Patterico's Pontifications

1/26/2024

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:22 am



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Russia must pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine:

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced legislation Wednesday to allow the U.S. to seize frozen Russian assets to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The top Democrat and Republican on the panel were confident that Senate leadership viewed the legislation, called the REPO Act, as a priority for passage amid stalled efforts to deliver on further assistance for Ukraine.

Note: The vote was 20 to 1, with Sen. Rand Paul voting “no”.

It’s been said before, but can’t be said enough:

Whatever the price of helping Ukraine is, it’s cheaper than fixing the world if Ukraine doesn’t win.

Second news item

But will it produce good journalists?:

The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY is going tuition-free, its namesake Craig Newmark and the school’s dean, Graciela Mochkofsky, told Axios.

…It will be the first journalism graduate school to offer a tuition-free program — a move intended to help widen opportunities for journalists from more diverse backgrounds.

“If we’re serious about the future of trustworthy journalism as democracy’s immune system, we’ve got to create ways to make the pipeline and product more resilient to economics and shifting moods. Endowments help do that,” Newmark said.

The lofty “journalism as democracy’s immune system” is new to me. So much could be said…

Third news item

Supreme Court rules on wire barrier in Texas:

A divided Supreme Court on Monday temporarily allowed the Biden administration to remove a wire barrier Texas placed at the U.S.-Mexico border, amid a dispute over Border Patrol’s access to Eagle Pass.

The brief 5-4 order vacated a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that had prevented Border Patrol agents from cutting the concertina wire along the Rio Grande, part of a legal fight between Texas and the federal government over immigration enforcement in that area.

Twenty-five Republican governors are supporting Texas. And Donald Trump has entered the fray too, encouraging states to send their troops to the border.

Fourth news item

Raise your hand if you’re surprised:

The United States on Friday suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the humanitarian body that works with Palestinians, in light of allegations that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel…“Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general, said…The Biden administration, a strong supporter of UNRWA, said on Friday it is taking the allegations seriously.

“The United States is extremely troubled by the allegations that twelve UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. “The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.”

Ah:

Fifth news item

But wait, they keep telling us that Israel is the problem, not the Jews:

A pair of Jewish-owned businesses in Scarsdale, N.Y., nearby a Jewish community center were vandalized overnight on Wednesday by an unknown vandal who spray painted “genocide supporter” on their front windows…The incident took place inside the congressional district represented by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a critic of Israel who has himself accused Israel of genocide…Hundreds of community members turned out on Thursday to show their support for the two businesses…Law enforcement officials are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.

Read the whole thing to see Bowman’s response, as well as his primary opponent (and Israel supporter) Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s response to the anti-Semitism.

Sixth news item

Not good news for Evan Gershkovich:

A court in Moscow Friday extended the pretrial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until the end of March, meaning the journalist will spend at least a year behind bars in Russia.

United States Consul General Stuart Wilson attended the hearing at Lefortovo District Court, which took place behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified.

In video shared by state news agency Ria Novosti, Gershkovich was shown listening to the ruling, standing in a court cage wearing a hooded top and light blue jeans. He was pictured a short time later walking towards a prison van to leave the court.

The RSF accuses Gershkovich of “acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”

The report notes that espionage trials can last for more than a year in Russia.

Seventh news item

They seem pretty proud, don’t they:

Have a great weekend!

–Dana

383 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Happy Friday!

    Dana (8e902f)

  2. World Court Rejects Demand for Gaza Cease-Fire
    …………
    In a series of near-unanimous votes, the world court on Friday ordered Israel to ensure that its military not violate the Genocide Convention, and that it punish incitement to genocide and report back to The Hague on its compliance. But the court stopped short of ordering the fundamental objective South Africa and its allies sought: an end to Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7 attacks Hamas launched from Gaza.

    The court also called for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages Hamas took from Israel.
    …………
    At its core, however, Friday’s decision orders Israel to comply with treaty obligations the country says it already honors. The world court’s emphasis on taking all measures to avoid harm to civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza’s population echoes calls from Biden administration officials for Israel to mitigate the damage inflicted by its military campaign.
    ………….
    Judges voting for the court’s full order came from countries that have supported Israel, including Australia, France and Germany, as well as from Arab and developing nations aligned with Palestinian cause, such as Brazil, Lebanon, Morocco and Somalia. Judges from America’s rival superpowers, China and Russia, joined the majority, as did the temporary judge South Africa appointed to sit on the case.

    Only the Ugandan judge, Julia Sebutinde, dissented across the board. ………
    …………..
    ………… Speaking earlier this month in Tel Aviv, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the accusation “particularly galling, given that those who are attacking Israel—Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, as well as their supporter, Iran—continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews.”
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  3. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced legislation Wednesday to allow the U.S. to seize frozen Russian assets to pay for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

    McConnell has evidently decided to go this way.

    If this requires legislation, it still may not pass the House, but will if there will a coalition of Republicans and Democrats voting for it.

    It may even pass under the 2/3 requirement for suspension of the rules.

    It may be the last thing the House does for several weeks.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  4. And Donald Trump has entered the fray too, encouraging states to send their troops to the border.

    Because the average MAGA supporter does not see anything wrong with that, and neither Biden nor Haley will dare to argue against it (except in court, on legal grounds).

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  5. I am surprised that the United States on Friday suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, but not that some of its employees are members of Hamas and/or were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel or in holding hostages from Israel.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  6. Re: “Russia must pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine:” No! No! No! Elect DJT and make Mexico pay for it!

    John Boddie (dcf99c)

  7. I’m happy to roll my eyes at Lauren Boebert and the rest of that Colorado MAGA crew for expressing pride in being arrested for I guess whatever protesting they think they have done. But I think it’s fair to note that our current President has actually lied to us about being arrested in support of his make-believe activism, and plenty of progressives such as the AOC and Bernie Sanders types take a great deal of pride in their various arrests, even to the point of pretending to be handcuffed. So apparently among the activist class, both left-wing and right-wing, getting arrested is proof positive of your [self-]righteousness.

    JVW (1ad43e)

  8. RIP Harry Connick, Sr. (97). Father of musician-actor Harry Connick, Jr.; longest serving New Orleans district attorney (30 years), he defeated Jim Garrison (known for his investigations into the assassination of John F. Kennedy) in 1973.

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  9. Need help accessing this on a desktop. Is that possible?

    https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-ywpd4-1d0934ed

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  10. The much nicer Dana wrote:

    The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY is going tuition-free, its namesake Craig Newmark and the school’s dean, Graciela Mochkofsky, told Axios.

    …It will be the first journalism graduate school to offer a tuition-free program — a move intended to help widen opportunities for journalists from more diverse backgrounds.

    “If we’re serious about the future of trustworthy journalism as democracy’s immune system, we’ve got to create ways to make the pipeline and product more resilient to economics and shifting moods. Endowments help do that,” Newmark said.

    The lofty “journalism as democracy’s immune system” is new to me. So much could be said…

    Tuition-free journalism schools would be very appropriate when we consider that so many journalists are becoming paycheck-free.

    Dana (bacf72)

  11. RIP Russell Hambler (99); last surviving original member of Merrill’s Marauders:

    Russell “Huck” Hamler, an adventurous young man who grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, volunteered for the Army on his 18th birthday in June 1942. He was assigned as a private to a unit in Puerto Rico, far from the front lines of World War II.

    When he learned that the Army was seeking volunteers in “a high state of physical ruggedness” for a dangerous mission in an unspecified location, he put up his hand. It was simple, he said later: “You joined the Army to fight the war.”
    ………….
    The hastily trained and often ragtag unit lugged packs along twisting trails over mountain passes, endured ravenous leeches and tropical diseases, chopped through bamboo thickets and won battles against highly experienced Japanese forces. The Marauders’ most famous exploit was capturing the strategic Myitkyina airstrip in May 1944, an accomplishment described by Winston Churchill as “a brilliant feat of arms.”
    …………

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  12. For those who conveniently forgotten or simply don’t care, here’s a good starting list of Biden disasters:
    https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/20/a-scandal-for-every-month-the-biggest-botches-failures-and-mess-ups-of-joe-bidens-first-12-months-in-office/

    A Scandal For Every Month: The Biggest Botches, Failures, And Mess-Ups Of Joe Biden’s First 12 Months In Office

    January: Biden’s Radical First Week

    February: Biden’s CDC Worked to Keep Schools Closed

    March: Working With Corporations to Create Vax Passports

    April: Biden Debuts Radical Social Spending Plan

    May: More Unsavory Hunter Exploits Emerge

    June: Record-Setting Crisis at the Southern Border

    July: Bragging about Working with Big Tech to Silence Dissent

    August: Bungled Afghanistan Withdrawal

    September: Biden Lies to Undermine His Own Border Patrol Agents

    October: Biden’s Ed Secretary, DOJ Collude with NSBA to Smear Parents as Domestic Terrorists

    November: That Tyrannical, Unconstitutional OSHA Vax Mandate

    December: Supply Chain and Inflation Nightmare

    https://thefederalist.com/2023/01/20/a-disaster-for-every-month-the-worst-scandals-abuses-and-embarrassments-of-joe-bidens-second-year-in-office/

    A Disaster For Every Month: The Worst Scandals, Abuses, And Embarrassments Of Joe Biden’s Second Year In Office

    January: Biden Compared Filibuster Defenders to Historical Racists

    February: Incompetent Response to Russia-Ukraine War

    March: Hunter Biden Corruption Scandal Resurfaces as NYT Admits Laptop’s Legitimacy

    April: Biden Admin Debuts Thought Police Board

    May: White House ‘Encourages’ Intimidation of SCOTUS Justices

    June: Gas Prices Surpass $5 in Record High

    July: The Joe Biden Recession Becomes Official

    August: Biden’s FBI Raids a Former President

    September: Biden’s FBI Raids Pro-Life Dad

    October: Illegal Immigration Closes Worst Fiscal Year in History

    November: Biden Buys Votes with Unconstitutional Student Loan Bailout

    December: ‘Twitter Files’ Show Biden Asked Big Tech for Censorship

    https://thefederalist.com/2024/01/26/a-crisis-for-every-month-the-worst-debacles-disgraces-and-literal-train-wrecks-of-bidens-third-year/

    A Crisis For Every Month: The Worst Debacles, Disgraces, And (Literal) Train Wrecks Of Biden’s Third Year

    January: Classified Documents Scandal

    February: Biden Snubs East Palestine After Train Disaster

    Honorable mention: February also saw the Biden administration allow a Chinese spy balloon to float across the continental U.S. before attempting to blame the security failure on the Trump administration.

    March: Biden Admin Sympathizes with Transgender School Shooter

    April: Biden’s Secretary of State Revealed to Be Behind Infamous Laptop ‘Disinfo’ Letter

    May: Biden Rejects His 4-Year-Old Grandchild

    June: Whistleblowers and FD-1023 Accuse Bidens of Influence-Peddling, Bribery

    July: Cocaine in the White House

    Honorable mention: Said plea deal fell apart after a judge’s questions revealed it to be an obvious attempt by Biden’s DOJ to give his son a slap on the wrist while quietly protecting both Bidens.

    August: Biden Sunburns at the Beach After Maui’s Beaches Burn

    September: Biden’s Border Crisis Breaks New Record (Again)

    October: Biden’s Party Shows Itself to Be Full of Antisemitic Terrorist Sympathizers

    Honorable mention: Bidenomics continued to squeeze Americans’ wallets as the average mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 8 percent, higher than homebuyers had seen it since 2000.

    November: $40,000 Discovered from Communist China to Joe’s Bank Account

    December: Impeachment Inquiry Kicks Off

    whembly (5f7596)

  13. Bad New Yrk City police and jail bills vetoed by Mayor Adams (Speaker pressing all buttons to override the vetoes)

    One would require police to note down age race sex and reason for any person they question about anything – the other would eliminate most isolation in jails

    https://abc7ny.com/eric-adams-nyc-council-veto-override/14353170/

    https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/01/23/nyc-council-members-rally-against-mayor-adams-how-many-stops-veto-as-he-tries-to-scuttle-override/

    Pro-crime legislation, not even pro criminal.
    v

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  14. December: Impeachment Inquiry Kicks Off

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/26/2024 @ 1:33 pm

    And it’s almost February. When do you expect the public impeachment hearings to begin?

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  15. Re:Arrested.

    Being proud of having an arrest record -for a pol – usually means that it was for an “honorable” cause. Y’know, like saving the whales, preventing a cop from choking a woman. I bet you can find many Dems who tout their arrest records. Civil rights era, for one.

    felipe (5045ed)

  16. When black people complain that kkk is spray painted on their windows is racism most of you say they did it themselves. A statue of jacky robinson was destroyed in kansas nothing about that here. I see it also happens to muslims if not as wide spread. You better worry about younger people supporting palestine over Israel many even support hamas. That is a threat not this vandalism. The old anti-semitism stuff won’t work on this problem. Also Israel found 13 aid workers out of how many thousands hamas supporters. U.S. cut aid and unrwa fired the workers Israel said were hamas. As someone who is reluctantly supporting Israel because the destruction of hamas is best solution for everyone though it seems harder to achieve and 25,000 dead palestinians mostly women and children is terrible. It apparently cost to much money to question the muslim religions role in this.

    asset (615290)

  17. God’s army to fight the immigrants are on their way to texas. (DU) This should be interesting as mr. spock says.

    asset (615290)

  18. @16

    December: Impeachment Inquiry Kicks Off

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/26/2024 @ 1:33 pm

    And it’s almost February. When do you expect the public impeachment hearings to begin?

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc) — 1/26/2024 @ 1:49 pm

    Probably soon after Hunter is deposed behind closed door deposition.

    Which if Hunter’s smart, he assert his 5th Amendment right on just about everything as he’s still embroiled in litigation.

    So, public hearings something in spring and a vote to impeach early summer?

    whembly (5f7596)

  19. even to the point of pretending to be handcuffed

    JVW (1ad43e) — 1/26/2024 @ 12:19 pm

    I wonder what asset thinks about this bit of fakery by AOC. The ends justify the means?

    norcal (7f77ce)

  20. Rip Murdock (c27dcc) — 1/26/2024 @ 1:47 pm

    More:

    The jury found Trump should pay Carroll compensatory damages of $18.3 million — $11 million to fund a reputational repair campaign and $7.3 million for the emotional harm caused by Trump’s 2019 public statements.

    Trump should also pay $65 million in punitive damages for acting maliciously in making the statements about Carroll, the jury found.

    The total is more than eight times what Carroll asked for in her initial lawsuit.

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  21. Probably soon after Hunter is deposed behind closed door deposition.

    Only if H. Biden provides evidence implicating his father. All of his other business dealings are irrelevant.

    With a two vote margin it’s popcorn time.

    Truth be told, impeaching Biden is probably the only way to increase his poll numbers.

    Rip Murdock (4986b7)

  22. Hunter Biden associate says president “never involved” in business dealings

    Hunter Biden business associate Rob Walker told Congress on Friday that President Biden “while in office or as a private citizen — was never involved in any of the business activities we pursued.”
    ………..
    “To be clear, President Biden – while in office or as a private citizen – was never involved in any of the business activities we pursued,” Walker told the House Oversight and House Judiciary committee during a closed-door deposition, according to his opening statement obtained by Axios.
    ………..
    “Based on what has transpired through this inquiry to date, I am very concerned that what I say here today may be taken out of context to further a political objective, rather than to discover the truth,” he said.
    ……….

    Sad!

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  23. When black people complain that kkk is spray painted on their windows is racism most of you say they did it themselves

    Asset, you have a bit of a habit making these sorts of gross generalizations. I think you should stop.

    Dana (8e902f)

  24. Bobert’s arrests weren’t for something honorable like fighting for civil rights. To the contrary.

    Dana (8e902f)

  25. Rip Murdock (c27dcc) — 1/26/2024 @ 2:27 pm

    The Knives Are Out:
    ………..
    Less than 10 months away from the 2024 election, (James Comer’s) impeachment investigation is barreling toward its conclusion, with no smoking gun to bring the president to his knees. Only one thing is clear: Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has lost the trust of some in his own party.

    “One would be hard pressed to find the best moment for James Comer in the Oversight Committee,” one House Republican lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to maintain internal relationships, told The Messenger. “It’s been a parade of embarrassments.”

    Republican sources have a problem with what the investigation has not accomplished. The probe has taken a winding road, jetting off into different paths of inquiry, some more obscure than others……….Republicans at the highest level of the party criticize the chairman’s unfocused investigation.
    …………
    (Republicans) now fear Comer’s mismanagement of the inquiry has ruined the GOP party’s opportunity to score a much-ballyhooed election-year victory of impeaching the president, one source close to House GOP leadership said.

    “James Comer continues to embarrass himself and House Republicans. He screws up over and over and over,” the source said. “I don’t know how Republicans actually impeach the president based on his clueless investigation and lack of leadership.”
    ………….
    Republicans also have grown tired of Comer’s frequent TV hits on conservative networks like Fox News and Newsmax in which they say he promises bombshell information, but then fails to produce impeachable evidence to meet the bar he himself has set too high.
    ………..
    But for Comer’s critics, perhaps the biggest issue is the calendar. Less than 10 months out from the 2024 election, the investigation into the president and his family (which began even before an impeachment inquiry was opened last September) has dragged on since the GOP took over the House last January.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  26. Post 27 should have been blockquoted.

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  27. So apparently among the activist class, both left-wing and right-wing, getting arrested is proof positive of your [self-]righteousness.
    JVW (1ad43e) — 1/26/2024 @ 12:19 pm

    I wish I had read your comment first, JVW; you nailed it.

    felipe (5045ed)

  28. Meanwhile, in Georgia:

    https://www.ajc.com/politics/pressure-on-willis-grows-as-critics-seize-on-allegations-of-impropriety/NC7XFRX2K5AIZL73GYPY2JPM2Y/

    She needs to either blow the charges out of the water or come fully clean. And even if she does, she will probably have to fire her investigator at a minimum.

    Appalled (7b84e3)

  29. https://www.thecollegefix.com/people-of-color-cant-be-racist-uw-madison-teaches-law-students/

    A mandatory diversity training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison teaches students “people of color” cannot be racist against white people.

    The first-year law student training, developed by consultant Debra Leigh, also says it is racist for someone to say they are colorblind – and to ask for help with not being racist.

    The list, required reading prior to the “Re-Orientation” includes 28 ways in which certain attitudes and behaviors “indicate a detour or wrong turn into white guilt, denial or defensiveness.” Students were also asked to fill out a “race timeline worksheet” with at least “7 significant moments” that were connected to race and identity.

    Poisoning the minds of our young.

    NJRob (981b1d)

  30. @30

    Meanwhile, in Georgia:

    https://www.ajc.com/politics/pressure-on-willis-grows-as-critics-seize-on-allegations-of-impropriety/NC7XFRX2K5AIZL73GYPY2JPM2Y/

    She needs to either blow the charges out of the water or come fully clean. And even if she does, she will probably have to fire her investigator at a minimum.

    Appalled (7b84e3) — 1/26/2024 @ 2:51 pm

    She needs to step down and her office be barred from taking over.

    The AG should then nominate a replacement to take over…and the sooner that happens the better.

    Any more delays seriously puts any resolution before the election out of reach.

    whembly (5f7596)

  31. On cnn a video shows a palestinian mother holding a child’s hand walking out of building waving a white flag and is gunned down by Israeli soldiers. Three other video show palestinians waving white flags who are killed by IDF soldiers. Earlier on the west bank an unarmed palestinian civilian is shot dead by Israeli settlers saying this is our land now. I have pointed out that likud charter says Israel from the river to the sea. I am sure spray painting genocide supporter on window is more important and charging a person in NYC with harassment for harassing an egyptian street vender over gaza is a miscarriage of justice.

    asset (996661)

  32. @21 Guerrilla theater and is used against her. The ends do justify the means. BUT! a lot of times the ends are not justifiable.

    asset (996661)

  33. @25 my bad I should have said some.

    asset (996661)

  34. @29 When ralph waldo emerson visited his friend henry david thoreau in jail for opposing the mexican war. Emerson asked thoreau reproachfully “what are you doing in here?” Thoreau replied to his friend who also opposed the mexican war “What are you doing out there?” As Paster nemoller famously said when they came for me their was nobody left to say anything. Theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer was executed for opposing nazism.

    asset (996661)

  35. Any more delays seriously puts any resolution before the election out of reach.

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/26/2024 @ 3:50 pm

    You don’t think that replacing the prosecution team will result in a trial delay? Seriously?

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  36. Crocodile tears.

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  37. Goodbye:

    Former Los Angeles City Councilmember José Luis Huizar was sentenced today to 156 months (13 years) in federal prison for using his powerful position at City Hall to enrich himself and his associates, as well as for cheating on his taxes.

    Huizar, 55, of Boyle Heights, was sentenced by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who also ordered him to pay $443,905 in restitution to the City of Los Angeles and $38,792 in restitution to the IRS. Judge Walter ordered Huizar to surrender to federal authorities no later than April 30.

    At today’s hearing, Judge Walter said public corruption carries “the real potential to destroy the delicate fabric of our democracy” and causes the public “to disengage in the democratic process” and “give up all hope of participating” with the government.

    Huizar pleaded guilty in January 2023 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and one count of tax evasion. ……
    …………..
    For years, Huizar led what prosecutors in court documents called the CD-14 Enterprise, a criminal conspiracy that operated a pay-to-play scheme with three key goals: gain financial enrichment through bribes, maintain Huizar’s political power, and avoid detection by law enforcement.

    ……….. Huizar – assisted by others – sought nearly $2 million worth of benefits in bribes from real estate developers and their proxies.

    The benefits ranged from cash bribes, casino gambling chips, prostitution services, political contributions, flights on private jets and commercial airlines, stays at luxury hotels and casinos, expensive meals, tickets to concerts and sporting events, and other things of value. In exchange for these benefits, Huizar used his positions of public office to take official acts and give favorable treatment towards the projects of the paying real estate developers.
    …………
    Other defendants charged alongside Huizar in the indictment are:
    …………

    Huizar will be eligible for release after serving 10 years.

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  38. Judge Lewis Kaplan had just a few short words to share with the jury moments after they issued a whopping $83.3 million verdict against Donald Trump in the defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

    “My advice to you is that you never disclose that you were on this jury,” Kaplan said.

    That foreboding warning—which sounds more like something you’d expect to hear in a trial against a mob boss rather than a former president—is just one of many extraordinary measures that Kaplan has taken to keep his jury safe. Prior to the trial’s start, Kaplan also decided to keep the jury partially sequestered and fully anonymous, instructing them not to use their real names even with one another. https://newrepublic.com/post/178508/judge-e-jean-carroll-trial-gives-jury-ominous-warning-trump-verdict

    Not within a mile of the White House.

    nk (35f212)

  39. The report notes that espionage trials can last for more than a year in Russia.

    The one in Florida is taking that long, too.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  40. Members of the Missouri senate republican freedom caucus sponsor bill to bring back dueling so they can kill members they disagree with or vote against them. (du) guardian.

    asset (996661)

  41. The Banana Republic blueprint

    Venezuela’s Supreme Court, loyal to President Nicolas Maduro’s government, on Friday, January 26, disqualified opposition leader Maria Corina Machado – who handily won a 2023 primary vote – from seeking election this year. The court upheld a 15-year ban on Machado, 56, from holding public office and also confirmed the ineligibility of a possible opposition stand-in – two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles. The United States and others have repeatedly called for the reinstatement of disqualified opposition candidates ahead of elections, for which a date has yet to be set.

    Democrats are studying this closely.

    lloyd (04b294)

  42. “While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the American people to a dangerous future, my Administration will not be complacent. We will not cede to special interests.”

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/01/26/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-decision-to-pause-pending-approvals-of-liquefied-natural-gas-exports/

    I was going to say “odd timing” given it is winter and Europe needs to be free of the strings attached to Russian oil and gas. Also odd given the fact that exports from the Persian gulf are being disrupted by the Houthi’s, but then I remembered it is an election year

    steveg (8e471a)

  43. 83 mil is a lot of asset liquidation.

    Nic (896fdf)

  44. @43 when is the last time in this century a republican won the presidency with the majority of the votes cast 2000 nope 2004 maybe if Ohio electronic voter machines were counted correctly. 2016 nope.

    asset (6dc44c)

  45. @45 Maybe trump can start a go fund me page.

    asset (6dc44c)

  46. majority of the votes cast

    If that was how you won, people would try to do that. But it’s not how you win. It’s also why baseball teams prefer runs to hits.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  47. Is this finally too far? Is this enough to get CA voters to realize a one-party state is a bad idea?

    New bill would require speed-limiting devices in California cars

    That’s the premise of a new bill in the California Senate that would require vehicles sold in the state to be equipped with speed governors to limit how fast they can go.

    The proposal from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is part of a package of bills that he hopes will reduce traffic injuries and deaths in the Golden State.

    “There’s no reason why people should routinely be allowed to drive more than 10 miles per hour above the speed limit,” Wiener said in an interview with The Times. “You can want whatever you want. But that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to do it and that doesn’t mean you should be physically able to do it.”

    The measure, Senate Bill 961, would require every passenger vehicle, truck and bus manufactured or sold in California to have speed governors starting in 2027. The devices would use GPS technology or cameras to verify the speed limit in a particular area and slow a speeding vehicle down if it approaches 10 mph over the limit.

    Wiener said he is open to changes in the bill — for example, whether to require active or passive speed governors.

    Active speed governors would actually reduce the speed of cars that hit the 10 mph limit, while passive ones would make some sort of annoying sound or buzz to warn drivers to slow down.

    Back circa 1974, cars were required to emit a annoying buzz whenever the car exceeded 55MPH. This was also the era of the automatic seat belt. I note that the LA Times writer thinks it’s a great idea and suggests that the main opposition would be from trucking firms.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  48. @48 Biden got 7 million more votes then trump in 2020 ;but won the presidency by only 43,000 votes 10,000 az. 13,000 ga. and 20,000 wi. and only because democrats kicked green party off ballot. Green party votes 2016 az 34,000 wi. 36,000 mi 55,000 Had biden got 44,000 votes in those states in 2020 unions and democratic party were planning a general strike if trump won while biden got 6 million more votes. Military leadership didn’t like trump how would they have reacted? The country would have been shut down and likely civil war.

    asset (6dc44c)

  49. Like Principal Skinner asked, as he lit up a Kent at the Ohio plant of B.F. Goodrich, is there any highway in California where reaching the speed limit is a real possibility and not a faint hope?

    nk (f93c7c)

  50. Anyway, no worries. The speed cameras/traps are not going to let go of their bread and butter. Not anymore than South Texas cops are going to let the DEA and CBP interdict drug smuggling before it reaches their pockets jurisdictions.

    nk (997e1b)

  51. nk (997e1b) — 1/27/2024 @ 6:50 am

    Ah, the allure of asset forfeiture!

    felipe (5e2a04)

  52. I had not even thought of that, felipe. You’re right. Like the speed traps, cops on the take themselves cannot exist unless there’s something in it for their bosses too.

    nk (997e1b)

  53. I live in a place in CA where the state and local tax on a double burger with fries an a drink is over $1.

    But that is not enough

    CA charges $1.32 per gallon of fuel in taxes and fees
    38 million gallons of fuel are sold per day

    But that is not enough

    It will never be enough

    Progressive taxation turns people into RPU’s (revenue producing units). USA uses a different method (less brutal) than the Chinese or the Russian but the end result will be the same

    steveg (8e471a)

  54. Not sure which offending word I used, but my comment didn’t make it through “the filter”.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  55. Like Principal Skinner asked, as he lit up a Kent at the Ohio plant of B.F. Goodrich, is there any highway in California where reaching the speed limit is a real possibility and not a faint hope?

    Sure. CA-99, I-5, I-10, I-15 US-101, US-395 to name a few. I’ve done 90 on all of them.

    Just not in the city.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  56. CA charges $1.32 per gallon of fuel in taxes and fees

    It’s not the highest in the nation, and the places that charge more at still a dollar cheaper at the pump. I paid $2.45 yesterday.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  57. AllahNick on the Supreme Court concertina wire ruling…

    In modern politics, you’re forever one litmus test away from becoming a mortal enemy to your own side—or at least to the most drooling activist fringe of your own side.

    John Fetterman discovered that recently when his heresies about Israel and border security led members of his progressive base, apparently, to wish another stroke upon him. Many Republicans have learned it the hard way, starting with the guy who served Donald Trump loyally as vice president for years and then nearly ended up lynched when he failed an especially big litmus test on January 6.

    This week it was Amy Coney Barrett’s turn. Even helping overturn Roe v. Wade wasn’t enough to earn her a pass on the latest ideological litmus test, it appears.

    On Monday, Barrett provided the deciding vote in a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that lifted a lower court’s injunction. That court had temporarily barred federal Border Patrol agents from cutting through concertina wire that the state of Texas had erected along a particular stretch of land near the southern border. The wire is there to deter illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking, the state argued; the wire is impeding agents from reaching migrants to process them and assist the injured, the feds replied.

    SCOTUS didn’t explain its reasoning in lifting the injunction, probably because the effect of its order is so limited. It didn’t bar Texas from installing concertina wire or other physical obstacles along other parts of the border. In fact, it didn’t bar Texas from installing more wire on this part of the border. All it did was allow the Border Patrol to cut through the wire as necessary to carry out its duties while the underlying litigation on the merits plays out, knowing that an appellate court is set to hear arguments early next month. The Supreme Court might very well side with Texas in the end.

    But in activist circles, where every setback is an unimaginable catastrophe, the ruling amounts to nothing less than Barrett rubber-stamping a Joe Biden-approved “invasion” of the United States.

    The usual suspects online reacted by calling for secession and civil war, explicitly or otherwise. Ann Coulter crowed that she had warned conservatives about the treachery of the “uber-Papist” Barrett and wondered if the justice prefers open borders because she’s keen to adopt another child from the third world.

    But the most noteworthy response came from Republican politicians, who scrambled en masse to show solidarity with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott against Biden and the court. And for good reason: The politics of this dispute favor the GOP so emphatically that the only way Republicans can blow it is by behaving as irresponsibly as the most demagogic members of their base have.

    The debate could very hinge on how the USSC will define “invasion”, whether it adheres to the more conventional definition or is closer to the Hyperbolic Right-Wing.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  58. Like Principal Skinner asked, as he lit up a Kent at the Ohio plant of B.F. Goodrich, is there any highway in California where reaching the speed limit is a real possibility and not a faint hope?

    nk (f93c7c) — 1/27/2024 @ 6:32 am

    Once you leave the metropolitan areas, you can speed up without a problem. I’ve made the trip to SF in 5 hours or less without a problem. And there’s a big speeding problem along the Pacific Coast Highway where the limits are routinely ignored (and have resulted in several deaths.)

    Rip Murdock (c27dcc)

  59. And there’s a big speeding problem along the Pacific Coast Highway where the limits are routinely ignored (and have resulted in several deaths.)

    Undivided two-lane highways are deathtraps at almost any speed.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  60. @60 “Barrett provided the deciding vote”

    She provided the deciding vote only if you believe John Roberts is expected to side with the leftist faction. Roberts has been a complete disaster spanning decades, all of which reminds us that judges matter and who picks them matters.

    The president who nominated Justice Thomas left office more than thirty years ago, and has been dead for several years. Most people couldn’t name the president who put him on the bench, where he still sits. The judicial branch was supposed to be the weakest but it isn’t turning out that way. If you think you’re only voting for a president, you’re deluded.

    lloyd (04f091)

  61. The twelve terrorists on UNWRA’s staff is good reason to suspend funding that organization. Sheesh.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  62. Nikki has joined the Patterico Club of SWATting victims. I hate my party and what it’s become.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  63. Yes, this is not the Party of Reagan.

    “We must stand by all our democratic allies,” Ronald Reagan declared during his 1985 State of the Union address. “And we must not break faith with those who are risking their lives . . . to defy Soviet-supported aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth.” As Reagan saw it, America had both a moral and a strategic imperative to aid free peoples in resisting authoritarian aggression, as Ukraine is now. “If there had been firmer support for that principle some 45 years ago,” the president observed during his famous 1982 Westminster speech, “perhaps our generation wouldn’t have suffered the bloodletting of World War II.”
    […]
    “History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap,” Reagan warned in 1984. “To keep the peace, we and our allies must…convince any potential aggressor that war could bring no benefit, only disaster.” Abandoning Ukraine now would send the opposite message. Moscow, Beijing and other adversaries would learn that while Washington may initially resist their imperialist ambitions, it will eventually give up if they persist long enough.

    Reagan said that a year after he declared the Soviet Union an “evil empire”, and now we’re stuck with Putin’s version of an evil empire.
    Trump is not only betraying Ukraine (because Trump can give one word to Speaker Johnson, and the aid is forthcoming), he’s betrayed America, consistently putting his own interests above his country’s, and so is the ever-growing Trump Wing of the party.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  64. The man could speak

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  65. Roberts is a complete disappointment to those who want the Court to push policy to the Right. And look at how they’ve all been mean to that nice Mr Trump.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  66. The things that politicians do to curry Trump’s favor for a VP slot.
    Tim Scott is engaged to be married and made a fool of himself during Trump’s NH victory speech, and Elise Stefanik is deleting her comments that condemned the violent J6 rioters, as noted by Ms. Cheney.

    I’m told that, in response to my prior tweet, @EliseStefanik deleted her 1/6/21 statement — that those who stormed the Capitol “must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Here is Elise’s statement again. Feel free to share. #nomorecrackpots

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  67. Tick Tock:

    Donald Trump’s political opponents had hoped his legal difficulties would torpedo his latest run for the presidency. But a knockout blow before the election is looking increasingly unlikely.
    …………
    His lawyers are having success maneuvering to delay any legal reckoning. And he has profited from good fortune in the two trials that pose his greatest political vulnerability: those on his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss.
    ………..
    “Everything has broken his way in connection with feeding his political narrative of being a victim,” said Ty Cobb, a now critical former Trump lawyer. “He’s had some very lucky breaks.”
    …………
    A conviction could still pose general election problems for Trump. An exit poll published by CNN found that 42% of New Hampshire Republican primary voters, who include a sizable number of independents, said Trump would be unfit to serve if convicted. A Wall Street Journal poll in December found Trump leading Biden by four points, but Biden winning by one point if Trump had a federal conviction.
    ………….
    …………. Trump’s supporters rallied around the former president’s accusation of an organized “witch hunt,” as did most of his primary rivals, keen not to alienate his devoted base. Even his one remaining Republican rival, Nikki Haley, has only obliquely referred to Trump’s legal jeopardy, calling him an agent of “Republican chaos.”
    …………
    Slowly wending its way through court in South Florida, meanwhile, is the federal case stemming from Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club. That trial is set for May, but a likely postponement has been signaled by the judge, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon………. who has allowed lawyers to tangle for months over evidentiary issues, criticized prosecutors and said she would revisit in March Trump’s request to push off the trial date.
    ………..
    So far, the criminal cases have only buoyed Trump. ……..
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (6aa713)

  68. @69 It figures that Cheney is more concerned about a deleted tweet than files deleted by her own committee.

    The former House Select Committee on Jan. 6 deleted more than 100 encrypted files from its probe just days before Republicans took over the majority in the House of Representatives

    Fox News Digital has learned that Loudermilk’s committee hired a digital forensics team to scrape hard drives to determine what information they were not given.

    The forensics team, according to sources familiar with their search, determined that 117 files were both deleted and encrypted. Sources said those files were deleted on Jan. 1, 2023 – just days before Thompson’s team was required to transfer the data to the new committee.

    Fox News Digital has learned the forensics team has recovered all 117 deleted and encrypted files. Now, Loudermilk is demanding answers and passwords to access the data.

    lloyd (e6ecef)

  69. @49 people in the south already realize that.

    asset (ba7652)

  70. Biden got 7 million more votes then trump in 2020

    I’ve seen baseball games where one team got 10 more hits but still lost. The popular vote isn’t what the election is about. If it was, they would campaign differently. For one thing, more Republicans in CA, NY, MA, IL, etc would vote and candidates would campaign there, too.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  71. The electoral vote system demands that support be widespread. Parties concentrated in small areas may rack up lopsided state victories but will lose most everywhere else. The Founders especially worried about the degree to which dense urban areas could be controlled by local powers. See San Francisco for a clear example. They vote D at a rate that would embarrass the Soviets.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  72. @55 The poor pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes and fees then the rich. Some years ago in az I read where a person making minimum wage paid 21% of his income in state & local taxes and especially fees where the rich and the poor pay the same amount and a person making over a million paid 7% Our tax structure favors the rich paying less and the poor paying more. When AOC becomes president we will get a european style tax system where the rich can’t escape paying their share of taxes.

    asset (ba7652)

  73. @66 Reagan did this to his party. As the song says you knew I was a snake before you let me in! In 1980 the first place reagan gave a speech after he got the nomination was phildelphia mississippi where the three civil rights workers were murdered welcoming racists & klansmen into the republican party. This is after reagan, bill casey and john connally made a deal with Iran to hold are hostages till after the 1980 election to defeat jimmy carter. Similar to nixon’s deal with south vietam brokered by clair chennault. This was the start of the Iran/contra treason and drug dealing led by eden pastore and ollie north.

    asset (ba7652)

  74. Same old whackjob fantasy conspiracies, different day. Some of the left-wing crap gives QAnon a run for their money.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  75. The poor pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes and fees then the rich.

    The poor get a better return from the government than do the rich.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  76. #75 It’s surprising how many people don’t know about the Earned Income Tax Credit:
    ‘Proposed by Russell Long and signed into law by President Gerald Ford as part of the Tax Reduction Act of 1975, the EITC provides an income tax credit to certain individuals.[10] Upon enactment, the EITC gave a tax credit to individuals who had at least one dependent, maintained a household, and had earned income of less than $8,000 during the year.[10] The tax credit was $400 for individuals with earned income of less than $4,000. The tax credit was an amount less than $400 for individuals whose income was between $4,000 and $7,999 during the year.[10]

    The initial EITC was expanded by tax legislation on a number of occasions, including the widely publicized Tax Reform Act of 1986, and it was further expanded in 1990, 1993, 2001, and 2009, regardless of whether the act in general raised taxes (1990, 1993), lowered taxes (2001), or eliminated other deductions and credits (1986).[11] In 1993, President Clinton tripled the EITC.[12] Today, the EITC is one of the largest anti-poverty tools in the United States.[13] Also, the EITC is mainly used to “promote and support work.”[12] Most income measures, including the poverty rate, do not account for the credit.’

    Or Supplemental Security Income:
    ‘Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested program that provides cash payments to disabled children, disabled adults, and individuals aged 65 or older who are citizens or nationals of the United States.[1] SSI was created by the Social Security Amendments of 1972 and is incorporated in Title 16 of the Social Security Act. The program is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and began operations in 1974.’
    (For which people can, but mostly won’t, thank Richard M. Nixon.)

    Jim Miller (808bdf)

  77. For which people can, but mostly won’t, thank Richard M. Nixon.

    Along with implementing LBJ’s Great Society and the environmental laws of the early 70’s

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  78. The Democrats hated Nixon for triangulating them so.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  79. lloyd (e6ecef) — 1/27/2024 @ 1:48 pm

    I don’t take much stock in what fascists have to say. I’ll await more independent confirmation.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  80. New bill would require speed-limiting devices in California cars

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/27/2024 @ 12:23 am

    In Reno, I’m just out of reach of the grasping hands of California politicians. I can swoop in from out of state and blow away all these hogtied people in my 460 horsepower Mustang.

    norcal (63a519)

  81. I will point out that my new car has the libertarian solution: I can set it to limit MY speed if I choose. I have it set to show the little speed limit sign (on the display next to the speedometer) in red when I’ve going “too fast” but do nothing else.

    I bet you that the Senator will import his car from Reno.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  82. I bet you that the Senator will import his car from Reno.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/27/2024 @ 10:00 pm

    Ah, yes. The Gavin Newsom “laws are for the little people, French Laundry gathering during the height of Covid” strategy.

    norcal (63a519)

  83. Nov 11 1999, I-15 Mojave Desert, 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa.

    Barstow to Sloan run, 139 miles, 51 minutes.
    Santa Monica to Barstow, 131 miles, 4 hours 18 minutes.

    A perfectly average of 55MPH.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  84. Do it at 3:00 AM instead of 3:00 PM, Colonel Klink. Rookie mistake. There is nothing so liberating as driving L.A. or S.F. freeways in the middle of the night.

    Nice to see you here. You were gone a long time. Still in Kentucky?

    norcal (63a519)

  85. Yep, still in the Hills of Villa, although no one in here claims it. South Cincinnati, as an official old I retired the ‘busa for an Indian, which is parked next to a Vespa, which is actually useful.

    Circa 95 donuts on the corner of Fillmore and Broadway in my Hertz at around 4AM, always the fastest car on the planet.

    280 from around Daly City to Palo Alto was always pretty quick, even in rush hour. That last 10 miles to Cupertino was terrible. I was relocated to Vegas in 99, but still commuted into the City on Reno Air when you could still buy a booklet for monthly flights for $300. Then a thing happened, and the world changed.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  86. @77 Nixon and reagan’s admitted southern strategy not conspiracy theories. Iran/contra treason is not a theory Reagan admitted it and Johnson had nixon taped committing treason with south vietnam so democrats would lose 1968 election. CBS 60 minutes played chennault tape. No theories all admitted evidence.

    asset (0f7d8a)

  87. Sad!

    The Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal brought by Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden convicted for his role in defrauding the corporate arm of a Native American tribe.
    …………
    A judge initially ruled that Archer should spend a year and a day in prison, but he has challenged the sentence. He is out on bail.

    Archer was convicted in 2018 in connection with a scheme led by businessman Jason Galanis to defraud Wakpamni Lake Community Corp., the business arm of the South Dakota-based Wakpamni Lake Community of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
    ……………..
    Last summer Archer testified before a Republican-led House committee investigating President Joe Biden in an effort to link him with his son’s business dealings overseas. Archer served with Hunter Biden on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company.

    Archer said then he had no knowledge that the senior Biden, as vice president, sought to influence policy to help his son. He said Hunter Biden did use the Joe Biden “brand” to protect his business dealings.
    ##########

    Rip Murdock (90963c)

  88. @89: tiresome drivel.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  89. Mr M wrote:

    Back circa 1974, cars were required to emit a annoying buzz whenever the car exceeded 55MPH. This was also the era of the automatic seat belt. I note that the LA Times writer thinks it’s a great idea and suggests that the main opposition would be from trucking firms.

    Speed limits crept upward again from 55 MPH because the public were voting with their right feet for higher speeds; it wasn’t just the truckers.

    In most places, the speed limit on the Interstate highways is 70, and if you set your cruise control for 78, you’re almost certainly safe from getting a ticket.

    When I bought my 2010 F-150, my older daughter found and inputted the code which turned off the seat belt alarms, so I don’t have to put up with that annoying noise. These ‘safety’ features almost all have some sort of work-around, and there will always be some enterprising soul who will make a business of getting around them.

    Eventually states will require some sort of GPS or mileage tracker for plug-in electric cars, since they’re using the roads without paying fuel taxes. Look for hackers to find ways to disable those things.

    Dana (bacf72)

  90. How much weaponry do you think Israel needs in order to bulldoze tiny tiny Gaza? It’s 17 sq mi.

    Nic (896fdf)

  91. Nic wrote:

    How much weaponry do you think Israel needs in order to bulldoze tiny tiny Gaza? It’s 17 sq mi.

    My very unpopular, at least unpopular here, opinion is that Ukraine cannot win, regardless of how much money and materiel we give them, short of troops on the ground and American/NATO aircraft in direct combat with the Soviets Russia, and that Israel will not lose, even if we don’t give them a penny, and thus we shouldn’t get involved in either war. I completely support Israel in its war against Islamist savagery, but that does not mean I believe we ought to get involved in it.

    Dana (bacf72)

  92. 3 US troops killed by Iranian-backed drone strike in Jordan, Biden says

    Iranian-backed militants killed three American service members and more than two dozen others were wounded in an aerial drone attack in Jordan near the Syrian border, President Joe Biden said on Sunday.

    Twenty-five troops were injured in the attack by a one-way drone, also known as a “suicide” drone, according to U.S. Central Command, which released a short statement on Sunday confirming the incident.

    Biden said in his statement that the U.S. was “still gathering the facts” surrounding the “wholly unjust attack,” which he said occurred Saturday night. The White House later clarified that the attack occurred early Sunday in Jordan, or late Saturday Eastern time.

    According to an administration official, the attack occurred at the Tower 22 outpost.

    The strike marked the first line-of-fire deaths of U.S. troops since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, sparked by Hamas’ terror attack.

    Some of the injured service members received serious wounds from shrapnel and some were being screened for traumatic brain injuries, an official with the White House National Security Council said. The number of injured could change, this official said.

    The president on Sunday hailed the killed service members for being “unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country.”

    There’s more at the original, but the obvious question is: why do we have troops in Jordan in the first place? Why do we have troops in Iraq and Syria? The Islamists are horrible people, no doubt about that, but at some point perhaps we should question why we should support or oppose any of the particular ‘sides’ in these conflicts. There is no side worth supporting in the decade-long Syrian civil war, so just let them fight it out, however they will, because regardless of who wins, it won’t be good.

    We’ve had at least a few troops in Syria since Barack Hussein Obama was President.

    Dana (bacf72)

  93. Re: Israel. It’s not just can they win. But how easily. Better targeting equipment means more precision strikes, which could mean less overall damage.

    Re: Uke, Dana, how much better do you think Vietnam’s chances were then UKE’s?

    Send them both equipment, but no US troops.

    Time123 (59eff2)

  94. The troops in Jordan are near the Syrian border, and are there to help the Kurds. A report earlier this week says the White House (like Dana) was asking why we are still there. I suspect this happened because the Iranians want to increase public pressure on the US to get out.

    DRJ (cdda58)

  95. In most places, the speed limit on the Interstate highways is 70

    Dana (bacf72) — 1/28/2024 @ 9:59 am

    Most of Interstate 80 in Nevada has an 80 MPH speed limit. Yeah, baby!

    norcal (c7b881)

  96. Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran:

    ………….
    “It is time to act with purpose and resolve in response to attacks that have tragically taken the lives of American service members and injured scores more,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the ranking member on the Armed Services Committee said in a statement.

    “We must respond to these repeated attacks by Iran and its proxies by striking directly against Iranian targets and its leadership. … It is time to act swiftly and decisively for the whole world to see.”
    …………
    ………… I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces, but as deterrence against future aggression,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) made a similar call: “The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East.”

    Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) initially didn’t mince words: “Target Tehran,” he posted, before later clarifying that it was not a call to bomb Iranian civilians.
    …………
    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for action that would cripple not just the organizations carrying out the attacks, but “their Iranian sponsors who wear American blood as a badge of honor,” as well.
    …………
    Former President Donald Trump blasted Biden’s leadership, and claimed the attack never would’ve happened had he still been in the White House.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  97. It’s time for me to answer Mr 123’s questions:

    Re: Israel. It’s not just can they win. But how easily. Better targeting equipment means more precision strikes, which could mean less overall damage.

    Hamas are fully embedded among the civilian population, which means more precision strikes — even assuming that our equipment is more precise than Israel’s — isn’t really a difference maker.

    Re: Uke, Dana, how much better do you think Vietnam’s chances were then UKE’s?

    We won every battle we fought against the Viet Cong and NVA, and waged a bombing campaign against the North, but still never ‘persuaded’ them to quit. Then, after public opinion forced us to quit, but we still equipped South Vietnam, the Communists won in two years.

    Send them both equipment, but no US troops.

    To me, that’s just a waste of time and money.

    What’s our ‘strategy’ in Ukraine? To keep Ukraine fighting a virtual stalemate, not unlike the Western Front in World War I, until Vladmir Putin is either forced from power, or goes untimely to his eternal reward. Maybe, if we knew that would happen in 2025, and we had reasonable confidence that he wouldn’t be replaced by another hard-liner, it might be worthwhile, but what if he lives, in power, for another five or eight years? Ukraine might survive as an independent nation, but also one with much of its population dead or crippled, and it’s industry and infrastructure destroyed.

    Dana (bacf72)

  98. norcal noted:

    Most of Interstate 80 in Nevada has an 80 MPH speed limit. Yeah, baby!

    In the one month I stayed there, August 1972, working on a ranch outside of Elko, there were no speed limits at all on the highways.

    I tried my best to get my 1962 Ford Fairlane, six-cylinder, three-on-the-tree, to hit 100 MPH. Going downhill, on the road from the ranch into Elko, as hard as I tried, I hit 98 MPH.

    Dana (bacf72)

  99. Many cartoonists appear to understand the Loser. They depict him with tiny hands, since he is so sensitive about the size of his hands. (Search on “Trump + vulgarian”, if you haven’t heard the story.)

    And the cartoonists show him with long, long ties. (I have suspected that Trump’s ties reflect worry about — well I’d prefer not to be specific, but I think you can all guess what I am suggesting.)

    Jim Miller (cb40de)

  100. 34° 38′ 30″N, 50° 52′ 30″E

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  101. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/28/2024 @ 3:47 pm

    LOL! Not gonna happen. Can you imagine the blowback-if that were to happen, there would be a wave of sleeper cell attacks within the United States that we never seen-suicide bombings in tourist sites, theaters, malls, etc.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  102. The people of Iran would love it though. The mullahs are widely hated.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  103. Rip Murdock (d5964e) — 1/28/2024 @ 3:55 pm

    Plus Israel would be attacked directly by Hezbollah as well as Iranian ballistic missiles.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  104. The people of Iran would love it though. The mullahs are widely hated.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/28/2024 @ 4:00 pm

    The regime could also exploit any direct attack by the US to unite the Iranian people against a common outside enemy, especially if large numbers (hundreds or thousands) of civilians are killed.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  105. The people of Iran would love it though. The mullahs are widely hated.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/28/2024 @ 4:00 pm

    Yeah, let’s sacrifice American civilians so that the Iranian people are happy.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  106. The magnificent Mr M wrote:

    The people of Iran would love it though. The mullahs are widely hated.

    Not so widely hated that they have overthrown the religious regime. In the end, even the worst of rulers depends on at least some public support.

    Wars, once started, have an annoying way of not going quite the way those who started them anticipated.

    Dana (bacf72)

  107. especially if large numbers (hundreds or thousands) of civilians are killed.

    Striking the theocratic center of the Islamic Republic is not the same thing.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  108. I expected the Reluctant Mr Dana to urge caution, but Rip usually isn’t an advocate of appeasement.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  109. By all means, though, let’s wait until they have nuclear armed missiles before we stand up for ourselves.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  110. The world is very combustible right now. It feels like everyone has been radicalized and needs to act out. We need to send a clear message but I stand on the side of having it be measured. Russia would love a broader war. China too. Iran wants to provoke just enough as it plays to be the regional enforcer.

    And this has to all go down when we have two presumptive candidates well past their “sell by” date….and with one running primarily as a strategy to keep out of prison.

    The American people aren’t exactly itching for war. Half the country is skeptical of spending any more on Ukraine and have no faith in Biden leading us into Iran. Let’s be prudent. In the end, Iran doesn’t want our jets and missiles ripping apart their military and enrichment sites. I don’t see them overplaying their hand….but old guys with nothing better to do. It’s the bane of our existence.

    AJ_Liberty (d76058)

  111. Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava entered the United States illegally recently and was convicted. Why? Because he flew in rather than walked, ran or rode in a car, truck?

    steveg (715f0a)

  112. Rip usually isn’t an advocate of appeasement.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/28/2024 @ 5:51 pm

    Considering the consequences of our actions isn’t appeasement, it’s a recognition that Iran would certainly retaliate against the US (and the West in general) if one of the holiest sites in Sh’a Islam is attacked.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  113. Striking the theocratic center of the Islamic Republic is not the same thing.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/28/2024 @ 5:50 pm

    Bombing Qom, a completely civilian target (population 1.2M), would certainly involve thousands of casualties, and would be considered a war crime.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  114. News outside the bubble OK. senator langford censured for supporting border deal over trump’s wished by oklahoma rethugliKKKan party. (DU)

    asset (e3ab5d)

  115. @91 what you say when you can’t refute the historical evidence. Trump says the same thing.

    asset (e3ab5d)

  116. @95 Dana all the ukraine needs to do at a minimum is not lose. As Churchill said hitler knows he must beat us on this island or lose the war. Putin knows the same. As the boss sang about a different war “He’s all gone there still there.!” Same with palestinians as many babies our being born as hamas fighters our being killed. Hearts and minds our still necessary. Stupid nancy pelosi claims putin is behind the ceasefire demonstrators and wants the FBI to investigate. LBJ did the same 60 years ago and tore the democratic party apart. Fortunately now she is a senile old gas bag with little influence with the party base.

    asset (e3ab5d)

  117. @101 BIG difference. Ukraine people hate russia and will fight whether we help them or not. South vietnam to afganistan if they don’t want to fight we can’t make them. Gaza same problem that is why I support destruction hamas and hope the afterwards will work. As an anti-war military historian thats all I have is hope. Russia is being bled white and north korea stuff is junk and iran stuff little better russians admit this.

    asset (e3ab5d)

  118. What’s our ‘strategy’ in Ukraine?

    We don’t have a strategy, Ukraine does, and we should be giving them the aid to help fulfill their strategy. Anyone who says that the preferred approach is a stalemate is asking to lose.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  119. Unwed teenage girls in texas having unwanted babies has gone since abortion ruling. Poll tax needed for anyone wanting a ballot with rethugliKKKan candidates on it $100? to help pay for welfare for unwanted children.

    asset (e3ab5d)

  120. America doesn’t really have a will to go boots on the ground anywhere, except maybe Yemen.

    Israel doesn’t need us too, and the escalation of even putting NATO air power directly into Ukraine is pretty risky. Not really from a Russian invasion of Europe, but the economic chaos that even putting Russian troops along the Baltic border states would cause. Ukraine is baked into the global economy at this point.

    Yemen is place that something can be done with something like global support. Heck, China is actually at serious risk by shutting down the Bab al-Mandab. Their economy is already shaky, while the west has a risk of the economic resiliancy of a post-covid world being flattened.

    Iran is an agent of chaos, but would need a Gulf War style build up, or turning it to glass, or both, which…come on. Iran isn’t Iraq or Afghanistan, or Ukraine even.

    So feed Israel, bleed Russia, contain Iraq, play lip service to the border, and hope Donald Trump and Joe Biden are replaced on the ballot I guess.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  121. @117

    Striking the theocratic center of the Islamic Republic is not the same thing.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/28/2024 @ 5:50 pm

    Bombing Qom, a completely civilian target (population 1.2M), would certainly involve thousands of casualties, and would be considered a war crime.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e) — 1/28/2024 @ 6:53 pm

    Yeah, that’s not the way to go.

    If we’re going to send a “message”… I would sink their entire navy.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  122. with one running primarily as a strategy to keep out of prison.

    Trump could have just retired and those cases would never have been brought.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  123. If we’re going to send a “message”… I would sink their entire navy.

    Or blow up their oil export terminals. But I’d be OK with hitting the Revolutionary Guard HQ, too.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  124. What we will do though, is fire some cruise missiles at an ammo dump after giving them a warning.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  125. I would start a Congressional investigation of gain of function research at the Isfahan labs.

    nk (268ce0)

  126. Mr Montagu wrote:

    What’s our ‘strategy’ in Ukraine?

    We don’t have a strategy, Ukraine does, and we should be giving them the aid to help fulfill their strategy. Anyone who says that the preferred approach is a stalemate is asking to lose.

    We have been giving them aid, and Ukraine launched its ‘counteroffensive,’ but the counteroffensive didn’t accomplish much, didn’t move the front more than a few miles. President Zelenskii’s stated position is that Ukraine is going to recapture all of the land Russia seized in 2014, something he pretty much has to say, but has shown no capacity to do so, despite all of the aid that had already been given prior to the counteroffensive.

    Dana (bacf72)

  127. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/28/2024 @ 10:42 pm

    There goes that “consequences be d@mned” thinking again. Blowing up Iranian oil terminals would create another oil price shock and send the world economy into a tailspin.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  128. Mr M wrote:

    I expected the Reluctant Mr Dana to urge caution, but Rip usually isn’t an advocate of appeasement.

    Yeah, I certainly am reluctant to get into war! As some will recall, I have a personal stake, as I’d really not like to see my daughter, a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army Reserve, sent into a combat zone, but it’s not just her: there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who could be put at risk. Perhaps you’ve heard? Recruitment goals are not being met, not even close to being met, and I would guess that there are a lot of potential recruits who are seeing the chaos of Ukraine — the Gaza War is really too new to have a knowable effect on recruiting goals — and deciding against it.

    We weren’t reluctant about invading Iraq, which cost us thousands of lives, and didn’t turn out like the younger President Bush had expected. Is Iraq really less of a bother today than it was in 2003?

    We weren’t reluctant about invading Afghanistan, and yes, that was necessary due to the al Qaeda attacks, but it metastasized, it cost us thousands of soldiers and trillions of dollars, and the same Taliban that ruled before we went in is ruling again.

    We weren’t reluctant about the slow buildup in Vietnam, it cost us 58,000+ soldiers lives, and the Communists still won.

    We were reluctant about getting involved in World War II, until we were directly attacked, and we won that war, but we won it by being willing to kill and kill and kill some more; can we do that now, with TikTok and cell phone video everywhere and idiots supporting Hamas because the IDF is creating civilian casualties?

    Dana (bacf72)

  129. @130

    Mr Montagu wrote:

    What’s our ‘strategy’ in Ukraine?

    We don’t have a strategy, Ukraine does, and we should be giving them the aid to help fulfill their strategy. Anyone who says that the preferred approach is a stalemate is asking to lose.

    We have been giving them aid, and Ukraine launched its ‘counteroffensive,’ but the counteroffensive didn’t accomplish much, didn’t move the front more than a few miles. President Zelenskii’s stated position is that Ukraine is going to recapture all of the land Russia seized in 2014, something he pretty much has to say, but has shown no capacity to do so, despite all of the aid that had already been given prior to the counteroffensive.

    Dana (bacf72) — 1/29/2024 @ 6:58 am

    To be fair… Ukraine did bring it to at least a stand-still. That’s not nothing, as at one point of the war Russia had Kyiv surrounded.

    whembly (5f7596)

  130. IF the US directly attacks Iran, it will be military targets, as suggested above possibly Iranian naval assets. As much as Sen. John Cornyn wants to bomb Tehran, even he shies away from targeting civilians (which is what bombing Tehran or Qom will do). I don’t see US troops landing in Yemen (outside of special forces). A sustained bombing campaign will certainly result in some US planes being shot down, so we’ll see any surviving pilots paraded around.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  131. Dana,
    There are not that many options on UKE

    We support their fight with the likely outcome being a long and bloody fight that probably results in Russian winning a costly victory.
    -Give money to UKE
    -Sanction Russia
    -Provide weapons
    -Fight on their behalf

    We do not support their fight with the likely outcome being a short and bloody fight that certainly results in Russian winning and looking at additional expansion.

    I like the former better then the later

    Time123 (e84039)

  132. 134. The Wall Street journal editorial says that the USS>
    should sink that Iranian ship in the Red Sea that’s giving intelligence information/guiding the targeting of the Houthis.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  133. The first Trump criminal case to go to trial may actually be the first one brought (by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.)

    Starting on March 24

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  134. Mr 123 wrote:

    We support their fight with the likely outcome being a long and bloody fight that probably results in Russian winning a costly victory. . . .

    We do not support their fight with the likely outcome being a short and bloody fight that certainly results in Russian winning and looking at additional expansion.

    I like the former better then the later

    I believe that the first has already been achieved. Vladimir Vladimirovich is another one of those who started a war that isn’t turning out the way he anticipated, and Russia’s military have sustained some major losses in men and materiel. If Ukraine surrendered today, it would still take ten years of rebuilding before Russia could reasonably think of invading another country. More than just rebuilding, Russian military leaders have learned a harsh lesson about the fallacies of their pre-war assumptions. In ten more years, the top brass will be gone, and the current generation of lower-ranking generals and higher-ranking field-grade officers, the ones who have had to actually fight this war, will be the top brass.

    President Putin? In ten years, he’ll be 81 years old, if he hasn’t already gone to his eternal reward.

    Dana (bacf72)

  135. The first Trump criminal case to go to trial may actually be the first one brought (by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.)

    Which will be hammered down to a few misdemeanors because that’s all they are.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  136. I agree Dana, but part of Russia’s pre-war plan was that the west would weary of the cost and abandon Ukraine. It’s been a couple years, but if we feed Ukraine to Russia we’ve defined our timetable as very low. I’m not saying we never stop, but it’s very early yet.

    At this point it costs the US very little to support Ukraine, just money. If they’re still willing to fight off the invaders I saw we pay it.

    In return we get
    1. To match our rhetoric abut freedom with actions in a way that demonstrates the value of our support to our allies and client states.
    2. To demonstrate that re-drawing the map with a sword is a losing proposition.
    3. To bleed an international rivel and country that supports our enemies for as long as they want to fight.
    4. Goodwill from Ukraine (for whatever that’s worth)

    Time123 (e84039)

  137. “The first Trump criminal case to go to trial may actually be the first one brought (by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.)”

    I think the prosecutors will do everything they can do to get Jack Smith first. The electorate deserves to have the DC matter adjudicated prior to the election…one way or the other. I get that the GOP doesn’t care, but there’s enough independents, moderates, NeverTrumpers, and Democrats that do. We should know whether to anticipate a self pardon or some 25th amendment shenanigans. Bragg should be at the proverbial back of the bus. Of course our host doesn’t think his case is that bad.
    https://thedispatch.com/article/a-modest-case-for-the-case-against-trump/

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  138. Hard time:

    A former IRS consultant was sentenced to five years in prison for leaking former President Donald Trump’s tax returns as well as the filings of thousands of other wealthy people to the news media.

    A district judge on Monday agreed with the Justice Department that Charles Littlejohn, 38, deserved the maximum statutory sentence for what she called “egregious” crimes.
    …………
    Noting that Trump was under no legal obligation to release his filings and likening the case to the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol, Reyes said: “It cannot be open season on our elected officials.”
    …………

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  139. @141 “The electorate deserves to have the DC matter adjudicated prior to the election…one way or the other.”

    There is virtually a zero % chance of anything other than a guilty verdict. 97% of federal indictments result in conviction, and that’s not even taking into account the heavily skewed DC venue. This need to build suspense is a bit comical.

    The electorate deserves a proper and full adjudication which would include all appeals, and which likely would get all the way to the Supreme Court. The % and venue is significantly better for Trump. There won’t be the same urgency to speed up the appeals, of course, because this isn’t about justice.

    lloyd (9bbf49)

  140. 142. The Trump leak was actually beyond the statute of limitations, as the information was stolen in 2019, but he was charged also with leaking the tax information for Jeff Bezos and others.

    The maximum sentence is the same, and a judge is allowed to take into
    account uncharged conduct.

    This violates basic rules of the IRS.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  141. https://www.newser.com/story/345684/what-went-wrong-at-tower-22.html

    They thought they had a good defense system in place, but there was a possibility they overlooked.

    What Went Wrong at ‘Tower 22’

    Air defense system at US military base reportedly got confused by a friendly drone

    …The Wall Street Journal reports that the incoming drone got through in part because an American drone was returning to the base at the same time, causing “some confusion over whether the incoming drone was friend or foe.”

    In addition, it wasn’t considered a high priority target for Iran:

    …The attack took place at a remote outpost called Tower 22, which the AP explains is situated near a demilitarized zone on the border of Jordan and Syria. It’s also only about 6 miles from Iraq. About 350 American troops are deployed there. Among other things, the US has used the base to supply the US military garrison called al-Tanf in Syria, per al Jazeera.

    It’s also been explained as lying on road tat runs through Iraq to Damascus

    The attack was aimed at place that the U.S. soldiers were sleeping. 3 got killed, and 34 were considered wounded of which 8 were evacuated.

    Iran simply had lots of time to plan while the situation on the U.S. side remained the same, allowing a plan to be drawn around a stable situation (including maybe being careful to send the drone at the right time) while they adapted.

    I would not assume that Iran did all the planning by itself. It might have secretly consulted Russia or China, where there may be better military experts (and certainly more of them)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  142. Just a reminder that for anyone complaining that GOP doesn’t have a plan for the southern border.

    It’s flat out untrue.

    https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2/summary/00#:~:text=Introduced%20in%20House%20(05%2F02%2F2023),-Secure%20the%20Border&text=This%20bill%20addresses%20issues%20regarding,imposing%20limits%20to%20asylum%20eligibility.&text=requires%20DHS%20to%20create%20an,employers%20to%20use%20the%20system.

    Summary: H.R.2 — 118th Congress (2023-2024)

    This bill addresses issues regarding immigration and border security, including by imposing limits to asylum eligibility.

    For example, the bill

    · requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume activities to
    construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border;

    · provides statutory authorization for Operation Stonegarden, which provides grants to law enforcement agencies for certain border security operations;

    · prohibits DHS from processing the entry of non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) arriving between ports of entry;

    · limits asylum eligibility to non-U.S. nationals who arrive in the United States at a port of entry;

    · authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual’s country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal;

    · expands the types of crimes that may make an individual ineligible for asylum, such as a conviction for driving while intoxicated causing another person’s serious bodily injury or death;

    · authorizes DHS to suspend the introduction of certain non-U.S. nationals at an international border if DHS determines that the suspension is necessary to achieve operational control of that border;

    · prohibits states from imposing licensing requirements on immigration detention facilities used to detain minors;

    · authorizes immigration officers to permit an unaccompanied alien child to withdraw their application for admission into the United States even if the child is unable to make an independent decision to withdraw the application;

    · imposes additional penalties for overstaying a visa; and

    · requires DHS to create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.

    This should be the true starting point… not this current monstrosity the Senate is deliberation on…

    whembly (5f7596)

  143. The ceasefire/hostage release deal.

    They seem like specialists in the stock market, trying to find a price while ignoring the fundamentals.

    The tentative deal, is for a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for a phased release of hostages, with people over 60, women and people needing medical treatment being released first and men who could qualify as Israeli solder last. Presumably that phase could resembled the Black Friday deal. The rest has not been worked out. Israel and Hamas are supposed to agree on the rest during the next 60 days.

    Hamas wants an Israeli withdrawal, release of Hamas prisoners including terrorists sentenced to jail years ago and an assurances by Israel that that that will be the end of the war (i.e., that the war will not resume on the part of Israel even after four months)

    Israel is willing to take the first part, if Hamas will agree to it. Netanyahu vows to finish the job of getting rid of Hamas even if the whole world is against it.

    In other news WABC radio’s Sid Rosenberg broadcast from Jerusalem today and will through Thursday. He says you can’t detect there that Israel is at war (no missiles have been fired at Jerusalem for six or seven weeks) but people expect (or are preparing for) missiles to fly from Lebanon, which will shut Israel down. Some say in March, some say in the fall, but all agree before Donald Trump can become president.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  144. Little noticed till now, but humanitarian aid to Gaza has been thrown into the Senate Ukraine/Israel/Taiwan/border bill.

    It gives everyone something they want and some things they don’t want.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  145. [HR 2] authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual’s country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal;

    How would this be done without an agreement? Sending people back an forth? Closing passage to everyone until the other country agrees?

    The Senate bill also liberalizes some immigration, like giving work authorization (immediately?) to anyone paroled into the United States. (The Republicans have stopped claiming that it costs jobs or wages, which was the rationalization for requiring proof of the right to work in 1986 or 1987, and now argue that work authorization creates an incentive for someone to try to get into the United States.)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  146. 146. The GOP is arguing that no bill is necessary.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  147. Oklahoma GOP votes to condemn Sen. Lankford for role in bipartisan border talks

    The Oklahoma Republican Party approved a resolution over the weekend condemning and censuring Sen. James Lankford, the state’s senior senator, for his role in the ongoing bipartisan border negotiations in Congress.

    Oklahoma Republicans accuse Lankford of “playing fast and loose” with Democrats on border policy and that he puts “the safety and security of Americans in great danger,” according to a copy of the resolution posted to X by Republican state Sen. Dusty Deevers.

    The state party called on Lankford to “cease and desist jeopardizing the security and liberty of the people of Oklahoma” and said it will withhold support for Lankford until he ends the negotiations.
    ……….
    Lankford won reelection in in 2022 and is not up for reelection until 2028.
    ########

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  148. 139. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/29/2024 @ 10:12 am

    Which will be hammered down to a few misdemeanors because that’s all they are.

    It depends on how good a lawyer Donald Trump has, and if he’s willing to admit to some things that, while they may not be criminal, don’t make him look good. Joseph Tacopina has quit.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/15/us/politics/tacopina-trump-lawyer.html

    The fallacy with seeing the payments as an illegal campaign contribution and the falsifying of business records (reimbursement to Michael Cohen disguised as legal fees) as an attempt to hide that, is that, while from the viewpoint of Michael Cohen or the National Enquirer they constituted illegal campaign contributions, from the viewpoint of Donald Trump they did not, (and furthermore, had Trump used campaign money to pay Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, he’s have been potentially chargeable with using campaign money to pay a personal expense) and also that despite what Michael Cohen (probably falsely) says (in untaped conversations) in taped conversations, we see that Trump wasn’t even thinking about the effect on the 2016 general election but on his general reputation.

    https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/08/trump-tried-to-buy-all-the-dirt-killed-by-the-enquirer.html

    In the aftermath of the McDougal deal, the New York Times reports, Trump and Cohen became concerned about the treasure trove of trashy tabloid tales sitting dormant in the Enquirer offices. What if Pecker left? Or, “Maybe he gets hit by a truck,” as Trump suggested in a recorded conversation with Cohen.

    Now, question: When would David Pecker hypothetically get hit by a truck? Before the election, which was a few days away, or after the election?

    What then happened here was that the National Enquirer became afraid to take the money, as it would remove their legal defense that the purchasing of te rights to Karen McDougal’s story was a business decision and not an illegal corporate campaign contribution, and then Michael Cohen, on is own initiative, using his own money (!!?) and almost certainly without consulting Donald Trump, paid a settlement to Stormy Daniels (who had not been paid by the National Enquirer)

    That was his illegal campaign contribution, but Trump didn’t need his money.

    Furthermore, there is no requirement (as a result of attorney client confidentiality) for a lawyer’s stated reason for billing to be accurate as long as he is not deceiving the client. And Michael Cohen wanted it that way. And he got paid extra to cover his taxes.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  149. Lankford says it is better to get a portion of what you want and go for the rest later.

    The Oklahoma GOP argues, what??

    Saying that the bill isn’t needed is not an argument that it makes things worse from their point of view.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  150. Hamas got some its ammunition before October 7 from Israel: (source main NYT front page story on Sunday)

    https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1366017/significant-number-of-weapons-used-by-hamas-come-from-unlikely-source-israel-nyt-report.html

    ‘Significant number’ of weapons used by Hamas come from unlikely source: Israel — NYT report

    Unexploded ordnance, theft from Israeli military bases: the US daily reviews Hamas’s “creative” alternatives for developing its arsenal.

    OLJ / 28 January 2024 14:47

    “Israeli military and intelligence officials have concluded that a significant number of the weapons used by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks and the war in Gaza came from an unlikely source: the Israeli army itself,” the New York Times reports in an article published on Sunday.

    “What is clear now is that the very weapons that Israeli forces have used to enforce a blockade of Gaza over the past 17 years are now being used against them. Israeli and American military explosives have enabled Hamas to shower Israel with rockets and, for the first time, penetrate Israeli towns from Gaza,” the NYT report continues.

    Hamas has manufactured many of its rockets and anti-tank weapons using munitions launched by Israel that failed to explode in the Gaza Strip, according to weapons experts and Israeli and Western intelligence officials quoted by the newspaper. The militant group has also used weapons stolen from Israeli military bases.

    The blockade and the elimination of numerous smuggling tunnels into and out of Gaza have forced Hamas to get creative. Its manufacturing capabilities are now sophisticated enough to saw off the warheads of bombs weighing up to 2,000 pounds (900 kilos), harvest the explosives and reuse them, writes the NYT.

    “Weapons experts say that roughly 10 percent of munitions typically fail to detonate, but in Israel’s case, the figure could be higher. Israel’s arsenal includes Vietnam-era missiles, long discontinued by the United States and other military powers,” the paper reports, before citing an Israeli intelligence officer who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity, as saying the failure rate of some of these missiles could be as high as 15 percent.

    “Israeli officials knew before the October attacks that Hamas could salvage some Israeli-made weapons, but the scope has startled weapons experts and diplomats alike,” continues the newspaper, which cites a military report from early 2023, which it was able to consult, as indicating that thousands of bullets and hundreds of rifles and grenades had been stolen from poorly guarded bases.

    More:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-weapons-rockets.html

    Weapons experts say that roughly 10 percent of munitions typically fail to detonate, but in Israel’s case, the figure could be higher. Israel’s arsenal includes Vietnam-era missiles, long discontinued by the United States and other military powers. The failure rate on some of those missiles could be as high as 15 percent, said one Israeli intelligence officer who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

    By either count, years of sporadic bombing and the recent bombardment of Gaza have littered the area with thousands of tons of unexploded ordnance just waiting to be reused. One 750-pound bomb that fails to detonate can become hundreds of missiles or rockets.

    Hamas did not respond to messages seeking comment. The Israeli military said in a statement that it was committed to dismantling Hamas but did not answer specific questions about the group’s weapons….

    There are all sorts of people in Israel leaking to the New York Times about all sorts of things..

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  151. Rethugs in missouri and mississippi trying to pass legislation to prevent voters from voting on abortion rights. RethugliKKKans are afraid of their own voters.

    asset (f63778)

  152. @149

    [HR 2] authorizes the removal of a non-U.S. national to a country other than that individual’s country of nationality or last lawful habitual residence, whereas currently this type of removal may only be to a country that has an agreement with the United States for such removal;

    How would this be done without an agreement? Sending people back an forth? Closing passage to everyone until the other country agrees?

    Most of these countries, there are ALREADY agreements to take them back. It’s countries like Cuba or Venezuala that may not have such agreements.

    The Senate bill also liberalizes some immigration, like giving work authorization (immediately?) to anyone paroled into the United States. (The Republicans have stopped claiming that it costs jobs or wages, which was the rationalization for requiring proof of the right to work in 1986 or 1987, and now argue that work authorization creates an incentive for someone to try to get into the United States.)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/29/2024 @ 12:37 pm

    That’s a defacto amnesty.

    That’s a no.

    whembly (5f7596)

  153. https://www.newser.com/story/345664/betting-favorite-emerges-in-trump-vp-sweepstakes.html

    Elise Stefanik is the betting favorite, but that may not mean anything.

    This is according to the Hill, which may not mean it literally, and cites no source.

    Maybe people on Capitol Hill favor her.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  154. @150

    146. The GOP is arguing that no bill is necessary.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/29/2024 @ 12:39 pm

    And they are correct.

    HR2 are for addtional stronger immigration policies..

    But bottom-line, this is a purposely orchestrated catastrophe, and the Biden administration chose this.

    whembly (5f7596)

  155. whembly (5f7596) — 1/29/2024 @ 1:25 pm

    That’s a defacto amnesty.

    No, an amnesty is giving permission to remain legally in the United States to people who till now were here illegally (usually for a period of years)

    This proposal simply allows people waved into the United States to stay without the requirement of being a burden on others.

    The bill also amnesties some categories of people, mainly Afghan refugees, and children of H-1B visa holders who grew up in the United States. They would not be required to leave the United States upon reaching the age of 18 or graduating from college. (Republicans don’t want that because they want the laws to be as arbitrary and irrational as possible)

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-deal-biden-senate-us-mexico-border-bill

    The compromise is also expected to include provisions related to legal immigration. Negotiators have agreed to allocate 50,000 new family and employment-based immigrant visas, offer permanent residency to tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the U.S. following the fall of Kabul in 2021 and provide immigration status to the children of H-1B visa holders, the people familiar with the talks said.

    The agreement would not legalize any of the estimated 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission, including so-called “Dreamers” brought to the country as minors, a group championed by Democrats for decades.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  156. Did Trump try to obstruct an official proceeding on J6? Kind of seems like it. If there were good explanations for his actions, we would have heard them by now. Maybe Trump should only try and steal elections in Red States.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  157. “News” agencies that write inaccurate obituaries: (augmented by copycat web sites that use AI to put in more “information.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/nyregion/obituary-pirates-matteo-sachman.html

    https://www.wired.com/story/youtube-obituary-pirates/

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  158. AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/29/2024 @ 1:40 pm

    Did Trump try to obstruct an official proceeding on J6?

    No. All his actions were official, also. And had the crowd even stolen the Electoral Votes from the Senate chamber, it would not have extended his term by one second.

    Kind of seems like it. If there were good explanations for his actions, we would have heard them by now. Maybe Trump should only try and steal elections in Red States.

    There are bad, but probably not illegal, explanations.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  159. Not illegal, but you could maybe have impeached him for what he did.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  160. Going to extremes in challenging the election results, and wwithout any basis in fact.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  161. I’m guessing the proxy force realized that if drones were landing at regular times or if they could piggy back one about to land, they could sneak in

    steveg (b7f8b8)

  162. @159

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/29/2024 @ 1:25 pm

    That’s a defacto amnesty.

    No, an amnesty is giving permission to remain legally in the United States to people who till now were here illegally (usually for a period of years)

    My brother in Christ… do you not know the above, is the same as below?

    This proposal simply allows people waved into the United States to stay without the requirement of being a burden on others.
    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/29/2024 @ 1:38 pm

    ANY proposal whereby illegal migrants are given permission to stay is defacto amnesty.

    whembly (5f7596)

  163. > create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.

    Because nothing says “freedom” like a single national database that determines whether a person can be hired to do work or not.

    Such a system is *incredibly* vulnerable to abuse. Do you *want* a system which gives the government the *practical technical ability* to simply declare someone to be unhirable? What kind of odds would you give that such a system is never used to simply punish the politically undesirable of the moment?

    aphrael (fe37a6)

  164. > Just not in the city.

    Even in the city — bay area freeways, outside of rush hour, are normally averaging well above the speed limit.

    aphrael (fe37a6)

  165. @167

    > create an electronic employment eligibility confirmation system modeled after the E-Verify system and requires all employers to use the system.

    Because nothing says “freedom” like a single national database that determines whether a person can be hired to do work or not.

    Such a system is *incredibly* vulnerable to abuse. Do you *want* a system which gives the government the *practical technical ability* to simply declare someone to be unhirable? What kind of odds would you give that such a system is never used to simply punish the politically undesirable of the moment?

    aphrael (fe37a6) — 1/29/2024 @ 2:42 pm

    In my state, I had to assert that I am a legal resident for my employment. I think there’s something like 22 states that uses such system for jobs.

    That was 8 years ago, and so long as I don’t change job, I don’t have to re-assert that.

    The check took about 2 days if I remember right.

    whembly (5f7596)

  166. Also, you had to assert your citizenship in order to get a RealID drivers license.

    whembly (5f7596)

  167. I recently drove from here to Paso Robles and back on the 101. Northbound flow of traffic was low 70’s, Southbound flow of traffic was upper 70’s.

    In the Owens Valley, people really get after it

    14 to junction with 395 both directions I’ve been driving high 70’s and been passed like I was parked. Same goes for the 395 between 14 and the 203. It gets jammed up when it is two lanes with people with cruise control set at a similar speed. Like one at 80, the other at 81.

    CHP seems to be looking for people in mid 80’s and up.

    Years ago I was going over 85 down a hill after passing a semi trailer and the CHP plane circled around, came in low and waggled the wings at me

    steveg (b7f8b8)

  168. It depends on how good a lawyer Donald Trump has, and if he’s willing to admit to some things that, while they may not be criminal, don’t make him look good. Joseph Tacopina has quit.

    The basic problem is that the “fraud” was committed over time, and the indictment treats each act in furtherance of the “fraud” as a distinct and separate crime. Or rather sets of 3 crimes since it is overcharged horizontally, then trumped up vertically.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  169. Also, you had to assert your citizenship in order to get a RealID drivers license.

    Which gets you the same rights as someone with an immigration hearing notice.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  170. Did Trump try to obstruct an official proceeding on J6? Kind of seems like it. If there were good explanations for his actions, we would have heard them by now. Maybe Trump should only try and steal elections in Red States.

    No those were just folks who happened to be there that day, and misinterpreted the President’s words about free and fair elections. A sad overreaction on their part, but do you have a problem with free and fair elections?!

    /sarc

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  171. That’s a defacto amnesty.

    Hardly. It’s allowing them to work while they wait for a hearing. Would you rather they were on the public dole? Once you let them in — and that’s where the line needs to be drawn — you really want them to be self-supporting. Might even make a failure to do so work against their request for asylum.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  172. ANY proposal whereby illegal migrants are given permission to stay is defacto amnesty.

    They are not illegal. They applied legally for a legal status and are awaiting a hearing on that request.

    Now, I happen to think that if they snuck in they should not be able to make an asylum request after they get caught, and there I think we agree. But for the most part that’s not what this is about.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  173. My proposal is that when we catch an illegal immigrant who’s working to support himself and his family, we keep him, and deport an American citizen who is nothing but a welfare malingerer in his place.

    Dana (bacf72)

  174. Proof that using pot is bad for your mental health.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  175. Donald Trump wrote that we are on the brink of World War III, I guess he doesn’t want Joe Biden to do anything.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  176. Well, I gotta say, if we ARE at the brink or WW3 there is no one I’d want more in charge than Yosemite Sam Donald Trump. That way he can retaliate against everyone, all at once.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  177. Not that Elmer Fudd is much better.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  178. @175

    That’s a defacto amnesty.

    Hardly. It’s allowing them to work while they wait for a hearing. Would you rather they were on the public dole? Once you let them in — and that’s where the line needs to be drawn — you really want them to be self-supporting. Might even make a failure to do so work against their request for asylum.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/29/2024 @ 4:01 pm

    “Once you let them in”

    That’s the problem Kevin, and yes, it’s defacto amnesty. Because, the longer that they’re here, the more unsavory it is to deport them politically.

    Just look at the Dreamer situations.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  179. @176

    ANY proposal whereby illegal migrants are given permission to stay is defacto amnesty.

    They are not illegal. They applied legally for a legal status and are awaiting a hearing on that request.

    Now, I happen to think that if they snuck in they should not be able to make an asylum request after they get caught, and there I think we agree. But for the most part that’s not what this is about.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/29/2024 @ 4:04 pm

    Running to the border and allowing themselves to be “processed” by border patrol by claim asylum, when its far more likely that these are economic illegal migrants *is* is abusing the spirit and letter of asylum laws.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  180. Japanese torpedo planes and kamikaze planes used the same tactic. The torpedo planes crippled the USS Yorktown

    steveg (b7f8b8)

  181. https://twitter.com/i/status/1752021755995025689

    Nancy Pelosi in this clip (at the very end) seems to say “go back the China where you come from” to pro Hamas protesters that are blocking her driveway

    steveg (b7f8b8)

  182. @185 Nancy pelosi has warn out her welcome. The base wants ceasefire ( I don’t ) AOC is the de facto leader of the democratic party even if Biden is the de jura leader. Gavin newsome will do what ever it takes to be ready to replace Biden or 2028.

    asset (81362a)

  183. It’s good to see AllahNick at The Dispatch coming around to the fact that the full-liz was never going to work. And Haley’s strategy at least got her to the point of last-man-standing…and the opportunity to perform a more surgical strike on Trump. Her critiques on Trump throwing a tantrum and of him needing to be sat down….are truly masterful on multiple psychological levels. Not only do they provoke over-reaction, but they provide a cutting contrast: A happy, smiling Haley versus a spitting, angry man-child. Beautiful!

    Will it work?

    The problem is that Trumpism is rooted into the GOP. The bulk of the right-leaning media enables Trump and the bulk of the GOP politicians slavishly follow the media. The electorate horde is conditioned to accept the lies and the inevitability meme. Haley has the natural likeability that DeSantis lacks.Tim Scott has natural likeability but it does not translate as well to the stage. Christie has a genuine sense of humor and connection, but he was simply tuned out. Ramaswamy was a clown — some people like clowns, most find them somewhat creepy and annoying.

    The GOP may in fact not be ready to move on from nasty self-debasement, but at least for a few more weeks there’s a clear distinction. You can have a normal candidate if you want her. As Trump racks up legal judgments and legal bills….and with a felony conviction lingering over the horizon….GOP voters need to look in the mirror and decide who they want to be. Chewing and nibbling at their conscience is more effective than punching them in the face and calling them a sucker. This was never going to be pretty and pretending there was a clear rational strategy to uproot Trumpism was wishcasting. I choose to hang with Haley’s optimism….

    AJ_Liberty (cba8d1)

  184. GOP voters need to look in the mirror and decide who they want to be.

    They decided that a long time ago. And nothing appears to be “chewing and nibbling at their conscience,” either nationally or in South Carolina.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  185. @188, Even campaigns that are unsuccessful are useful for building the foundation for the next successful one. There’s been a lot of losing with Trumpism over the past six years. And now Republicans can’t even address their signature issue of border enforcement because Trump seems poised to be an obstacle. Eventually people will tire of losing, whining, and hubris.

    Christie punched in the face, how’s his campaign doing? All Haley can do is make the argument….consolidate anti-Trump support….and be ready if Trump implodes. The fact that it may not happen does not diminish the fact that Haley is giving a voice to those that opposing Trump and wanting a normal candidate. I refuse to root for or bend the knee to a rapist and bully. Sometimes being on the right side of a question is better than being on the winning side of a debate. The right side is to oppose Trumpism everywhere….even at this tiny outpost of conservatism…

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  186. it’s defacto amnesty

    When they have committed no crime, “amnesty” is a non sequitur.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  187. RNC seeking new credit line to help climb out of money hole

    The cash-strapped Republican National Committee will consider opening a line of credit when members gather for their winter meeting that starts Tuesday in Las Vegas, The Washington Times has learned.

    The credit-line question will be put to a vote by RNC members at the meeting.

    The RNC‘s money problems have been mounting since officials announced last summer a $15 million shortfall from projected fundraising levels, with both big-dollar and small-donor contributions drying up.

    Some have blamed the RNC‘s financial hardships on a double-edged “Trump effect.”

    According to that theory, big-dollar donors weren’t giving last year because many didn’t want to support former President Donald Trump, and small-dollar contributions were not coming in because those donors did not think the RNC was sufficiently supporting Mr. Trump.

    It’s a theory all right.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  188. “Trump” is a three-edged sword. And none of the edges are good.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  189. Kevin, I honestly think that the “middle finger” aspect drives Trump support. And even the most ardent Trump supporter needs to ask an important question: at what point do they say, “that’s it” and can no longer support him.

    It isn’t about any other politician. That’s a cop out. We all must have our limits. Otherwise we do not support a candidate. We simply agree. To anything and everything.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  190. AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 1/30/2024 @ 8:41 am

    @188, Even campaigns that are unsuccessful are useful for building the foundation for the next successful one.

    Or more successful. And fir that to be remembered, it has to go n for some rime, So from the purely personal aspect of things, Nikki Haley stands to gain, and not lose, from fighting on, But I don.t know that Niki Haley is so goof=d, or so unique, that that should matter to most of us.

    Examples of candidates who lost in one election, but went further in another are:

    Richard Nixon in 1960.

    Abe Beame for mayor of New York in 1965.

    Rudolph Giuliani for mayor or New York City in 1989.

    And in primaries:

    Bob Dole in 1980 and 1988.

    George HW Bush in 1980 (got picked for vice president)

    John McCain in 2000,

    Andrew Cuomo for Governor of New York in 2002.

    Mitt Romney in 2008.

    Joe Biden in 1987 and 2008 (got picked for vice president)

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  191. Some of the money for the pro-Hamas demonstrations is reputed too come from China. The Democratic Socialists of America are running out of money, possibly because they expected to cash in, but didn’t.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  192. Simon,

    What gets me is that he has a lot of support from women, despite his rampant misogyny and sexual misbehavior. I understand why he has a lot of support from the wife-beaters, but why from the wife-beatees?

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  193. Even campaigns that are unsuccessful are useful for building the foundation for the next successful one. …..

    Christie punched in the face, how’s his campaign doing?

    We’ll see if Trump has fundamentally changed the Republican Party or not to a working class, populist party only at some future date. So far Haley has been only able to attract the college educated wine and cheese voter, which hasn’t made up the bulk of the Republican electorate during this campaign.

    Maybe if more candidates joined Christie in pummeling Donald Trump, things might be different. Instead, they kowtowed to Trump.

    Until we see Trump’s support decline and his congressional endorsements switch to Haley, she has already consolidated the existing anti-Trump support.

    I’m not asking anyone “to root for or bend the knee to a rapist and bully,” nor have I done so either. I’m pointing out that Haley is extremely unlikely to be the nominee. She already lost her best shot.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  194. @190

    it’s defacto amnesty

    When they have committed no crime, “amnesty” is a non sequitur.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 8:43 am

    Kevin, crossing the river or any other non-Port of Entry entrance is breaking the law. Even if they run into the arms of the Border Patrol.

    Are you purposely ignoring that or you’re not seeing it?

    Claiming asylum needs to be done either at their home country’s US Embassy (or consulate I believe) OR, the next safest contiguous nation’s embassy.

    whembly (5f7596)

  195. @193

    Kevin, I honestly think that the “middle finger” aspect drives Trump support. And even the most ardent Trump supporter needs to ask an important question: at what point do they say, “that’s it” and can no longer support him.

    It isn’t about any other politician. That’s a cop out. We all must have our limits. Otherwise we do not support a candidate. We simply agree. To anything and everything.

    Simon Jester (c8876d) — 1/30/2024 @ 8:58 am

    Why must we support the candidate?

    Why can I not, in a defensive measure, vote against the other candidate despite how bad the candidate I’m voting for?

    But, to your point, I do think *spite* is a large driver of Trump’s support. It could be either or combination of:
    -2020 election was unfair
    -Trump’s being targeted by his political opponent
    -Democrat policies are simply awful
    -Judges
    -The border
    -Foreign policy
    -economy
    -social issues

    What I think we’re finding, is that there’s a non-insignificant number of voters who simply are not the “tip of the spear” consumers of all-things-political who simply makes the calculation that things were better in the Trump years than the Biden’s years, and all the sturm and drang of Trump’s chaos is simply background noise.

    whembly (5f7596)

  196. Allahnick has a column today about Nikki’s new “half-Liz” strategy. It’s good as far as it goes, but I think he’s missing the real dynamic: speaking to Trump-supporting women. It’s unlikely that any of Trump’s core male supporters are going to be influenced by anything a woman says, but the women in their lives may be more susceptible.

    So, when Nikki supports E Jean Carroll, or talks about Trump’s “temper tantrums” and other poor behavior, or brings up kitchen-table issues that Trump ignores, a lot of women are going to hear that over the noise.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  197. @196

    Simon,

    What gets me is that he has a lot of support from women, despite his rampant misogyny and sexual misbehavior. I understand why he has a lot of support from the wife-beaters, but why from the wife-beatees?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 9:31 am

    That baffles me too. Especially the GenXers and older generation.

    I was talking to my mother about this with my aunties…. and they’re all Trump supporters. They handwave it all the away because they truly believe he’s opponents are abusing the system against him. After talking about this more and the things they say… I think I may know why.

    Most of them grew up with old school Television, Movies and women’s magazine…and prior to politics, Trump was the famous ladies man billionaire Democrat with all the fawning you’d expect from someone at his stature. It was only when he ran for office, that all of that changed. Yet, these women remember fondly of Trump pre-POTUS. I can’t explain it any better than that, and curious of what ya’ll think.

    whembly (5f7596)

  198. Kevin, crossing the river or any other non-Port of Entry entrance is breaking the law. Even if they run into the arms of the Border Patrol.

    Are you purposely ignoring that or you’re not seeing it?

    Claiming asylum needs to be done either at their home country’s US Embassy (or consulate I believe) OR, the next safest contiguous nation’s embassy.

    It’s you that is ignoring something, not me. Asylum can be requested at any official border crossing station, or even at airport customs.

    You need to separate out those who only ask for amnesty after they are caught illegally entering, and those who appear at the gateway lawfully. I really would like to see stats on the two situations and who gets considered for amnesty. I think that in the one case the presumption is positive and in the other case it is not, but if you have good data on that, I’d like to see it.

    But in either case if they are given permission to stay in the country, they are here legally, by definition. You may argue that the permission was unreasonably given, but that does not turn the recipient into a criminal.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  199. Do you really think that our embassy in Mexico is set up to process more than maybe a dozen asylum requests a day?

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  200. Kevin, did you ever read “A Canticle for Leibowitz“?

    After the nuclear war, there was this comment:

    “Simpletons! Yes, yes! I’m a simpleton! Are you a simpleton? We’ll build a town and we’ll name it Simple Town, because by then all the smart bastards that caused all this, they’ll be dead! Simpletons! Let’s go! This ought to show ’em! Anybody here not a simpleton? Get the bastard, if there is!”.

    People would great one another as “simpletons” because the mess that the supposedly smart people made.

    Thus, one source of trumpism.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  201. Yes, twice. Walter M Miller, Jr.

    Populism does not rise from nothing. All those simpletons would MUCH rather have someone else attend crop report hearings and read the college application essays while they go bowling. Politics is the last thing in the world they want to spend their time on.

    But when the “smart people”, for whatever reasons (self-dealing, arrogance, myopia, delusion, fad-following, greed, etc) lose the plot and the sh1t flows downhill to the simpletons, you get populism. And populism is a pretty blunt weapon, so all those smart people think it’s all random. It’s not, it’s just aimed at them for fracking up so badly.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  202. @203

    It’s you that is ignoring something, not me. Asylum can be requested at any official border crossing station, or even at airport customs.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 10:16 am

    So… is walking through a gap in the wall or swim across the river “crossing station” or an “airport custom”?

    whembly (5f7596)

  203. @204

    Do you really think that our embassy in Mexico is set up to process more than maybe a dozen asylum requests a day?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 10:17 am

    Yes.

    That’s the point.

    whembly (5f7596)

  204. Off-topic:

    Here is my list of the most important, influential or otherwise breakout books in Science fiction over the years. It’s an opinion, based on a lifetime of reading. And no, I don’t actually like all of them.

    1800s

    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea- Jules Verne
    Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
    From Earth to the Moon- Jules Verne
    The Time Machine- H G Wells
    The War of the Worlds- H G Wells

    1910s

    A Princess of Mars- Edgar Rice Burroughs
    At the Earth’s Core- Edgar Rice Burroughs
    The Lost World- Arthur Conan Doyle

    1920s

    Armageddon 2419 AD- Philip Francis Nowlan
    R U R- Karel Čapek
    The Skylark of Space- E E “Doc” Smith
    We- Yevgeny Zamyatin

    1930s

    A Martian Odyssey- Stanley G Weinbaum (short story in collection)
    Anthem- Ayn Rand
    At the Mountains of Madness- H P Lovecraft
    Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
    Galactic Patrol- E E “Doc” Smith
    Gladiator- Philip Wylie
    Hour of the Dragon- Robert E Howard
    Jirel of Joiry- C L Moore
    Last and First Men- Olaf Stapeldon
    Out of the Silent Planet- C S Lewis
    The Legion of Space- Jack Williamson
    The Man of Bronze- Kenneth Robeson (Lester Dent)
    War with the Newts- Karel Čapek
    When Worlds Collide- Philip Wylie & Edwin Balmer
    Who Goes There?- John W Campbell, Jr

    1940s

    Adventures in Time and Space- edited by Raymond J Healy
    Animal Farm- George Orwell
    Conjure Wife- Fritz Leiber
    Earth Abides- George R Stewart
    Lest Darkness Fall- L Sprague de Camp
    Methuselah’s Children- Robert A Heinlein
    Needle- Hal Clement
    Nightfall- Isaac Asimov
    Nineteen Eighty-Four- George Orwell
    Orphans of the Sky- Robert A Heinlein
    Slan- A E van Vogt
    The Green Hills of Earth- Robert A Heinlein
    The Man Who Sold the Moon- Robert A Heinlein
    The World of Null-A- A E van Vogt
    Venus Equilateral- George O Smith
    What Mad Universe- Fredric Brown

    1950s

    A Canticle for Leibowitz- Walter M Miller, Jr
    A Case of Conscience- James Blish
    Alas, Babylon- Pat Frank
    Atlas Shrugged- Ayn Rand
    Brain Wave- Poul Anderson
    Childhood’s End- Arthur C Clarke
    Citizen of the Galaxy- Robert A Heinlein
    City- Clifford D Simak
    Doomsday Morning- C L Moore
    Dorsai!- Gordon R Dickson
    Double Star- Robert A Heinlein
    Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury
    Foundation- Isaac Asimov
    I, Robot- Isaac Asimov
    Mission of Gravity- Hal Clement
    More Than Human- Theodore Sturgeon
    Starship Troopers- Robert A Heinlein
    The Black Cloud- Fred Hoyle
    The Caves of Steel- Isaac Asimov
    The Day of the Triffids- John Wyndham
    The Demolished Man- Alfred Bester
    The Martian Chronicles- Ray Bradbury
    The Puppet Masters- Robert A Heinlein
    The Rediscovery of Man- Cordwainer Smith
    The Sirens of Titan- Kurt Vonnegut
    The Space Merchants- Frederik Pohl & C M Kornbluth
    The Stars My Destination- Alfred Bester
    The Weapon Shops of Isher- A E van Vogt
    Time Out of Joint- Philip K Dick

    1960s

    A Clockwork Orange- Anthony Burgess
    Agent of the Terran Empire- Poul Anderson
    Behold the Man- Michael Moorcock
    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?- Philip K Dick
    Dangerous Visions- edited by Harlan Ellison
    Dragonflight- Anne McCaffrey
    Dune- Frank Herbert
    Flowers for Algernon- Daniel Keyes
    Glory Road- Robert A Heinlein
    I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream- Harlan Ellison
    Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen- H Beam Piper
    Lord of Light- Roger Zelazny
    Neutron Star- Larry Niven
    Pilgrimage: The Book of the People- Zenna Henderson
    Podkayne of Mars- Robert A Heinlein
    Slaughterhouse-Five- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
    Solaris- Stanislaw Lem
    Stand on Zanzibar- John Brunner
    Stranger in a Strange Land- Robert A Heinlein
    The Left Hand of Darkness- Ursula K Le Guin
    The Man in the High Castle- Philip K Dick
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress- Robert A Heinlein
    The Stainless Steel Rat- Harry Harrison
    The Witches of Karres- James H Schmitz
    Trader to the Stars- Poul Anderson
    Ubik- Philip K Dick
    Up the Line- Robert Silverberg
    Venus Plus X- Theodore Sturgeon
    Way Station- Clifford D Simak

    1970s

    Deathbird Stories- Harlan Ellison
    Gateway- Frederik Pohl
    Inherit the Stars- James P Hogan
    Nine Princes in Amber- Roger Zelazny
    Rendezvous with Rama- Arthur C Clarke
    Ringworld- Larry Niven
    To Your Scattered Bodies Go- Philip Jose Farmer
    Tau Zero- Poul Anderson
    The Dispossessed- Ursula K Le Guin
    The Female Man- Joanna Russ
    The Forever War- Joe Haldeman
    The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
    The Lathe of Heaven- Ursula K Le Guin
    The Man Who Folded Himself- David Gerrold
    The Mote in God’s Eye- Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
    The Ophiuchi Hotline- John Varley
    The Shockwave Rider- John Brunner
    The Stand- Stephen King
    Titan- John Varley

    1980s

    Across Realtime- Vernor Vinge
    Armor- John Steakley
    Consider Phlebas- Iain M Banks
    Downbelow Station- C J Cherryh
    Ender’s Game- Orson Scott Card
    Friday- Robert A Heinlein
    Hyperion- Dan Simmons
    Lord Valentine’s Castle- Robert Silverberg
    Neuromancer- William Gibson
    Robots and Empire- Isaac Asimov
    Speaker for the Dead- Orson Scott Card
    Startide Rising- David Brin
    The Many-Colored Land- Julian May
    The Pride of Chanur- C J Cherryh
    The Shadow of the Torturer- Gene Wolfe
    The Warrior’s Apprentice- Lois McMaster Bujold
    Watchmen- Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
    When Gravity Fails- George Alec Effinger

    1990’s

    A Deepness in the Sky- Vernor Vinge
    A Fire Upon the Deep- Vernor Vinge
    Against a Dark Background- Iain M Banks
    Beggars in Spain- Nancy Kress
    Cryptonomicon- Neal Stephenson
    Doomsday Book- Connie Willis
    Foreigner- C J Cherryh
    Idoru- William Gibson
    In the Garden of Iden- Kage Baker
    On Basilisk Station- David Weber
    Queen of Angels- Greg Bear
    Red Mars- Kim Stanley Robinson
    Snow Crash- Neal Stephenson
    The Difference Engine- William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
    The Diamond Age- Neal Stephenson
    The Reality Dysfunction- Peter F Hamilton
    The Star Fraction- Ken MacLeod

    2000s

    Altered Carbon- Richard K Morgan
    Anathem- Neal Stephenson
    Kindred- Octavia E Butler
    Old Man’s War- John Scalzi
    Perdido Street Station- China Mieville
    Pandora’s Star & Judas Unchained- Peter F Hamilton
    Rainbows End- Vernor Vinge
    Revelation Space- Alastair Reynolds
    River of Gods- Ian McDonald
    Spin- Robert Charles Wilson
    The Algebraist- Iain M Banks
    The Atrocity Archives- Charles Stross
    The Family Trade- Charles Stross
    The Windup Girl- Paolo Bacigalupi

    2010s

    A Memory Called Empire- Arkady Martine
    All Systems Red- Martha Wells
    Ancillary Justice- Ann Leckie
    Blackout & All Clear- Connie Willis
    Children of Time- Adrian Tchaikovsky
    Feed- Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire)
    Gideon the Ninth- Tasmyn Muir
    Leviathan Wakes- James S A Corey
    Saga- Brian K Vaughan & Fiona Staples
    Surface Detail- Iain M Banks
    The Fifth Season- N K Jemisin
    The Martian- Andy Weir
    The Three-Body Problem- Liu Cixin
    Wool- Hugh Howey

    2020s
    ???

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  205. Kevin, these books have been my gospel. I’ll bet we could have a fun conversation.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  206. P.S. Kevin, if you ever want to chat off this board, Patterico has my email.

    Simon Jester (c8876d)

  207. So… is walking through a gap in the wall or swim across the river “crossing station” or an “airport custom”?

    No, and I said it is not. And that you were ignoring that. Again now.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  208. @212

    So… is walking through a gap in the wall or swim across the river “crossing station” or an “airport custom”?

    No, and I said it is not. And that you were ignoring that. Again now.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 11:03 am

    Kevin, most of the asylum seekers *are* walking through a gap in the wall or swimming across the river. Most are not going through established crossing stations and airport customs.

    It’s these folks I’m talking about, that makes up the large majority of these cases.

    whembly (5f7596)

  209. “Maybe if more candidates joined Christie in pummeling Donald Trump, things might be different.”

    Isn’t that wishcasting? For someone only driven by polls, where is the polling evidence that suggests that more kamikazes would have turned the corner on this electorate? It’s equally reasonable to assume that Kamikaze-Nikki and Kamikaze-Ron would have simply tracked Christie’s single-digit performance and Iowa would have been even more lopsided. Christie’s negatives were crazy high precisely because he was perceived as making the MSNBC case against Trump. It was a losing strategy.

    “I’m pointing out that Haley is extremely unlikely to be the nominee.”

    That is the conventional wisdom. But Haley is fighting the good fight. Here is Ken Griffin (CEO Citadel) at The Hill

    “I think there’s a sense of: Do we want to return to a president who was just viewed as more powerful, more in charge? And that’s going to be difficult for Nikki to overcome right now,” Griffin said. “Her poise? Admirable. Her foreign policy experience? Tremendous. Her ability to unite this country? Phenomenal.”

    And more Griffin

    “And I’ve said this to my friends who are involved in politics: You can be frustrated, you can be angry, you can be disappointed, but you can’t be uninvolved,” Griffin said. “So I’ve been involved in a number of the Senate races, a number of the House races. I’ll be very deeply involved here in Florida and Florida races locally. Just because we can struggle with who our choice of president is, doesn’t mean that we have to walk away from the field.”

    Haley will likely not be able to overcome Trump’s built-in advantages, in spite of all of his baggage. GOP voters assume Trump is the reason the economy boomed before Covid. They assume his signature issue of the border will be better served by his approach….and they shockingly presume peace will reign if Trump is back in office. Couple that with an unusual election with Covid accommodations…and phenomenal name recognition and familiarity….is it crazy for him to lead among Republicans? Add in the steadfast support of right-wing media and most Republican incumbents….and we are where we are. I wish voters cared more about character and fitness. Character is destiny. I’m going to continue to applaud Haley for making the case. Trump being annoyed means she’s doing something right….

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  210. Kevin, most of the asylum seekers *are* walking through a gap in the wall

    Most of the ones you see in news reports or blogs, at least. But maybe it’s for the same reason that you only see collapsed buildings after an earthquake, even though 99.9% of buildings came through OK. If it bleeds, it leads.

    The crossing points are overwhelmed because they are where most of the people are trying to enter.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  211. “Maybe if more candidates joined Christie in pummeling Donald Trump, things might be different.”

    “I’m pointing out that Haley is extremely unlikely to be the nominee.”

    Allahnick disputes the first while agreeing with the second.

    Her strategy now seems to be <a href="“>The Half Liz.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  212. Mr M wrote:

    Do you really think that our embassy in Mexico is set up to process more than maybe a dozen asylum requests a day?

    That would be a feature, not a bug; have you considered that perhaps we don’t want more asylum requests than that — if even that many — processed?

    Dana (bacf72)

  213. “Maybe if more candidates joined Christie in pummeling Donald Trump, things might be different.”

    Isn’t that wishcasting?…….

    Not really, it’s how the schoolyards take care of bullies. The bully’s victims band together and give him what for. Of course it’s unknowable as rather than ganging up on Trump, the other candidates (including Haley) protected the bully.

    Ken Griffin really has no expertise in politics, outside of giving money. He’s ust protecting his investment in Haley, all the while hedging his bets.

    I really doubt that Trump will blacklist any of Haley’s funders. If they offered him millions in contributions I’m sure he would take it. They’re a mercenary bunch.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  214. White lives matter activist ameane penny gets 18 years in slammer for fire bombing church that supports LGBTQ.(DU) Donald trump nominated for nobel peace prize again.

    asset (ca3256)

  215. Decades ago, most .migrants would try to sneak across remote areas of the border. Some still do that, typically if they have a record that means they will be immediately deported.

    But my impression now is that most migrants are presenting themselves at ports-of-entry and requesting asylum (plus relocation to be with family here). If so, that may be why the border crossings are so inundated.

    But I live about 200 miles from the border and don’t know exactly what is happening. I dont want the Republican or the Democratic talking points. What can I read that is credible and reliable that will tell me?

    DRJ (77597f)

  216. That would be a feature, not a bug; have you considered that perhaps we don’t want more asylum requests than that — if even that many — processed?

    What we want doesn’t matter. See King Canute.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  217. So, is Trump’s threats against Haley’s backers a backdoor solicitation of bribes?

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  218. What can I read that is credible and reliable that will tell me?

    DRJ (77597f) — 1/30/2024 @ 2:01 pm

    Try the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). I have given money to this organization. When I was working as an immigration officer, we got annual pitches to donate to the Combined Federal Campaign (the federal government’s charity effort). I was delighted to find out that this organization was on the list of recipients. Its leader, Mark Krikorian, talks reasonably about immigration and, while he’s pro-enforcement, he’s not a Trump ring-kisser as far as I can tell.

    norcal (a4966a)

  219. Do you really think that our embassy in Mexico is set up to process more than maybe a dozen asylum requests a day?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 10:17 am

    Yes.

    That’s the point.

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/30/2024 @ 10:52 am

    A point of clarification. Asylum can only be requested in the U.S., or at a port-of-entry. From abroad, it is refugee status that is requested.

    norcal (a4966a)

  220. Here is my list of the most important, influential or otherwise breakout books in Science fiction over the years.

    Kevin, can you condense that down to a top five or top ten list? I only have time to read the very best. 😛 Simon, I’d be interested in your whittled-down list, also.

    norcal (a4966a)

  221. So, I looked at the CIS site and terminology is such that it’s impossible to tell what portion were refused entry, and of those that were allowed in, which had at least prima facie asylum claims.

    It doesn’t help that the Biden administration is trying to have things both ways, with a number of programs for permitting the impermissible. Are such people entering illegally? Or are the entering legally under a program that is, itself, illegal?

    If Biden were to tell the IRS that no one had to pay capital gains taxes, and under that program I didn’t pay my capital gains tax, am I behaving illegally?

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  222. So, is Trump’s threats against Haley’s backers a backdoor solicitation of bribes?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 2:39 pm

    Haley’s backers will give to Trump of their own free will, just like most of the other Republican candidates. None of them want to be on the outside looking in.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  223. If Biden were to tell the IRS that no one had to pay capital gains taxes, and under that program I didn’t pay my capital gains tax, am I behaving illegally?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 3:22 pm

    Yes; Congress writes the tax code, not any presidential administration.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  224. I will do that, norcal, and thank you. Anything you want to offer based on your knowledge and experience would also be appreciated.

    DRJ (c92fda)

  225. I am reading the CIS website, norcal, and there are some excellent articles there. In addition, here is another website that specofocally addresses my question. Do you know anything about the Migration Policy Institute?

    DRJ (c92fda)

  226. When will ignorant southern white trash change? (They did change from democrat to republican) Why should they? Trump hates the same people they hate. Better to rule in hell then serve in heaven. You’ll keep saying stop loving trump and hating never trumpers. They still control most red states so they would rather lose with trum and stay in control of republican party. You are now rinos not them.

    asset (061ab9)

  227. @225 Life is not science fiction or we would write much more interesting characters then we actually meet. Mr. Spock for president!

    asset (061ab9)

  228. Kevin, can you condense that down to a top five or top ten list?

    It’s not really a “best” list, in the sense that a book that was groundbreaking in 1912 might not even be very interesting today. They are more the SF “Canon.”

    For a best list, one has to look at more recent work. One also has to judge personal tastes, not everyone likes space opera. Here are book that I consider absolutely amazing, and current. They are not the normal “best” list.

    Books that stand on their own:

    A Deepness in the Sky- Vernor Vinge
    Doomsday Book- Connie Willis
    Idoru- William Gibson
    Pandora’s Star & Judas Unchained- Peter F Hamilton
    Ringworld- Larry Niven
    Snow Crash- Neal Stephenson
    Surface Detail- Iain M Banks
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress- Robert A Heinlein
    The Stars My Destination- Alfred Bester
    Titan- John Varley

    Books that start great series:

    Consider Phlebas- Iain M Banks
    Ender’s Game- Orson Scott Card
    Foreigner- C J Cherryh
    In the Garden of Iden- Kage Baker
    Leviathan Wakes- James S A Corey
    On Basilisk Station- David Weber
    Revelation Space- Alastair Reynolds
    The Reality Dysfunction- Peter F Hamilton
    The Warrior’s Apprentice- Lois McMaster Bujold
    Titan- John Varley

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  229. Do you know anything about the Migration Policy Institute?

    DRJ (c92fda) — 1/30/2024 @ 3:39 pm

    No, I don’t. My blood easily boils when I reflect on my career and the immigration mess, so it’s only on occasion that I will get into those weeds. (I once referred to my agency as a Cornucopia of Clusterf**kery. My friend and co-worker found that hilarious.)

    All I remember is that Krikorian was much better at discussing immigration issues than Dan Stein, the onetime head of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). So, I favored CIS over FAIR.

    norcal (a4966a)

  230. Mr. Krekorian seems to agree with the Migration Policy Institute article regarding the Biden policy that deceptively drives down numbers:

    Krikorian highlights the deceptive CBP border numbers released this week. The Biden administration reports a 70 percent reduction in unlawful entries “between ports of entry.” However, closer inspection of the numbers shows that the Biden administration has simply allowed illegal immigrants to enter at ports of entry using the CBP One app, so they appear “legal.”

    I have been looking for information like this, norcal. Your lead was the only way I found it.

    DRJ (c92fda)

  231. A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge may be the best SF book ever written. Endlessly inventive.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  232. I definitely remember Stein and Krikorian (even though I couldn’t spell his name). I share your preference for Krikorian.

    DRJ (c92fda)

  233. Life is not science fiction or we would write much more interesting characters then we actually meet. Mr. Spock for president!

    Said by someone who mistakes TV shows for SF.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  234. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 3:48 pm

    Thanks, Kevin.

    norcal (a4966a)

  235. A Deepness in the Sky and the Doomsday Book *tied* for the Best Novel Hugo, which has otherwise never happened. Both were absolutely fantastic.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  236. > Said by someone who mistakes TV shows for SF.

    The adaptation of _the expanse_ has been phenomenal.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  237. Let’s say that someone presents themselves at the border. An objective immigration lawyer would tell you they are inadmissible, but the immigration officer on duty allows them in and gives them a green card (or whatever they give them). Is the immigrant committing a crime? Or is the administration committing the crime?

    The Mayorkas impeachment would argue the latter.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  238. Your lead was the only way I found it.

    DRJ (c92fda) — 1/30/2024 @ 3:50 pm

    I’m glad I could be of help.

    One of these days I might write a lengthy comment about the immigration morass.

    norcal (a4966a)

  239. The adaptation of _the expanse_ has been phenomenal.

    Well, yes. Well-cast, well produced and the change to put Chrisjen Avasarala in the initial episodes was genius. One of the greatest characters in SF. Shohreh Aghdashloo deserved an Emmy.

    But all asset knew was Trek.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  240. BTW, aphrael, this is a bit of a guess, but from what I read of you here, I think you’d like Foreigner by S J Cherryh.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  241. C J Cherryh. Gah!

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  242. Please do, norcal. Offer it to P as a guest post. I think people are desperate for information, and you have a valuable perspective.

    DRJ (5d4c55)

  243. 242. No one is committing a crime unless they were bribed. And the law is probably more complicated.

    It might be that a provision for exceptions is used more than intended. I don;t think we’re getting the truth from anyone.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  244. Star Trek is on Heroes and Icons six nights a week Sunday through Friday 8 pm through 1am – 5 series. Yesterday was set in Hotel Royale on TNG I don’t know how they can pretend details can be recreated from a book. We have the same thing in “A Piece of the Action” in TOS. It’s not time travel in either case. We had a series if shirt hops time travel for “Chief” O’Brien on DS9 yesterday. Interesting remise.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  245. RIP, Chita Rivera, 91, Broadway dancer and actress.

    Appearing in scores of stage productions, she dazzled audiences for nearly six decades, most memorably starring as Anita in “West Side Story” and Velma Kelly in “Chicago.”

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  246. The distinguished Mr Finkelman noted:

    Star Trek is on Heroes and Icons six nights a week Sunday through Friday 8 pm through 1am – 5 series. Yesterday was set in Hotel Royale on TNG I don’t know how they can pretend details can be recreated from a book. We have the same thing in “A Piece of the Action” in TOS. It’s not time travel in either case. We had a series if shirt hops time travel for “Chief” O’Brien on DS9 yesterday. Interesting remise.

    All of the Star Trek series are on H&I, channel 385 on DirecTV, including the best of the series, Deep Space Nine, and the prequel series, Enterprise. If you didn’t see Enterprise, the series will go back to the first episode this Friday night.

    Dana (bacf72)

  247. Or, you could join Paramount+ and watch them all in a solid week of binging.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  248. So, I see that Haley is not doing so well in recent Haley-Biden general election polls. I wonder if Trump supporters are simply saying they’d vote for Biden out of spite.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  249. Impeaching Mayorkas Achieves Nothing

    House Republicans are marking up articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and the question is why?
    ………
    These are failures of policy and execution, but are they impeachable offenses? That seems doubtful. The first article cites Mr. Mayorkas for refusing to implement a law that requires detention of aliens. It says his policy of “catch and release” is impeachable.

    Yet the Supreme Court has not ruled that the Biden policies are illegal. The High Court in 2022 let the Biden Administration end Donald Trump’s Remain in Mexico policy, and last year it ruled 8-1 that states don’t necessarily have standing to challenge the federal government’s enforcement priorities.
    ……….
    Article I also claims Mr. Mayorkas has violated the law by expanding humanitarian parole beyond Congress’s intent. That’s probably true, but the law puts no cap on parole numbers. Texas and other states challenged the President’s authority to use parole for large classes of migrants, but the Supreme Court ruled against them.
    ……….
    If Congress holds Mr. Mayorkas impeachable for policy failure, what’s the limiting principle? Are his deputies also guilty of “high crimes” for implementing the Biden immigration agenda? Career officials? How many GOP cabinet secretaries will the next Democratic House line up to impeach? Policy disputes are for the voting booth, not impeachment.
    ……….
    ……….Impeaching Mr. Mayorkas would be the political equivalent of a no-confidence vote. This would continue Congress’s recent trend of defining impeachment down.

    Grandstanding is easier than governing, and Republicans have to decide whether to accomplish anything other than impeaching Democrats………
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  250. So, I see that Haley is not doing so well in recent Haley-Biden general election polls. I wonder if Trump supporters are simply saying they’d vote for Biden out of spite.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:30 pm

    LOL!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  251. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:27 pm

    Or, you could join Paramount+ and watch them all in a solid week of binging.

    There are only 168 hours in a week – but there are 4 to 5 times as many episodes of Star Trek

    And 168 shows per week is if a person did nothing else and never rested and did not sleep, It would not help that much if each show was only 44 minutes long or whatever.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  252. Tonight, TNG also has a short time jump – this time of Picard – in Time Squared.

    H&I is on Channel 9-4 on broadcast TV in New York.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  253. On the other hand, there were only 4 seasons and 98 episodes of Enterprise alone, so if binge watching that in a week it would only amount to 14 episodes a day.

    There were 7 seasons each of TNG, DS9 and Voyager with 178, 176 and 172 episodes each. and 79 episodes in 3 seasons of TOS, 10 movies and 22 cartoons, And more since 2017.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  254. Thanks for the recommendation, Kevin 🙂 I’ll add it to the TBR. 🙂

    I think there will be a window in late March where i’m *not* working on a book (i’m a beta reader for a couple of different writers) when i can squeeze it in. 🙂

    aphrael (4c4719)

  255. @252 Where Kirk fights the romulan ship balance of terror is the best and is similar to movie enemy below. Where kirk saves whale movie is next best. I like T’pol best character of all.

    asset (282537)

  256. So, I see that Haley is not doing so well in recent Haley-Biden general election polls. I wonder if Trump supporters are simply saying they’d vote for Biden out of spite.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:30 pm

    Not sure what poll you’re looking at, but a new Emerson College poll shows Trump (or Haley) neck-and-neck with Biden:

    ………..
    In a likely 2024 matchup, 46% of voters support former President Donald Trump, and 45% support President Joe Biden. Since December, Trump’s support decreased one point from 47% to 46%, while Biden’s increased two points from 43% to 45%.

    In a hypothetical matchup between Biden and Haley, 38% support Haley, 37% Biden, and a quarter of voters (25%) are undecided.

    With third-party candidates Robert Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and Jill Stein added to the ballot, Trump’s lead over Biden increases to two points, 41% to 39%, while 5% support Kennedy Jr., and 1% Stein and West respectively. In a hypothetical matchup between Biden, Trump, and Haley, Trump’s lead expands to five points over Biden, 42% to 37%; 12% support Haley and 10% are undecided.
    ………..
    A majority of Republican Primary voters nationwide (73%) support Trump as their 2024 nominee, while 19% support Nikki Haley. ………….Trump’s support increased 13 points, from 64% to 77%, and Haley increased 10 points, from 14% to 24%.

    ………. A majority (53%) think the former UN ambassador should drop out, while 34% think she should stay in the race, and 13% are neutral.……….
    ………….

    As everyone here liked to point out to me, polls 280 days before an election are notoriously unreliable (though the Republican primary polls have been exceptionally consistent for nearly that long). Of all the candidates mentioned above, there are only two that are in a position to win their party’s nomination and be on enough ballots to actually win.

    Rip Murdock (d5964e)

  257. Sorry, B5 man myself.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  258. @242

    Let’s say that someone presents themselves at the border. An objective immigration lawyer would tell you they are inadmissible, but the immigration officer on duty allows them in and gives them a green card (or whatever they give them). Is the immigrant committing a crime? Or is the administration committing the crime?

    The Mayorkas impeachment would argue the latter.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 3:56 pm

    I see what you mean.

    But why does it have to be either/or dynamic?

    Couldn’t both the immigrant AND the administration commit some crime?

    Why do we charge the driver, who’s just sitting in the car and gives his buddy a ride, after his buddy robbed the bank?

    whembly (c88dc4)

  259. @250

    Prosecutor in Trump Georgia case settles divorce, heading off testimony

    Advantage, ex-wife.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:14 pm

    Wanna bet that some weathy democrat gave the ex-wife a juicy deal to call this off? You know what, if so, good for her.

    That still doesn’t affect the appearance of conflict of interest between Wade and Fani.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  260. @255

    Impeaching Mayorkas Achieves Nothing

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:52 pm

    I disagree.

    When an administration, headed by a political appointee abdicate their responsibility…impeachment is exactly the mechanism Congress should use to pressure the administration to start enforcing the damn law.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  261. @ Simon Jester,

    Kevin, did you ever read “A Canticle for Leibowitz“?

    I read it, Simon, and it was amazing. I thought about it for a long time afterward. And that was very unexpected because i am not normally a sci-fi reader. This book was so worth it.

    Dana (8e902f)

  262. @265 You mean like the new house that was bought dubya’s girl friend that he drove to NY for an abortion?

    asset (282537)

  263. Since you are discussing science fiction, three thoughts on Heinlein stories:

    1. Both Musk and Bezos say “The Man Who Sold the Moon” inspired them.

    2. When I get my hair cut by a new stylist, I sometimes tell her one of his short stories, “Delilah and the Space Rigger”. So far, all of them have liked it. Or appeared to.

    3. Another Heinlein short story, ” . . . . All You Zombies . . .” is about the weirdest story I’ve ever read.

    Jim Miller (09f17d)

  264. Just watched Tenet for the first time yesterday. I’m now going to try to figure out what the hell I just watched.

    What does it even mean to live backwards in time….and how can inverted people interact with non-inverted people….wouldn’t they simply slip past each other?

    There are too many paradoxes with time travel. OK, along with alternative universes, they may make for an intriguing story (yeah I’m knee deep in Dark right now, but had to take a break because my brain hurt) but the “rules” always seem arbitrary. What is science’s best guess….or is it just hot-tub time machine?

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  265. Mr Finkelman wrote:

    There were 7 seasons each of TNG, DS9 and Voyager with 178, 176 and 172 episodes each. and 79 episodes in 3 seasons of TOS, 10 movies and 22 cartoons, And more since 2017.

    You can pretty much skip Voyager. I mean, who can seriously accept the notion of a female captain? Then they went all in on Seven of Nine’s most prominent and obvious Borg implants.

    Dana (bacf72)

  266. If you suppose infinity, every possible situation exists, not once but an infinite number of times.

    Nobody is traveling in time, AJ_Liberty. They are traveling across an infinite number of universes in infinitesimal amounts of time.

    “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. — Arthur C. Clarke

    “Any science fiction which glosses over the laws of physics is fantasy.” — nk

    Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard. Just enjoy the story.

    nk (ed8501)

  267. Why do we charge the driver, who’s just sitting in the car and gives his buddy a ride, after his buddy robbed the bank?

    If he picked up his buddy a mile away and there was no evidence he knew that a bank was robbed? We don’t. While ignorance of the law is no excuse, an official stamp of approval on one’s actions ought to be.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  268. 1. Both Musk and Bezos say “The Man Who Sold the Moon” inspired them.

    Musk also talks about Robinson’s “Red Mars” being the basis for his plans there.

    My favorite story from Heinlein’s Evening Post era remains “The Green Hills of Earth”

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  269. There are too many paradoxes with time travel

    There are none, if you look at it right. The future springs from the present, always, and is always unknowable. There’s a famous comic where someone steps out of his time machine and announces that he just went back and killed Hitler, and the response is “Who’s Hitler?”

    See the Many Worlds hypothesis aka Everett Theory. For a fictional treatment, try the excellent time-travel book “Here, There & Everywhere” by Chris Roberson.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  270. The story of Hugh Everett is a sad one, almost as bad as that of Évariste Galois whose worked revolutionized mathematics long after his death at 20 in a duel.

    Everett was encouraged in his work by his mentor John Wheeler and obtained a doctorate from Princeton, then the center of physics in the United States. His paper on the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics was published, but the Old Guard did not accept it. He went to Copenhagen to try to discuss it with Neils Bohr, but was basically shown the door.

    He then quit physics and worked at defense firms for the rest of his life. He died of a ehart attack at the age of 51, after several decades of alcoholism, chain-smoking and obesity.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  271. “Any science fiction which glosses over the laws of physics is fantasy.” — nk

    You state Clarke’s Third Law about “magic”, but neglect his First Law:

    When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  272. https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/30/pro-life-activists-jury-hands-down-guilty-verdict/

    Biden administration persecuting Christians with draconian charges.

    NJRob (9c1c06)

  273. Impeaching Mayorkas Achieves Nothing

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:52 pm

    I disagree.

    When an administration, headed by a political appointee abdicate their responsibility…impeachment is exactly the mechanism Congress should use to pressure the administration to start enforcing the damn law.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 1/30/2024 @ 8:58 pm

    The problem is the law as written (as well as Supreme Court rulings) give the administration discretion when enforcing immigration laws.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  274. #280

    Since Donald Trump does not actually want anything done on immigration until he takes office, impeaching Mayorkas is actually counterproductive. The whole point of an impeachment is to force discussion in the Senate of an issue nobody was willing to discuss. Now, the last thing Trump wants for his campaign is providing the dramatic illustration that the MAGA GOP is sabotaging action on this issue — and making a big dramatic impeachment will make this more of a news itwm that it usually would be, right at the moment when everything should be covered…with a blanket until it stops moving.

    Accomplishing absolutely nothing is harder than it looks. Pity Johnson and his Freedom Caucus buddies and how hard thy have to work at this. All the cognitive dissonance has to be giving them migraines.

    Appalled (6f4cc7)

  275. whembly (c88dc4) — 1/30/2024 @ 8:58 pm

    In a major victory for the Biden administration, the Supreme Court ruled (last year) that Texas and Louisiana do not have a legal right, known as standing, to challenge a Biden administration policy that prioritizes certain groups of unauthorized immigrants for arrest and deportation. …….
    ……….
    The policy at the center of the case, United States v. Texas, was outlined in a September 2021 memorandum by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The memorandum explains that because the Department of Homeland Security does not have the resources to apprehend and deport all of the more than 11 million noncitizens who could be subject to deportation, immigration officials should prioritize the apprehension and deportation of three specific groups of people: suspected terrorists; noncitizens who have committed crimes; and those caught recently at the border.
    ………
    ……… In his 14-page opinion for the majority, Kavanaugh framed the dispute as an effort by the two states to obtain a court order that would require DHS to “alter its arrest policy so that the Department arrests more noncitizens.” But there is no history of courts “ordering the Executive Branch to change its arrest or prosecution policies so that the Executive Branch makes more arrests or initiates more prosecutions,” Kavanaugh wrote. To the contrary, Kavanaugh emphasized, the court in 1973 held that a plaintiff lacked standing to challenge a state’s policy of not prosecuting some violations of child-support laws.

    Moreover, Kavanaugh noted, the Constitution gives the executive branch broad discretion to enforce the laws. And in the immigration context, Kavanaugh observed, it has long been the case that the executive branch has not had sufficient resources to arrest or deport all of the noncitizens potentially covered by federal immigration laws. As a result, Kavanaugh wrote, the past five presidential administrations have had to make decisions about which immigration arrests to prioritize. “That complicated balancing process” by the executive branch, Kavanaugh reasoned, “leaves courts without meaningful standards for assessing the” executive branch’s decisions – which has in turn led the Supreme Court to conclude that “federal courts are generally not the proper forum for resolving claims that the Executive Branch should make more arrests or bring more prosecutions.”
    ………..

    Source

    It is up to Congress to change the immigration laws and reduce any descretion.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  276. >because the Department of Homeland Security does not have the resources to apprehend and deport all of the more than 11 million noncitizens who could be subject to deportation, immigration officials should prioritize the apprehension and deportation of three specific groups of people: suspected terrorists; noncitizens who have committed crimes; and those caught recently at the border.

    This seems reasonable. Congress has commanded that DHS do [x] but only provided the resources for it to do [x/5], so DHS has to figure out what to do and what not to do — how to best approximate Congressional intent given what is an actual conflict between expectations and resources.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  277. @280

    Impeaching Mayorkas Achieves Nothing

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:52 pm

    I disagree.

    When an administration, headed by a political appointee abdicate their responsibility…impeachment is exactly the mechanism Congress should use to pressure the administration to start enforcing the damn law.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 1/30/2024 @ 8:58 pm

    The problem is the law as written (as well as Supreme Court rulings) give the administration discretion when enforcing immigration laws.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/31/2024 @ 10:01 am

    Still doesn’t mean Congress could signal it’s displeasure via impeachment.

    Still doesn’t mean Congress couldn’t force POTUS via the power of the purse.

    Abuse of this discretion can still be an impeachable offense.

    whembly (5f7596)

  278. Channeling my inner-Rip… 😉

    Morning Consult recent polling:
    https://pro-assets.morningconsult.com/wp-uploads/2024/01/2401055_Bloomberg_2024-Election-Tracking-Wave-4_Crosstabs_All-States-compressed-1.pdf
    Swing States Tracking Poll #2401055
    January 16-22, 2024

    Here are some of the results:

    · Arizona: Trump v. Biden, Trump +3
    · Georgia: Trump v. Biden, Trump +8
    · Michigan: Trump v. Biden, Trump +5
    · Nevada: Trump v. Biden, Trump +8
    · North Carolina: Trump v. Biden, Trump +10
    · Pennsylvania: Trump v. Biden, Trump +3
    · Wisconsin: Trump v. Biden, Trump +5

    That seems… waaaaaay too Trump optimistic to me.

    I don’t see how he wins AZ and Penn… and he needs those states.

    But for what it’s worth, this is one beefy pool with details galore…

    whembly (5f7596)

  279. Still doesn’t mean Congress couldn’t force POTUS via the power of the purse.

    They actually are trying that, but it is wound up in other issues. Failure to “faithfully enforce” the law is an impeachable offense. It is a political, not criminal matter and impeachment is primarily designed for political offenses — something that scoundrels obfuscate when it is convenient to obfuscate.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  280. That seems… waaaaaay too Trump optimistic to me.

    Some of Trump’s support is based on Biden’s failures, particularly with respect to inflation (which was beaucoup more than the government numbers suggest). As this recedes into the past, attitudes soften.

    Reagan was underwater in 1982 due to high interest rates and unemployment. By the time the ’84 elections came around, though, it was “Morning in America.”

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  281. The problem is the law as written (as well as Supreme Court rulings) give the administration discretion when enforcing immigration laws.

    The pre-Obama history here is one of very limited discretion. Relaxation of rules in anticipation of Congressional action, as was the case in the 80s and 90s, is much different than the same relaxation in the face of Congressional refusal to act.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  282. @283 “Congress has commanded that DHS do [x] but only provided the resources for it to do [x/5], so DHS has to figure out what to do and what not to do”

    This is false. Biden’s DHS has the power to 1) reinstate Remain in Mexico and 2) halt catch-and-release, policies which Trump’s DHS showed were adequate. Pinning the blame on a lack of funding is just a partisan talking point.

    lloyd (61daca)

  283. Biden administration persecuting Christians with draconian charges.

    Meanwhile the activist who stole and released 1000 personal tax returns, including those of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump, gets charged with one federal count and sentenced to 5 years. Kudos to the judge who gave him the max, but he should have been charged for every return that was released.

    If you allow leniency due to one’s “public-spirited” motives, you have to allow leniency to any such motive, even those you don’t like.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  284. Pinning the blame on a lack of funding is just a partisan talking point

    In many cases, not just with Biden.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  285. A bit late for Ron:

    Judge Dismisses Disney’s Suit Against Ron DeSantis

    A federal judge Wednesday dismissed Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies who oversee the company’s theme-park operations in Florida, dealing a blow to the entertainment giant in its long-running battle with the governor.

    Disney sued the defendants over a pair of laws targeting a special tax district covering the land that houses Walt Disney World. At DeSantis’s urging, Florida’s Republican-led legislature effectively ended Disney’s control of the district—which lawmakers renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District—and gave the governor the ability to handpick its five-member supervisory board.

    Disney alleged that the actions improperly retaliated against the company for opposing a DeSantis-backed law restricting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation, violating Disney’s First Amendment rights. DeSantis and Republican lawmakers said their actions were aimed at reining in excessive privileges that Disney had secured over decades.

    U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor granted a motion to dismiss the case, saying that elements of Disney’s case both lacked standing and failed on the merits.

    “This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” a Disney spokesman said after the ruling. “If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case.”

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  286. @287

    That seems… waaaaaay too Trump optimistic to me.

    Some of Trump’s support is based on Biden’s failures, particularly with respect to inflation (which was beaucoup more than the government numbers suggest). As this recedes into the past, attitudes soften.

    Reagan was underwater in 1982 due to high interest rates and unemployment. By the time the ’84 elections came around, though, it was “Morning in America.”

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 12:20 pm

    Probably.

    I think traditional Democrats will come home in November, hence why I don’t think Pennsylvania and Arizona is in play for Trump.

    whembly (5f7596)

  287. whembly (5f7596) — 1/31/2024 @ 11:02 am

    House Republicans are dumbing down impeachment farther than the Democrats. Under this standard, virtually every policy dispute can be the subject of an impeachment.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  288. whembly (5f7596) — 1/31/2024 @ 11:02 am

    Since the House Republicans are not expecting the Senate to conduct a trial, much less convict, what is the point? It just an irrational spasm.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  289. @294

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/31/2024 @ 11:02 am

    House Republicans are dumbing down impeachment farther than the Democrats. Under this standard, virtually every policy dispute can be the subject of an impeachment.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/31/2024 @ 12:52 pm

    But the total abdication of laws driven by Biden’s border policies is so far beyond simply a “policy dispute”.

    whembly (5f7596)

  290. @295

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/31/2024 @ 11:02 am

    Since the House Republicans are not expecting the Senate to conduct a trial, much less convict, what is the point? It just an irrational spasm.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/31/2024 @ 1:00 pm

    Senate is required to conduct a hearing and issue judgement.

    Even if the Senate doesn’t convict, it’s still useful because Biden would have to deal with the political reality that one of his appointees has been impeached for abdicating his responsibility.

    whembly (5f7596)

  291. @292

    A bit late for Ron:

    Judge Dismisses Disney’s Suit Against Ron DeSantis

    A federal judge Wednesday dismissed Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies who oversee the company’s theme-park operations in Florida, dealing a blow to the entertainment giant in its long-running battle with the governor.

    Disney sued the defendants over a pair of laws targeting a special tax district covering the land that houses Walt Disney World. At DeSantis’s urging, Florida’s Republican-led legislature effectively ended Disney’s control of the district—which lawmakers renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District—and gave the governor the ability to handpick its five-member supervisory board.

    Disney alleged that the actions improperly retaliated against the company for opposing a DeSantis-backed law restricting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation, violating Disney’s First Amendment rights. DeSantis and Republican lawmakers said their actions were aimed at reining in excessive privileges that Disney had secured over decades.

    U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor granted a motion to dismiss the case, saying that elements of Disney’s case both lacked standing and failed on the merits.

    “This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” a Disney spokesman said after the ruling. “If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case.”

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 12:33 pm

    So Disney doesn’t have a right to special, sweetheart benefits.

    Imagine that!

    whembly (5f7596)

  292. There’s still something a little wrong with retaliation.

    In other circumstances this could be away to bribe a company that could be expected to speak about something (which Disney was not) into silence.

    But there’s no clear bright line about this – and special benefits once granted can’t be non-removable.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  293. Senate is required to conduct a hearing and issue judgement.

    Even if the Senate doesn’t convict, it’s still useful because Biden would have to deal with the political reality that one of his appointees has been impeached for abdicating his responsibility.

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/31/2024 @ 1:06 pm

    Do you expect the Administration’s policies to change after Mayorkas is impeached? (Hint: the answer is no). Truth be told, why isn’t Biden being impeached? They are his policies that Mayorkas is carrying out.

    The Senate would certainly have discretion as to when an impeachment hearing would be held, so don’t expect it before Nov. 5, 2024 (or may be not at all, as no one would have standing to challenge that decision). Under Rule XI, the Senate permits a committee to take evidence during impeachment trials

    I daresay there may be some Senate Republican votes to acquit. That would be embarrassing.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  294. It could really backfire if the Administration offers a defense (but they are guided by polls)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  295. The premise of this article is that Biden decided to sue Florida when DeSantis seemed likely to be the Republican nominee.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-bidens-cms-targeted-florida-medicaid-desantis-bc5dab9c

    How Biden’s CMS Targeted Florida .

    An example of using government power to attack political foes.

    ….As first reported by National Review, records released by the watchdog group Government Accountability and Oversight appear to show that CMS targeted Florida, Texas and Missouri when implementing a new interpretation of Medicaid financing rules. Groups of providers in those states voluntarily redistribute Medicaid payments among themselves. These arrangements, CMS argued, were too similar to impermissible “hold harmless agreements,” in which a state government guarantees providers it will return the taxes they pay toward Medicaid.

    CMS seems to have ignored the same behavior from providers in blue states such as California. A senior official wrote in one of the GAO emails that CMS “is aware that other states have similar hospital tax arrangements.” Strangely, Mr. Biden also opposed that sort of broad interpretation of CMS rules against hold-harmless agreements as a candidate.

    I don’t understand exactly what the issue was here.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  296. Anyone for impeaching the Attorney General for not enforcing federal marijuana laws? They won’t even do selective lawsuits.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  297. Israel obtained a list of members of Hamas. About 10% of UNWRA employees belonged to Hamas and about half had close relatives.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  298. 12 employees of UNWRA were involved in Oct 7. Nine members of Hamas were fired and two are now dead.

    The 10th was a member of Islamic Jihad and we haven’t heard what happened to him.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  299. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 12:28 pm

    If you allow leniency due to one’s “public-spirited” motives, you have to allow leniency to any such motive, even those you don’t like.

    It was not “public spirited” but political and somewhat co-ordinated with others at least by the recipients.

    And contravened IRS assurances of confidentiality. Which are important basic principles of the IRS for a century by now. (for some years they were published)

    Some of Trump’s tax returns were released in 2022 after the were subpoenaed by the House Ways and Means Committee. But not those of Jeff Bezos and others.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  300. @279 If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime. Unlike most progressives I support the death penalty for certain crimes. They say its not a deterrent I think it could be made real deterrent to certain criminal fascists.

    asset (0e3cff)

  301. @285 Biden won az, ga. and wi in 2020 because green party was kicked of ballot. In 2016 Jill stein’s vote totals were larger then biden’s winning margins in those states. He lacks muslim support in mi.

    asset (0e3cff)

  302. Just read that E Jean Carroll has accused at least 7 men of sexual assault and/or rape.

    She needs help and not the kind a biased jury can provide.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  303. It was not “public spirited” but political and somewhat co-ordinated with others at least by the recipients.

    Po-TAH-to then. But you miss my point while demonstrating it.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  304. Since the House Republicans are not expecting the Senate to conduct a trial, much less convict, what is the point? It just an irrational spasm.

    The administration is behaving lawlessly. Sure, the Senate will not convict, but there is no requirement that they just roll over and accept it. So, they throw down the bloody shirt.

    There are crimes that some juries might not convict for, say a black man hitting a white cop. But you still bring the charges, and not doing so is purely political.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  305. The administration is behaving lawlessly.

    I would disagree to the extent that the laws passed by Congress granted, and the Supreme Court has upheld, wide discretionary powers to the Executive Branch in immigration matters. So if Congress doesn’t want the Administration to have such discretion, they should pass laws reigning them in.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  306. So if Congress doesn’t want the Administration to have such discretion, they should pass laws reigning them in.

    So, when a law says “may not” the administration can still read it as “maybe”? How do you fix that?

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  307. This, in general, is what is wrong with judge-made law. With legislation, you can point to the words and if necessary change them. With judge-made law, it’s all a mud fort.

    There is no way to actually repeal a judge-made law, even if it isn’t based constitutionally. There are no words to repeal, the pronouncements are vague, and any interpretation can weather any number of contrary legislative provisions.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  308. So, when a law says “may not” the administration can still read it as “maybe”? How do you fix that?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 5:01 pm

    Depends on the context. Do you have a concrete example? “May not” could leave wiggle room, while “shall not” is very clear.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  309. There is no way to actually repeal a judge-made law, even if it isn’t based constitutionally. There are no words to repeal, the pronouncements are vague, and any interpretation can weather any number of contrary legislative provisions.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 5:04 pm

    Congress can reverse “misguided” statutory interpretations by enacting a law that reverses the interpretation. It’s been done in the past.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  310. 
> > because the Department of Homeland Security does not have the resources to apprehend and deport all of the more than 11 million noncitizens who could be subject to deportation, immigration officials should prioritize the apprehension and deportation of three specific groups of people: suspected terrorists; noncitizens who have committed crimes; and those caught recently at the border.

    > This is false. Biden’s DHS has the power to 1) reinstate Remain in Mexico and 2) halt catch-and-release, policies which Trump’s DHS showed were adequate. Pinning the blame on a lack of funding is just a partisan talking point.

    Both of those are encompassed within “those caught recently at the border”.



    But there’s a broader issue, here — the overall Congressional command is to do more than DHS has the resources to do. *Legally*, there’s a huge number of people who should be deported that DHS doesn’t have resources to track down and deport. This is indisputable.



    So who should decide which of the deportable people get deported?

    The first and obvious answer is Congress, but Congress has given an impossible command and can’t get its act together to give a different one.

    So we’re left with two possible answers: the executive agency responsible for carrying out the impossible command, or the courts.



    I understand that the *outcome* you want is for DHS to reinstate “remain in mexico” and to halt “catch-and-release”. But *as a process matter* who do you want to make the determination how a federal agency should comply with an impossible demand? Should that be done by the agency or by the courts?



    It *used to be* that the conservative answer was that this should NOT be done by the courts, because the courts are unelected and unresponsive to political pressure via elections, but the executive is elected and responsive to political pressure.


    aphrael (71d87c)

  311. > Abuse of this discretion can still be an impeachable offense.

    If Congress has not provided actionable guidelines on how to use the discretion, how is ‘abuse’ defined? It’s not coded into the statute (in the hypothetical i’m posing), so where is the definition coming from?

    The entire post-depression system of government depends on Congress making broad grants of authority and issuing impossible-to-comply-with demands and then the executive making the best of it. Attempts to repeal _Chevron_ have the result of changing the system so that Congress makes broad grants of authority and issues impossible-to-comply-with demands and then the courts tell the executive what to do. (This isn’t an improvement).

    The best situation would be for Congress to more clearly delineate the grants of authority and back up those grants with resources. But that’s an impossible pipe dream.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  312. > Anyone for impeaching the Attorney General for not enforcing federal marijuana laws? They won’t even do selective lawsuits.

    That’s a very good comparison, and of course the answer is “no”, because this isn’t actually motivated by *process concerns*, it’s motivated by a *dislike of the outcome*.

    The process is fine when it leads to an outcome conservatives like and not fine when it leads to an outcome they don’t, but the complaints are clothed in misleading process concerns.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  313. how is ‘abuse’ defined?

    They’re doing something I don’t like.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  314. It will be interesting when Chevron is in the rear-view mirror.

    But what we have is not an agency trying to deal with how to serve the will of Congress, but how to use it’s discretion to bend the OUTCOMES to a policy goal. They did that with Trump, too, but that interpretation had outcomes more closely aligned with what Congress ordained.

    IF thee are two process choices, and one of them is going to meet more of what Congress demanded than the other, shouldn’t that be preferred? Does any administration have the right to choose the less compliant process because it likes the outcome better?

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  315. They’re doing something I don’t like

    Contrasted to “discretion” when it is otherwise?

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  316. @317 I’m not disputing the court decision. I’m disputing that this is a funding issue. DHS can address the backlog by using the Trump policies mentioned in my comment. Yes, legally they don’t have to. And, it’s obvious they don’t want to. This is not a funding problem, nor is it an impossible command. Claiming they’re only obligated to fix a problem if Congress explicitly directs them to do so is ridiculous.

    lloyd (61daca)

  317. >This is not a funding problem, nor is it an impossible command.

    It’s clear that DHS does not have the funding to expel the millions of people currently in the country illegally.

    You’re saying “they have the funding to implement this policy I want that would reduce the number of the people in the country illegally. therefore they are required to do that!”

    But Congress issued a broader command that they can’t meet and they are allocating resources in the way they think is the best way to meet the command they can’t meet. Congress didn’t ordain these specific policies, and therefore — since the overall command is impossible and these specific policies aren’t individually commanded — DHS has the discretion to choose these policies or not to choose these policies.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  318. > It will be interesting when Chevron is in the rear-view mirror.

    It will be an absolute disaster where all major policy decisions are determined by the supreme court and are impossible to get changed or reviewed by anyone else.

    We’ll finally have the philosopher-kings conservatives used to claim to be opposed to.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  319. RIP The Messenger (May 2023-January 2024). We hardly knew ye.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  320. > IF thee are two process choices, and one of them is going to meet more of what Congress demanded than the other, shouldn’t that be preferred?

    Who gets to decide? Unelected judges or officials reporting to an elected executive?

    aphrael (71d87c)

  321. @324 No, I’m not saying they are required to reduce those here illegally. I don’t know how you read that into my comment. Biden’s DHS can legally make whatever border mess they want to. They can give everyone an asylum hearing in 2031, because Congress did not explicitly direct them to act rationally and in the best interests of the country. Sure, legally they can f*ck everything up. That is not a funding problem nor it the result of an impossible command.

    lloyd (61daca)

  322. Who gets to decide? Unelected judges or officials reporting to an elected executive?

    Well, right now it’s an impeachment inquiry.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  323. We’ll finally have the philosopher-kings conservatives used to claim to be opposed to.

    Perhaps. It all went wrong with INS vs Chadha, before which these disputes were settled by a single-house veto of poorly used delegated powers.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  324. The *reason* they can legally do this is that Congress gave them an impossible command that wasn’t backed by the funding needing to carry it out, and so they inherently have the discretion to decide how to try to meet the command. The disjunction between the requirements of immigration law and the resources provided is what creates the space for the discretion in the first place.

    I take your point as being — they’re *choosing* to exercise their discretion in this nefarious way, it isn’t required of them, and the disjunction between command and resources has nothing to do with *why* they are making this choice.

    That’s absolutely, 100% true. *But* the courts cannot prevent them from doing it without taking away their discretion and assuming the policy-making function themselves.

    Congress can fix this by either providing the resources needed to fully implement the demands of immigration law, or by explicitly commanding these specific things and providing the resources needed to carry out those explicit commands.

    Congress is not doing so.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  325. > Perhaps. It all went wrong with INS vs Chadha, before which these disputes were settled by a single-house veto of poorly used delegated powers.

    A system which was set up and designed as an end run around the constitutional requirement that action by both houses is needed to make law.

    INS v Chadha was *right*.

    But the problem is that Congress is incapable of doing its job and the constitution was not set up for an administrative state.

    Given that we can’t do away with the administrative state, what we have now is better than what we’ll have after Chevron is overturned.

    What would be even better would be a constitutional amendment to provide better legislative oversight of delegated powers. Maybe even the single-house veto … written into the constitution rather than adopted in violation of it.

    aphrael (71d87c)

  326. The problem with Chevron is that it allowed regulatory agencies, which were no longer correctable by Congress’s legislative veto (something that had been there for 50 years), to make up nearly any interpretation of enabling statutes, or their own internal regulations, and be immune from nearly any correction.

    Even a presidential order had to be promulgated through regulatory hearings following the Administrative Procedures Act, and that process could take so long that another administration might come along before it was done. A number of Trump’s later orders never made it though the process and were canceled by Biden on Day One.

    The problem, of course, is the Administrative State itself. If this defangs it a bi that’s just to the good.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  327. A system which was set up and designed as an end run around the constitutional requirement that action by both houses is needed to make law.

    INS v Chadha was *right*.

    A regulation is a law created with NO legislative support. The legislature says “Wait. If this was a proposed law, either house could kill it, so we will keep this power.” The delegation of power was made with these provisions attached, and killing just the check and balance was a massive shift in power to the executive.

    Justice White was right.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  328. The administrative state cannot be defanged and is essential to modern governance. Congress is incapable of providing sufficiently detailed legislation to confine discretion — and that’s not a *criticism*, this is an inherent issue with legislative bodies and technical details. The Court’s attempts at enforcing a nondelegation principle failed in the 20s and they’d be even less likely to succeed now.

    The question is how to make it work.

    Your complaint right now is that Chevron allows regulatory agencies to make up interpretations without correction (except Congress passing a new law, or the executive getting voted out and replaced).

    The solution at hand is to allow *the supreme court* to make up interpretations without correction (except Congress passing a new law).

    That’s even worse. 🙂

    aphrael (71d87c)

  329. It is truly funny how you defend an executive decree, against legislative action, and base that on the need for congressional action and presentment to stop the decree.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  330. The administrative state cannot be defanged and is essential to modern governance. Congress is incapable of providing sufficiently detailed legislation to confine discretion — and that’s not a *criticism*, this is an inherent issue with legislative bodies and technical details.

    And Justice White said this, too. But he also said that unless you want Congress to be a mere debating hall, they have to have a way to stop a runaway executive. To insist that the only possible correcting is by a law passed by two-thirds of each House is not a serious offer.

    You cannot talk about end-runs around the Constitution while defending some “necessary” end run around the Constitution.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  331. @312

    The administration is behaving lawlessly.

    I would disagree to the extent that the laws passed by Congress granted, and the Supreme Court has upheld, wide discretionary powers to the Executive Branch in immigration matters. So if Congress doesn’t want the Administration to have such discretion, they should pass laws reigning them in.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 1/31/2024 @ 4:36 pm

    Accept that federal law stipulates that anyone claiming asylum shall be detained until the claim is adjudicated.

    Congress did not authorize the executive branch this “parole” authority.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  332. @325

    > It will be interesting when Chevron is in the rear-view mirror.

    It will be an absolute disaster where all major policy decisions are determined by the supreme court and are impossible to get changed or reviewed by anyone else.

    We’ll finally have the philosopher-kings conservatives used to claim to be opposed to.

    aphrael (71d87c) — 1/31/2024 @ 5:47 pm

    Unraveling Chevron, all it would do is allow the courts to render judgements to the facts at hand, rather than deferring to agencies interpretation and forgoing any decisions on the merits.

    Just remember, Chevron is a judicial construct. Not a law or Constitutional argument.

    It doesn’t mean any agency interpretation is automatically a non-starter… Courts can still take it into consideration. Just that going forward, post-Chevron overruling, courts will then be able to adjudicate the case on merits.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  333. @329

    Who gets to decide? Unelected judges or officials reporting to an elected executive?

    Well, right now it’s an impeachment inquiry.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 5:58 pm

    Yes, impeachment is a big hammer and should be used sparingly, only for “high crimes and misdemeanor”.

    It would be overkill if the dispute was merely a “policy dispute”.

    But here, that’s not the case.

    Here… this administration is literally allowing incentives in place to encourage mass migration into the US.

    Ask yourself this: Why? Why do this encourage this? For what purpose?

    whembly (c88dc4)

  334. #331

    The *reason* they can legally do this is that Congress gave them an impossible command that wasn’t backed by the funding needing to carry it out, and so they inherently have the discretion to decide how to try to meet the command. The disjunction between the requirements of immigration law and the resources provided is what creates the space for the discretion in the first place.

    I take your point as being — they’re *choosing* to exercise their discretion in this nefarious way, it isn’t required of them, and the disjunction between command and resources has nothing to do with *why* they are making this choice.

    That’s absolutely, 100% true. *But* the courts cannot prevent them from doing it without taking away their discretion and assuming the policy-making function themselves.

    Congress can fix this by either providing the resources needed to fully implement the demands of immigration law, or by explicitly commanding these specific things and providing the resources needed to carry out those explicit commands.

    Congress is not doing so.

    aphrael (71d87c) — 1/31/2024 @ 6:01 pm

    Congress didn’t do much during the Trump years either.

    Yet it better during Trump’s administration.

    You do realize, that Democrats are F*CKING this up royally by giving F*CKING Trump *THE* signature policy that sent him to the Whitehouse in the first place!

    You do see this, don’t you?

    ** shakes my head sadly **

    whembly (c88dc4)

  335. @335

    The solution at hand is to allow *the supreme court* to make up interpretations without correction (except Congress passing a new law).

    That’s even worse. 🙂

    aphrael (71d87c) — 1/31/2024 @ 6:12 pm

    It’s not just the supreme court.

    It’s all the courts. District > Appellate > Scotus.

    Courts and judges are uniquely equipped to settle disputes, which it is exactly what they do now.

    Agencies stretching the interpretation to fit their agendas that would impress Gumby is not a healthy way to run the government whereby such interpretations can be flipped on it’s head with every change of the Presidency.

    Allowing the courts to adjudicate what the congress meant would actually increase stability in this, and if people don’t like that, then it’s up to voters to vote for candidate to champion their cause to change the law.

    Ya know.

    Democracy.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  336. You don’t know what Joe Biden’s job is. Given to him by the corporate establishment deep state. Hint: first they had to stop Bernie Sanders at all cost. Second hint: They are going after Cori Bush and the squad for the same reason. Sean patrick maloney the night he was defeated for congress by Sanders/AOC supporters not voting for him said they would rather have a republican then a (corporate establishment) moderate democrat so they can take it back with a firebrand. NY state is in process of redoing congressional districts more favorable to democrats.

    asset (07282f)

  337. “Accept that federal law stipulates that anyone claiming asylum shall be detained until the claim is adjudicated.”

    I don’t think this is correct, but it’s possible that I’m missing something or reading this wrong.

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1158

    Davethulhu (d3aa88)

  338. @344

    “Accept that federal law stipulates that anyone claiming asylum shall be detained until the claim is adjudicated.”

    I don’t think this is correct, but it’s possible that I’m missing something or reading this wrong.

    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1158

    Davethulhu (d3aa88) — 1/31/2024 @ 7:45 pm

    I believe you are, indeed, missing it.
    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1225
    In Title 8, U.S. Code (which is where the immigration laws are), sec. 1225(b)(1)(B)(IV) states:

    (IV)Mandatory detention
    Any alien subject to the procedures under this clause shall be detained pending a final determination of credible fear of persecution and, if found not to have such a fear, until removed.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  339. There are two exceptions to the above rule, this post:
    https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/it-is-not-texas-thats-defying-the-law-its-biden/

    (1) Under sec. 1225(b)(2)(C), if an alien arrives on land “from a foreign territory contiguous to the United States,” the attorney general “may return the alien to that territory pending” a removal proceeding. This is the section on which Trump relied to establish the “Remain in Mexico” policy that (with Mexico’s cooperation) required aliens who tried to get in from Mexico to wait there until we could hold their removal hearings, which they were almost certain to lose. This stopped many aliens from making the perilous trip northward in the first place, so it is not only an eminently legal exercise of sovereignty, it is a humanitarian policy.

    (2) Under sec. 1182(d)(5)(A), the attorney general may parole otherwise ineligible aliens into the United States but only “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” The next subsection is emphatic that this applies only to individual aliens and does not include mass parole:

    The Attorney General may not parole into the United States an alien who is a refugee unless the Attorney General determines that compelling reasons in the public interest with respect to that particular alien require that the alien be paroled into the United States rather than be admitted as a refugee. [Emphasis added]

    So, that’s what the law says: Aliens who are apprehended trying to enter our country illegally are supposed to be detained. The only alternatives are (1) return to contiguous country to await removal hearing or (2) parole based on individual circumstances if supported by compelling U.S. interests.

    The mass-parole authority that Biden has claimed does not exist.

    whembly (c88dc4)

  340. This is…something:
    https://thefederalist.com/2024/02/01/how-obamas-secrets-could-save-trump-in-his-mar-a-lago-documents-snafu/


    In October 2014, Russian hackers breached the Executive Office of the President’s (EOP) network. Months later, President Barack Obama created, via executive action, the Presidential Information Technology Committee (PITC), purportedly to protect EOP information by moving systems onto Department of Defense (DOD) servers.

    The PITC executive order and documents obtained from litigation reveal how President Obama asserted an aggressive position on presidential control over information. Under PITC, if the president accessed data, it was presumptively his. America First Legal has argued this aggressive position is constitutional.

    Given no public evidence that the PITC order was rescinded, Obama’s position has legal consequences for former President Trump and his various indictments concerning records originating from the government. First, PITC creates a presumption that the president controls virtually all of the data he receives. The PITC memo established the president’s “exclusive control” over information resources and systems provided to him. The memo created the presumption that information contained on information systems and resources was “EOP information.” Because the memo relied upon the Federal Records Act’s definition of “information system” as resources organized for the “use” and “disposition” of “information,” the memo purports to give the president exclusive control over the information he receives.

    Hypothetically if the above is correct, that still doesn’t shield Trump from any liability from failing to respond to subpoenas right?

    Is it true that all subpoenas, regardless if it were improperly issued, must be addressed?

    From a “presidential records” system, this PITC system does make a lot of sense. But, I can’t find anywhere that the Trump administration used it… which this article seems to assume.

    whembly (5f7596)

  341. 12 employees of UNWRA were involved in Oct 7. Nine members of Hamas were fired and two are now dead.

    The 10th was a member of Islamic Jihad and we haven’t heard what happened to him.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 1/31/2024 @ 2:03 pm

    Correction: The 12th was a member of Islamic Jihad.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  342. Hypothetically if the above is correct, that still doesn’t shield Trump from any liability from failing to respond to subpoenas right?

    It doesn’t seem to apply after the president leaves office either, at which point he is no longer “The President” and his successor now has control of this information.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  343. We have been giving them aid, and Ukraine launched its ‘counteroffensive,’ but the counteroffensive didn’t accomplish much, didn’t move the front more than a few miles.

    Biden has been too little and too slow with aid. At practically every request, such as for Abrams tanks, missiles, F-16s, etc., Biden has slow-walked aid out of fear Putin’s empty threats about escalation. Did the Ukrainian counteroffensive stall last year? Yes. Does this mean that they should not continue to try to isolate the Crimean peninsula and break the line at Melitopol? No, it’s a worthy strategic objective.

    Bottom line, Putin occupied 27% of Ukraine in spring 2022 and today it’s around 17%; however, neither side has made much headway since late 2022 after Ukraine reclaimed Kherson. This situation is not Putin “winning” and, so far, his awful decision to invade has cost his country over 300,000 Russian men and
    hollowed out his country’s economy and demography.
    It’s a US national security interest to keep Putin stuck and losing in this Ukrainian quagmire of his own making. Biden and the House Republicans should do the right thing and back the righteous Ukrainian cause against Putin’s evil and war crimes.

    Paul Montagu (d4d407)

  344. @349

    Hypothetically if the above is correct, that still doesn’t shield Trump from any liability from failing to respond to subpoenas right?

    It doesn’t seem to apply after the president leaves office either, at which point he is no longer “The President” and his successor now has control of this information.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/1/2024 @ 10:26 am

    That’s a separate question imo. (ie, is it sufficient that Trump authorizes shipping of his presidential documents to his Florida home while he was still President? That still need to be asserted and adjudicated in courts.)

    But that’s beside the point, he’s still in legal jeopardy due to his non-compliance of the subpoena…right? It really doesn’t matter if the subpoena was justified or not…right? You simply have to address it/fight it in court, no matter what.

    whembly (5f7596)

  345. Here’s a good reason for Zelenskyy not to sack Zaluzhnyi.

    Paul Montagu (d4d407)

  346. That’s a separate question imo. (ie, is it sufficient that Trump authorizes shipping of his presidential documents to his Florida home while he was still President? That still need to be asserted and adjudicated in courts.)

    No, he must return them forthwith as they are no longer his. Refusing to return them when asked, and later when subpoenaed, compounds the failure. Think “stolen”

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  347. is it sufficient that Trump authorizes shipping of his presidential documents

    Trump didn’t have the authority to ship his Presidential documents anywhere; under the Presidential Records Act he can identify only those documents deemed personal records and retain those. However, that would not include love letters between himself and Kim Jong Un, for example, as they were considered foreign policy records.

    Presidential records come to (the National Archives and Records Administration, NARA) at the end of the administration. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applies to the Presidential Records Act (PRA) five years after the President has left office. NARA uses this time to begin to conduct archival processing and otherwise prepare for the onset of public access. (Trump Presidential records will become subject to FOIA on January 20, 2026).
    ……….
    In 1978, Congress passed the Presidential Records Act (PRA), which states that any records created or received by the President as part of his constitutional, statutory, or ceremonial duties are the property of the United States government and will be managed by NARA at the end of the administration.

    The Presidential Records Act (PRA) changed the legal status of Presidential and Vice Presidential materials. Under the PRA, the official records of the President and his staff are owned by the United States, not by the President.

    Source.

    At best, Trump’s non-classified presidential records should have been transferred to a facility owned by NARA, similar to what was done with President Obama’s records. Any classified records should have stored in a secure facility owned by NARA.

    NARA assumed exclusive legal and physical custody of Obama Presidential records when President Barack Obama left office in 2017, in accordance with the Presidential Records Act (PRA). NARA moved approximately 30 million pages of unclassified records to a NARA facility in the Chicago area, where they are maintained exclusively by NARA. Additionally, NARA maintains the classified Obama Presidential records in a NARA facility in the Washington, DC, area. As required by the PRA, former President Obama has no control over where and how NARA stores the Presidential records of his Administration.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  348. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/1/2024 @ 1:48 pm

    No, he must return them forthwith as they are no longer his. Refusing to return them when asked, and later when subpoenaed, compounds the failure. Think “stolen”

    Worse, he supposedly deliberately tried to hide them including from his lawyers.

    Probably merely so he could, one day, use them in arguments. Or lety a biographer or ghostwriter study. Or put in his library

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  349. whembly (c88dc4) — 1/31/2024 @ 9:00 pm

    So, that’s what the law says: Aliens who are apprehended trying to enter our country illegally are supposed to be detained. The only alternatives are (1) return to contiguous country to await removal hearing or (2) parole based on individual circumstances if supported by compelling U.S. interests.

    The mass-parole authority that Biden has claimed does not exist.

    There’s probably backing for that authority from the Office of Legal Counsel and Biden didn’t parole asylum seekers – he gave them court dates.

    The law anticipates some being released because it states that if their case is not decided within 150 days they can get work papers.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  350. 271. Dana (bacf72) — 1/31/2024 @ 6:52 am

    You can pretty much skip Voyager. I mean, who can seriously accept the notion of a female captain? Then they went all in on Seven of Nine’s most prominent and obvious Borg implants.

    Actually Voyager is pretty good, although it got less attention at the time..

    While the female captain may be a bit forced, Star Trek had very good writers who could make anything that thrown at them work. Even if it worked as somewhat of an exception.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  351. “Any science fiction which glosses over the laws of physics is fantasy.” — nk

    John Campbell had a rule that you could make one exception per story, I think.

    Science fiction has a number of common tropes. Faster then Light travel, and sometimes telepathy. Everything is governed by rules. Even with that Star Trek sometimes goes over into fantasy.

    One impossibility that only Star Trek does is “beaming” people around.

    While it has its limitations (cannot be done while shields are up, and has a limited range) its possibilities are not fully exploited. It was originally conceived by accident, because the original Star Trek series didn’t have the budget (or screen time) for a shuttle to land on a planet.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  352. 275. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 9:14 am

    There’s a famous comic where someone steps out of his time machine and announces that he just went back and killed Hitler, and the response is “Who’s Hitler?”

    The world’s not different enough. Why would anything at all be the same?

    Unless you try Robert Silverberg’s idea of time having inertia so that after awhile, the further away you get from a difference, things revert back to the way they were.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  353. 277.

    When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

    When opinion is divided.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  354. Dana (bacf72) — 1/30/2024 @ 5:24 pm

    All of the Star Trek series are on H&I, channel 385 on DirecTV, including the best of the series, Deep Space Nine, and the prequel series, Enterprise. If you didn’t see Enterprise, the series will go back to the first episode this Friday night.

    That would mean the last episode is tonight – the one with Riker and Deanna Troy in the Holodeck aboard the Enterprise in the last season of TNG – but it’s not. (except it is because after midnight, it’s Friday)

    https://www.handitv.com/schedule

    8:00PM
    STAR TREK
    IS THERE IN TRUTH NO BEAUTY?
    Telepath Miranda Jones boards the Enterprise with Ambassador Kolos, a Medusan, an alien life form so hideous that the sight of him would drive humanoids insane. Also boarding the ship is Larry Marvick, hopelessly in love with Miranda. Soon Miranda senses that someone is contemplating murder.

    9:00PM
    STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
    PEN PALS
    Data races against time to save the life of a little alien girl on a planet doomed for destruction.

    10:00PM
    STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
    IMPROBABLE CAUSE: PART 1
    Garak’s shop mysteriously explodes, launching Odo on an investigation to determine who is trying to kill the Cardassian exile—and why.

    11:00PM
    STAR TREK: VOYAGER
    RELATIVITY
    Voyager’s future depends on Seven’s success in preventing the past.

    12:00AM
    STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE
    BROKEN BOW: PART 1

    After decades of being held back from deep space exploration by the Vulcans, Captain Jonathan Archer takes command of the NX-01 Enterprise—Earth’s first warp five starship.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_Bow_(Star_Trek:_Enterprise)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  355. https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/02/they-firebombed-my-office.php

    Leftist fire-bombed John Hinderaker’s office

    NJRob (85912b)

  356. One impossibility that only Star Trek does is “beaming” people around.

    My personal favorite is the “Heisenberg Compensator” component in the teleporter. Many-Worlds or Copenhagen, this just doesn’t fly.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  357. Star Trek is fun, but not every episode is “The Inner Light.” There are some real stinkers.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  358. Here is a list of REALLY good filmed SF:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Dramatic_Presentation

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  359. Kevin M (ed969f) — 1/31/2024 @ 12:33 pm

    whembly (5f7596) — 1/31/2024 @ 1:26 pm

    Disney’s lawsuit wasn’t necessarily seeking restoration of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but over the retaliation by the DeSantis administration over their free speech, property, and contract rights.

    In the complaint, lawyers for the entertainment behemoth say that the company is suing not only for itself, but for smaller businesses that might not be able to fight against what it calls DeSantis’ “targeted campaign” of retaliation.

    “Disney finds itself in this regrettable position because it expressed a viewpoint the Governor and his allies did not like,” the complaint says. “Disney wishes that things could have been resolved a different way. But Disney also knows that it is fortunate to have the resources to take a stand against the State’s retaliation — a stand smaller businesses and individuals might not be able to take when the State comes after them for expressing their own views. In America, the government cannot punish you for speaking your mind.”
    ………
    Disney is asking the court to declare the board’s actions unlawful and unenforceable for various reasons, including violating the U.S. Constitution’s Contract Clause, unlawfully taking Disney’s property rights in violation of the Takings Clause and arbitrarily voiding Disney’s agreements in violation of the due process clause. It also argues that the board flouted the company’s First Amendment rights by retaliating against it.
    ……..
    Disney also argues that Florida unconstitutionally deprived the company of valuable property rights without just compensation under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. ……..

    Disney is appealing the dismissal.

    “Maybe Disney should go back to lobbying and writing checks,” said Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor emeritus who wrote a definitive account of Disney World’s governance in his book, “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando.”

    “As the judge’s ruling shows, they erred in using the courts to resolve a political question,” Foglesong said Thursday. “Everyone knows the Legislature’s act was retaliatory toward Disney. It just wasn’t provable by legal standards.”

    Asked in an email to comment on the judge’s decision, Orlando attorney Jacob Schumer, who has followed the case, pointed to a social media post he made Wednesday after the decision. The appellate court will have to address whether a law is singling out an entity even if it isn’t directly named but fits the criteria for what is being targeted, he said in the post.

    “I still think that they’ll be uncomfortable leaving in a loophole that basically says you can freely retaliate for speech through specifying a party via objective criteria rather than by name,” Schumer said of the appellate court.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  360. Actually Voyager is pretty good, although it got less attention at the time..

    Voyager is better than Deep Space 9 but not as good as Enterprise, IMO.

    I just finished watching all seven seasons of DS9 (because I hadn’t really seen the whole arc of the story), and it was disappointing, the worst of the Star Trek series. The absolute lowlight was Rom being appointed Grand Nagus (and Ferengis in general). And you know it’s not a good series when the best part is Vic Fontaine, the hologram Vegas lounge act.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d)

  361. “Everyone knows the Legislature’s act was retaliatory toward Disney. It just wasn’t provable by legal standards.”

    No more than the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act was provably a blowjob for Disney.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  362. Remember when people objected to Texas’s crowd-sourced anti-abortion law and suggested that the same could be done to the gun industry? Well, New Mexico’s gerrymandered legislature is trying just that.

    House Bill 114, called the Firearms Industry Accountability Act, would allow the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and district attorneys to bring civil actions against people involved in the sale, manufacturing and marketing of firearms.

    The bill also would allow private individuals to file civil lawsuits “to recover actual or punitive damages against a firearm industry member” who fails “to exercise reasonable controls” over the sale and manufacture of firearms.

    There are no award limits on private civil suits under this bill.

    https://www.abqjournal.com/news/senate-version-of-14-day-waiting-period-advances/article_51bd6a54-bcad-11ee-b248-7f84be11c896.html

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  363. Meanwhile, federal judge strikes down California’s background check for ammunition purchases

    A San Diego federal judge on Wednesday again struck down a state law that required background checks for nearly all purchases of firearm ammunition and barred California residents from bringing home ammunition that they purchased out of state.

    U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled that such restrictions violate the Second Amendment. He also ruled that the portion of the law restricting out-of-state purchases violated the dormant Commerce Clause and is preempted by federal law regulating interstate transportation of firearms.

    Benitez had previously struck down the same law in April 2020, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the law just days later while the government appealed the ruling. Before the 9th Circuit could rule on that appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in a New York gun case that upended Second Amendment case law.

    After the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, the 9th Circuit sent the case back to Benitez to be relitigated under that new framework, which holds that modern gun laws must be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

    Benitez found that the “ammunition background checks laws have no historical pedigree and operate in such a way that they violate the Second Amendment right of citizens to keep and bear arms.” He issued an immediate injunction barring the state from enforcing the law.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  364. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/1/2024 @ 6:35 pm

    Voyager is better than Deep Space 9 but not as good as Enterprise, IMO.

    I am not sure how Enterprise fits into the Star Trek universe.

    I just finished watching all seven seasons of DS9 (because I hadn’t really seen the whole arc of the story), and it was disappointing, the worst of the Star Trek series.

    There are good shows and bad shows, as in all of them. Good is the one with Tribbles and the original series; DS9 characters as the Roswell aliens; Past tense set in 2024 – although the underlying scenario had a rather stupid plot.

    https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Past_Tense,_Part_I_(episode)

    https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Past_Tense,_Part_II_(episode)

    Memory Alpha has quite detailed synopses

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  365. The absolute lowlight was Rom being appointed Grand Nagus (and Ferengis in general).

    I wonder if anyone collected all the Ferengi rules of acquisition that were cited. There’s a bit of a female Ferengi in a scene from Voyager where the Borg appear (it involves a captured people who were assimilated – Seven was taken over by various personalities of people who had been assimilated by the Borg. One of them was a Ferengi

    In the 2008 book “Star Trek 101” which contains synopses of the beginning of each episode the Grand Nagus is described…

    I retrieved that with Google books

    FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 121
    … grand nagus of Ferenginar A master of commerce known as the Grand Nagus rules the Ferengi homeworld. That position is held by Zek, an elderly, utterly brilliant profiteer. Think Donald Trump, Alan Greenspan, and Scrooge McDuck all (in one) …

    They didn’t mean Donald Trump as a political character I think.

    Donald Trump is mentioned in passing in an unbelievable number of books printed from 2005 to 2009.

    Donald Trump has since ensured he will be remembered many years after his death.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  366. Fani speaks:

    https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-fulton-special-prosecutor-admits-personal-relationship-with-da-in-trump-case/YOPP3SAOJVHUDESW3RR6UWTB2E/

    The actual filing is contained in the article and is well worth reading. Since much of the learned reporting on this issue has been garbage. Fani’s attitude is “Yeah, we’re dating, what’s it to ya? We weren’t when I appointed him and he took a financial hit to take this role.”

    Incidently, it appears Ashleigh Merchant (the attorney wo brought this) and Nathan Wade have a history…

    Appalled (b5dec0)

  367. And you know it’s not a good series when the best part is Vic Fontaine, the hologram Vegas lounge act.

    The Holodeck might usually be good, but I don’t think the whole series is bad. They manage to get away from DS9 in many ways

    There are certain motifs that appear over and over again occasionally in different Star Trek series. One is gambling and drinking (a bar) and there is Las Vegas.

    They also have a Las Vegas scenario in ENG’s “The Royale” A society constructed from a book where you could not possibly get out such detail just like you couldn’t from a 1992 nonfiction book in TOS’ “A Piece of the Action” could not. Although who did it and how is quite different.

    Star Trek has other impossibilities besides the scientific ones. One of the most basic is so much happening on planets within 200 or 300 years of the start of interstellar travel – and everybody (after some tries with Klingon and Vulcan language) speaks English. But you need that for the stories.

    I thought Leonardo de Vinci was good in Voyager.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  368. @374

    Fani speaks:

    Fani’s attitude is “Yeah, we’re dating, what’s it to ya? We weren’t when I appointed him and he took a financial hit to take this role.”

    Appalled (b5dec0) — 2/2/2024 @ 11:09 am

    Wow.

    I can’t see the Judge would look too kindly on that, especially pertaining to the lavish “kick backs” Fani received in form of luxurious vacations.

    Not a good look Fani… not a good look.

    whembly (5f7596)

  369. The best Trek episode that I’ve seen (a jaw-dropper, actually) was TNG’s “The Inner Light”, although I admit to seeing none of Voyager and only the first half or so of DS9 and Enterprise.

    I soured early on Enterprise when Archer took his dog to a high-states negotiation and hilarity ensued.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  370. lavish “kick backs” Fani received in form of luxurious vacations.

    Lavish to whom? To a lawyer making hundreds of K per year? Or to the average file clerk in the Atlanta bureaucracy? This seems the weakest part of the case, although maybe this has traction in the government world.

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  371. I wonder if anyone collected all the Ferengi rules of acquisition that were cited

    Perplexity is your friend:

    https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Ferengi_Rules_of_Acquisition

    Kevin M (ed969f)

  372. About the kickbacks, Fani says they never shared household expenses and as for the trips:

    “financial responsibility for personal travel is divided roughly evenly between the two, with neither being primarily responsible for expenses of the other, and all expenses paid for with individual personal funds.”

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  373. I don’t think I saw “The Inner Light”, but I remeber something where Picard was shown an alternate life, but I think that is different.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  374. One episode of Voyager iset 700 years in the future (from that time) in which a backup of the Doctor (maybe the only backup ever made) is revived and sees a museum where all the facts re-enacted are wrong — and then we see a museum exhibit some 300 or 400 later than that at the end. That’s the furthest Star Trek goes in time/

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  375. One impossibility that only Star Trek does is “beaming” people around.

    My personal favorite is the “Heisenberg Compensator” component in the teleporter. Many-Worlds or Copenhagen, this just doesn’t fly.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/1/2024 @ 4:48 pm

    They also have inertial dampers. Which somehow miss cancelling just a little. The set wasnt shaken – the actors had to move.

    Of course one or more episodes have the ghost error – where ghosts or the equivalent can walk through walls, but are supported by floors.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)


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