Patterico's Pontifications

9/27/2024

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 7:17 am



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

About President Zelensky’s meeting with the Senate:

Zelensky told the group Ukraine might not need extra funding from Congress if the U.S. lifts restrictions on its ability to use long-range weapons to strike inside Russia.

Both parties have been wary of allowing Zelensky to strike deep into Russia, worried it would shift the U.S. from a cold war to a hot war.

Still, Democrats and Republicans emerged from the meeting urging President Biden to grant Zelensky’s request to strike targets within Russia.

Here are the details of the latest military aid package to Ukraine.

President Zelensky has provided a victory plan to the U.S.:

The theory of victory is based on two assumptions. First, Russia cannot sustain its efforts for the long term, and sufficient disruption of the Kremlin’s capabilities will bring the Russians to the table to negotiate. Second, if the West commits to a rapid and major resupply effort for the Ukrainian military, accompanied by robust security guarantees, the Russians will be forced to recognize they cannot overwhelm Ukraine in a war of attrition.

The heart of the Ukrainian victory plan shifts the center of gravity from the battlefields of Eastern Ukraine to Russia’s war-making capabilities. Bringing an end to the conflict requires Ukraine to have the ability to disrupt and damage Russia’s ability to manufacture and deploy its arsenal before it reaches Ukraine.

It, therefore, requires not only Western permission to use NATO-supplied systems but also enough equipment to deliver swift and significant disruptive blows. It also asks for more precise Western security guarantees to raise the risks for Russia’s escalation calculus in the future.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen explains:

This is primarily a question about Russia and their imperial dreams…I think it is important in itself to talk about Russia, and not about Putin, because the way I see it is that he actually has a lot of support from Russian society for whatever he is doing…When you have this as a starting point — that there are unfortunately old-fashioned imperial dreams in Russia — then it’s more difficult to find a way out of this war, because it’s not primarily a question about Ukraine…Therefore we have to ensure that Ukraine wins this war.

And importantly:

Specifically, Frederiksen said, she wants Ukraine to be able to use long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia. “I don’t think it’s enough to deliver what is needed to protect themselves. They need to be able to push Russia back.” As Russian forces continue to advance despite the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk, there’s a renewed urgency for that push, which is roiling the Biden administration and NATO.

Asked for her thoughts on why these restrictions on Ukraine’s use of weapons have remained in place, Frederiksen said: “I guess a part of it is a very modern way of thinking that there will be some kind of a solution to this war. But I don’t think it’s possible to win a war if you are not willing actually to win it.”

Second news item

Not a small number:

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections has removed 747,000 people from its list of registered voters within the last 20 months, officials announced Thursday in a press release.

The State Board of Elections in the release said the majority of those stripped from the rolls were deemed ineligible to be registered because they had moved within the state and did not register their new address, or because they did not participate in the past two federal elections, prompting an inactive status.

Other reasons for removal included death, felony convictions, out-of-state moves and personal requests for removal, the board said.

Note:

The presidential race in North Carolina remains on a knife’s edge. On Thursday, polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight had the two candidates separated by just 0.6 percentage points (Harris on 47.3 percent and Trump on 47.9 percent).

Third news item

Money, money,money:

Donald Trump’s latest money-making venture is selling limited edition gold watches, adding to a long list of collectibles the former president and reality TV star has promoted to his supporters.

Trump has continued his entrepreneurial tendencies throughout his political career, often using his popularity as a launch pad for a variety of products, both physical and digital. His latest offering, simply branded as “TRUMP Watches,” asks supporters of the Republican nominee to spend at least $499, to join “President Trump’s Watch Community.”

Additionally, a limited edition watch called the Trump Victory Tourbillion is available for $100,000, with only 147 being manufactured, a reference to Trump’s goal of becoming the 47th president.

A disclaimer on the watch website reads: “Trump Watches are not designed, manufactured, distributed or sold by Donald J. Trump, The Trump Organization or any of their respective affiliates or principals. TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC uses the “Trump” name, image and likeness under a paid license agreement.”

The watches are the latest in a series of products sold by the former president. Earlier this week, Trump announced that he would also be selling a series of silver coins with his face on them, for $100 each.

The report states that Trump netted $300,000 off the “Trump Bibles” he was hawking. Additionally, he is said to have made between $100,000 and $1 million for his digital trading cards.

Fourth news item

NYC Mayor Eric Adams indicted:

Eric Adams has been indicted on federal charges out of the Southern District of New York, making him the first sitting mayor of New York City to face criminal prosecution.

Adams has denied any wrongdoing on his part and any knowledge of wrongdoing regarding a series of probes surrounding his administration. He says the charges are based on lies and that he won’t resign.

You can read the indictment at the link. China and Turkey appear frequently…

Meanwhile, Gov. Hochul is considering her options:

Gov. Kathy Hochul has begun to examine a long-dormant power that lets governors remove local officials such as New York City mayors, following Thursday’s indictment of Eric Adams.

Fifth news item

A grim ending…for the victims and the inmate sentenced to death for the killings:

Alan Eugene Miller was executed Thursday evening in Alabama, state officials said, making him the second inmate known to die by nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial method critics say is tantamount to torture.

Miller, 59, who was sentenced to death in 2000 for the 1999 killings of three men, was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. at a prison in Atmore, Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm said at a news conference.

Miller shook and trembled on a gurney for about two minutes, with his body at times pulling against restraints, according to The Associated Press, which had a reporter witness the procedure. The shaking and trembling was followed by about six minutes of periodic gulping breaths before he became still, the AP reported.

Sixth news item

Tucker Carlson’s circus act starring Roseanne Barr has come to town. Barr had some sort of fit as she crazily blathered on about Democrats, or maybe Haitians. I mean, who knows. When crazy comes to town, all bets are off:

It’s not just the dogs and the cats. There are full-on vampires, and everybody still thinks I’m crazy. But I’m not crazy. They’re full-on vampires. They love the taste of human flesh, and they drink human blood. They do. By the time we go in to vote for Trump, that he will open up everybody’s eyes and they will stop pretending to be asleep. You know what they say. You can’t wake people up that are pretending to be asleep. But I pray to God, please wake up. Even those who are pretending to be asleep with the irrefutable truth of what the worst people on this planet are really up to. They are really up to that. They’re doing it. There are so many victims. There are so many victims!

It’s both sad and frightening how much the audience applauds her insane comments.

Seventh news item

Talk about the nuttery that has infiltrated and co-opted the new political Right and the Evangelical Church:

Have a great weekend.

-—Dana

451 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (2402fb)

  2. Trump really doesn’t know jacksh-t about Ukraine or Zelenskyy or Putin.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  3. Always the Transactional Trump. This doesn’t sound like a reassuring meeting for Zelenskyy.

    Trump: “I have a very good relationship with President Putin.”

    Zelenskyy: “I hope we have more good relations with us.”

    Trump: “Oh, I see. It takes two to tango, you know.”

    What a despicable traitor

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  4. https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hezbollah-war-ff2ec626f5d8883014f577b9a0cfaf1e

    As Iran has been shown trying to assassinate the Biden-Harris regime’s political ipponent, tye regime shows support for Iranian proxies.

    NJRob (af6659)

  5. @4

    https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hezbollah-war-ff2ec626f5d8883014f577b9a0cfaf1e

    As Iran has been shown trying to assassinate the Biden-Harris regime’s political ipponent, tye regime shows support for Iranian proxies.

    NJRob (af6659) — 9/27/2024 @ 8:33 am

    Here’s a question for the Harris/Walz voters…

    Say Iran is successful in assassinating Trump… what should the Biden/Harris response be? And are you convinced of that?

    whembly (477db6)

  6. @3

    Trump: “I have a very good relationship with President Putin.”

    The full quote:
    Trump: “So, we have a very good relationship. And, I have a very good relationship, as you know. with President Putin. And, I think, if we win I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”

    Zelenskyy also said:
    “I think where we are together I think we have a common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped, Putin can’t win and Ukrainians have to prepare and I want to discuss with you the plans for our victory.”

    Trump, incredulous at such a suggestion, responded very negatively as indicated by his “Thank you very much.”

    lloyd (790e4e)

  7. Zelenskyy allowed himself to get injected into a taxpayer funded Democrat election meddling effort. I guess “Politics stops at the water’s edge” doesn’t apply if you fly a foreign leader into the country.

    lloyd (2ce42e)

  8. I guess “Politics stops at the water’s edge” doesn’t apply if you fly a foreign leader into the country.

    lloyd (2ce42e) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:32 am

    Or if you make a “perfect phone call” to a foreign leader asking them to dig up dirt on your election opponent.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  9. @5 Reminder:

    Biden continues Iran’s access to $10 billion just weeks after its proxy killed three American soldiers

    Biden Harris are capable of anything and are above nothing.

    lloyd (790e4e)

  10. Con And Consanguinity.

    nk (fed26b)

  11. @8 Says a fan of Christopher Steele. Set a corrupt standard, and condemn others for following it, eh Rip?

    lloyd (790e4e)

  12. @8 Says a fan of Christopher Steele. Set a corrupt standard, and condemn others for following it, eh Rip?

    lloyd (790e4e) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:53 am

    Again, changing the subject.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  13. @8

    Or if you make a “perfect phone call” to a foreign leader asking them to dig up dirt on your election opponent.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:45 am

    Who wasn’t even running at the time.

    whembly (477db6)

  14. Again, changing the subject.
    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:54 am

    Case in point.

    lloyd (790e4e)

  15. Or if you make a “perfect phone call” to a foreign leader asking them to dig up dirt on your election opponent.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:45 am

    Who wasn’t even running at the time.

    whembly (477db6) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:54 am

    As if that makes it ok.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  16. Zelenskyy allowed himself to get injected into a taxpayer funded Democrat election meddling effort.

    It’s funny how there wasn’t even a ripple when Zelenskyy accepted a Republican governor’s invitation to Utah. Where were the accusations of “election interference”?
    I do agree that Zelenskyy shouldn’t gone to PA, but the MAGA caterwauling about it is ridiculous.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  17. Or if you make a “perfect phone call” to a foreign leader asking them to dig up dirt on your election opponent.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:45 am

    Who wasn’t even running at the time.

    whembly (477db6) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:54 am

    The difference between the two events was four days; the “perfect phone call” was made on April 21st and Biden announced on April 25th that he was running for President.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  18. @16 Utah, one of those key battleground states. Paul, from your link, maybe this is the difference:

    “During his time in the state, Zelenskyy met with both Democratic and Republican governors attending the conference, Utah elected officials, business executives and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

    Sounds like politics wasn’t on the menu.

    lloyd (790e4e)

  19. And Zelenskyy met with Trump. Caterwaul on, lloyd, release that MAGA rage.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  20. It’s funny how there wasn’t even a ripple when Zelenskyy accepted a Republican governor’s invitation to Utah. Where were the accusations of “election interference”?

    Yeah, Paul, I have to agree with lloyd that you’re drawing a false equivalence here. The visit to Utah was to address the National Governors Association, which is a bipartisan event similar to when Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of Congress. That’s a world of difference from making a campaign stop with a Presidential candidate in what is probably the biggest swing state in the election. You clearly know this because you acknowledge that it wasn’t a great idea for Zelenskyy to do this. Don’t muddle the message by trying to compare it to the Utah visit.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  21. “Who wasn’t even running at the time.”

    Was he a likely candidate? Was he the leading likely candidate? If he wasn’t, why would Trump want Zelensky to spread gossip about him?

    Shouldn’t we be trying to capture reality…or is the entire exercise to keep spinning and trying to exhaust a conversation?

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  22. The thing is, Zelenskyy said, “Putin cannot win. Ukrainians must prevail.”

    Trump said no such thing. Those words have never come out of his mouth, just like Trump has never criticized Putin for anything, no matter how evil the atrocity.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  23. Zelenskyy’s mistake was commenting on Trump and Vance’s surrender proposal.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  24. Trump really doesn’t know jacksh-t about Ukraine or Zelenskyy or Putin.

    You had me at “jack”

    Kevin M (f43884)

  25. Trump: “Oh, I see. It takes two to tango, you know.”

    Later, Zelensky endorses Trump.

    Kevin M (f43884)

  26. Lloyd (#19):

    Nice to see the Bee being funny for a change. Too bad mock rally Trump was not available for comment.

    Appalled (f24838)

  27. @17

    The difference between the two events was four days; the “perfect phone call” was made on April 21st and Biden announced on April 25th that he was running for President.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 10:06 am

    And?

    It wasn’t even a given that he’d run at that point, in fact, may punditry thought it was laughable. (funny how elections goes tho, eh?)

    whembly (477db6)

  28. Here’s a question for the Harris/Walz voters…

    Say Iran is successful in assassinating Trump… what should the Biden/Harris response be? And are you convinced of that?

    whembly (477db6) — 9/27/2024 @ 8:58 am

    They are avoiding your question and trying to distract.

    Par for the course.

    NJRob (af6659)

  29. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:45 am

    Or if you make a “perfect phone call” to a foreign leader asking them to dig up dirt on your election opponent.

    The call that Trump called a “perfect phone call” (perfect only in the sense that Trump did not threaten to withhold aid to Ukraine or demand anything) was the second phone call he made to Ukrainian President Volodyrmyr Zelensky on July 25, 2019, not the first one on April 21, 2019, before his mind had been poisoned against Zelensky.

    He was not asking him to dig up dirt. That was Democratic Party spin, made by Adam Shciff among others based on the notion that there was no basis for Trump’s request. But actually, the video or audio of Biden saying he had singlehandedly caused the firing of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General had been played to Trump:

    https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-president-zelensky-ukraine-bilateral-meeting-new-york-ny

    PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think that somebody, if you look at what he did, it’s so bad — where his son he goes to China, he walks away with a billion and a half dollars. He goes to Ukraine and he walks away with $50,000 a month and a lot of money in addition to that. And the whole thing with the prosecutor in Ukraine.

    And he’s on tape. This isn’t like “maybe he did it, maybe he didn’t.” He’s on tape doing this. I saw this a while ago. I looked at it and I said, “That’s incredible. I’ve never seen anything like that.” Now, either he’s dumb, or he thought he was in a room full of really good friends, or maybe it’s a combination of both, in his case.

    Actually, ot was Trump who was a little bit dumb. He didn’t notice that Biden had not claimed that he caused the firing of the prosecutor in order to stop an investigation and cover up something Not even Giuliani thought so. Giuliani thought that Biden had avoided mentioning that it protected Hunter Biden or Burisma.

    But it had evidently been spun that way to Trump, and Trump didn’t notice that was not backed up by this excerpt from the Q&A portion of the presentation that Biden gave to the Council on Foreign Relations on January 23, 2018:

    https://www.cfr.org/event/foreign-affairs-issue-launch-former-vice-president-joe-biden

    . I was—not I, but it just happened to be that was the assignment I got. I got all the good ones. And so I got Ukraine. And I remember going over, convincing our team, our leaders to—convincing that we should be providing for loan guarantees. And I went over, I guess, the 12th, 13th time to Kiev.

    Note: George Kent, currently Ambassador to Estonia, testified that Biden was over to Ukraine a total of 6 times but he didn’t volunteer to the House Intelligence Committee in 2019 any other correction to what people were thinking]

    And I was supposed to announce that there was another billion-dollar loan guarantee. And I had gotten a commitment from Poroshenko and from Yatsenyuk that they would take action against the state prosecutor. And they didn’t.

    So they said they had—they were walking out to a press conference. I said, nah, I’m not going to—or, we’re not going to give you the billion dollars. They said, you have no authority. You’re not the president. The president said—I said, call him. (Laughter.) I said, I’m telling you, you’re not getting the billion dollars. I said, you’re not getting the billion. I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours. I looked at them and said: I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a bitch. (Laughter.) He got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time.

    Notice here – there’s nothing about stopping an investigation, By the way, Biden made this whole story up and he told two different versions at different times as to how, to everyone’s surprise, he had had the authority to withhold loan guarantees and had ben been instrumental in firing the prosecutor.

    Now Trump wasn’t asking for anything more than for Zelensky to tell him whether this story that Biden told (as told to him by Giuliani) was true.

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/25/us/politics/trump-ukraine-transcript.html

    …I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that’s really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved….I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it… It sounds horrible to me.

    The ellipses means there are some missing words – probably Trump saying that he heard a recording. A better word than “horrible” would be “incredible”

    As you can probably also tell, Trump is somewhat incoherent here.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  30. @30

    They are avoiding your question and trying to distract.

    Par for the course.

    NJRob (af6659) — 9/27/2024 @ 11:49 am

    Well… I’m genuinely curious.

    Are we supposed to take a negative inference then? Since the silence is quite loud…?

    Let’s give them more time to deliberate…

    whembly (477db6)

  31. Geez, we are still litigating the phone call? Why? No minds will change.

    Kevin M (49bb46)

  32. Or is it just whaddaboutism in response to Zelensky pimping Harris?

    Kevin M (49bb46)

  33. @31 Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 9/27/2024 @ 11:58 am
    Forget it Sammy… some people will believe any spin Democrats says.

    whembly (477db6)

  34. Obviously, someone involved in Ukrainian politics would know whether this story of Biden causing the firing of the prosecutor was true because he would know what caused the firing..

    Trump was trying to check up on this – and this wasn’t the main point of the call. That was to see if he could find the DNC server in Ukraine and to fire the people who were supposedly corrupt and had also worked against Trump’s election in 2016 (Putin’s spies supplied Giuliani with both a self-interested reason to have them fired and with a noble one.)

    Now what Trump didn’t know, because he wasn’t keeping up with what Giuliani was doing on a daily or even weekly basis, was that Zelensky had already agreed to not hire or to fire the people that Giuliani did not want to see in the Ukrainian government. (They were only a few people and there were capable replacements or substitutes) But Zelensky did not tell any of that to Trump. He did not attempt to disabuse him or any notions he held. Zelensky did not want to tell Trump that he was wrong about anything because Trump’s opinion was too important to Ukraine…

    So there was nothing from Zelensky in the July 25, 2019 conversation about this server story being nonsense. Neither did he question him about the “hold” on aid since Trump did not bring it up and he didn’t want to reveal that he knew about it since Ukraine could be accused of spying on the United States if he said anything.

    The hold was later “revealed” to Ukraine by Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland about September 1.

    The theory that Trump wanted slander from Ukraine doesn’t make any sense. He couldn’t use a false story against Biden. Some Democrats at least said he wanted Ukraine to “dig up dirt” which sounds like it might be truthful information or possibly truthful information.

    But Trump never asked for Ukraine to say anything or do anything and Gordon Sondland in September thought he could get the hold on aid lifted by having Ukraine announce an investigation of Burisma.

    Trump denied he was interested in any quid pro quo when it was put to him both by Gordon Sondland and by Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson.

    But Sondland persisted in his efforts. He was just guessing as to what would lift the hold.

    Then Schiff maneuvered the public release of the hold and the whole thing ended.)

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  35. whembly (477db6) — 9/27/2024 @ 9:54 am

    Who wasn’t even running at the time.

    Biden was running by July 25, 2019, but Trump said in the fall of 2019 that he didn’t expect Biden to be the nominee in 2020.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  36. 35. whembly (477db6) — 9/27/2024 @ 12:14 pm

    some people will believe any spin Democrats says.

    One problem is that the truth is a crazy story – the Democratic spin makes more sense. The only thing is it doesn’t fit with the evidence.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  37. Biden was a declared candidate in July 2019 and frontrunner.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  38. * But Trump never asked for Ukraine to say anything or do anything

    As a condition for getting military aid.

    Trump said to Sondland or maybe Ron Johnson that they should do what he asked anyway.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  39. Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/27/2024 @ 12:22 pm

    Biden was a declared candidate in July 2019 and frontrunner.

    yes he was.

    But Trump could hold the opinion that he wouldn’t make it – and in fact he nearly didn’t.

    But let’s see the polls:

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/23/politics/cnn-poll-biden-lead-increases/index.html

    CNN Poll: Biden’s lead in Democratic primary hits widest margin since April
    ….Biden has the support of 34% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning registered voters, his best showing in CNN polling since just after his campaign’s formal launch on April 25.

    Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont are about even for second, with 19% and 16%, respectively. Behind them, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Kamala Harris of California each have 6% support, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke each at 3%.

    Trump could also have been lying or half lying.

    Obviously, it would pay for him to check up on the story even if Biden’s nomination was far from certain.

    But there’s an important caveat:

    Provided of course that he didn’t use it to destroy Biden’s candidacy too early.

    That’s what happened in 2024 with the June 27 debate.

    Biden being replaced as a candidate was not a totally unanticipated contingency for Trump in 2024. Trump’s campaign had made some plans for Biden’s withdrawal in 2024 but they would have rated the chances as small. But possible.

    And based on a deterioration of Biden’s health or abilities. Which couldn’t be totally discounted.

    Trump never expected the debate to drive Biden out of the race.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  40. whembly (477db6) — 9/27/2024 @ 8:58 am

    Say Iran is successful in assassinating Trump… what should the Biden/Harris response be? And are you convinced of that?

    What it would be:

    “Oh no! We just lost the election!”

    They same thing with any kind of military disaster for U.S allies.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  41. I don;;t think anyone in Russia except Putin and a few people whose careers are helped want to continue the war, but that may not matter.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  42. Biden Harris working against the security interests of the US

    No longer a torturous seven-day trek, the current passage through the Darien Gap is a two or three-day walk along trails heavily patrolled by Panamanian border police.

    Why? In April 2022, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas signed an agreement with Panama to help ease the humanitarian disaster – that the White House helped create by throwing open America’s gates.

    The administration declared its commitment to ‘safe, orderly, and humane migration,’ worldwide.

    In 2023, U.S. State Department agencies further increased contributions to the United Nations’s International Organization for Migration to a staggering $1.4 billion, according to a database that tracks federal spending.

    Hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars began flowing into Panama. The nation built new migrant processing centers and welcomed dozens of non-governmental agencies to provide aid to the illegal travelers.

    So much was the investment that the once dangerous passage now resembles an American-built migrant ‘super-highway.’ As a result, illegal immigration in the Darien Gap has exploded even further.

    Crossings grew to 250,000 by the end of 2022. In 2023, 520,000 traversed the Gap. Midway through this year, nearly a quarter million had made the trip. The migrant flow is so overwhelming now that Panama’s National Border Service chief told me his country screens less than one percent of the migrants. They used to question up to 90 percent about their criminal histories and potential ties to terrorism.

    On Tuesday, Biden’s Treasury Department announced sanctions for a handful of leaders of the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia – calling the cartel, ‘one of the country’s largest drug trafficking organizations and a key contributor to human smuggling through the Darién Gap.’

    Some may see the move as progress, but others in the region know that sanctions won’t change the situation on the ground. It is difficult for critics to see this as anything less than a feeble response to a humanitarian crisis of the administration’s own making.

    As long as this Biden-build migrant ‘super-highway’ remains open, misery and the criminality that feeds on it will continue.

    lloyd (790e4e)

  43. As you can probably also tell, Trump is somewhat incoherent here.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 9/27/2024 @ 11:58 am

    That’s a shock.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  44. Trump could also have been lying or half lying.

    That would be another shock.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  45. Since the issue has come up:

    Trump has now been briefed on security threats to him:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd0z2394ey2o

    And, suddenly, Trump is making a peace offering to the mullahs

    https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/26/trump-iran-nyc-press-conference-00181367

    About the only way you can’t manipulate Trump is by appealing to his better nature…

    Appalled (f24838)

  46. Say Iran is successful in assassinating Trump… what should the Biden/Harris response be? And are you convinced of that?

    Public and Congressional opinion would drive the Administration to attack Iran mercilessly.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  47. Say Iran is successful in assassinating Trump… what should the Biden/Harris response be? And are you convinced of that?

    Public and Congressional opinion would drive the Administration to attack Iran mercilessly.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 1:01 pm

    Emulating Israel’s Gaza operations would be a good start.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  48. As you can probably also tell, Trump is somewhat incoherent here.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 9/27/2024 @ 11:58 am

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

    That’s a shock.

    It hasn’t been commented on much – not by his friends and not by his enemies.

    Well, occasionally by his opponents in the opinonsphere but it’s mentioned only in passing and usually in connection with Biden.

    His supporters don’t want to hear of it, and his enemies prefer “evil competent Trump” to “incompetent mushy brain Trump”

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  49. Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 9/27/2024 @ 1:06 pm

    You seem to have a problem identifying sarcasm.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  50. It’s not so simple for Governor Hochul to remove Mayor Adams.

    It seems that to do so she must hold a hearing;

    https://nypost.com/2024/09/26/us-news/ny-officials-scramble-over-possibility-of-removing-adams-from-office-sources

    , …If Adams digs in his heels, he could put Gov. Kathy Hochul in uncharted territory as the mayor of the nation’s largest city fights criminal charges accusing him of taking bribes from foreign nationals and defrauding taxpayers of $10 million….

    By the way, the $10 million figure mentioned in the indictment is wrong. That’s the total amount of matching funds he received, not the amount received fraudulently. The indictment also mistakenly says that Eric Adams changed his password on his phone (and later said he could not remember what he had changed it to) in November 2024, not 2023. There’ s some sloppy or rushed work here

    >.. New York City’s mayor can be removed from office by the governor “upon charges,” and provided he or she is given an opportunity to present a defense, according to the city charter.

    That sounds like the charges could be anything but she needs to hold a hearing.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  51. Ever focused on his campaign for the presidency, rages about Google:

    ………….
    “It has been determined that Google has illegally used a system of only revealing and displaying bad stories about Donald J. Trump, some made up for this purpose while, at the same time, only revealing good stories about Comrade Kamala Harris,” the former president wrote on Truth Social.

    “This is an ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, and hopefully the Justice Department will criminally prosecute them for this blatant Interference of Elections. If not, and subject to the Laws of our Country, I will request their prosecution, at the maximum levels, when I win the Election, and become President of the United States!” he added.
    ………..
    (The Media Research Center) asserted that Google searches for “donald trump presidential race 2024” and “kamala harris presidential race 2024” provided proof of the tech giant’s bias towards Harris because Trump’s campaign website appeared sixth in search results, compared to third for Harris.

    The outlet further asserted that the inclusion of “left-wing sources” like Politico, The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post in Google’s “Top Stories” box in the search for both candidates was proof of bias, because some of the articles were critical of Trump.

    “Google [is] telling the reader that the most reliable sources of campaign news are CNN, NBC, The Times, The Post, Politico and The Economist — liberal sources all,” MRC NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham declared in the article.

    The so-called “research” provided nothing in the way of verifiable conclusions about Google’s algorithm and internal processes. Websites are not pegged to a specific location ranking in Google’s search results, and their placement can vary significantly day-to-day.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  52. Adams’ defense would be:

    1) He did not approve of getting or soliciting any illegal campaign contributions, and the only evidence that he ever actually did is perjured witness testimony by people trying to protect themselves..

    2) The value of benefits he received from Turkish sources is highly exaggerated, and he was not involved in preparing the reporting of gifts. All this was delegated.

    3) It was not a bribe because he did not do any official acts in return. He was not yet mayor when the approval by the Fire Department of the occupancy of the new Turkish consulate was made and he had been prepared to placate Turkey and was not responsible for causing a Fire Department inspector to feel that he would lose his job if he did not approve it. By the way, is the building unsafe now?

    4) Not declaring a day to remember the Armenian massacre in 2022 was not his decision – his staff never presented it to him – and anyway that does not constitute an official act.

    5) He did sincerely want to pay for his airline travel – the Turks simply wanted him to take gifts and he wasn’t alert enough or involved in detail enough to stop them and he favored that airline not because his trips were free or highly discounted but because they gave him vegan meals.

    6) His staff was corrupt, not him. He wanted to take illegal contributions because they benefited from the level of contributions raised or got kickbacks but he did not intend that.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  53. There’s a rumor that Nasrallah is greeting his 72 virgins, thanks to a 2,000-bomb that arrived at his compound.

    Hard to imagine a bigger “f*** you” to the globalist morons of the so-called “international community” than for Bibi to issue such a scathing speech at the UNGA, followed quite literally minutes later by the IDF finally going for Nasrallah’s head.

    The Hezbollah terrorist command has been effectively shredded over a 9-day span. BTW, here’s a coupla minutes of Bibi’s UNGA speech. I still think he’s the wrong guy to be their PM, I don’t disagree with a word he said.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  54. I think I find that when a search query on Google is repeated you get different returns, and fewer unusual ones.

    What they tried out was searches for Kamala Harris and for Donald Trump and the election.

    “donald trump presidential race 2024” and “kamala harris presidential race 2024”

    They gave very particular results. The KH stores were alll about the same thing.

    https://nypost.com/2024/09/26/business/google-search-favors-kamala-harris-over-donald-trump-study

    “Nearly every article that appeared above Harris’ website in search results related to historian Allan Lichtman’s prediction that Harris will win the 2024 election,” Pariseau wrote in reference to the MRC study.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  55. They gotta hit up alum Gerrit Cole after the playoffs…not a good look for one of the Big 10 newbies:
    https://youtu.be/DcchtWhBDSQ?si=DKfdAi7r3tWKYNXC

    urbanleftbehind (f2693b)

  56. Hezbollah was reported divided. Nasrallah was maybe the only one who could give an order to stop.

    https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-israel-attack-response-ae09f217

    …Hezbollah, the world’s most heavily armed nonstate paramilitary group, fired its first missile at the commercial capital of Tel Aviv on Wednesday, its boldest response yet to a wave of strikes by Israel. It must now choose whether to unleash more of its advanced weapons, striking deeper into Israel and potentially triggering a full-scale war, or hold back and risk diminishing its reputation as one of the fiercest fighting forces in the Middle East.

    “This is the single most crucial moment for Hezbollah since it was created,” said Rym Momtaz, a security analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace with expertise in Hezbollah. “Hezbollah has no good options.”

    A full-scale war, such as the one Hezbollah fought with Israel in 2006, would likely be devastating for Lebanon, exacerbating its economic crisis and eroding Hezbollah’s support among the population. Still, if the group doesn’t respond in kind to the recent attacks, it could undermine the deterrence that Hezbollah spent decades building against Israel, largely with military and financial help from Iran.

    Where did this 21-day ceasefire proposal come from?

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  57. RIP actress Dame Maggie Smith (89):

    ………..
    Smith built her six-decade career on the foundation of dozens of plays, with most of her performances on British stages. She won nearly every major acting award in the U.K. and U.S., including two Oscars, five Baftas, four Emmys (including three for “Downton Abbey”) and a Tony for her Broadway turn in the comedy “Lettice and Lovage.” In 1990, she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
    ………..
    Smith broke through in the role of Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier in the 1965 film “Othello,” for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. She went on to win an Oscar for best actress for her portrayal of a passionate Scottish schoolteacher in the 1969 movie “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” She won again in 1978 for her supporting role in Herbert Ross’s sharp comedy “California Suite,” playing a vain actress opposite Michael Caine.
    ………..
    She became a familiar presence to younger audiences when she joined the “Harry Potter” universe. As Minerva McGonagall, the good-natured professor of transfiguration at the Hogwarts school, she appeared in seven installments of the eight films in the franchise, from 2001 to 2011. She also lent her voice to a “Harry Potter” videogame released in 2018.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  58. Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/27/2024 @ 1:38 pm

    The last “rumored” death you reported was of Russian Foreign Secretary Lavrov, and he is still alive and kicking Ukraine. So I’ll take this with a grain of salt.

    😉

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  59. The extreme Climate position is making inroads in the Republican Party. I mean the flat opposition to geo-engineering

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/climate/geoengineering-conspiracy-theorists-skeptics.html

    ,,,Around the country, people with a deep distrust of government want to preemptively ban the use of aerosols to reduce heat from the sun…

    …Republican lawmakers introduced a bill to ban solar geoengineering — putting aerosols into the atmosphere to block some of the radiation from the sun. As climate change drives up temperatures on Earth, there is growing interest in geoengineering as a way to cool the planet. But it’s still largely theoretical, with no evidence that anyone in Tennessee is planning to try it.

    The main witness to testify in support of the ban was a physician without any apparent qualifications in atmospheric science, who falsely claimed geoengineering was happening nationwide. Democrats derided the bill as ridiculous and tried to amend it with mentions of Yetis, Bigfoot and Sasquatch to prove their point.

    Yet the ban sailed through the legislature. Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, signed it, making Tennessee the first state to outlaw geoengineering.

    I recall that one kind of sock puppet Russia had was pretending to be Republicans in Tennessee.

    It’s people like Greta Thunberg who are adamantly against doing anything but burning and drilling less carbon fuels in the western world. Now we have MAGA joining in.

    Not that it should be done without careful thought – but id it is a problem, geo-engineering is the way to go.

    More:

    For years, the debate over geoengineering has mostly been limited to academics and environmentalists. They agree that climate change is an existential threat but differ about whether humans should look at trying to blunt it by manipulating natural processes.

    Some, including the prominent geophysicist David Keith, say geoengineering could save lives, and outdoor experiments are necessary to understand the benefits and risks. Others, including the nonprofit Friends of the Earth, say geoengineering distracts from the urgent need to cut the pollution that is heating the planet. And they worry about a lack of international rules to ensure that it’s deployed safely and fairly.

    MAGA has thrown in with them.

    Now, those critics have been joined by groups from a very different corner of American society: vaccine skeptics, conspiracy theorists and organizations like East Tennessee Freedom, which appears motivated by a deep distrust of government rather than by what Ms. Goodrich called the “supposed climate crisis.”

    These new geoengineering opponents are finding support from hard-right Republicans. Since January, lawmakers in more than a half dozen other states have introduced similar legislation to preemptively ban geoengineering.

    “The politics of geoengineering is really weird,” said Benjamin Day, a senior campaigner on the Climate & Energy Justice team at Friends of the Earth. He said it was odd to share a goal with groups who seem to be trying to discredit the government and reflect what he called a “detachment from the truth.”

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  60. Another idea that does not involve less drilling or fracking:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/climate/oceans-rivers-carbon-removal.html

    In a quiet patch of forest in Nova Scotia, a company is building a machine designed to help slow global warming by transforming Earth’s rivers and oceans into giant sponges that absorb carbon dioxide from the air.

    When switched on later this year, the machine will grind up limestone inside a tall green silo and release the powder into the nearby West River Pictou, creating a chalky plume that should dissolve within minutes.

    The effect could be potent, scientists say. Rivers contain carbon dioxide that is constantly escaping into the air, where it traps heat and warms the planet. But adding limestone converts some of that carbon dioxide into a stable molecule that instead stays underwater and washes into the sea, where it should remain trapped for thousands of years.

    “The beauty of it is how simple the technology is,” said Eddie Halfyard, a freshwater ecologist and co-founder of CarbonRun, the start-up building the $400,000 limestone machine, with plans for many more. “We let the water do most of the work.”

    With the dangers of climate change growing and greenhouse gas emissions soaring, scientists and entrepreneurs are increasingly exploring ways to deliberately intervene in climate systems to cool the Earth. Overwhelmingly, scientists say nations must sharply cut the pollution from burning fossil fuels that is driving up global temperatures. But many also believe that some of the excess carbon in the atmosphere must also be pulled out in order to preserve a livable planet.

    “The potential for ocean-based carbon removal is huge, and it’s been really underexplored,” said Nan Ransohoff, who heads Frontier, a $1 billion fund backed by tech giants like Stripe and Alphabet that is investing heavily in strategies to take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere

    This is less reversible than blocking solar radiation, but it would probably only absorb what had been added that year.

    Another idea is fertilizing the Pacific Ocean with iron.

    All these things make more sense than attempting to limit carbon emissions.

    But in the meantime we should make more sure that there wont be nuclear winter. We could maybe need all the global warming we can get.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  61. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 1:52 pm

    The last “rumored” death you reported was of Russian Foreign Secretary Lavrov, and he is still alive and kicking Ukraine. So I’ll take this with a grain of salt.

    😉

    It used to happen with Brezhnev and I think later too, and Osama bin Lden and Bagdadi – sometimes they were merely sick.

    It happens with Sinwar in Gaza.

    If Nasrallah is really dead, we’ll know very very soon. No one genuinely in charge can die without the word spreading. Mullah Omar was never in charge of anything so his death could be kept secret two years.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  62. Netanyahu’s speech:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV8U3l_ECC4

    That’s not the choice Moses was talking about by the way.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  63. Bill Melugin
    @BillMelugin_

    BREAKING: In a stunning letter sent to @RepTonyGonzales by ICE, the agency reveals there are currently 13,000+ noncitizens convicted of homicide & 15,000+ noncitizens convicted of sexual assault who are roaming the US as part of ICE’s non-detained docket.

    Retweeted by Melugin:

    Chris Olivarez
    @LtChrisOlivarez

    Law enforcement on the frontlines has warned for the last 3.5 years that when you have an unsecured border – no vetting- catch & release policies – will lead to an unprecedented threat to public safety. The statistics do not account for the 2+ million known gotaways that are currently present in the country. There is no disputing that when you dismantle effective border policies – maybe not agreeable to all – creates vulnerabilities and places the public & law enforcement at great risk. This is going to be a daunting task for law enforcement across the country to locate & remove these outstanding criminals. The State of Texas will maintain its posture & continue to prioritize public safety in working with local, county, & federal agencies by providing all the necessary resources to locate & arrest those who pose a serious threat to the public.

    I’m certain this is defensible.

    BuDuh (3e749f)

  64. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 1:52 pm

    That’s why I said “rumored”, right up front.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  65. …Hamas….once ruled Gaza

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  66. {Hamas} steals food and sells it at exorbitant prices to stay in power.

    All that has to happen for the war to end s for Hamas to surrender and lay down its arms. Any role for Hamas in a postwar Gaza is ridiculous, as ridiculous as giving the Nazis a role in the rebuilding of Germany in 1945.

    We will not accept Hezbollah perched on northern border.

    We will continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives (are realized) (but unlike Hamas it can survive as a military force he implies)

    Has a question: What choice will you make? Stand wth Israel or with Iran. Battle f good and evil.

    Good is portrayed as evil and evil is portrayed as good.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  67. If there is something new under the sun there is nothing new at the United Nations.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  68. UN house of Darkness Anti-Israel Flat Earth Society.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  69. Where did this 21-day ceasefire proposal come from?

    The people who want to give Hezbollah time to regroup, of course.

    Kevin M (8651d2)

  70. Derrick Anderson, GOP candidate for a VA House seat, and his fake family.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  71. The extreme Climate position is making inroads in the Republican Party. I mean the flat opposition to geo-engineering

    The problem to geoengineering is that it is a fragile solution. If you mitigate the warming and continue to create the conditions for warming there is a danger that, should your geoengineering fail, a catastrophe could happen literally overnight. A better path is to stop exacerbating the problem, THEN use geoengineering to restabilize.

    CO2 and CH4 do not come out of the atmosphere quickly, but they do come out over time and that process can be sped up. But as long as we continue to make the problem worse, pushing the damage under the carpet is not a good plan since eventually you run out of carpet.

    Kevin M (8651d2)

  72. There is also the Law of Unintended Consequences to consider.

    Kevin M (8651d2)

  73. The Ides of Whatsis looms large in the MAGA script.

    Friends, Romans, countrymen, I come not to bury Trump’s ears but to praise them. They are all that stand between a bullet and Democracy.

    Psshh!

    nk (133902)

  74. Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/27/2024 @ 2:55 pm

    Anything regarding Derek Tran pop up on your pro-abortion feeds?

    BuDuh (3e749f)

  75. Nasrallah was a really high-value target.

    People don’t appreciate that Nasrallah took over for Soleimani as senior strategist for Khamenei. Nasrallah had operational control of Lebanon and Syria. This is not just a strategic game-changer for Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria, it’s a strategic game-changer for Tehran.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  76. Oops:

    China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank in the spring, a major setback for one of the country’s priority weapons programs, U.S. officials said.

    The episode, which Chinese authorities scrambled to cover up and hasn’t previously been disclosed, occurred at a shipyard near Wuhan in late May or early June.
    ………
    The U.S. doesn’t know if the sub was carrying nuclear fuel at the time it sank, but experts outside the U.S. government said that was likely.
    ……….
    Beijing had 48 diesel-powered attack subs and six nuclear-powered attack subs at the end of 2022, according to a Pentagon report issued last year on China’s military power,

    That report said that China’s aim in developing new attack submarines, surface ships and naval aircraft is to counter efforts by the U.S. and its partners to come to Taiwan’s aid during a conflict and to achieve “maritime superiority” within the first island chain, a string of territory from the Japanese archipelago through Taiwan and the Philippines to the South China Sea.

    The Zhou-class vessel that sank is the first of a new class of Chinese nuclear-powered subs and features a distinctive X-shaped stern, which is designed to make the vessel more maneuverable.
    ……….
    After the sinking, large floating cranes arrived in early June to salvage the sub from the river bed, according to satellite photos of the site.
    ……….
    “It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside,” said a senior U.S. defense official. “In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defense industry, which has long been plagued by corruption.”
    ……….
    While the submarine was salvaged, it will likely take many months before it can be put to sea.

    “The whole boat would be full of water,” (Thomas Shugart, a former U.S. submarine officer and an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security) said. “You’d have to clean out all the electronics. The electric motors may need to be replaced. It would be a lot of work.”
    ………

    Photos of the sunken submarine at link.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  77. Geez, we are still litigating the phone call? Why? No minds will change.

    Kevin M (49bb46) — 9/27/2024 @ 12:13 pm

    No different than people here relitigating Trump’s COVID response.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  78. There’s a rumor that Nasrallah is greeting his 72 virgins, thanks to a 2,000-bomb that arrived at his compound.

    About 30 years too late.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  79. Item 2 preventing a citizen from voting because they have moved is wrong and needs to be punished.

    asset (929e3b)

  80. Tuesday, the New York Times carried an article describing reactions to the arrest of Sean Combs, including this one:

    The indictment against Mr. Combs accuses him of running a criminal enterprise centered on abusing women, and of using bribery, arson, kidnapping and threats of violence to intimidate and silence victims. He has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    But Mr. Combs’s arrest has also stirred the hopes of activists and survivors of sexual violence that his case may finally lead to lasting change in the music industry. Though long seen as inhospitable to women, the business has largely avoided the scrutiny and accountability that swept Hollywood, politics and much of the media world at the peak of the #MeToo movement in the late 2010s.

    Good luck to those activists and survivors, but I am not hopeful, at least in the short term.

    I believe that the most serious domestic problem the United States has is the inability of so many adults to form the “pair bonds” needed to raise good children. The fault, I have long thought is mostly because too many American men are unwilling to grow up and become responsible adults. And the bad examples set by so many politicians and entertainers isn’t helping.

    (I say “pair bonds” to remind everyone that this is something that, for example, the common crow does, routinely. It is not rocket science.)

    Jim Miller (524e51)

  81. Jeffrey Epstein’s long crime career illustrates my argument in many ways. Here are just two: First, many prominent and powerful people knew of his crimes — and did nothing about them. Second, I think an investigation would show that almost all his victims did not have fathers in their lives, and so were far more vulnerable.

    Jim Miller (524e51)

  82. https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/for-my-friends-everything/

    Catoggio today:

    The cultiest element of Trump’s very culty political movement is that it has its own internal morality that supersedes traditional morality. That’s why so many creeps, crooks, and kooks are drawn to it. Like any cult leader worth his salt, Trump offers acceptance and community to those who find such things hard to come by in respectable society.

    So true. Think of the most obnoxious person you know. Odds are he/she is a big Trump fan.

    norcal (56054e)

  83. Roseanne Barr, for example

    norcal (56054e)

  84. Were they antisocial dillweeds before, or did membership in the fandom turn them into a basket of deplorables?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  85. Klink, my guess is more the former than the latter.

    norcal (56054e)

  86. Roseanne Barr, for example
    norcal (56054e) — 9/27/2024 @ 4:41 pm

    We have Roseanne Barr. You have Thomas Crooks and Ryan Routh.

    lloyd (36687d)

  87. Oh and P Diddy.

    lloyd (36687d)

  88. Whembly. none of the usual suspects answered your question and one dismissed it with the excuse that Congress would have to respond thus avoiding the question about his personal beliefs.

    As expected.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  89. Kamala loved shouting out P Diddy. Was good for her leftist cred.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  90. lloyd (36687d) — 9/27/2024 @ 5:17 pm

    Trump leads a cult. There is no cult of Kamala.

    norcal (56054e)

  91. Trump leads a cult. There is no cult of Kamala.
    norcal (56054e) — 9/27/2024 @ 5:35 pm

    Sure norcal, keep telling yourself that. Cults name their movements after people. Nevertrump, for example.

    lloyd (36687d)

  92. Item 2 preventing a citizen from voting because they have moved is wrong and needs to be punished.

    It doesn’t prevent them from voting, but they have to list a correct address so that they vote for their local candidates. They still can do that.

    Kevin M (403fca)

  93. The indictment against Mr. Combs accuses him of running a criminal enterprise centered on abusing women, and of using bribery, arson, kidnapping and threats of violence to intimidate and silence victims.

    Bill Clinton hardest hit.

    Kevin M (403fca)

  94. So true. Think of the most obnoxious person you know. Odds are he/she is a big Trump fan.

    Actually, that person is a Progressive.

    Kevin M (403fca)

  95. There is no cult of Kamala.

    Perhaps not. There WAS a cult of Obama, the Lightbringer.

    Kevin M (403fca)

  96. Jeez, guys, I guess we are in deep election season.

    BuDuh, is it actually important to you if the campaign of someone who speaks Vietnamese called the candidate fluent?

    Paul, is a candidate taking photos with supporters that people might assume are his family (but he didn’t claim it) a real scandal?

    Are we really measuring opposing politicians by whether we can find a gross supporter (and for what it’s worth, I actually think Rosanne is kind of funny)?

    This whole thread reeks of people trying to be offended.

    Nate (cfb326)

  97. BuDuh, is it actually important to you if the campaign of someone who speaks Vietnamese called the candidate fluent?

    I don’t know what you are talking about.

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  98. Are we really measuring opposing politicians by whether we can find a gross supporter (and for what it’s worth, I actually think Rosanne is kind of funny)?

    This whole thread reeks of people trying to be offended.

    Nate (cfb326) — 9/27/2024 @ 5:58 pm

    Nate, I don’t think the remarks from Roseanne, quoted by Dana in item 6, are funny at all. Are you saying Dana is trying to be offended?

    norcal (56054e)

  99. Sorry, I googled Derek Tran, as there was no link provided in your earlier comment and that was the biggest scandal I could find on him. Every other attack was… less convincing.

    I had forgotten by the time I posted that what I looked up wasn’t linked and I can see how my comment would be confusing. Apologies. I’ve been drinking a little.

    Nate (cfb326)

  100. No problem, Nate. Pro abortion Derek Tram is dabbling with stolen valor-ish comments.

    The anti-abortion Derrrick Anderson, that Paul’s pro-abortion feeds instructed him to grouse about, is a legit Green-Beret.

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  101. NorCal, Rosanne’s remarks linked are full on QAnon. They’re sad (in that they are not just her beliefs but shared by many) more than anything. I was referring to her previous acting career.

    But my point was that using someone crazy (Rosanne) as a stand in for why we should dislike the person they support is poor argumentation. We can always find a crazy person who supports the person we aren’t voting for. It’s meaningless.

    Sorry the parenthetical quip was distracting from the point I was trying to make.

    Nate (cfb326)

  102. BuDuh, I never served in the military, so if you have and stolen valor-ish things bother you in a different way than they bother me, I can respect that. But too often I see these political moves as veterans being attacked and their service diminished in a way I don’t respect, and rather than being good faith critiques they are only being launched for partisan gain. I find the attack more off-putting than the action being attacked.

    Nate (cfb326)

  103. We can always find a crazy person who supports the person we aren’t voting for. It’s meaningless.

    Nate (cfb326) — 9/27/2024 @ 6:11 pm

    Usually this is true, but when you have a cult leader attracting multitudes of crazies and making them even crazier (a significant percentage of Trump supporters believe in QAnon) it is worth talking about.

    I think it’s crazy to believe the 2020 election was rigged. The last I checked, a majority of Republicans have this belief. That is not meaningless.

    You are normally a clear mind, Nate. I suspect the drinking is affecting your thinking.

    norcal (56054e)

  104. Just pointing out false advertising, Nate.
    I was more bemused than anything.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  105. You are normally a clear mind, Nate. I suspect the drinking is affecting your thinking.
    norcal (56054e) — 9/27/2024 @ 6:26 pm

    norcal, you’re normally not this insufferable.

    lloyd (36687d)

  106. norcal, you’re normally not this insufferable.

    lloyd (36687d) — 9/27/2024 @ 6:38 pm

    I’ll try harder. 😛

    norcal (56054e)

  107. Nasty, ignorant people have always been with us. Trump is the piece of string dangled in the liquid which made them come out of solution and clump around him and each other.

    nk (133902)

  108. https://x.com/roaming_rn/status/1839327275923460347?

    We could’ve had a great President if NeverTrump had supported the only viable alternative.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  109. We could’ve had a great President if NeverTrump had supported the only viable alternative.

    Classic, the dumb factless “theory” that NeverTrumpers killed the DeSantis campaign. There aren’t enough of us to make that kind of difference, since we’re probably around 10% of the GOP. No, the blame goes directly to the Trumpers who actually voted for and nominated Trump. Occam’s Razor.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  110. Wait, did Trump win his primaries? I seem to remember him doing it, since I’m pretty sure all of us who had the option voted for not Trump. Hence, Haley got ~20% of the votes, and since NeverTrump didn’t vote for, you know, Trump.

    Therefore the cult of MAGA voted for EverTrump and is 100% responsible.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  111. I’m gonna repeat what I said six weeks ago about the fiction that NeverTrumpers blocked DeSantis from the nomination, because the claim is irresponsible and wrong…

    It wasn’t NeverTrumpers who cratered DeSantis’ chances, there ain’t enough of us. A year ago today, Trump and his Mini Me (Vivek) were at 62%. Game over. DeSantis was at 18%, down from the upper 30s after months of negative attacks by Trump, with scarcely any counter-attacks by DeSantis, and those numbers carried into Iowa, the basket where he put most of his political eggs. On 8/17/2023, Nikki and Christie, representing the actual NeverTrump wing, were 6% combined.

    No, the blame for who let our country down are the Trumpers, no one else, for refusing to compromise by switching to DeSantis. They’re the only ones who could’ve turned the tables.

    For me, a NeverTrumper, I was good with any candidate except Trump and Vivek, but I never had the chance. The polls showed that the nomination was over before Labor Day, thanks to the non-NeverTrumper GOP.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  112. It was game over for DeSantis once Trump got indicted. The cycle will get repeated four years from now. Nevertrump will attack every serious conservative, support no one, then pretend to be bummed when the Democrats win.

    lloyd (baa74d)

  113. God’s been throwing all kinds of darts at Trump, his deal with Lucifer keeps letting him slither out. Part of the cult is you’re supplying him with an infinite number of souls to trade.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  114. Classic, the dumb factless “theory” that NeverTrumpers killed the DeSantis campaign. There aren’t enough of us to make that kind of difference, since we’re probably around 10% of the GOP. No, the blame goes directly to the Trumpers who actually voted for and nominated Trump. Occam’s Razor.

    Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/27/2024 @ 7:18 pm

    Just a hard fact.

    At some point you guys need to compromise or at least stop complaining about everyone else who is willing to do that.

    Desantis was the obvious best choice this year. Haley was a terrible choice, much like Romney, and represented the same thing. Sneering.

    Why make Trump viable, Paul? Why not learn?

    NJ isn’t going away. Tea partiers aren’t going away. They recognize that the GOP has this elite group of people who genuinely despise most of the country. Trump preyed on that. He’s losing too, sure. Not a great comfort when you realize this cycle of purity has made both parties ridiculous.

    If it makes you feel better, Bush 43 looks awesome and like a moment of intelligence from the GOP.

    Dustin (ec4424)

  115. Isn’t it Desantis’ fault for being terrible, and quitting? MAGA overwhelmingly supported Trump and is 80% of the GOP.

    So please explain how a group of people the GOP doesn’t want and is 10% at most, would “compromise” and who would they “compromise” with?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  116. This will be the 3rd election in a row that the GOP has put forth Trump. And it will be another that they lose the popular vote by millions, and will probably put weak sauce Harris in as president because THEY can’t compromise.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  117. Nevertrump will attack every serious conservative, support no one, then pretend to be bummed when the Democrats win.

    That’s a pantload of pig vomit, from the supermajority of MAGAs who nominated that piece of sh-t.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  118. Just a hard fact.

    It ain’t no fact, Dustin. The people who needed to compromise were the Trumpists. There is no scenario where 10% of the party controls the path to nomination.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  119. I’m gonna repeat what I said six weeks ago about the fiction that NeverTrumpers blocked DeSantis from the nomination

    If you want to cast blame on anyone, how about on the candidate who, once HE dropped out, immediately endorsed Donald Trump. #NeverTrump might not have forced him out, but they will make sure they do next time.

    Kevin M (54c6bd)

  120. Imagine if DeSantis, once Haley beat him in NH, had endorsed Haley. So, it is literally DeSantis’ fault that he endorsed Trump over the last opponent standing.

    Kevin M (54c6bd)

  121. DeSantis proved to be just another Cruz.

    Kevin M (54c6bd)

  122. Yup, he didn’t go to Cancun for the hurricane at least.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  123. Major Conservative Poll Cited by Media Secretly Worked With Trump Team

    Here is collusion between @Rasmussen_Poll, @HeartlandInst & @realDonaldTrump campaign. Heartland Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit and strictly forbidden from political activity that benefits a candidate. Read all the emails of collusion here: https://t.co/bC0T8IPzRU pic.twitter.com/791gs0vpHm— American Muckrakers (@AmericanMuck) September 26, 2024

    No!!! Never!,

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  124. Desatan like cancun crud dropped when he realized Lincoln was right you can only fool a small minority all the time.

    asset (3beaf9)

  125. Dustin, I understand and agree with your point about compromise. But, Trump crushed Desantis in Iowa. Support form all then Haley/christie supporters wouldn’t have changed that. If he’d hung on after that things might have been been different. I never had a chance to decide between him and Haley. I don’t live in Iowa.

    I’m honestly not certain if he was running for 2024, or 28. He’s a Tenacious fighter in FL and showed none of that in the primary.

    If the populist wing of the GOP wants to make a coalition with other variants of conservative they need a champion that will fight for the spot. It wasn’t Ron.

    Time123 (9d0493)

  126. Whembly, If another country kills or harms a US citizen the US should take notice and support that person appropriately. If they assassinate a US leader we should treat it as an act of military aggression, if not an act of war.

    Not sure we have a lot of options left with Iran. But I’d advocate for spending many 10’s of billions of dollars breaking their stuff. I’d want to start with targets that had fewer civilians. But if military bases and factories are too close to populated areas I would accept that.

    If Biden announced a plan to completely destroy their military and industrial infrastructure it would feel appropriate to me. But he should ask for congressional approval as a full War is a likely outcome.

    If it’s being done well we might never hear about it, but IF the facts support it as a true threat the state department should be laying the groundwork for war with Iran with our allies.

    Time123 (9d0493)

  127. If DeSantis had been the nominee, he might not have picked J. the “D” is for Deceit Vance as his VP, and where would that have left the pet animals of Springfield, Ohio?

    You need to consider all the ramifications.

    nk (133902)

  128. So, it is literally DeSantis’ fault that he endorsed Trump over the last opponent standing.

    Bingo. It still may not have been enough. There was always at least 30% of the party who were NoOneElseButTrumpers.

    Paul Montagu (58c6b8)

  129. https://web.archive.org/web/20240927035126/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/26/supreme-court-reform-15-justices-wyden/

    The leftists in the Senate are trying to pack the Supreme Court. The leftist media is cheering them on.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  130. I’m trying to fly to the Moon on gossamer wings.

    To amend the Judiciary Act will require solid Democrat majorities in both chambers of Congress and a Democrat President willing to go along. That’s more of a phantom than Iran attempting to assassinate Trump.

    It’s much more likely that Alito and Thomas will retire and Harris will appoint their replacements, leaving Roberts as the swing vote, and pissing off only the absolutists.

    nk (dee621)

  131. Strike that. leaving Roberts as the swing vote It will make the Court 5-4 Democrat.

    nk (dee621)

  132. It will make the Court 5-4 Democrat. radical leftist.

    nk (dee621) — 9/28/2024 @ 5:32 am

    FIFY

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  133. It’s confirmed.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  134. If Israel thinks that killing Nasrallah (something it should have done during any of their other wars against Hezbollah over the decades) and other senior Hezbollah commanders is going to end the radical Islamic threat, they’re going to be sadly mistaken. As long as that ideology exists, there will be no peace; and that ideology permeates the Middle East. Israel will need to occupy southern Lebanon in order to prevent attacks against its citizens for a long time.

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  135. Hopefully Israeli leadership is viewing your comment, Rip.

    I pray that they see it.

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  136. Rob, your definition of Radical leftist now includes John Roberts? Really?

    Time123 (9d0493)

  137. Do you think Roberts is included in the “5” in nk’s 5-4 example, Time? If so, how did you conclude that?

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  138. To amend the Judiciary Act will require solid Democrat majorities in both chambers of Congress

    The problem with all of these “don’t worry” claims is that they all involve things that would be constitutional if they happened (or at least arguably so). Packing the Court, killing the filibuster, imposing national Democrat-friendly election laws, subverting the electoral college, mark-to-market taxation, etc, are all “normal” for those that consider Socialist “progressivism” normal.

    All would have help from the institutions, particularly the press.

    The horrors of a Trump administration, however, are less obviously constitutional. Detainment camps for those accused of illegal immigration and/or deportation without due process. Firing career bureaucrats irrespective of civil service laws. Packing the DoJ with MAGA haters to go after “the traitors.” Banning medical procedures by fiat. Regulating sports. Censoring news media. Etc.

    Most would be held up in the courts. All would be widely opposed in the institutions, particularly the press.

    Kevin M (6b0614)

  139. There will be many a dry eye in Lebanon over Nasrallah’s demise.

    Jim Miller (8d3698)

  140. If DeSantis had been the nominee, he might not have picked J. the “D” is for Deceit Vance as his VP, and where would that have left the pet animals of Springfield, Ohio?

    You need to consider all the ramifications.

    nk (133902) — 9/28/2024 @ 4:43 am

    You joke, but among Trump’s many faults, one of the greatest ones, more serious than his disgusting personal life, is that he picks weak yes-men to be in his administration. Nikki Haley is a great example, but Pence and Vance are the best examples.

    To some extent Biden’s administration (not really Biden, who has not been particularly aware even in 2020) did the same.

    And Desantis doesn’t do that.

    A GOP after a Desantis administration is fundamentally more experienced and aware than one after a Trump administration, let alone Biden’s where it’s mostly just anger-grift.

    This is the wrong place to have the conversation. Too many here genuinely are democrats who actually hate Desantis for the same reasons he would be a terrific president.

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  141. Had Trump wanted to win, he could have publicly praised Desantis and begged him to join his administration as VP, with a leadership role.

    Obviously that wouldn’t even be Trump if he did that.

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  142. I hear a lot of folks are still unable to understand why Trump gets such support. Let me help.

    Trump’s supporters believe that the government, and both established parties, has been lying to them for decades while they line their pockets at the working man’s expense. Their belief that the 2020 election was rigged is not an outlier here. The short version of this is this:

    THEY DON’T TRUST YOU.

    And nothing you can say will make them trust you.

    Kevin M (6b0614)

  143. Yet my party nominated the lyingest and least trustworthy person to claim that our government lied, Kevin. It remains absurd.

    I’ll say it again, Dustin, this Republican would’ve voted for DeSantis in a heartbeat, but it’s not my fault (or any other NeverTrumper’s fault) that he ran such a crap campaign.
    When he got within single digits of Trump, instead of continuing to act like the attack dog he is, he turned into a furry little kitten when Trump went full-scale negative on him. January 2023 was the moment he should’ve stood toe-to-toe and punch back hard after every punch Trump threw at him, followed by saying he’s the Trump that the GOP wants, because he can get it done, and he fights.
    But no, DeSantis practically went dark in response, and I’m guessing he did so because he didn’t want to alienate the 30% of the party who are hardcore MAGAs, because he wanted those MAGAs for 2028.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  144. @146 “January 2023 was the moment he should’ve stood toe-to-toe and punch back hard”

    Paul is right, at least about the timeline. The DeSantis slide happened around then. From an April 30, 2023 poll:

    DeSantis was at 28% in Fox’s February poll, 15 points behind Trump. The Florida governor’s support has dropped in the two Fox polls published since, and he now trails the former president by 32 points.

    I wonder what happened in April. Trump had a bloody shirt to wave, and Nevertrump handed it to him.

    lloyd (7345d7)

  145. This 78-year old candidate’s brain is continuing to turn to mush…

    Q: What actions will you take to ensure that our jobs stay in America so we can continue to build the best cars in the world here in Michigan?

    Trump: Pretty much as we’ve been saying. What I want to do is be able to — look, years ago in this area, I was honored as the Man of the Year, maybe 20 years ago. The Fake News heard about it and said it never happened. I didn’t know who it was. The group that honored me as Man of the Year, the Fake News back there, see, the Fake News, they said it never happened. I said, I swear to you it did happen. I came and I made a speech. Why do you allow them to take your car business away? Why do you allow it to happen? I didn’t know too much. All I know is they were taking your car industry away from you. They said it never happened. Lo and behold, somebody said, I remember the event. We found out that we had everything, the awards and everything, it did happen. I gave a speech at the time, it was controversial, we can’t let them take your car business away, such an important business. It’s important even in times of war. It was really something. I looked at that speech from — I don’t know, 19 or 20 years ago. I could repeat it now without changing a word. You cannot let foreign countries — a lot of the times, our worst foes, our — our, our so-called friends, our friends, the European Union takes tremendous should — tremendous advantage of us. They give us cars by the millions. We don’t have too many Chevrolets in the middle of European cities. European Union is brutal. They don’t take our farm products for the most part. Unlike Kamala, who always complains and doesn’t do anything. I keep saying, why don’t you do anything? I saw Marsha the other day. Why didn’t she do it four years ago? She’s on the border today. What a day for the border. She goes to the border today and they just announced this before she got up to speak. More than 13,000 murderers from jail, solitary confinement people in many cases, were released. Let’s go back. We can’t let them take our businesses. You can control so that easily so through good policy. Not her kind of policy, by the way. She changed her policy 15 times. She wants to defund the police. When anyone is into that for even a day, they should no longer serve as president. We are not going to let them take our businesses. A lot of this determined by our taxation policy. China has to pay all that money. China was dumping steel in here and levels you have never seen before. It was putting steel companies out of business. I put a tax on that dumping. The steel, some companies thrive. Don’t worry about it. I only ask you to do only thing. And then you can sleep beautifully all night long. Go to a job that you love. If you vote for me, everything will be better.

    If I were able to boil down his answer to her question, Trump’s response would be tariffs, I think, which is a dumb idea because they’re inflationary and cut our GDP growth.
    BTW, Trump did lie about this Man of the Year business, and you can tell he’s a little irritated that his lie was called.

    There, Trott said, Trump gave a “rambling” address resembling the one he says he did — and Trott gave him a framed copy of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and other gifts. But Trott did not give him any Man of the Year award, and nor did anyone else.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  146. Jack Smith isn’t NeverTrump, lloyd, nor is Garland.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  147. Yet my party nominated the lyingest and least trustworthy person to claim that our government lied, Kevin. It remains absurd.

    HE was also the only one who said what they believed.

    They did not believe they were being screwed because Trump told them so. They believed Trump because he said what they already believed.

    Kevin M (a98cd9)

  148. Paul, as long as you call them cultists and pretend their grievances are not real, you will never have a home in either party.

    Kevin M (a98cd9)

  149. Jack Smith isn’t NeverTrump, lloyd, nor is Garland.

    No, they are partisan Democrats. Like many here who call themselves #neverTrump are on their way to becoming.

    Kevin M (a98cd9)

  150. @149 Paul, what happened in April 2023 had nothing to do with Jack Smith or Garland, but nice deflection.

    But if you want to make it about those two, Smith leveraged federal power against the Tea Party and Garland ok, don’t get comical.

    lloyd (8cda9a)

  151. It is pretty crazy just to read conservative journalists/bloggers, etc who explained all their problems with Trump for years, and when Desantis shows up lacking any of these problems, but is trying to appeal to Trump supporters, they largely ignore Trump during the primary and attack Desantis as though they are the same.

    All this means is that they were bereft of authenticity. Their problem with Trump was not that he’s a sleaze or a liar or a con man or a RINO. Their problem was that he appealed to the folks who go to the county fair, have signs of years of work on their hands, believe in a nuclear family. A ton of these folks are well educated and live in cities, and I think they have absorbed what democrats have been putting out for the past 20 years.

    It’s unfortunate because they drove the GOP off a cliff in the primary this year. They did the same in 2012. I think they even did so in 2016 but don’t want to embarrass myself by saying Cruz as a lot better than Trump.

    Learn to stop burning the bridge and compromise. W was a compromise for everyone. And he was much better than we have now. Desantis would have been a compromise, but he would have done better than we’re going to get. We absolutely could have had that. We’re not out of line to be frustrated, and it’s very amusing that the people who screwed everything up this year are so upset to be reminded about this option.

    In 2008, Obama said marriage should be restricted to one man and one woman. In 2024, Republicans are saying if a man says he is a woman, I’m a bigot if I accidentally use male pronouns to describe him. And this distraction is only intended to control. It has nothing to do with ten million illegal aliens and those lives and livelihoods and communities being destroyed in pursuit of an easily bought vote.

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  152. Paul, as long as you call them cultists and pretend their grievances are not real, you will never have a home in either party.

    Kevin, one, I will say that the people who still believe that the 2020 election was “stolen” and there was “massive fraud” are deep into Cult Orange Jesus, because they’d rather believe their leader’s lies than the evidence, or lack of evidence as it were. That’s the extent of it, but I’m not going to refrain from calling out the nutters who are still naive and foolish enough to still believe that nonsense.
    Two, I never said otherwise, about the grievances among his supporters. That’s partly why he was elected in 2016, because Trump said things that resonated, and Hillary didn’t.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  153. Again, lloyd, you’re ascribing the actions of a Manhattan to NeverTrump, which is absurd. You sound really eager to blame NeverTrumpers for Trump being nominated, but it’s illogical nonsense. It’s like the MAGAs who blame Biden for Putin’s War Again Ukraine but not Putin, the guy who actually pushed the button. Take some responsibility. The people who are responsible for putting Trump on the ticket are the 60% to 80% of the Republicans who voted him into that position.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  154. …of a Manhattan DA to NeverTrump…

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  155. Geez, we are still litigating the phone call? Why? No minds will change.

    Kevin M (49bb46) — 9/27/2024 @ 12:13 pm

    No different than people here relitigating Trump’s COVID response.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/27/2024 @ 3:26 pm

    Or whether DeSantis was a better candidate than Trump. Nothing will change the Republican primary results that ended a long time ago.

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  156. “Learn to stop burning the bridge and compromise.”

    Dustin continues to fail basic math.

    Iowa: Trump 51%, DeSantis 21.3%, Haley 19.1%, Ramaswamy 7.6%, Christie 0.03%

    We have no other numbers for DeSantis because he quit before New Hampshire and South Carolina and endorsed Trump. DeSantis never made sufficient inroads into Trump’s support. Rather than insulting all of the commenters here….none of which appear to be from Iowa….maybe join NRO and bash the Trump bro’s who failed to compromise and choose your candidate.

    I acknowledge that Haley was not able to break into Trump’s support either…in the end his base rallied around him and his indictments and sexual assault and fraud judgments. If you have lingering resentment and care about conservative values like the nuclear family, then I might start with the segment of the GOP who boasted that he just “grabs ’em by the p*ssy”.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  157. White House statement on the death of Hassan Nasrallah:

    Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.
    …………
    The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups. Just yesterday, I directed my Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.
    ………..

    There has been no statement from the Trump campaign.

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  158. Is the White House statement also considered the statement from the Harris Campaign?

    BuDuh (03d3a2)

  159. Vice President Harris’s statement on the death of Hassan Nasrallah:

    Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands. Across decades, his leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocent people in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world. Today, Hezbollah’s victims have a measure of justice.

    I have an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. I will always support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  160. My problem is this:

    I agree that Trump’s command of MAGA, needs to be crushed. A sold defeat of Trump would do that. I’m not sure what a close contest would do. Trump says he won’t run again, but he said the same thing in 2020. Then again, being in jail is a handicap, or should be.

    But….

    I also believe that Progressive Democrats need to be crushed. It’s possible that a solid defeat of Harris would do that, although the socialist economic heresy seems to be immune to most things (see “cult”), such as repeated horrific failures destroying nation after nation.

    I would have no problem voting for nationalist populism over socialist populism. Less suck. But Trump adds so much baggage…

    Kevin M (69a5dd)

  161. Kevin M (69a5dd) — 9/28/2024 @ 12:04 pm

    Crocodile tears.

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  162. I wonder about the vague reports of civilian deaths in the attack. Surely the people living in those buildings knew what was below, and anyone with an ounce of sense would have found somewhere else to be.

    Kevin M (69a5dd)

  163. Thanks, Rip. I thought it was going to be closer to this:

    Kamala Harris Aide Once Accused Israel of ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ and ‘Terrorism

    Good to know that she is keeping very little daylight between her leadership and Biden’s.

    BuDuh (03d3a2)

  164. The problem, Rip is that they cannot both lose in a landslide. Maybe there’s time yet for Bill Gates to spend $20 billion on a write-in campaign.

    Kevin M (69a5dd)

  165. Kevin M (69a5dd) — 9/28/2024 @ 12:04 pm

    Hamlet on the Pecos.

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  166. Good to know that she is keeping very little daylight between her leadership and Biden’s.

    For now. Once in the Oval, she’ll evolve.

    Kevin M (69a5dd)

  167. I am nowhere near the Pecos. It empties into the Rio Grande more than 100 miles north of here.

    Kevin M (69a5dd)

  168. Maybe there’s time yet for Bill Gates to spend $20 billion on a write-in campaign.

    When wishcasting is all there is, make a good wishcast.

    Kevin M (69a5dd)

  169. I am nowhere near the Pecos. It empties into the Rio Grande more than 100 miles north of here.

    Kevin M (69a5dd) — 9/28/2024 @ 12:11 pm

    Which of course isn’t the point; your constant going back and forth on Trump is reminiscent of Mario Cuomo, the “Hamlet on the Hudson.”

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  170. Dustin continues to fail basic math.

    Iowa: Trump 51%, DeSantis 21.3%, Haley 19.1%, Ramaswamy 7.6%, Christie 0.03%

    We have no other numbers for DeSantis because he quit before New Hampshire and South Carolina and endorsed Trump. DeSantis never made sufficient inroads into Trump’s support. Rather than insulting all of the commenters here….none of which appear to be from Iowa….maybe join NRO and bash the Trump bro’s who failed to compromise and choose your candidate.

    I acknowledge that Haley was not able to break into Trump’s support either…in the end his base rallied around him and his indictments and sexual assault and fraud judgments. If you have lingering resentment and care about conservative values like the nuclear family, then I might start with the segment of the GOP who boasted that he just “grabs ’em by the p*ssy”.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 9/28/2024 @ 11:39 am

    LOL

    This is proving me right. AJ doesn’t get it, fundamentally. But he’s also super pissed that the remaining normals lament the obvious: a coordinated effort in the past several elections to refuse to unite around the best conservative option, the one who can win, and then pointing to that effort to prove it wasn’t a mistake.

    Yet the results speak for themselves.

    Keep burning the bridge if you want to keep the bridge burned, but the GOP is a coalition that only works by compromise.

    AJ ends his very sensitive rant by pointing out he considers everyone who supports Trump as someone who supports sexual assault. Such sneering contempt is exactly why he is so delighted to reject Desantis. The irony is that to those who liken Desantis to Trump must be highly tolerant of sexual assault.

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  171. Well, since it’s the same as her statement previously, I’d say so. But you know that.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  172. reminiscent of Mario Cuomo

    Who remembers Mario Cuomo?

    Kevin M (15d72e)

  173. Dustin, if you want to blame someone for Trump’s resurgence, look no further than the NY prosecutors.

    Kevin M (15d72e)

  174. But really: anyone who quit the race while there were still other choices and ENDORSED TRUMP is persona non grata to me. DeSantis said: “If I can’t have it, no one can!” then snuffled up to the cult hoping they won’t remember he was a challenger.

    Kevin M (15d72e)

  175. Who remembers Mario Cuomo?

    Kevin M (15d72e) — 9/28/2024 @ 12:32 pm

    Any political junkie older than 60. 😉

    Rip Murdock (25822e)

  176. Dustin, if you want to blame someone for Trump’s resurgence, look no further than the NY prosecutors.

    Kevin M (15d72e) — 9/28/2024 @ 12:35 pm

    Fair point, but like many of the folks in this thread who pretend otherwise, they wanted Trump to be the nominee. So I’m ‘blaming’ them for a cunning and effective plan.

    It is obvious that keeping Desantis from getting traction was the plan of RINOs and democrats, and Trump has always been their tool to con the Tea Party populist types.

    My real concern with the relevant prosecutors is they have taken an absurd amount of time. Some of that is explainable, some is obvious election related. They should have put Trump in his prison cell years ago. That they have ‘failed’ to do so, and now Trump is golly shucks the definition of the GOP again, is not an accident.

    But hey, folks in this thread who have complained from the extreme left about how transgender pronouns are used are telling me that they didn’t support Desantis because he didn’t have enough support, and I’m supposed to trust their intentions as they keep sneering at the people they must compromise with if the GOP is to succeed.

    LOL.

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  177. Gallup: Americans Still Favor Replacing Electoral College System

    Americans favor amending the Constitution to elect presidents based on the popular vote (58%) rather than keeping the current system where the winner is determined by Electoral College votes (39%). The level of support for a popular-vote system has been consistent in most Gallup surveys since the question was first asked in 2000. The main exception was an even division in a poll taken after the 2016 election, in which Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and Donald Trump the electoral vote. Although this situation has been rare, it also occurred in 2000.
    ………….
    Democrats’ support (to amend the Constitution to allow the popular election of the President is) currently at 82% ……….Sixty-six percent of Republicans currently favor keeping the Electoral College system.
    ………….
    In Gallup polls on the Electoral College in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Republicans and Democrats tended to be about equally likely to approve of an amendment to abolish the Electoral College. In those surveys, an average of 70% of Republicans and 66% of Democrats (and 74% of independents) approved of changing the Constitution to elect the president based on the popular vote.
    …………
    The possibility of amending the Constitution is remote, given the need for supermajority support in Congress, or the alternative of two-thirds of states calling for a convention to change it. Regardless of the approach, three-quarters of states would then need to ratify the amendment.
    ………..

    Questions and responses available at the above link.

    Rip Murdock (1358fd)

  178. It is obvious that keeping Desantis from getting traction was the plan of RINOs and democrats, and Trump has always been their tool to con the Tea Party populist types.

    A little conspiratorial.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  179. It is obvious that keeping Desantis from getting traction was the plan of RINOs and democrats, and Trump has always been their tool to con the Tea Party populist types.

    Gulp it down. Maybe it’s the fault of the people doing it instead of a shadowy cabal. The fault lies in MAGA, every single bit of it. It is in the personification of the least qualified person to ever hold public office.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  180. One reason for DeSantis not gaining traction is the fact he waited too late to enter the campaign. By the time he entered in May 2023, Trump (Nov. 2022); Haley and Ramaswamy (Feb. 2023); and Hutchinson and Scott (April 2023) were candidates. He was a “johnny come lately” to the party.

    His excuse was he had to deal with the Florida legislative session; but that was a choice of made.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  181. Correction to post 183:

    His excuse was he had to deal with the Florida legislative session; but that was a choice he made.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  182. Gallup: Americans Still Favor Replacing Electoral College System

    They haven’t thought it through. The election of 1960 would have been a holy mess without the electoral college, as would any close election. If you liked Florida 2000, you’d love the 50-state recount next time it’s close.

    Kevin M (2f13a3)

  183. Rip, why do you think the electoral college was set up?

    Kevin M (2f13a3)

  184. And why do you think it’s been maintained?

    Mostly not the same reasons.

    Kevin M (c9e114)

  185. Republican virginia congressional candidate derrik anderson shows numerous pictures with a woman and 3 children pretending their his wife and kids to fool voters. (DU)

    asset (7eb3d7)

  186. The electoral collage allows a minority to decide and rule the majority. 18% of the population in 26 states have 52 senate seats while 82% of population have 48 and more house seats then their numbers require. Minority rule and court changes have so far been allowed by donor class and democrat party establishment preventing the disenfranchised majority from putting and end to it along with filibuster.

    asset (7eb3d7)

  187. “AJ ends his very sensitive rant by pointing out he considers everyone who supports Trump as someone who supports sexual assault. Such sneering contempt is exactly why he is so delighted to reject Desantis.”

    Iowans and New Hampshirites who picked Trump did rationalize the accusations against him, including his participation in J6…and a lifetime of using women. The latter is more of a view into one’s character: if you cheat on your wife, you will likely cheat and lie elsewhere too. I’m not going to excuse voters for looking past these character questions when normal candidates were available.

    As to me “rejecting” DeSantis. If he would have gotten through to my state and it was Trump v. DeSantis, I would have gladly voted for Ron. I was not Ron-enthusiastic and would have preferred Haley, Christie, or Hutchinson over him, but I never got that opportunity. I had a problem with DeSantis’ Ukraine border-skirmish position and his punishing Disney for speech, while complicating speech for teachers. That’s why I preferred the others over him…but to get rid of Trump, I would have voted proudly for DeSantis.

    But you’re still blinding yourself to the reality that DeSantis’ hard turn toward MAGA did not win him many/enough votes. He became their #2…distantly behind Trump. Your qualm remains with MAGA and why those people rejected your character-clean guy.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  188. “My real concern with the relevant prosecutors is they have taken an absurd amount of time.”

    Look at most high-profile, complicated prosecutions….appeals and motions slow them down. I think the system should have gotten the J6 charges expedited given the specter of a coming election…..but I also understand the argument that every defendant should get every shred of due process available. I don’t think Jack Smith dragged his feet…at all. The Supreme Court did end up taking the long way around immunity ensuring that the trial was killed before the election. If anyone could have insisted on expediting, it was them. I’m of two minds about their decision…but alas, we are where we are. We should have gotten closure…but I also appreciate the extraordinariness of a candidate standing in the docket during the campaign. Why we as an electorate chose to do that is baffling.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  189. THEY DON’T TRUST YOU.

    And nothing you can say will make them trust you.

    Kevin M (6b0614) — 9/28/2024 @ 8:57 am

    That describes a problem – but it doesn’t explain how the solution could be Donald Trump.

    “They don’t trust you” doesn’t explain the unquestioning trust placed in someone whose habitual mendacity is often so comically absurd that no rational person could fail to notice it, or the veritably religious devotion to someone with a long history of remorselessly exploiting and ruining average people with his various cons (e.g. Trump University) and his practice of refusing to pay vendors what he had contracted to pay. Small businesses have been destroyed by Trump’s greedy dishonesty. (At least one person committed suicide because of it.)

    There is nothing trustworthy or caring and compassionate about Donald Trump. Nothing.

    It’s one thing to think the political class is untrustworthy and self-interested. It’s quite another to insist that the remedy lies in the most congenitally dishonest and aggressively selfish person in public life. That is, frankly, insane.

    Radegunda (7f25a7)

  190. As for the belief that the 2020 election was stolen: It’s quite unlikely that this belief would be so widespread and persistent if Donald Trump had not been hammering on the theme relentlessly for years.

    If he had accepted his loss like an honorable man and told his followers what his own aides and hired investigators told him – that the claims of massive fraud were baseless – there would not be a whole industry of election denialism on the right. Distrust in elections would not have become a central theme of GOP politics.

    The sociopathic narcissism of Trump has been major purveyor of distrust in our politics and institutions. He exploited the distrust that already existed, and instead of healing it he amped it up to fever pitch.

    It isn’t because he cares about ordinary Americans – or about America, for that matter. He has whipped up distrust of the “Deep State” or a “globalist cabal” or an indeterminate “them” for the sole purpose of egoistic self-aggrandizement.

    Radegunda (7f25a7)

  191. He exploited the distrust that already existed

    What are the top 20 items of “distrust that already existed” when Trump started his exploitation?

    BuDuh (03d3a2)

  192. Look at most high-profile, complicated prosecutions

    snort

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  193. Gallup: Americans Still Favor Replacing Electoral College System

    They haven’t thought it through. The election of 1960 would have been a holy mess without the electoral college, as would any close election. If you liked Florida 2000, you’d love the 50-state recount next time it’s close.

    Kevin M (2f13a3) — 9/28/2024 @ 1:51 pm

    Gallup has found consistent majorities for changing the way a President has been elected, so different electorates have considered the issue:

    Gallup has found higher support for a popular-vote constitutional amendment in the past using a different question wording. In November 1968, after a closely contested presidential election, 80% of U.S. adults said they “would approve” of an amendment to “do away with the Electoral College and base the election of a president on the total vote cast throughout the nation.”

    The November 1968 poll was the high point in support for measurements using that question wording, though most other surveys found at least two-thirds of the public in favor, including in May 1968 (66%), January 1977 (73%) and November 1980 (67%). The lone exception was a January 1967 poll in which 58% approved.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  194. The original reason was to avoid urban areas running everything with their narrow urban concerns. They wanted the decision to have a wide basis. This was also the reason for the Senate. The two are related.

    Some say that the slave owners wanted to hold onto power, and Virginia had a lock on the Presidency did until all those midwest states came into being, and mean old Andy Jackson ripped them a new assh0le.

    Today, it’s different. While there is still a concern about urban areas running everything, the country is more diverse now. Still, it would be poor if the election was decided by vote harvesting in California, New Jersey, Illinois and New York and nobody giving a rat’s ass what they thought in Alabama or Texas.

    The main benefits today:

    1. Since any state capable of widespread fraud isn’t going to change the electoral result that way, it makes widespread fraud ineffective. (This is why claims that CA is letting illegals vote is such utter nonsense. And even if they were, it doesn’t affect the electoral vote.)

    2. It allows recounts to be contained.

    3. It forces the candidates to go where the contest is, not where the mass of votes are.

    4. It has a tiebreak function that favors the candidate winning more states (100 of the 538 votes are by state, not population). This has favors national candidates over regional ones.

    5. It almost always produces a winner. Lincoln only got 39% of the popular vote. 18 elections have produced mere pluralities, yet a winner every election since 1824.

    Then there is this from George Will:

    Imagine the 1960 election under direct popular election: John F. Kennedy’s popular vote margin over Richard M. Nixon was just 118,574. If all 68,838,219 popular votes had been poured into a single national bucket, there would have been powerful incentives to challenge the results in many of the nation’s 170,000 precincts.

    Far from being an unchanged anachronism, frozen like a fly in 18th-century amber, the electoral college has evolved, shaping and shaped by the party system. American majorities are not spontaneous growths, like dandelions. They are built by a two-party system that assembles them in accordance with the electoral college’s distribution incentive for geographical breadth in a coalition of states. So, the electoral college shapes the character of majorities by helping to generate those that are neither geographically nor ideologically narrow, and that depict, more than the popular vote does, national decisiveness.

    Kevin M (e52aa7)

  195. One of the worst things about a national popular vote system would be the pernicious effect it has on ballot integrity. States or locations that insist on stodgy rules about who can vote decrease their impact on the national vote. So, rules get loose, perhaps to the point of non-existence.

    Right now, there is no way that Texas can have any more than its 40 votes. California only gets 54, Florida only 30. Nothing that they do at the local level gets them a leg up over the other states. But make it just the vote tally and they will do all they can to get their vote tally up. Maybe even looking the other way.

    Kevin M (e52aa7)

  196. Isn’t nitrogen hypoxia the mechanism by which the latest Swiss assisted suicide machine affords its occupant a “peaceful” death? I’m so confused…

    Barry Jacobs (1d63e0)

  197. The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups. Just yesterday, I directed my Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.

    Ugh. Can we please stop trying to shoe-horn the verb “defend” in where it doesn’t belong? Let me improve upon this statement from the White House:

    The United States fully supports Israel’s right to wage war against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups who clearly desire Israel’s destruction. Just yesterday, I directed my Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression, eliminate dangerous terrorists, and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.

    The White House acknowledged that “Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror,” yet apparently the United States wasn’t roused enough to seek vengeance for this and we relied upon Israel to take care of it for us instead. Given that, we should stop pretending to be scandalized by Israel’s methods.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  198. One of the worst things about a national popular vote system would be the pernicious effect it has on ballot integrity. States or locations that insist on stodgy rules about who can vote decrease their impact on the national vote. So, rules get loose, perhaps to the point of non-existence.

    Right now, there is no way that Texas can have any more than its 40 votes. California only gets 54, Florida only 30. Nothing that they do at the local level gets them a leg up over the other states. But make it just the vote tally and they will do all they can to get their vote tally up. Maybe even looking the other way.

    Kevin M (e52aa7) — 9/28/2024 @ 5:22 pm

    Indeed. Getting rid of the electoral college is a bad idea for tons of reasons, but in particular it makes it much easier to cheat. Illinois finding 1 million Al Franken and LBJ style votes will do more than just make Illinois blue.

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  199. Lemme ax ya:

    I remember Trump making a statement after the October 7 attack last year denouncing Netanyahu for congratulating Biden on his election to the Presidency.

    In the nearly a year since, has he made any statement of support for Israel?

    nk (f9f6e1)

  200. The idea of changing to a national popular vote is academic, since it’s unlikely that 2/3 of Congress would vote in favor of a constitutional amendment and equally unlikely that 3/4 of the states would ratify it.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  201. Kevin M (e52aa7) — 9/28/2024 @ 5:22 pm

    Dustin (8bc0b5) — 9/28/2024 @ 6:02 pm

    States could just as easily manipulate their popular vote totals now to achieve a certain electoral college result.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  202. I think part of the trust issue is that congressional districts are just too big at this point and nobody knows if their congress member is trustworthy or not. If you don’t know, it’s hard to listen to someone say that the truth is complicated or that the solution to a problem is complex and expensive and time consuming but effective in the long run and believe them. It’s easier to listen to truths that have been simplified so much they are defacto lies or things which aren’t truth at all but sound good or speak to your emotions, since nobody knows who to trust anyway. And endorsements don’t mean anything at this point. I don’t know my congress member, why should I care about their endorsement in a senate primary? And it’s easier for politicians to get away with their lies, because no one holds them accountable anyway as long as the right letter follows their name on the news because it isn’t like their constituents know them and know them to be untrustworthy.

    Nic (120c94)

  203. Another thing about Ron DeSantis: his national personal approval polling took a nose dive just when he announced his presidential bid. On April 1, 2023 his favorable/unfavorable was 39/39; by January 13, 2024 it was 31/48.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  204. This Mother Jones editor got rightfully ratioed this comment…

    Creeping Christian nationalism alert: @AlaskaAir flight attendant just wished us a “blessed” night as we landed in SFO (!) to groans. Other adjectives that would have sufficed: great, awesome, fabulous, amazing, fantastic…

    As my rowmate said, “this ain’t Montgomery, sweetie.”

    In this, I agree with Tim Alberta.

    Fwiw in my experience the Venn diagram between people who wish you a blessed day and people who advocate a theocratic takeover of our governing institutions is, ehhh, nonexistent.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  205. States could just as easily manipulate their popular vote totals now to achieve a certain electoral college result.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a) — 9/28/2024 @ 6:46 pm

    Nope. Obviously not, DCSCA.

    Dustin (8bc0b5)

  206. States could just as easily manipulate their popular vote totals now to achieve a certain electoral college result.

    How? California is going to give an extra 10 million votes to Trump or something?

    Kevin M (e5c050)

  207. I think part of the trust issue is that congressional districts are just too big at this point and nobody knows if their congress member is trustworthy or not.

    The best proposal I’ve heard is to triple the size of the House by the expedient of electing 3 members from each current district, one pick per voter. This would get minority opinion a voice and have most voters with a representative they voted for. It would also frack the frack out of gerrymanders.

    Kevin M (e5c050)

  208. @210 electing congress by % of vote cast in state would make gerrymandering useless.

    asset (260a7d)

  209. The deceptions of unclean spirits include that there is more to them than meets the eye. The Devil, the Antichrist, Moloch, Baal, Beetlejuice ….

    More likely than not, Trump was a flea on a rabid skunk in his previous incarnation.

    nk (4bab3b)

  210. There are a number of jokes of varying raunchiness with the punchline “Aren’t you too old to believe in [Santa Claus] [genies] [leprechauns] [witches], etc.?”

    nk (4bab3b)

  211. Kevin mentioned above that people who follow Trump have grievances, which I don’t dispute, but how batsh-t does Trump have to be, where is the line where grievances aren’t enough, that those grievances won’t addressed, because their leader is a sick crazy f–k.

    Trump in Prairie du Chien on migrants: “They will walk into your kitchen, they’ll cut your throat.”

    Trump calls Harris “mentally disabled”: “Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala was born that way.”
    [Ironic, a malignant narcissist who ticks all the boxes is calling other people other “mentally disabled”.]

    Trump: “We have some of the greatest terrorists in the world in our country right now.”
    [No, Donnie, the greatest terrorist in the world are Putin and his Russian military.]

    Trump: “When we win, we’re gonna prosecute people that cheat on this election. And if we can we’ll go back to the last one too.”

    Trump on migrants: “These people are animals”

    Trump on migrants: “They’re taking all of our Black population’s jobs”

    Trump suggests Eric Adams was indicted because he agrees with him on immigration

    Trump: “I will liberate Wisconsin from this mass migrant invasion of murderers, rapists, hoodlums, drug dealers, thugs, and vicious gang members. We’re going to liberate our country.”

    Trump claims “hundreds of little cities and little towns” in the Midwest are being “occupied” by migrants with “MK-47s.” Big, if true!

    “This can only happen to me” — Trump is still whining about Biden getting out of the race

    TRUMP: She’s incompetent and a bad person
    SOMEONE IN CROWD: She’s stupid!
    TRUMP: You’re right

    Trump: “This is why I get shot at so much, I mean if you think about it. Only a consequential president gets shot at. Remember that.”

    Trump: “And then I have to sit there and listen to her bullshit last night. And who puts it on? Fox News. And they shouldn’t be allowed to put it on.”
    [Another that affirms he doesn’t understand the First Amendment.]

    Trump: “Global warming doesn’t work anymore, because it’s actually cooling.”
    [Um, no, wrong.]

    “Oh, there’s a fly. I wonder where the fly came from” — Trump suggests migrants are to blame for the fact a fly is bothering him during his speech

    Trump: “You gotta get these people back where they came from. You have no choice. You’re gonna lose your culture.”

    “Isn’t it nice to have a president that doesn’t need a teleprompter?” Trump says, with a teleprompter visible next to him

    Trump calls Kamala Harris “a very dumb person”

    Trump: “Disgusting illegal alien who was let into the United States by Kamala and her lax law– she, they, every one of my killer — we had the, she had the, he had the, he would’ve never been able to get in. She stopped every single one of them.”

    Trump on Kamala Harris: “Where is her father? I’d love to speak to him.”
    [Where’s Melania?]

    Trump: “I had a hell of a life. Oh, those locations. Those beautiful. I could’ve been sunbathing on the beach. You have never seen a body so beautiful. Much better than sleepy Joe.”

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  212. Oops. Comment in moderation, missed the bad word.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  213. Your Trump feeds are exhausting you, Paul. Have you considered planting a garden?

    BuDuh (03d3a2)

  214. I’m not a prophecy guy….but I really wonder how people who are can assess this and not shake their heads
    https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/
    Happy Sunday!

    AJ_Liberty (5c80ba)

  215. What exactly is a “non prophecy guy?” An atheist?

    BuDuh (03d3a2)

  216. lurker (c23034) — 9/29/2024 @ 3:13 am
    AJ_Liberty (5c80ba) — 9/29/2024 @ 8:09 am

    No, Nevertrump isn’t a cult.

    lloyd (1ad635)

  217. 2020 saw very high turnout.

    Around 1/3 of eligible voters did not vote for POTUS in 2020.

    That 1/3 non-participation has a lot to do with the electoral college: why vote if you are in a lopsided partisan state where the EVs are going to one party regardless?

    A national popular vote would mean that GOP votes in CA or Dem votes in TX actually matter. We might even be able to reach a point where 50+% of eligible voters actually selected the president.

    It also means that parties have to actually appeal to the majority, which likely means more moderation in general.

    SamG (4e6c22)

  218. A couple of years or so back, when Mary Anne’s Baby was yammering about Final Battles, I said then that I doubted that the Fifth Horseman would have bone spurs.

    I still do.

    nk (4bab3b)

  219. A couple of years or so back, when Mary Anne’s Baby was yammering about Final Battles, I said then that I doubted that the Fifth Horseman would have bone spurs.

    I still do.

    nk (4bab3b)

  220. Latest episode of “Nothing to see here folks”

    Nancy Pelosi’s husband sold more than $500K worth of Visa stock — just weeks before DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit

    Nancy Pelosi’s husband unloaded more than $500,000 worth of Visa stock — less than three months before the credit card giant was slapped with federal antitrust charges, public documents show.

    Visa was hit with a lawsuit on Tuesday that alleged the company has illegally monopolized the debit card market — the culmination of a years-long review conducted by the Justice Department’s antitrust unit.

    Meanwhile, Christopher Josephs, the tech entrepreneur who runs the “Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker” on X, posted a screenshot of a congressional filing on July 3 which showed that the former House speaker’s husband, Paul Pelosi, had sold 2,000 shares of Visa worth between $500,000 and $1 million.

    lloyd (1ad635)

  221. Trump: “This is why I get shot at so much, I mean if you think about it. Only a consequential president gets shot at. Remember that.”

    I also said, right after Pennsylvania, that he was tickled pink that someone finally thought him worth wasting gunpowder on.

    And he keeps on milking it.

    A normal human being would have been quietly thankful, and sympathetic for Corey Comperatore who was killed and for David Dutch and James Copenhaver who were seriously hurt.

    nk (4bab3b)

  222. Firecrackers, right nk?

    lloyd (1ad635)

  223. Trump needs to be more like a normal human being…

    Biden’s Commerce Secretary says we should ‘extinguish’ Trump ‘for good’

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  224. Firecrackers, right nk?

    The shots could have been as harmless as fire crackers if Trump had not used Comperatore, Dutch, and Copenhaver as stage decoration and a backstop for the bullets.

    nk (4bab3b)

  225. Short skirts were a bad fashion choice, eh nk?

    lloyd (1ad635)

  226. Normal people don’t mock the assassination in real time then feign solemn months later.

    lloyd (1ad635)

  227. Unsane

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  228. lloyd: “No, Nevertrump isn’t a cult.”

    Oxford– Cult: a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.

    lloyd has the particular tick…like Trump….to simply recycle a claim back against his “opposition” (No, they’re weird!). Hence, AJ_Lurker and now cult. I guess it’s something.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  229. Aj, What exactly is a “non prophecy guy?” An atheist?

    BuDuh (03d3a2)

  230. @233 AJ, it’s really too bad your personal attacks and ad homs can’t go unmocked.

    lloyd (a14364)

  231. why vote if you are in a lopsided partisan state where the EVs are going to one party regardless?

    Exactly my feeling.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  232. why vote if you are in a lopsided partisan state where the EVs are going to one party regardless?

    Yeah you shouldn’t vote if your understanding of elections is limited to the bumper sticker, the twitter/DCSCA troll, the nutcases. If you care about your county judges, your representatives, your senators, your bonds, then you probably should go ahead and vote. But a lot of the trolls remaining on the best blogs and forums probably aren’t even American in the first place.

    Dustin (6d725b)

  233. I think it’s crazy to believe the 2020 election was rigged. The last I checked, a majority of Republicans have this belief. That is not meaningless.

    Now compare that to the percentage of Democrats who believe 2000 and 2016 were rigged.

    SaveFarris (e11db7)

  234. Please release my post 238; not sure why it’s in moderation.

    Rip Murdock (1358fd)

  235. why vote if you are in a lopsided partisan state where the EVs are going to one party regardless?

    Yeah you shouldn’t vote if your understanding of elections is limited to the bumper sticker, the twitter/DCSCA troll, the nutcases. If you care about your county judges, your representatives, your senators, your bonds, then you probably should go ahead and vote.

    As you can see, the original statement refers specifically “where the EVs are going to one party”, not every other election race.

    Rip Murdock (1358fd)

  236. First, we needed to be registered when getting a driver’s license. Next we needed ballots mailed to us. Now, we need a reason to vote. What is the government doing about this?

    lloyd (a14364)

  237. So I can skip the presidential election and still vote on everything else.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  238. The whole business of convicted murderers being allowed to “roam” free in the United States is not only a lie, it is a statistic, in the sense of the word used by Mark Twain or was it Disraeli? This is as mendacious as the claim that Hunter Biden’s laptop had all the earmarks of Russian disinformation

    This was partially fact checked by nine other than Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday.

    In he first place, many of those not in ICE custody are in prison. (Now maybe the union or ICE in return for bribes wants to get them out of prison)

    In the second place, it is not talking about recent migrants but includes people who immigrated legally, many of them as children, many of them years ago. In fact to be convicted it almost entirely has to be people who came before Biden was president.)

    In the third place it is the career people (who may be taking bribes) who decide whom to detain and whom to release, not Biden or Harris or Mayorkas.

    Yes, the policy is to limit detention beds but that doesn’t force the release of rapists etc.

    In the 4th place, none of these numbers are put into context.

    We’ve got statements that nay be facts, as far as they go, used to mislead people into connecting the dots in a wrong way.

    People who need to lie to justify their position shouldn’t be paid too much aattntion to.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  239. Rumsfeld had a good saying about this.

    Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult ones.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  240. Now, we need a reason to vote. What is the government doing about this?

    lloyd (a14364) — 9/29/2024 @ 1:13 pm

    Obviously, in the US voting is voluntary; the government can’t compel someone to vote. There are democracies that make voting compulsory and enforce it, however: Argentina; Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Singapore; and Liechtenstein, for example.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  241. Rip, for realz

    lloyd (a14364)

  242. Kamala’s latest press conference

    lloyd (a14364)

  243. Kamala’s latest unscripted speech

    lloyd (a14364)

  244. Donald Trump talked again. His supporters wish he were more like Kamabla.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  245. Kevin M (e5c050) — 9/28/2024 @ 10:29 pm

    Your assertion that:

    One of the worst things about a national popular vote system would be the pernicious effect it has on ballot integrity. ……… (To) make it just the vote tally and they will do all they can to get their vote tally up. Maybe even looking the other way.

    I don’t see why a state couldn’t do the same to manipulate its vote totals to change which electors would vote.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  246. Klink, you misspelled Kamala. Racist.

    lloyd (a14364)

  247. Dustin (8bc0b5) — 9/28/2024 @ 7:21 pm

    Your assertion:

    Getting rid of the electoral college is a bad idea for tons of reasons, but in particular it makes it much easier to cheat. Illinois finding 1 million Al Franken and LBJ style votes will do more than just make Illinois blue.

    I don’t see why a state couldn’t do the same to manipulate its vote totals to change which electors would vote.

    Rip Murdock (b2fc3a)

  248. Kommyablah

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  249. Nasrallah’s cousin may not be long for his new job.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  250. @210 electing congress by % of vote cast in state would make gerrymandering useless.

    Also make local representation impossible and enhance the power of parties.

    Kevin M (07090f)

  251. because their leader is a sick crazy f–k.

    Hah! So you say! They’ve got your measure, and nothing you say about Trump will move the needle.

    Kevin M (07090f)

  252. Around 1/3 of eligible voters did not vote for POTUS in 2020.

    60% of those that cast votes did not vote for Lincoln. I guess he was illegitimate, eh?

    Kevin M (07090f)

  253. There’s no reasoning with unreasoning cultists, Kevin.
    For the others who haven’t snorted Orange Kool-Aid powder, maybe there’s a chance they’ll see the crazy in his own words.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  254. A national popular vote would mean that GOP votes in CA or Dem votes in TX actually matter. We might even be able to reach a point where 50+% of eligible voters actually selected the president.

    It also means that parties have to actually appeal to the majority, which likely means more moderation in general.

    I am unconvinced that moderation is needed (or even desired) in a two-party system. Consider that the parties drive a bimodal distribution of opinion, with a null at the moderate center.

    Kevin M (07090f)

  255. There’s no reasoning with unreasoning cultists, Kevin.

    The point here is that they have been treated like crap since the 90’s, and they are disinclined to listen to the same folks who have been profiting off their misery all this time. Sure, Trump may be a jerk, but he’s their jerk.

    Kevin M (07090f)

  256. It will be interesting to see if JD Vance can shed his cat-bothering rhetoric to become leader of a post-Trump MAGA. While if find his alliance with Trump off-putting, if I have to pick between him and Ratsaswarmy it’s no contest.

    Kevin M (07090f)

  257. Today, the malignant narcissist is repeating his smear from yesterday, saying his opponent is “mentally impaired”. This is not the trait of a mentally healthy human being.

    Trump: “Crooked Joe Biden became mentally impaired. But lying Kamala Harris, honestly, I believe she was born that way. There’s something wrong with Kamala. And I just don’t know what it is.”

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  258. I don’t see why a state couldn’t do the same to manipulate its vote totals to change which electors would vote.

    Any state which can manipulate vote totals like that (and get away with it) is already a one-party state and their side is already going to win.

    Kevin M (07090f)

  259. Donald Trump, focusing on the issues that matter most to voters:

    ……….
    Former president Donald Trump once again leaned into his baseless assertion that Vice President Kamala Harris is “mentally impaired,” during a rally on Sunday in Erie, Pa.

    “Crooked Joe Biden became mentally impaired, sad,” Trump said. “But Lyin’ Kamala Harris, honestly I believe she was born that way,” as the crowd laughed.
    …………
    “There is something wrong with Kamala and I just don’t know what it is, but there is definitely something missing and you know what everybody knows it,” Trump continued. He then proceeded to show a video of Harris laughing.
    …………..
    ………….. Trump’s ally, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), said he should “stick to the issues.”
    #########

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a)

  260. But this isn’t about states, Kevin. Every county is in charge of administering and collecting and counting ballots, and they’re the ones who certify the votes and send the results up to the state governments.
    And that’s the beauty of our system. We have 3,143 counties in this nation, way too many for any bad actors to hack. The Russians tried in 2016 and gave up, for example.

    Regarding the EC, I still favor it. Without it, candidates would focus their campaigns only in major population centers, but now they have to focus on six to ten states that would normally not get that kind of attention, and it’s not static as the battlegrounds change over time.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  261. The Israelis haven’t announced that they’re widening their war against Iran, but they’re widening their war against Iran.
    One, we’ve seen how the IDF has decimated Hezbollah over the last ten days, and the terrorists are on their heels. Next man up might work in the NFL, but I doubt it applies to terrorists.

    Two, they struck Assad’s brother’s villa.

    The regime has lost contact with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s brother Maher after the Israeli Air Force struck his villa near Damascus today.

    A meeting with Iranian leaders was taking place in the villa. Maher is the commander of the Syrian Army’s 4th Division.

    Three, they’re also striking the Houthis, which is what we should’ve done months ago to keep the Red Sea safe for transit.

    BREAKING: Israel has confirmed that dozens of Air Force planes targeted Houthi infrastructure in Yemen, including oil reservoirs, power plants, and the port of Hodeidah. The strikes are in retaliation for multiple missile attacks on Israeli civilians in recent days, including in Tel Aviv.

    Four, it was just two months ago that they eliminated Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran, which sent a direct message to the Mullahs about their capabilities.
    David French

    But as demonstrated by Israel’s stunning airstrike on Friday on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters near Beirut, which killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, the fortunes of war have shifted against Israel’s enemies since Oct. 7. Hamas is losing. Hezbollah is losing. And most important: By extension, Iran is losing. If those losses continue Iran will exit this conflict as a diminished force, less capable of harming Israel and weaker in the eyes of its other regional foes.
    […]
    Hamas, which receives considerable military and financial support from Iran, has been gutted as a fighting force. Precise casualty numbers are difficult to discern, but they are significant. As of late last month, Israel claimed it has killed as many as 17,000 Hamas fighters and “dismantled” 22 of its 24 battalions, while losing fewer than 1,000 soldiers in action in almost a full year of war.

    Hamas isn’t defeated, and there is some evidence that some of its battalions are attempting to reconstitute. But the damage to the group is undeniably extensive, and Hamas has been unable to inflict significant losses on the Israeli military.

    I share my colleague Thomas Friedman’s concerns that Israel will probably face an insurgency after it defeats Hamas’s military formations. But the present reality is clear: Hamas is a shell of its former self.
    […]
    And what of Iran? It has suffered a string of defeats and humiliations. In April, Israel bombed the Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus, Syria, killing three senior Iranian commanders. When Iran responded by firing a barrage of more than 300 drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, Israel and its allies shot almost all of them down. Damage from the strike was minimal. Israel responded with an attack of its own that easily evaded Iranian air defenses.

    The message was clear: Israel can directly strike Iran, but Iran will struggle to strike Israel.

    Israel will take a diplomatic hit for this, but advantage to the aggressor, IMO.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  262. But this isn’t about states, Kevin. Every county is in charge of administering and collecting and counting ballots, and they’re the ones who certify the votes and send the results up to the state governments.

    But each county is subject to state power. Even a red county in California is going to have state-level minders and any wild deviation from the norm, sufficient to change the statewide electoral vote, is going to be noticed.

    OTOH, if LA County passed its vote total for the Democrat by a mere 100,000 it could have a big effect on a national popular vote, and maybe not be detected. They say that Chicago manufactured enough votes in 1960 to give JFK a national plurality, and possibly even the Illinois electoral votes (that he didn’t need). If that had been a popular vote election, though, there would have been Hell to pay.

    Kevin M (685968)

  263. I’m not a prophecy guy

    Mary Anne’s Baby is not the stuff of Biblical prophecy. He is the stuff of H. P. Lovecraft pulps.

    nk (4bab3b)

  264. Israel is not interested in proportional response. You bring a knife, they bring an Air Force.

    Kevin M (685968)

  265. If those losses continue Iran will exit this conflict as a diminished force, less capable of harming Israel and weaker in the eyes of its other regional foes.

    And increasing the pressure internally to build that bomb.

    Kevin M (685968)

  266. Try your hand at moderating a social media site. You may or may not find it fun, but it’s interesting.

    lurker (c23034)

  267. RIP legendary singer, songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson (88):

    ………….
    Kristofferson had already spent several modestly successful years in Music City’s song mills by the time he broke through as the author of such No. 1 country hits as “For the Good Times” (Ray Price, 1970), “Sunday Morning Coming Down” (Johnny Cash, 1970) and “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (Sammi Smith, 1971). His song “Me and Bobby McGee” became a posthumous No. 1 pop hit for his former paramour Janis Joplin in 1971.
    …………
    He made his first mark on screen in Bill L. Norton’s 1972 feature “Cisco Pike,” in which he played the titular character, an L.A. musician and drug dealer under the thumb of a corrupt narcotics cop (Gene Hackman); the feature also employed several Kristofferson songs on its soundtrack.

    Through the ‘70s, he enjoyed a rising movie profile, playing the romantic lead opposite Susan Anspach in Paul Mazursky’s “Blume in Love” (1973) and Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn in Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (1974). In 1977, co-billed with Barbra Streisand, he won a Golden Globe Award as a dissolute rock star in the third version of “A Star is Born.”

    ………. He co-starred with James Coburn in Sam Peckinpah’s ambitious 1973 Western “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” appearing as the notorious outlaw……….
    …………
    In 1985, Kristofferson, Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings convened for the album “Highwayman,” a No. 1 country album that introduced the outlaw country supergroup. Ultimately known as the Highwaymen, the quartet issued two more popular albums in 1990 and 1995.
    …………
    In 1996, he garnered strong reviews as a sadistic Texas lawman in John Sayles’ “Lone Star.”………
    …………
    ………… He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English from Pomona College (CA) and attended Oxford University in England as a Rhodes Scholar.
    …………
    ………… (H)e joined the army under pressure from his family. He ultimately attained the rank of captain, and was able to pilot a helicopter. However, on the eve of beginning an assignment to teach English at West Point, he left the army, and in 1965 he moved to Nashville to pursue music full-time. His family promptly cut ties with him.
    ………….

    He was in one of my favorite films, A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries”, based on the James Jones novel, who also wrote From Here To Eternity.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a)

  268. Trump attended the Alabama-Georgia football game yesterday, and Trump supporters are not amused that he wasn’t the center of attention.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a)

  269. This is actually something, because it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Trump say or write a prayer, assuming he actually wrote it.

    However, I still haven’t seen or heard him pray for forgiveness, nor has he ever claimed to have done so. Instead, his current prayer is one of vengeance, choosing an image of a heavenly being, with his foot on the head of the enemy, ready to stab him with a sword.

    It’s also noteworthy that his tweet didn’t say or even hint a word about Christ but instead invoked an Old Testament angel of war.
    I remember when Bill O’Reilly tried to appeal to Trump’s faith and the tenet of forgiveness, and Trump replied “it’s called eye for an eye”. O’Reilly countered with “That’s Old Testament. If you’re the Christian, the eye-for-the-eye rule goes out. Here’s what it is: Turning the other cheek,” but it was like talking to my neighbor’s turkey.

    And it still remains that, even though he claimed to be a “non-denominational Christian”, Trump has never not once said that Christ is his Personal Lord and Savior, and I don’t believe he understands the concept, not after this comment

    “If I’m good, I’m going to Heaven. And if I’m bad, I’m going someplace else, like over there, right?”

    …and because he doesn’t go to church or read the Bible.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  270. According to Wikipedia, that is Guido Reni’s Michael (in Santa Maria della Concezione church, Rome, 1636) trampling Satan. A mosaic of the same painting decorates St. Michael’s Altar in St. Peter’s Basilica.

    I suppose it could be attributed to J. the “D” is for Draw On 16, Stand On 17 Vance, but Melania is Catholic too and he has been with her for a lot longer.

    nk (4bab3b)

  271. Rip Murdock (b2fc3a) — 9/29/2024 @ 1:42 pm

    I don’t see why a state couldn’t do the same to manipulate its vote totals to change which electors would vote.

    It’s contained, and in 9 out 10 cases, won’t matter and the race won’t be close enough to mater maybe 2 out 3 times,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  272. 247-249,

    You mean “crickets?” = Nothing, doesn’t exist?

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  273. In my church, the icons of Gabriel and Michael are on either side of the Iconostasis, the partition which separates the Sanctuary (where the altar is) from the Nave (the main part of the church).

    nk (4bab3b)

  274. (Kristofferson) was in one of my favorite films, “A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries”, based on the James Jones novel, who also wrote From Here To Eternity.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a) — 9/29/2024 @ 4:04 pm

    The novel was written by Kaylie Jones, the daughter of James Jones, and based on her childhood. James Jones served in the 25th Infantry Division (aka “Tropic Lightning“) , 27th Infantry Regiment, first in Hawaii at Schofield Barracks on Oahu, then in combat on Guadalcanal. He also wrote “The Thin Red Line”, based on his experiences on Guadalcanal.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a)

  275. Kevin M (685968) — 9/29/2024 @ 3:55 pm

    Fudging the county level vote count would only be effective in closely divided counties and states (for example, Arizona). It would make no sense to do so in states like California.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a)

  276. But I have no doubt ABC did its best to show Trump in the worst light possible and avoid showing anything good like crowds cheering or his tossing around boxes of cracker jacks to the waving fans at the game.

    His worst possible light is visible, well near infrared too, probably ultraviolet, generally any wavelength of light.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  277. R.I.P. Kris Kristofferson

    Icy (b63f3f)

  278. because he doesn’t go to church or read the Bible.

    Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/29/2024 @ 4:35 pm

    “Ecclesiastics” is such a wonderful book in the Bible

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  279. Weird how aligned Putin and MAGA are.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  280. The supporters of the Iranian regime love to project.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  281. I agree, Putin, MAGA, and the theocratic leaders of Iran definitely all project their shared beliefs on each other.

    It’s gratifying that you have noticed.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  282. “Weird how aligned Putin and MAGA are.”

    Right, Klink. So unlike all those successful societies that embrace childlessness. Which are…?

    lloyd (1dc59e)

  283. Trump is proposing “The Purge” for petty crime.

    You know, in New York, you can’t walk into a drugstore now, It’s like you’re in a prison of glass. If you want to buy aspirin, you have to wait 45 minutes for a clerk to come up and open, because of what’s gone.”

    And the police aren’t allowed to do their job, they’re told if you do anything, you’re going to lose your pension. You’re going to lose your family, your house, your car.

    You know, if you had one day, like, one real rough, nasty day with the drug stores as an example, where when they start walking out with – you know, she created something in San Francisco, $950, you’re allowed to steal. Anything above that. You will be prosecuted. Well, it works out that the 950 is a misnomer because you can steal whatever you want. You can go way above, but you’d see it. Originally you saw kids walk in with calculators. They would calculate. They didn’t want to go over the $950 they’re standing with calculators, adding it up.

    You know, these are smart, smart people. They’re not so stupid, but they have to be taught. Now, if you had one really violent day, like a guy like Mike Kelly put him in charge, Congressman Kelly put him in charge for one day. Mike, would you say you’re right here? He’s a great congressman. Would you say, Mike, that if you were in charge you would say, “Oh, please don’t touch them. Don’t touch them. Let them rob your store. Let all these stores go out of business,” right? They don’t pay rent. The dead. The city does have the whole. It’s a chain of events. It’s so bad. One rough hour, and I mean real rough. The word will get out and it will end immediately. End immediately. You know? It will end immediately.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  284. Right, Klink. So unlike all those successful societies that embrace childlessness. Which are…?

    Can you point to a successful society that prosecutes the childless?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  285. @291 No, Klink. Zero. What relevance is that to MAGA? Oh, you were lying? So on-brand for you.

    lloyd (1dc59e)

  286. You said.

    Right, Klink. So unlike all those successful societies that embrace childlessness. Which are…?

    All western societies embrace the childless, because different people exist. Some can’t have kids, some don’t have kids.

    So, to put a fine point on it, I believe in the freedom of America, you are leaping in bed with Putin, Xi, and Un. I hope you’re practicing safe…spooning, wait, that’s not cool, be fruitful and all that.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  287. Oh what a tangled web ….

    lloyd (1dc59e)

  288. Yes, you’ve managed to champion authoritarianism, persecuting the childless, promoting terrorists, seems to be kind of weird for American patriots. Unless of course…

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  289. faux noise sunday talking head asks dem. sen. Coombs why are you not concerned about 13,000+ convicted illegal alien murderers not in ice custody? Coombs: Because I know where almost all of them are. You know too.

    asset (c51a4d)

  290. “They have a phone app, so the people can come into our country. These are smart immigrants, I guess, because most people don’t have any idea what the hell a phone app is. But they do, these are very intelligent immigrants.”

    Well, I kind of think most people know what phone apps are. Trump thinks they’re talking about potato skins. Stable genius.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  291. So 82% 2 years ago. Take out babies and the mentally disabled…ah, that explains it.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  292. North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia are absolutely devastated by the hurricane. Where is the federal government led by the Harris-Biden regime? Where is the media?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  293. The hurricane that impacted Florida, Thursday, that had unprecedented impact 800 miles away on Friday and Saturday? Not even 48 hours ago? FEMA, the evil government agency that is chronically underfunded? You are complaining that they haven’t gotten to Asheville and environs fast enough, when you can’t drive nor could fly till today?

    You must be the Harry sock, you are also the other one.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  294. Typical Klink….

    Your first quote:

    They have a phone app, so the people can come into our country

    An app to come into our country.

    But the stat Klink touts is regarding smartphones already in our country.

    Derp.

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  295. How about the whole quote…from Trump. Typical socky.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  296. Those uppity, smart-aleck, intellectual elite illegal who know what phones are.

    Actually, as far as his audience is concerned, Trump is hunting where the ducks are. His shiftless, lard-but trailer trash know that illegals are more ingenious, skillful and resourceful than they are, not to mention tougher and industrious, and that’s why they fear and resent them.

    nk (bb1548)

  297. One of my work colleagues for most of the last 30 years built a beautiful house about 75 feet above the French Broad in Asheville and just was able to move in last week. 30 feet up was a 100 year flood, 50 feet was a 1000, so they could after the rains on Friday and Saturday they could watch the water rise visibly by the minute. They have a 6 car garage and all the lower neighbors moved as much stuff and cars up to their drive as possible. The first level of houses just above the river were overtopped and shoved into the chanel at 9AM, by 9:20 they hit the 50 foot level, just blew through the 100 year limit like it wasn’t there and hit a 1000 year projected level, then by 10AM water was reaching his garage floor, but he’s the highest house on the mountain, at that point he had all of the folks staying there packed with go packs, and start climbing the mountain in the rain with kids and pets. By 11, his whole house was overtopped and the house broke it’s back and sailed into the middle of the creek all in roughly 3 hours. Scarry stuff

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  298. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but every deranged thing Trump says is not only a reflection of him but also of his supporters.

    nk (bb1548)

  299. @92

    lloyd (36687d) — 9/27/2024 @ 5:17 pm

    Trump leads a cult. There is no cult of Kamala.

    norcal (56054e) — 9/27/2024 @ 5:35 pm

    LOL.

    Democratic voters *are* a cult.

    Harris was widely assumed to be the WORST VP in history, with favorables lower than even BIDEN.

    But, since Harris was selected (not nominated) as the Democrats candidate, Democrats are in LOCK-STEP in voting for “JOY” Kamala.

    whembly (477db6)

  300. @129

    Whembly, If another country kills or harms a US citizen the US should take notice and support that person appropriately. If they assassinate a US leader we should treat it as an act of military aggression, if not an act of war.

    Not sure we have a lot of options left with Iran. But I’d advocate for spending many 10’s of billions of dollars breaking their stuff. I’d want to start with targets that had fewer civilians. But if military bases and factories are too close to populated areas I would accept that.

    If Biden announced a plan to completely destroy their military and industrial infrastructure it would feel appropriate to me. But he should ask for congressional approval as a full War is a likely outcome.

    If it’s being done well we might never hear about it, but IF the facts support it as a true threat the state department should be laying the groundwork for war with Iran with our allies.

    Time123 (9d0493) — 9/28/2024 @ 4:21 am

    Thank you Time. I honestly wasn’t concerned with your position on this. Now, the others on this board… I’m not so sure.

    whembly (477db6)

  301. @144

    Had Trump wanted to win, he could have publicly praised Desantis and begged him to join his administration as VP, with a leadership role.

    Obviously that wouldn’t even be Trump if he did that.

    Dustin (8bc0b5) — 9/28/2024 @ 8:55 am

    There were rumblings after Trump sealed the nomination that DeSantis was a serious option as VP. I think it was DeSantis’ camp that turned down that outreach early.

    whembly (477db6)

  302. @149

    Jack Smith isn’t NeverTrump, lloyd, nor is Garland.

    Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/28/2024 @ 10:37 am

    LOL!

    whembly (477db6)

  303. @173

    AJ ends his very sensitive rant by pointing out he considers everyone who supports Trump as someone who supports sexual assault. Such sneering contempt is exactly why he is so delighted to reject Desantis. The irony is that to those who liken Desantis to Trump must be highly tolerant of sexual assault.

    Dustin (8bc0b5) — 9/28/2024 @ 12:18 pm

    I mean, if he wants to play that game, then anyone who supports Harris is someone who supports RAPISTS, MURDERERS, TERRORISTS walking across the border.

    If those are the rules*…

    ***(really don’t want that to be the rules, so convince me otherwise)

    whembly (477db6)

  304. @189

    The electoral collage allows a minority to decide and rule the majority. 18% of the population in 26 states have 52 senate seats while 82% of population have 48 and more house seats then their numbers require. Minority rule and court changes have so far been allowed by donor class and democrat party establishment preventing the disenfranchised majority from putting and end to it along with filibuster.

    asset (7eb3d7) — 9/28/2024 @ 2:27 pm

    Total democracy is mob rule.

    You ignore history when you complain about the electoral collage and WHY we have the Senate.

    whembly (477db6)

  305. @306

    Forgive me for stating the obvious, but every deranged thing Trump says is not only a reflection of him but also of his supporters.

    nk (bb1548) — 9/30/2024 @ 7:25 am

    You sure you want to play this game nk?

    whembly (477db6)

  306. Had Trump wanted to win, he could have publicly praised Desantis and begged him to join his administration as VP, with a leadership role.

    Obviously that wouldn’t even be Trump if he did that.

    Dustin (8bc0b5) — 9/28/2024 @ 8:55 am

    There were rumblings after Trump sealed the nomination that DeSantis was a serious option as VP. I think it was DeSantis’ camp that turned down that outreach early.

    whembly (477db6) — 9/30/2024 @ 8:26 am

    Since Trump and DeSantis are from the same state, under the Twelfth Amendment the Florida electors would have been unable to cast their votes for either Trump or DeSantis, but not both.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  307. Your serve, whembly.

    nk (c49f76)

  308. Correction to post 315:

    Since Trump and DeSantis are from the same state, under the Twelfth Amendment the Florida electors would have been able to cast their votes for either Trump or DeSantis, but not both.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/30/2024 @ 9:07 am

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  309. Total democracy is mob rule.

    So every other election in the US is “mob rule,” since they aren’t filtered through an separate body like the electoral college?

    In fact, virtually every other democratic government with a presidential system elects its President directly by the voters.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  310. @315

    Your serve, whembly.

    nk (c49f76) — 9/30/2024 @ 9:09 am

    Sure Jan…

    whembly (477db6)

  311. @317

    Total democracy is mob rule.

    So every other election in the US is “mob rule,” since they aren’t filtered through an separate body like the electoral college?

    Correct. It wasn’t intended to be a slur or derogatory. A simple statement of fact.

    In fact, virtually every other democratic government with a presidential system elects its President directly by the voters.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/30/2024 @ 9:20 am

    Correct. That’s the definition of “mob rule”.

    Why are you having a hissy fit about this?

    The EC was specifically designed in such way that the mob doesn’t always get what it wants.

    whembly (477db6)

  312. LOL!
    whembly (477db6) — 9/30/2024 @ 8:28 am

    There aren’t many definitions out there but the Urban Dictionary defines it as…

    A traditionally Republican voter who did not support Donald Trump or the MAGA movement. Never Trumpers are typically moderate conservatives who previously voted for Mitt Romney or backed candidates such as Jeb Bush and Josh Kasich.

    Garland is a Democrat, therefore he doesn’t fall under the definition, and nor does Smith, who’s an Independent.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  313. Can you point to a successful society that prosecutes the childless?

    Can you point to a childless society that exists past one generation?

    SaveFarris (79ab12)

  314. In fact, virtually every other democratic government with a presidential system elects its President directly by the voters.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 9/30/2024 @ 9:20 am

    Correct. That’s the definition of “mob rule”.
    ……….

    Newspeak.

    Mob rule is when large groups of people take (or attempt to take) power (generally using violence or intimidation), contrary to law or vested rights, and where political disputes are settled by brute force or intimidation. Black’s Law Dictionary defines “mob” as

    An assemblage of many people, acting in a violent and disorderly manner, defying the law, and committing, or threatening to commit, depredations upon property or violence to persons.

    A prime example was the French Revolution. Voting in organized elections conducted by authorities in a lawful manner is not “mob rule.”

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  315. SaveFarris (79ab12) — 9/30/2024 @ 10:29 am

    Can you point to a childless society that exists past one generation?

    Ancient Rome, which was not completely childless, for several centuries, from about the time it became an Empire instead of a Republic. It was most pronounced among the highest status people.
    The population really took a hit when disease struck during the time of Marcus Aurelius. It is notable that the Emperor Hadrian had no children (and probably Trajan too) and he looked fondly upon Marcus Aurelius, and to ensure his succession, arranged to have Marcus Aurelius adopted by his uncle, Antonius Pius, who in turn was adopted by Hadrian.

    And there was a population replacement.

    Eventually the government split in half and the part that in Greece, lasted for around 1,00o more years. At first it was important for a woman to have at least one child, for legal reasons, but this motive vanished.

    See, for example:

    https://www.vindolanda.com/blog/roman-women-and-children-part-1

    Concerns about population size and fertility were a constant in ancient Rome. Analysis of female skeletons in Herculaneum shows that the average number of children born to elite women was less than two, and these findings support anecdotal evidence from this era that small families or childlessness were becoming common.

    Upper classes limited their families because of the risks inherent in childbirth. The number of children required per woman to keep the population stable has been estimated at between six and nine. There are two main reasons for this large number. A woman had about a one in fifty chance of dying in childbirth, with the danger increasing each time she gave birth, leading to many early deaths. The mortality rate for children was also very high, with various estimates putting the percentage who died at around 30% during their first year, while at least half of all children born would be dead by the age of 10.

    Given these grim figures it is no surprise that the state was concerned about population. Rome was unambiguous about its impatience to see children produced. At the census husbands were required to swear an oath that conception was their earnest intention. In 18 BC the Emperor Augustus enacted laws to encourage marriage and having children, including establishing adultery as a crime. These laws were unpopular and it isn’t certain if they were very effective. They did, however, lead to his own daughter, Julia, being banished to a small island.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  316. Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 9/30/2024 @ 6:12 am

    The hurricane that impacted Florida, Thursday, that had unprecedented impact 800 miles away on Friday and Saturday?

    It’s all over right wing talk radio that Kamala Harris let herself be photographed “in action” wearing a headphone with a wire that plugged in nowhere, and with a blank piece of paper in front of her.

    https://thepostmillennial.com/kamala-slammed-over-staged-hurricane-recovery-photo-with-unplugged-headphones-blank-paper#google_vignette

    This seems to be connected with a message starting “I was just briefed…”

    Vice President Kamala Harris shared a photo of herself from Air Force Two where she appears to be deep in thought, immersed in work, with a pen in one hand, a phone in front of her, and a pair of headphones hanging from one ear. The only problem is that the paper appears blank and the wired headphones don’t seem to be connected to anything.

    In her post, Harris explains that she was “just briefed” by FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell “on the latest developments about the ongoing impacts of Hurricane Helene. We also discussed our Administration’s continued actions to support emergency response and recovery,” she wrote. Harris said that she spoke with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper “about the ongoing rescue and recovery efforts in North Carolina.” …

    This reminds me of the commercial made by Bill Clinton in 1992, working on his “economic plan.”

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  317. Trump has claimed in the last couple of weeks that crime in dropping in Venezuela because they are releasing their criminals from prison and sending them to the USA and the only reason there are still people in jail is because they don’t have enough buses (!) As if they travel by chartered bus.

    Crime has indeed dropped in Venezuela over several years, but not for that reason:

    https://www.factcheck.org/2024/06/crime-drop-in-venezuela-does-not-prove-trumps-claim-the-country-is-sending-criminals-to-u-s

    “Crime is reduced in Venezuela due to a reduction in crime opportunities: bank robberies disappear because there is no money to steal; kidnappings are reduced because there is no cash to pay ransoms; robberies on public transportation cease because travelers have no money in their pockets and old, worthless cell phones; and assaults on bank money dispensers disappear because the cash they can give to their clients has not exceeded twenty U.S. dollars,” Briceño-León said.

    There has also been a consolidation of gang activity, which has led to a reduction in crime. In its report, OVV wrote that the drop in crime “can be attributed to the reduction of disorganized criminal activities and the growing concentration and monopolization of violence by powerful criminal organizations. These criminal organizations are now focusing on specific niches of criminal opportunities, which has led to a decreased overall level of violence in the country.”

    “The decrease in ‘disorganized’ violence, which causes high lethality, has been reduced by the notable emigration of young people and the loss of opportunities for crime,” the report stated. “In recent years, there has been a reduction in the lethality of violence in certain parts of the country. This trend has been attributed to agreements made between criminal gangs regarding the distribution of tasks during business operations, as well as the demarcation of areas of operation, which has allowed for their expansion and consolidation. However, in municipalities where there are no such agreements or where criminal control has not been fully established, violent events continue to occur.”

    The consolidation of organized crime has led to “a kind of mafia peace” in areas they control, Ronna Rísquez, a Venezuelan investigative journalist, told us in Spanish.

    The “humanitarian emergency” in Venezuela has also had implications for criminals as well. Venezuela, she said, “stopped being attractive for crime, because it no longer made sense to kidnap. … It made no sense to steal, because everyone was poor. In Venezuela … no one had money, people were starving and then for crime, for criminals, it was no longer profitable to have criminal activities.”

    Rísquez said another reason for the decrease in crime is that Venezuelan authorities, sometime between 2015 and 2021, began “a large number of alleged extrajudicial executions” of people accused of belonging to criminal groups.

    The OVV report notes that some criminals have also left Venezuela “seeking to continue their criminal life in other places where they find greater opportunities for profit,” Briceño-León said. But, he said, the vast majority of emigrants from Venezuela are “honest workers fleeing the country’s poverty, looking for a job and a better future.”

    The vast majority of those fleeing Venezuela have settled in nearby South American countries. But more and more are making their way to the U.S.

    Prior to President Joe Biden taking office, relatively few Venezuelan emigrants were intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol. For most of the 2010s, less than 100 Venezuelans a year were caught trying to cross the southwest border illegally. The number grew to more than 2,000 in fiscal year 2019. But beginning in 2021 the numbers began to swell, and topped 187,000 and 200,000 in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, respectively.

    As of January, the U.S. had the third-largest number of Venezuelan emigrants in the world (545,000) — though Colombia remained by far the largest destination (2.9 million), followed by Peru (1.5 million). Brazil, Ecuador, Chile and Spain each had roughly the same number as the U.S.

    Criminal groups with origins in Venezuela have quickly spread to neighboring South American countries where most Venezuelans have settled….

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  318. The New York Times had a report the other day saying that Kamala Harris lied about Kimberly Gilfoyle in a debate twenty years ago. (She tried to stop her from getting a job at the DA’s office and lied to Kimberly Gilfoyle when she was applying for the job. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she had something to do with making the match between Kimberly Gilfoyle and Gavin Newsom in order to prevent her from running for San Francisco DA, but that’s just an idea)

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/us/politics/kamala-harris-kimberly-guilfoyle-san-francisco-da.html

    …Ms. Harris was an assistant district attorney in the city. Ms. Guilfoyle was in discussions to join the office. Ms. Harris was calling, according to Ms. Guilfoyle, to suggest there was no job for her there.

    “She pretended to be a member of the hiring committee, which didn’t exist,” Ms. Guilfoyle said in a recent phone interview.

    Ms. Harris’s boss at the time hired Ms. Guilfoyle anyway, broadly corroborating her version of events years later as he recalled Ms. Harris’s fierce opposition to the move….

    …The buzzy, hazy tale of Ms. Harris and Ms. Guilfoyle ascending in parallel in San Francisco demands two firm caveats:

    Ms. Harris’s supporters say, credibly enough, that this is now something of a one-sided dialogue. The vice president does not seem to have uttered a public word about Ms. Guilfoyle in years…

    …“I watched it firsthand — she left San Francisco worse off,” Ms. Guilfoyle said in Florida this month. “Her only goal is the new job, the next job, the next office.”…

    ….Ms. Guilfoyle — whose father, Anthony Guilfoyle, was a political adviser known as “The Godfather” — had her own early experience in some of the city’s esteemed spaces.

    “Kamala eventually got in the same political circles — she didn’t start there,” Mr. Brown said. “They were still trying to find out exactly what made sense for them beyond all of the social activities and being part of the ‘first group’ in the city, so to speak.” …

    ….Ms. Guilfoyle, a few years Ms. Harris’s junior, briefly worked for Mr. Hallinan’s predecessor in San Francisco before joining the prosecutor’s office in Los Angeles.

    Around 2000, she spoke to Mr. Hallinan’s team about returning.

    This is where accounts begin to collide. Ms. Guilfoyle has said she received a call from Ms. Harris a short time later claiming she had budgetary authority in the office and no spot for her.

    “She was threatened,” Ms. Guilfoyle said in the interview. “Most things in life make sense — jealousy, envy.” (Ms. Harris’s presidential campaign declined to comment.)

    Ms. Guilfoyle said she immediately told others in the office what Ms. Harris had said. “They’re furious,” she recalled.

    Ms. Harris has said she never discouraged Ms. Guilfoyle from joining the office or suggested she could not have a job.

    Mr. Hallinan, who died in 2020, said that Ms. Harris “forbade” him from hiring Ms. Guilfoyle even though he was her boss. He brought Ms. Guilfoyle aboard, anyway.

    “Timing is everything!” Mr. Hallinan wrote in a note explaining the hire to Mr. Gardner, who recently shared it.

    What no one has supplied is a compelling explanation of what transpired between Ms. Guilfoyle and Ms. Harris in the first place…

    …By late 2000, Ms. Harris had left the office, frustrated by what she would later describe as an unruly and dysfunctional culture under Mr. Hallinan.

    In short order, Ms. Harris was consulting with friends about a run for his job, forming a fund-raising network drawn from a hulking Filofax full of estimable social contacts…

    ….The allegation that Ms. Harris had been less than collegial was hardly a major factor in the late stages of the district attorney’s race.

    But during a break at a final debate with Mr. Hallinan, the candidates were apparently so piqued by the subject that they seemed to be sniping in private about it.

    “Getting some serious contentiousness here off the air,” the moderator told listeners when the discussion resumed. “Let’s at least air this.”

    The next question was about Ms. Guilfoyle.

    “I have a great deal of respect for Kimberly Newsom and her work as an attorney,” Ms. Harris said calmly, “and I look forward to working with her.”

    “She absolutely told me not to hire her,” Mr. Hallinan objected, saying he found Ms. Harris’s opposition so confounding at the time that he immediately told his wife about it.

    Ms. Harris got the last word, at least with the voters, dismissing Mr. Hallinan as a desperate incumbent “throwing a lot of things out there to muddy the waters.”

    She was elected the next week….

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  319. The wrong person died in a plane crash: The daughter of Ralph Nader’s niece.

    Long story in the Sunday New York Times Business section.

    Excerpt:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/business/nadia-milleron-boeing-congress.html

    There were two main obstacles to getting the law passed. One was the business lobby, which leaned on Republican lawmakers to block the bill. The other involved Democrats. Several told Ms. Milleron that they deferred to the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association on matters related to legal policy. And the group was not backing the bill; it was focused on other legislative priorities.

    Ms. Milleron wrote to ITLA’s president and staff. She got no response. Mr. Nader wrote, too. Nothing.

    One day, Ms. Milleron was looking for a place to grab a bite near the Capitol. She came across a squat, Tudor-style building and realized with surprise that it was ITLA’s office. She went inside. Nobody was at the reception. Eventually one of the people Ms. Milleron had been emailing emerged. When Ms. Milleron introduced herself, he insisted that he had no time to speak to her and hurried away.

    Demoralized, she went into the stairwell and let herself cry. Soon, a different staff member walked in. “I know who you are,” Ms. Milleron said the woman told her. “I know why you’re here. Just keep going. Don’t give up.”

    But after more than two months in Illinois, Ms. Milleron didn’t see the point. The bill hadn’t gained traction. There hadn’t even been hearings. She drove back to Massachusetts, feeling discouraged.

    That summer, though, the trial lawyers’ association named a new president, Patrick A. Salvi II. When he heard from Ms. Milleron urging his group to support the bill, he said, “I told her I intend to aggressively pursue this as a top goal.”

    And he did. Mr. Salvi testified before the legislature. His group’s support made the difference, lawmakers said. In the space of a single week in May 2023, the bill moved out of committee and onto the floor, where both chambers approved it.

    Illinois had had a law that allowed punitive damages when someone was injured, but not when someone was killed. Ralph Nader’s niece had had to opt out of a settlement and switch lawyers because Boeing wanted to settle and avoid discovery in the matter of the Boeing 737 Max crash out of Ethiopia.

    Nadia Milleron is now running for Congress as an independent candidate (there is no Republican candidate) against 18-term incumbent Richie Neal.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  320. There’s one thing in the indictment of Mayor Eric Adams that some people repeat as if it meant he got $10 million in fraudulent matching funds and others think is a mistake. I think it indicates a bad legal theory: hat if someone signs a certification that contains false particulars, the whole thing is fraudulent.

    Here is the key phrase: (which has been updated)

    https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-the-full-indictment-against-new-york-mayor-eric-adams

    All told, the 2021 Campaign reaped over $10 million in Matching Funds based on
    the false certifications that the campaign complied with the law, when in fact ERIC ADAMS, the defendant, knowingly and repeatedly relied on illegal contributions.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  321. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/22/magazine/desertion-russian-army-ukraine-war.html

    Interesting tidbit:

    Few civilians realized that most of the military’s commanders were fiscal hostages. When an officer assumed his position, he was responsible for all his unit’s equipment, much of which had been sold or bartered by the previous commander and so was not actually there. This made it impossible to abdicate his job because it would look as though he stole the equipment, and he would have to use his own money to replace it. The equipment that was there was outdated and broke frequently — the parts were old and unserviceable or the repair unit just didn’t feel like going out. Still, the officer would be blamed for “not monitoring the equipment” and penalized.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  322. That link I gave doesn’t seem to have the entire September 22, 2024 New York Times Magazine article

    For instance there is the sentence that goes:

    “The U.S. government estimated that Ukraine would be overrun within days.”

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  323. More ground troops and aircraft to the Middle East:

    The Biden administration is moving military forces to deter an Iranian response following Israel’s stepped-up air campaign against Hezbollah and an expected limited ground operation in southern Lebanon, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
    ……….
    In response, the Defense Department is planning to bolster the number of Air Force F-15E, F-16 and A-10 warplanes it has deployed in the Middle East region, the Pentagon said Monday. The U.S. also has F-22s in the region, though their number will stay the same.
    ……….
    The Pentagon is also keeping the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group in the region which would give the U.S. a substantial naval force with the arrival of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike group midweek. Those deployments provide the U.S. with one carrier near the Red Sea and another in the Mediterranean.

    A Marine Amphibious Ready Group, which consists of some 2,200 Marines and sailors, is also in the Mediterranean, and defense officials say they are prepared to deploy still more forces if needed.
    ………..

    More on the naval deployments:

    ……….
    Since June, USS Wasp (LHD-10), USS New York (LPD-21) and USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) with the embarked 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been on station in the Eastern Mediterranean in the event of a non-combatant evacuation operation from Lebanon, several defense officials have confirmed to USNI News over the last several months. Evacuating civilians from conflict zones is one of the major missions Marine Expeditionary Units train for.

    The announcement of Lincoln remaining in the Middle East follows the Sept. 23rd deployment of the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group from the East Coast. USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), its escorts and the embarked Carrier Air Wing 1 are currently crossing the Atlantic and could be in the Mediterranean Sea later this week, USNI News understands.
    ………..
    In addition to the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, the U.S. has several independently deployed guided-missile destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea to protect land and sea targets from attacks from drones and cruise and ballistic missiles.

    On Friday, three U.S. warships came under attack from Houthi drones and missiles while sailing through the Bab el Mandeb strait from the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea.

    Guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance (DDG-111), USS Stockdale (DDG-106) and Littoral Combat Ship USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) were attacked while transiting the strait, U.S. officials confirmed to USNI News on Friday.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  324. From Richard Tyndall at Political Betting:

    Best bad taste joke of the day.

    Picking a new Hezbollah leader is a lot like picking a Pope. When a new one has been confirmed it is signified by a sudden plume of smoke.

    Jim Miller (fdb88b)

  325. R.I.P. Pete Rose, who absolutely without a doubt should be in the baseball hall-of-fame

    Icy (4863f3)

  326. R.I.P. Pete Rose, who absolutely without a doubt should be in the baseball hall-of-fame

    Icy (4863f3) — 9/30/2024 @ 4:32 pm

    He was banned for life, one of the few life sentences actually enforced.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  327. Or Biden not having a clue what he’s saying when it’s a question he hasn’t rehearsed.

    REPORTER: “Any comment on the strikes in Yemen, Mr. President!?”

    BIDEN (or whatever’s left of him): “I’ve spoken to both sides. They gotta settle the strike. I’m supporting the collective bargaining effort. I think they’ll settle the strike.”

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  328. https://nypost.com/2024/09/30/us-news/biden-tells-israel-not-to-invade-lebanon-after-killing-hezbollah-leader-cease-fire-now/

    The Biden-Harris regime is on the side of the Islamic terrorists. According to nk’s transitive policy that means Harris supporters are on their side as well.

    President Biden starkly instructed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to abandon reported plans for an imminent invasion of southern Lebanon to clear out Hezbollah-held areas days after the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah.

    “Israel may now be launching a limited operation into Lebanon. Are you aware of that? Are you comfortable with their plan?” a journalist asked Biden at the White House.

    “I’m more aware than you might know, and I’m comfortable with them stopping,” the president replied.

    “We should have a cease-fire now,” he added.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  329. Maybe now Pete Rose can go into Cooperstown.

    Paul Montagu (58c6b8)

  330. Maybe now Pete Rose can go into Cooperstown.

    Paul Montagu (58c6b8) — 9/30/2024 @ 4:53 pm

    Unlikely. The Baseball HOF passed a rule that any player banned from baseball would also be ineligible for election.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  331. I asked this before, but I only heard crickets:

    Lemme ax ya:

    I remember Trump making a statement after the October 7 attack last year denouncing Netanyahu for congratulating Biden on his election to the Presidency.

    In the nearly a year since, has he made any statement of support for Israel?

    nk (7e7d07)

  332. I did hear Trump say that Israel should take of business quickly with Hezbollah and Hamas, or something to that effect, and to hell with a ceasefire, although he lied about talking with Netanyahu about it.
    That doesn’t sound like resounding support to me.
    I recall hearing Trump say that Hezbollah is “very smart”, but nothing about their brilliant operation that decimated their leadership org chart.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  333. although he lied about talking with Netanyahu about it.

    My guess is that you don’t bother to read your own links when your eyes are full of rage tears.

    From your “lied” link:

    Axios earlier reported that Trump spoke on the phone with Netanyahu on Wednesday and discussed the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, citing two U.S. sources who were briefed on the call.

    Whoops.

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  334. The Biden-Harris regime is on the side of the Islamic terrorists.

    Trump Says That if He Loses, ‘the Jewish People Would Have a Lot to Do’ With It

    Speaking at a campaign event denouncing antisemitism in America, Donald Trump again attacked Jews who vote for Democrats, saying that the party had a “hold, or curse, on you.”

    Yeah, right. It’s the Biden-Harris regime sending weapons to Israel, and ships and troops to back up Israel in the area, which is on the side of the Islamic terrorists.

    Not Trump because not enough Jews are buying his merch.

    nk (7e7d07)

  335. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement denying the call took place after the story was published. The Trump campaign declined to comment.

    So Axios issued a correction. The Link!

    nk (7e7d07)

  336. Yes, Axios earlier reported that Trump spoke to Netanyahu, then they learned Trump lied. Quote:

    The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement denying the call took place after the story was published. The Trump campaign declined to comment.

    I agree, you didn’t bother to read the link. Too busy being that troll, I suppose.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  337. Did Trump even have permission from LIV and Mohammed bin Salman to make such a phone call?

    nk (7e7d07)

  338. Nk,

    the Harris-Biden regime has funded terrorism by sending Iran billions. They’ve restricted the arms sent to Israel.

    Carry on carrying water.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  339. Of course Bibi denied the call. Can’t have the anti-Semites running the Harris-Biden administration know that Bibi is speaking to our next president. They might give Iran weapons directly instead of just money to fund terrorism.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  340. A campaign declined to comment as to whether or not two anonymous “U.S. sources who were briefed on the call” were correct or not?

    HoW DArE tHEY!!!!

    Hahahahahahahaha!!

    Oh the things these campaigns can learn from you, Paul.

    😂🤣

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  341. I believe the Israeli government over Trump, given his track record as a well-established well-documented liar, including Trump’s lie today.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  342. I believe the Israeli government over Trump

    You resort to gymnastics on this one. And you have yet to stick the landing. Axios made the claim by relying on anonymous sources. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office denied the claims of the anonymous sources. Trump is irrelevant to this non-story. This is probably the simplest distortion you have ever presented here.

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  343. Again stating the obvious, “Trump said” and “Trump lied” are synonymous.

    nk (6c45b4)

  344. From the NBC Paul posted:

    Republicans have mocked the photo, saying the sheets of paper look empty and claiming that the headphones aren’t plugged into anything.

    “Another FAKE and STAGED photo from someone who has no clue what she is doing,” Trump posted. “You have to plug the cord into the phone for it to work!”

    The Harris campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The Harris campaign has not responded?????? Then it must be true.

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  345. BS, BuDuh. You don’t know who those “U.S. sources” are. For all you know, they could’ve been a couple of Trump minions under his orders.
    What we do know is the Israeli government publicly denied the call was made.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  346. Paul’s link at 350:

    Trump falsely says Georgia’s governor was unable to talk to Biden about storm damage
    Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said President Joe Biden offered any help the state needs.

    nk (6c45b4)

  347. And back to Israel, the bottom line is that Trump has expressed no support for Israel in the almost a year since the October 7, 2023 attack. But he has preemptively blamed the Jews for his loss in November.

    nk (6c45b4)

  348. You don’t know who those “U.S. sources

    You do?

    Did you even read the ridiculous description of these “sources?”

    two U.S. sources who were briefed on the call.

    What is the limitations of “U.S Source?” Is it possibly codified somewhere?

    And “briefed on the call,” sounds pretty official as well. One step above The Telephone Game.

    #PassItOn

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  349. “Briefed on the call” can easily mean that Trump told ’em he called Bibi, just like Trump told his attorneys that they have all the classified documents. In case it isn’t clear to you, that was a lie, too.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  350. “Briefed on the call” >>>>>>>> can <<<<<<<< easily mean…

    That sounds definitive!

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  351. https://www.fox13news.com/news/governor-ron-desantis-visits-bradenton-wake-hurricane-helene

    Governor DeSantis doing what the Biden-Harris regime refuse to do… help fellow Americans in need.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  352. In statements to Snopes, Trump’s office denied that such a phone call even took place, while Netanyahu’s team said the story was not true. Woodruff also corrected herself in the aftermath, and said her comments were a “mistake.”

    There was also no independent verification about the topics discussed on the purported phone call, as reported by Axios, who added an editor’s note to their article, which read: “This story has been updated to reflect that Netanyahu’s office denied a phone call took place on Wednesday between the Israeli prime minister and former President Trump.”

    Though Trump and Netanyahu denied the claim, and Woodruff issued a correction, Axios still cited two unnamed sources who said the call took place. Given Snopes was unable to track down these unknown sources to verify the claim, we have rated this claim “Unproven.”

    Here is Snopes contact info, Paul: https://www.snopes.com/contact/

    They need the assist from your wild guesses and hallucinations.

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  353. You don’t say! Florida’s Governor is helping Florida and Floridians recover from Hurricane Helene! Have you ever in your life heard of such a thing?

    nk (3b9c9d)

  354. Well, you referenced it…

    In statements to Snopes, Trump’s office denied that such a phone call even took place, while Netanyahu’s team said the story was not true. Woodruff also corrected herself in the aftermath, and said her comments were a “mistake.”

    There was also no independent verification about the topics discussed on the purported phone call, as reported by Axios, who added an editor’s note to their article, which read: “This story has been updated to reflect that Netanyahu’s office denied a phone call took place on Wednesday between the Israeli prime minister and former President Trump.”

    I’ll be happy to accept your concession.

    Paul Montagu (86846e)

  355. Well, you referenced it…

    In statements to Snopes, Trump’s office denied that such a phone call even took place, while Netanyahu’s team said the story was not true. Woodruff also corrected herself in the aftermath, and said her comments were a “mistake.”

    There was also no independent verification about the topics discussed on the purported phone call, as reported by Axios, who added an editor’s note to their article, which read: “This story has been updated to reflect that Netanyahu’s office denied a phone call took place on Wednesday between the Israeli prime minister and former President Trump.”

    I’ll be happy to accept your concession.

    Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/30/2024 @ 6:55 pm

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  356. he lied about talking with Netanyahu

    Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/30/2024 @ 5:13 pm

    Moments later:

    Trump’s office denied that such a phone call even took place,

    Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/30/2024 @ 6:55 pm

    I’ll accept this as your concession. Unless you want to continue your cult like behavior.

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  357. And it still boils down to that in nearly a year Trump has not had a single word of support for Israel. Nicht wahr, as they say in Kallstadt?

    nk (3b9c9d)

  358. Ironic, BuDuh, a Trumping slurping troll telling me I’m a cultist.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  359. Seriously, it’s amusing.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  360. Nk ignoring that those from Florida are helping in North Carolina. Typical of someone broken by partisanship.

    Too bad. You used to be honest.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  361. This is what you linked, amico:

    Gov. DeSantis launches ‘Operation Blue Ridge’ to help rescue Floridians trapped in North Carolina

    BRADENTON, Fla. – Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis got a first-hand look at the damage Hurricane Helene left behind in Bradenton.

    He said that thousands of rescue missions were successfully completed across the state, and now that those are behind us, Florida crews will head north to rescue Floridians trapped in western North Carolina in ‘Operation Blue Ridge’.

    I won’t call you a liar for your “doing what the Biden-Harris regime refuse to do…” Atsa you a problem.

    nk (3b9c9d)

  362. I hate it when Trump appropriates my policies:

    Trump says Israel has to get war in Gaza over ‘fast’ and warns it is ‘losing the PR war’

    In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said that Israel is “absolutely losing the PR war” and called for a swift resolution to the bloodshed.

    “Get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people. And that’s a very simple statement,” Trump said. “They have to get it done. Get it over with and get it over with fast because we have to — you have to get back to normalcy and peace.”

    nk (bb1548) — 4/4/2024 @ 5:02 pm

    Trump gets it, and if he does not his advisors do. Americans, and I’m proud to count myself among them, do not like to see people getting kicked around for very long.
    nk (bb1548) — 4/4/2024 @ 5:07 pm

    lloyd (409727)

  363. Listening to Trump is maddening. He makes up stuff when the facts would serve him better. Example: he calls all these fake refugees “rapists, murderers, etc” when the real reason his supporters are upset is that they will work for $2/hr under the table and rob good Americans the minimum wage jobs they are trained for.

    Kevin M (982782)

  364. “Western North Carolina”

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  365. @374 global warming hits republican areas hard.

    asset (2ae2ea)

  366. Trump has no positives. The only tactic available to him is to tar his rivals with false negatives.

    The real world has not been generous to Trump’s supporters. Coach fare and second class accommodations. They welcome Trump’s Reality where troubles melt like lemon drops high above the chimney if they will only give Donald Trump everything they’ve got.

    nk (3b9c9d)

  367. chimney *tops*

    nk (3b9c9d)

  368. It’s a shocking, disturbing image, but good morning.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  369. the real reason his supporters are upset is that they will work for $2/hr under the table and rob good Americans the minimum wage jobs they are trained for.

    Is that why the Drumpflschnitzel is saying that Kamala is not black?

    Or is it because immigrants, unlike the good Americans at the trailer park who have always been here, earn PhDs in Biology and Endocrinology and their daughter becomes State Attorney General, U.S. Senator, Vice President, and candidate for President?

    There many layers in the substrata of MAGA to be mined by conmen.

    nk (9d40b2)

  370. PhDs…:

    A group of migrant workers allegedly looted properties in a washed-out part of Tennessee following the fury of Hurricane Helene on Saturday, according to a local sheriff’s office.

    The eight men were captured by authorities in Washington County where devastating flooding wiped away homes and led to water rescues.

    The suspects are accused of looting in one of the county’s flood zones, the county sheriff’s office said.

    Three alleged perps — Jesus Leodan Garcia-Peneda, 51, Josue Berardo Ortis-Valdez, 30, and Ersy Leonel Ortis-Valdez, 33 — were charged with burglary.

    The other five men — Albin Nahun Vega-Rapalo, 24, David Bairon Rapalo-Rapalo, 37, Kevin Noe Martinez-Lopez, 25, Marvin Hernandez-Martinez, 43, and Dayln Gabriel Guillen Guillen, 37 — were charged with aggravated burglary for breaking into occupied structures, the sheriff’s office said.

    The defendants are migrant workers who are in the country legally on work visas,

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  371. @354

    BS, BuDuh. You don’t know who those “U.S. sources” are. For all you know, they could’ve been a couple of Trump minions under his orders.
    What we do know is the Israeli government publicly denied the call was made.

    Paul Montagu (86846e) — 9/30/2024 @ 6:11 pm

    Anonymous sources should always be met with skepticism.

    The problem is, when a GOP (or Trump) is in office, “anonymous sources” is always given weight… where as if it’s against Democrats, there’s a healthy dose of skepticism.

    …it’s tiring.

    whembly (477db6)

  372. Less than three hours now until Trump’s deadline to reply in the J6 trial.

    Could we see Smith’s redacted case as soon as tomorrow?

    Maybe even today?

    Demosthenes (ca358e)

  373. https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/09/30/trump-assassination-suspect-ryan-wesley-routh-pleads-not-guilty/

    Pleads not guilty and asking for a jury trial. Guessing he’s hoping for some sympathetic members of the jury who want Trump to be assassinated.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  374. https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2024/10/01/watch-as-dockworkers-go-on-strike-union-negotiator-boldly-threatens-to-cripple-the-us-economy-n2179998

    Supply chain on the verge of collapse. The Harris-Biden regime refuses to step up yet.

    I expect this will be resolved in 2 weeks with the union getting all of its demands as the Harris-Biden regime cannot afford this strike so close to an election.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  375. Bruh…

    If you’re voting for Democrats, this is what you’re voting for:
    https://townhall.com/tipsheet/madelineleesman/2024/09/30/senate-democrat-introduces-bill-to-expand-scotus-n2645498

    whembly (477db6)

  376. Hmmm.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  377. Paul,

    why do you love linking to partisan leftists when it comes to conspiracy theories? Is that the conservative thing to do?

    Or are you trying to steal Rip’s “just asking questions” shtick?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  378. If you’re voting for Democrats, this is what you’re voting for:
    ……..

    whembly (477db6) — 10/1/2024 @ 8:14 am

    Good thing there’s the filibuster to stop it.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a)

  379. why do you love linking to partisan leftists when it comes to conspiracy theories? Is that the conservative thing to do?

    Said the right-wing hack who links to Breitbart.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  380. The guy was literally pictured with Trump.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  381. and?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  382. Pleads not guilty and asking for a jury trial. Guessing he’s hoping for some sympathetic members of the jury who want Trump to be assassinated.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 10/1/2024 @ 7:54 am

    It’s his right under the Constitution to ask for a trial and to have the government to prove its case. Given the overwhelming evidence, it should be a relatively short trial and even shorter jury deliberation.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  383. Pleads not guilty and asking for a jury trial. Guessing he’s hoping for some sympathetic members of the jury who want Trump to be assassinated.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 10/1/2024 @ 7:54 am

    It’s his right under the Constitution to ask for a trial and to have the government to prove its case. Given the overwhelming evidence, it should be a relatively short trial and even shorter jury deliberation.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 10/1/2024 @ 9:40 am

    And given where the trial will be held (Southern District of Florida), the jury pool will be decidedly pro-Trump.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  384. Iran has directly attacked Israel.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  385. @389

    Good thing there’s the filibuster to stop it.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a) — 10/1/2024 @ 9:18 am

    It’s gone when there’s a next unified Democrat government.

    whembly (477db6)

  386. It’s gone when there’s a next unified Democrat government.

    whembly (477db6) — 10/1/2024 @ 11:28 am

    Only if the Democrats control the Senate; it doesn’t matter if they control the House or presidency.

    Rip Murdock (79ab8a)

  387. I can see Republicans repealing the filibuster rule to pass legislation that Trump wants.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  388. RIP actor John Amos (84).

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  389. If this is all the Mullahs do (180 missiles, nearly all intercepted, zero casualties), then it was a face-saving strike on the part of Iran, so I don’t see Bibi doing a massive counter-strike, maybe a few choice bombings will do, enough to send a message that they can hit ’em where it hurts.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  390. and?

    Hence “hmmm”.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  391. The Ayatollah, after thinking it over for a day or three, and evacuating to a location that he hopes is not on Israel’s radar, has decided that’s he’s not ready to give up the fight.

    Even if Hezbollah seems to have been almost knocked out of the battle.

    In the immediate aftermath of the death of Nasrallah, General Hussein Salami, commander of the evolutionary Guards, said that it would be “Hezbollah, Hamas, and other Palestinian militants” (to quote some translation quoted in this weeks Jewish Press editorial) hat would deliver the blows to Israel.

    Netanyahu already before promised that more is coming to Iran:

    “Bibi” said:

    When Iran is finally free, and that moment will come a lot sooner than some people think…Our two countries, Israel and Iran. will finally e at peace… everything will be different.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLCbo4Zyfyk

    (this is not really to Iranians – it’s in English – it’s to the Anglosphere and Israel’s Persians spies.)

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  392. Israel just released a message asking people in Israel not to reveal impact sites They must be trying to feed false information to Iran as to where their missiles landed. Or which missile went where, which is connected with the timing.

    Israeli intelligence wasn’t good with Hamas but it must be running a thorough Double Cross system with Iran, the British were very good at that in the British Isles during World War II, but the Nazis were doing the same to the network they had in the Netherlands. so it can be good in one place and bad in another

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  393. I split the quote from Benjamin Netanyahu. That should go:

    When Iran is finally free, and that moment will come a lot sooner than some people think ,everything will be different….Our two countries, Israel and Iran. will finally e at peace…

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  394. Paul Montagu (759dc6) — 10/1/2024 @ 11:56 am

    I don’t see Bibi doing a massive counter-strike, maybe a few choice bombings will do, enough to send a message that they can hit ’em where it hurts.

    No, it’s more.

    Bibi wants to end the nuclear threat from Iran once and for all, and their persistence in sponsoring war war crimes and terrorism against Israel, and for that he probably needs to kill the Ayatollah (he’s not going to wait for him to die of old age) and most of the top Iranian leadership and support a coup.

    Something is up.

    This war may end as suddenly as it began.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  395. correction. (left out the letter “b” and the word “some” was not in the original quote) )

    ….sooner than people think everything will be different Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace. Our two countries, Israel and Iran. will finally be at peace.

    When that day comes, the terror network that the regime built in five continents will be bankrupt, dismantled. And Iran will thrive as never before….

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  396. Kevin M (982782) — 9/30/2024 @ 9:29 pm

    Listening to Trump is maddening. He makes up stuff when the facts would serve him better.

    Not in is opinion.

    After all, self interest goes against the Golden Rule (Do unto others..)

    He needs to make things worse – he also does this to increase turnout.

    It’s not the evidence that matters, in his opinion – it’s the seriousness of the allegation (as long as he doesn’t lose all credibility – and how can he when his political opponents don’t dare to contradict him?

    You won’t see Walz doing that tonight.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  397. Judge Cannon can move pretty swiftly if she’s so inclined.
    Jury selection for Routh starts November 18th.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  398. @408 LOL Paul. Why oh why can’t a NeverTrumper get his assassination trial delayed? Two-tiered justice!!

    lloyd (0b4e11)

  399. It’s pro forma to comply the federal speedy trial statute. It will be extended with a realistic trial date no earlier than in about a year and a half.

    nk (b43a5f)

  400. After all, self interest goes against the Golden Rule (Do unto others..)

    Trump’s golden rule is “Do unto others before they do unto you.”

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  401. Trump’s golden rule is “All your gold belong to us”.

    nk (b43a5f)

  402. This is for those of you who are considering a write-in or third-party vote because you live in a blue state:

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/opinion-i-m-a-never-trump-conservative-who-voted-third-party-in-2016-here-s-why-i-won-t-make-that-mistake-this-time/ar-AA1rxoNF?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=2229ca61af4343c8b1ac274267c11ad9&ei=14
     

    Currently, many states are likely to give a lopsided margin to one candidate or the other. For example, California will probably go for Harris and West Virginia for Trump. Voters in such states might think it is OK to skip the election or vote for somebody who can’t win, thinking: “What the heck, it won’t make any difference in the electoral count, right?”

    That attitude is wrong in two ways.

    First, “likely” does not mean “certain.” As we have already seen, the polls can err. Never Trump folks do not want to wake up on the day after the election to find that their wasted votes have helped him score a narrow upset in their state.

    Second, the popular vote matters. Under any circumstance, Trump will almost certainly refuse to accept defeat. But if he loses big in the popular vote, as well as losing the electoral vote, it will be harder for him to claim that he is the people’s choice. The larger the margin, the weaker his claim.

    Bolding by me.

    norcal (b84b16)

  403. So much for Paul’s plan to write in Christine Gregoire.

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  404. Norcal believes in supporting the radical leftist. It’s important.

    So sad what’s happened to you amd nk.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  405. I’m shocked the LA Times is promoting yet another diverse viewpoint as long as it supports their own radical leftism.

    We used to fisk the LA birdcage liner for garbage like that.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  406. Pitney was a loud critic of former president Donald Trump and renounced his membership in the Republican Party the night he was elected.[3][6]

    Ahh. He’s one of those non-Republican Republican’s that we see so much in the news who keep renouncing their heresy for clicks.

    https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2017/05/23/why-i-am-no-longer-republican-pitney-column/101808152/

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  407. This is for those of you who are considering a write-in or third-party vote because you live in a blue state:

    I think more of us are considering a write-in or third-party vote because both candidates suck so badly.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  408. I’m not worried, norcal. Harris is up by 21, an even larger margin than 2016 and 2020.
    For governor, I’m voting for Reichert, a Republican who’s not not an election denier.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  409. I wrote in Evan McMullin in 2016. Yes, my write-in was counted. McMullin had registered in Cook County.

    But it would be the height of irresponsible self-indulgence to vote for anyone who did not have a chance to beat Trump this time around. Enough is enough, the merry-go-round has to stop.

    nk (039781)

  410. Excellent choice, Paul!

    SEATTLE – Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert has avoided publicly stating whether he will vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election.

    But speaking to a group of Republicans in March, he gave his answer. Nodding he would vote for the former president, he predicted that publicly saying so would be a “nail in the coffin” for his candidacy.

    In a state where Trump is unpopular, and a Republican governor has not been elected since 1980, Reichert knows he needs to woo undecided voters to close the gap with leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

    Reichert, a former King County sheriff, is running a campaign emphasizing law-and-order and is arguing his presidential preference is irrelevant to the job he’s seeking.

    The question of whom Reichert supports for president matters to some Republicans too, as some conservatives have attacked him for not making his allegiance clear. Others say they understand the political tightrope he is trying to walk.

    Reichert’s comments, recorded by a Democratic operative, were made at a meeting of the Chelan County Republicans in Wenatchee where he was asked: “Will you be voting for Trump?”

    “His nickname for me is Sheriff. I have a MAGA hat at home with his signature on it today,” Reichert responded. “He and I have worked together. I’ve worked with Bush, I’ve worked with Biden, I’ve worked with Obama, and so I can work with any president.”

    The audio was provided to The Seattle Times this week by Ferguson’s campaign, which has relentlessly sought to tie his opponent to Trump.

    Reichert confided to the GOP audience that he can’t publicly endorse Trump.

    “The media is looking for me to make a statement about Trump. That will be the nail in the coffin,” he said. “As soon as I do that, I lose that opportunity to win over some of those 25% of those undecided voters.”

    Nevertheless, Reichert continued, “So, someone asked me, will you vote for him? And I said, ‘What’s my head doing?’ ” There’s a pause in the audio followed by muted chuckles. A Republican in the room confirmed at that moment Reichert nodded, as did the Democratic operative who made the recording.

    Reichert then wondered whether there were any reporters in the room but was assured “we’re good,” prompting a louder round of laughter. He then returned again to saying he’d get pilloried by Democrats and so won’t “commit to any support for Trump.”

    At a meeting the month before of the Douglas County Republicans, Reichert was asked the same question about whether he’d vote for Trump.

    “I love Donald Trump’s policies,” Reichert responded, according to a recording also released by Ferguson’s campaign. He said he’d worked with Trump for two years while in Congress and met with him in the Oval Office. “He and I can work together.”

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  411. #419 Given the number of negative ads I’ve seen attacking Reichert, I have begun to wonder whether some Democrats are worried that he might win.

    Probably not, in my opinion, given the damage the Loser has done to the Republican Party, here.

    (It would be kind to call the incumbent governor, Democrat Jay Inslee, mediocre. He looks good, but peaked as a high school basketball athlete.)

    Jim Miller (68999f)

  412. I forgot to hold this:

    “His nickname for me is Sheriff. I have a MAGA hat at home with his signature on it today,

    Hahaha!

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  413. Is that the same Republican Party that has lost their bids for the Governor’s office continuously since 1996, Jim?

    Stupid Trump…

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  414. Given the number of negative ads I’ve seen attacking Reichert, I have begun to wonder whether some Democrats are worried that he might win.

    Unlikely.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  415. While I find it incredibly disconcerting that Trump is in contention after his last run ended with such a ridiculous year, there’s a reason.

    And a lot of people who will insist Trump is so bad that any alternative must be taken, now that the alternative is a democrat, did not jump on Team Desantis, so I’m a little weirded out by the hard cold fact they didn’t really mind if Trump were re-elected apparently.

    Not sure if I’m mentioned this before.

    Dustin (4bc699)

  416. The last GOP governor in WA State was John Spellman, who lost his reelection bid in 1984, and Reichert will likely follow suit. He’s down by 11.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  417. Jim, please read Paul”s 6:08. It is an excellent take down of your dreamy local Republican Party.

    BuDuh (e40dba)

  418. Dustin,

    they are partisans. They just aren’t honest about which side they support.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  419. In 1964 — which was not a good year for Republicans — Republican Lud Kramer won the Washington secretary of state election. He was succeeded by Republican Bruce Chapman. Who, in turn, was suceeded by Republican Sam Reed. Who, in turn was succeeded by Republican Kim Wyman. She was re-elected twice, but resigned, less than a year after the 2020 election:

    On October 27, 2021, Wyman announced that she would resign as Secretary of State to join the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the Biden administration to work on election security. Her resignation took effect on November 19.

    In other words, Republicans won the following elections for Washington secretary of state: 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. (The last two, in spite of the drag from the Loser at the top of the ticket.)

    So we know what kind of Republican can win in Washington state. They need to be honest, and competent. Most have also had normal family lives, unlike the Loser.

    As far as I know the only partial exception was Lud Kramer.

    Kramer married his wife Patricia. They were married for 17 years and divorced for 17 years then got remarried. They had two daughters and two sons.

    (Wyman’s replacement, Steve Hobbs, is a moderate Democrat and, as far as I know, also honest and competent.)

    Jim Miller (68999f)

  420. #428 When I look for political inspiration, I read Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural, especially the final paragraph:

    With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

    Jim Miller (68999f)

  421. #425 Rip – Perhaps I was not as precise as I was trying to be. I said that Democrats seemed to be treating the Ferguson/Reichert race as a serious contest, judging by the number of TV ads I have seen, attacking Reichert.

    I have been surprised by the ads, thinking he was little threat, given the divisions within the Republican Party, and the drag by the Loser.

    (Without the division and the Loser, would Reichert have a chance? Possibly, though, in my opinion, the odds would still be against him.)

    Jim Miller (68999f)

  422. From what I could tell, not a single question about Putin’s War Against Ukraine.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6)

  423. I’m not worried, norcal. Harris is up by 21, an even larger margin than 2016 and 2020.

    Paul Montagu (759dc6) — 10/1/2024 @ 5:15 pm

    That addresses the first point. However, I bolded the second point for a reason. Every popular vote that Harris receives robs Trump, just a little bit, of any claim to popularity.

    norcal (b84b16)

  424. norcal (b84b16) — 10/1/2024 @ 10:27 pm

    Do I infer from this and other comments that the fever of your recent flirtation with voting for Trump has broken? If so, good, and we shall never speak of it again.

    lurker (c23034)

  425. Paul Montagu (759dc6) — 10/1/2024 @ 8:03 pm

    From what I could tell, not a single question about Putin’s War Against Ukraine.

    They chose questions based on what people they interviewed/polled were interested in.

    Let’s see:

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-vp-debate-transcript-walz-vance-2024

    The term “Ukraine” does not come up here, and Russia is only mentioned in the context of Facebook ads run to help Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

    Tulsi Gabbard is mentioned as a lifelong leader in the Democratic coalition who was endorsing Trump.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  426. lurker (c23034) — 10/2/2024 @ 1:23 am

    I believe it was more of a flirtation with voting third-party or doing a write-in, but now I think that’s unwise even if I lived in a blue state, which I don’t.

    norcal (b84b16)

  427. lurker (c23034) — 10/2/2024 @ 1:23 am

    I believe it was more of a flirtation with voting third-party or doing a write-in, but now I think that’s unwise even if I were in a blue state, which I’m not.

    norcal (b84b16)

  428. Jack Smith’s filing regarding evidence that the charges against Trump are for private conduct is available, with redactions, at https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148/gov.uscourts.dcd.258148.252.0.pdf.

    Sam G (87ab56)

  429. Tulsi Gabbard is mentioned as a lifelong leader ……..

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 10/2/2024 @ 1:44 pm

    LOL!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  430. Maybe now Pete Rose can go into Cooperstown.

    They will have to change a rule, since he was banned forever, not just for life.

    https://apnews.com/article/rose-hall-of-fame-d3da8832097f2717590096d68600fee4

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  431. Do I infer from this and other comments that the fever of your recent flirtation with voting for Trump has broken?

    Don’t know about norcal, but every time I have that flirtation, Trump says something even crazier than before. People should start mailing him hinges.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  432. I don’t blame the Democrats for nominating a socialist — it’s what they do. But I am extremely angry with those fukwits who thought that it was a good idea running a certifiably crazy person as the other choice. A dog turd would be more likely to get my vote.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  433. Do I infer from this and other comments that the fever of your recent flirtation with voting for Trump has broken? If so, good, and we shall never speak of it again.

    lurker (c23034) — 10/2/2024 @ 1:23 am

    It was more of a flirtation with voting third-party or doing a write-in, but I now think that would be unwise even if I were in a blue state, which I’m not.

    norcal (b84b16)

  434. I apologize for the repetitive posts. I kept getting an error message. I’d close the window, go back in, and still see nothing.

    norcal (48503c)

  435. Maybe now Pete Rose can go into Cooperstown.

    They will have to change a rule, since he was banned forever, not just for life.

    Instead of “but Trump” it’s “but Rose”!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  436. I apologize for the repetitive posts.

    No apology necessary for my benefit, even without the error message. As far as I’m concerned, “its unwise not to beat Trump in the battleground states and run up the score in the others” can’t be said often enough.

    lurker (c23034)

  437. lurker (c23034) — 10/2/2024 @ 3:47 pm

    I guess that apocryphal quote from Churchill about Americans applies to me in this instance.

    (“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”)

    😁

    norcal (48503c)

  438. Maybe now Pete Rose can go into Cooperstown.

    Bart Giamatti willed himself long enough to live to suspend Pete Rose for life (on August 24, 1989) and then promptly dropped dead (on September 1, 1989).

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  439. norcal (48503c) — 10/2/2024 @ 4:00 pm

    I never doubted you.

    lurker (c23034)

  440. The Gascon Legacy:

    The crime Shanice Amanda Dyer committed as a 17-year-old was as horrific as it was seemingly random.

    She was a documented member of a Crips street gang faction in South L.A., according to appellate records from the case, and she wanted to help retaliate for killings by a rival group in August 2019.

    The targets the gang chose at random were an expectant father, Alfredo Carrera, and his close friend Jose Antonio Flores Vasquez, an aspiring astrophysicist in UC Irvine’s doctorate program who was visiting Carrera to drop off a baby gift. A car pulled up, with Dyer inside. After a brief argument, authorities said, Dyer and two other defendants unleashed a volley of gunfire, killing both men. A third man down the street was wounded in the back as he loaded his 1-year-old daughter into a car seat.

    Dyer sent text messages taking responsibility for the shooting, saying she was “satisfied” it made headlines, according to a court of appeals filing that documented evidence gathered from her Instagram account.

    Dyer was tried as a juvenile under Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón, who at the time had a strict policy against prosecuting teens as adults. She admitted to the murder charges in 2021, and probation records reviewed by The Times show she was released last February. Six months later, she was arrested in connection with another homicide, this one in Pomona.

    https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-10-03/george-gascon-juvenile-offenders-los-angeles-county-district-attorney-election

    Kevin M (a9545f)

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