Patterico's Pontifications

3/24/2018

Pointing Out that the Omnibus Bill Sucks Is Not “Whining”

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:00 pm



Earlier today, a post appeared on RedState with the title: Stop Whining About Trump Signing The Omnibus Bill. The author is under no illusions about this being a bad bill. But, he concludes, any other Republican would have signed it, and people who don’t like it should direct their ire exclusively at Congress:

So please continue railing on President Trump. I know he could have, should have, done more and those are all legit arguments.

Still, had a Republican-controlled Congress had the guts to send him a bill after a bruising fight in both chambers to actually reduce the deficit even further from FY 2016-2017 he would have signed that too.

Stop whining about the President.

Start yelling at the GOP in Congress.

I’d like to respectfully take issue with the author. In my view, those of us who are infuriated by this bill are within our rights to yell at all of them. Yell at Paul Ryan? Absolutely. Run him out of town on a rail. Yell at Mitch McConnell? Hell yes!

Why can’t we yell at Trump too?

Yes, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are at least equally to blame for this travesty as Trump, and probably more so. I have pointed that out before the bill was passed, and I would spend more time railing about that, except that literally everyone who reads this post already understands that.

But while most people also seem to understand that Trump shares blame, there is a diehard group out there who doesn’t — and that’s who I’m talking to here. This is a group that has reflexively supported everything Trump does for months now, and they have seemingly lost the ability to form a sentence that criticizes the man.

I’ll say what they’re unable to say. Trump is to blame as well.

What gets me is how easy it would have been for Trump to make a difference, if he had just put his mind to it. In this post I want to focus on two issues that an active and engaged Donald Trump absolutely could have influenced with the bully pulpit: funding Planned Parenthood and funding sanctuary cities.

I should not have to make the arguments against these two outrageous funding decisions, but here’s a brief reminder of what Trump could have said.

Planned Parenthood: At the heart of conservatism is support for life, and opposition to abortion. Nobody kills more babies in America than Planned Parenthood. They cover up statutory rape, speak gleefully about selling baby parts, and even alter their abortion techniques to harvest that tissue. They support partial-birth abortion, which involves stabbing babies in the head and vacuuming out their brains. The United States Government should not be giving them money. Period.

And the idea that we would give them money with a nominally Republican-controlled House, a Republican-controlled Senate, and a Republican president is outrageous.

Sanctuary cities: Kate Steinle is dead because a sanctuary city was given temporary custody of a criminal alien in the custody of ICE, and then refused to give him back to ICE — sending him instead out into our streets to shoot and kill a beautiful young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. The mayor of Oakland learns that ICE is going to conduct a raid, to arrest criminal aliens including violent gang members, and she runs to the press to warn them. The officials who foist these deadly policies on the public have no right to do it. Immigration is a federal priority and they are undermining a critical policy that lies outside their jurisdiction. They need to be punished. Sanctuary cities must be defunded.

And the idea that we would give them money with a nominally Republican-controlled House, a Republican-controlled Senate, and a Republican president is outrageous.

These are central issues for Trump’s base. I know Trump doesn’t care about Planned Parenthood, but his base does — and they sure as hell care about sanctuary cities, as he says he does too. Yet he sat on his McDonald’s-fed posterior for weeks while pols in smoke-filled back rooms drafted a plan to continue to fund these monstrosities — and he didn’t say a word.

His silence can’t be defended on the grounds that we needed to avoid a shutdown. There was no good reason NOT to fight these battles. These are righteous causes. There will not be a better time to have this fight — and if you always wait for the ideal time, it will never come. What, do you think the GOP is going to gain seats in Congress this year? No: it will be a long time before the GOP again has the kind of power it has today. Right now.

That’s why this was the time to fight.

In 2013, Kurt Schlichter of Townhall wrote an excellent column about Ted Cruz’s crusade to defund ObamaCare, titled What If They Gave a Shutdown and No One Cared? Schlichter’s column was excellent and stirring, packed with lines like this:

What Ted Cruz did – and what the go-along, get-along gang of Republican stegosauruses hate – is that he fought. He fought. There’s a huge value to drawing a line, to taking a stand, to rallying the troops. . . . This was really about the war between the growing conservative majority in the GOP and the dying GOP establishment minority. It’s a war that must be fought, and which we should welcome. And it’s a war we conservatives will win.

Inspiring words. The fighting spirit is what made it a great column.

What’s different now? If anything, the difference is that the GOP has more nominal power now than it had then. Then, we had a Democrat in the White House. Now, we have a Republican. And that is all the more reason to fight now.

But Donald Trump didn’t want to fight. And, worse, he didn’t even know what was going on, apparently, until he watched teevee the morning of the signing. That’s when he realized that Fox & Friends didn’t like the bill. I can’t think of another reasonable way to explain the fact that, just the day before, Trump had sent Mick Mulvaney out to assure America that Trump would sign this bill.

Trump’s options were not just “sign it” or “veto it.” His options also included “get involved EARLY and don’t be an out-of-touch doofus who learns everything on Fox & Friends.” Defunding Planned Parenthood and sanctuary cities should have been child’s play. All it required was for Trump to have been awake and get involved well before the final day.

But he didn’t. Because he doesn’t care about policy. He cares about himself. As the same Kurt Schlichter said in another excellent column from December 2015: Trump Is Going to Break Your Heart.

Donald Trump is out for one thing, Donald Trump’s personal aggrandizement. He cares nothing about you. He cares nothing about your aspirations and dreams. Don’t misunderstand him when he pays attention to you. He’s just trying to get what he wants from you, an earthshattering ego stroke.

Trump believes in nothing, which is why he will say anything. That’s why he’s all over the map, varying his positions not only year-to-year, month-to-month, week-to-week, but even hour-to-hour.

Bingo, Kurt! If Trump had principles, he would have been fighting these battles for months. But he has no principles except himself.

Trump broke a lot of people’s hearts when he signed this garbage. A lot of people desperately wanted him to be the wrecking ball they voted for. The guy who would upend the Establishment GOP. And above all: the guy who fights.

And yesterday — and critically, in the weeks leading up to this vote — Trump was none of those things.

So yeah, I blame Paul Ryan and I blame Mitch McConnell. You bet I do. But you know what? I blame Donald Trump too. And his betrayal is the bitterest pill for some to swallow, because they already knew Ryan and McConnell would betray them. They didn’t think Donald Trump would.

But he did.

[Cross-posted at RedState and The Jury Talks Back.]

178 Responses to “Pointing Out that the Omnibus Bill Sucks Is Not “Whining””

  1. Ding!

    Patterico (115b1f)

  2. Is any Republican (with an actual, real chance to beat him) going to run against Trump in the 2020 primary?

    kaf (87f0c4)

  3. I’m sure you mean “Red State” not “this site”

    Kevin M (752a26)

  4. the reason it seems like whining is that this was on NOBODY’S radar until like the day it happened

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  5. they were too busy ogling Stormy’s tits i guess

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  6. and you can dance

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  7. for inspiration

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  8. The only way Trump can be beat in the primaries is if he has ONE challenger, and that challenger can unify most of the mainstream GOP. I can think of only two (Cruz and Romney) who have the gravitas to pull it off. A Romney/Cruz preset ticket would be hard to beat.

    But I also think that Kasich will run as well, splitting the opposition as he did last time.

    So, I expect there will be opposition, but that Trump will narrowly prevail. I also think that the Democrats will run someone from the very hard left, who may win against Trump. Hillary got more votes.

    Kevin M (752a26)

  9. The problem lies among other things on the failure to approve appropriations on a timely basis, so you have these ctauri transports from titan.

    narciso (d1f714)

  10. I know why Trump hid during the Omnibus negotiations. He was scared of the NRA.

    nk (dbc370)

  11. Ah very droll, ah Romney and Cruz are backed by two different factions, typified by their sponsors singer and Mercer, the sea island conference was proof of this.

    narciso (d1f714)

  12. If you guys had done what I did today you would be less enthusiastic. I watched CNN since 9am till about a half hour ago, 9pm. They spent the entire day glorifying Herr Hogg and his “student march for life” (brought to you by George Soros and the DNC). The entire day was spent doing two things: normalizing the surrender of our God given Constitutional rights and telling people to go register to vote and make sure they do vote when called upon. Especially “those under 25” and “Women”. CNN spent the entire day in campaign mode representing the democrat party exclusively. Granted, I did switch to other shows periodically for a few minutes but I did not see any opposition even one time.

    The news media have decided that Hogg is their new cause celeb and they intend to ride his boney Nazi ass to victory in November. We are looking at a Great Change in America, a Fundamental Transformation if you will and I see every media outlet except FOX behind it, supporting it and helping to fund it with free propaganda that the Republicans can’t buy.

    The leftists have found a way to vote our rights into oblivion and they intend to do just that. Soon we will be England. I am very, very concerned about this direction.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  13. You can’t lead your party in Congress if the only time you talk to them is to berate them and belittle them and take Chuck and Dianne’s side in negotiations.

    nk (dbc370)

  14. Understandable but I think we are slightly more sensible, the UK got to brexit and then has fumbled the ball.

    narciso (d1f714)

  15. It’s not whining. It’s a fine time to criticize Trump, McConnell and Ryan all the way down. I just don’t go for the three alarm fire response when the smoke alarm battery chirps. But that’s me.

    Pinandpuller (d1e5fe)

  16. The 26th Amendment was passed in 1971. It’s about time the dumb little sh!ts started exercising it, instead of letting themselves get f***ed around by politicians with all kinds of stupid under 21 laws.

    nk (dbc370)

  17. The leftists have found a way to vote our rights into oblivion and they intend to do just that. Soon we will be England. I am very, very concerned about this direction.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402) — 3/24/2018 @ 6:48 pm

    If it makes you feel any better Neyland Stadium can hold CNN’s average audience.

    Pinandpuller (d1e5fe)

  18. As for David Hogg, he lives in Broward County. Whom is he going to vote out. Alcee Hastings, Ted Deutch or Debbie Wasserman-Schultz?

    nk (dbc370)

  19. isn’t he the one with the skeevy fbi daddy?

    or is that somebody else

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  20. Yes,the sad elf, like the kid in the 6th sense

    narciso (d1f714)

  21. Anyhow … I thought Kurt Schlichter was a Trumpkin these days.

    nk (dbc370)

  22. I posted this on another thread, but it fits here.

    I know there won’t be much support here for the notion, but what if Trump is playing a long game (unheard of in traditional republican strategy) and is focused on draining the swamp as a priority before attempting any real change in politics as usual?

    I’ve also heard the idea that the military funding is pretty much subject to Trumps whims, what’s to stop him from using the Army Corp of Engineers from building the wall? You know, how they fund all that infrastructure in foreign countries we’ve invaded? Might just be wishful thinking, we’ll see. Trump isn’t exactly conventional in his thinking.

    As always, before flinging poo, it’s always a good idea to see how things play out. I believe things are going to get very interesting.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  23. I’m trying to think of examples of great public works by the federal goverment on a par with the proposed border wall?

    The transcontinental railroad was paid for by the state. A smattering of gee gaws and monuments, mostly in Washington. Shiney war machines, but those aren’t designed to stand the test of time. Disposible as a Bic lighter.

    Anything of lasting value? Keep in mind that the railroad came to be because we were actively beating the holy crap out of Democrats in a war, so they couldn’t attach a thousand and one riders to siphon off the life blood of the republic.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  24. The interstate highway system? Hoover Dam? The Panama canal?

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  25. And his betrayal is the bitterest pill for some to swallow, because they already knew Ryan and McConnell would betray them. They didn’t think Donald Trump would.
    But he did.

    Ahh… yup.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  26. The PWA of 1933 spent $6 billion (roughly $120 billion in today dollars) on public works for all kinds of things from bridges to dams to airports to housing.

    nk (dbc370)

  27. More Reagan/Trump comparison, courtesy of insty.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  28. The TVA was as ambitious as the Wall if we’re talking about a single project.

    nk (dbc370)

  29. But you look at today’s shadow on the wall, and one can see how it can always be worse.

    narciso (d1f714)

  30. @30- left unsaid, nevertrumpers are the ultimate in concern trolls.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  31. I fully understand the frustration of the OP, and I agree with nearly all of it. I don’t forgive Trump for not being part of the solution to this problem.

    But defunding Planned Parenthood would not have worked.

    90 Republicans voted “no.” 111 Dems voted “yes.”

    If you defund PP, all 111 Dem “yes” votes would have become “no” votes. Its a doctrinaire issue for them as much as the Second Amendment is a doctrinaire issue for many GOP Reps.

    Combined with the GOP “no” votes – mostly from the Freedom Caucus — the bill is going to go down.

    So, if you are Ryan, and you are going to try to pass a funding bill, you can’t strip out PP funding without being able to bring nearly all the GOP “no” votes back to the “yes” column. They didn’t vote “no” because PP funding was included, so taking it out wouldn’t get you their votes.

    So, how do you get those 90 GOP votes back so that you can pass a bill in the House on a party-line basis? By cutting spending everywhere except in the military, defunding Obamacare, etc. That probably gets you the 90 “no” votes who are simply protesting out-of-control spending.

    Then you send that over to the Senate.

    Where you need 9 Dem senators to go along in order to close debate.

    Ain’t happening, and you know the squishes like Murkowski and Collins won’t go along either.

    So you can have a “political” exercise that produces a “show vote” which will never see the light of day in the Senate, or you can pass a bill that the Senate will pass too.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  32. con·cern troll
    noun informal derogatory
    a person who disingenuously expresses concern about an issue with the intention of undermining or derailing genuine discussion.
    “he is regarded among climate scientists as a concern troll”

    Bite me!
    Signed:
    n(the n stands for nevertrump)k

    nk (dbc370)

  33. If you want to know who truly offensive the Ominbus is, go read Rand Paul’s twitter feed from about 24 hours before the vote. It took 2 hours in his office to print the whole bill. He then started to simply list the various provisions in the bill that called for spending of specific amounts of US taxpayer money. It was mindnumbing — $15 million to promote the development of democracy in Europe??? $20 million for scholarships in Lebanon?

    Who are the Congressional constituencies that demand that US taxpayer funds be spent this way?

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  34. “Show votes” can be illuminating, but by now we all know the majority votes to screw the people while those up for election soon in close races “do the right thing”.

    It’s all theater, scripted before the bill is written.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  35. Who are the Congressional constituencies that demand that US taxpayer funds be spent this way?

    My guess is the former Congressional staffers who now work in the agencies that administer these programs.

    nk (dbc370)

  36. There is that, you know how many conservative staffers there are on key republican committees you can count them on one hand.

    narciso (d1f714)

  37. My guess is the former Congressional staffers who now work in the agencies that administer these programs.

    Wait, you mean it’s nothing concerning small hands? Unusual for you.

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  38. The TVA was as ambitious as the Wall if we’re talking about a single project.

    nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2018 @ 7:33 pm

    Is it possible to flood the Rio Grande Valley in the same way? Or build a 50′ tall Rio Grande Locks and Dam?

    Pinandpuller (d1e5fe)

  39. Glad to oblige. If Trump had risked ruining his manicure by participating meaningfully in the budget discussions, we might not have had that foreign pork in the bill.

    nk (dbc370)

  40. I looked it up. The Rio Grande and its watersheds are under an international treaty administered by a sub-agency of the Department of State. Guess who the other treaty nation is.

    nk (dbc370)

  41. Yeah they needed to realize that moloch minions, h2b visas and a whole lot other fruitcake wouldn’t play well with their base.

    narciso (d1f714)

  42. @41- you don’t really believe that, do you?

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  43. I mean, even if Saint Cruz couldn’t they’re done, how could Trump?

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  44. Get’er done…

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  45. Who wrote “The Art Of The Deal”? Trump or Cruz? Wasn’t half of Trump’s campaign that he would make great deals and saves us brazillians? Great deals for health insurance to replace Obamacare; great deals with China to cure the trade imbalance and keep American jobs here; great deals with Mexico to pay for the Wall? And, no snark, don’t you think he emboldened them with the White House’s $4.4 trillion budget he sent over earlier this year?

    nk (dbc370)

  46. Yes and this Congress would send my puppy to the taxidermist,

    narciso (d1f714)

  47. Yeah, too bad Trump isn’t supreme leader and dictator for life, am I right?

    the Bas (3bcea0)

  48. 37 — I think you are exactly right, and this is the origin of this “non-appropriation” funding process. Staff write these things, working along with the agencies who are the constituency whose employment often depends on the US Gov’t doing all these things the US Gov’t need not be doing.

    IN THAT REGARD, the effort under way by the Trump Administration to shrink the Gov’t workforce — if it can be continued — will pay off in the spending process in the years ahead.

    To the extent you eliminate government positions, you eliminate the ability of the government to do things through those positions. Think about all the mischief that gov’t scientists engage in at EPA — all the money that gets spent chasing politically correct scientific programs. You eliminate the scientists, don’t replace them, and the need for the money to fund their research goes away.

    A correctly working appropriations process would dig out and expose some of the ridiculous spending that Rank identified in this bill. But the get stuffed inside a 2200 page document that nobody reads, and then there’s an up-down vote.

    As long as that is the process in place, this problem is going to continue.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  49. BTW, glad to see you back, shipwreckedcrew.

    nk (dbc370)

  50. Ot, how much of the betty kidnapping is enough?

    narciso (d1f714)

  51. I’m sure you mean “Red State” not “this site”

    Yes. Such are the dangers of cross-posting without thinking about each word.

    Patterico (115b1f)

  52. Getty, there is also this series based on the hms terror’ s grounding in the arctic in 1845.

    narciso (d1f714)

  53. I looked it up. The Rio Grande and its watersheds are under an international treaty administered by a sub-agency of the Department of State. Guess who the other treaty nation is.

    nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2018 @ 8:22 pm

    It’s a semi-permeable membrane apparently.

    Pinandpuller (d1e5fe)

  54. Barsoom, or corto maltese.

    narciso (d1f714)

  55. I have 1,000 Comcast channels and the free movie package, and in the last couple of months have watched
    TV shows:
    — Phineas and Ferb
    — Milo Murphy’s Law
    — Star vs. The Forces of Evil
    — The Fairly OddParents
    — Kick Buttowski
    — Spiderman (cartoons)
    On Demand:
    — The Avengers movie (Hulk! Smash!)
    — Guardians of the Galaxy 1
    On Netflix
    — Guardians of the Galaxy 2
    On YouTube:
    — George of the Jungle half-hours with Tom Slick and Super Chicken

    Most of what passes for adult entertainment these days either bores me or annoys me.

    nk (dbc370)

  56. Mulligan stews; the Perkins Axiom applies.

    The base salutes Captain Bad Boy, tolerates his tweets and a percentage quietly envies his pluck w/t ladies. Safe w/a lifetime appointment, when Gorsuch swops ends, panic.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  57. Stay tuned: he’ll dump Pruitt, Carson and DeVos for better TV personalities he can recruit via the cable listings. Kelly goes and he’ll be his own CoS– tapping half-a-dozen friends and associates you’ll never know about by phone at night for advice and tweet decisions at dawn for Fox and Friends.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  58. As long as you have NetFlix, Santa Clarita Diet. Drew Barrymore is a zombie housewife married to Tim Olyphant, normal in every aspect except she is a cannibal without a pulse.

    Oh and their kitchen looks like the inside of a shark.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  59. STARFISH

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  60. are meant to fly

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  61. the daughter in Santa Clarita better have a bright future or there is no justice and we gone need have a talk about that

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  62. the daughter in Santa Clarita better have a bright future or there is no justice and we gone need have a talk about that
    happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/24/2018 @ 11:09 pm

    Join the Air Force.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  63. Is she young enough?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  64. Oh and their kitchen looks like the inside of a shark.
    papertiger (c8116c) — 3/24/2018 @ 10:10 pm

    They put billy goats to shame. License plate, anyone?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  65. Sharks seem to swallow small objects without thinking about it.

    Unfortunately, I’m a small object to a shark that’s big enough.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  66. ‘They didn’t think Donald Trump would betray them’

    On a scale of 1-10, just how dumb are these people?

    Bob (fa1b6e)

  67. I am not happy with Trump and his spending, but I am very happy sh!tty Mitty is out of government. The useless bastige saddled us with Gruber and his vile hate for the American citizen.

    mg (9e54f8)

  68. I looked it up. The Rio Grande and its watersheds are under an international treaty administered by a sub-agency of the Department of State. Guess who the other treaty nation is.

    nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2018 @ 8:22 pm

    Botswana? Northern Ireland? Manchuria? Crete? Tell me when I’m getting warm!!

    Bill H (383c5d)

  69. Post 72 is either a an early wakeup in MA or bedtime on the big Island. Oh, and I’ll call Kurt Sclichter by his proper surname for a couple weeks.

    urbanleftbehind (cdd9e8)

  70. Still off by one “h”. Surry, like a DeGrassi Jr. High kid might say.

    urbanleftbehind (cdd9e8)

  71. Then you send that over to the Senate.

    Where you need 9 Dem senators to go along in order to close debate.

    Ain’t happening, and you know the squishes like Murkowski and Collins won’t go along either.

    So you can have a “political” exercise that produces a “show vote” which will never see the light of day in the Senate, or you can pass a bill that the Senate will pass too.

    With proper planning a spending bill does not need 60 votes.

    Patterico (8f0cf2)

  72. On YouTube:
    — George of the Jungle half-hours with Tom Slick and Super Chicken
    nk (dbc370) — 3/24/2018 @ 9:31 pm

    Yeah! My favorite episode of Super Chicken was when the “Zipper” entrapped Super Chicken by placing a dummy of himself on a street corner.
    —-
    Man passerby: Hmm, that looks like a dummy of the “zipper”
    .
    Small child holing mother’s hand: Look mommy, a dummy of the “zipper”
    .
    Super Chicken: AHA! the “Zipper!”

    felipe (023cc9)

  73. i don’t watch any chicken shows but i thought it was a robot chicken not a super chicken

    are there two of them what would happen if they met

    any information you have would be appreciated

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  74. This is superchicken; friend of children about to be spanked.

    felipe (023cc9)

  75. Sage advice from Super chicken: “If you are afraid, you will have to overlook it.”

    felipe (023cc9)

  76. They don’t write like that anymore, felipe.

    nk (dbc370)

  77. Boys these days could take a few pointers on how to talk to girls from Tom Slick, too:

    Tom: Marigold, you are a true friend.
    Marigold: Is that all, Tom?
    Tom: You are also a public-spirited citizen.
    Marigold: ❤Oh, Tom!❤
    Gertie: Enough with the mushy talk, you lovebirds. We have a race to win.

    nk (dbc370)

  78. Kimberly Best

    3 years ago

    My parents used to fight very harshly, loudly and physically! When my little sister and I wanted them to stop fighting we would sing the super chicken song to ourselves and pretend to drink the potion that would make us strong and fearless and we would head downstairs like we were super heroes, which we really believed we were! We would get between them asking and begging them to stop! Usually our presence was enough to make them stop, but we were sure it was our Super Chicken potion and persona! Very fond memories of this show and the empowerment it gave to two little girls in a difficult home situation! Thank you Super Chicken!

    wow

    lots to unpack there

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  79. “Hot dog and not hot dog.”
    — Jin Yang

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  80. oh dear

    bread bags wants to do even more panty boys all up in the sleazy US military

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  81. and what the hell is bread bags wearing she looks like krusty the goddamn clown

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  82. Our host wrote above (#77):

    With proper planning a spending bill does not need 60 votes.

    I assume this is a reference to the reconciliation process. I don’t claim to have a comprehensive understanding of it, but the limited understanding I have suggests our host’s “proper planning” claim is an overstatement.

    I therefore ask, without snark or artifice: Patterico, will you enlighten us? How do you suggest that Congress should have crafted this spending bill to include only the parts you want, without any Dem votes?

    My own view, subject to such persuasion from our host (which I am earnestly soliciting), is that the present cloture rule (post-Gorsuch) gave the Democratic Party the practical ability to block, in the Senate, any legislation that House and Senate Republicans might agree upon on their own. So if I’m wrong about that — if sufficient “planning” could have permitted a different result — I’m eager to be educated about that, so I can urge it in the future.

    If not, I continue to believe this entire argument is a waste of breathe, or more specifically, an attempt to place blame that’s entirely divorced from the arithmetic reality of the Senate.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  83. With proper planning a spending bill does not need 60 votes.

    Reconciliation can only be used on budget-neutral measures.

    So no $72B for the military, veterans administration and homeland security under reconciliation unless you can get all 50 voting GOP senators to agree on where to cut $72B (~13%) of non-defense discretionary spending.

    Good luck with that.

    Non-defense discretionary spending is already about 1.5% of GDP LOWER than in 2000, when we had a budget surplus.

    I have a mental picture of a scene from The Graduate:

    Dave: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
    Patterico: Yes, sir.
    Dave: Are you listening?
    Patterico: Yes, I am.
    Dave: Entitlements.

    Dave (445e97)

  84. For reference, this is my baseline regarding reconciliation. Perhaps it’s wrong, or perhaps I misunderstand it. But it, at least, asserts that reconciliation can’t be used for any sort of discretionary spending, which would include, as I understand it, all of the military spending in this bill, for example.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  85. *breath (he corrects himself, breathing deeply).

    Beldar (fa637a)

  86. Beldar I think he means reconciliation, but there are numerous restrictions on that procedure, including a limited number of uses per budget cycle (and it was already used once on the tax bill).

    Even if you could use reconciliation, then you “only” have to get Susan Collins and Rand Paul (as well as the other 48 GOP senators voting) to agree on every word in the 2000+ page bill…

    Dave (445e97)

  87. $72B for the military

    it’s important to remember this is $72 billion for the piggy piggy military in perpetuity ad nauseum

    it’s the new baseline

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  88. It is $60B for the military, $7B for veterans admin, and $5B for Homeland Security, IIRC.

    Dave (445e97)

  89. So entitlement programs are funded regardless even though the recipients are stealing other people’s money but they are “entitled” to but none of us is entitled to be protected by our military? So basically that means all the unconstitutional spending is mandatory but the spending for the military which is actually called for in the Constitution is not only optional but subject to availability after the unconstitutional money is spent?

    The “Living Document” strikes again.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  90. It is $60B for the military, $7B for veterans admin, and $5B for Homeland Security, IIRC.

    one trough many pigs

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  91. Dave: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
    Patterico: Yes, sir.
    Dave: Are you listening?
    Patterico: Yes, I am.
    Dave: Entitlements.
    Dave (445e97) — 3/25/2018 @ 10:05 am

    Pretty condescending, even for you. Always think you’re the smartest person in the room.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  92. entitlements are no good

    what would be fun is to just cancel them for a year

    just turn off the spigot

    see what happens

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  93. Reconciliation has historically been used on a bipartisan basis. It’s use for ObamaCare was an anomaly. When push comes to shove, some Democrats will vote for military funding and even more Republicans will. But even if reconciliation had failed, at least the members of Congress would have been forced to choose and that would bring clarity to their positions at re-election.

    DRJ (15874d)

  94. entitlements are no good

    what would be fun is to just cancel them for a year

    just turn off the spigot

    see what happens

    Trump’s core base, the 13.6 million who gave him the primary, will lynch him. Taking away their Social Security, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, VA benefits, and other sundry, was not what they signed up for. They signed up to get their share and the share of the Mexicans and Muslims he promised to kick out of the country.

    nk (dbc370)

  95. Hoagie, the Constitution, as originally written, specifically restricts military spending in a way that no other type of spending is restricted (Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 12):

    To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

    (emphasis added)

    So, yes, the Constitution explicitly forbids “entitlements” for the military.

    Dave (445e97)

  96. Pretty condescending, even for you. Always think you’re the smartest person in the room.

    Thanks for the gratuitous ad hominem!

    Dave (445e97)

  97. But, I think it’s true that military spending (except retirement) is considered discretionary and thus not eligible for funding through reconciliation.

    DRJ (15874d)

  98. That’s for Armies which, if I read the Founders’s minds correctly, would include the federal police. Why do I say the later? Because the U.S. Marshals were under the Department of War until recently. But there is no such restrictions on Navies. Reading the Founders’ minds again, they did not want a federal military force occupying America. See also the Second and Third Amendments in the Bill of Rights.

    nk (dbc370)

  99. Almost makes you wish you weren’t kicked out of that all-gurl band in Knightsbridge, eh, ConDave…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  100. Thanks for the gratuitous ad hominem!
    Dave (445e97) — 3/25/2018 @ 10:31 am

    My ad homs are much clearer. That was an observation.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  101. But there is no such restrictions on Navies.

    Aha, so the Marine Corps (an “army” that’s part of the Navy) is an end-run around the constitution, and ready instrument of tyranny poised to strike!

    And what about the completely unconstitutional Air Force, hmm?

    (for the humor-challenged, I’m joking)

    But yeah, it’s interesting that they did not restrict naval spending in the same way.

    Dave (445e97)

  102. I think the reasons I gave are the correct ones. They were afraid of the federal government having a standing army inside the United States. That’s a recipe for tyranny.

    nk (dbc370)

  103. Taking away their [piggy slop] was not what they signed up for.

    yes i agree but the idea is beautiful nevertheless we should revisit it often

    plant a seed plant a flower plant a rose

    you can plant any one of those!

    keep planting – find out which one grows

    (it’s a secret no one knows)

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  104. Well, part of the reason they made no reference to naval spending is that for all intents and purposes there was no US Navy at the time.

    Quick jaunt over to Wikipedia

    Under first President George Washington threats to American merchant shipping by Barbary pirates from four North African Muslim States, in the Mediterranean, led to the Naval Act of 1794, which created a permanent standing U.S. Navy. The original six frigates were authorized as part of the Act.

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

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  105. Ad hominem (Latin for “to the man” or “to the person”), short for argumentum ad hominem, is a fallacious argumentative strategy whereby genuine discussion of the topic at hand is avoided by instead attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself. – Wikipedia

    Thanks again!

    Dave (445e97)

  106. BRITAIN is set for its first ‘White Easter’ in years as forecasters predict a -10C deep freeze and snowfall to hit most of the country.

    white easter sounds pretty goddamn white nationalist to me

    we never had those before leggy meggy

    just saying

    Britain blocks plans for new opencast coal mine on climate grounds

    these people are too stupid to live

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  107. I think the reasons I gave are the correct ones. They were afraid of the federal government having a standing army inside the United States. That’s a recipe for tyranny.

    That’s the explicit reason for the Second Amendment: not the right to self defense (I suspect that was thought so obvious the Founders saw no need to mention it) or the right of revolution (if you need to exercise the Right of Revolution, constitutions and legal rights are already irrelevant). A constabulary and military that was staffed by everyday citizens, under control of the local authorities, would be incapable of enforcing unpopular laws.

    Here’s the Virginia Declaration of Rights

    Section 13. That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

    Which became in the Virginia Constitution

    That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

    kishnevi (bb03e6)

  108. “I can handle things. I’m smart. Not like everybody says, like dumb. I’m smart and I want respect!”

    — FredoDave

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  109. So, yes, the Constitution explicitly forbids “entitlements” for the military.
    Dave (445e97) — 3/25/2018 @ 10:28 am


    The term “entitlements” does not appear in the Constitution, Dave whereas the appropriation for defense i.e. the military does which is what I meant. I thought that was kinda obvious even with the snark.

    Rev.Hoagie (1b0402)

  110. Yes but they knew about ‘provide for the common defense’

    narciso (d1f714)

  111. The founders were absolutely right to have those concerns; it’s interesting though that the only instance I’m aware of where the US military posed that sort of threat to the elected government was the Newburgh conspiracy at the end of the Revolution, which George Washington famously quashed by putting on his spectacles (courtesy of Wikipedia again):

    After Gates opened the meeting, Washington entered the building to everyone’s surprise. He asked to speak to the officers, and the stunned Gates relinquished the floor. Washington could tell by the faces of his officers, who had not been paid for quite some time, that they were quite angry and did not show the respect or deference as they had toward Washington in the past.

    Washington then gave a short but impassioned speech, now known as the Newburgh Address, counseling patience. His message was that they should oppose anyone “who wickedly attempts to open the floodgates of civil discord and deluge our rising empire in blood.” He then produced a letter from a member of Congress to read to the officers. He gazed upon it and fumbled with it without speaking. He then took a pair of reading glasses from his pocket, which were new; few of the men had seen him wear them. He then said: “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.”

    This reduced the room full of angry, hardened veterans plotting a violent coup-d’etat to tears, and ended the threat on the spot.

    Dave (445e97)

  112. 77 — I understand that. But the Omnibus is the kind of monstrosity where a lot of non-budgetary items get buried so as to make it impossible to get through via “Reconciliation”.

    To go that way, it would have been necessary when writing the House bill to include only budget and revenue provisions, and nothing more. When the entire thing is written by staff and agency personnel, you’re never going to get that. So the process guarantees that the House is going to send over a measure that cannot be passed by the Senate on a simple majority vote.

    The House and Senate staffs write the bill together so only one vote is needed in each chamber, and the need for a conference can be avoided.

    All of these factors are signs that the entire process has broken down.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  113. The term “entitlements” does not appear in the Constitution, Dave whereas the appropriation for defense i.e. the military does which is what I meant.

    An entitlement is an open-ended, long-term appropriation that does not have to be re-approved every year. And that is what Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 12 specifically prohibits in relation to military (at least army) spending.

    Dave (445e97)

  114. So any observation I make that you don’t like is ad hom? Funny how that works. I’m 100% sure that whenever that scene comes to your mind as an example, you’re in the superior role. Or it doesn’t come to mind.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  115. please be careful with me

    i’m sensitive

    and i’d like

    to stay that way

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  116. In case you didn’t notice Dave, I’m not arguing a position. I don’t have one. I’m listening to people I respect, even when I disagree with them, or how they say things. Your comment reeked of condescension towards our host and I pointed it out. I said and say nothing so far about your positions on the issue. Not an ad hom.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  117. ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  118. I will qualify that. My only position on this issue so far is that President Trump betrayed his base by signing this bill. Speaking only for myself, I don’t care why he signed, only that an over $1T bill was not something I would ever support. No matter who it benefits.

    Since this did not directly address anything related to your argument, it is not an ad hom. It is a protest of how you addressed the host, and a comment on the mindset that produced it.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  119. Oh and their kitchen looks like the inside of a shark.
    papertiger (c8116c) — 3/24/2018 @ 10:10 pm

    They put billy goats to shame. License plate, anyone?

    Steve57 (0b1dac) — 3/24/2018 @ 11:57 pm

    As a member of the Caprine Anti Defamation League I have to point out that that’s a common misconception.

    It’s true that goats were attracted to the glue from old fashioned labels and they actually like picking things up with their prehensile lips and tasting them but they only really eat vegetables and herbs and certain trees. There could of course be some exceptions among ruminants like deer eats bird

    OMG Michael, he ate a bird

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  120. President Trump betrayed his base by signing this bill.

    not so much really

    this is just a whipped-up outrage orgasm

    you can tell cause this spending bill was on NOBODY’S radar last week

    Stormy has giant fake boobs and she prostituted herself like a dirty hooker and there’s an adolescent fascist in florida with a tiny penis and a sleazy fascist fbi daddeh what wants to take away everybody’s guns

    that was the American Conversation leading up to Trump’s Ignominious Betrayal

    now all a sudden we’re all concerned about the deficit HA pull the other one it has bells on it

    what happened is pedophile Mitt Romney’s slicked-up and ready boytoy Paul Ryan saw an opportunity to pork the lily and he took it

    co-equal branches of government

    and this time the greedy sleazy pentagon piggies and the slutboy from wisconsin out-maneuvered our president, President Donald Trump

    and if you’ve listened?

    he’s told you as much

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  121. i’m just kidding it doesn’t really have bells but if you want you can still pull it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  122. So any observation I make that you don’t like is ad hom?

    That doesn’t fit the definition I posted, so no.

    Also, I can only assume from your indignation that you’ve never seen The Graduate.

    In the scene in question, the Dustin Hoffman/Patterico character is the sympathetic one, and the family friend who wants to “say just one word” is being played as the butt of a joke for being pretentious and out of touch. (“Plastics” – as everyone who’s seen The Graduate knows – is the word in the film)

    So my use of that quote was, if anything, self-deprecating rather than condescending.

    Ironically, I originally wrote “It’s the entitlements, stupid” (in quotes) to try to convey my point that it is foolish to focus on discretionary spending as the reason for deficits, but I thought *that* would appear disrespectful, so I instead decided to use the “Plastics” scene.

    But I think you’re just looking for excuses to denigrate me, so whatever.

    Dave (445e97)

  123. hf,

    He didn’t have to sign. If it was such a surprise to him, shame on him. If it wasn’t, shame on him. Either way, he chose to sign. So much for being tough on the swamp. That ship has sailed.

    Dave,

    I’ve never seen The Graduate, and you have no idea how unusual a statement that is. If the scene, and your intent, is as you say, then I was wrong and apologize. It appeared otherwise to me because it was clearly a scene from a movie, but I did not recognize it. My indignation was solely related to how it appeared you were talking about Patterico. So, I again apologize and will stay out of the conversation as relates to you.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf)

  124. The DiGenovas ‘make bail’ on Trump. Paging Dan Fielding.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  125. i think he was faced with an ultimatum

    sign the bill or the pentagon and allied scum like John McCain would blow up any and all progress on the north korean front

    and President Trump understands north korea’s nukes are the number one job of presidentus americanus

    our lax and laughable military

    herpes boi rapist bill clinton

    sleazy sloppy incompetent George W Bush

    and food stamp the glorious

    they lulled failmerica into complacency, but the hard facts are very real

    North Korea has nukes and North Korea is a proliferator

    President Trump may not succeed where they failed

    but he’s accepted the challenge in a way none of the cowardtrash american presidents before him ever did

    and that’s beautiful just all by itself

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  126. think of american government as a family

    the president is the daddy

    congress is the mommy who’s supposed to watch the purse

    and the supreme court is a bunch of butt-ugly burgeoningly fascist ivy league trash-babies

    daddy’s supposed to keep a watchful eye on mommy, who’s watching the purse

    but when daddy’s dealing with nuclear apocalypse, sometimes he has to make hard choices between keeping an eye on spendy spendy mommy or taking steps to prevent nuclear annihilation

    this is where we are in America today, the 25th of March, 2018

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  127. daddy’s supposed to keep a watchful eye on mommy, who’s watching the purse

    Daddy’s got a roving eye and mommy keeps her pre-nup locked in that purse, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  128. you’re so cynical

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  129. @135. Tick, tick, tick, tick– time will tell, Mr. Feet– so will 60 Minutes.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  130. 99 — I think DRJ is correct on this point. Reconciliation was designed to allow majorities to pass budgetary matters, but it had never been used to pass a bill on a party line vote prior to Obamacare.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  131. why all of a sudden is it Robert S. Mueller III specifically

    that doesn’t make him less of a corrupt heinie-licking fbi perv-boi

    does it?

    what am i missing?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  132. I think the only way out of this cycle is for the GOP to begin work immediately on next year’s appropriations, and force the Dems to begin voting on them in the early summer. Force the Dems to vote against bills over and over again which reduce Gov’t funding in all the ways the first Trump budget announced.

    Trump should lay down a marker to Congress now that he will not sign any bill while they are all itching to get back to their districts to campaign.

    He’s not a creature of the GOP. He should simply challenge the GOP leadership to not continue “business as usual”.

    The only way to break out of this cycle is to do something radically different.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  133. Well he covered for whitey bulger (think of him as Alec Baldwin in the departed) and let the anthrax mailer get away.

    narciso (d1f714)

  134. 131 — this is only confirmation of an issue that came up two days ago. DiGenova and his wife have represented two persons who have already been interviewed by the Special Counsel, and both have “issues” with the President’s POV. Mark Carallo was on AF1 and involved in the writing of the first statement that left out key aspects of the meeting between DJTJr and the Russian attorney. And Sam Clovis brought Papadopolous into the campaign, and had conversations with Papadopolous about his connections to Russian officials through London.

    Its likely that even if both Clovis and Carallo signed waivers of the conflict, Mueller would have sought a court order prohibiting DiGenova and his wife from representing anyone else connected with the investigation based on an actual conflict of interest that cannot be waived. Trump and Cobb might have decided that was a fight not worth having.

    shipwreckedcrew (56b591)

  135. what am i missing?

    Forest for the trees, Mr. Feet. Our Captain flew down to Mar-A-Lago Friday evening and is flying back to Washington this Sunday afternoon. A little more than a day away in F-L-A and all charged to Uncle Sam. That’s a tad extravagant, even for our Captain, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  136. but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

    And now we hardly have any appropriations made for a period as lomg as 2 years.

    We have an annual budget, and even smaller periods of time. It’s no way to plan.

    We have apermanent apppriation to pay the interest on the federal debt, passed in 1847 I think. Bpb Dole wanted to make atwo year budget but that never happened.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  137. “Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.”

    I don’t know if George Washington beliwved that, but that wasn’t true.

    Far sightedness (or an inability or limited ability, for the eys to change their focus) is a pretty standard thing that starts to happen to people after the age of 43. (that’s when baseball players quit)

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  138. 112.

    BRITAIN is set for its first ‘White Easter’ in years as forecasters predict a -10C deep freeze and snowfall to hit most of the country.

    Climate change.

    It;s not that temperatues have risen much, but the standard deviation of average temperatur has.

    And that may be human caused in large part, but that doesn’t mean it is possible, or makes sense, to try to do anything about it, especially negative things.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  139. How is it though that Mueller can hire 14 democratic staffers at least a few than ran interference for red queen,

    narciso (d1f714)

  140. Since this did not directly address anything related to your argument, it is not an ad hom. It is a protest of how you addressed the host, and a comment on the mindset that produced it.

    Stashiu3 (466cdf) — 3/25/2018 @ 11:34 am

    It kind of veered off into ShondaLand too.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  141. and this time the greedy sleazy pentagon piggies and the slutboy from wisconsin out-maneuvered our president, President Donald Trump

    and if you’ve listened?

    he’s told you as much

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/25/2018 @ 11:42 am

    I have a new vocab word for you that sounds a little onomotopoetic: salope/s

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  142. I’m gonna say Seinfeld referenced that scene and changed it to latex.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  143. Forest for the trees, Mr. Feet. Our Captain flew down to Mar-A-Lago Friday evening and is flying back to Washington this Sunday afternoon. A little more than a day away in F-L-A and all charged to Uncle Sam. That’s a tad extravagant, even for our Captain, Mr. Feet.

    DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/25/2018 @ 1:02 pm

    As long as you’re doing Robin Leach tell us about Stormy’s fabulous weekend makeover and getaway.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  144. And that may be human caused in large part

    Nobody knows about this. It’s impossible to measure. There are too many variables, and we’re still finding out about them.

    http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024

    We analyze the evolution of the scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming (AGW) in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, examining 11 944 climate abstracts from 1991–2011 matching the topics ‘global climate change’ or ‘global warming’. We find that 66.4% of abstracts expressed no position on AGW, 32.6% endorsed AGW, 0.7% rejected AGW and 0.3% were uncertain about the cause of global warming. Among abstracts expressing a position on AGW, 97.1% endorsed the consensus position that humans are causing global warming…

    The science simply isn’t settled, no matter what Al Gore or Barack Obama say. The Cook report was written for politicians, and it flies because of the woeful nature of science education in the western world.

    If you’re talking consensus, you’re talking politics, nothing more.

    I enjoy the deer in the headlights look I get from AGW hysterics (who are convinced they’re the science guys, although they don’t believe in biology and think it’s possible to change sexes) when I ask them about isoprene and dry land forest.

    In 2015 scientists from the universities of Leipzig and Lyon found that the conventional wisdom about isoprene was wrong. Previously scientists believed that only living plant life, terrestial vegetation and phytoplankton, could produce isoprene. But the researchers found that the interaction of sunlight on the surface micro layer of the ocean, i.e. dead organic material, produces isoprene. So it’s not just produced biologically, but abiotically.

    Isoprene is an atmospheric gas that aids in cloud formation. Which cools the earth. There could be twice as much as previously suspected.

    In 2016 there was a peer reviewed study published in Nature magazine about dry land forest. There are 26 different forest types. The usual way to calculate forest coverage is to take satellite imagery and use an algorithm to count the trees. Researchers studying dry land forest instead manually counted the trees. There is 40% more dry land forest than previously thought. That means, as far as anyone knows now, there is 9% more forest area than anyone suspected. And there are still 25 more forest types left to count.

    Why is this important? Trees absorb carbon. Also, did I mention they produce isoprene.

    Fun facts that reduce AGW hysterics into stammering wrecks.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  145. @149. Speaking of which, Jackie Chiles litigates on the TeeVee, too, Captain, sir!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  146. I mentioned the consensus because even AGW skeptics are included in it. Nobody denies the basic science. Yes, CO2 in a glass bottle subjected to a source of heat makes the temperature rise in the bottle. Things aren’t so simple in our atmosphere.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  147. @150. A remakeover, PP: Mother, Jugs & Speed.

    Trailer airs on 60 Minutes tonite.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  148. As long as you’re doing Robin Leach tell us about Stormy’s fabulous weekend makeover and getaway.
    Pinandpuller (16b0b5) — 3/25/2018 @ 1:55 pm

    I would think bagging a porn star would be a plus for a politician.

    You have to be a Cardinal to elect a Pope.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  149. stormy daniels are very salope all up in it but we all forgive her because Jesus

    AND THOUGH THIS WORLD WITH DEVILS FILLED SHOULD THREATEN TO UNDO US (dirty stormy prostitute liar)

    WE WILL NOT FEAR

    FOR GOD HATH WILLED

    HIS TRUTH TO TRIUMPH THROUGH US!

    there’s sandwiches in the fellowship hall following the service so please stay for that those of you who can

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  150. I don’t know if George Washington believed that, but that wasn’t true.

    The last book I read on the subject (George Washington’s War – Patterico-friendly Amazon link!) suggested that the letter, and the spectacles, were a pre-planned dramatic flourish by Washington, who was extremely shrewd but by all accounts a poor public speaker, and was having a hard time persuading his audience by merely reading them a speech.

    Dave (445e97)

  151. In 2015 scientists from the universities of Leipzig and Lyon found that the conventional wisdom about isoprene was wrong.

    Damn those scientists! Always correcting mistakes and finding out things they didn’t know before!

    Saying “the conventional wisdom was wrong” is misrepresenting the matter. If they’re right, they found a new source of the stuff, or a new mechanism for producing it. “Incomplete” is not the same as “wrong”.

    Isoprene is an atmospheric gas that aids in cloud formation. Which cools the earth. There could be twice as much as previously suspected.

    And how much effect does twice as much Isoprene have on cloud formation? Without a quantitative estimate of that, the statement that there is twice as much is completely irrelevant.

    You might also want to double-check the statement that Isoprene aids in cloud formation.

    This paper in Nature, from not long ago, says that Isoprene inhibits cloud formation, “damping the aerosol negative radiative forcing effect.”

    “Aerosol negative radiative forcing” means the cloud seeding effects of aerosols (radiative forcing is the greenhouse effect, and negative radiative forcing is, unsurprisingly, something that counter-acts it).

    Dave (445e97)

  152. @155. A Playboy model ain’t too shabby, either. A tired, coal-mining Trumpster perched on barstool in Wheeling, West Virginia sipping Saturday night suds is only going to wink with admiration.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  153. she’s a dirty sinner what needs to repent and walk with the LORD

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  154. A tired, coal-mining Trumpster perched on barstool in Wheeling, West Virginia sipping Saturday night suds is only going to wink with admiration.

    And then there’s the other half of the electorate.

    Dave (445e97)

  155. (the half without a Y chromosome)

    Dave (445e97)

  156. @162. And half of that half do love the bad boys, don’t they. Y? Because…

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  157. …“Aerosol negative radiative forcing” means the cloud seeding effects of aerosols (radiative forcing is the greenhouse effect, and negative radiative forcing is, unsurprisingly, something that counter-acts it)…

    Dave (445e97) — 3/25/2018 @ 3:06 pm

    I’m prepared to believe you. I stopped believing in experts back in the seventies.

    Is wine good or bad for you? Is coffee good or bad for you? Is Gal Gadot a hottie?

    We’ve answered the third question with a definite yes. The others are still up in the air.

    All it takes is one guy to be right an the consensus flies out the window. But, as I said, you could be right about isoprene.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  158. George Washington quotes:

    “Shift your fat @## Henry, you’re going to swamp the g#dda##ed boat.”

    Crossing the Delaware.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  159. Wine and coffee are always good for you.

    Unless you’re a Mormon, I suppose.

    Kishnevi (f2c02a)

  160. “Shift your fat @## Henry, you’re going to swamp the g#dda##ed boat.”

    There is at least one documented example of Washington cursing out a subordinate, and apparently it was quite something. When asked if he had ever heard Washington curse, General Charles Scott of Virginia said:

    Yes, once. It was at Monmouth, and on a day that would have made any man swear. Yes, sir, he swore on that day, till the leaves shook on the trees, charming, delightful. Never have I enjoyed such swearing before or since. Sir, on that ever-memorable day, he swore like an angel from heaven.

    Dave (445e97)

  161. “Sir, on that ever-memorable day, he swore like an angel from heaven.”

    Dave (445e97) — 3/25/2018 @ 6:54 pm

    I normally don’t swear. The O’s in the Navy think they have to swear to be “real.” All they manage to do is come across as phonies.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0j2dVuhr6s

    I Speak Jive – Airplane! (5/10) Movie CLIP (1980) HD

    But when it’s from the heart, when nothing else will do, swearing is a beautiful thing.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  162. Wine and coffee are always good for you.

    Unless you’re a Mormon, I suppose.

    Kishnevi (f2c02a) — 3/25/2018 @ 6:48 pm

    Wine is good for Mormons, too. I know. I dated some Mormon girls, and, really, wine did them a lot of good. From my perspective anyway. Not as much good as the whiskey, though.

    I never tried to work coffee into one.

    #MeToo.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  163. Cheerleaders and troops pose with an American Flag in front of a helicopter

    I never would have figured out what was going on in this picture without that helpful caption.

    http://www.patriots.com/galleries/2009/12/14/patriots-cheerleaders-visit-deployed-troops#12726

    I would have been left hanging. Who are those people in the cammies, what is that piece of cloth, and what is that large object in the background?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  164. Seriously, Collin Kaepernick has done a lot to sour me on pro football.

    But the cheerleaders are, well, cheery.

    https://www.army.mil/article/49768/country_stars_dallas_cowboy_cheerleaders_visit_troops_in_remote_afghanistan

    Note, Al Franken is not groping her.

    http://prod.static.ravens.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/imported/BAL/photos/clubimages/2016/02-February/tempDSC_1952–nfl_mezz_1280_1024.JPG

    Not this one, either.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  165. There’s really no way to know the women are cheerleaders without the caption.

    This one is a little surprising – the girls are holding these guys rifles. Isn’t that sort of a no-no? The one on the right, at least, clearly has a clip loaded, too.

    Dave (445e97)

  166. Don’t let happyfeet see these pix, by the way. Please.

    Dave (445e97)

  167. @Dave, Bloomberg hasn’t opened an Everytown for Gun Safety branch office in the sandbox.

    Also, not be be too much of a speech nazi, it’s a magazine. Not a clip.

    I recommend you buy an M1 Garand from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. For two reasons. No well ordered household can be considered complete without a Garand. And it will teach people the difference between a clip and a magazine.

    A clip is a device to feed rounds into a magazine.

    A magazine is a device to feed rounds into the chamber of the rifle or handgun.

    http://www.fulton-armory.com/stripperclipguidem14.aspx

    Used to load magazines from stripper clips; not the Clip Guide that’s part of the rifle

    What you do with a clip is shove the cartridges down into the magazine.

    http://www.northridgeinc.com/product-p/m14-10.htm

    Steve57 (0b1dac)


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