWS FALLING STARSHIP DEBRIS SMASHING A MINIVAN
https://futurism.com/the-byte/starship-debris-smashes-minivan
DCSCA (0a218d) — 4/25/2023 @ 11:21 amMeanwhile, Ispace of Japan has been unable to contact their Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander after the scheduled time of landing.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/25/science/ispace-moon-landing-japan
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/25/2023 @ 11:27 am@255. Spaceflight is hard.
DCSCA (56c896) — 4/25/2023 @ 11:39 amSo is the “ground” thing.
–Douglas Adams, HHGTTG
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 4/25/2023 @ 12:13 pmTrue: DeSantis is laser focused on securing victory for Russia.
DeSantis’ timing is really something, calling for a ceasefire after Russia’s offensive yielded paltry results and prior to Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive. Dumb, dumb move.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/26/2023 @ 5:16 pmPaul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/26/2023 @ 5:16 pm
The media’s lies are piling up, Montagu
Exact quote:
“It’s in everybody’s interest to try to get to a place where we can have a cease-fire”
headline from The Hill: “DeSantis urges ceasefire in Ukraine”
Politico: “Ron DeCeasefire: US presidential hopeful DeSantis calls for truce in Ukraine”
of course, you would swallow it whole
JF (5b79e7) — 4/26/2023 @ 6:34 pmIt’s a strategic decision for the Ukrainians to make.
Let DeSantis beat Mickey Mouse first.
nk (bb1548) — 4/26/2023 @ 6:57 pmLet DeSantis beat Mickey Mouse first.
… and Disney smiled.
“Do give my love to your president, will you? And Mrs. Coolidge too.” – Grand Duchess Gloriana [Peter Sellers] ‘The Mouse That Roared’ 1959
DCSCA (253e5b) — 4/26/2023 @ 7:33 pmA-10 as a bomb truck
“The A-10 Warthog will be able to employ 16 GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs, each against a separate target, on a single sortie.” These are high precision, 250 lbs weapons with a 40 mile range. Lower range than HIMARS, but way faster into position and back to safety
steveg (95b642) — 4/26/2023 @ 7:46 pmAin’t it the truth…
https://twitter.com/xenophonrocks/status/1651381361305960449?s=20
Colonel Haiku (f2b7e0) — 4/26/2023 @ 7:52 pmThat’s a distinction without a difference, JF. DeSantis needs to school himself on this “territorial dispute”.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/26/2023 @ 9:10 pmInteresting that the thrice-fired talk show host is trying to cast himself as The Repository of Truth.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/26/2023 @ 9:11 pmMore important than a ceasefire is a negotiation and a negotiated settlement, which can happen without or with a ceasefire.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/26/2023 @ 9:20 pmBut the real problem is that Putin is more interested in making demands than compromising toward a peaceful resolution. And it also doesn’t help that the belligerent doesn’t even recognize the existence of the entity he’s trying to conquer.
The only thing a ceasefire would accomplish is give the invader the space to resupply, redeploy, retool and rearm.
@Haiku@263 Any thoughts on how to stop the rich from controlling the country?
Nic (896fdf) — 4/26/2023 @ 9:24 pm“thrice-fired talk show host is trying to cast himself as The Repository of Truth.”
Yeah that short video is so self-serving. Tucker’s little expose on J6 was the truth or was it blatant propaganda, purposefully trying to mislead or confuse viewers into believing J6 was non-violent? The same with his spin on Putin’s “claim” on Ukraine or the U.S. pushing Russia to war. There’s a reason that Tucker’s monologues are featured on Russian TV and why the Russian minister quipped about Tucker now being available to join them. Tucker was not “debating” anything. He was pushing false narratives that were hurting the organization’s credibility while feeding a weirdly conspiracy-obsessed right-wing subculture. It’s clear with the Dominion settlement that the network has to be more careful and measured. It’s also clear that Tucker will try to stay relevant.
AJ_Liberty (078cb4) — 4/27/2023 @ 3:11 amShake-up underway at Teixeira’s National Guard unit.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/27/2023 @ 8:28 amAnd they still won’t be transferred to Ukraine.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/27/2023 @ 9:13 amNo RIP: Jerry Springer (79) has died. Popular culture is worse off because of him and his ilk.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/27/2023 @ 9:22 am@271. He was a lawyer, too. 😉
DCSCA (3f4c71) — 4/27/2023 @ 10:24 am@265. He’s gone.
Yet you still search out to ‘watch.’
‘Nuff said.
DCSCA (3f4c71) — 4/27/2023 @ 10:27 am51 years ago today… when America was still truly great, could lead, and showed the world why with actions, not rhetoric:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoQTYpAPAME
DCSCA (3f4c71) — 4/27/2023 @ 10:32 amNo RIP for Carolyn Bryant Donham (88):
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 4/27/2023 @ 10:33 amI didn’t “search” for his little video, DC, and you’re naive if you believe that Tucker is “gone”, not when a guy like Rogan can get a 9-figure Spotify deal.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 4/27/2023 @ 11:17 am@276. Pfft. Dream on. Echoes of Glenn Beck… Bill O’Reilly, etc., etc., etc. Love it when the truly ‘naive’ try to tell me my business:
“Suppose I tell you exactly what’s gonna happen to you. You’re gonna be back in television. Only it won’t be quite the same as it was before. There’ll be a reasonable cooling-off period and then somebody will say: “Why don’t we try him again in a inexpensive format. People’s memories aren’t too long.” And you know, in a way, he’ll be right. Some of the people will forget, and some of them won’t. Oh, you’ll have a show. Maybe not the best hour or, you know, top 10. Maybe not even in the top 35. But you’ll have a show. It just won’t be quite the same as it was before. Then a couple of new fellas will come along. And pretty soon, a lot of your fans will be flocking around them. And then one day, somebody’ll ask: “Whatever happened to, a, whatshisname? You know, the one who was so big. The number-one fella a couple of years ago. He was famous. How can we forget a name like that? Oh by the way, have you seen, a, Barry Mills? I think he’s the greatest thing since Will Rogers.” – Mel Miller [Walter Matthau] ‘A Face In The Crowd’ 1957
DCSCA (6aa83c) — 4/27/2023 @ 11:54 amCheck the bench, Paul: “… “Now in for Tucka Carlson”… Bill O’Reilly protege: Jesse Watters.”
Place your bets.
DCSCA (6aa83c) — 4/27/2023 @ 12:00 pm@268. Echoes of Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck as they were weeded out, withered and died away.
DCSCA (6aa83c) — 4/27/2023 @ 12:03 pmA Face in the Crowd is just a movie, DCSCA. A very good one (man, that Andy Griffith is good at playing a villain). But it hasn’t proved prescient on how these guys end up. (See Trump, Donald)
Tucker may fade and that’s extremely fine with me. We’ll see. In the meantime, Fox will dish up another Tucker for that time slot.
Appalled (d62bc5) — 4/27/2023 @ 12:50 pmMistakenly posted about these things in the Biden thread
1. Harry Belafonte has also died, yesterday morning, aged 96, of congestive heart failure in his Upper West Side Manhattan apartment.
2. The New York Times ran an obituary of Alton Maddox, in which they said some negative things about Al Sharpton
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/nyregion/alton-maddox-dead.html
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/27/2023 @ 1:39 pmOther stories of note: China causing scientific journals and websites to self censor (NYT)
Sudan abandonment.
A NYT article about how the way they make peace is all wrong. (I think NYT)
A ghost ship that crossed the Atlantic from Africa – all people aboard died.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 4/27/2023 @ 2:11 pm