Patterico's Pontifications

10/25/2024

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 8:36 am



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

The richest man in the world has been very, very busy:

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a linchpin of U.S. space efforts, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022.

The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials, touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions.

At one point, Putin asked the billionaire to avoid activating his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request.

While the U.S. and its allies have isolated Putin in recent years, Musk’s dialogue could signal re-engagement with the Russian leader, and reinforce Trump’s expressed desire to cut a deal over major fault lines such as the war in Ukraine.

At the same time, the contacts also raise potential national-security concerns among some in the current administration, given Putin’s role as one of America’s chief adversaries.

So both Trump and Musk have been in contact with Putin for at least two years. I’m sure there’s nothing to be concerned about. . .

But not so fast:

Before the inevitable wave of bullshit trying to wave this off, remember that Putin and his terrorist mafia state are avowed enemies of the United States and its allies and consider themselves in a war footing against them.

Like Trump, Musk cares only for his personal business dealings and his image. Putin, Xi, and other dictators always find such people easy to exploit because it’s also how they operate. No messy oversight, laws, or national interests, just quid pro quo.

MAGA’s regurgitation of Kremlin talking points was not a subtle clue. Whether Musk and the rest are really that ignorant & gullible or just that corrupt and treasonous will be for years of journalism and hearings to reveal. But it won’t happen if Trump wins & they write history.

Un-American? Traitorous? Certainly not a nothing burger.

Second news item

Fair game:

The US has said for the first time it had evidence that 3,000 North Korean troops were receiving training in Russia for possible deployment against Ukraine in “a very serious” escalation that would make them “legitimate military targets”.

. . .

The [South Korea] agency also said Pyongyang had sent more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles, and other conventional arms to Russia since August 2023.

Third news item

The sacrifice, as told by Alexie Navalny in his prison diaries:

I’m forty-five. I have a family and children. I’ve had a life to live, worked on some interesting things, done some things that
were useful. But there’s a war on right now. Suppose a nineteen-year-old is riding in an armored vehicle, he gets a piece of shrapnel in his head, and that’s it. He has had no family, no children, no life. Right now, dead civilians are lying in the streets in Mariupol, their bodies gnawed at by dogs, and many of them will be lucky if they end up in even a mass grave-through no fault of their own. I made my choices, but these people were just living their lives. They had jobs. They were family breadwinners. Then, one fine evening, a vengeful runt on television, the President of a neighboring country, announces that you are all “Nazis” and have to die because Ukraine was invented by Lenin. The next day, a shell comes flying in your window and you no longer have a wife, a husband, or children — and maybe you yourself are also no longer alive.

And from Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, a warning, a caution, and wise words:

“I would say to American voters, don’t take everything like granted,” Navalnaya said in the interview when asked what her message is to Americans, less than two weeks before the 2024 election.

“You are still living in democratic country, and I still believe in American institutions, and just make the right choice,” Navalnaya said.

When asked, Navalnaya declined to say which candidate she supported in the U. S. presidential election.

Fourth news item

The Menendez brothers get a break:

Los Angeles County prosecutors are recommending that Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.

District Attorney George Gascón announced his decision at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

“We are going to recommend to the court (on Friday) that the life without the possibility of parole be removed and they would be sentenced for murder,” Gascón said.

That would normally mean a sentence of 50 years to life, he said. But because of their age — they both were under 26 at the time of the crimes — they would be eligible for parole immediately.

“I believe that they have paid their debt to society,” he said. “The final decision will be made by the judge.”

I’m sure the Menendez brothers will be sending flowers to celebrity influencer and criminal advocate Kim Kardashian for her work on their behalf.

Fifth news item

Just two weeks out from the election:

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are at a stalemate, 48 percent to 48 percent, according to the final poll from The New York Times/Siena College before Election Day.

The results are a shift from the last Times/Siena College poll in early October when Harris had a slight lead, albeit inside the margin of error, of 49 percent to 46 percent.

. . .

The poll was conducted among 2,516 registered voters between Oct. 20 and 23. The poll’s margin of error is plus-or-minus 2.2 percentage points among likely voters.

Sixth news item

Kamala on abortion concessions:

. . . when asked if she would be willing to make concessions, including “religious exemptions,” she declined, stating, “We should not be making concessions when we are talking about a fundamental freedom.”

. . .

However, the best question to ask Kamala Harris would be if she opposes the Church amendments. The Church amendments were passed in 1973 after the Roe v. Wade decision. They were part of the Health Programs Extension Act of 1973, which was passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate and was opposed by only one House member. The Church amendments protect the rights of individuals and entities that object to performing certain procedures “because of their religious beliefs or moral convictions.” Does Harris want to force religious health-care professionals to participate in abortions against their will?

Seventh news item

A courageous woman in France:

Gisele Pelicot, the 72-year-old victim of mass rape whose ordeal has shocked the world, told a trial in southern France on Wednesday that she was determined that making her case public should help other women and change society.

Dominique Pelicot, her husband, has admitted to inviting dozens of strangers over nearly 10 years to their house to rape her after he had drugged her. Fifty other men also stand trial, accused of raping her.

Gisele Pelicot. . . told the court she was destroyed by what happened to her. She said how “unbelievably violent” it was for her that many of the accused in the trial, which started on September 2, said they thought she agreed to the rapes or was faking sleeping.

To help rape victims, Pelicot made a bold move:

She said she had insisted the trial be held publicly, and not behind closed doors, as is often the case to protect rape victims, in the hope it would help other rape victims.

“They (rapists) are the ones who must be ashamed,” she said, adding that having videos, filmed by her husband, of some of her rapes, shown during the trial, was “very difficult but necessary.”

Eighth news item:

Better late than never:

President Biden is expected to issue a formal apology for the federal government’s Native American boarding schools during a visit to Arizona on Friday.

. . .

“I’m heading to do something that should have been done a long time ago, to make a formal apology to the Indian nations for the way we treated their children for so many years,” Biden told reporters on Thursday.

FYI:

Between 1819 and 1969, the federal government operated more than 400 boarding schools across the country and provided support for more than 1,000 others, according to the Interior department’s investigation. The goal was complete cultural assimilation.

While most people will say this doesn’t matter, to the still-living victims, their families, and tribal members, guaranteed it does.

Ninth news item

Tucker Carlson, at a Turning Point USA event, compared Trump to America’s “dad” and that the nation needs a “spanking”. . .from “dad”:

Tucker Carlson addressed a raucous crowd in Georgia on Wednesday, where he compared former President Trump’s prospective return to the White House to a dad returning home, adding that he would give the country a “vigorous spanking.”

“There has to be a point at which Dad comes home. Yeah, that’s right. Dad comes home. And he’s pissed. Dad is pissed,” Carlson said. . .

“He’s not vengeful. He loves his children. Disobedient as they may be, he loves them. Because they’re his children. They live in his house. But he’s very disappointed in their behavior. And he’s going to have to let them know,” Carlson continued.

“When Dad gets home, you know what he says? ‘You’ve been a bad girl. You’ve been a bad little girl, and you’re getting a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it’s not going to hurt me more than it hurts you. No, it’s not. I’m not going to lie. It’s going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this.’”

(video)

Eew.

America doesn’t need a “dad”. America doesn’t need a “spanking”. American voters are not children. America needs a stable leader who has the peoples best interest at heart, not his own. American needs a leader who understands the importance of the Constitution and its contents, and would never, ever consider subverting it. America needs a president who respects the rule of law. America needs a leader who doesn’t care more about his personal brand than the people he serves. America doesn’t need a leader who is frustrated by limits on presidential power, and who promises retribution on his perceived enemies. America doesn’t need a president who believes that perceived “enemies within” pose a greater threat to the nation than our enemies around the world. America doesn’t need a president who is willing to use the military to stifle his in-house enemies. America doesn’t need a president who admires murderous thugs who rule their people with an iron fist. I could go on and on, but you get the picture: America doesn’t need Donald Trump.

Have a great weekend.

—Dana

570 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (c0f7d7)

  2. Fourth new item:

    Gascon has nothing to lose, he’s a dead man walking. He is far behind his opponent (Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor), both in the polls (-30 points) and fundraising (paywalled).

    As of Oct. 14, Hochman and outside groups supporting him have raised nearly $10.4 million in campaign donations, compared with $1.2 million for Gascón and his outside supporters, according to an analysis conducted by The Los Angeles Times.

    Gascón’s liberal supporters have given up the ghost. In 2020 he received $2.4M from George Soros, but $0 in 2024. Reed Hastings (and his wife, Patty Quillin) and Susan Pritzker gave a total of $2.4M in 2020, have donated only $9,000 this year (from Quillin).

    Californians (and Los Angelenos) are also expected to overwhelmingly approve (60%-21%) Prop 36, which will increase criminal penalties for repeat offenses involving retail theft and possession of fentanyl. Recent polling in LA County mirrors state polling on Prop 36.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  3. Leftists love murderers. Babies not so much.

    NJRob (7ef1b0)

  4. Kamala is Gascon at the national level.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  5. She’s actually worse. She wants to Make America Detroit instead of LA.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  6. However, the best question to ask Kamala Harris would be if she opposes the Church amendments.

    Hardly, not one voter in 1000 knows what the Church amendments were, and if they do, they don’t know whether they are still in effect. Consider that you had to explain what the Church amendments were to this bunch of terminal wonks.

    The question asked was one that would resonate with voters, not hide the answer behind a wall of wonkism when the question asked is clear enough (even though Sergeant Schultz sees nothing).

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  7. Kamala is Gascon at the national level.

    And Trump is what? George Washington? Or Joe McCarthy?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  8. Trump is the guy who fled LA County years ago.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  9. CA’s initiative was created to bypass an intransigent legislature that seemed impervious to electoral change. Then as now.

    Of course this means that the initiative process needs to be reformed, or manipulated and controlled by another in a long list of crooked Attorney Generals. One of the worst of whom was Kamala Harris. Lèse-majesté, I know.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  10. I dislike Harris, but that does not mean I dislike Trump any less. I don’t know if he’s a fascist. But he’s off in that direction.

    Harris may not be a communist, but her soak-the-rich and other collectivist schemes are off in that direction too. Call it Germany, 1932, lite.

    And the current organized othering of Trump is so obviously coordinated that it reinvigorates belief in the Deep State. Hillary jumps the shark.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  11. Trump is the guy who fled LA County years ago.

    I thought that was Roman Polanski. I wonder if Harris will pardon him.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  12. Every election year is different.

    But, if you’re forecasting who’d win, it’s a coin toss because Trump is generating a measurable momentum on his side and that Harris enjoys massive funding/infrastructure advantage.

    If we look at the 2020 race at this time on the RCP, Joe Biden was +8 and he officially barely won. In 2016, Hillary Clinton was up 5.1 percent and she lost.

    RCP has it tied now:
    https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/general/2024/trump-vs-harris

    whembly (477db6)

  13. Regarding Tucker, it’s contemptible that he views the American people as children requiring violent parental discipline, when the “father” is the petulant immature child, and when the “misbehavior” is the “offense” dissenting from the “father”. It’s f-cking sick.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  14. I thought that was Roman Polanski. I wonder if Harris will pardon him.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/25/2024 @ 9:53 am

    Can’t-Polanski was charged in state, not federal, court.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  15. Trump is the guy who fled LA County years ago.

    He still has a golf course here.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  16. MAGAts love Nazi’s. Americans not so much.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  17. @14 It will be funny to revisit this comment if the voters choose Trump. Nevertrump already has much worse terms ready for the American people.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  18. Klink is a projection machine that doesn’t have an off switch.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  19. “We should throw Jack Smith out with them, the mentally deranged people, Jack Smith should be considered mentally deranged and he should be thrown out of the country”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  20. lloyd, I’m sure you agree, that if you support Harris, you support all of her beliefs.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  21. I’m just going to double quote Dana’s Tucker Carlson.

    “You’ve been a bad girl. You’ve been a bad little girl and you’re getting a vigorous spanking right now. And no, it’s not going to hurt me more than it hurts you. No, it’s not. I’m not going to lie. It’s going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me. And you earned this. You’re getting a vigorous spanking because you’ve been a bad girl, and it has to be this way.”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  22. Klink, I don’t support putting “a bullseye on Trump” or that “we gotta lock him up”. But, I guess you do.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  23. Hahaha, Harris highlights stupid Hitler’s words. But it’s shocking that she said it.

    stupid Hitler=fine
    quoting stupid Hitler=over the line.

    These f-ing MAGANAZIs.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  24. Using transitive property.stupid Hitler loves him some Hitler=Nazi
    lloyd loves him some stupid Hitler=Nazi

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  25. @26 Klink, quit taking a half dose to save money.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  26. Can’t-Polanski was charged in state, not federal, court.

    He faces federal charges as well (notably “flight”). The next CA governor might pardon his state charges.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  27. lloyd, I’m sure you agree, that if you support Harris, you support all of her beliefs.

    No, just some of her beliefs. That you project that on others does noot mean it should not be projected right back at you.

    Harris’ top 10 arguments for your vote:

    1. Not Donald Trump

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  28. @21: That’s not true, but “Hail Hydra” wouldn’t surprise me. Marvel had the Deep State on its radar way back in 1965.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  29. Ooops. @22.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  30. President Biden is expected to issue a formal apology for the federal government’s Native American boarding schools during a visit to Arizona on Friday.

    I think it’s fine that he is issuing the apology, especially since as Dana points out it will carry some weight with Native American communities. But I have to be gauche enough to observe that the President chose a swing state in which to issue this apology. He’s not traveling to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, or the Dakotas for this appearance.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  31. Not to mention that he is doing this today, rather than on for example November 10.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  32. As for deranged politicians jumping the shark, there’s this:

    Hillary Clinton says Trump’s planned speech at Madison Square Garden is ‘reenactment’ of 1939 Nazi rally

    Note that the DNC was a Madison Square Garden in 1924, 1976, 1980 and 1992, nominating John W Davis (a racist), Jimmy Carter (twice), and Bill Clinton. For the RNC, only once, in 2004, renominating W. If holding a rally there invokes Nazis, a lot of folks have questions to answer.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  33. He’s not traveling to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, or the Dakotas for this appearance.

    The Navajo were deeply affected by this.

    Not to mention that he is doing this today, rather than on for example November 10.

    It’s what politicians do. Can’t blame them for being politicians.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  34. Regarding Tucker, it’s contemptible that he views the American people as children requiring violent parental discipline, when the “father” is the petulant immature child, and when the “misbehavior” is the “offense” dissenting from the “father”. It’s f-cking sick.

    Agreed, and it’s symptomatic of the problem with how we view the Presidency these days. I would point out that Trump’s opponent is playing up the “Momala” thing where she would be our national step-mother, which I find equally distasteful. I guess that in a world where half of marriages end up in divorce and a huge number of our fellow citizens grow up in households in which at least one parent is not present, too many people look to the White House for that kind of connection. That cannot be healthy to the long-term stability of our nation.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  35. Yah, JVW, I tried to ignore the too obvious political strategery . . .

    Dana (862f89)

  36. Democrats have been accusing Republicans of being Nazis since 1940. It’s just now they really mean it.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  37. The Navajo were deeply affected by this.

    Here’s from the AP article about this:

    The heaviest concentrations of the schools were in states with some of the largest Native populations: Oklahoma, Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota and the Dakotas. But the schools were in every region of the U.S. and students — some as young as 4 — were often sent to schools far from their homes.

    That’s seven states listed where the President could have issued this apology. He chose the swing state with the most Electoral College votes. I know I am a super-cynic, but to me this calls into question the sincerity of his apology, and I’ll bet even some people who are far less jaundiced than I recognize this too. It angers me when politicians do the right thing but for the wrong reasons.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  38. This just in: Washington post will NOT endorse Harris, following similar refuals at the LA Times.

    Apparently the owners of both papers vetoed the endorsement, and the LAT editorial director resigned. People at the Post are also pushing back.

    The Washington Post’s editorial board announced Friday that it will not make an endorsement in this year’s presidential contest, for the first time in 36 years, or in future presidential races.

    The decision, 11 days before an election that most polls show as too close to call, marks the second time this week that a major media organization has declined to issue an endorsement in the race between the Republican nominee, former president Donald Trump, and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, after years of making such endorsements. Earlier this week, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, blocked a planned endorsement of Harris, prompting the resignation of the newspaper’s editorials editor.

    An endorsement of Harris had been drafted by Post editorial page staffers but had yet to be published, according to two sources briefed on the sequence of events who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — according to the same sources.

    “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty. Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners),” former Post executive editor Martin Baron, who led the paper while Trump was president, said in a text message to The Post. “History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  39. Patrick Soon-Shiong … blocked a planned endorsement of Harris

    Without his daughter’s input, I’d guess.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  40. Video:

    Jewish Auschwitz Survivor: Kamala Harris Owes My Parents And Everyone Else Who Was Murdered An Apology

    Jerry Wartski, who knows Trump, said: “For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my 75 years of living in the United States.”

    BuDuh (5b8a20)

  41. Reservation population by state:

    Arizona: 262,000
    Montana: 62,000
    New Mexico: 60,000
    California: 55,000
    Oklahoma: 47,000

    Since the practice was mostly aimed at reservation populations, it makes sense. Apologizing to assimilated Native Americans would be less well-received.

    I recently drove from ABQ to Phoenix (LOVE adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping) and I was on or near reservation land most of the time until I hit Flagstaff. The trinkets I could have bought.

    The Navajo Nation covers the Four Corners area (map), save for Colorado (what’s up with that?).

    It makes incredible sense for this to happen in Arizona. It would be politics if it were anywhere else.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  42. Jennifer Rubin demanded LA Times columnists resign because the paper didn’t endorse the leftist. Will Rubin resign from the Post now that her paper has abstained as well?

    NJRob (7ef1b0)

  43. Similarly, over the summer I drove from Jensen, UT to Flagstaff, and then later from Flagstaff to the Bay Area (two different days). The Jensen->Flagstaff drive included the two largest reservations in the lower 48.

    One of the most famous scenescapes in the western genre of film, Monument Valley, is in the middle of the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.

    aphrael (8c9441)

  44. Will Rubin resign from the Post now that her paper has abstained as well?

    What if the WaPo specifically chose not to endorse in order to force Rubin to resign? Genius-level management. No severance pay, no extended benefits.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  45. From NRO:

    Former Post executive editor Martin Baron, who led the paper’s aggressive coverage of Trump during his presidency, opposed the move. “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” he told NPR. “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate the Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”

    The Washington Post lost $77 million last year. How much more money is Jeff Bezos obligated to throw away so that “democracy” doesn’t “die in darkness”? Would every reporter, editor, photographer, graphic artist, ad salesperson, etc. who is employed at the Post accept a 30% salary cut so that the paper isn’t a money loser?

    It’s nice to be brave with other people’s money. Clearly the WaPo’s current business model of telling high-strung progressives what they want to hear isn’t working out on the accounting ledger, so perhaps Bezos thinks that maybe the newspaper has to shed its aggressive support of Democrats and left-leaning causes in order to appeal to a more centrist and right-leaning audience. And given that it is really hard to do that in news coverage short of firing all of the reporters and editors and starting anew, maybe toning down the strident leftism on the editorial page is the way to go.

    It’s ironic that everyone on the left dogpiled on Elon Musk for spending all of that money in buying Twitter and then watching its market value fall, but now they essentially demand that Jeff Bezos do the exact same thing. Maybe Bezos should really poke them in the eye by selling the newspaper to Musk. Now that would be entertaining!

    JVW (d17bc5)

  46. The next CA governor might pardon (Polanski’s) state charges.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/25/2024 @ 10:38 am

    Based on what evidence? Polanski has no real reason to return to the US, he’s being protected by European courts from extradition, so this is speculative at best. His criminal behavior has not been an issue in California’s politics. It’s about as likely as Sirhan Sirhan being pardoned.

    Interesting factoid, he’s in the same prison as the Menendez brothers.

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  47. It is actually believable that Rip is an expert on Roman Polanski.

    BuDuh (5b8a20)

  48. It is actually believable that Rip is an expert on Roman Polanski.

    Knock it off, BuDuh. That’s a gratuitous smear and if you’re looking to start a pointless back-and-forth with Rip then I would prefer that you just take the rest of the day off.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  49. I will take the day off. I apologize Rip and JVW. If you are able to delete it, I ask that you do. My reasons for taking such a shot at Rip are my own, and I should not have gone so far.

    Thanks, JVW. Sorry about wasting your time.

    BuDuh (5b8a20)

  50. Democrat Iran Collusion

    Democrat PAC Publishes Internal Trump Campaign Emails Leaked By Iranian Hacking Group

    A Democratic Political Action Committee (PAC) published internal Trump campaign emails after an Iranian hacking group reportedly leaked them, Reuters reported on Friday.

    The hackers recently started trying to pass off the emails to various media outlets, who were uninterested in publishing the material, according to Reuters. But the hackers finally found one willing individual in recent weeks: Democrat political operative David Wheeler, who posted the emails to the website of his PAC, American Muckrakers.

    When asked why he published the material, Wheeler told Reuters he wanted to “expose how desperate the Trump campaign is to try to win.” He would not discuss how the material originated Some of the emails include correspondence between campaign operatives leading up to the election.

    lloyd (ca12a9)

  51. BuDuh (5b8a20) — 10/25/2024 @ 12:30 pm

    That’s a disgusting personal attack, and your apology is not accepted. You should take more than a day off.

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  52. And it’s not the first time BuhDuh has made crude remarks about myself and others.

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  53. BuhDuh needs a longer time out.

    I strongly advise you to take the win and BuDuh’s gracious apology, Rip. Your hands are not entirely clean in the matter of provoking commenters either, so spare us your umbrage please. – JVW

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  54. #44 —

    Jennifer Rubin demanded LA Times columnists resign because the paper didn’t endorse the leftist. Will Rubin resign from the Post now that her paper has abstained as well?

    Slick burn.

    #46 —

    I can’t imagine Rubin has much influence on the WaPo P/L.

    Appalled (c2a23b)

  55. The Tax Foundation has estimated that the tax agendas of both of the major Presidential candidates would cause a two percent drop in GDP (I’m assuming that they mean the GDP would be two percent smaller than it would otherwise be under current tax policy, and not that it would be two percent smaller than it presently is) if fully enacted. Donald Trump’s plans for a 20% universal tariff and additional tariffs on China would shave 1.3% off of GDP, and the expected retaliation from our trading partners would cost us an additional 0.4% to 0.7%, depending upon how severe the response is.

    For Kamala Harris, her increase of corporate taxes to 28% and to impose higher taxes on wealthy households would also decrease GDP by a total of two percent. That might not sound like much, but given that we’re approaching $30 trillion in annual GDP, that two percent figure means an additional $600 billion in lost productivity each year, in order to raise perhaps another $60 billion or so in federal revenue (likely considerably less). And we know that neither candidate is likely to cut spending commensurately.

    The Tax Foundation points out that it is not reflexively anti-tax and it does see some positive aspects to various tax proposals. They support Donald Trump’s pledge to cancel the green tax credits issued by the Biden Administration, pegging them as inefficient and poorly-distributed. They also support Trump’s proposal to limit line-item deductions, and in general they suggest that increasing efficiency in tax calculation is far more desirable than continuing to create narrow loopholes and deductions. They also join with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in believing that moving at least partially from income taxes to consumption taxes is a better policy, even if that means adopting items conservatives have long disdained such as value-added taxes and environmental taxes.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  56. Roman Polanski sticking a switchblade up Jack Nicholson’s nose in Chinatown is the most schadenfreude scene since Karl Malden beat up Marlon Brando in One-Eyed Jacks.

    nk (dcba32)

  57. I strongly advise you to take the win and BuDuh’s gracious apology, Rip. Your hands are not entirely clean in the matter of provoking commenters either, so spare us your umbrage please. – JVW

    I don’t engage in name calling, personal insults, or crude personal remarks, as BuhDuh did here. On the contrary, I try to base my arguments on facts and evidence.

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  58. Provoking commenters about the issues one thing, but make crude personal attacks is another.

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  59. RIP Grateful Dead co-founder and bassist Phil Lesh (84).

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  60. While it makes sense for Biden to go to Arizona for the apology, it’s amazing that it’s taken until 2024 for a sitting President to make the effort. I suspect if Deb Haaland hadn’t been elected and pushed for this, I think Biden would’ve followed every other president’s lead.

    Dana (4dd8af)

  61. While it makes sense for Biden to go to Arizona for the apology, it’s amazing that it’s taken until 2024 for a sitting President to make the effort.

    Especially given that the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative report was released in May 2022, nearly thirty months ago. It’s almost if they either purposely sat on this apology to maximize the political impact, or else they just forgot about it until the Arizona polling started looking dicey for the incumbent Vice-President.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  62. I don’t know if the event has taken place yet, but if President Biden politicizes it in any way then the DNC ought to be required to reimburse the government for part of the President’s travel costs. And knowing Biden, if he goes off script for even one second you can bet he’ll try to politicize it.

    JVW (d17bc5)

  63. https://x.com/TrueTheVote/status/1849842639706681387

    Last minute fraudulent registrations. Why?

    NJRob (7ef1b0)

  64. > The next CA governor might pardon his state charges.

    Meh. it’s theoretically possible. But unless there’s some link between Koulanakis and Polanski, it’s hard ot imagine it happening; there’s no *reason* for it, it’s not an active issue at all.

    aphrael (6d7960)

  65. It’s contemptible, the inability by Trump and James David Hamel to say that Putin is the bad guy, when he’s clearly the bad guy, and I shouldn’t have to count the ways. The moral calculus is 1+1=2. Trump has never condemned Putin for any of his war crimes or terrorist attacks or mass murders or child abductions or for illegitimately invading in the first place, and I’ve never heard Vance call out Putin either.

    JD Vance criticizes “American leaders” who pick a side in the war in Ukraine: “Unfortunately, you got a lot of American leaders who like to beat their chest and say; this [Ukraine] is the good guy and this [Russia] is the bad guy.”

    Yeah, contemptible, morally and geopolitically.
    Meantime, Putin’s economy is sucking wind, so a Trump victory would be a huge help to the diminutive despot. Putin’s central bank just bumped their key interest rate by two points, to 21%, indicating that their inflation rate is notably above the previously reported 7.5% rate in mid-2023.

    With Putin having to sell his oil to China and India at healthy discounts, and because he’s made himself a pariah in the West, he’s aligning more with the other Axis of Evil members, i.e., Iran and North Korea, to prosecute his dirty war, while Syria and China are in the wings.

    There is something especially disconcerting seeing Vladimir Putin smiling like the cat who ate the canary at this week’s BRICs Summit. Could it be more than coincidence that the coordinated Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi attacks on Israel, with Iranian support, were not just coincidental distractions from Russia’s stalemate in his invasion of Ukraine? Yesterday, Putin’s continued efforts to influence the U.S. elections to favor Donald Trump in concert with interference from China and Iran was documented by Microsoft and other cybersecurity experts. As President George W. Bush warned in 2002, there truly is an “axis of evil” still, Vladimir Putin at its hub.

    Russia’s national income statistics have been suppressed from the IMF since 2022 because Putin is afraid to show the world how bad his economy is crumbling across every sector. Russia has become increasingly irrelevant to global commerce and diplomacy as major sources of revenue evaporate from collapsed energy and other raw material exports and reserves dwindle from a stalemate in the hapless war against Ukraine.

    U.S. domestic tensions have flared with Trump’s resurgence. Divisive political extremism in France and Germany is on the rise. Ukraine faces massive suffering as threats to European safety escalate. Mideast instability has reignited amid brazen attacks on Israel and E.U. vessels by Iran and its proxies, the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah.

    Putin’s imperialistic invasion of Ukraine has resulted in over half a million deaths, including 120,000 Russian soldiers, 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and 12,000 innocent civilians, in addition to the reported kidnapping of 10,000 children. Russia has been set back decades, no longer a global superpower or even a significant economic force.

    Putin has become more than just an aggressor engaged in a pursuit of empire building. He is the engineer behind the rise of a new, more powerful “axis of evil.” The “axis of evil” was a term initially coined by President George W. Bush during his 2002 State of the Union address. Then, Bush was speaking to a nation – and a world – looking for moral leadership after the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11. The axis members of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea were the perceived bad state actors responsible for collectively organizing attacks meant to “threaten the peace of the world.”

    It is bewildering that the failed aggressor Putin has killed hundreds of thousands of his own people and destroyed his own economy but continues to hold influence over other leaders around the world. More than bravado, that influence extends through manipulation, sparking diversionary fires with and between nations, despite his own limited means as a failed superpower. As a KGB veteran, Putin has extended his tentacles, subverting democracy and undermining global harmony through propaganda and intrigue to compensate for lost industrial might.

    And so forth.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  66. RIP singer Jack Jones (86).

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  67. BREAKING: Israel is ba-ba-ba-bombing Iran.

    Israeli airstrikes hit an IRGC missile factory in Yaftabad, Tehran.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  68. More.

    Multiple Israeli warplanes are reportedly attacking Karaj tonight in north western Tehran. There is a centrifuge nuclear processing plant at this location.

    At least 5 explosions have been heard in the area.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  69. Patrick Soon-Shiong … blocked a planned endorsement of Harris

    Without his daughter’s input, I’d guess.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/25/2024 @ 11:08 am

    Apparently she agrees.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  70. True the Vote is a zero credibility outfit that has embarrassingly lost every Georgia lawsuit. In one case, they were asked to submit evidence and they refused.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  71. The next CA governor might pardon (Polanski’s) state charges.

    The next governor might give the State of the State speech standing on their head, but it is just as unlikely to happen.
    😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  72. Set aside, for a moment, on the idea to court packing for a second…

    Kamala Harris recently argued that we should expand to 12 justices…

    …she so stupid, in that the absolute lunacy of expanding to even numbered of justices.

    The stupid burns…

    whembly (003ea2)

  73. “True the Vote is a zero credibility outfit that has embarrassingly lost every Georgia lawsuit. In one case, they were asked to submit evidence and they refused.”

    They’re right in that there actually is a large reported vote registration fraud. What they’re not saying is that a likely suspect is Scott Presler, who has claimed he registered more Amish than exist in the state.

    Davethulhu (7db92d)

  74. Classy, Trump monetizing an assassination attempt. They don’t say he’s a short-fingered vulgarian for nuthin’.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  75. https://nypost.com/2024/10/25/us-news/swing-state-county-reports-thousands-of-suspected-fraudulent-voter-registration-forms/

    Paul attacks the messenger yet again so he can ignore the message and stay within his comfortable cocoon.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  76. True the Vote has a track record, a shiddy one. Take ’em with a huge grain of salt.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  77. I know you don’t pay attention to the NY Post either. After all, they reported on that Biden laptop that you dismissed.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  78. I know you don’t pay attention to the NY Post either. After all, they reported on that Biden laptop that you dismissed.

    Well, there you go, making sh-t up again. The asshole is never far below the surface with you.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  79. @80

    Well, there you go, making sh-t up again. The asshole is never far below the surface with you.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/25/2024 @ 5:53 pm

    What a minute…

    …just a fricking minute!

    Since when did you give credence to the Hunter Biden laptop story?

    whembly (003ea2)

  80. One of the most famous scenescapes in the western genre of film, Monument Valley, is in the middle of the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.

    They [literally] fought long and hard to make that happen.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  81. Maybe Bezos should really poke them in the eye by selling the newspaper to Mus

    I don’t think that’s it. It’s more that the smart money is on Trump and they have a LOT to lose. Bezos and Musk don’t need the President and Congress wanting to carve them a new orifice, no matter how important they endeavors are to the nation. Harris won’t do that; she’ll maybe raise their taxes.

    You could say it’s intimidation. You could also say that putting all that power in one office was a bad idea. The idea that we would only elect reasonable people, or at least those constrained by public opinion and checks and balances, such as they are, was a really stupid plan. Now the piper has shown up.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  82. Since when did you give credence to the Hunter Biden laptop story?

    Since Biden admitted it was true, and everyone saw what a pile of crap the denials had been and opened up their memory hole apps.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  83. 76: gee Paul, his daughter was attacked by some SF woman who organized a boycott of Ivanaka Trump items; his ties and what not were removed from Macys and other stores when libs complained that their mere presence offended them; his administration appointments were chased from restaurants; his legal fees must be astronomical given a defense of four government suits, one of which was for repaying a loan on time (which the NY Appellate Division questioned at length) (oh wait-it was for inflating the financial report the Bank did not rely on); another for having classified documents that Biden had from an even earlier time.

    So you find it “crass” not that those things happened, but that he sells things to people who voluntarily buy them? Well, we can’t all be Burisma Board members.

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd (ed36e6)

  84. Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/25/2024 @ 7:13 pm

    Bezos and Soon-Shiong have higher priorities in heavily regulated industries (space travel, healthcare) and contracts to worry about than a newspaper endorsement. If their newspapers endorsed Harris and Trump wins, they would be caught on the short end of the stick.

    It would be a shame if Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket or his and Soon-Shiong’s healthcare ventures suddenly faced regulatory hurdles from the Trump administration.

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  85. Freddie Freeman hits a walk off grand slam in the 10th inning, Dodgers win 6-3.

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  86. Tucker was endorsing Trump’s belief that America needs to be punished for falling short in obeisance to him. They must be more like the people of North Korea: “[Kim Jong Un] speaks and his people sit up at attention. I want my people to do the same.” https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/recording-of-trump-talking-about-kim-jong-un/

    Radegunda (ddd71b)

  87. Nice to see you, Radegunda.

    You’re right, of course. If Trump could only have the obedience of the American people that KJU has. Shame on us!

    Dana (c1941e)

  88. Washington post joins LA Times in no endorsement for president. Getting ready for trump presidency! Rats leaving the sinking ship! Looks like AOC will be the first woman president after all! trump 2024 2026 Democrat party purge of corporate stooges. Trumpsters incarcerated 2028!

    asset (58f05c)

  89. @88 Ridiculous.

    “I’m kidding, you don’t understand sarcasm.”

    lloyd (a4f50c)

  90. Its beginning texas trumpster assaults election worker. (AP) Az man arrested for shooting up democrat party office in tempe. (ABC news)

    asset (58f05c)

  91. You could say it’s intimidation. You could also say that putting all that power in one office was a bad idea.

    That’s true, but since your qualification implies a false equivalence, I’ll mostly go with intimidation. Only one candidate is threatening to use the power of government to punish unfriendly media outlets. It’s a good bet Bezos is knuckling to that coercion. Trump’s “nice conglomerate you’ve got there” strong-arming is right out of the authoritarian playbook that’s turned several late 20th and early 21st century democracies into functional autocracies with only the vestigial trappings of democracy (e.g., Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary). Bezos isn’t exactly covering himself in glory, but I mainly blame us if we put this thug back in power. Which I continue to maintain we’re about to do.

    lurker (c23034)

  92. Freddie Freeman hits a walk off grand slam in the 10th inning, Dodgers win 6-3.

    I’ve been a fan of the Dodgers since they came to LA. Long time. I saw Koufax pitch at the fist game I actually attended, and set what was then the season strike-out record. I remember when the cheap bastards at the front office didn’t want to pay him the enormous salary of $100K. I think Mookie gets 300 times that.

    I remember watching World Series in ’77, ’78 and ’81 between these two teams. Garvey, Cey, Russel and Lopes. Greg Nettles guarding the 3rd base line. Mr October being Mr October.

    And I remember, a few months sober, going to my first (and only) World Series game in 1988, seats on second level behind first base, and seeing Kurt Gibson end the game abruptly with a line drive homer to right.

    This was like that. I doubt anyone left the stadium for a good half hour.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  93. It’s a good bet Bezos is knuckling to that coercion. Trump’s “nice conglomerate you’ve got there” strong-arming is right out of the authoritarian playbook

    This would be a lot more convincing if they weren’t going after Musk right now, after he threw his support to Trump. FTC going after Tesla, CA Coastal Commission denying SpaceX launch requests CITING his support of Trump. They will be going after StarLink frequency allocations next.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  94. Bezos isn’t exactly covering himself in glory, but I mainly blame us if we put this thug back in power. Which I continue to maintain we’re about to do

    When half the country wants to throw the bums out, and actually seeks a strongman to force long-delayed change (explain why we can’t have immigration laws), then it’s probably a good idea to look at the beam in your own eye. Mass populism does not happen without SERIOUS effing up by the Establishment.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  95. Admittedly, the groundswell is partly in spite of Trump. If a serious leader was leading the charge (as in 1980) it wouldn’t be close.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  96. Ken White’s opinion of the race.

    Maybe it’s a little exaggerated?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  97. Kurt Gibson’s 1988 Game 1 at bat, called by Vin Scully. Excellent quality.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  98. *Kirk

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  99. When half the country wants to throw the bums out, and actually seeks a strongman to force long-delayed change (explain why we can’t have immigration laws), then it’s probably a good idea to look at the beam in your own eye. Mass populism does not happen without SERIOUS effing up by the Establishment.

    That’s populist nonsense. Every country that elects a strongman who proceeds to undo democracy has problems. The voters of Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, post-Soviet Russia, and Weimar Germany all had more to b!tch about than we do. That doesn’t excuse their choosing the demagogue over the boring institutionalist who wouldn’t seduce them with lies about restoring national greatness on the backs of elites and enemies within.

    In the words of our host, “Our electorate is trash.” I wouldn’t put it that harshly myself — I’d replace “trash” with “credulous” — but the upshot is the same. We get the autocrat we deserve. No one is responsible for our choices but us.

    lurker (c23034)

  100. And, by the way, the reason we can’t have immigration laws is that Trump told his Congressional toadies to kill the most comprehensive reform in recent memory. Far from perfect, but a lot better than anything that’s come close to passing in decades. So until 2024 you could blame the establishment. Today, the problem is Trump’s. And he bought it only so he could cynically promise to fix it. Everyone reading these threads knows that if Trump was president and Congress passed that exact bill, he’d sign it and demand credit for the greatest triumph in immigration law in history.

    lurker (c23034)

  101. Forgot to link Pat’s quote. Here it is.

    lurker (c23034)

  102. In a democracy (actually democratic republic based on slavery 3/5 a person) see 13 and 14 amendments you get the kind of government you deserve! 2nd amendment south feared their slave patrols might get disarmed. Dred Scott II decision (Dobbs) The left awaits the discrediting of the corporate establishment democrats to take the party over. Does anyone here think trump will really arrest debbie wasserman schultz and the rest of the d.n.c. ? Or msDNC hosts?

    asset (58f05c)

  103. Trump told his Congressional toadies to kill the most comprehensive reform in recent memory. Far from perfect

    The bill in question spent more on Ukraines border than ours. You may support that, but stop lying about what the bill actually did.

    SaveFarris (8b551e)

  104. Rich jerkoffs and their hobbies. Sports teams, newspapers, and glorified texting. Meh!

    nk (6a4429)

  105. @103 What 2024 has taught us:

    1. Republicans were right that the existing laws are sufficient to achieve some semblance of control at the border.

    2. Democrats will do something on the border during an election year, and the next three years aren’t election years.

    3. Democrats and their fellow travelers will blame a private citizen and just about anyone else for their own policy failures.

    lloyd (ead6fa)

  106. We get the autocrat we deserve. No one is responsible for our choices but us.

    That’s nonsense. IF we elect him, it’s because we found the current situation intolerable. A happy electorate doesn’t reach for an autocrat. They do it because democracy has already failed them.

    The voters of Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, post-Soviet Russia, and Weimar Germany all had more to b!tch about than we do.

    And you acknowledge my point, while missing it.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  107. In the words of our host, “Our electorate is trash.”

    Since he and I benefited heavily from the ancien regime, I can say this: “Our electorate is tired of supporting stuff that benefited me but not themselves.”

    Don’t have a first-tier education?
    Don’t have a professional career?
    Aren’t immune to foreign competition?

    Well, those were your choices. You’re trash.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  108. Since when did you give credence to the Hunter Biden laptop story?

    One, I read the NY Post story right off the bat (and the follow-ups), which is why Rob’s a liar.
    Two, I was skeptical of the story because it involved a disbarred lawyer who defames private citizens and is under indictment, so I was awaiting further confirmation.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  109. And, by the way, the reason we can’t have immigration laws is that Trump told his Congressional toadies to kill the most comprehensive reform in recent memory.

    It was broken 30 years before Trump, and while that WAS “he most comprehensive reform in recent memory” it was also the first one. A day late and a dollar short.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  110. If you want to see a huge rewrite of immigration laws, start the process of mass deportation and make your problem their problem.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  111. Harcourt Fenton Mudd (ed36e6) — 10/25/2024 @ 7:55 pm

    Non-sequitur. None of your comment has anything to do with monetizing an assassination attempt. There are partisans on both sides who’ve made threats and engaged in violence.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  112. Two, I was skeptical of the story because it involved a disbarred lawyer

    After all, Hunter Biden had a great reputation at the time.

    /sarc

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  113. I don’t think that Trump is in any danger of assassination before the election, at least not from the Left. It would remove Harris’ last chances and elect President Vance.

    AFTER the election, I’d have some concern about someone on the Right preferring Vance.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  114. Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/26/2024 @ 7:54 am

    You pushed the 51 intelligence officials garbage hook, line and sinker. You took the bait because you wanted the lie to be true

    NJRob (92b394)

  115. I was awaiting further confirmation.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/26/2024 @ 7:54 am

    So, after further confirmation, you no longer trust the 50+ intelligence officers that lied?

    And you fully accept the Biden lied, on the debate stage, about the laptop?

    BuDuh (5b8a20)

  116. The bill in question spent more on Ukraines border than ours.

    One has nothing to do with the other.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  117. Kevin, then you don’t know how unhinged those on the left truly are.

    NJRob (92b394)

  118. We have had way too much evidence in the last nine years, and getting stronger by the year, that you cannot spell Republican without l-i-a-R.

    nk (6a4429)

  119. Viral video of ripped-up Pennsylvania ballots is fake and Russian-made, intelligence agencies say
    Police and prosecutors in Pennsylvania conducted their own investigation and found that the video had been “fabricated.”

    nk (6a4429)

  120. Kevin, then you don’t know how unhinged those on the left truly are.

    There are plenty of missing hinges among the ideologically-driven. On both all sides.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  121. We know that the Democrats are truthful, honest and full of integrity because they are willing to talk about Trump’s lies.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  122. Besides credibility, what use was Hunter’s laptop to anybody who was not looking for video examples of how to be pleasing to men?

    nk (6a4429)

  123. Nk,

    confirmation of what Hunter’s business partners said were deals where Joe Biden was involved

    NJRob (92b394)

  124. ………FTC going after Tesla…….

    I assume you mean the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” system that failed to identify and killed a pedestrian; and whether that system has been involved in other collisions during reduced roadway visibility conditions.

    Tesla reported the four crashes to NHTSA under an order from the agency covering all automakers. An agency database says the pedestrian was killed in Rimrock, Arizona, in November of 2023 after being hit by a 2021 Tesla Model Y. Rimrock is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Phoenix.

    The Arizona Department of Public Safety said in a statement that the crash happened just after 5 p.m. Nov. 27 on Interstate 17. Two vehicles collided on the freeway, blocking the left lane. A Toyota 4Runner stopped, and two people got out to help with traffic control. A red Tesla Model Y then hit the 4Runner and one of the people who exited from it. A 71-year-old woman from Mesa, Arizona, was pronounced dead at the scene.
    …………….
    Tesla has twice recalled “Full Self-Driving” under pressure from NHTSA, which in July sought information from law enforcement and the company after a Tesla using the system struck and killed a motorcyclist near Seattle.

    The recalls were issued because the system was programmed to run stop signs at slow speeds and because the system disobeyed other traffic laws. Both problems were to be fixed with online software updates.
    ……………
    Musk has said that humans drive with only eyesight, so cars should be able to drive with just cameras………… “Full Self-Driving” has been billed by Musk as capable of driving without human intervention.
    ………………

    What other exemptions should Musk/Tesla receive from the government for being because Musk?

    Rip Murdock (69aa54)

  125. confirmation of what Hunter’s business partners said were deals where Joe Biden was involved

    NJRob (92b394) — 10/26/2024 @ 8:53 am

    And yet even with that “confirmation” the House’s Judiciary and Oversight Committees couldn’t muster enough votes in their own groups to submit impeachment articles for the full House to consider.

    Rip Murdock (e05b50)

  126. How about the Chinese are flying to the Moon and we’re using all our space money for Musk’s low earth orbit door dashes?

    nk (6a4429)

  127. stupid Hitler to Joe Rogan-“You know what? Without speaking to you, I think I know you maybe almost as well as your wife.”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  128. Why did you pick a Nazi as your online name, Klink?

    BuDuh (5b8a20)

  129. Remember that time that stupid Hitler broke the law and used Arlington National Cemetery?

    His SS (stupid sissies), did indeed assault a lady. I wonder where that video is that they are supposed to have that showed them not assaulting her…still waiting.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  130. stupid Hitler on how depressed Abraham Lincoln was on losing his son.

    Donald Trump tells Joe Rogan that Abraham Lincoln was a “very depressed guy,” after he lost his son Tad. There’s only one problem: Tad died 6 years after Lincoln’s death.pic.twitter.com/jarveYFHZo— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 26, 2024

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  131. Kamala picks up key endorsement

    ‘I love Kamala Harris,’ a young Venezuelan man declared as he rested on the side of a highway in southern Mexico last week.

    His belongings were heaped at his feet. Hundreds of fellow migrants stretched out along the roadway in both directions.

    They’re headed for the U.S. and nearly all of them have an opinion about who should be America’s next president.

    ‘Donald Trump, no,’ the Venezuelan man said, shaking his head and dragging his thumb across his throat in a slicing motion.

    He is one of thousands of migrants – from all over the world – joining a new rush traveling north from southern Mexico toward the U.S. border, less than two weeks before the presidential election.

    lloyd (d0f37b)

  132. MAGA warns that there will be a civil war if stupid Hitler loses.

    For the dems, the threat is a comedy punch line, for the MAGAts, it’s an aspiration for bloodshed.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  133. Wife of slain cop warned Tim Walz to stay away from funeral — or she’d ‘escort his ass out of here’

    The widow of a sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down in the line of duty warned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz he was not welcome at the funeral because of his treatment of cops — threatening to kick his “ass out” if he dared to show up.

    Shannon Owen told Kamala Harris’ running mate that he was not welcome at the services for her husband, Josh Owen, an Iraq veteran and Pope County sheriff’s deputy who was shot and killed while working on his 44th birthday in April 2023.

    “You have never been a supporter of the police and I’d just appreciate it if you just don’t come anywhere near my town,” she warned Walz in a recording obtained by the Telegraph.

    “And he’s like, ‘Why is that?’ And I said, ‘Because you defunded the police. You don’t even support the police, why would I want you to come?’” the widow said, stressing that her husband “did not like him at all.”

    The widow warned Walz that if he did show up, she would “make sure that I escort your ass out of here.”

    lloyd (d0f37b)

  134. Any reason we still don’t have a report on the 2 assassins that tried to murder the next President?

    NJRob (92b394)

  135. Welcome to your typical Democrat run city.

    Pop-up clinic hands out needles, pipes to drug users in NW Portland school zone

    “Essentially, our message is that we want them to relocate,” said a neighbor. “Do your outreach. Just don’t do it within 550 feet of a kindergarten.”

    Parents and neighbors are accusing Portland Street Medicine and the Portland People’s Outreach Group, or PPOP, of refusing multiple requests to move their operations out of the school zone. “The way I see it, is they come into our neighborhood,” said another neighbor. “They pour gasoline on a fire. And the fire gets worse. It gets worse every week. It gets worse every month. It gets worse every year.”

    The neighbors say the free giveaway attracts groups of drug dealers and drug users, who are not provided with treatment options – or even sharps containers. “They come in. They drop needles, They drop pipes. And then they leave. And then we’re all here to deal with the next day, or the next hour. And then the drug dealers come in, right after they leave. It’s absurd.”

    The neighbors say local kids and families are forced to navigate around the drug users and discarded paraphernalia throughout the week, as they make their way to school. And one neighbor who asked FOX 12 to not reveal her face says she has become the target of a masked group simply for speaking out.

    “Are they Antifa, are they blackshirts? Are they brownshirts?” The neighbor said. “I don’t know what they care about, because they won’t talk. They just taunt and harass.”

    She says the group raised a banner across from her front door featuring an anarchist symbol.

    “I crossed the street. They followed. We crossed back over the street they followed. They were at all the corners. At least 20 people that I’ve seen.”

    lloyd (d0f37b)

  136. Did I miss a couple of assassination attempts on Harris? That darn lamestream fake news media.

    You can’t be talking about stupid Hitler’s, since there have been thousands of articles about them. BTW, one is dead and one ran away and was arrested, in case your memory hole leaked the info.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  137. Trump assassination 911 calls

    Rip Murdock (dc18a3)

  138. Any reason we still don’t have a report on the 2 assassins that tried to murder the next President?

    NJRob (92b394) — 10/26/2024 @ 11:37 am

    Just a five second internet search away:

    Security failures before first Trump assassination attempt detailed by House task force

    The Secret Service did not properly plan and coordinate with local law enforcement ahead of former President Donald Trump’s July 13 campaign rally, where he was shot at in an assassination attempt, a new report says.

    The interim report (released on October 21, 2024) by the House task force investigating the attempt on Trump’s life that day says that the first phase of the probe “clearly shows a lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners before the rally.”
    ………….

    And

    Independent review finds systemic Secret Service failures enabled first Trump assassination attempt

    An independent, bipartisan review identified “numerous mistakes” by the Secret Service and “specific failures and breakdowns” that enabled the assassination attempt that injured former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.

    The panel, made up of four former senior law enforcement and government officials, also warned (in a letter and report dated October 15, 2024) of another catastrophic security lapse if the Secret Service does not immediately undertake “fundamental reform.”
    …………
    “The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission,” the members added. “Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again.”
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (dc18a3)

  139. Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 10/26/2024 @ 11:45 am

    Touché!

    Rip Murdock (dc18a3)

  140. U.S. Secret Service Releases Summary of Mission Assurance Investigation into the Attempted Assassination of Former President Donald Trump
    …………
    The findings of the investigation have prompted the Secret Service to move into the accountability phase of this process. The Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Integrity are reviewing the findings.
    …………..
    The mission assurance investigation indicates multiple operational and communications failures. This includes the absence of some of the basic tenets of the U.S. Secret Service’s protective methodologies, including operational gaps due to a deficiency of established command and control, lapses in communication, and a lack of diligence by agency personnel.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (dc18a3)

  141. Senate report details Secret Service failures in response to Trump assassination attempt in Butler

    An interim Senate report identifies planning, communications and security failures in the U.S. Secret Service’s efforts during former President Donald Trump’s July rally that “directly contributed” to the assassination attempt against him.

    The 94-page report, released (on September 25, 2024), cited nearly half a dozen problems, including lack of a chain of command, poor coordination with state and local law enforcement, inadequate resources and equipment and a failure to effectively secure the site and ensure the safety of the former president at the Butler, Pennsylvania, incident.
    …………

    NJRob:

    I hope the above links help.

    Rip Murdock (dc18a3)

  142. Because this is how you catch the bad guys people

    Harris Made Intel Agencies Sift Through Years Of Docs Ensuring Similar Adjectives Were Used To Describe Both Genders

    Shortly after her inauguration in 2021, Vice President Kamala Harris initiated a campaign for gender sensitivity across intelligence agencies, spurred by her discovery of allegedly biased language in briefings that described female leaders differently than males.

    Harris ordered a comprehensive review of past intelligence reports to detect gender biases, according to The New York Times. This review revealed some inconsistencies in language, which prompted the implementation of gender sensitivity training for intelligence analysts to ensure fair representation of female leaders in intelligence reports.

    lloyd (d0f37b)

  143. You pushed the 51 intelligence officials garbage hook, line and sinker. You took the bait because you wanted the lie to be true

    You’re lying about that too, Rob, because I’ve hardly said a thing about it, and exactly nothing in the months after they released their statement. I said one time, years later, that they qualified their statement, which was true, but you don’t comprehend plain English, and you or someone else had a temper tantrum about it.
    I’m not the guy who has obsessed about Hunter’s laptop for years, but you MAGAs and FoxNews have.

    I did say this on 10/24/2020, ten days after the story came out…

    It appears that the information on his hard drive is accurate, although it remains to be seen whether it’s been “salted” with fake entries or photos.

    …which is a true statement.

    I also said this on November 3rd, one day before Election Day…

    There should be an over/under for this: If Trump loses (as called by three networks), how many days it will take him to concede. If I were a predicting kinda guy, I’d say “never”.

    Nailed it.

    So, after further confirmation, you no longer trust the 50+ intelligence officers that lied

    I didn’t trust or distrust what they said, I hardly paid attention to it. That’s a MAGA/FoxNews obsession, not mine. Bottom line, they made a political statement that turned out to be not true. Big whoop. It wasn’t the first time, won’t be the last that a political statement is worthless, but they hurt their credibility in not retracting it.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  144. @103

    And, by the way, the reason we can’t have immigration laws is that Trump told his Congressional toadies to kill the most comprehensive reform in recent memory. Far from perfect, but a lot better than anything that’s come close to passing in decades. So until 2024 you could blame the establishment. Today, the problem is Trump’s. And he bought it only so he could cynically promise to fix it. Everyone reading these threads knows that if Trump was president and Congress passed that exact bill, he’d sign it and demand credit for the greatest triumph in immigration law in history.

    lurker (c23034) — 10/26/2024 @ 2:23 am

    That is some ahistorical bs that I’m astounded that you would regurgitate that.

    That Senate Bill was DOA no matter what Trump would say.

    It was:
    a) a bill that sent more money to Ukraine than immigration-anything.
    b) a bill that codifies an “allowance” of illegals migrating into the US.
    c) a bill that gave the POTUS and Secretary an “out” to bypass any limits.
    d) a bill that puts illegals on pathways to citizenship
    e) a bill that fully funds many NGOs to perpetuates illegal migrations.
    f) a bill that gives massive funds for immigration lawyers.

    …and more. Just read the “F’n” bill and stop parroting Democrat talking points. It’s just insipid.

    Anyone saying that bill was a net positive for this nation is either ignorant of what the bill would actually do, or you are outright lying.

    I’ll let you choose.

    whembly (003ea2)

  145. whembly (003ea2) — 10/26/2024 @ 1:09 pm

    Yes, all that. It wasn’t far from perfect. It was a bad bill.

    Actually, the worst provision in the bill was expediting work authorization for asylum seekers. Work authorization is the magnet that brings migrants here, and no one can reasonably say this is a good bill when it further incentivizes bogus asylum claims that take years to process.

    lloyd (d0f37b)

  146. Hey, guess what, there was a bill to fund medicare for seniors, way more money than immigration reform.

    Hey, guess what, there was a bill to fund F35 acquisition, way more money than immigration reform.

    Hey, guess what, there was a bill to fund Israeli support, way more money than immigration reform.

    Hey, guess what, there was a bill to fund ethanol subsidies (terrible fuel), way more money than immigration reform.

    You see, the federal government has to walk and chew gum at the same time. while juggling, reading a book, calculating pi to the 34 digit…all at this same time.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  147. stupid Hitler on how depressed Abraham Lincoln was on losing his son.

    And he was. It just wasn’t Tad, it was Willie who died in 1862.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  148. Just a five second internet search away:

    Trust the Institutions (and the Institutionalists) to think it’s all about them. It is no mystery that the SS is incompetent, bureaucratic and focused on their own power and budgets. What is as yet unknown is the result of any in-depth investigation into the would-be assassins. Assuming there has been such.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  149. It appears that the information on his hard drive is accurate, although it remains to be seen whether it’s been “salted” with fake entries or photos.

    How could this have been more grudging, Paul?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  150. How could this have been more grudging, Paul?

    As they say, mindreading is an intellectually lazy and dishonest practice. If you weren’t around, I wouldn’t have known how I felt.
    The truth is that I was skeptical about the laptop because a sh-tbag like Rudy was involved, after knowing for months his role in hobnobbing with Russian spies and pro-Russian partisans wrt Ukraine. When there was enough confirmation that it was authentic, I acknowledged it, but still had questions about chain of custody. You can take that or leave it.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  151. 133: Hey Col., its not disputed that Abe’s son “William,” did die of Typhoid Fever at the White House while Lincoln was president. So Trump used a different name: big deal: his central point was correct; historically its accurate except for the name.

    Are you really one of those “gotcha” guys that call someone stupid for saying that “2400” people died at Paarl Harbor because it was 2403? What am I saying: of course you are.

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd (ed36e6)

  152. Touché

    BuDuh (59fcd7)

  153. The Coast Guard has a new ship.

    And she’s named after an amazing lady.This is part of her citation for the Medal of Freedom:

    For meritorious service which had aided the United States in the prosecution of the war against the enemy in the Philippine Islands, from June 1942 to February 1945. Upon the Japanese occupation of the Philippine Islands, Mrs. Finch (then Mrs. Florence Ebersole Smith) believing she could be of more assistance outside the prison camp, refused to disclose her United States citizenship. She displayed outstanding courage and marked resourcefulness in providing vitally needed food, medicine, and supplies for American Prisoners of War and internees, and in sabotaging Japanese stocks of critical items…She constantly risked her life in secretly furnishing money and clothing to American Prisoners of War, and in carrying communications for them. In consequence she was apprehended by the Japanese, tortured, and imprisoned until rescued by American troops.

    Jim Miller (434d12)

  154. Jim Miller (434d12) — 10/26/2024 @ 4:28 pm

    Well deserved.

    Rip Murdock (fc3b85)

  155. Too good to check, the hot and lethal Israeli fighter pilot.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  156. Let’s just skip the election:

    ……………
    Reacting to a presentation from a pro-Trump activist who argued that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature could give the state’s electoral votes to Trump due in part to complications from Hurricane Helene, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said, “That makes a lot of sense.”

    “But how do you make the argument in other states? I mean otherwise it looks like it’s just a power play,” Harris said. “With North Carolina, I mean, it’s legitimate. I mean there are a lot of people who aren’t going to get to vote, and it may make the difference in that state.”
    …………..
    (The activist, Ivan Raiklin) cited the Constitution’s Article II Section I Clause II, which says that each state is to appoint its electors. Earlier in his presentation, Raiklin called the process an option when legislators are “obligated to remedy” election issues.

    “How do we enfranchise 25% of the state, re-enfranchise them? You run a joint session by the speaker of the House calling on it, the Senate majority leader calling on it, and then allocating your 16 electoral votes in North Carolina,” Raiklin said.
    …………
    …………(T)he executive director of North Carolina’s election board called the plan a nonstarter. “What’s being proposed by these individuals is actually a violation of law,” said Karen Brinson Bell.

    And despite concerns that hurricane damage could suppress turnout in Western North Carolina, state data suggests that voters have not been widely disenfranchised. In-person voter turnout is up by 0.5% overall compared to 2020 in the 25 counties in the storm’s disaster area, according to a spokesperson for the state’s election board. ……….
    …………..
    North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry told reporters Friday, “It makes no sense whatsoever to prejudge the election outcome and that is a misinformed view of what is happening on the ground in North Carolina. Unfortunately. Bless his heart.”
    …………..
    Raiklin said during his presentation he wanted to give people “options to know what the enemy’s most dangerous course of actions are so that we can come up with strategies… to counter anything they may throw our way.” He suggested other state legislatures could also allocate their electors for Trump regardless of vote counts. He said his plan would guarantee “the reelection of the Republican nominee.”
    ……………

    Rip Murdock (fc3b85)

  157. Good news. It’s looking like a win in Georgia.
    Putin is 0-2 with Moldova-Georgia.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  158. Musk was an illegal immigrant, one of those “invaders”.

    Musk in recent months has amplified the Republican presidential candidate’s claims that “open borders” and undocumented immigrants are destroying America, broadcasting those views to more than 200 million followers on the site formerly known as Twitter, which Musk bought in 2022 and later renamed X.

    What Musk has not publicly disclosed is that he did not have the legal right to work while building the company that became Zip2, which sold for about $300 million in 1999. It was Musk’s steppingstone to Tesla and the other ventures that have made him the world’s wealthiest person — and arguably America’s most successful immigrant.

    Musk and his brother, Kimbal, have often described their immigrant journey in romantic terms, as a time of personal austerity, undeterred ambition and a willingness to flout conventions. Musk arrived in Palo Alto in 1995 for a graduate degree program at Stanford University but never enrolled in courses, working instead on his start-up.

    Leaving school left Musk without a legal basis to remain in the United States, according to legal experts.

    Foreign students cannot drop out of school to build a company, even if they are not immediately getting paid, said Leon Fresco, a former Justice Department immigration litigator.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  159. Putin’s people have threatened Musk personally over Starlink, and Starlink has continuously worked with the US government and Ukraine to block Russian usage.
    Mush was incorrectly said to have blocked a Ukrainian attack on the Black Sea fleet, but Starlink showed that the area was geofenced to block Russian use and when Ukrainian drones entered the geofenced sanctioned area, they disconnected.
    The Pentagon and SpaceX eventually blocked Russia’s use of Starlink satellites but Russia continues to find work arounds.
    Ukraine tried to get Musk to selectively undo geofencing but Musk refused- I think correctly because that would be an act of war by a private US company- again, Putin is said to have told Musk he will hold Musk personally responsible. Musk has proposed that the US buy and license StarShield for Ukraine.
    regarding military use of Starlink vs. Starshield, Musk says Starlink needs to be civilian, and Starshield will be owned the US government and controlled by the US.
    Wikipedia notes “Russia has tried to cut off and jam internet services in Ukraine, including attempts to block Starlink in the region.[10] Russian cyberattacks against Starlink appear to have been ineffective compared to other satellite services.[6][118] Reasons advanced include SpaceX’s speed of response and Starlink engineers’ ability to defeat Russian jamming.[6] The director for electronic warfare at the US Secretary of Defense described the speed of the software response he witnessed to one attack as “eye-watering”.

    Musk believes that Russia should be allowed to keep Crimea for historical reasons, and also feels Luhansk and Donetsk should be allowed to vote on Ukraine or Russia.
    I strongly disagree, but don’t think these positions make Musk a Putin toady. I understand and reject the conclusions, but understand the reasoning. Something will have to give in negotiation and Musk is not unique in his views.
    Many people in the EU and NATO share them. I don’t think a vote works because Russia will cheat, Russia has relocated Ukrainians out “ethnic cleansed” the territories. So no.
    I’d like to see Crimea stay with Ukraine, but its probably going to stay on the trading block and unless Ukraine wins the war with Russia, it isn’t keeping Crimea. Forcing Ukraine to continue to provide water to Crimea is in my view an insult added to an injury that Ukraine is probably going to have to suffer.

    My feelings are that both Musk and Trump are bluntly honest in their positions on Ukraine. I prefer this to the current administration slowly bleeding Ukraine to death. I realize the primary responsibility of the Sullivan Administration is to protect the American people, and understand the majority of Americans don’t care much about Ukraine. In my view, it is short sighted but I also know that a “redline” is not an actual red line until Putin says it is- and he can let stuff go for a year, wake up one day and say “f it”

    steveg (eaf3cf)

  160. Anyone saying that bill was a net positive for this nation is either ignorant of what the bill would actually do, or you are outright lying.

    I’ll let you choose.

    whembly (003ea2) — 10/26/2024 @ 1:09 pm

    Patterico said it. Which is he, ignorant or outright lying? I’ll let you choose.

    lurker (c23034)

  161. The bill in question spent more on Ukraines border than ours. You may support that, but stop lying about what the bill actually did.

    SaveFarris (8b551e) — 10/26/2024 @ 4:50 am

    You should show where I asserted a deliberate falsehood, or retract and apologize. To quote whembly, I’ll let you choose.

    lurker (c23034)

  162. Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/25/2024 @ 4:36 pm

    The fact that the Biden administration is satisfied with the Israeli attacks on Iran is disappointing. It only puts off the inevitable reckoning that Iran must face. Netanyahu should have ignored the US and hit nuclear and oil production targets, as well as command and control centers in Tehran.

    Rip Murdock (fc3b85)

  163. Patterico said it. Which is he, ignorant or outright lying? I’ll let you choose.
    lurker (c23034) — 10/26/2024 @ 6:29 pm

    You said it, but can’t defend it. So you hide behind someone else.

    lloyd (6004d6)

  164. @165

    Anyone saying that bill was a net positive for this nation is either ignorant of what the bill would actually do, or you are outright lying.

    I’ll let you choose.

    whembly (003ea2) — 10/26/2024 @ 1:09 pm

    Patterico said it. Which is he, ignorant or outright lying? I’ll let you choose.

    lurker (c23034) — 10/26/2024 @ 6:29 pm

    That’s up to him.

    whembly (003ea2)

  165. Trump is a threat to democracy or a threat to the democrat party corporate establishment? Speaking of threats to democracy first the d.n.c. tried to prevent RFK jr. from getting the nomination and then tried to prevent Jill Stein from getting on state ballots. Has trump tried to stop libertarian party from getting on the ballot? All the corporate democrats have is abortion and in some states its on the ballot so you can vote to protect abortion rights and still vote for trump like az.

    asset (2def40)

  166. Anyone saying that bill was a net positive for this nation is either ignorant of what the bill would actually do, or you are outright lying.

    I doubt the Murdoch-owned
    WSJ was ignorant or lying.

    steve,
    I question Musk’s knowledge about Crimea, because Putin has no better historical claim over the peninsula than over the country. If anything, there’s less of a claim.
    My problem with Musk’s “peace plan” was that he asked no concessions from Putin.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  167. Rip Murdock (fc3b85) — 10/26/2024 @ 6:34 pm

    We agree, Rip, and it sounds like the Israelis traveled freely through Iranian airspace, without any jets or anti-air missiles to slow them down. They could hit whatever they felt like hitting.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  168. @171

    I doubt the Murdoch-owned
    WSJ was ignorant or lying.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/26/2024 @ 6:49 pm

    The editorial board??

    LOL!

    Those guys? it’s both.

    whembly (003ea2)

  169. All Paul and lurker have are appeals to authority. They have nothing.

    lloyd (6004d6)

  170. All Paul and lurker have are appeals to authority. They have nothing.

    Bullsh-t. The appeal was to their argument in favor, which was neither ignorant nor dishonest.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  171. You said it, but can’t defend it. So you hide behind someone else.

    lloyd (6004d6) — 10/26/2024 @ 6:41 pm

    I don’t have to defend anything, lloyd. And I’m not hiding. I don’t pretend to have read every bill I express an opinion on. Do you? Like most people with limited time, I often rely on trusted secondary sources. Patterico is one of those sources. Since I see eye to eye with him on immigration, and have high confidence in his analytical ability, I’m perfectly comfortable having relied on his opinion of the bill. You can call it whatever you want. I call it having a life.

    But that’s beside the point. As is your wont, you changed the subject to make another personal attack. Whembly asserted that anyone who says that bill was a net positive is either ignorant or lying. Since Patterico is one of the anyones who said that, I merely asked him what that makes Patterico.

    lurker (c23034)

  172. Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/26/2024 @ 7:10 pm

    Behind a paywall. Why not summarize it for us since you’re so in sync with it?

    lloyd (102a5a)

  173. lloyd, why not spend a buck a week and so you can inform yourself, but since I’m a magnanimous guy, some excerpts…

    By any honest reckoning, this is the most restrictive migrant legislation in decades. Previous immigration talks have involved trading security measures for legalizing more immigration. There is little of the latter in this bill—nothing for nearly all of the Dreamers who were brought here illegally as children, no general pathway to citizenship or green cards for most illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

    This is almost entirely a border security bill, and its provisions include long-time GOP priorities that the party’s restrictionists could never have passed only a few months ago. Republicans demanded border measures last year as the price for passing military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Pacific allies. Democrats resisted at first but later agreed to negotiate and have made concessions that are infuriating the open-borders left. Will Republicans now abandon what they claimed to want?

    The bill’s details are worth describing because they’re crucial to reducing the current incentives for migrants to come to the U.S. border. Most important, the bill rewrites the standard and process for granting asylum in the U.S.

    Under current law and practice, migrants cross the border, turn themselves in to border patrol agents, and claim asylum. If they pass the deliberately low bar for claiming “credible fear” of persecution, they are given a date for a future asylum hearing and released into the U.S. The wait can take years, and many never show up. This is the policy that has become known as “catch and release.”

    The new bill raises the bar for that initial border screening for credible fear to a “reasonable possibility” of persecution. Toughening the asylum standard was a priority of the Trump Administration, but a statutory change is needed to make it permanent. Migrants will have to show they couldn’t have moved elsewhere in their own country to avoid persecution before seeking refuge in the U.S.

    The bill also includes an expedited review process for asylum with a stay-or-deport decision within 90-180 days. There is money for 50,000 detention beds while migrants are awaiting review. If there are more migrants arriving than can be detained, the overflow will be enrolled in mandatory alternatives-to-detention programs that use tools such as ankle bracelets or reporting curfews. No more catch and release without consequences.

    The bill also reforms humanitarian parole. Migrants will no long be able to register using the Biden CBP One App to gain free entry at a border crossing and an immediate work permit.

    The bill doesn’t include a cap on the number of parolees in a year, as some Republicans sought. But the tightened rules for claiming parole should reduce the incentives to come, and parole is vital in some cases such as Ukrainians or Afghan allies. One disappointment is that the bill lets the Administration continue its parole programs for Haitian, Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants who apply in their home capitals.

    The bill also includes an emergency provision mandating that the border be closed if the average showing up each day for a week is 5,000. This is to stop the current mess in which border crossings are overwhelmed. If a shutdown is triggered, all migrants will be deported until the number of arrivees falls 25% and the border patrol has regained control. The provision does not mean that migration is unchecked up to 5,000 a day.

    GOP critics of the bill are pointing to the bill’s modest expansion of legal visas—about 50,000 a year for employment and family visas. But these immigrants aren’t pouring over the border willy-nilly. They are following legal rules. Republicans claim to oppose illegal immigration, but this complaint shows that some really oppose all immigration.

    The Senate bill is a major improvement over the status quo, as the Border Patrol union said Monday in endorsing it. The bill would go far to reduce the incentives for illegal migration and provide new tools to the executive branch to control it. Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, who negotiated for the GOP, deserves thanks for digging into the policy nuances and writing a bill that Mr. Trump never came close to getting when he was President.

    Bottom line, putting the bill into law was better than not doing so, especially since no other law that restricts the flow has been passed in this century.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  174. @176

    Patterico is one of those sources. Since I see eye to eye with him on immigration, and have high confidence in his analytical ability, I’m perfectly comfortable having relied on his opinion of the bill. You can call it whatever you want. I call it having a life.

    lurker (c23034) — 10/26/2024 @ 7:32 pm

    I highly encourage you to do some more research then.

    Here are 10 “issues” with that bill:
    1–It codifies Catch/Release. This is pernicious as current federal law dictates that illegal aliens MUST be detained.

    2–Let allows in ‘x’ amount of illegal up to a certain threshold. This “threshold” is a soft cap, as the POTUS or DHS Secretary can ignore.

    3–If provides federal funds for Sanctuary Cities to handle the influx of illegal immigration.

    4–It provides federal funds to NGOs moving and housing illegals.

    5–It provides federal funds for illegal migrants to pay for their lawyers.

    6–It codifies work permits to illegals.

    7–There’s literally nothing of importance to deport illegals.

    8–There was no immediate fundings for things like wall infrastructures, or border patrol staff to actually patrol the border.

    9–It codifies weak asylum screenings.

    10–Lastly, they try to “sneak in” $60B to Ukraine to this “immigration reform” bill.

    I promise you… you’ll realize that you’ve been had if you’ve done your research.

    whembly (003ea2)

  175. Yeah, whembly, I have time neither to read nor engage in a lengthy point by point debate on a 34,000 word bill that will never see the light of day. I’m content to rely on credible secondary sources for my summary and analysis. And no offense, but as between you, lloyd and SaveFarris, on the one hand, and Patterico on the other, I’ll trust the summary and analysis of Patterico.

    Here’s what I will say. I’ve seen most of the items on your list, here and elsewhere in the MAGA mediasphere. Even assuming, arguendo, the accuracy of all your points, they don’t make the argument that the bill isn’t still a net improvement over the status quo. And as for Item 10, IMO that’s a feature, not a bug.

    lurker (c23034)

  176. @180

    Even assuming, arguendo, the accuracy of all your points, they don’t make the argument that the bill isn’t still a net improvement over the status quo.

    lurker (c23034) — 10/26/2024 @ 8:24 pm

    The thing you and Mr. Frey is missing from the analysis of the bill… is that there’s no teeth to force a wayward executive to follow the law.

    Even worse than that, there were specific provisions that allowed the POTUS and DHS secretary to ignore the limits in that bill.

    So, no, it’s NOT a net improvement. Far from it.

    Instead, explain to me why you’re harping on this Senate bill, yet you don’t give the same sort of support for the HOUSE’s own immigration bill in HR 2?

    Please explain your dichotomy here…

    whembly (003ea2)

  177. @178 Paul, thank you. I was a long time subscriber to WSJ print edition until they decided to go full Chamber of Commerce mode. I don’t send money to any of the propaganda mills, left or right. But thanks, I’m very well informed. (I knew Biden was demented and the laptop was real before most folks.)

    Anyway, the WSJ doesn’t address what I noted previously about expedited work authorization. It is they who are not well informed.

    lloyd (c98b48)

  178. @176

    As is your wont, you changed the subject to make another personal attack.

    Ridiculous.

    lloyd (c98b48)

  179. Instead, explain to me why you’re harping on this Senate bill, yet you don’t give the same sort of support for the HOUSE’s own immigration bill in HR 2?

    Please explain your dichotomy here…

    whembly (003ea2) — 10/26/2024 @ 8:32 pm

    Great question. HR2 is the only bill that passed a chamber. It was DOA in the Senate, and the folks blaming private citizen Trump won’t blame Senate Leader Schumer. Says it all about their partisanship.

    lloyd (d006b9)

  180. Instead, explain to me why you’re harping on this Senate bill, yet you don’t give the same sort of support for the HOUSE’s own immigration bill in HR 2?

    Please explain your dichotomy here…

    whembly (003ea2) — 10/26/2024 @ 8:32 pm

    There’s no dichotomy and I’m not harping. If you’ll recall how this began, I only brought up Trump killing the Senate bill to highlight the irony of Kevin’s claim that the inability to pass immigration laws somehow excused electing an autocratic thug. If Trump had killed HR2 I’d have mentioned that too. The only relevant point of comparison between the Senate Bill and HR2 is that the former would have passed but for Trump, and the latter had zero chance of passing under any circumstances.

    lurker (c23034)

  181. Says it all about their partisanship.

    Sure, lloyd. When Chuck Schumer runs for president on a platform of passing laws he’s gone out of his way to kill, I’ll be sure to criticize him too.

    As for the richness of you accusing anyone of partisanship… well there just isn’t enough Lipitor.

    lurker (c23034)

  182. lurker (c23034) — 10/26/2024 @ 9:25 pm

    It wasn’t an accusation. In contrast to others, I’ve never tried to hide my partisan leanings.

    lloyd (d006b9)

  183. I appreciate your candid admission, but that doesn’t make your assertion of anyone else’s partisanship less of an accusation. As for me, my preferred presidential candidate was a Republican. He’s also the only candidate of either party who got any of my money. Also, as I mentioned here recently, I’ve voted against Kamala Harris in three general elections. If reluctantly supporting her now in one election against someone who tried to overthrow our democratic system of governance makes me partisan, then partisan doesn’t mean what I thought it did. Either way, I challenge any Trump supporter who claims to be less partisan than I am to disclose which 2024 national Democrat they contributed to — no, RFK Jr doesn’t count — and how many times they’ve voted against Trump in a general.

    lurker (c23034)

  184. That said, your admission does acquit you of hypocrisy, so to the extent I implied otherwise, I retract and apologize.

    lurker (c23034)

  185. Reacting to a presentation from a pro-Trump activist who argued that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature could give the state’s electoral votes to Trump due in part to complications from Hurricane Helene, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said, “That makes a lot of sense.”

    And yet you defend the Popular Vote Compact.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  186. The truth is that I was skeptical about the laptop because a sh-tbag like Rudy was involved, after knowing for months his role in hobnobbing with Russian spies and pro-Russian partisans wrt Ukraine.

    But, not to beat a dead horse, you were OK with the Steele Memorandum that Hillary was flogging. Yeah, I can understand not much caring what Rudy was saying, but it’s almost like your problem is content-based.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  187. Trump is a threat to democracy or a threat to the democrat party corporate establishment

    It certainly has gotten shrill. When people you don’t particularly like, and whose policies you oppose, all all melting down over *Trump*, what does that encourage?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  188. The thing is that Trump talks about foreigners coming over here to steal American jobs when he, himself, twice married and had children with foreigners while the country is full of childless cat ladies crying themselves to sleep every night for lack of a husband and children to make them complete.

    It’s just plain heartless, that’s what it is. Callous too.

    nk (d12095)

  189. The other thing, comrades, is that the discussion you all had above was very like the back-and-forth Cruz and Rubio had in the first Republican primary debate in 2016. Christie called them out for it — “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin”, he called it and he was right — and Trump went on to entirely preempt the issue and eat their lunch.

    Immigration law has more irrationalities built in to begin with than the Arkham asylum. Nobody can make sense of it. But people have fences, walls, doors, and windows. They understand “Knock Before Entering”, “No Trespassing”, “Curb Your Dog”. Border security!

    nk (28f2f9)

  190. Which is not to say that I would choose a rabid Pomeranian to guard my house.

    nk (6c45b4)

  191. https://x.com/JohnEkdahl/status/1850369875245466060?

    This is all NeverTrump and the left have. Badgering and hectoring those who don’t submit.

    NJRob (c52d84)

  192. Rob, can you give some context for that tweet? I couldn’t understand what they were saying or who they were, or what point you’re trying to make.

    Nate (cfb326)

  193. Reacting to a presentation from a pro-Trump activist who argued that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature could give the state’s electoral votes to Trump due in part to complications from Hurricane Helene, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said, “That makes a lot of sense.”

    And yet you defend the Popular Vote Compact.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/27/2024 @ 12:19 am

    I have never done so; I just don’t think that it’s as big a threat actually being implemented as you believe. It’s has probably reached the maximum number of the states in favor; the states that haven’t approved it are those that would most affected by eliminating the Electoral College and thus are unlikely to vote in favor of it. And it certainly wouldn’t survive either Congressional or Supreme Court approval. At least what Ivan Raiklin proposes in North Carolina is constitutional (if against the longstanding grain of how electors are named in every other state.)

    I’m just not as emotional about it this issue as you. Of all the important issues facing this country, this ranks about number 5,275,876.

    The only time I spoke in favor of it was a joke about how I would like to see California be forced to award its electoral votes under the compact to someone like Donald Trump. 🤣🤣😉😉

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  194. Here’s a good suggestion.

    Joseph Kim thinks Congress should reauthorize the North Korean Human Rights Act, which made such a difference in his life:

    I was one of the first North Koreans to enter the United States as a refugee under the North Korean Human Rights Act (NKHRA), which Bush signed into law 20 years ago, on Oct. 18, 2004. I had escaped across a frozen river into China, where I slept in the mountains and went into towns begging for food to survive. I was rescued by an organization called Liberty in North Korea, and thanks to the NKHRA, I have been able to build a life in freedom and cultivate a deep appreciation for the country that welcomed me.

    Jim Miller (e1f1fd)

  195. Who is John Ekdahl, aside from being a:

    Pickup truck enthusiast. Project Orca historian. Logan Act Scholar. Dirty Dancing aficionado. President of the Lou Diamond Phillips fan club.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  196. It’s wrong of me, but when I saw Ivan Raitkin’s name, I was immediately reminded of all those Ivan/Boris jokes from the Cold War.

    For example, this one from 1987:

    Ivan: “You know, I think this must be the richest country in the world.”

    Boris: “Why do you say that?”

    Ivan: “Because for 70 years everyone has been stealing from it — and there is still stuff left to steal!”

    Jim Miller (e1f1fd)

  197. Whenbly, at 181: there are no longer any teeth to force any executive to follow any law. The supreme Court has seen to that.

    The law may claim it has teeth, but since the president can’t be hauled into court or punished for breaking the law, the potemkin teeth are meaningless.

    aphrael (db455b)

  198. Schadenfreude alert [emphasis mine]:

    L.A. Times owner’s decision not to endorse in presidential race sparks resignations, questions

    Members of the editorial board protested that the non-endorsement was out of step with recent precedent at the newspaper, which has picked a presidential candidate in every election since 2008, and with The Times’ previous editorial position, which has been ardently opposed to former President Trump.

    Editorials Editor Mariel Garza resigned Wednesday as a result of the decision. Editorial board members Robert Greene and Karin Klein tendered their resignations from The Times the following day. Greene won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 2021 for his writing about criminal justice reform.

    “How could we spend eight years railing against Trump and the danger his leadership poses to the country and then fail to endorse the perfectly decent Democrat challenger — who we previously endorsed for the U.S. Senate?” Garza wrote Wednesday in her letter of resignation to Times Executive Editor Terry Tang. “The non-endorsement undermines the integrity of the editorial board and every single endorsement we make, down to school board races.”

    “I’m disappointed by the editorial [board] members resigning the way they did. But that’s their choice, right?” Soon-Shiong said in the interview.

    The medical technology billionaire, who bought The Times in 2018, posted on the social media site X on Wednesday that he believed he had offered his opinion writers a reasonable alternative to a traditional endorsement. He said they should “draft a factual analysis of all the POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE policies by EACH candidate during their tenures at the White House, and how these policies affected the nation.”

    “In addition, the Board was asked to provide their understanding of the policies and plans enunciated by the candidates during this campaign and its potential effect on the nation in the next four years,” he added. “In this way, with this clear and non-partisan information side-by-side, our readers could decide who would be worthy of being President for the next four years.”

    “The Editorial Board chose to remain silent,” Soon-Shiong contended in his X post, “and I accepted their decision.”

    The three journalists who resigned said they were not silent but, rather, disagreed with the owner’s proposal.

    In a statement Saturday to the New York Times, the owner’s daughter said her family made “the joint decision” not to endorse in the presidential race. “As a citizen of a country openly financing genocide, and as a family that experienced South African Apartheid, the endorsement was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children,” Nika Soon-Shiong said in the statement.

    Patrick Soon-Shiong responded Saturday, saying his daughter did not play a role in the endorsement.

    “Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion, as every community member has the right to do. She does not have any role at the L.A. Times, nor does she participate in any decision or discussion with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times,” he said in a statement.

    As the country turns right, so do those attempting to sell them news and opinion. It’s rather overdue, especially at the LA Times.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  199. Rip Murdock (b6dafc) — 10/27/2024 @ 8:52 am

    Rip, you defend the rights of states to design their own electoral votes schemes. The NPVC is one such and you defend their right to do that. But not, it seems, for the legislature to do what the Constitution EXPLICITLY allows them to do — have the Legislature directly award the votes.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  200. It’s just plain heartless, that’s what it is. Callous too.

    Better the childless cat ladies cry themselves to sleep over no husband (although that assumes that husband children) than they have Donald Trump as a husband.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  201. * husband (symbol for bidirectional implication) children

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  202. Whenbly, at 181: there are no longer any teeth to force any executive to follow any law. The supreme Court has seen to that.

    Then amend the Constitution. What would you have it say?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  203. And it certainly wouldn’t survive either Congressional or Supreme Court approval.

    Just like Obamacare wouldn’t. Or the New Deal, now a forgotten memory.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  204. Whenbly, at 181: there are no longer any teeth to force any executive to follow any law. The supreme Court has seen to that.

    Impeachment is the only constitutional remedy. The Supreme Court only said that the President couldn’t be prosecuted for lawful acts; and a sitting President has always been immune from prosecution (at least since 1973). No Justice Department would indict their own President anyway.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  205. But, not to beat a dead horse, you were OK with the Steele Memorandum that Hillary was flogging.

    You’re lying, Kevin. Stop lying.

    I said little about the Steele reports. Do you know why? Because way too much of it was unverified, so I steered around most of the discussions. Do you know who talked the most about Steele? Sammy, by a long shot, and a distant 2nd was narciso or shipwreckedcrew.

    I did say a couple things, like this, in response to a badly worded question by narciso…

    I’m not sure how Fusion GPS comes into this because the topic is about the secret meeting between a Putin operative and three of Trump’s inner circle. In either case, I’m not really able to unpack your bad grammar into something that makes sense. As far as I know, Steele didn’t travel to Russia as part of his assignment, and his sources are still unknown; they can only be guessed at.

    …and I linked to a Newsweek piece which discussed the portions that were verified, and that’s about it.

    Patterico wrote commenting rules that folks here should be following, especially you and Rob because you violated tham, and he emphasized this part:

    That leads me to the key principle: DO NOT MISCHARACTERIZE OTHER PEOPLE’S POSITIONS. Also, do not mischaracterize other people’s positions. One more thing: do not mischaracterize other people’s positions.

    Few things are more corrosive to honest discussion than constantly having to say: “That’s not what I said. Nope, that’s not what I said either. Nope, you’re still misrepresenting what I said.”

    If you’re going to make an accusation, bring a quote or link, not this bullsh-t that you and Rob are pulling. Y’all should apologize and take it back.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  206. You’re lying, Kevin. Stop lying.

    Everyone is lying Paul, except you, the font of truth.

    My recollection of your posts, tone-wise, is that you are monolithically against anything Trump ever said or did — or anything that seemed to help him — and supportive of any attack, denegration, rumor or innuendo that harms him. In short, a extreme anti-Trump partisan. “More in sorrow than anger”, of course. You always hope to vote for the Republican but sadly never can.

    Maybe I am, in some exact circumstance, wrong, but generally I have your number, just as I have lloyd’s.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  207. If you’re going to make an accusation, bring a quote or link

    Sorry, but I have no interest in searching through your 10,000 posts all saying much the same thing.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  208. Rip, you defend the rights of states to design their own electoral votes schemes. The NPVC is one such and you defend their right to do that. But not, it seems, for the legislature to do what the Constitution EXPLICITLY allows them to do — have the Legislature directly award the votes.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/27/2024 @ 9:36 am

    As you say, the Constitution allows states to decide how to allocate their electors, it doesn’t need any defense from me. I would say the constitutionality of the NPVC is an open question, however. If it ever gets as far as an approval vote in Congress, I really don’t think it will pass.

    You must have missed my saying:

    At least what Ivan Raiklin proposes in North Carolina is constitutional (if against the longstanding grain of how electors are named in every other state.)

    It would start a long and slippery slope, but is certainly constitutional.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  209. Everyone is lying Paul, except you, the font of truth.

    If you’re going to accuse me of lying, Kevin, then back it up. Otherwise, take some responsibility and stop your lying.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  210. Also, Kevin, I have supported some of Trump’s positions, so “monolithically” is dishonest on your part. Pick on someone else, asshole.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  211. Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/27/2024 @ 9:36 am

    The seven swing states would certainly not approve the NPVC, they would lose all the attention (and revenue) they get every four years.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  212. Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/27/2024 @ 9:36 am

    As you say, the Constitution allows states to decide how to allocate their electors……

    Both Congress and the Supreme Court have established limits on state discretion in appointing electors, see here.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  213. Wow. Why would anyone want to watch all of the inter-personal dysfunction on grand display here?

    It really is displaying some people at their worst moments. Too much bad-faith, too much misinformation, too much what-abouts and weird rationalizations, and too much partisan dead-brain. I have no interest in being called a liar, stupid, a mobey, TDS deranged, and a liberal. I don’t see enough benefit to put up with the abuse or, more importantly, watch it inflicted on others. I’ve tried…but the level of venom generally is just not something I want to be associated with. RedState became untenable; Volokh has a high noise to signal ratio; here, it’s like being in a home where the parents argue and malign each other continuously. It’s tedious…and in some ways, just sad. It’s lost its charm if that was ever part of it.

    I have no need to manage other people’s worst selves and try to constrain my own for 30 minutes of my day.

    Patrick has seemed to draw the same conclusion.

    The site is just a bunch of people that despise each other and say anything to show it. I don’t see it good for my mood or my understanding of politics. I don’t need an echo chamber but I do want a good-faith or better-faith chamber. This ain’t that. Good luck to the good ones here….

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  214. Fittingly my final comment here is in moderation 🙂

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  215. AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 10/27/2024 @ 11:28 am

    Sorry to that you’re leaving-you are one of the better writers here.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  216. AJ, I am stumped on whether or not you believe that there were 60 million Nazis in Germany in 1923.

    BuDuh (59fcd7)

  217. Noooooo …. Don’t leave AJ !

    Your comments have helped shape my decision on how to vote!

    I truly appreciate your comments here. Thanks for writing them.

    Chris (3d25b0)

  218. Good news. It’s looking like a win in Georgia.
    Putin is 0-2 with Moldova-Georgia.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/26/2024 @ 5:07 pm

    Premature call. Did you think Putin would allow a free election in a country on his border and which Russia has invaded and partially occupied?

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  219. Also, Kevin, I have supported some of Trump’s positions

    Link to a post in the last 3 months where you do this unequivocally.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  220. The seven swing states would certainly not approve the NPVC, they would lose all the attention (and revenue) they get every four years.

    They said this about small states, for much the same reasons, but that didn’t stop 5-vote New Mexico when the Dems got full control.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  221. Both Congress and the Supreme Court have established limits on state discretion in appointing electors, see here.

    Oh, I don’t disagree and since the Civil War, no state legislature has even chosen among slates of electors, let along picked them themselves. That 160-year pattern represents the transfer of that power onto the citizens of each state. I believe that any attempt by a state to recover that power should be held invalid. How the state subdivides the decision is their business, so long as Baker v Carr is satisfied.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  222. Only the best people.

    A man in Texas who wore a MAGA hat to a 2024 presidential election early voting location was arrested after he punched an election worker who asked him to remove the hat.

    Jesse Lutzenberger, 63, was arrested Thursday and has been charged with injury to an elderly person, according to an incident report from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

    According to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, Lutzenberger initially complied with a request made by the 69-year-old early voting worker. The worker advised him that wearing political apparel to a voting location is illegal under Texas law, ABC News reports.

    Once he had finished voting, Lutzenberger put his hat back on, but was allegedly lingering inside the voting building. The worker again let him know that it was “unacceptable” and tried to escort him from the building.

    Once the pair were near the doors of the voting location, Lutzenberger allegedly threw “an arm back toward the victim,” according to Salazar. The sheriff said the incident was captured on a surveillance video.

    “The victim seemed to push off of the suspect. At that point, the suspect then turned and threw several punches right at the face of the victim.” the sheriff said.

    Salazar said the election worker had “marks on his face” but was otherwise unharmed.

    Lutzenberger was arrested and has been charged with a third-degree felony. He is being held in jail on $30,000 bond.

    Salazar said an investigation will determine if Lutzenberger can be charged with assaulting an election worker.

    Twenty-one states prohibit the wearing of political or campaign apparel in or immediately around voting locations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    Salazar noted that there had been other minor incidents at polling locations since early voting began, and warned voters not to let their emotions and political views land them in prison.

    “Look, nothing here is worth getting hurt for going to jail for. This election is going to happen one way or another. One side is going to win, one side is going to lose. That’s just the nature of things,” he said. “But there’s no sense picking up a criminal case, picking up a criminal history — or injuring or even killing somebody in the name of politics. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  223. Only the best people.

    This woman harassed poll workers for doing their jobs and UPHOLDING THE LAW and JD Vance calls her a patriot. I truly cannot understand the amount of people supporting this ticket. I am just about speechless. And I’m tired of mincing words. This is not okay. It’s just not. pic.twitter.com/h1MjsZ9EEJ— Taylor Schumann (@taylorsschumann) October 26, 2024

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  224. High class “suck my c**t”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  225. Why is AJ leaving?

    Time123 (4efb79)

  226. Full photo of “suck my c**t” lady.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  227. Why is AJ leaving?

    @219

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  228. Link to a post in the last 3 months where you do this unequivocally.

    Not until you apologize and retract. It’s ironic, that you can’t find a single quote of mine that supports your claim, yet her you are, demanding that I come up with a cite. Hard pass.

    Sorry, but I have no interest in searching through your 10,000 posts all saying much the same thing.

    That’s exactly why your personal attack is so slimy, that your laziness at finding a quote somehow gives you license or permission to make sh-t up.

    You don’t have like the person or his opinion (obviously you don’t like mine and I’m not a fan of yours) but, if you’re going to challenge a person’s point of view, you should at least at minimum have the basic courtesy of quoting what the person actually said, which was why Patterico set up the commenting rules in the first place.

    If I’m a little pissed off, there’s good reason after two personal attacks on me in a single thread. It’s all the more reason to join AJ and get the hell outta here.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  229. ……….so long as Baker v Carr is satisfied.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/27/2024 @ 12:36 pm

    Baker v Carr has nothing to do with how a state allocates its electors. It has to do with redistricting and reappointment.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  230. reappointment=reapportionment.

    Rip Murdock (b6dafc)

  231. AJ,

    I am sorry to hear of your decision and wish you would reconsider. Consider what Chris posted above:

    Noooooo …. Don’t leave AJ !

    Your comments have helped shape my decision on how to vote!

    I truly appreciate your comments here. Thanks for writing them.

    Chris (3d25b0) — 10/27/2024 @ 12:03 pm

    This is why is so important to have commenters like you on board. We are living in truly insane times and with the election just two weeks away, it will get worse. But as it gets worse, I believe that’s when we need to have more clarity, insightful comments, and debate. You would be doing readers a disservice by letting a few push you out . Also, for me personally, it’s encouraging to have another like-minded voter on board here. Just know that you will be missed. It’s tough going for those of us here who want nothing to do with Trump.

    Dana (5c83a2)

  232. For those of you who thought that stupid Hitler’s Madison Square Gardens copy of the last America First Nazi rally would not confirm stupid Hitler’s bonavides in the movement, probably won’t watch for fear of the worst being confirmed.

    The worst is confirmed.

    “Harris and her pimp handlers will destroy our country.”

    “I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”

    “These Latinos love making babies, there’s no pulling out, they c*m inside, just like they do to our country” other than being horribly racist, I thought these folks are super pro-life. Reality, this group has no pro-life stance, they are in MSG for purely the same reasons as the last America First rally there.

    stupid Hitler’s childhood friend David Rem called Harris “the anti-Christ.”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  233. If you want to compare and contrast the two events.

    In the first one, 100k protesters out front, and it destroyed the America First movement for 80 years at least.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  234. AJ – There are regular commenters here that I admire for their civility, intelligence, and grasp of issues.

    You are one of them.

    (To everyone: Our enemies in Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and elsewhere, love it when Americans spend time insulting each other.)

    Jim Miller (b8c10e)

  235. > Rip, you defend the rights of states to design their own electoral votes schemes. The NPVC is one such and you defend their right to do that. But not, it seems, for the legislature to do what the Constitution EXPLICITLY allows them to do — have the Legislature directly award the votes.

    Sure.

    The states pursuing the NPVC are attempting to align the outcome with the will of the national population *as a whole*.

    A state allocating electoral votes by legislative fiat has decided to *override the voters with their own preferences*.

    Constitutionally the latter is allowed. But it’s profoundly undemocratic and, in my view, absolutely immoral.

    aphrael (7162c2)

  236. MAGA=Bund

    We, the German-American Bund, organized as American citizens with American ideals and determined to protect ourselves, our homes, our wives and children against the slimy conspirators who would change this glorious republic into the inferno of a Bolshevik paradise.

    Bund members, our boys and girls, fellow white Americans and other non-parasitic guests.

    The spirit which opened the West and built our country was the spirit of the militant white man.

    American lawmakers generations ago promulgated laws forbidding intermarriage between white and black, yellow, brown and red inhabitants. We have Jim Crow laws and a complicated system of immigration quotas. It has, then, always been very much American to protect the Aryan character of this nation.

    We are not preaching race hatred but race recognition and the will to the preservation of our own race.

    American lawmakers generations ago promulgated laws forbidding intermarriage between white and black, yellow, brown and red inhabitants. We have Jim Crow laws and a complicated system of immigration quotas. It has, then, always been very much American to protect the Aryan character of this nation.

    Wake up, you Aryans, Nordics and Christians, to demand that our government shall be returned to the American people who founded it.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  237. At this point, the racism doesn’t even matter anymore.

    “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico”

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  238. From Hitler’s bunker:

    Arynne Wexler
    @ArynneWexler

    There is a woman in a full on burqa at the Trump rally

    Dave Rubin
    @RubinReport
    4h
    And right in front of her is a guy with a yarmulke!

    BuDuh (93715c)

  239. Verband nationaldeutscher Juden

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  240. It primarily attracted members from the anticommunist middle class, small business owners, self-employed professionals such as physicians and lawyers, national conservatives, and nationalist World War I veterans, many of whom believed that Nazi antisemitism was only a rhetorical tool used to “stir up the masses.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  241. At some point it isn’t a parallel, it’s just the same thing.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  242. Before the Nazi’s deported hundreds of thousands and killed millions in camps, they hadn’t yet.

    There’s a reason that Killing Baby Hitler is a well known thought experiment.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  243. There’s a way to avoid all of that, vote against Trump, or don’t vote for him at least, stay on the couch.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  244. stupid Hitler today

    Am ersten Tag werde ich das größte Abschiebeprogramm der amerikanischen Geschichte starten und die Verbrecher rausholen“, fuhr er fort. Ich werde jede Stadt retten, die besetzt und erobert wurde, und wir werden diese bösartigen und blutrünstigen Verbrecher ins Gefängnis stecken und sie so schnell wie möglich aus unserem Land vertreiben. Die Vereinigten Staaten sind jetzt ein besetztes Land, aber bald wird es kein besetztes Land mehr sein. Am 5. November 2024, in neun Tagen, ist in Amerika der Tag der Befreiung.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  245. The states pursuing the NPVC are attempting to align the outcome with the will of the national population *as a whole*.

    According to what count? Why do you think a vote in a state that has strict voting requirements is the same as a vote in a state with exceptionally loose ones, and aren’t you going to have a race-to-the-bottom there? Suppose Mississippi allows votes to be bought. Or Vermont allows mere assertion of citizenship with no name or address required?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  246. At some point it isn’t a parallel, it’s just the same thing.

    At some point it isn’t a parallel, it’s just different.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  247. “I think we can do at least $2 trillion,I mean, at the end of the day, you’re being taxed. You’re being taxed. All government spending is taxation. So whether it’s direct taxation or all government spending, it either becomes inflation or it’s direct taxation.”

    Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook.”

    That would be a third of the total government spending.

    Delete the DoD and Social Security.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  248. There’s a way to avoid all of that, vote against Trump, or don’t vote for him at least, stay on the couch.

    Perhaps it’s how you bring it about by making sure that the fire next time is far hotter. The TEA Party doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?

    The US has problems, but we are not in anything like the condition of Weimar. But maybe we shouldn’t kick the can down that road any longer.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  249. Then why does MAGA repeat the Bund? They obviously think that selling the first America First is a winning proposition.

    And folks downplaying the message are actively propagating it. Sometimes just believe what they are saying.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  250. That would be a third of the total government spending.

    Lots of things to cut before we get there. Merging all federal pension funds and beneficiaries into Social Security and Medicare would save a lot. Deleting most of the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce, Labor, Agriculture and the Interior and spinning off the needed parts (e.g. USPTO) to stand-alone or state-level agencies would also save. Consolidating the 57 varieties of federal police and other agency duplication would be good.

    But let’s not think about it, let’s just scaremonger.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  251. It would save $282B if you just stopped them 100%, and then…Now, find the other $1.8T

    Your suggestion is a rounding error, but let’s just not think about it. Because it’s easier than trying to figure out how to defend the words.

    Words have meaning, so does math.

    If you’re disregarding all of the words that the Bund says, and all the math they use, and memory holing the actual performance, then sure, they’re great.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  252. It’s almost like you can look up the budgets before throwing out talking points, highlighting the stupidity of the talking point.

    Don’t forget, you have to add in between $100B and $200B to deport a million people a year.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  253. Trump: Unlike us here tonight, we have an intelligent group of people. You have a man that doesn’t need teleprompters pic.twitter.com/0AV7P8pD7B— Acyn (@Acyn) October 25, 2024

    It’s funny every time he reads this from the teleprompter.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  254. Well, if you can’t cut a little bit, let’s just spend more because it doesn’t matter.

    Trump’s plan for eliminating the income tax are silly, but that doesn’t mean that Harris’s plans are any better. Instead of cutting, she’d double all the taxes by soaking all the rich. And in her next breath she talks about all the wonderful new programs. Not one word about cutting the deficit.

    Nor about the fiscal effect of soaking the rich. Persecuting the job creators leads to “bad luck.”

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  255. stupid Hitler’s campaign released an ad today with the voice over talking about how the country has went to hell under Biden…using video of things that happened under stupid Hitler’s time in the White House. Pretty typical.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  256. Don’t forget, you have to add in between $100B and $200B to deport a million people a year.

    It costs $200,000 to deport someone? Show your work.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  257. If it DOES cost $200K to deport someone…

    1) The wall is far cheaper.
    2) So is using deadly force to stop the influx.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  258. But, again, whatabout is irrelevant.

    How about the stupid Hitler’s rally, please explain how all of these speakers saying the dumbest, most racist, ideas are actually good.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  259. A)Do you own f-ing homework. Your lack of knowledge is your problem.

    Pointer, look at how many ICE employees there are and how many would be needed to that number.

    Also, look up what it costs per person just to house and repatriate them.

    $114 billion represents a startling sum of money, it is only the direct cost of physically deporting unauthorized immigrants. The cost to the overall economy would likely be far more. The conservative American Action Forum, or AAF, has argued that it would take 20 years to accomplish a mass deportation program, with a full cost between $420 billion and $620 billion.

    It’s pretty typical Bund, wave your hand at details and make up some numbers. “Now, you do the work, I can’t be bothered”

    Since you named stupid Hitler, this is the last one.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  260. AJ,

    It’s axiomatic that bad commenters drive out good ones, so more sympathetic with your exasperation I could not be. It’s why I comment here so sporadically, and even more so at Volokh, where I recall your invaluable contributions in the halcyon pre-Washington Post days. But I hope you’ll re-consider making this a total, final break. It’s not your job to save a comment culture you believe has lost its way, but longstanding comment communities are worth preserving, and they’re in danger of being plowed under by the toxic belligerents. As a fellow Burkean, I hope you’ll agree it’s worth occasionally chipping in to prevent that from happening.

    lurker (c23034)

  261. De gustibus non est disputandum.

    I agree with Raymond Chandler that all reading is escapism, the escape being from one’s own thoughts, and for most of my life I have been reading “worse” stuff than the comments here on an almost daily basis.

    But if you don’t like it, you don’t like it, and that nobody can dispute except you.

    Me, I have the blocking script with a couple or three noms on it. Most of the time I don’t use it. Occasionally, I am in no mood to be annoyed so I turn it on preemptively. Other times I turn it on as a substitute for a retort.

    Overall, I like this site, warts and all, and I would miss it if I stayed away.

    nk (4fb67d)

  262. BTW, during stupid Hitler’s term, he managed to deport 365k people. So 3 times as many people in 1 year would require ICE to process 12X the volume. So besides the many billions in pure logistical costs, you have to had the many billions in creating another agency roughly the size of the Marine Corp, at least 100k people.

    BTWbtw, Stephen Miller says just reassign the DEA and HSA to do it, because they don’t have a job today, still wouldn’t hit half the needed bodies.

    Well, activate the National Guard, you have to pay them active duty pay, more money.

    BTWbtwbtw, we’ve identified closing a bunch of agencies whole cloth, identified by Kevin, we have to add in the new agency, so of the magic $2T, we’ve identified…checks the math…carry the one…none, none savings.

    It’s like the Bund just makes up the numbers.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  263. (267 continued)
    Trump is an unpleasant subject but it’s a race between Lady Justice and Father Time as to who will take the first bite out of his wrinkled orange ass and no reason (as far as I can see) to give up Patterico’s.

    nk (4fb67d)

  264. David French, on what’s he learned the last nine years…

    I could write a book about the lessons I’ve learned, but this is a column, so I’ll be brief. Here are four things I wish my 2024 self could travel back and say to 2015 me, a much more naïve writer for National Review.

    Community is more powerful than ideology. If you came of age politically during the Reagan Revolution, you thought of the Republican Party as fundamentally and essentially ideological. We were the party of limited government, social conservatism and a strong national defense, and these ideological lines were ruthlessly enforced. Even after Reagan left office, ideological heresy against Reaganism was punished with the dreaded label “RINO” — Republican in name only.

    In fact, that’s a prime reason so many conservative writers dismissed the Trump phenomenon out of hand. We were all familiar with the unyielding ideological litmus test. Many of us remembered the slings and arrows directed at anyone who stepped out of line. The story we told ourselves behind closed doors was the story we told in public — the Republican Party was a party of ideas and those ideas defined the party.

    Right until they didn’t. Trump has changed the equation entirely. He’s a big-government, isolationist libertine who — despite nominating half the justices who helped overturn Roe — has made the G.O.P. platform more pro-choice than it’s been in almost 50 years. Not only has he not been punished for this ideological transformation, but devotion to him is the new Republican loyalty test.

    Don’t think for a moment this is because he won an intelligent ideological argument. When he gained a critical mass of support, millions of Republicans faced a stark choice: ideology or community?

    Many of us who dissented from Trump on ideological grounds were stunned at the sheer intensity of the blowback. It soon became clear that even some friends viewed the debate less as a disagreement and more as a betrayal. How could you break ranks with us? How could you provide political ammunition to them?

    I thought ideology defined the community, but the community existed regardless of the ideology, and breaking with the community was the far graver sin.

    And so Republicans could cling to their ideas and face the wrath of their neighbors, or they could conform, keep their friends and comfort themselves with the notion that no matter what Trump did or said, at least he wasn’t a Democrat.

    We don’t know our true values until they’re tested. On June 1, 1998 — five months after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke — the Southern Baptist Convention convened in Salt Lake City and voted to approve a resolution on the importance of moral character in public officials. It included this memorable line: “Tolerance of serious wrong by leaders sears the conscience of the culture, spawns unrestrained immorality and lawlessness in the society, and surely results in God’s judgment.”

    Yet now Southern Baptists are among Trump’s most loyal supporters. Were they lying in 1998? Was the evangelical argument for character a cynical partisan exercise from the beginning?

    I don’t think so. I think the vast majority of Baptists who voted for the resolution believed those words. But I also think their commitment was untested.

    I’m haunted by something a liberal friend told me when we were reminiscing about the Clinton years before the Trump era. “I’m not proud of some of our defenses of Clinton,” he said, “But I wonder if Republicans would behave any differently if the cost of holding to their values was losing a president.”

    C.S. Lewis wrote, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” We don’t know if we’re actually honest until we tell the truth when the truth will hurt us.

    Evangelicals thought they valued integrity in politicians, and they held to that conviction until the very moment it carried a cost. That is when courage failed.

    Hatred is the prime motivating force in our politics. If you made me write a one-sentence explanation for why the Republican community abandoned its ideology, much less why it abandoned its morality and began to support Trump, I’d say, “It’s negative partisanship.” A central fact of American politics is that partisans on both sides utterly loathe the opposition.

    A perfect expression of MAGA’s negative partisanship came from Trump’s vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance. In a 2021 profile in The American Conservative, he told the writer James Pogue, “I think our people hate the right people.”

    Political hatred is amply documented. According to a recent study by More in Common, a nonpartisan organization that does research on political and cultural differences, 86 percent of Republicans believe Democrats are brainwashed, 84 percent believe Democrats are hateful and 71 percent believe Democrats are racist. Democrats have an even dimmer view of Republicans — 88 percent believe Republicans are brainwashed, 87 percent believe Republicans are hateful and 89 percent believe Republicans are racist.

    I was talking recently to a friend who was astounded that Republicans were so willing to support a corrupt and cruel man to defeat the alleged threat presented by a “normal Democrat.” But if the Republican view of Democrats is that low, then there are no normal Democrats. Instead, they’re a collection of depraved zealots, Marxists who are actively trying to destroy the United States. And desperate times require desperate measures — like nominating Trump again — to defeat this mortal threat.

    Finally, trust is tribal. Central to MAGA culture is the idea that its rage and anger against the so-called mainstream media is completely justified by the media’s bias and the media’s mistakes. They are “the true enemy of the people.” When I tell people here in Tennessee that I work for The New York Times, I often get a visible negative reaction. Sometimes, the negative reaction is verbal and I’m condemned to my face as “fake news.”

    I try to respond with a spirit of curiosity. I know that we make mistakes and I’m curious as to what specifically made them angry. Rarely do I get a precise answer. There is simply a sense that we can’t be trusted, that we’re on the other side.

    When I ask which news outlets they follow, invariably they give me a list of channels and sites that were so comprehensively dishonest and irresponsible in 2020 and 2021 that many of them have been forced into settlements, have retracted stories and have issued apologies under pressure.

    Yet all these outlets are all still popular on the right. Long after their dishonesty was exposed, the MAGA faithful continue to believe their reports and share their stories. It turns out that people will in fact trust liars — so long as the liars keep telling them what they want to hear.

    The four points above certainly aren’t the only lessons I’ve learned these last nine years, but they are among the most universally salient. They reflect not just MAGA tendencies, but human tendencies. Fear and anger can make any person more vulnerable to charlatans. We all need community and are understandably reluctant to alienate those closest to us.

    When Trump announced his first run for president, his vitriolic speech planted a seed of hatred in the American body politic. That seed found fertile soil.

    If I could talk to my 2015 self, I’d deliver a simple, dispiriting message: There isn’t a specific tactic or argument that will win back the Republican Party from Donald Trump.

    You’ve already lost.

    Jonah calls the remnant of the GOP where ideology defines the community as The Remnant. Se la vie.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  265. Where are all the Bund members saying how great today went?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  266. “‘We’re withholding our endorsement because our owner is frightened of government retaliation if Donald Trump wins’ is a more forceful and eloquent statement than any newspaper editorial ever written.”

    – David Frum

    (H/T:@walterolson.bsky.social‬)

    lurker (c23034)

  267. @219

    I don’t see enough benefit to put up with the abuse or, more importantly, watch it inflicted on others. I’ve tried…but the level of venom generally is just not something I want to be associated with.

    Did AJ_Liberty ever get to the bottom of the site’s conspiracy of sock puppets?

    lloyd (4b1423)

  268. @272 Has Jennifer Rubin resigned yet?

    As for the LA Times, word is the Kamala endorsement was withheld because “from the River to the sea” euphoria of the owner’s daughter. But, fear of government retaliation definitely makes for a much better story.

    lloyd (4b1423)

  269. Sockpuppet says what?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  270. @270: What French calls community I would call tribe. Otherwise, yeah.

    lurker (c23034)

  271. The great opening song for the Bund’s rally today.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  272. Dang, they played the wrong version. Yes, that’s real.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  273. @274: What’s your point? Whatabout? False equivalence? Do you think a publisher who kills his newpaper’s endorsement over an editorial disagreement raises the same liberty concerns as one who kills the endorsement because he fears retaliation from a candidate who threatens retribution against his enemies, and who calls the press “truly the enemy of the people?”

    lurker (c23034)

  274. lurker (c23034) — 10/27/2024 @ 10:23 pm

    👍

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  275. The LA Times incident does, however, illustrate again that despite MAGA’s attempts to label Harris as an extreme leftist, the actual extreme leftists despise her, in sharp contrast to the extreme rightists who can’t festoon themselves in enough tacky, Chinese-made Trump merch.

    lurker (c23034)

  276. Maybe the publisher is actually afraid. It’s quite possible with the rhetoric from stupid Hitler and the Bund.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  277. 9 days till the election. Did they play the horst wessel at the bund rally?

    asset (337204)

  278. Advisers Propose That Trump Give Security Clearances Without F.B.I. Vetting

    A memo circulating among at least half a dozen advisers to former President Donald J. Trump recommends that if he is elected, he bypass traditional background checks by law enforcement officials and immediately grant security clearances to a large number of his appointees after being sworn in, according to three people briefed on the matter.

    What could go wrong?

    lurker (c23034)

  279. Stephen Miller-Nur für Deutsche

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  280. The rich are different from you and me. They make more money when Republicans are in office.

    nk (4fb67d)

  281. Today is the 84th anniversary of the beginning of the end for Mussolini, when the Greeks told him ΟΧΙ! (NO!) and proceeded to wipe out his army which, in conjunction with the destruction of the Italian navy by the British, made him a non-entity in WWII. Here’s a little ditty from that time.

    nk (4fb67d)

  282. A memo circulating among at least half a dozen advisers to former President Donald J. Trump recommends that if he is elected, he bypass traditional background checks by law enforcement officials and immediately grant security clearances to a large number of his appointees after being sworn in, according to three people briefed on the matter.

    Given that the FBI is no longer a law-enforcement organization but now a Stassi for the Democratic Party, bypassing FBI background checks sounds smart.

    SaveFarris (79ab12)

  283. Fat chance. It could only be for people who do not have access to classified information (Congress says who can see what and under what conditions) or are not subject to confirmation by the Senate.

    nk (4fb67d)

  284. But I would think that for his own piece of mind he would want a background check on Melania’s pilates instructor.

    nk (4fb67d)

  285. @280 Do I think an unsubstantiated claim that a publisher squashed an endorsement because of government retaliation is the same as any other unsubstantiated claim? Yes.

    lloyd (4b1423)

  286. @282 The extreme leftists are confirming Godwin’s Law, just like Harris supporters and Nevertrump are.

    lloyd (4b1423)

  287. Query to those who prefer Donald Trump:

    What was Trump’s intended closing argument in that rally?

    Appalled (c10e88)

  288. I agree

    If Donald Trump loses on Nov. 5, the racist carnival he curated at Madison Square Garden could be remembered as the day that cost him this margin-of-error election.

    And if he wins, his racism didn’t make a difference. There are 457k Puerto Ricans in PA, 115k in NC, 109k in GA, 65k in GA and 50k in MI.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  289. Obama last week: “How did things get so divisive?”

    MSNBC, lurker, nk and Klink working from the same playbook as The Lincoln Project.

    lloyd (300361)

  290. Paul too, of course.

    lloyd (300361)

  291. Query to those who prefer Donald Trump:

    What was Trump’s intended closing argument in that rally?

    The very first line he spoke.

    “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

    SaveFarris (79ab12)

  292. @249

    There’s a way to avoid all of that, vote against Trump, or don’t vote for him at least, stay on the couch.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 10/27/2024 @ 5:27 pm

    No.

    I’m voting against the progressive-left irrespective who is the GOP candidate.

    A correction is needed to pull the Democrat party back towards the center.

    Losing election is the only way.

    whembly (477db6)

  293. @298

    Query to those who prefer Donald Trump:

    What was Trump’s intended closing argument in that rally?

    The very first line he spoke.

    “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

    SaveFarris (79ab12) — 10/28/2024 @ 8:53 am

    ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

    whembly (477db6)

  294. > “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

    I mean, four years ago it was illegal for me to leave my house except under very specific circumstances, so yeah, i’m *clearly* better off than i was four years ago.

    aphrael (684ad0)

  295. I mean, four years ago it was illegal for me to leave my house except under very specific circumstances

    Hunh? You were living in Saudi Arabia?

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  296. Losing election is the only way.

    Both of them need to lose, which is why I didn’t vote for either. The lesser evil is not necessarily a D or R.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  297. So much derangement because of a rally in NYC. Echoing the leftists like MSDNC and Susan Rice.

    They know their losing

    NJRob (b31871)

  298. I mean, four years ago it was illegal for me to leave my house except under very specific circumstances, so yeah, i’m *clearly* better off than i was four years ago.

    As of October 2020, the only state still in lockdown was California.

    The governor, Newsom, is endorsing Harris.

    SaveFarris (3628dd)

  299. SaveFerris —

    Trump, through ego, can’t make that 4 year argument in a way that makes sense. 4 years ago we were still in the depths of COVID and George Floyd hysteria.

    But, thank you for providing, because Trump’s comedian lead off act stepped on everyone’s duck and decimated that message. In fairness, here is the rest of that argument:

    I’m here today with a message of hope for all Americans. With your vote in this election, I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country. And I will bring back the American dream. We need the American dream to come back home.

    Our country will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever before. This election is a choice between whether we will have four more years of gross incompetence and failure or whether we will begin the four greatest years in the history of our country.

    We will achieve success that no one can imagine. We will have the strongest economy, the most secure borders, the safest cities, the most powerful military, the best trade deals, and we will dominate the frontiers of science, medicine, business, technology and space.

    And I’m asking you to be excited about the future of our country again. I’m asking you to dream big again. We’re going to dream big again. We haven’t been dreaming big at all. This will be America’s new golden age. It’s going to happen quickly too, very quickly.

    Every problem facing us can be solved, but now the fate of our nation is in your hands. Next Tuesday, you have to stand up and you have to tell Kamala Harris that you’ve done a terrible job, that crooked Joe Biden has done a terrible job. You’ve destroyed our country. We’re not going to take it anymore. Kamala, you’re fired. Get out. Get out. You’re fired.

    Appalled (c10e88)

  300. The transcript is here:

    https://singjupost.com/full-transcript-trumps-maga-rally-at-msg-new-york-city/?singlepage=1

    The policies are vague — the insults specific.

    Appalled (c10e88)

  301. In just this thread, first there was Rob’s lie: “You pushed the 51 intelligence officials garbage hook, line and sinker.”

    Then there was Kevin’s lie: “…you were OK with the Steele Memorandum that Hillary was flogging.”

    And now we have a trifecta of personal attacks.

    MSNBC, lurker, nk and Klink working from the same playbook as The Lincoln Project.
    Paul too, of course.

    One: “My complaint about the Lincoln Project is that they’re saying “vote for Biden”, which doesn’t sound very Republican to me.”

    Two: “An early tell was their endorsement of Biden. Their ads are effective but, beyond that, I can’t support ’em.”

    Three: “The Lincoln Project should’ve been destroyed after the Warner Unpleasantness [Weaver, not Warner].”

    Four: “The Lincoln Project is a Democrat fundraising operation, populated mostly by Democrats and ex-Republicans.”

    The above are all in opposition to the group. We’re in the last 8 days of a heated campaign, which is all the more reason to follow Patterico’s commenting rules.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  302. Full transcript of Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden speech Sunday, October27, 2024:

    https://singjupost.com/full-transcript-trumps-maga-rally-at-msg-new-york-city/?singlepage=1

    Contains links to other speeches and other events related to the campaign and also an audio version of the speech. And some headers were added.

    Trump was wrong, by the way, in thinking that the overflow crowd on the street could see it. There was also no jumbotron, although there was a store that played it live according to WABC radio This was broadcast on WABC radio 770 AM.

    His speech came much later than advertised and Elon Musk ‘s remarks must have been cut short. The whole broadcast (from about 5 pm) might possibly be found somewhere on he WABC radio website:

    https://wabcradio.com/

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  303. Regarding Tucker, it’s contemptible that he views the American people as children requiring violent parental discipline, when the “father” is the petulant immature child, and when the “misbehavior” is the “offense” dissenting from the “father”. It’s f-cking sick.

    He told a parable in which the small boy smeared feces, and the 14-year old girl lit a joint at the breakfast table and the 15-year old girl went into her room and slammed the door.

    The “misbehavior” is most likely government bureaucrats

    Curtis Sliwa does not like Tucker Carlson. Tucker Carlson was not one of the speakers WABC carried live but instead the hosts broadcast.

    Curtis Sliwa told a story about Tucker Carlson. Tucker Carlson used to work for MSNBC (I think he said) and Carlson was a moderate liberal there. One week he took off and Curtis Sliwa was the designated replacement or substitute host.

    The first day he had Rachel Maddow as a guest. Curtis Sliwa gave her a hard time. The next day Tucker Carlson called him and said not to come in for the rest of the week because his bosses didn’t want him to.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  304. Trump made the best case for himself that he could, or knew how to.

    The most egregious lie was this:

    Think of this. Three hundred and twenty five thousand children are missing dead sex slaves or slaves. They came through the open border and they’re gone. Their parents will most likely never see them again. Almost any of them. Think of the number three hundred and twenty five thousand children are missing or dead.

    I’m sure that number 325,000 comes from a real statistic, and I’m also almost completely sure that that’s not what that statistic means.

    The most important truthful statement (not just something about him liking be back in New York) was this:

    … But we’re just not running against Kamala. I think a lot of our politicians here tonight know this. She means nothing. She’s purely a vessel. That’s all she is.

    Soon, he was describing what he said he saw (live??) Kamala Harris lost without a teleprompter. She had to keep repeating the number 32.

    Three weeks ago, she was saying there was only 32 days left. And she’s reading it like this. Thirty two days and it stopped. And she went is 32 days. Thirty two. Thirty two. And I was watching. He said, [an unmentioned person he was talking to said?] this isn’t pretty. Thirty two. She was gone. And then, damn it, it kicked back on. She was gone.

    Trump said it happened to anyone who uses a teleprompter, but you had to be able to keep speaking.

    …I was in Ohio to to try and get him over the initial primary hump. And it was 45 mile an hour winds. And these suckers were blowing like you ever try reading a teleprompter where it’s moving about two feet in each. But I didn’t have to worry about that, because even worse, they ended up blowing off the stage a lot of it.

    So I’m now in the first sentence. And I got twenty eight thousand people and millions of people watching on television. I got no teleprompter. And did I do a good job, Mr. Speaker? Anyone? Anyone? Thank you, Matt. Anyone? And so you’re up there all alone. We don’t go thirty to thirty to thirty.

    The last sentence is ungrammatical. By “we” is he including other Republicans or does he mean most politicians who are not Kamala Harris?

    By the way, there were “millions” of people watching that campaign speech for a candidate in a Senate primary in Ohio?

    I remember a story about Bill Clinton. He once added words to his speech. He claimed that the teleprompter went wrong but I think he lied and he had intended to use those words but didn’t want to have that riff perceived as pre-planned.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  305. The very first line he spoke.

    “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

    SaveFarris (79ab12) — 10/28/2024 @ 8:53 am

    That was not his first line.

    After his thank yous it was:

    And I just want to say a very big hello to a special place, New York, and to an incredible arena, Madison Square Garden. Incredible. And then we have all of the people that could fill it up ten times. Ten times. You take a look at outside what’s going on all the way down to the river, the beautiful, beautiful Hudson River. They’re outside watching this now at levels that nobody’s ever seen before. They’ve never had it.

    That’s not correct.

    The entrance to the subway station at 8th avenue was open, although it was the only entrance open, according to Nancy Sliwa. (The Hudson River’s by 12th Avenue I think)

    Here’s a map of sorts:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/View_of_the_World_from_9th_Avenue

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  306. Re: Kevin M at 301 & 302.

    By

    four years ago it was illegal for me to leave my house except under very specific circumstances,

    aphrael is talking about the Covid lockdowns.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  307. > Hunh? You were living in Saudi Arabia?

    No, I was living in California, where there were still active lockdown orders in October of 2020.

    “Are you better off today than you were four years ago” is a question that I can only answer affirmatively *at any point in 2024* because my life is *amazingly* improved from what it was at that time.

    aphrael (9c2ac5)

  308. Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/28/2024 @ 10:22 am

    Paul, how you feel about The Lincoln Project means nothing when you adopt their tactics. Or, are you going to tell me making a Youngkin event look like a Nazi rally is somehow different?

    lloyd (d29d61)

  309. He [Tucker Carlton] told a parable

    No parable. The sick fantasy of a sick weirdo.

    nk (266101)

  310. aphrael (7162c2) — 10/27/2024 @ 3:17 pm

    A state allocating electoral votes by legislative fiat has decided to *override the voters with their own preferences*.

    Constitutionally the latter is allowed. But it’s profoundly undemocratic and, in my view, absolutely immoral.

    They actually have to set the method of appointing the Electors before the time that Congresshas stablished for picking them.

    There is one loophole:

    If the election “fails” the state legislature has a 6-day period before the Electors vote to appoint them another way.

    That’s the reason I think for these lawsuits complaining that the voting procedure is illegal.

    Now judges in 2020 were not kind to the idea of throwing out hundreds of thousands (at least) of votes in Pennsylvania, so this would be hard to get, but theoretically they could prevent certification on the basis of a trivial number of possibly improper votes.(though they don’t do it in elections in which you can rerun the contest if it wouldn’t affect the outcome)

    Now this year a lot of Republicans are voting and maybe even by mail.

    I’d just like to see the political parties switch sides on a lawsuit.(but I think if they were winning, the Republicans would just drop the lawsuit, and it wouldn’t be taken up by the Democrats. Maybe by a third party, though.)

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  311. Or, are you going to tell me making a Youngkin event look like a Nazi rally is somehow different?

    You’re implying that I supported such a thing, which is your lie.
    Why would I support a tactic like that from a group I don’t support? The fact is that I don’t.
    How about this, how about you and Rob and Kevin stop the goddam smears of a commenter on this board.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  312. The pile of garbage in Madison Square Garden floating in the Atlantic on top of the island a Manhattan looked like a Nazi rally because it was a Nazi rally and nobody else made it look like a Nazi rally other than Donito Trumpolini and his Nazis.

    nk (266101)

  313. Four years ago this week, news of the vaccine was being withheld until after the election.

    The extreme lockdowns were a blue state special. Only the politically blind put that on Trump.

    lloyd (d29d61)

  314. “Are you better off today than you were four years ago” is a question that was used by Ronald Reagan in the debate he had with Carter one week before the 1980 election (which was way before early voting and when absentee balloting was rare)

    But people don’t understand what gave it its impact:

    In 1976, close to Election Day, the AFL-CIO endorsed Jimmy Carter, on the grounds that he was a Democrat and Democrats were better for the economy.

    This was precisely the basis on which many people had voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976, Now, Reagan asked them to take a look at what happened. Four years (or 3 1/2 years) was enough time.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  315. You gonna shade us, Trump boyz? Ha, ha, ha!

    nk (266101)

  316. > Only the politically blind put that on Trump.

    And that’s not what I’m doing — in fact, over in the /r/aves subreddit i’m currently making this exact point: that while I detest Trump, it’s absolutely unfair to blame him for the fact that raves shut down in 2020.

    What i’m saying is that any fair-minded answer I give to the question “are you better off on October 28, 2024 than you were on October 28, 2020” *must be* yes.

    aphrael (9c2ac5)

  317. The lines sparked immediate backlash and even condemnation from fellow Republicans. But four top campaign sources said it could have been even worse.

    “He had a joke calling Harris a ‘c**t,’” a campaign insider involved in the discussions about the event told The Bulwark. “Let’s say it was a red flag.”

    Well, it’s nice that the campaign has a red line. That just means all the other bits were on purpose and endorsed by the campaign.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  318. “He had a joke calling Harris a ‘c**t,’” a campaign insider involved in the discussions about the event told The Bulwark. “Let’s say it was a red flag.”

    The crowd that keep saying Trump 2.0 won’t have any guardrails just lost another one.

    SaveFarris (3628dd)

  319. I am so tired of the Nazi stuff.
    Why do they keep using the #3 mass killer of the last century?
    Has our education system been THAT bad?

    Joe (584b3d)

  320. 320.lloyd (d29d61) — 10/28/2024 @ 12:34 pm

    Four years ago this week, news of the vaccine was being withheld until after the election.

    Not news, but approval.

    The Trump Administration had given up trying to press the FDA because the companies had given up trying and were timing their applications for just after the election.

    https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/16/pfizer-no-vaccine-trump-election-429843

    By Sarah Owermohle

    10/16/2020 01:24 PM EDT

    Updated: 10/16/2020 01:59 PM EDT

    There won’t be a coronavirus vaccine ready before Election Day, despite President Donald Trump’s repeated promises and vaccine makers’ breakneck speed.

    The president’s last best hope for meeting that deadline fizzled Friday as Pfizer announced that it would not seek emergency authorization from the Food and Drug Administration before the third week of November. The company is the only frontrunner in the vaccine race that has said it could have proof its vaccine works by Nov. 3.

    For Trump, the failure to meet that deadline is a self-inflicted defeat. The Election Day target was always an artificial one, created by a president who for months has touted it on the campaign trail and press briefing stage. When his administration’s top scientists disputed the timeline, Trump accused them of slowing down progress for political reasons.

    Kamala Harris was among those casting suspicion on any early approval.

    https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/trump-campaign-press-release-fact-kamala-harriss-anti-vaccine-rhetoric-anti-science-and

    Trump Campaign Press Release – FACT: Kamala Harris’s Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric is Anti-Science and Dangerous for Public Health

    October 07, 2020

    [APP NOTE: Like all “Campaign Press Releases” this document was entirely the product of a partisan political campaign. It is archived by the APP as part of the record of campaign communications. The APP has not assessed the accuracy of any claims made here either pro or con.]

    Harris continues to peddle anti-vax conspiracy theories and undermine the public’s confidence in the coming coronavirus vaccine.

    Despite overwhelming testimony from top public health officials that the coronavirus vaccine will be safe and effective, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are spreading fear, fueling anti-vax conspiracy theories, and actively trying to undermine the public’s confidence in a vaccine.

    When CNN asked Kamala Harris if she would take the vaccine once it’s approved, she refused to answer: “Well, I think that’s going to be an issue for all of us. I will say that I would not trust Donald Trump.”

    September 6, 2020: Kamala Harris says “I think that’s going to be an issue” when asked if she would get an approved coronavirus vaccine.

    July 28, 2020: Joe Biden suggests the coronavirus vaccine won’t be “real” and may not be “safe.”

    August 6, 2020: Biden says the vaccine is “not likely to go through all the tests that needs to be and the trials that are needed to be done.”

    September 3, 2020: Biden asks “Who’s going to take the shot? Are you going to be the first one to say sign me up?”

    September 7, 2020: Biden said he would take the coronavirus vaccine “only if we knew all of what went into it.”

    Comments like these, directly contradicting public health officials, have endangered Americans’ public health by severely undermining the public’s confidence in the coronavirus vaccine.

    This was what Reagan and Bush were later accused by friends of Jimmy Carter of having done in 1980- sabotaged something that would be regarded as good.

    The October Surprise” accusation for real.

    They also put pressure on the companies.

    Vox tried to blame Trump for the skepticism, citing polls, which of course begs the question:

    https://www.vox.com/2020/10/8/21507400/vp-debate-mike-pence-covid-19-vaccine-kamala-harris

    At the vice presidential debate on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence accused Sen. Kamala Harris of undermining public trust in a Covid-19 vaccine. But the American public actually blames President Donald Trump for politicizing the issue, according to numerous polls.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  321. Paul Montagu (7d8750) — 10/28/2024 @ 12:32 pm

    You’re complaining about smears. That’s enough irony for today.

    lloyd (d29d61)

  322. Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 10/28/2024 @ 12:45 pm

    Well, it’s nice that the campaign has a red line. That just means all the other bits were on purpose and endorsed by the campaign.

    I don’t think the campaign heard his entire repertoire of jokes. That’s not what that “red flag” (not” red line”) quote means.

    It means that, at least in retrospect, that other terrible “joke” should have told them, all by itself, there could be something wrong with his comedy.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  323. Spanked!

    A highly unusual ultimatum from a frustrated (U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes) caused House Republican investigators to postpone their demand for testimony from two Justice Department tax attorneys in a probe of Hunter Biden’s finances.
    ……….
    The fight emerged from House Republicans’ long-running search for evidence that the White House exerted political pressure on officials who investigated the younger Biden’s failure to pay income taxes. As part of that inquiry, the House Judiciary Committee tried to obtain testimony from two Justice Department tax lawyers who worked on the case.

    When the Justice Department resisted the House GOP’s subpoenas to the two lawyers, the fight ended up before Reyes, who has been refereeing the dispute for months with increasing exasperation.

    During a two-hour hearing on (October 23rd), she pressed lawyers for both sides to punt the dispute until next year. If they refused, she said, she would summon (House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and AG Merrick Garland) into court.

    After a brief recess, the House’s top lawyer, Matthew Berry, and veteran Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Shapiro told the judge they had agreed to shelve the matter until early next year. By that point, a new Congress and a new president will have been sworn in — developments likely to diminish both sides’ appetite for a fight linked to an all-but-defunct effort to impeach Joe Biden.
    ……….
    The judge took particular umbrage with the House’s insistence that the two subpoenaed career attorneys would have any information relevant to the Judiciary Committee’s inquiry.

    And in one memorable exchange, Reyes appeared to get Berry to acknowledge that Jordan’s decision in 2022 to blow off a subpoena from the House’s Jan. 6 select committee was based on flimsy premises. Reyes baited Berry by asking whether it would be acceptable for the Justice Department to refuse to comply with a House subpoena over concerns about testimony being politicized or misrepresented.

    After Berry roundly rejected those excuses as unacceptable, Reyes said she had quoted them directly from a letter Jordan had written refusing to comply with a subpoena the Jan. 6 committee issued to the Ohio lawmaker for his testimony.
    …………
    The Justice Department has argued that its so-called line attorneys shouldn’t be subject to questioning from congressional committees because that would intrude on executive branch deliberations. ……..
    …………
    Reyes also skewered the Justice Department for hypocrisy for instructing the two career lawyers not to show up for their House depositions, while successfully prosecuting two former Donald Trump aides — Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro — on contempt charges for defying subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee in the last Congress.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  324. nk (266101) — 10/28/2024 @ 12:32 pm

    floating in the Atlantic on top of the island a Manhattan looked like a Nazi rally because it was a Nazi rally and nobody else made it look like a Nazi rally other than Donito Trumpolini and his Nazis.

    It was full of slander against and nonsense about illegal immigrants. But Donald Trump was not the chief offender, and though he talked a lot about it, he didn’t start on this until he was well into his speech..

    By the way, you won’t catch the Democrats arguing with anything he said, or trying to debunk any of that. Because, polls. (Some in the media may.)

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  325. Joe (584b3d) — 10/28/2024 @ 12:52 pm

    Has our education system been THAT bad?

    If not for Hitler, we wouldn’t have the concept of evil among many people.

    By the way, you’re not counting all the deaths of soldiers during World War II (to get Stalin into the number #2 position, you have to count the famines in Ukraine, so this method includes people not picked out for death) and also you don’t take account of the fact that his career was interrupted, nor for the number of people under his rule.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  326. Mistaking press reports for actual events is always a mistake. This is now propaganda and smear season.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  327. If the Madison Square Garden rally was Trump’s closing argument, then Kamala Harris will give hers tomorrow in a rally in Washington, D.C. on the ellipse (the same place Trump spoke from on January 6,2021.)

    He also wanted to speak at the Capitol, which the House Jan 6 committee proved, but people have ignored the implications of that)

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  328. Has our education system been THAT bad?

    The other two were “good” mass killers.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  329. In the MSG rally, Trump announced a new tax cut proposal, although he didn’t describe it there in any way so that you could figure out what it actually was:

    …And I’m announcing a new policy today that I will support a tax credit for family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one. It’s about time that they were recognized. They add so much to our country and are never spoken of ever, ever, ever. But they’re going to be spoken of now. Thank you all very much.

    If I had to guess, this would be something like the child tax credit, but in what circumstances it could be claimed is unclear. Perhaps a maximum of $1,000 if some expenses were paid or they lived together. Would there be some need to prove that a family member needed help? Or would it be automatic if certain minimal conditions applied (like a nurse visiting or just no significant earned income? Maybe the amount would be low enough so there would not be too much of a temptation to lie.)

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  330. Ballot drop boxes set on fire in Oregon and Washington (AP) looks like the trumpsters are getting ready for election day.

    asset (af6269)

  331. The GOP has tried to force states to only place ballot drop boxes in secure areas. The Democrats in charge of those areas (e.g. Oregon and Washington) have refused.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  332. https://jewishinsider.com/2024/10/jill-stein-rudolph-butch-ware-green-party-violence-israel

    All the extreme leftists seem to be making their top issue Israel. This is true for the Democratic Socialists of America (The DSA, also known as Trotskyites)

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  333. The ground is being readied to deny Trump his electoral votes, claiming that as a insurrectionist, he is disqualified. The House then chooses from the top 3 qualified candidates. Sadly, only one candidate got any electoral votes.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  334. Has our education system been THAT bad?

    No, Donnie’s education has.

    Maybe if he had gotten a copy of Stalin’s speech at the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (1934) or the Little Red Book, along with Hitler’s speeches, he might be a Stalin or Mao wannabe.

    nk (266101)

  335. The ground is being readied to deny Trump his electoral votes, claiming that as a insurrectionist, he is disqualified. The House then chooses from the top 3 qualified candidates. Sadly, only one candidate got any electoral votes.

    Pretty typical gaslighting from the Bund. If they’re pointing fingers at someone else, it’s because they are doing it. Oooh…oooh, look over there.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  336. You’re complaining about smears. That’s enough irony for today.

    No, lloyd, I’m saying you’re a f–king liar and asshole for pulling that dishonest crap.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  337. Pretty typical gaslighting from the Bund.

    More of this and I’m gone.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  338. Klink, come next Jan 6th, you’ll be screaming at Harris to block Trump’s votes.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  339. Klink, come next Jan 6th, you’ll be screaming at Harris to block Trump’s votes.

    Man, the Bund keeps complaining that someone else may do what their dear leader, stupid Hitler, already did.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  340. More of this and I’m gone.

    Whatever Lindbergh.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  341. Kevin Williamson on The Atlantic.

    I am not a huge Jeffrey Goldberg fan. I think he’s a punk.

    But I don’t think he makes things up.

    Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic—who once hired me as a staff writer and then fired me a few days later (before I’d even done any real work) because some nobodies you’ve never heard of complained that my words made them feel “unsafe”—has a story that, while not exactly a blockbuster, is an embarrassment for Donald Trump and his campaign. A few of the details: After promising to pay for a murdered U.S. soldier’s funeral, Trump balked when presented with the bill, saying “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f—ing Mexican,” and directed his people to refuse to pay; on another occasion, he complained: “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had, people who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”

    The first item, I’m willing to believe. But the second item in particular has the savor of truth about it—because Trump is an ignoramus and, as such, probably does not know that Adolf Hitler’s senior military officers famously plotted against him, planning to remove him from power and to kill him if necessary. Claus von Stauffenberg personally planted a bomb intended to kill Hitler but failed to get the job done; other major conspirators against Hitler included Gen. Friedrich Olbricht and Maj. Gen. Henning von Tresckow; even Field Marshal Erwin Rommel gave his blessing to killing Hitler, though he did not personally participate in the assassination plot.

    So, Trump did have military and national-security leaders who had something in common with Hitler’s generals: They believed him to be a dangerous incompetent and a threat to the well-being of the country and its people. You know their names: Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, who served as Trump’s chief of staff, says Trump is a “fascist” who “certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.” Mark Esper, who served as Trump’s secretary of defense, says Trump is a “threat to democracy.” Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton calls Trump “unfit to be president.” Former Vice President Mike Pence refuses to support Trump in 2024. Mark Milley, who served under Trump as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says Trump is “a fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person in this country.” James Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general who served as secretary of defense under Trump, says he concurs with Milley’s judgment: “The threat is high,” he says. H.R. McMaster, a retired Army lieutenant general who served as national security adviser under Trump, calls Trump a man whose vanity caused him to “abandon his oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution.’” The list is long—and that’s just what’s been said in public.

    Trump has a well-documented record of personal cowardice and dishonesty. But Trump and his knee-walking enablers expect us to believe that these career military men—men with impressive records of service and courage—simply are sore at Trump because he fired them or wasn’t impressed with their performance. Funny thing: Trump insists that he is a man with an unmatched eye for talent, for attracting “the best people.” And he did have some good people serve in his administration—and the ones who knew him best and worked most closely with him are out there saying he is a fascist and would-be dictator who has no business being in the White House.

    Trump is, as everybody who pays any attention knows, a serial liar, one whose lies are echoed and amplified by other serial liars, including by figures such as Mark Meadows, a dishonorable man in whom the habit of dishonesty is embedded bone-deep. Meadows, a career Trump sycophant and the last chief of staff of Trump’s administration, has made quite an impression on a few of my Dispatch colleagues who have worked with him over the years: “He’s an eager and willing liar on matters large and small and has been for as long as I’ve known him,” says Dispatch Editor Steve Hayes. Meadows’ own publisher sued him over baloney claims about the 2024 election he put in a book and then denied when questioned under oath—that’s the guy out there saying Trump never said what he’s quoted as saying.

    Carrion-eating birds of a feather and all that.

    This is the guy Republicans have chosen. And there isn’t anything in The Atlantic piece that is very hard to believe. Trump and Meadows, on the other hand—how and why would anybody believe anything they say? Their contempt for the truth is almost as profound as their contempt for the rubes who give them their votes and their money.

    I hope I still make Jeffrey Goldberg feel unsafe—he damned well should.

    But I don’t think he makes stuff up.

    You will, from time to time, hear from people who cast doubt on one—or all—of those accounts. In nine cases out of 10, you will be hearing this from someone who either expects an appointment or who is no more than one degree of separation removed from someone expecting an appointment in the next Trump administration, should there be one. My advice: Don’t trust them. I have my doubts about people who worked for the Trump administration the last time around—I simply do not see how I could trust, or think of as honorable, someone who seeks to serve in a new Trump administration.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  342. Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/28/2024 @ 1:48 pm

    The ground is being readied to deny Trump his electoral votes, claiming that as a insurrectionist, he is disqualified.

    There are not the votes to carry that.

    The House then chooses from the top 3 qualified candidates. Sadly, only one candidate got any electoral votes.

    There could be one or more faithless electors and the House doesn’t have to choose anyone. JD Vance becomes acting president

    20th amendment Section 3

    If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

    Until the courts overrule the disqualification.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  343. A civil war in America right away would suit Putin’s purposes even better than his puppet in the White House for a time.

    nk (266101)

  344. Social Security has sometimes been called the “third rail” of politics.

    Nonetheless, the Loser is threatening to make its problems even worse:

    A new report from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget finds that, whatever their other intended and unintended effects, Mr. Trump’s policies on taxes, immigration and tariffs would hasten the depletion of Social Security’s trust funds. Ending taxation of Social Security benefits, for example, would cost the program somewhere between $850 billion and $950 billion over nine years. (It would also dent the Medicare trust fund, to which some of the revenue from taxing Social Security benefits is currently dedicated.)

    Here’s the link to the CRFB report.

    Jim Miller (6b39b6)

  345. Kamala Harris is just too pro Israel, or anti Israel, depending on what constituency the Bund is going after.

    But this is curious.

    “Israel has the right to defend itself, but America’s interest is sometimes going to be distinct — like sometimes we’re going to have overlapping interests and sometimes we’re going to have distinct interests, and our interest, I think, very much is in not going to war with Iran,” Vance said.

    The Republican senator from Ohio argued that a war between Iran and the US would be a significant resource drain on the American military.

    “It would be [a] huge distraction of resources; it would be massively expensive to our country,”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  346. The ground is being readied to deny Trump his electoral votes, claiming that as a insurrectionist, he is disqualified. The House then chooses from the top 3 qualified candidates. Sadly, only one candidate got any electoral votes.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/28/2024 @ 1:48 pm

    Completely lacking any facts or evidence.

    Klink, come next Jan 6th, you’ll be screaming at Harris to block Trump’s votes.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/28/2024 @ 2:10 pm

    It which case it would be “a futile and stupid gesture.”

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  347. > The Democrats in charge of those areas (e.g. Oregon and Washington) have refused.

    The whole point to the drop box is I can go there at hours when an office wouldn’t be open and return my ballot. Requiring it to be “inside a secure area” means requiring it to be in a *staffed location*, which negates the entire benefit to having drop boxes at all.

    aphrael (9c2ac5)

  348. Dwayne Wade’s statue became a meme, and rightly so.
    Even Mr. Wade asked, “Who’s that guy?”
    The State Farm commercial of the statue of Ryan Fitzpatrick is a better likeness of Ryan than Dwayne’s statue of Dwayne.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  349. Given the vehicle type, it coulda been a Democrat that did it…

    Surveillance images captured a Volvo pulling up to a drop box in Portland, Oregon, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner told a news conference. The incendiary devices were attached to the outside of the boxes.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  350. The GOP has tried to force states to only place ballot drop boxes in secure areas. The Democrats in charge of those areas (e.g. Oregon and Washington) have refused.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  351. Source?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  352. Some Social Media Users Promoting Destruction of Ballot Drop Boxes
    ………..
    Election infrastructure remains an attractive target for some domestic violent extremists (DVEs) and other threat actors with election-related grievances who seek to disrupt the democratic process and election operations. Some threat actors may perceive ballot drop boxes as “soft targets” because they are more accessible.

    • (U//FOUO) Over the last six months, some social media users on forums frequented by DVEs shared methods to damage ballots and ballot drop boxes, including using road flares, fireworks, petroleum fuel, linseed oil and white phosphorous, cement or expanding foam, bleach or other chemicals, and farm machinery. Other potential disruption methods included placing false or misleading signage to indicate that ballot drop boxes are “out of order,” deploying decoy ballot drop boxes nearby, or inserting timed explosives into ballot drop boxes.

    • (U//FOUO) Some social media users are discussing tactics and techniques to limit or avoid detection, including concealing identities with face masks, wearing gloves and hats, operating at night, avoiding use of license plates or personal vehicles, and leaving electronic devices like cell phones at home. Some social media users recommended masquerading as an ideological opponent and wearing clothes and masks associated with “antifa.”

    • (U//FOUO) States with more ballot drop boxes may be more at risk, and future legal decisions regarding the use of ballot drop boxes may also drive targeting— as was the case in Wisconsin, where online discussions of sabotaging ballot drop boxes immediately followed the 5 July Wisconsin Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of ballot drop boxes. ………
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  353. The whole point to the drop box is I can go there at hours when an office wouldn’t be open and return my ballot. Requiring it to be “inside a secure area” means requiring it to be in a *staffed location*, which negates the entire benefit to having drop boxes at all.

    Nah! Just hippie sloppiness. Not bothering to think things through.

    In Chicago, the drop-off boxes are inside the polling place which is also the early voting place.

    If the hours of operation are a problem, the return envelopes are postage-prepaid for the U.S. Mail boxes or post offices.

    Security for those who value security; convenience for those who want convenience.

    nk (266101)

  354. > If the hours of operation are a problem, the return envelopes are postage-prepaid for the U.S. Mail boxes or post offices.

    I mailed my ballot in June of 2022. It was not received by the county elections office.

    Since then, I will not mail my ballot, full stop. But I work a 50 hour week plus twelve hours of commute time a week. Drop boxes are by far the best option for me.

    aphrael (9c2ac5)

  355. > In Chicago, the drop-off boxes are inside the polling place which is also the early voting place.

    then what’s the point? you could just hand the ballot to whatever official is staffing the place. what value does the drop box add?

    aphrael (9c2ac5)

  356. > The ground is being readied to deny Trump his electoral votes, claiming that as a insurrectionist, he is disqualified. The House then chooses from the top 3 qualified candidates. Sadly, only one candidate got any electoral votes.

    The *only* people I’ve heard suggesting this are conservatives alleging that it’s being planned.

    Meanwhile, Trumpists are openly talking about challenging the election results as invalid no matter what happens.

    aphrael (9c2ac5)

  357. The drop box alleviates the panic brought on by the feeble minded fear that “all the drop boxes have been removed by Trump”
    Another form of this in my area is the mental illness behind the Post Office being excoriated for not putting those old obsolete blue drop boxes back out on the street during elections. The drop offs have been moved inside the Post Office because of mail theft. Mail placed in the boxes out on the street after hours is not safe. The old blue boxes are easy to tamper with. But “we must have blue boxes for a fair election” ID? No. Blue Boxes? Yes

    steveg (bdbaf3)

  358. You see, Trump is enormously powerful here in Bright Blue coastal CA and even though Trump will be lucky to get over 29% of the vote here, the blue drop boxes are all that stand between us and the fraud that will swing the coastal CA election to Trump

    steveg (bdbaf3)

  359. > In Chicago, the drop-off boxes are inside the polling place which is also the early voting place.

    then what’s the point? you could just hand the ballot to whatever official is staffing the place. what value does the drop box add?

    We are the City of the Big Shoulders which includes a certain level of self-reliance?

    nk (266101)

  360. Nevada Supreme Court rejects GOP mail ballot challenge­

    Nevada’s Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision Monday allowing mail ballots to be counted if they arrive without a postmark up to three days after the Nov. 5 election.

    A majority of the high court ruled the state law requiring mail-in ballots to be counted even if the postmark “cannot be determined” applied to ballots without any postmark, as well as ballots whose postmarks are illegible.
    ……….
    “If a voter properly and timely casts their vote by mailing their ballot before or on the day of the election, and through a post office omission the ballot is not postmarked, it would go against public policy to discount that properly cast vote,” Nevada’s majority opinion read.

    “Indeed, there is no principled distinction between mail ballots where the postmark is ‘illegible’ or ‘smudged’ and those with no postmark — in each instance, the date the mail ballot was received by the post office cannot be determined,” the court filing continued.

    The high court upheld the district court decision that the GOP lacked standing……..
    …………
    Five justices joined the majority order. Two justices concurred in the result, with one writing separately that appellants failed to provide sufficient evidence and the other writing that “it is not in the public interest to change the rules governing this election this close to election day.”
    …………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  361. Lebanese are saying:

    “Whatever the IDF Spokesman in Arabic, Avichai Adraee, says, is what actually happens. He is now the “Supreme Leader” of Lebanon.”

    steveg (bdbaf3)

  362. @ 350

    If you are serious, a civil war by a nuclear power would not serve Putins purpose. He would have no idea what would happen with our nukes.

    Joe (584b3d)

  363. https://x.com/OwenGregorian/status/1850853937206694399?

    This week, the far-left corporate media hate machine unleashed a ‘blitzkrieg’ of propaganda against the American people, a clear sign of desperation as polls increasingly point toward a favorable outcome for former President Trump this November.

    New data from Bloomberg shows the story count for “Trump Hitler” in MSM jumped to a mindboggling 5,500 this week – the most massive total count in the ten years Deep State muppets in MSM have called Trump a Hitler/Nazi. This is a clear indication that Biden-Obama-Harris radicals and their billionaire funders are getting increasingly desperate.

    We see the Communist left has their marching orders.

    Useful idiots indeed.

    NJRob (b31871)

  364. The Bund complains but does not deny.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (4ad656)

  365. If you are serious, a civil war by a nuclear power would not serve Putins purpose. He would have no idea what would happen with our nukes.

    It did not deter us from 1981 through 1989 (or 1991 if you prefer) in regard to the Soviet Union and its nukes.

    nk (266101)

  366. This “‘blitzkrieg’ of propaganda” was the true stories about Trump wanting generals like Hitler’s, his saying Hitler did some good things, and his fascist comments about using National Guard or military to “handle” this “enemy from within”, where he defines who this internal “enemy” is. Trump said the words.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  367. Many presidents have been called fascist/nazi/communist by their opponents. Trump is the only one who’s ever been called a fascist/unfit to serve/a danger to the republic by many of his own appointees to high administration office, several of whom are generals and admirals with unblemished records for honesty and character. Taking the word of a congenital liar over all these people is telling on yourself.

    lurker (c23034)

  368. Huh…

    WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. economy will continue to provide most of the thrust for global growth through the balance of this year and in 2025, led by robust consumer spending that has held up through a wrenching bout of inflation and the high interest rates used to tame it, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

    In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF raised its 2024 and 2025 economic growth forecasts for the U.S. – the only developed economy to see its outlook marked up for both years – and its chief economist said the “soft landing” sought by the Federal Reserve in which inflation eases without big damage to the job market had largely been achieved.

    Wait, I thought that America was the world’s garbage can.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  369. Rip Murdock (fc3b85) — 10/26/2024 @ 6:34 pm

    Netanyahu should have ignored the US and hit nuclear and oil production targets, as well as command and control centers in Tehran.

    He struck the trgets in the right order, because it is standard U.S. military doctrine for over 30 years to take out the air defences before doing anything else. It possibly avoids any casualties at all to the air force. If there is a criticism to be made, it’s for stopping after a few hours, but he doesn’t want Iran to fire any more missiles at Israel, and he wants U.S. to help in air defense, and maybe this will be a deterrent.

    They almost didn’t kill any Iranians either (Iran I think said 4 soldiers) so this creates a possibility that Iran will decide not to continue. For now,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  370. 372. Don’t you remember GHWB’s “Chicken Kiev” speech?

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  371. 306. The boxes to deposit filled out absentee ballots inside the polling place serve the purpose of avoiding waiting in line, and also the purpose of making sure it was delivered. It still has the defect that signing in takes place after casting a vote, and not before, but once somebody has requested a ballot what can they do unless they delay counting in case someone votes in person with that vote superceding and replacing any absentee ballot, as used to be
    the case in New York. Now requesting an absentee ballot removes you from the poll list of voters who can vote in person.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  372. The commies love to call their opposition Nazis to hide their agenda. It’s typical propaganda from the left. They would be the first to vote for Nazis if they thought it would consolidate their leftist control.

    NJRob (b31871)

  373. If you want to not be called a Nazi, stop repeating the words of the Nazi’s.

    Oddly, you never talk about the words stupid Hitler says. If he’s so righteous, why do you never talk about them?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  374. Late replying to Rip, but Putin did win Georgia, by hook or crook. Sigh.

    “The west should understand that Georgia is now alone, surrounded by Russia, pro-Russian neighbours and governed by a Russian shill. We need our friends,” one of the opposition leaders Nika Gvaramia told the FT

    Two regions of Georgia have been occupied by Putin since 2008, so they were already behind the 8-ball.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  375. It was Republicans, plural, hired by Trump who conveyed what Trump said, that he wanted generals like Hitler and that Hitler did some good things.

    It was Trump himself who said he’s the fascist who would use the National Guard or military to “handle” this “enemy from within”.

    Trump said the words. That’s what’s different from all prior GOP candidates.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  376. LA Dodgers defeat the NY Yankees 4-2, lead series 3-0.

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  377. natsies is as natsies does

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  378. Late replying to Rip, but Putin did win Georgia, by hook or crook. Sigh……

    I’m sure mostly by crook……

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  379. When trumpsters are not burning down ballot drop boxes they are multiple voting. Trumpster caught voting for trump twice in minnesota saying trump needed the votes! (AP) Yet dumpsters they their is no ballot security in blue states.

    asset (7e0c4e)

  380. The commies love to call their opposition Nazis to hide their agenda.

    I always thought Vance was more commie-curious, but if you say he’s full commie, who am I to argue? As for his hidden agenda, I can only guess it’s got something to do with eyeliner.

    lurker (c23034)

  381. Headline: Arson at ballot boxes in Vancouver and Portland destroy hundreds of ballots

    Article:

    Fire suppression devices inside the box helped put out the fire almost immediately, saving hundreds of ballots inside. Only three ballots were damaged, but not beyond recognition of who they belonged to, county election officials said in a release.

    This doesn’t make the attempt any less serious, but the headline is misleading in the extreme. It is in fact absolutely untrue, as the article makes clear.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  382. Ending taxation of Social Security benefits, for example, would cost the program somewhere between $850 billion and $950 billion over nine years.

    Note that only half those taxes go back into the Trust Fund.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  383. Rather than end the taxation of affluent recipients, funnel ALL the revenue from those taxes into the “Trust” Funds.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  384. Man, the Bund keeps complaining that someone else may do what their dear leader, stupid Hitler, already did.

    Dana, this is out-of-line and Klink does it to everyone whether or not THEY follow what I thought were the rules. Put him in moderation or explain why not.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  385. @388 a large number of ballots were destroyed at drop box in vancouver washington. Multiple ballot drop boxes have been attacked including az.

    asset (7e0c4e)

  386. Kevin, the Oregonian did better reporting than the LA Times, which I couldn’t access anyway. Only three ballots were destroyed south of the Columbia, but hundreds were destroyed on the north bank.

    Elections officials in Multnomah County said only three ballots were destroyed at the ballot box at Southeast 10th and Morrison streets in Portland, thanks to a fire suppressant inside the box.

    But in Clark County, hundreds of ballots were destroyed or damaged by the fire at the drop box at the Fishers’ Landing transit center in Vancouver, said Clark County auditor Greg Kimsey.

    As a mule for Mrs. Montagu, I drop our ballots off in a box in front of the county admin building.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  387. As I now understand it, the Vancouver ballot box’s fire system failed after being “upgraded.”

    There is a point to putting these boxes inside more secure facilities.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  388. This doesn’t make the attempt any less serious, but the headline is misleading in the extreme. It is in fact absolutely untrue, as the article makes clear.

    You see, 2 things are not 1 thing. If 1 thing has a specific accessory, and the other thing doesn’t…wait, never mind, it’s the Bund.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  389. Ending taxation of Social Security benefits, for example, would cost the program somewhere between $850 billion and $950 billion over nine years.

    Note that only half those taxes go back into the Trust Fund.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/28/2024 @ 10:09 pm

    A portion of the SS taxes also support the Medicare Hospital Trust Fund:

    Based on data from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees, (the Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget) estimates that eliminating taxation of Social Security benefits for seniors would cut taxes and thus reduce revenues by about $1.8 trillion between Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 and 2035. This includes $1.05 trillion less in revenue collection for Social Security and $750 billion less revenue for Medicare. Based on data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the total reduction in revenue would be $1.6 trillion, with $950 billion less revenue for Social Security and $650 billion less for Medicare.

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  390. Dana, this is out-of-line and Klink does it to everyone whether or not THEY follow what I thought were the rules. Put him in moderation or explain why not.

    Oh dear sweet Kev, now do one about stupid Hitler.

    It’s terrible to point out that the fascists spouting Nazi propaganda, literally repeating the last Bund rally. If your defending or deflecting from it, your on the side of the Nazis, i.e. the Bund.

    You’ve jumped with both feet into the Bund pool willfully, luxuriate in it.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  391. (Netanyahu) struck the trgets in the right order, because it is standard U.S. military doctrine for over 30 years to take out the air defences before doing anything else.

    Israel wouldn’t have needed to do so if they had initially used their intermediate range Jericho 3 ballistic and cruise missiles against Iran’s nuclear, oil, and government targets in Tehran.

    Now they will just have to go back to finish the job.

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  392. (Israel) almost didn’t kill any Iranians either (Iran I think said 4 soldiers) so this creates a possibility that Iran will decide not to continue.

    You say that like it’s a good thing. It’s not.

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  393. 372. Don’t you remember GHWB’s “Chicken Kiev” speech?

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 10/28/2024 @ 7:27 pm

    That was a masterpiece of sandbagging by Bush 41, Sammy. 145 days later Ukraine was independent and the Soviet Union was dissolved. Gorbachev never knew what hit him.

    Sigh. We still had Presidents worthy of the title in that decade.

    nk (266101)

  394. @326

    Has our education system been THAT bad?

    Joe (584b3d) — 10/28/2024 @ 12:52 pm

    Yes.

    whembly (477db6)

  395. @346

    Man, the Bund keeps complaining that someone else may do what their dear leader, stupid Hitler, already did.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 10/28/2024 @ 2:16 pm

    I dub thee as this board’s Sir Godwin.

    Keep showing your arse Sir Godwin.

    whembly (477db6)

  396. @371

    The Bund complains but does not deny.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (4ad656) — 10/28/2024 @ 5:59 pm

    Sir Godwin says what?

    whembly (477db6)

  397. @397

    Oh dear sweet Kev, now do one about stupid Hitler.

    It’s terrible to point out that the fascists spouting Nazi propaganda, literally repeating the last Bund rally. If your defending or deflecting from it, your on the side of the Nazis, i.e. the Bund.

    You’ve jumped with both feet into the Bund pool willfully, luxuriate in it.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 10/28/2024 @ 11:24 pm

    …is anyone else getting a good chuckle on Sir Godwin here?

    It’s his reaction if Harris loses (a big if) the election is what I’m most looking forward too.

    whembly (477db6)

  398. Win or lose, now more than ever, is the need for a Reagan Party or Reagan Caucus on the political scene, because there’s scarcely anything left of our 40th president in today’s GOP, who is the best Republican president we’ve had this side of Teddy Roosevelt. These are his words in his final speech in office.

    And there’s nothing so precious and irreplaceable as America’s freedom. In a speech I gave 25 years ago, I told a story that I think bears repeating. Two friends of mine were talking to a refugee from Communist Cuba. He had escaped from Castro, and as he told the story of his horrible experiences, one of my friends turned to the other and said, “We don’t know how lucky we are.” And the Cuban stopped and said, “How lucky you are? I had someplace to escape to.”

    Well, no, America’s freedom does not belong to just one nation. We’re custodians of freedom for the world. In Philadelphia, two centuries ago, James Allen wrote in his diary that “If we fail, liberty no longer continues an inhabitant of this globe.” Well, we didn’t fail. And still, we must not fail. For freedom is not the property of one generation; it’s the obligation of this and every generation. It’s our duty to protect it and expand it and pass it undiminished to those still unborn.

    Now, tomorrow is a special day for me. I’m going to receive my gold watch. And since this is the last speech that I will give as President, I think it’s fitting to leave one final thought, an observation about a country which I love. It was stated best in a letter I received not long ago. A man wrote me and said: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.”

    Yes, the torch of Lady Liberty symbolizes our freedom and represents our heritage, the compact with our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors. It is that lady who gives us our great and special place in the world. For it’s the great life force of each generation of new Americans that guarantees that America’s triumph shall continue unsurpassed into the next century and beyond. Other countries may seek to compete with us; but in one vital area, as a beacon of freedom and opportunity that draws the people of the world, no country on Earth comes close.

    This, I believe, is one of the most important sources of America’s greatness. We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people — our strength — from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation. While other countries cling to the stale past, here in America we breathe life into dreams. We create the future, and the world follows us into tomorrow. Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier. This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.

    The smartness and wisdom and eloquence and goodwill still shine through, all of which are lacking in this party that is the Party of Reagan no more.
    Sammy brought up GHW Bush’s “Chicken Kiev” speech, and those same Reaganesque attributes are still there, in support of the Soviet republics seeking their own self-determination and freedom.

    We will maintain the strongest possible relationship with the Soviet Government of President Gorbachev. But we also appreciate the new realities of life in the U.S.S.R. And therefore, as a federation ourselves, we want good relations — improved relations — with the Republics. So, let me build upon my comments in Moscow by describing in more detail what Americans mean when we talk about freedom, democracy, and economic liberty.

    No terms have been abused more regularly, nor more cynically than these. Throughout this century despots have masqueraded as democrats, jailers have posed as liberators. We can restore faith to government only by restoring meaning to these concepts.

    I don’t want to sound like I’m lecturing, but let’s begin with the broad term “freedom.” When Americans talk of freedom, we refer to people’s abilities to live without fear of government intrusion, without fear of harassment by their fellow citizens, without restricting other’s freedoms. We do not consider freedom a privilege, to be doled out only to those who hold proper political views or belong to certain groups. We consider it an inalienable individual right, bestowed upon all men and women. Lord Acton once observed: The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.

    Freedom requires tolerance, a concept embedded in openness, in glasnost, and in our first amendment protections for the freedoms of speech, association, and religion — all religions.

    Tolerance nourishes hope. A priest wrote of glasnost: Today, more than ever the words of Paul the Apostle, spoken, 2,000 years ago, ring out: They counted as among the dead, but look, we are alive. In Ukraine, in Russia, in Armenia, and the Baltics, the spirit of liberty thrives.

    But freedom cannot survive if we let despots flourish or permit seemingly minor restrictions to multiply until they form chains, until they form shackles. Later today, I’ll visit the monument at Babi Yar — a somber reminder, a solemn reminder, of what happens when people fail to hold back the horrible tide of intolerance and tyranny.

    Yet freedom is not the same as independence. Americans will not support those who seek independence in order to replace a far-off tyranny with a local despotism. They will not aid those who promote a suicidal nationalism based upon ethnic hatred.

    We will support those who want to build democracy. By democracy, we mean a system of government in which people may vie openly for the hearts — and yes, the votes — of the public. We mean a system of government that derives its just power from the consent of the governed, that retains its legitimacy by controlling its appetite for power. For years, you had elections with ballots, but you did not enjoy democracy. And now, democracy has begun to set firm roots in Soviet soil.

    The key to its success lies in understanding government’s proper role and its limits. Democracy is not a technical process driven by dry statistics. It is the very human enterprise of preserving freedom, so that we can do the important things, the really important things: raise families, explore our own creativity, build good and fruitful lives.

    In modern societies, freedom and democracy rely on economic liberty. A free economy is nothing more than a system of communication. It simply cannot function without individual rights or a profit motive, which give people an incentive to go to work, an incentive to produce.

    And it certainly cannot function without the rule of law, without fair and enforceable contracts, without laws that protect property rights and punish fraud.

    Free economies depend upon the freedom of expression, the ability of people to exchange ideas and test out new theories. The Soviet Union weakened itself for years by restricting the flow of information, by outlawing devices crucial to modern communications, such as computers and copying machines. And when you restricted free movement — even tourist travel — you prevented your own people from making the most of their talent. You cannot innovate if you cannot communicate.

    And finally, a free economy demands engagement in the economic mainstream. Adam Smith noted two centuries ago, trade enriches all who engage in it. Isolation and protectionism doom its practitioners to degradation and want.

    We should be standing on the shoulders of these giants, not the current mental midget we’re stuck with.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  399. ……….. if Harris loses wins (a big if)………

    FIFY

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  400. Most of the polling shows Trumpmentum.

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  401. The Virtual Tout: https://virtualtout.com.

    He correctly predicted the outcome of allstates except one (georgia) in 2020; used a different methodology (paying people to predict aand more if they turned out to be right) for forecasting the Jan. 5, 2021 Georgia Senate runoffs, and, because Oredit-It does not have as many betting options as before, is using a modified methodology now.

    Oveerview: Trending toward Trump

    And,I should note, Pennsylvania has the highest percentage of election day voting of all swing states, I think.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  402. @407

    Most of the polling shows Trumpmentum.

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80) — 10/29/2024 @ 7:43 am

    In 2016…all polling showed Clintonmentum too.

    whembly (477db6)

  403. Rip Murdock (ea3d80) — 10/28/2024 @ 11:36 pm

    You say that like it’s a good thing. It’s not.

    In the short run it’s good, and there could always be a revolution in Iran or the Ayatollah might decide to “swallow poison” and end all these wars and the nuclear program.

    Analysts expect there to be more rounds, and Israel is watching (it hopes) the nuclear program.

    Meanwhile, Hamas has refused terms of surrender (or at least release of the hostages) with safe passage out of Gaza

    I think the safe passage is not real, because they have no place to go. This is not a minor problem. I don’t think Iran wants them to give up and it might even send people to kill those who accept the offer. If this is serious, they must lobby China to take them.

    Interim Egyptian proposal: Release of 5 hostages over a period of (two weeks?) in exchange for truce and some prisoners.

    Meanwwhile they are getting ready to blame Israel for conditions (real and imagined) in Gaza. Israel’s set to outlaw UNWRA and they are ready to pretend there is no aalternaative.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  404. Sammy —

    Just a thought — how male skewed are these betting environments?

    Appalled (ba9e75)

  405. I dunno, looking at the RCP electoral map, Kamala has to win PA, MI and WI, and that gets her to 270. Otherwise, it’ll be Trump.

    Paul Montagu (7d8750)

  406. Hamas has refused terms of surrender (or at least release of the hostages) with safe passage out of Gaza

    LOL! Why would they leave? They are a terrorist group fighting Israel-if they left they would lose the reason for their existence. As a generel rule, terrorist groups don’t surrender, they fight to the bitter end.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  407. Just a thought — how male skewed are these betting environments?

    Appalled (ba9e75) — 10/29/2024 @ 8:17 am

    The overseas betting sites (Polymarket, BetFair, etc.) are irrelevant as a gauge for the election, since Americans are forbidden to participate; all of the bets are from foreigners. There are only a couple of companies have taken advantage of a new court ruling that allows Americans to make wagers on the election.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  408. RIP actress and Academy Award nominee (for Tootsie) Teri Garr (79).

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  409. The overseas betting sites (Polymarket, BetFair, etc.) are irrelevant as a gauge for the election, since Americans are forbidden to participate; all of the bets are from foreigners. There are only a couple of companies have taken advantage of a new court ruling that allows Americans to make wagers on the election.

    A) VPN’s exist
    B) According to them, their customers are pretty much exclusively men
    C) Polymarket saw the stupid Hitler line move on 4 bets, one person, $29M

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  410. Gaming moves the line where their payout risk is minimized. If a huge bet moves the line, it doesn’t mean they think X is happening changed, it means their payout risk changed.

    If you have $30M you want to wager on Harris, the odds will again flip.

    For the Bund incel edgelords, memes and manipulation is kewl.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  411. Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 10/29/2024 @ 1:01 pm

    While VPNs do exist, the recent big move in Polymarket was apparently due to a French citizen who bet $45M on Trump to win; which shows how these markets can be manipulated.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  412. It’s not a market, it’s a betting line, they are unrelated.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  413. stoned Goebels

    “We have to reduce spending to live within our means. That necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity.”

    “President Trump is supportive that everyone’s taking a haircut here because America’s got to live within its means, and we can’t be a wastrel”

    stupid Hitler

    “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare. We’ll have to do it elsewhere. But we’re not going to do anything to hurt them.”

    Maybe they should talk, because DoD, Social Security, and Medicare are $3B of a $6B budget, plus another half a trill for other healthcare. It’s more than a haircut.

    I think we should have a goal of $5T, but that will take more than a decade. Should the DoD shave $250B, how, should we shelve the Dept of Ed? Where does the funding come from? That’s the point, some of the things that the feds pay for still have to be paid for, so shifting it to the state, or local tax base doesn’t solve the problem that people are harping on. And no, tariffs are only harmful, and cannot raise any money, in fact, are more likely to increase inflation and increase the debt.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  414. It’s not a market, it’s a betting line, they are unrelated.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 10/29/2024 @ 2:49 pm

    These websites describe themselves as “prediction markets.”

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  415. You can describe yourself as emperor of the universe, it doesn’t make it so.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  416. Supreme Court leaves RFK, Jr., on ballots in Wisconsin, Michigan

    …………
    On Aug. 27, the Wisconsin Election Commission voted to deny Kennedy’s request. It cited a state law providing that anyone who “files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination. The name of that person shall appear upon the ballot except in case of death.”

    After a state trial court rejected Kennedy’s request for an order that would compel the state’s election commission to remove his name from the ballot, Kennedy went to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court’s ruling on Sept. 27.

    Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, also rejected Kennedy’s effort to withdraw his name from the ballot. Kennedy went first to state court, where a divided Michigan Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Kennedy had not identified a specific law that gave him a clear right to require Benson to remove him from the ballot.

    Kennedy next went to federal court, where he alleged that his constitutional rights had been violated and again sought an order barring Benson from putting his name on the ballot. U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood turned down his request on Sept. 13.

    On Sept. 27 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upheld that denial, emphasizing that Kennedy’s claims were barred because he had already litigated them or could have litigated them in state court. “At bottom,” Judge Eric Clay – a Clinton appointee – wrote in an opinion joined by Judge Rachel Bloomekatz, a Biden appointee, Kennedy’s “current lawsuit is a re-run of his first.”
    ………….
    The full 6th Circuit declined to reconsider Kennedy’s appeal.
    ………….
    In a pair of brief unsigned orders late Tuesday afternoon, the justices denied Kennedy’s request to be removed from the Wisconsin and Michigan ballots. Consistent with their normal practice, they did not provide any explanation for their decisions.

    Gorsuch dissented from the decision to leave Kennedy on the ballot in Michigan. In a short paragraph, he indicated that he largely agreed with the three conservative judges in the 6th Circuit who would have ordered Benson to remove Kennedy from the ballot.
    ###########

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  417. F.B.I. whistleblower tells congress that directer comey sent two female fbi undercover agents in 2015 to infiltrate trump campaign as honeypots to get dirt on trump. (ace hq)

    asset (7b4d85)

  418. Republicans ask Supreme Court to block decision to count Pennsylvania provisional ballots
    ………..
    The Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania Republicans argue that the state supreme court had “dramatically change[d] the rules governing mail voting.” And in so doing, they contend, the state court had violated the U.S. Constitution by usurping the state legislature’s role in regulating federal elections.
    ……….
    ……….The RNC and Pennsylvania Republicans posit that the dispute could affect “tens of thousands of votes,” and possibly even the outcome of the presidential election itself, but at least one voting rights expert has suggested that the number of ballots at stake in the dispute may be relatively low.
    ………….
    In Pennsylvania, voters using mail-in ballots are required to seal their ballot in an envelope – known as the secrecy envelope – and then place it in a second envelope, known as the declaration envelope, that they must sign and date. If a ballot-sorting machine determines that the ballot is “naked” – that is, that it lacks a secrecy envelope – then the voters are notified that they can cast a provisional vote at their polling place on Election Day.

    Two voters whose provisional ballots were not counted during the state’s 2024 primary election went to state court, arguing that the election board was required to count their ballots. By a vote of 4-3, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed that as long as the mail-in ballots are not counted, the provisional ballots should be.
    …………
    In his opinion for the majority (in Moore v. Harper, the “independent state legislature” case), Chief Justice John Roberts warned that the court’s ruling did not give state courts “free rein” to invalidate state election laws. Instead, he explained, because the Constitution gives state legislatures the power to make rules for federal elections, federal courts must “ensure that state court interpretations of that law do not evade federal law.” Specifically, he continued, state courts “may not transgress the ordinary bounds of judicial review such that they arrogate to themselves the power vested in state legislatures to regulate federal elections.”

    But that is precisely what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did in this case, the RNC and the Pennsylvania Republicans tell the justices. “When the legislature says that certain ballots can never be counted,” they say, “a state court cannot blue-pencil that clear command into always.”

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court was doubly wrong, they add, in “changing rules governing mail voting in federal elections after mail voting commenced and less than two weeks before Election Day.” Such a move, they allege, violates the Purcell principle — the idea that courts should not change election rules during the period just before an election.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  419. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are at a stalemate, 48 percent to 48 percent, according to the final poll from The New York Times/Siena College before Election Day.

    2,516 voters were interviewed, but more than 80,000 had to called to get that many to answer. 98% of the people were contacted on cell phones. And they were all registered voters.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  420. I am deluged with calls and texts from pollsters. Scores would be an understatement. They are all Ignore/Delete.

    I don’t think I’m unique in that. I think that polling these days is basically self-reporting and the people who take it seriously are not necessarily an accurate sample of the people who take real voting seriously.

    nk (ed0e2c)

  421. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 10/29/2024 @ 11:00 am

    As a generel rule, terrorist groups don’t surrender, they fight to the bitter end.

    That’s because their bridges are all burned behind them: They face only prison at best.

    But in 1982, Arafat and the PLO left Beirut for Tunisia. (after a siege)

    They later returned to another part of Lebanon and left again. Iran created a new native-Lebanese terrorist group. First Amal, and then Hezbollah.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  422. Pollsters adjust the numbers to try to get a representative sample. But they may be trying to get results not far from other pollsters and they can all be wrong in the same way.

    They say they placed more than 260,000 calls to more than 80,000 voters. That sounds like an average of 3 attempts to each voter,

    They say they worked from a list of registered voters. They don’t explain how they got the cell phone numbers of those voters, since all cell phone numbers are unlisted and I don’t think the voter registration information has heir cell numbers. So something is missing here from the explanation. Perhaps they excluded all those whose registration ccould not be verified,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  423. They say they worked from a list of registered voters. They don’t explain how they got the cell phone numbers of those voters, since all cell phone numbers are unlisted and I don’t think the voter registration information has heir cell numbers.

    My guess is that they cross-match with the commercial lists that vendors/telemarketers use.

    nk (ed0e2c)

  424. As a generel rule, terrorist groups don’t surrender, they fight to the bitter end.

    That’s because their bridges are all burned behind them: They face only prison at best.

    I don’t think Israel would have allowed them to live lest they become trade bait sometime in the future.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  425. In 2016…all polling showed Clintonmentum too.

    whembly (477db6) — 10/29/2024 @ 7:56 am

    Until Comey announced the FBI had re-opened the e-mail investigation. The momentum reversed, and the polling closed to within the margin of error.

    lurker (c23034)

  426. In 2016…all polling showed Clintonmentum too.

    whembly (477db6) — 10/29/2024 @ 7:56 am

    Which was correct, as HRC won the popular vote.

    Rip Murdock (ea3d80)

  427. I wonder what stupid Hitler’s going to do, horrible Harris event just had a 50% bigger crowd than his.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  428. Hahahahaha!!! Hohohohohoho!!! Oh my!

    Biden just crapped in Klink’s bed. LOL!

    BuDuh (59d701)

  429. 6 hours of the Bund spewing garbage, fine. ButbutbutbutUHH, Biden told the truth.

    Mildly I’d add, the Bund should really be the stuff flushed down the toilet, but hey, an internet troll who literally never addresses substance, thinks 1>999.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  430. Told the truth???? Hahahahaha!!!

    You better get a memo to The Whitehouse because they are running from what he said. They must be the Bund too.

    Hahahahaha

    Even CNN has joined the Bund.

    😂

    BuDuh (59d701)

  431. Your schtick has fallen apart faster than your Olds manifolds falling off your Chevy.

    Klink, you are hilarious!

    BuDuh (59d701)

  432. Goodnight, Klink. I’ll catch up on your Dear Diary grief tomorrow.

    Hahahahaha

    BuDuh (59d701)

  433. But sure, don’t vote for Biden (maybe look at your old comments on Biden’s mental state).

    If you don’t think the Bund is garbage, that’s kewl.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (c999a4)

  434. Puerto Rican Americans some which have served in our military garbage? A better case can be made for calling trumpsters garbage ;but still not good enough. How about nobody is garbage or deplorables.

    asset (a54b02)

  435. Man, you think you are making a point, or scoring points, or something.

    The Bund was at MSG, you know that, you are the Bund.

    Logically, could you show the formula that has both stupid Hitler, the Bund, Joe Biden, and CNN on the same side?

    For some reason, I don’t think that word means what you think it means.

    But hey, you do you.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (c999a4)

  436. “Somebody said some bad things. Now, what they’ve done is taken somebody that has nothing to do with the party, has nothing to do with us, said something and they try to make a big deal, I can’t imagine it’s a big deal.”

    I mean, this guy must have just walked up, loaded his own teleprompter, talked for 20 minutes at a Bund event. These guys want to run security at a border of thousands of miles?

    That the event organizers said they nuked a different thing earlier in the day, kind of means he had something to do with “us”.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (c999a4)

  437. “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American, It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”

    “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it, His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.”

    Colonel Klink (ret) (c999a4)

  438. Wow, a guy misspoke and corrected. Guess what, it wasn’t stupid Hitler.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (c999a4)

  439. Hey, Biden called this guy and his supporters garbage, or at least what they say.

    Yeah, this guy is A-OK.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  440. Regarding Joe’s dumb comment, which he had to dumbly backtrack, JD Vance said it best: “We have to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America. I’m so over it.”
    One standard, right, JD?

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  441. Paul, everything has gotten so out of hand. I offer you a sincere apology for poking at you as much as I do when our debates turn childish and go to taunting and then outright meaningless name calling. You and I will never agree and that is obvious. I can see where I could have been much better. Although you have called me a troll, and I don’t think I could ever prove to you otherwise, I have never been offended with that because I can honestly see how my style of arguing can put your thinking on that pathway. But in the entirety of our online relationship you have never stooped to the level of calling me an American with a favorable view of Nazi Germany. Klink has gone to a whole new level that really takes whatever shared opinions I might find on this site and devolved it into an almost meaningless adventure.

    I like your “one standard” notion. I don’t think Klink will agree and I do doubt he will get properly admonished by the moderators or any regular poster using the comment rules you have recently reminded everyone of. He has doubled down on the garbage rhetoric and diminished the idea of it being a little thing for America to get over. Biden may or may not be ashamed of his words, but others are basking in them. When compared to the lousy “comedian” at the Trump Rally, I have yet to find any support for that idiot’s joke.

    Hopefully the country heals faster than I believe this comment section will.

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  442. I appreciate that, BuDuh.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  443. @450

    Yep, I echo BuDuh at @449 Paul. You’re one of the good ones here, even if we disagree.

    whembly (477db6)

  444. Thanks, whembly. I know we disagree strongly on several issues, but it never became personal or involved personal attacks.

    Paul Montagu (1888f5)

  445. I honestly have never seen Lloyd, SaveFerris, and others get this ugly. Just a clash of arguing style. The whole “sock puppet” series of insults and claiming people were posting from Russian VPNs really was ridiculous and unnecessary.

    BuDuh (2fb180)

  446. Now that we’re in a temporary ceasefire, thankfully, I acknowledge there are some mistakes I’ve made, the biggest being about Sandmann.

    On Trump’s “animals” comment, it was one time, part of a blockquote where a dozen bullet points were accurate but for that, apparently that was enough for lloyd to rampage about it. Se la vie. No one’s perfect, I never claimed to be, and I never claimed to be a “font of truth”.

    On Trump’s “bloodbath” remarks, I stand by what I said, because Trump also said “that’ll be least of it” more than once. Trump never clarifies or corrects his comments, so they can be taken as narrowly or broadly as the listener will. But this time around he has a track record, of letting a riot go on unstopped for three-plus hours, so I chose more broadly.

    I’m sure there are other factual mistakes, and I won’t be surprised if some commenters refresh my recollection. Differences of opinion are a separate issue.

    I won’t apologize for pushing back hard on the lies told in this very thread by three of the commenters here. It was a blatant breach of the commenting rules, as clearly communicated by the host of this site.

    Paul Montagu (1888f5)

  447. I was looking at Pat’s older post, and he reposted the following from Goldstein’s account that I think is a great reminder:

    1) Interpreters should try to divine the speaker’s true intent.

    2) Intent is whatever the speaker meant.

    3) The speaker is not necessarily the most reliable interpreter of his own words.

    4) It is perfectly justifiable to tailor one’s presentation to suit the audience.

    5) If you fail to communicate your position to the audience because you failed to signal your intent properly, you should clarify.

    6) Speakers have no responsibility to self-censor to prevent unreasonable and bad faith misinterpretations of their words.

    A lot of the posters here ought to take heart of this… especially, post election day.

    whembly (477db6)

  448. Regarding Biden’s dumb “garbage” comment yesterday, it was worse than a gaffe, it was a Kinsley Gaffe, no matter how much tried to polish the turd of his dumb words. Does he really want Kamala to win? Is he still angry that he had to withdraw? It’s almost inexplicable that he would take the handoff run the wrong way down the field, but he’s the doofus who said “minor incursion” on the eve of an invasion. Sigh.

    This could’ve been really risky, but I wonder if Kamala would’ve been better off if Biden stepped down, say after the 9/10 debate, where she could’ve directed some executive actions and where Biden would be further out of the picture. She could’ve taken added more security to the southern border, maybe lifted some restrictions on Ukraine, but it could go the other way if she continued her incoherence on the Israel-War. We’ll never know, and I’ve far exceeded my quotient on hypotheticals.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  449. So, Biden’s comments now excuse a decade of racist comments, and specifically the 6 hours of racist comments calling millions of Americans garbage.

    Also, stupid Hitler just called all of America a garbage can, this week.

    I know there’s a double standard, but 1=/=1000

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  450. Er, Israel-Hamas War.
    Arnold is a former governor, not a former Republican, but he’s a current statesman…

    I don’t really do endorsements. I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians.

    I also understand that people want to hear from me because I am not just a celebrity, I am a former Republican Governor.

    My time as Governor taught me to love policy and ignore politics. I’m proud of the work I did to help clean up our air, create jobs, balance the budget, make the biggest infrastructure investment in state history, and take power from the politicians and give it back to the people when it comes to our redistricting process and our primaries in California.

    That’s policy. It requires working with the other side, not insulting them to win your next election, and I know it isn’t sexy to most people, but I love it when I can help make people’s lives better with policies, like I still do through my institute at USC, where we fight for clean air and stripping the power from the politicians who rig the system against the people.

    Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either party right now. My Republicans have forgotten the beauty of the free market, driven up deficits, and rejected election results. Democrats aren’t any better at dealing with deficits, and I worry about their local policies hurting our cities with increased crime.

    It is probably not a surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you are a normal person who isn’t addicted to this crap, you probably understand.

    I want to tune out.

    But I can’t. Because rejecting the results of an election is as un-American as it gets. To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious.

    And I will always be an American before I am a Republican.

    That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

    I’m sharing it with all of you because I think there are a lot of you who feel like I do. You don’t recognize our country. And you are right to be furious.

    For decades, we’ve talked about the national debt. For decades, we’ve talked about comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border while fixing our broken immigration system. And Washington does nothing.

    The problems just keep rolling, and we all keep getting angrier, because the only people that benefit from problems aren’t you, the people. The only people that benefit from this crap are the politicians who prefer having talking points to win elections to the public service that will make Americans’ lives better.

    It is a just game to them. But it is life for my fellow Americans. We should be pissed!

    But a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke, a candidate who has shown no ability to work to pass any policy besides a tax cut that helped his donors and other rich people like me but helped no one else else, a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia, or North Korea – that won’t solve our problems.

    It will just be four more years of bullsh-t with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided, and more hateful.

    We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that. He will divide, he will insult, he will find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been, and we, the people, will get nothing but more anger.

    That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you. I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz.

    Vote this week. Turn the page and put this junk behind us.

    And even if you disagree with me, vote, because that’s what we do as Americans. http://vote.org

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  451. Paul Montagu (f97d41) — 10/30/2024 @ 9:49 am

    There is a Star Trek TOS joke in Biden’s comment.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  452. Wrongly purged:

    Mary Howard-Elley fervently believes illegal immigration in the U.S. is a critical problem that only former President Donald Trump can solve. She says the continuation of his border wall and promised mass deportations will make the country safer.

    She agrees with Trump’s unfounded claims that Democrats are opening the borders to allow noncitizens to vote, fearing that it could ultimately cost him the election.

    Howard-Elley didn’t pay much attention when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott helped fuel that narrative by announcing that the state had removed thousands of supposed noncitizens from its rolls, claiming some had a history of voting.

    Then the U.S. citizen learned she was among them.

    The retired Transportation Security Administration agent was confused by how the county could come to that conclusion. And she seethed at the idea that anyone would question the citizenship of a former federal employee with the “whitest name you could have.”

    The elections office in Montgomery County, just north of Houston, had sent Howard-Elley a letter in late January saying that she had been flagged after she indicated that she was not a U.S. citizen in response to a jury summons. She had 30 days to provide the county proof of citizenship or she would be removed from the voter rolls, according to the letter.
    ……….
    ……….She ordered several copies of her certified Louisiana birth certificate and confirmed receipt with an elections office employee. She thought the matter was resolved.
    ……….
    She didn’t realize her registration was canceled until reporters called her this month. Darla Brooks, the Montgomery County voter registration manager, told both Howard-Elley and the news organizations that she had not been reinstated in March because her birth certificate arrived after the 30-day window she was given to prove her citizenship.

    On Oct. 14, Brooks said Howard-Elley had now also missed the registration deadline for this year’s election and would not be able to vote.
    ……….
    Multiple voting rights lawyers pointed to a state law that says counties should immediately reinstate voters’ registrations that were wrongly canceled. Brooks initially told reporters that the law did not apply to Howard-Elley because the county had followed proper procedures when removing her.
    ………..
    A 2021 agency advisory instructs counties to immediately reinstate voters removed for failing to respond to a notice as soon as they present proof of citizenship. They can even be reinstated at a polling place on Election Day.

    Less than two hours after the news organizations sent the secretary of state’s advisory to Montgomery County, Howard-Elley was back on the rolls.
    ……….
    Montgomery County elections administrator Suzie Harvey said her office had never had to deal with a situation like Howard-Elley’s, and while she likely saw the advisory when it was issued, she had forgotten about the specific guidance. She said her office worked quickly to reinstate Howard-Elley when the news organizations flagged the advisory and she is gratified that Howard-Elley will be able to vote.
    ………
    Howard-Elley said she is disturbed at how close she came to losing her ability to vote. If reporters hadn’t called her, Howard-Elley said, she might have been turned away at the polls.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  453. This argument is nonsense, stubbing your toe and amputating your toe with a fork are the same thing, it’s still just a toe.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  454. I know there’s a double standard, but 1=/=1000

    Oh, there’s a double standard alright. Someone said somewhere that Donald gets to be lawless while Kamala must be flawless, which may not be true, but there’s a kernel or two.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  455. …calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious.

    It’s on the Statue of Liberty, and I think Trump (or maybe Stephen Miller) quite deliberately picked that description. (but nobody seems to have so far noticed. I guess they are waiting to pull the trigger)

    https://poets.org/poem/new-colossus

    …“Give me your tired, your poor,

    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

    – Emma Lazarus, in 1883

    Compare to Donald Trump, in 2024:

    https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/live-updates/2024election-updates-harris-trump-locked-virtual-dead-heat-114983801/trump-says-current-border-policy-make-us-garbage-can-for-the-world-115125215?offset=71

    Trump said the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration and border policies had made the U.S. a “dumping ground” for other countries during a rally at Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday.

    “We’re like a garbage can for the world,” Trump said. “And every time I come up and talk about what they’ve done to our country, I get angrier and angrier. [It’s the] first time I’ve ever said ‘garbage can.’ But you know what? It’s a very accurate description.”

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  456. It’s that wretched refuse what made America (and New York!) great or greater in the first place.

    If America can no longer do that, there’s a lot that’s seriously wrong with America that stopping the inflow won’t help (and in fact it can be
    part of the solution)

    Donald Trump’s grandfather was part of that “wretched refuse”, kicked out of Germany in 1905 for having evaded the draft by being and staying outside the country, in the United States, including Alaska, before.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  457. Paul Montagu (1888f5) — 10/30/2024 @ 8:10 am

    Paul, calling me an a$$hole I guess was within the commenting rules, right?. I’m glad there’s a ceasefire but, as you acknowledged, it’s only temporary. How long can folks here resist terms like fascist, Nazi, garbage, deplorables to describe the other side? I predict not very long. There’s not really a lot of other ammo in their clip. Oh sure, a lot of these comments aren’t directed at specific commenters. That’s an out, a cheap one. You folks (Klink, nk, lurker) know exactly what you’re doing.

    I don’t resort to name calling. At least, I never initiate it. If I’m the target, I will respond in kind, if I want to. Cry about it. Note that I let your a$$hole comment go.

    And if calling out lies is a “rampage”, then fine. I’ll keep rampaging.

    lloyd (efb1e1)

  458. lloyd, you’re an asshole because of your personal attack. That is all.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  459. There’s so much ignorance, here. (as well as deliberate misinformation and assumptions based on {sometimes deliberately} partial information)

    On WABC radio the other day, John Catsimatidis, the owner of WABC and a major host too, said that in Ellis Island immigrants were vetted for criminality. No, they were not.(that’s how the Sicilian Mafia got here) That didn’t happen until immigrant visas were required around 1921 and they relied on foreign police records, and it’s still not done for visitors (a category invented during or after World War I) although there are blacklists.

    AT Ellis Island they were screened for money or sponsors to pick them up or health.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  460. @456

    Regarding Biden’s dumb “garbage” comment yesterday, it was worse than a gaffe, it was a Kinsley Gaffe, no matter how much tried to polish the turd of his dumb words. Does he really want Kamala to win? Is he still angry that he had to withdraw? It’s almost inexplicable that he would take the handoff run the wrong way down the field, but he’s the doofus who said “minor incursion” on the eve of an invasion. Sigh.

    This could’ve been really risky, but I wonder if Kamala would’ve been better off if Biden stepped down, say after the 9/10 debate, where she could’ve directed some executive actions and where Biden would be further out of the picture. She could’ve taken added more security to the southern border, maybe lifted some restrictions on Ukraine, but it could go the other way if she continued her incoherence on the Israel-War. We’ll never know, and I’ve far exceeded my quotient on hypotheticals.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41) — 10/30/2024 @ 9:49 am

    Even with the most charitable explanation… that’s besides the point.

    Who’s grand idea was it to schedule Biden to do that speech/QA at the exact same time as Harris’ closing speech at the ellipses? Its either serious incompetence or there’s this is their way to undermine Harris.

    whembly (477db6)

  461. And she seethed at the idea that anyone would question the citizenship of a former federal employee with the “whitest name you could have.”

    A person has to be a citizen to work for the federal government. And she worked for the TSA. But how would they know that she did?

    The elections office in Montgomery County, just north of Houston, had sent Howard-Elley a letter in late January saying that she had been flagged after she indicated that she was not a U.S. citizen in response to a jury summons.

    She lied to escape jury duty. This happens.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  462. Ouch!

    ……….
    Trading in (Trump Media & Technology) shares was halted several times Tuesday as they swung from 14% gains to 3% declines. They ended the day up 8.8%, giving them their highest close since May 30.

    On Wednesday, the stock, which trades under the ticker DJT, fell 21% to $40.84 and was on track for its largest daily percentage decrease since April, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

    The price swings have little to do with the company’s fundamentals–its sales are minuscule for a company of its market value. But traders can make money from its volatility. The speculation has also pushed the company’s value around $10 billion. That’s close to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, that Elon Musk took private in 2022. While X is no longer a public company, its value can be inferred by how Fidelity, one of its investors, marked its stake in recent filings.

    DJT may also be seen as a proxy for Trump’s chances of winning the election next week. He has a clear lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in betting markets, but the polls still show them neck and neck, making the outcome a coin toss. The average of polls taken by RealClearPolitics showed Trump with 48.4% of the vote compared with an even 48% for Harris.

    It’s unclear what might happen to DJT if Trump loses the election. He said he’s not ready to pare his stake yet, but if his political career ends next week, it’s hard to see how the company could be sustained.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  463. doofus who said “minor incursion” on the eve of an invasion.

    That was a forlorn attempt to get Putin to change his objective.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09)

  464. Who’s grand idea was it to schedule Biden to do that speech/QA at the exact same time as Harris’ closing speech at the ellipses?

    I didn’t know it was at the same time. Dumb on stilts, or sabotage, which is also dumb.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  465. Sometimes what is in political ads is more interesting than what is not. For instance, Dr. Kim Schrier has been running ads decrying the high cost of Cheerios — but has had nothing to say about the low cost of fentanyl. Which, she must know, has contributed to the decline in US life expectancy that began in the
    last year or two of the end of the Obama administration.

    Or take the ads for Nick Brown, who is running for Washington state’s attorney general. They feature his two kids, who seem to think he is a great Dad. But, if they have a mother, she is nowhere to be seen. (No, I don’t know why. Perhaps because she is white, and they fear racists?)

    Jim Miller (005aa1)

  466. Speaking of political ads:

    Kamala Harris:
    “Here’s the thing, if you are exhausted from the campaign trail, it raises real questions about you are fit for the toughest job in the world.”

    The Ad

    Something to watch for sure.

    BuDuh (3f5260)

  467. Or take the ads for Nick Brown, who is running for Washington state’s attorney general. They feature his two kids, who seem to think he is a great Dad. But, if they have a mother, she is nowhere to be seen. (No, I don’t know why. Perhaps because she is white, and they fear racists?)

    Jim Miller (005aa1) — 10/30/2024 @ 3:56 pm

    Or divorced? Nick Brown’s full name is Nicholas William Brown.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  468. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 10/30/2024 @ 10:11 am

    Another non-story from Rip.

    She notifies authorities she’s not a citizen. The authorities remove her from the voting rolls. So unfair!

    lloyd (efb1e1)

  469. Zelensky says US has delivered 10% of promised aid.
    The excuse before was “Republicans!!!” and the excuse now? Republicans. Privately telling Zelensky that to aid the Ukraine now may drive turnout amongst Trump leaning isolationists
    I get the feeling the Biden Admin. would like to give Zelensky the Shokin treatment but can’t because of that pesky election he won

    steveg (7095e5)

  470. She lied to escape jury duty. This happens.

    Sammy FInkelman (e4ef09) — 10/30/2024 @ 1:36 pm

    Why would a Trump supporter lie to the government?

    Rip Murdock (f4023e)

  471. What percentage of the people who voted for Trump in 2020 does this one person account for, Rip?

    BuDuh (3f5260)

  472. I thought they were all law abiding citizens.

    Rip Murdock (f4023e)

  473. Oh…

    BuDuh (3f5260)

  474. Zelensky on the leaky Biden Administration

    “You see what is happening in the media now. They said that Ukraine wants or wanted to get a lot of Tomahawk missiles and so on. But this was confidential information between Ukraine and the White House. How to understand these messages? It means that there is nothing confidential between the partners.”

    steveg (7095e5)

  475. LA Dodgers defeat the NY Yankees 7-6 after being down 5-0; scoring 5 unearned runs on Yankee mistakes in the fifth inning. Dodgers win the World Series 4-1.

    Rip Murdock (f4023e)

  476. My plan comes to fruition.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  477. 5th inning: Single, error, error, loading the bases no outs. Strike out, strike out. Slow roller to first but the pitcher doesn’t cover. One run in. Single, scoring two. Double, scoring 2.

    5-0 goes to 5-5.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RLlZzS1NNg

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  478. Uhhh_what_now?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  479. BuhDuh, Paul Montagu — that was fantastic to witness and a shining example for us all. Thank you.

    aphrael (8c9441)

  480. Michigan congresswoman debbie dingle says trump will intern Michigan muslims if elected. Trump rides into event in garbage truck with vivak riding in back slinging garbage cans. Biden says how can I help kamala let me count the ways.

    asset (92c7e3)

  481. So stupid Hitler wants RFK jr to go wild on Health and stuff.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  482. Melania? I don’t know who she is. I know she lives down the hall from me at Mar-a-Lago. I don’t know anything about her. I heard she wrote a book. I haven’t read it yet but they say it’s good. I wrote 78 books. Or maybe it was 87. I wrote so many I lost count. It was 97. I remember now. I have a very good memory. Man, woman, person, camera, TV. Not many people can remember all five. Dr. Ronnie Jackson was very impressed with my memory. He couldn’t take his eyes off of it. You know who was really impressive? Arnold Palmer. Now there was a man who was all man if you know what I mean. If I was ever with Stormy Daniels I would think of Arnold Palmer. But I was never with Stormy Daniels. She just said that because she was peddling a book. I wrote 112 books. Word, sentence, paragraph, page, chapter. Not many people can remember all five.

    nk (0454cd)

  483. If you’re in Texas and miscarrying, best drive to New Mexico.

    Josseli Barnica grieved the news as she lay in a Houston hospital bed on Sept. 3, 2021: The sibling she’d dreamt of giving her daughter would not survive this pregnancy.

    The fetus was on the verge of coming out, its head pressed against her dilated cervix; she was 17 weeks pregnant and a miscarriage was “in progress,” doctors noted in hospital records. At that point, they should have offered to speed up the delivery or empty her uterus to stave off a deadly infection, more than a dozen medical experts told ProPublica.

    But when Barnica’s husband rushed to her side from his job on a construction site, she relayed what she said the medical team had told her: “They had to wait until there was no heartbeat,” he told ProPublica in Spanish. “It would be a crime to give her an abortion.”

    For 40 hours, the anguished 28-year-old mother prayed for doctors to help her get home to her daughter; all the while, her uterus remained exposed to bacteria.

    Three days after she delivered, Barnica died of an infection.

    There’s no doubt in my mind that the release of this story a week before an election was intentional, but this happened, doctors did not prioritize the life of the mother out of fear of criminal prosecution.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  484. Is there anything about how that story was written that bothers you, Paul?

    BuDuh (3f5260)

  485. @491:

    This is the real problem with both the anti-abortion laws and the drugs used in “medical” abortions: a frequent result of using those drugs, especially later in pregnancy, is an induced and incomplete miscarriage. At that point, a DNC is medically necessary but it is very hard to write a law that clearly separates a natural miscarriage from an induced one.

    There is also the moral problem with criminalizing needed medical attention. We don’t criminalize any medical attention to save a life from, say, fentanyl abuse or being shot in the course of committing a felony, but we DO criminalize medical attention FOR FEAR it would be furthering an illegal abortion, even when the fetus cannot survive.

    Texas needs to revisit its law to make clear that life-saving procedures will not be withheld. If not, it deserves to be struck down by the courts and Texas’s sovereign immunity from lawsuits needs to be restricted here.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  486. Is there anything about how that story was written that bothers you, Paul?

    I’m more concerned he thinks ProPublica is a valid source of information.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  487. I’m more concerned he thinks ProPublica is a valid source of information.

    I am trying a new format for myself, so I am leaving the messenger out of the conversation I am hoping for. What I am asking for is thoughts after taking a critical look at how that story was written.

    BuDuh (3f5260)

  488. Paul Montagu (f97d41) — 10/31/2024 @ 5:41 am

    There’s no doubt in my mind that the release of this story a week before an election was intentional, but this happened, doctors did not prioritize the life of the mother out of fear of criminal prosecution.

    Who scared them?

    Not the anti-abortion people, I’d bet.

    https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/20/texas-abortion-law-miscarriages-ectopic-pregnancies

    Treatments for certain pregnancy complications are distinct from abortions under Texas laws, experts say, but confusion has already limited some patients’ access to life-saving procedures and medicines.

    By María Méndez
    July 20, 2022
    5 PM Central

    …Texas laws banning abortions make narrow exceptions only to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent “substantial impairment of major bodily function.” And lawmakers in recent years have clarified state statutes to say treatments for miscarriages, known as “spontaneous abortions” in medicine, and ectopic pregnancies, in which a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus and becomes unviable, do not count as abortions.

    But the lack of clarity accompanying the threat of jail time and six-figure fines for medical professionals has led some hospitals and doctors in the state to deny or delay care for pregnancy complications, according to multiple reports. Doctors and experts also worry that patients with pregnancy complications may be too afraid of being accused of inducing an abortion to seek care.

    They could seek clarification or promises from local district attorneys. But they are like Hamas: they want deaths for the propaganda value.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  489. Last week, the Texas Medical Association warned that several hospitals in the state have turned away or waited to treat patients with pregnancy complications — including a physician in Central Texas who was allegedly instructed by a hospital to not treat an ectopic pregnancy until a rupture occurred. Such a rupture can be life-threatening.

    “To the extent anybody is delaying or denying care for ectopic pregnancy, they are simply misunderstanding the law,” Grossman said.

    But things can be murkier when it comes to treating miscarriages, she said….

    ….But in cases of unviable pregnancies in which fetal cardiac activity can still be detected, treatment to remove the expected miscarriage could be considered illegal under Texas’ laws, Grossman said.

    “What you’re really worried about is that period of time when what’s going to be a miscarriage, if you let it take a natural course, might cause severe suffering, and/or death to the mother, to the pregnant person,” she said. “If you do something to prevent that, you might be in fact performing an illegal abortion.”

    So say the advocated of “choice.”

    There have been no criminal charges against providers since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in late June to overturn the constitutional right to abortion access that was protected by Roe v. Wade, but anti-abortion groups and state lawmakers have threatened to ramp up the pressure against abortion providers and their allies.

    The Biden administration last week told hospitals they must treat pregnant patients who need an abortion to stabilize a life-threatening condition. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton quickly sued the Biden administration over the federal guidance.

    Federal law typically trumps state laws, but it will now be up to courts to decide whether that will be the case in this instance.

    What’s the problem? \Insurance?

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  490. I gotta protect the women, whether they like it or not.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  491. “They could seek clarification or promises from local district attorneys. But they are like Hamas: they want deaths for the propaganda value.”

    Why should the district attorney be part of the healthcare process?

    Davethulhu (591411)

  492. Sad!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  493. Why should the district attorney be part of the healthcare process?

    Are they part of the malpractice process?

    BuDuh (3f5260)

  494. They could seek clarification or promises from local district attorneys. But they are like Hamas: they want deaths for the propaganda value.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 10/31/2024 @ 8:53 am

    Should the DAs have staff available 24/7 to field emergency calls from doctors in the operating rooms?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  495. “Are they part of the malpractice process?”

    After the fact. Should the be consulted before every medical procedure?

    Davethulhu (591411)

  496. They could seek clarification or promises from local district attorneys. But they are like Hamas: they want deaths for the propaganda value.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 10/31/2024 @ 8:53 am

    Should the DAs have staff available 24/7 to field emergency calls from doctors in the operating rooms?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 10/31/2024 @ 9:11 am

    Better yet, have DAs in the operating rooms to observe and advise every surgical procedure. In that case, however, the counties better carry malpractice insurance.

    The accusation that “they want deaths for the propaganda value” is completely without factual basis.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  497. Should the be consulted before every medical procedure?

    No. But I don’t see why they would not be used as a resource for clarification.

    BuDuh (3f5260)

  498. https://x.com/ralakbar/status/1851751888745627967

    Biden Admin spokesman on aid to Ukraine being curated rather than delivered says system is to “sustain deliveries over a period of time”
    I get it that they don’t want to drop ship 2,000,000 155mm shells in one load to a PO BOX on the Eastern Front.

    I also see that bogging Russia down in a “quagmire” is possibly a better outcome for US than a robust Ukraine using western weapons tech to spank Putin
    If Trump wins, he’ll have the same problem except anything short of decisive victory by Ukraine will be framed as Trump favoring Putin.
    If Trump wins and I were Zelensky, I’d consider leaking everything I could find on the Bidens, Russian collusion, maybe offer to conscript the Vindmans. It’d all be on the table
    Putin lover or deal maker, Trump is going to want the war to end- not drip on endlessly and Zelensky needs to get ahead of it.

    Harris offers him no consolation because Putin, NATO, EU etc. will speak in platitudes to her as head of a powerful state, but they won’t respect her at all. She represents-at best- more of the same

    steveg (7095e5)

  499. Who scared them?

    It’s there in the piece, Sammy.

    At the time of Barnica’s miscarriage in 2021, the Supreme Court had not yet overturned the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. But Texas lawmakers, intent on being the first to enact a ban with teeth, had already passed a harsh civil law using a novel legal strategy that circumvented Roe v. Wade: It prohibited doctors from performing an abortion after six weeks by giving members of the public incentives to sue doctors for $10,000 judgments. The bounty also applied to anyone who “aided and abetted” an abortion.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  500. Someone ought to have sued the legislature, claiming the crowd-source law was itself an abortion.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  501. No. But I don’t see why they would not be used as a resource for clarification.

    Our legal system resolves disputes after they arise, not proactively. If people need legal advice, the solution under our system is to hire an attorney. This is how it works for the hospitals, doctors, and patients.

    DRJ (df5ffc)

  502. The only way to get a proactive government opinion of the interpretation of existing law is through the Attorney General in the jurisdiction where the law is. That would be useful in abortion cases but it is a lengthy process, not something for a pending dispute. In those cases, the answer is get an attorney or legal aid to seek immediate relief in court.

    DRJ (df5ffc)

  503. We see similar cases on occasion where hospitals deny care and/or want to turn off life support, and the family goes to court to stop it.

    DRJ (df5ffc)

  504. > Texas needs to revisit its law to make clear that life-saving procedures will not be withheld. If not, it deserves to be struck down by the courts and Texas’s sovereign immunity from lawsuits needs to be restricted here.

    Prediction: they will not revisit the law, and the law will be upheld by the Supreme Court.

    aphrael (078a66)

  505. Hard cases make bad law.

    Because 1 or 2 people might have misinterpreted the law does not make the law bad.

    Carry on with the propublica propaganda. They also continued the lie about the woman in Georgia in their piece of propaganda.

    NJRob (b31871)

  506. https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/10/31/pa-democratic-party-illegally-suppressing-the-vote-n3796520

    Leftists breaking the law and trying to suppress the vote in areas where they cannot rig the vote.

    NJRob (b31871)

  507. Garbage people

    Howard Lutnick, the billionaire CEO of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a longtime friend of Trump’s, told the network’s Kaitlan Collins that vaccines are “not proven” to be safe. Lutnick said he’d recently been schooled on vaccines by Kennedy, the failed independent presidential candidate and anti-vaxxer who has endorsed Trump.

    Kennedy has said he would have significant influence over public health policy if Trump wins the White House.

    “So, I spent two-and-a-half hours this week with Bobby Kennedy Jr., and it was the most extraordinary thing. Because, let’s face it, we’ve all heard on the news all sorts of sort of snarky comments about him,” Lutnick told Collins.

    Recounting his conversation with Kennedy, Lutnick went on to link autism to the growth of vaccines — a discredited idea that dates back to a retracted study from 1998 — before Collins interrupted to remind viewers Lutnick is not a scientist.

    “Hang on,” the anchor said. “OK, neither of us are doctors. Vaccines are safe.”

    “Why do you think vaccines are safe? There’s no product liability anymore. They’re not proven,” Lutnick said.

    “Because they’re proven. Kids get them and they’re fine,” Collins said.

    “Why do you think they’re fine?” Lutnick responded.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  508. Just an anecdote, but my sister in law, voted for stupid Hitler in 2016 and 20, but called my wife today, to point out the whole “whether they like it or not” bit. She’s out, she’s voting for Harris because of that, all the other crimes and racism, flirting with the Nazi’s and KKK, not enough to flip her. But some gross old man with a history of sexual misconduct was the breaking point.

    Every woman knows men like stupid Hitler, it’s always gross, and he’s the poster child for smarmy, scummy, letch. The more women turn out, the more votes are for Harris.

    That he’s counting on his ick factor turning out young men, highlights a problem with them. I can’t believe the incel schtick is working on so many young men.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a)

  509. Whether Ms. Barnica liked it or not, she died from an infection caused her doctors’ refusal to remove her miscarrying fetus whose heart was going to stop beating regardless, which happened shortly after TX passed their abortion tattletale law.

    In the case of Amber Thurman in Georgia, while it’s easy and lazy to go ad hom on ProPublica, they accurately reported that the state’s maternal mortality review committee concluded that their deaths were “preventable”.

    This is going to remain a problem as long as state law and the Hippocratic Oath are in conflict. To me, it is pro-life that Barnica and Thurman should have gotten the health care when they needed it to keep them alive.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  510. …her death, not their deaths…

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  511. And I’ve run into dozens of voters in the past few weeks who admitted to being Democrats, but are tired of the race baiting ans the propaganda from the left. They are voting for Trump because it was better under him than it is now.

    Have a nice day.

    NJRob (b31871)

  512. Here’s the text of Zurawski vs State of Texas: https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1458610/230629.pdf

    The relevant part of the ruling:

    Under the Human Life Protection Act, a woman with a
    life-threatening physical condition and her physician have the legal
    authority to proceed with an abortion to save the woman’s life or major
    bodily function, in the exercise of reasonable medical judgment and with
    the woman’s informed consent.1 As our Court recently held, the law does
    not require that a woman’s death be imminent or that she first suffer
    physical impairment.2 Rather, Texas law permits a physician to address
    the risk that a life-threatening condition poses before a woman suffers
    the consequences of that risk. A physician who tells a patient, “Your life
    is threatened by a complication that has arisen during your pregnancy,
    and you may die, or there is a serious risk you will suffer substantial
    physical impairment unless an abortion is performed,” and in the same
    breath states “but the law won’t allow me to provide an abortion in these
    circumstances” is simply wrong in that legal assessment.

    The problem here is that doctors don’t believe that the state won’t still charge them, even if the law covers them.

    Davethulhu (591411)

  513. “And I’ve run into dozens of voters in the past few weeks who admitted to being Democrats, but are tired of the race baiting ans the propaganda from the left.”

    lamo

    Davethulhu (591411)

  514. Better yet, have DAs in the operating rooms to observe and advise every surgical procedure.

    They just need to clarify that there will not be any prosecutions in cases where there is doubt about whether the life of the mother or substantial physical impairment will occur. That still is a risk.

    Now when there was a chance of anyone filing a lawsuit perhaps there was some grounds for delay but someone could file a lawsuit even if there was no heartbeat,

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  515. Have a nice day.

    You, too. Your lie is still in this thread, unretracted you f-cking asshole.

    Paul Montagu (1888f5)

  516. lloyd (efb1e1) — 10/30/2024 @ 4:43 pm

    She notifies authorities she’s not a citizen. The authorities remove her from the voting rolls. So unfair!

    She didn’t expect anyone to compare the records.

    By the way, I think that lying on a jury notice form this is one of those crimes where they threaten severe penalties but never enforce it except in extremely unusual circumstances.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  517. Davethulhu (591411) — 10/31/2024 @ 1:44 pm

    The problem here is that doctors don’t believe that the state won’t still charge them, even if the law covers them.

    Because that is what their lawyers tell them!

    Different Texas hospitals have different policies
    and they don’t in fact need to go out of state (if they know that)

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  518. Not a lie. But your vulgar language is against the ToS.

    NJRob (b31871)

  519. Jazz Shaw from Hot Air passed away.

    NJRob (b31871)

  520. “Because that is what their lawyers tell them!”

    People should listen to their lawyers.

    Davethulhu (591411)

  521. Not a lie. But your vulgar language is against the ToS.

    Yeah, a lie, you were fact-checked on your lie, you lying sack of sh-t, which is an accurate description of your character.
    You’re the one who violated the commenting rules which, to repeat, the key rule is this.

    That leads me to the key principle: DO NOT MISCHARACTERIZE OTHER PEOPLE’S POSITIONS. Also, do not mischaracterize other people’s positions. One more thing: do not mischaracterize other people’s positions.

    You mischaracterized because you don’t have a single comment of mine to back up your lying claim. And lloyd and Kevin are also lying sacks of sh-t for their lies.

    Paul Montagu (1888f5)

  522. DO NOT MISCHARACTERIZE OTHER PEOPLE’S POSITIONS.

    And lloyd and Kevin are also lying sacks of sh-t for their lies.

    I can’t speak for lloyd, but that is a clear mischaracterization of my position.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  523. Here’s the thing about Paul:

    He posts hundreds of times a week. Most of his posts are tedious in the extreme, and almost no one reads them all. Now and then some one of them needs a response, but IF YOU HAVEN’T READ EVERY LAST THING HE’S WRITTEN, he will claim you are misrepresenting his position because of something he said in some other post.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  524. Whether Ms. Barnica liked it or not, she died from an infection caused her doctors’ refusal to remove her miscarrying fetus

    This is why I wanted to do a deep dive into how the story was written.

    I can’t find where the blame on the doctors came from a source other than the husband saying the wife said so.

    The conclusion is really written evasively:

    After reviewing the four-page summary, which included the timeline of care noted in hospital records, all agreed that requiring Barnica to wait to deliver until after there was no detectable fetal heartbeat violated professional medical standards because it could allow time for an aggressive infection to take hold. They said there was a good chance she would have survived if she was offered an intervention earlier.

    If the records they reviewed said that the doctors were waiting to deliver, the author would have put that front and center. Instead there are several things going on that the reader is convinced are all the same due to the deception.

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  525. #475 Rip, thanks for finding that. I should have mentioned that possibility in my original comment.

    As I read that document, Nick Brown’s wife has filed for a divorce/separation — but that is as far as it has gone. (Legal beagles should feel free to correct me.)

    If so, kind of a strange time to run for a high stress office like attorney general. Especially with two kids. (Who look about 10 and 12 to me.)

    Jim Miller (d74930)

  526. Transcript of Kamala Harris’s speech at the Ellipse, Tuesday, October 29, 2024:

    https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2024/10/30/full-transcript-of-vice-president-kamala-harriss-ellipse-speech

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09)

  527. Comedy Gold!

    Republican nominee Donald Trump sued CBS News on Thursday over an interview with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris that aired on its “60 Minutes” program earlier this month, arguing that the network’s edit of the sit-down was “deceitful” and “amounts to a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election.”
    ……….
    A spokesperson for CBS News called the lawsuit “completely without merit” and said in a statement that “60 Minutes” “fairly presented the Interview to inform the viewing audience, and not to mislead it.”
    …………
    The lawsuit said it was filed in Texas because CBS engages in “substantial and not isolated business activities” there. “The Interview was aired in Texas, remains accessible to the general public in Texas, and has been viewed by individuals in Texas,” the complaint said.
    …………
    “This is obviously a public relations stunt, an attempt to undermine the credibility of not only Harris and not only of CBS News, but of all traditional mainstream legacy media,” said Robert Jensen, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “Traditional mainstream legacy media reports critically about Trump’s deceptions, his coarse language, his lies, his abusive language, and so Trump is always trying to undermine the credibility of those journalists.”

    The lawsuit seeks unusually high damages of $10 billion, alleging that the editing of the interview “damaged President Trump’s fundraising and support values by several billions of dollars, particularly in Texas.” It demands that CBS post the full recording of the interview as well as the unedited transcript of Harris’s response.
    ############

    After the case ends up being transferred to New York, since that is where both parties are located, it will be summarily dismissed for lack of standing and lack of a concrete injury to Trump. He will need to prove the injuries to his fundraising, which is unlikely.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  528. Post 537 should have been blockquoted, except for the italicized portion.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  529. It’s too bad we don’t have a special layout for Trump quotes. Blockhead, not blockquote.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  530. Maybe use Wingdings.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  531. It’s too bad we don’t have a special layout for Trump quotes. Blockhead, not blockquote.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/31/2024 @ 4:59 pm

    Maybe use Wingdings.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 10/31/2024 @ 5:00 pm

    Both are good ideas.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  532. Trump and Vance are trying to make it look like PA votes are questionable. Fast forward a week and watch them defending those votes if PA is the state that puts them over the top.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  533. I can’t speak for lloyd, but that is a clear mischaracterization of my position.

    No, Kevin, you’re lying about that, too, as much as Rob lied. You said…

    “But, not to beat a dead horse, you were OK with the Steele Memorandum that Hillary was flogging.”

    …which is a lie. You have no factual support, not a single quote where I said I was okay with that. You can waste your time looking for a comment, but you won’t find such a thing, because I never said such a thing. You should man up, Kevin, retract and apologize.

    This is my red line, folks, just like it’s Patterico’s red line. If you’re going to accuse someone of saying something, you goddam better back it up.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  534. He posts hundreds of times a week. Most of his posts are tedious in the extreme, and almost no one reads them all. Now and then some one of them needs a response, but IF YOU HAVEN’T READ EVERY LAST THING HE’S WRITTEN, he will claim you are misrepresenting his position because of something he said in some other post.

    This is interesting, because you post way more than I do, and it’s tedium, but you won’t see whining about. You’ve already told me that you don’t like what I say, and well so what, get over yourself.

    Bottom line, Kevin, you claimed I said something, but you pulled that claim straight from your ass, which is a personal attack, and was a pile-on after Rob’s personal attack. WTF is wrong with you?

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  535. WTF is wrong with you?

    Right back at you. You are taking everything as a personal attack.

    Tell you what. I’m willing to start over it you will. Then again, maybe I’m just gone. I’ve been on this site as long as it’s been active; maybe that’s too long.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  536. Right back at you. You are taking everything as a personal attack.

    You’re lying about that, too, Kevin. I took three specific comments, not “everything”, as personal attacks because each were lies that smeared a commenter, and now you’re too much of a pizda to own up. So thanks for revealing your shiddy character.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  537. Seriously, why “start over” without any assurance that you’re not going to pull this crap all over again. Stay or go, I don’t care.

    Catoggio on Trumpian policy.

    Imagine that. Somehow, it might all come down to policy in the least policy-focused, utterly unserious—on both sides—presidential race of our collective lifetimes.
    […]
    What Trump’s voters are actually voting for is magic beans. On one issue after another, he’s made ludicrously utopian promises to them without any pretense of explaining how they’ll achieve the desired results. And in each case, remarkably, there’s reason to think those policies will hit the “forgotten man” of the working class hardest. His supporters either don’t grasp his agenda or are electing him despite it, not because of it.

    I’ve seen the “magic beans” phenomenon firsthand when chatting about foreign policy with Trump supporters in my family. They’re mystified when I tell them he might plausibly try to withdraw the U.S. from alliances in Europe and the Far East. (Fun fact: Unlike the Democratic platform, the Republican platform this year conspicuously didn’t mention Taiwan.) And they’re downright dumbfounded when I suggest there’s an ideological reason for that: Trump and his right-hand man, J.D. Vance, disdain Western liberalism and hope to realign America with authoritarian regimes like Russia and China, with whom they feel more kinship politically.

    My Trumpy relatives had no idea. They’ve been sold magic beans about their man’s “strength” and assume, I think, that tough-guy bravado alone will deter Russian and Chinese expansionism.

    Forget foreign policy, though, as voters don’t care about that. Trump’s great, possibly insuperable advantage is his pre-pandemic economic record. Whatever ends up happening on the Korean peninsula, one might tell oneself, at least the good times will roll in America again once he’s back in office. In reality, here’s what’s on tap according to one very well-known Trump mega-booster and prospective White House adviser:

    Elon Musk appeared to acknowledge Tuesday that his pledge to help former president Donald Trump slash federal spending could unleash severe, short-term economic turmoil, underscoring the fiscal stakes as voters weigh whether to send the Republican back to the White House.

    Musk first outlined his highly aggressive target at a raucous campaign rally in New York last weekend, promising to identify “at least $2 trillion in cuts” as part of a formal review of federal agencies that he would conduct if Trump wins next week’s election.

    Unless you’re planning to take a hatchet to entitlements and the Pentagon, both of which would amount to political arsenic, you’re not cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget. That’s pure magic beans. But it’s telling how Musk reacted when a commenter on Twitter speculated that those cuts would inspire a “severe overreaction in the economy” causing markets to “tumble” (before, supposedly, producing a healthier, more sustainable economy). “Sounds about right,” Elon confessed.

    Do Trump’s voters understand that blowing up the federal budget and sowing economic chaos is what his team intends in a second term?

    When he assures them that tariffs are a panacea for problems ranging from child care costs to budget deficits to war(!), somehow without any of the obvious downsides like driving up prices and causing mayhem in international business, do they know—or care—that he’s handing them magic beans?

    Do they actually believe he’s going to eliminate the federal income tax and replace it with a tariff-based system instead, which wouldn’t produce nearly as much revenue?

    Have they heard that his plan to eliminate income tax on Social Security payments will accelerate the crisis in the program, potentially bankrupting it by 2031 and causing an automatic one-third cut to benefits? Are they aware that extending the Trump tax cuts of 2017, which their man plans to do, would mainly benefit the well-off and drive future deficits twice as high as Harris’ plans would (unless Musk really does end up nuking half of the federal budget somehow, that is)? Do they grasp what will happen to programs like Medicare as our sovereign debt balloons and paying interest on it consumes more of the federal budget?

    Are they aware that the Republican speaker of the House, a top Trump crony, recently promised “massive reform” in health care markets that would functionally result in “no Obamacare” even though Trump has nothing more than the “concepts of a plan” about what might replace it?

    Have they given a moment’s thought to the economic consequences of pulling millions of illegal immigrants off the job and deporting them, or of making America so inhospitable to them that they choose to go home? Presumably not: The point of “magic beans” logic is to let voters believe that seismic economic disruptions, to the labor force or otherwise, somehow will involve no trade-offs whatsoever.

    How can policy explain Donald Trump’s populist victory next week when so many of these policies are obviously anti-populist?

    They’re also obviously not conservative either.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  538. Seriously, why “start over” without any assurance that you’re not going to pull this crap all over again. Stay or go, I don’t care.

    You’re a real sh*t Paul. Does your wife know what you post? Why don’t you show her.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  539. There you go, blame-shifting like the lying asshole you are.
    I’m all for going back to civility, but it’s on you to stay on the right side of the red line. Can you do that? At this point, I’m not optimistic.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  540. Kevin,

    you are giving him too much credit. He trolled at Hot Air and who knows how many other sites under different names. He will always claim to be a conservative, but be one espousing leftist positions.

    It’s always, to save the Republic we must advance the leftist agenda. This is just more of the same.

    Wouldn’t surprise me if him, Klink and a couple of others are the same person or came from the same group elsewhere after they destroyed that site.

    NJRob (b31871)

  541. Jake Sullivan is probably Vladimir Putin’s biggest Western enabler in the Ukraine conflict.
    Running joke is that Jake Sullivan is better at defending Russia from Ukraine than the s400 SAM (Iran may agree, but that is a story for a different day)
    Trump threatened to let NATO fight their own way out of an attack by Putin’s Russia unless they began to carry their weight in defense spending. The Sullivan Administration has repeatedly leaked, lied, shortchanged- demonstrating that the US under viceroyal Sullivan is unreliable when up against Putin. We can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Sullivan and Russia

    Jake Sullivan in 2016 projecting on Trump and Russia
    “This could be the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow,” Sullivan claimed. “Computer scientists have apparently uncovered a covert server linking the Trump Organization to a Russian-based bank. This secret hotline may be the key to unlocking the mystery of Trump’s ties to Russia. … This line of communication may help explain Trump’s bizarre adoration of Vladimir Putin.

    Sullivan added: “We can only assume that federal authorities will now explore this direct connection between Trump and Russia.”

    https://x.com/HillaryClinton/status/793250312119263233/photo/1

    steveg (7095e5)

  542. NJRob (b31871) — 10/31/2024 @ 7:03 pm

    You said, “You pushed the 51 intelligence officials garbage hook, line and sinker.” Show your work, Rob. Back up your claim.

    At Hotair, you lied that I was a Hillary supporter. The fact is that I’ve been NeverClinton as much as NeverTrump.
    I’m not backing down here. Tomorrow’s another day, and hopefully there will be a new open thread, but I’m not backing down here, so I advise you to stop the bullying.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  543. Paul Montagu (f97d41) — 10/31/2024 @ 7:44 pm

    Hey Paul I’m just handing out candy, so I’ve got some time to waste. The search tool is really useful.

    Patterico, the NYP says “the shop owner couldn’t positively identify the customer as Hunter Biden”, which only raises more questions. The shop owner took the person’s number because he tried to call him, so he must’ve taken his name, too, right? He didn’t say.
    Couldn’t that number be traced to a person’s phone? If it was a burner, then only more suspicions arise.

    The conspiracy theorist in me posits this: Someone took a sticker from Biden’s foundation and slapped it on the laptop, then filled it with as much publicly available information on Hunter as possible, maybe hacked into his Facebook account, and inserted a stream of phony baloney emails. Bannon is involved in this, and I wouldn’t put it past him.

    Paul Montagu (77c694) — 10/14/2020 @ 9:02 am

    I mean, looks like you didn’t even need the 51 intelligence blowhards to tell you it was planted misinformation. The claim is backed up.

    lloyd (5033b5)

  544. And I’ve run into dozens of voters in the past few weeks who admitted to being Democrats, but are tired of the race baiting ans the propaganda from the left. They are voting for Trump because it was better under him than it is now.

    Not buying it for a nanosecond. It’s like stupid Hitler telling a story, all lie, all the time, obvious and simple.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (6c274e)

  545. @554 under the radar as in 2016 real left democrats like me who will vote for Jill Stein fed up with democrat party trying to appeal to republicans instead of progressives. we cost hillary Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2016. If the dnc thinks constant ads with donor class money isn’t turning democrats off with reminding them who is in control of the party $$$ they will have a rude awakening. For every action their is a reaction. Bernie and the squad are playing the game so the left doesn’t get blamed for kamala’s loss and if she wins the left will have supported the party.

    asset (727b8f)

  546. The real Real Left wears boxers under Khakis cause it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

    Eat your heart out, Mr. Trump!

    nk (89646e)

  547. I mean, looks like you didn’t even need the 51 intelligence blowhards to tell you it was planted misinformation.

    Irrelevant, lloyd. The comment was basically spitballing and had nothing to do with 51 intelligence officials or Russian disinformation.
    Rob said this: “You pushed the 51 intelligence officials garbage hook, line and sinker.”
    Neither you nor Rob have unearthed a single comment of mine that even brought up such a thing.

    Y’all are the Putins here, because your attacks were unprovoked, illegitimate and wrong, and I’ll push back as I’ll see fit.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  548. #555 You aren’t alone in backing Ms. Stein.

    Jim Miller (902107)

  549. I take it that we won’t be having a discussion on what I see as deceptive language in the miscarriage link?

    BuDuh (4214e4)

  550. For anyone concerned about Trump’s fascist tendencies, the following should alleviate them.

    “She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her. Okay. Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”

    Oh wait, nevermind. Not six weeks ago, Trump said this about Milley, which I shouldn’t have to say is unhinged.

    “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  551. Regarding Liz Cheney, the host who interviewed Trump was Tucker Carlson who, in an earlier interview yesterday, said he was attacked by demons that left bloody marks on his body. TrumpWorld is BizarroWorld. This isn’t going to get better if he’s elected.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  552. BTW lloyd, the comment of mine that you blockquoted was literally on the day the Hunter laptop story came out (and five days before the statement from the 51 former intel people), and I said it within an hour or two of reading the NYP story. It was speculation, nobody really knew anything in that moment, including the name of the computer repair guy, and it was always legitimate to question Giuliani as a source, and obviously Bannon, too.
    Six hours after my comment that you cut-and-pasted, I said “the story can’t be said to be verified”.

    Ten days later, after getting enough confirmation that it was authentic, I said so. End of story.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  553. 560. Yeah, Dysphoric Donna is not a deranged degenerate at all. Not one little bit.

    nk (89646e)

  554. Funny, that the guy who polls at 49.9% support:

    1. Is going to get Elon to mess with the budget. Elon indicates the middle class may take a big hit and things will be rough for a few years (three or four, maybe), but we’ll be better off for it;

    2. Fantasizes in public about putting a prominent political opponent in front of people firing guns;

    3. Sues a news network for 10 billion, because they did not edit an interview with a political opponent in the way he wanted;

    4. Wants to put RFK, Jr in charge of public health. Because let’s face it, all our kids need measles and whooping cough and COVID.

    Donald Trump is a liar, but he has not lied about who and what he is. But he is happy enough if many of y’all lie to yourselves.

    Appalled (485049)

  555. It’s all of a piece. Last July

    “ELIZABETH LYNNE CHENEY IS GUILTY OF TREASON,” one post created by another user that Trump amplified on his social media website Truth Social on Sunday reads. “RETRUTH IF YOU WANT TELEVISED MILITARY TRIBUNALS.”

    Cheney responded on X, “Donald – This is the type of thing that demonstrates yet again that you are not a stable adult—and are not fit for office.”

    A separate post Trump amplified on Truth Social Sunday includes photos of 15 former and current elected officials and says, “THEY SHOULD BE GOING TO JAIL ON MONDAY NOT STEVE BANNON!”

    In addition to Biden and Harris, the post includes photos of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Mike Pence and members of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

    It was unhinged then, and employing violent images of Cheney being shot in the face is no less unhinged today. Before someone screams “LEFTIST SOURCE”!, the bottom line is that Trump said the words.

    Paul Montagu (f97d41)

  556. But he is happy enough if many of y’all lie to yourselves.

    Appalled (485049) — 11/1/2024 @ 8:54 am

    Personal Attack!

    BuDuh (2be974)

  557. Third election in a row where the choices are:

    A. More steps down the wrong road AKA “Trust us”
    B. Helter-skelter AKA Overland adventure

    Trump lies more (perhaps lots more) but the Democrat lies are more cynical.

    Kevin M (a9545f)

  558. lloyd:

    The search tool is really useful.

    ys What search tool? Google doesn’t tend to turn up things like this any more. It used to search through the comments here.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e)

  559. @562 The cheating is by rethugs trying to stop legitimate votes from being counted by calling it ballot harvesting because more democrats take ballots to be counted then republicans. Why do you want less citizens votes to be counted because that is what will happen under the phony guise of illegal aliens voting.

    asset (2bbf8c)

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