Patterico's Pontifications

11/24/2023

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 12:04 pm

[guest post by Dana]

This is just a quick, fresh open thread. In light of two dozen Hamas-held hostages being released this morning, while many more are still being held, I’m just going to say that this Thanksgiving I have been specifically thankful for my peaceful little corner of the world where I don’t live in fear of terrorist organizations like Hamas, and terrorist states like Russia barbarically torturing and killing innocent citizens, kidnapping children, and taking hostages as they unleash brutal wars. And although I don’t know why it is, I am just so very grateful for that which I have been gifted.

Happy Thanksgiving.

–Dana

Comments (40)

40 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

Hello.
Dana (932d71) — 11/24/2023 @ 12:05 pm
We all hope for the best. Have are fingers crossed.
asset (6c278b) — 11/24/2023 @ 12:48 pm
It’s an open thread, and a malignant narcissist has more support from a major political party than the rest of the field combined. This is from Trump’s former lawyer, and it’s relevant so few in his first term would want to serve in his next term.

“He has never cared about America, its citizens, its future or anything but himself. In fact, as history well shows from his divisive lies, as well as from his unrestrained contempt for the rule of law and his related crimes, his conduct and mere existence have hastened the demise of democracy and of the nation,” Cobb wrote in an email. “Our adversaries and our allies both recognize that even his potential reelection diminishes America on the world stage and ensures continued acceleration of the domestic decline we are currently enduring. If that reelection actually happens, the consequences will extinguish what, if anything, remains of the American Dream.”

If he gets nominated and wins, it’ll be dregs and rags working for him. Please, nominate someone else.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 11/24/2023 @ 7:34 pm
Dana

Thanks for the reminder

My first bout of crying was in a great, wealthy country. A year later I was still fussing, toddling about in one of the nicest, safest, wealthiest, most beautiful areas of California.
Even with that, I did my best to screw it up and people came for me like emissaries from God himself. Some showed up in subtle ways and others kicked the door in like Delta Force doing a rescue.
I’m very grateful for the creation of forgiveness and embarrassed I’ve needed more than my share of it

I pray I’ll always be grateful that my Dad pulled up his roots in Flint, MI, packed up the station wagon with mom and us and drove Route 66 west to the coast and then turned north and burned another 1/2 tank of gas.
Grateful for the undeserved blessings that rained down again and again. Grateful for oddly specific answers to prayers… answers that came years later, and grateful that I remembered the prayers so I could say thank you.
steveg (e60113) — 11/24/2023 @ 8:41 pm
And to think we thought Nixon and Watergate was a national nightmare. Oh, for the good old days. For all his faults, Nixon was a patriot.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 11/24/2023 @ 9:41 pm
@5 since when is committing treason with clair chennault to sabotage peace negotiations to end the vietnam war to win the 1968 election Patriotism. LBJ played the treason tape to sen. dirksen.
asset (fe65b9) — 11/24/2023 @ 10:50 pm
convicted cop derek chauvin stabbed in prison. Will secret service be allowed in prison with their guns since they can be taken hostage? Giuliani and the other maggots won’t have any protection from the inmates.
asset (fe65b9) — 11/24/2023 @ 10:54 pm
Shakedown:

Hamas says it is delaying the handover of hostages on the second day of its truce with Israel as it disputes the amount of aid being delivered and selection of Palestinian prisoners being released.
………..

“The Al-Qassam Brigades decide to delay the release of the second batch of prisoners until the occupation adheres to the terms of the agreement related to the entry of relief trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, and due to the failure to adhere to the agreed-upon standards for releasing prisoners,” the military wing of Hamas said on Telegram.

…………..
Rip Murdock (cc585f) — 11/25/2023 @ 10:32 am
asset (fe65b9) — 11/24/2023 @ 10:50 pm

More hard-left echo chamber crap. Better evidence that LBJ ordered the hit on Kennedy.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 11/25/2023 @ 10:55 am
@9 No evidence LBJ ordered hit on kennady and you know this. The treason tape was played on cbs and I got to here the recording on tv. (from LBJ presidential library.
asset (2cbf2f) — 11/25/2023 @ 12:42 pm
asset (2cbf2f) — 11/25/2023 @ 12:42 pm

It must be true, I saw in JFK.
Rip Murdock (cc585f) — 11/25/2023 @ 1:40 pm
https://www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-21-at-8.29.13%E2%80%AFAM.png

A picture that says it all.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 11/25/2023 @ 5:14 pm
So, all are remarking on the 4yo girl who was released by Hamas. The reality, of course, is that this poor child witnessed the brutal murder of her parents and was held by monsters for well over a month. Imagine the trauma that she has undergone and the therapy she’ll require for quite some time. I guess she’s lucky that a brother and sister also survived, but my heart goes out to her.

And, in equal measure, my anger at the Hamas killers…
Kevin M (ed969f) — 11/26/2023 @ 10:34 am
There is something off bal The hostages are mostly kept in pods,ance with focusing only on the 220 or more taken prisoner and not so much on approximately five times ass many people hat number killed on October

Of course, the captives are people who (maybe) can still be saved, whie the people killed are gone from the world.

Hamas on November 16 gave the negotiators a list of 50 prisoners (20 women and 30 children I think) who might be released in the deal. One of them, Hanna Katzir, aged 76, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was declared dead by Islamic Jihad (supposedly killed by Israeli bombing) a few days ago, but they lied. She was released in the first 13 on Friday. Twelve of those 13 came from Kibbutz Nir Oz. We already knew the captives were kept in pods.

.
Sammy Finkelman (f1a67c) — 11/26/2023 @ 11:21 am
The New York Times has gotten Community Noted with their misleading comparison of casualties in Gaza and Ukraine.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 11/26/2023 @ 8:47 pm
3 palestinian american students gun down while walking home for thanksgiving at relatives. Doesn’t help the narrative that only anti-semetic attacks are happening. Aipac leaders home in brentwood under attack in retaliation.
asset (e1fd17) — 11/26/2023 @ 11:10 pm
@16

3 palestinian american students gun down while walking home for thanksgiving at relatives. Doesn’t help the narrative that only anti-semetic attacks are happening. Aipac leaders home in brentwood under attack in retaliation.

asset (e1fd17) — 11/26/2023 @ 11:10 pm

That’s horrible, and I hope the authorities finds the shooters and throw away the keys.
whembly (5f7596) — 11/27/2023 @ 7:31 am
Don’t scare white people by trying to look like Ham Ass terrorists (bearded Palestinian youths in their early 20s wearing kaffiyehs). Actually, don’t scare white people, period.

And what does the Jewish guy attacked in his home in Brentwood California, have to do with a shooting in Burlington Vermont? Oops, I forgot. This is Ham Ass. They shoot up the airport in Athens, Greece because King Hussein threw them out of Jordan.
nk (bb1548) — 11/27/2023 @ 8:23 am
That’s horrible, and I hope the authorities finds the shooters and throw away the keys.

It was one shooter and he’s under arrest.

asset’s shtick is never a slave to the facts.
nk (bb1548) — 11/27/2023 @ 8:29 am
Sec. cardona leaves out first part of reagan’s quote saying were here from the government and we are here to help you. A better quote is from herbert hoover Were here from the government and we are not here to help you. Clear the bonus army veterans off the mall gen. Macarthur.
asset (ef3831) — 11/27/2023 @ 10:49 pm
China brings back masks & social distancing in chilling echo of lockdown over mystery outbreak 4 years on from Covid

Alarming footage has emerged of mask-wearing crowds inside Chinese hospitals as fears of a new pandemic sweep across the globe.

Areas in the north of the country such as Beijing and Liaoning have been hit the hardest, with reports emerging last week that hospitals are being overwhelmed with sick children.

A common bacterial infection called mycoplasma pneumoniae has circulated since May but is now showing ground glass opacity in lung scans – an indicator of severe respiratory illness.

Also known as “white lung syndrome”, many parents are deeply worried and are having to wait at least a day just for emergency care.

But China continues to insist that flu and the usual winter bugs are to blame for the latest outbreak, rather than a new virus, and can cope with the spike in sickness.

I’m sure they’re being open and honest about it.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 11/28/2023 @ 5:30 pm
Liz cheney says in new book says republicans refer to trump as the ORANGE JESUS!
asset (6c2113) — 11/28/2023 @ 5:53 pm
This story is major news wrt the Israel-Hamas war, and it shows that Netanyahu needs to be run out of office.

Unlike 9/11, where we had “chatter” but no actionable intelligence, the Israelis had actionable intelligence in the form of a 40-page document for a year, and the battle plan in the document hewed closely to the actual attack.

Instead of taking it seriously, Netanyahu focused efforts on the West Bank, which suited his hard right constituency. Like with Trump, where getting elected and staying in office keeps him out of jail, ditto for Bibi.

Israel needs a new prime minister who has a similar wartime objective: To rid Gaza of Hamas, and while attempting to minimize the loss of civilian life.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 12/1/2023 @ 6:06 am
Despite there are still females held hostage, Hamas started firing rockets and killed the “truce”. An easy conclusion is that they’re either dead or raped or both.

These Israeli statements are deliberately muted. Here’s what is actually going on: Hamas still has women hostages to trade, which is a violation of the pause agreement, and which they could free to buy another few days. The reason they’re not is because they raped, tortured, and mutilated them so badly it’d be evidence of war crimes. The Israelis don’t want to outline the broader picture in explicit terms because 1, it’s horrific and 2, they don’t want the headache of sociopath children Western reporters being like “Israel claims without proof.”

Slate has more on the systematic rape that occurred on 10/7 by Hamas terrorists.
Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 12/1/2023 @ 6:24 am
Let’s hope 2022 is the start of a trend:

Average life expectancy in the U.S. increased by more than a year in 2022, but it still has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

U.S. life expectancy was 77.5 years, researchers found, up 1.1 years from 2021. The increase did not overcome a loss of 2.4 years in life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, which has largely been attributed to excess deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Life expectancy fell in the last year or two that Obama was president.

Do I blame him for that? To some extent. (There’s a hint in that “largely”.)
Jim Miller (681f3a) — 12/1/2023 @ 6:51 am
In other (DeSantis-Newsome debate) thread:

asset (e9353b) — 11/30/2023 @ 10:40 pm

Nothing about nyt article about fox’s friend netanyahu knowing in advance that hamas would attack for almost a year and did nothing

The New York Times specifically says it had no knowledge of whether or not ann of that made it up to his level. But the approximately 40 page document, which the Israelis code named “Jericho Wall” circulated widely among Israel’s top military and intelligence officials. It did not contain any date, indicating that this was not an operational plan yet, and dealt only with the part about penetrating the border, and overrunning military bases and cities (they did get into Sderot) but not for what they would do once they were there, and had, and no indication of its purpose but one analyst said this had to be a plan to start a war.

Many elements were carried out: The rocket attacks at the start, the drones to knock out the cameras and the automated machine guns triggered by a breach, and for gunmen to pour in en masse on motorcycles, on foot and on paragliders.

It was dismissed as beyond Hamas’s capabilities and on the grounds that Hamas had shown no signs of having accepted it. In July, about three months before the attack, an analyst noticed that Hamas had begun doing training that matched the plan, but even she did not state that it was so close in time.

Hamas (or Iran, or Russia) probably had spies with access to Israeli military information because the plan had information about the location and size of Israeli military forces and communication hubs and more.

even after 3 days before attack egyptian intelligence phoned netanyahu.

There’s nothing like that in the NYT article – oor anywhere I know. Maybe you are mixing it up with warnings, at various times, about the 1973 war, by a spy Israel had in Egypt and by King Hussein of Jordan?
Sammy Finkelman (f1a67c) — 12/1/2023 @ 8:25 am
Jim Miller (681f3a) — 12/1/2023 @ 6:51 am

Life expectancy fell in the last year or two that Obama was president.

Do I blame him for that? To some extent. (There’s a hint in that “largely”.)

Around 2012 he cracked down on Oxycontin prescribing, which drove people already addicted to the illegal market, and at first each variety if fentanyl had to be declared illegaal separately so it was whack-a-mole and fentanyl could even be mailed into the United States, It was easier to overdose on fentanyl than heroin.
Sammy Finkelman (f1a67c) — 12/1/2023 @ 8:30 am
RIP former Associate Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (93).
Rip Murdock (b88d19) — 12/1/2023 @ 8:32 am
, Hamas started firing rockets and killed the “truce”. An easy conclusion is that they’re either dead or raped or both.

Some are but I think Israel lost an opportunity to get some more out by insisting that Hamas provide a list of hostages.
Sammy Finkelman (f1a67c) — 12/1/2023 @ 8:32 am
RIP: Sandra Day O’Connor, 93

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/sandra-day-oconnor-dead-dies-rcna127589
Kevin M (ed969f) — 12/1/2023 @ 8:33 am
Expelled: George Santos (R-NY)

311-114
Kevin M (ed969f) — 12/1/2023 @ 9:07 am
Chaya Raichik @ChayaRaichik10

They won’t expel Swalwell, Schiff, Omar, Tlaib, Bowman for actual treason but they’ll expel Santos. This is why we lose. I’m so sick of cowardly and spineless Republicans!!!!
NJRob (411e10) — 12/1/2023 @ 9:09 am
Stolen Valor Blumenthal and child molester Menendez are still serving in good standing.
NJRob (411e10) — 12/1/2023 @ 9:14 am
They won’t expel Swalwell, Schiff, Omar, Tlaib, Bowman for actual treason………..

At least the House waited until an indictment and Ethics investigation before expulsion. . Are any of the above under investigation or indicted for anything? Obviously the Xer doesn’t know what “actual treason” is.

Personally I would have waited until Santos was convicted before expelling him, but the N.Y. Republicans were too embarrassed. That seat was just turned over to the Democrats for at least the next few elections.
Rip Murdock (b88d19) — 12/1/2023 @ 9:20 am
Obviously the Xer doesn’t know what “actual treason” is.

Cut her some slack. She’s a former real estate agent.
Rip Murdock (b88d19) — 12/1/2023 @ 9:24 am
Fun fact: While both were at Stanford, O’Conner dated fellow law student William Rehnquist for a while.
Kevin M (ed969f) — 12/1/2023 @ 9:33 am
Rip,

why are you yet again having a conversation with yourself. MPD?
NJRob (411e10) — 12/1/2023 @ 9:38 am
They won’t expel Swalwell, Schiff, Omar, Tlaib, Bowman for actual treason but they’ll expel Santos. This is why we lose. I’m so sick of cowardly and spineless Republicans!!!!

House Republicans are free to introduce expulsion resolutions against all five; however, (sadly) they do not have the required 2/3 majority to do so.
Rip Murdock (b88d19) — 12/1/2023 @ 10:02 am
Rip,

why are you yet again having a conversation with yourself. MPD?

Revising and extending my remarks.😉
Rip Murdock (b88d19) — 12/1/2023 @ 10:04 am
They want to limit expulsion so that it shouldn’t be done for political reasons. The 2/3 majority requirement is a big preventative all by itself.

I think good reasons for expulsion are:

1) When the member in question disrupts proceedings or worse in a way that can be expected to continue.

2) When the member took bribes to vote a certain way or do something else as part of his duties in Congress.

These two things cannot be tolerated.

3) When the member did something illegal to get elected. (Santos did not, as his stealing from his campaign didn’t help him.)

I don’t think whether he has been convicted or indicted matters.

What matters is what the member voting on it believes, and the member should not rely on some else but be convinced of the fact independently
themselves.

On the other hand, merely being convicted of some felony should not be grounds for expulsion from Congress. It depends on what the felony was.

After all, a majority of the country probably does not believe that being convicted of a felony should disqualify anyone from the office of president. They really do not believe that. Donald Trump being convicted of something will not affect very many votes.

Of course the way it is now, in practical terms, the standards for being a member of Congress are higher than that for being president, and the standard for vice president is the highest of all. </B.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 12/1/2023 @ 10:33 am

11/24/2023

Weekend Open Thread

40 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

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