May 22, 2017

"At least one explosion, which may have been a suicide bombing, thundered through a Manchester concert arena on Monday night just as a performance by the pop star Ariana Grande ended..."

"... in what the police described as a 'terrorist incident.' They said at least 19 people had been killed and 50 wounded as panicked spectators, including adolescents, screamed and fled."

341 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   201 – 341 of 341
pacwest said...

Chuck,
You aren't trying to equate the worldwide threat of the IRA to the Islamism threat of present day are you? Nooooo!

buwaya said...

You really do want to keep them out.
We have been fighting them for 400 years, right on the "bloody border"; they are indigestible; as long as they are a distinct community retaining their religion, they will not stop opportunistic aggression.
Importing them in sufficient numbers to form a self-sustaining community within your borders is insane. You will always have an aggressive, hostile, dangerous minority group.
The US is far better off than the UK and Europe because their proportion is, so far, very small. Learn from Europe.

Jon Ericson said...

Thanks for bringing humor to this thread.
3rd rate.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Etienne said...
One of the reasons terrorists succeed, is when people show they are terrorized.

It didn't faze you at all, huh? Don't get worked up about it -- that'll show 'em!

walter said...

Hometown girls

pacwest said...

Chuck,
You aren't trying to equate the worldwide threat of the IRA to the Islamism threat of present day are you? Nooooo!

Jon Ericson said...

Another third-rate brain chimes in.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

3rdGradePB_GoodPerson said...
With tens of thousands of Americans injured every year because of Muslim terror extremism (not to mention bathtub injuries), we must monitor and limit the Muslim population (and bathtubs) to guarantee freedom and the constitution."

Once again, PB uses this witless line. Bath injuries are accidents. Letting Muslims into your country when you know that a certain number of them wish to destroy your civilization is suicidal.

Bathtub injuries are not accidents if you insist on covering the bathroom floor with banana peels.

pacwest said...

I think we already have regulations in place for those killer bathtubs PB. Terrorism will be with us always. Why exacerbate it?

Jon Ericson said...

third rate brain retyping...

John Cunningham said...

Q:. What do you call a pile of Mooselimb skulls a hundred feet high?

A:. A good start.

walter said...

You know, Jelly..bathtub incidents happen..but they are limited in the scale of damage.
Properly..err..executed terrorism has a lot more potential.
I mean..if folks are all in on the Pasqual's Wager regarding CAGW, they ought to be more concerned about a radical religious ideology prone to killing non-subscribers.

Sprezzatura said...

exile,

Beyond my explicitly stated B-tub thingy, what was it that I was really pointing to re tens of thousands of American injuries/deaths?

Hint: it wasn't really the Mooooooslims. They don't inflict that sorta carnage on us.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"So, we must kick losers off of government so-called safety nets, and use deficits to provide tax cuts to job creators because that will result in massive eco (not the ecological sort, but the economics sort) growth so that America can eliminate the terrorists. Also: providing job creator benefits makes all boats rise, so there's no need for a safety net."

What sort of fucking word salad is this?

Are you high? You make no sense whatsoever.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"Hint: it wasn't really the Mooooooslims. They don't inflict that sorta carnage on us."

They did on 9/11 you asshole.

Wonderful to see you figure that a bunch of murdered schoolkids here and there isn't anything to worry about.

Jon Ericson said...

3rdGradePB_GoodPerson said...
exile,

Beyond my explicitly stated B-tub thingy, what was it that I was really pointing to re tens of thousands of American injuries/deaths?

Hint: it wasn't really the Mooooooslims. They don't inflict that sorta carnage on us.


5/22/17, 10:59 PM


What the fuck does this even mean?
Please elaborate.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

What the fuck does this even mean?
Please elaborate.

5/22/17, 11:01 PM

Beats me. Is English PB's first language?

Sprezzatura said...

"Are you high?"

Never taken an illegal drug.

Probably experienced some contact stuff. And, spent plenty of time hanging w/ folks doin' tons of coke. I hang w/ the cool kids. But, I still did/do what Nancy told me.

pacwest said...

And note buwaya's comment. This is common sense stuff. You get it.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

So you're just naturally stupid and callous and indifferent to the deaths of innocents.

Gotcha.

Sprezzatura said...

Exile,

It means guns kill way more Americans than Mooooslims.

And, our constitution protects both.

Reread my comments, and keep the experience in mind.

Or, ignore/skip what I type.

Needing to fill in the gaps sucks, from my POV. I write here for myself.




exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Again, your retarded argument is that since some Americans shoot each other, we should have no problems letting in people who might want to kill us.

Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

What about those schoolkids in England? No guns over there.

n.n said...

The man, the political myth, the statue, may yet survive a cultural incursion. It was MLK who advised judging people by the content of their character (e.g. principles), rather than the "color of their skin" (e.g. [class] diversity). His insight may yet prove prescient.

Jon Ericson said...

Too bad "inga#1405" pooped out so early.
Third-grade dillweed tried to wave the flag, whatever.
But they'll always have Tomorrow.

pacwest said...

"They don't inflict that sorta carnage on us."

Define carnage. Put some yellowcake or worse in a briefcase bomb. Define it again. Are you really trying to make the case of acceptable loses?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

pacwest said...
And note buwaya's comment. This is common sense stuff. You get it."

Yeah, he does. It's the historically illiterates like PB and Inga who don't mind gambling with the lives of other people, as long as they can show they're all cool with Muslims.

walter said...

"our constitution protects both."

Only if a US citizen.

BTW, no need to post if just for yourself. Just use a word proc and hit "save". There ya go.

Sprezzatura said...

"What about those schoolkids in England? No guns over there."

That makes the point.

Societies should focus on the problems that afflict them based on the severity of the impacts of the problems.

Hard to see (sans political dogma) how that's a debatable POV.

Fen said...

Oh cool, this is the path where we equate household accidents to murder. You are more likely to electrocute yourself than be shot by criminals, so no need for a police department. Or laws, for that matter.

Someone wake me when we get to "the Crusades were just as bad"

Sprezzatura said...

"BTW, no need to post if just for yourself."

Sure,

but I'm a self identified troll who states that I intend to ruin this forum, and I know who I am.







So, why are you feeding?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Define carnage. Put some yellowcake or worse in a briefcase bomb. Define it again. Are you really trying to make the case of acceptable loses?

5/22/17, 11:09 PM

They're acceptable losses to him because he figures he'll be safe up there in the Pacific Northwest. Other people might die, but hell, you know, they might fall in the bathtub too...

Sprezzatura said...

Fen,

when Althouse kicks Meade to the curb, I'll be in your corner re fillin' the position.

Really, the positions shoulda been reversed, imho. I.e., Meade as the relief pitcher.

Jon Ericson said...

CAIR

walter said...

Oh..Jelly..how apt that your post has so much empty







space.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

PB, we're just making fun of you because you're a remarkably stupid troll. Even Inga can write understandable English sentences. That seems to be beyond your capability.

Sprezzatura said...

exile,

In addition to yellowcake, don't forget the ICBMs from NK.

So, obviously we must cut taxes and regulations for job creators and cut back the loser-net for losers who are takers re the folks who actually work and contribute to America.

Duh.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

I mean,thinking you're drunk or high is the charitable explanation. If not, you're simply an uninteresting imbecile.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Good night, 3rd grader. You're boring me.

Jon Ericson said...

3rdGradePB_GoodPerson said...
"What about those schoolkids in England? No guns over there."

That makes the point.

Societies should focus on the problems that afflict them based on the severity of the impacts of the problems.

Hard to see (sans political dogma) how that's a debatable POV.

5/22/17, 11:11 PM

OMFG.

Sprezzatura said...

BTW,

exile,

I'm also self identified as being stupid.

I'm currently in the third grade, where I've been for at least a decade.

And, I like PB sandwiches.

Sure, I claim to be a good person, but I'm stupid re English that I don't know what it means to be a good person.

You're too smart for me.

By a factor of ten billion.



Carry on.

walter said...

Right..because taxation and entitlement policy reform has been put forth as the solution to radical Islamic terrorism.
Yep.

Jon Ericson said...

Well, thanks for the clarification, Peanut butter boy.
All Hail Owsley!

Sprezzatura said...

"Right..because taxation and entitlement policy reform has been put forth as the solution to radical Islamic terrorism.
Yep."


HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

America is awesome.

Mr. Groovington said...

Blogger 3rdGradePB_GoodPerson said...
Never taken an illegal drug.

**
You're missing out buddy. Loads of great ones.

walter said...

Although..this line of thinking could come up in a stoned/drunk weekend at BernieS

walter said...

Legal drugs are the growing problem now..

walter said...

Oxy et al..

Jon Ericson said...

So he's unmedicated.
Sounds like a problem.

Sprezzatura said...

"You're missing out buddy. Loads of great ones."

And plenty are "legally" available in the state where I spend a good chunk of time, WA.

I also regularly listen to Joe Rogan's podcast where he's pushing pot and psychedelics.

I don't think about it.

OTOH, I don't have anything that needs to be remedied or altered upstairs.

High on life, as they say.

eric said...

Blogger Inga said...
Angry and frustrated? Oh no, not at all. I'm so relieved to know that no Saudi will ever attack the US again, thanks to President Trump, we can all rest easy.

5/22/17, 8:33 PM


This is why I hope Democrats continue to lose elections.

They have no clue who the enemy is. They seriously and truly believe, as Inga does. That those who flew into the twin towers on 9/11 did so because of some nationalistic loyalty to Saudi Arabia. That's the tribe they identified with.

I believe as the planes we're about to crash into the twin towers, they could be heard singing the Saudi national anthem.

Right?

walter said...

But really..
This is worth the click just to read the caption under the top pic:
Hometown girls

pacwest said...

Your not ruining this forum PB. You and Inga are perfect foils. I'd prefer more intelligent conversation, but, oh well.

And besides, you do come up with some good cuts even if I don't agree with the direction they are pointed. I'm hoping to work the "I don't like dealing with fools -- Then don't look in the mirror" one into a conversation someday.

Sprezzatura said...

Walt,

I don't take legal drugs either.

Ten, or so, years ago I had a surgery w/ some meds that followed.

Just livin' the dream, sans extra chemicals in my head.

buwaya said...

The potential impact of the problem is like this:
The Philippines permanently keeps about 50% of its Armed forces and security forces in the southern regions, which contains the 5% of its population that is Muslim. The reason for that is otherwise there would be wholesale communal massacre and ethnic cleansing, in both directions.
Thats 5%.
The Thai government does similarly in its own Muslim south.
The US Government already devotes a very large proportion if its security services, fairly quietly, monitoring and suppressing it Muslim minority, otherwise you would have had an order of magnitude worse trouble.
And the same is true of Europe, especially France, where the load on its own security services seems to have absorbed its entire capacity just in keeping watch on its Muslims.

Its simply not worth it. You should not need what amounts to a permanent staff of secret police tracking Muslim youth and their activities, contacts and communications.

And then there is the ugly matter of trust, and discrimination. Can you give them trusted positions? Its not just the matter of men who go mad like the mass-murdering military psychiatrist or the NCO that fragged his officers. How about the Pakistani Congressional IT contractors that turned out to be working for ISI?

Jon Ericson said...

Well, they certainly affected your tendency to be assholish.

Gospace said...

The photo-memes about Ariana Grande that appeared on my facebook page within mere minutes of the attack, or so it seems, have been vicious. Apparently, making public statements like "I hate America." means you don't get much sympathy when your concert is bombed by people who hate America.

buwaya said...

And as for big problems and small - if they were not being expensively and intrusively suppressed, they would be a much bigger problem.
The more they are, the greater the effort required to suppress them, as with France, where they have absorbed a totality of capacity.
The more you import, the more effort you will require, forever and ever, or until it turns into an actual guerilla war.

If its a small problem now, keep it small. Its not hard, its not complicated.

steve uhr said...

Eric. The Saudis are our friends? They had nothing to do with 9-11? Take a look at the lawsuits filed against them by 9-11 survivors. Hundreds of pages of facts. The Kingdom has a lot of blood on their hands. Educate yourself.

Jon Ericson said...

So, Toothless waste of skin, LET US HEAR THE TROOF.
We can wait.

Jon Ericson said...

Aw Jeeze, you said you were going away.
PLEASE DO SO.

Jon Ericson said...

Shteve.

Mr. Groovington said...

"I also regularly listen to Joe Rogan's podcast where he's pushing pot and psychedelics"

Microdosing 10 mcg of acid every 2 to 3 days, or 6 visits with ayahuasca over a month or so could change your life, imo. Nothing like taking those 95% lazy neurons for a test drive before they die unused.

chickelit said...

Jelly rolled (out): "Societies should focus on the problems that afflict them based on the severity of the impacts of the problems."

One problem is that we look to societies like Britain and see ourselves -- they are just further downslope. We see the results of a generous dole, open borders, and an elitist Government willing to import a new electorate.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Inga's moral universe is inverted. She defends evil and attacks those who want to defend against evil as evil."

That's about as succinct an indictment of the American Left as anyone will ever read. Inga's not really a Leftist though, just a Leftist parrot.

chickelit said...

But maybe I'm jaded because I live in California.

Sprezzatura said...

sodal ye,

Maybe I'm conservative, but I'm more into baby steps.

For at least half a year I've been on a hair trigger to go to an isolation tank thingy. Which is another Rogan favorite.

I know where to go, and have checked out scheduling.

But, still haven't pulled the trigger.



So, your advised course is a bit more than an bit away from becoming my reality, altered as it would be.








Jon Ericson said...

Minneapolis is worse.
(cue James Lileks)

Jon Ericson said...

And drugs and extra white spaces do not do what you are thinking they do.

walter said...

Gospace said... making public statements like "I hate America." means you don't get much sympathy when your concert is bombed by people who hate America.
-
But..she's not in 'murrica...
Jeeze Buwaya, the religion of peace seems expensive..

Sprezzatura said...

Chick,

As best as I can tell, a successful future will only come from economic activities that have the biggest spread between dough making and effort.

IOW, F digging for coal, and F doing stuff w/ iron in some so-called rustbelt state, and F other such stuff.

IOOW, do what the successful folks in CA (and similar areas) are doing.



Of course this reality is probably not popular. If I, as a thought experiment, put myself in the shoes of some loser (I say this w/ love, but it's an effective shorthand re the realities of folks left behind re the 21st cent econ), I can't imagine not being compelled to fall for DJT and R's BS.

Still, BS is BS. And, the impossible is impossible. IOW, spending more than two seconds (on the Fed level) focusing on coal jobs in WestV is, by definition, insane re real growth, imho.

Not that, as a result of our demographics (i.e., the balance of "losers" re non-losers) in America, the realist POV is a political winner.

From a certain POV, the good thing is that Rs are good at getting folks to vote for changes that harm them and benefit their betters.

The cool thing is to win by expressing concern re normal folks, hence a clear conscience, but still, against your expressed desires, get more dough.

Cool.





Jon Ericson said...

Still too many extra line breaks.
You might get tossed out on your ear.

Sprezzatura said...

"Still too many extra line breaks.
You might get tossed out on your ear."

I'm trying, and my failure is galling. I can't figure out what it takes to get banned on this blog.

walter said...

"in the shoes of some loser (I say this w/ love, but it's an effective shorthand re the realities of folks left behind re the 21st cent econ)"
Right..."shorthand". No other term popped into your skull. Nothing in the victim status dictionary worthy?

"the good thing is that Rs are good at getting folks to vote for changes that harm them and benefit their betters."
They don't know what's good for them! Or worse..Gruber-ism.

"The cool thing is to win by expressing concern re normal folks"
Dem Strat 101

Mary Beth said...

Only to suggest that it was not so long ago, that the IRA was doing pretty much the same thing.

I must have missed the news about those responsible this time giving enough of a warning that the area could be evacuated. I'm sure the friends and families of the victims will appreciate it when those associated with this bombing express remorse over the deaths of civilians. Because all of that would bring it closer to being "pretty much the same thing". Well, that and the kinds of targets each would tend to pick.

But, yeah, if you're really into superficial commonalities, then you're right.

Sprezzatura said...

That Maxine was banned.

I think taking shots at the Alt-kids was part of her success.

OTOH, I've tried that too.




I dunno.

Jon Ericson said...

"I'm trying, and my failure is galling. I can't figure out what it takes to get banned on this blog."
Someone, please send this poor soul instructions!

walter said...

Ask "Shouting Thomas".
Other than that, every once in a while, Meade gets in a delete, delete, delete mode.

chickelit said...

Jelly: Putting my two posts together, I don't believe that California has benefited from a generous dole, open borders, and an elitist government. The seeds of California's phenomenal success were planted by migrants who moved east to west rather than from south to north.

Sprezzatura said...

"Other than that, every once in a while, Meade gets in a delete, delete, delete mode."

He's funny.

I wish he could have been able to keep conning Althouse into thinking it was a good idea to post a recitation of the some of the particular items that had been purchased through the Amazon portal.

At least his influence re job-creating-capitalism is still resulting in the (nearly?) daily threads dedicated to begging for money via Amazon.

Good stuff.

wholelottasplainin said...

Chuck spoke, stupidly:

Was Sean Hannity anybody back in those days? Surely not; but I don't think I've ever Hannity go on about "Radical Irish Terrorism."

*********************

Why should Hannity "go on" about past events?

How does an ugly, violent period in the history of the Irish vs. the Brits compare with Islamic terrorism, which even among its adherents has been smouldering and erupting over the centuries?

When did the IRA make war against Western Civilization?

n.n said...

This is a test of Martin Luther King, Jr's thesis that we should judge people by the content of their character (e.g. principles), rather than, as the [class] diversitists, as the mainstream left propose, judge people by the "color of their skin". The answer will determine if the man, the political myth, the statue, and numerous public venues, survive or be pulled down.

Jon Ericson said...

Lullaby and goodnight, with roses bedight
With lilies o'er spread is baby's wee bed
Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed
Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed

Lullaby and goodnight, thy mother's delight
Bright angels beside my darling abide
They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on my breast
They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on my breast

Sweet dreams All.

The Vault Dweller said...

I wonder if Ariana Grande regrets having said she hopes her fans would die a couple years back. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2760170/Ariana-Grande-said-hoped-fans-f-ing-die.html

walter said...

Good angle Jelly.
Hammer on the minimal pimping for amazon portal purch. Yeah..as a Bernie voter, Meade is the uber capitalist.
No sirree..your brain cells are drug-free.


S P A C E !

chickelit said...

Isn't buying stuff from Amazon "late capitalism"?

chickelit said...

Capitalism to me is making stuff from glass and plastic and selling it for a marginal profit. I have succeeded at this to some extent but lack the skills to grow it into a business.

walter said...

Right about now it is..

Sprezzatura said...

Chick,

Somewhere I read today (i.e. lamestream, i.e. NYT/WAPO/ETC) that Utah w/ a sub-4% unemployment rate is suffering from not enough workers.

And, what is the national average at? Mid 4%?

At some point ya gonna hit so-called full employment.

Sure, that should put pressure on wages.

But, why the hell would anyone produce or do anything here at high wages if they can offshore it or mechanize it? IOW, if a mandated $15/hour wage for flipping buggers in rural places (e.g. Utah) would be terrible for folks working up from the bottom of the job market, because machines would replace them, why isn't that still true re a tight job market putting pressure on wages?

I could go on re sussing this out with a few more twists and turns, still ending up with, essentially, the same conundrum, i.e. reality. But, if this taste doesn't flicker a bulb upstairs for ya, nothing will. Not that there's anything wrong w/ that.




Carry on.

walter said...

chikelit,
Ya gotta do capitalism the way Silicon valley does it. Otherwise, Pfffft!

Jon Ericson said...

Damn Allium Capitalists! Shaking my fist!
(I woke up)

walter said...

"if a mandated $15/hour wage for flipping buggers in rural places (e.g. Utah) would be terrible for folks working up from the bottom of the job market, because machines would replace them, why isn't that still true re a tight job market putting pressure on wages?"

What? Mandated min vs market pressured wage increase?

walter said...

Btw, Utah tends to be anti-buggers.

Sprezzatura said...

Walt,

I'm guessing that you, unlike Exile, can appreciate some of aspects of the stuff I type to amuse myself.


Jon Ericson said...

OK, how many of you support buggers.
Hands up! :p

chickelit said...

Walter wrote: "Chikelit,
Ya gotta do capitalism the way Silicon valley does it. Otherwise, Pfffft!"

Your comment highlights the difference between small and large business. Small business is still mostly Republican. Big business is Dem. How reversed this is from 100 years ago.

wwww said...


Jesus have mercy, they hit a stadium full of children.

twitter ThomasHCrown

walter said...

chickelit said...Big business is Dem. How reversed this is from 100 years ago.
--
As reversed as the talkin' points...from folks speechifyin' in the multi-thousand/million per spectrum.

Achilles said...

3rdGradePB_GoodPerson said...

"As best as I can tell, a successful future will only come from economic activities that have the biggest spread between dough making and effort.

IOW, F digging for coal, and F doing stuff w/ iron in some so-called rustbelt state, and F other such stuff.

IOOW, do what the successful folks in CA (and similar areas) are doing."

Would you be willing to reduce the regulatory burden of manufacturing and mining industry to that of the software industry and see what happens?

I do not disagree about productivity imbalances but as manufacturing dies we don't need to actively kill it off.

walter said...

But CAGW worshippers need sacrifices on the altar...

Chuck said...

pacwest said...
Chuck,
You aren't trying to equate the worldwide threat of the IRA to the Islamism threat of present day are you? Nooooo!


No I am not trying to equate the two, as real and present threats.

The IRA never killed 3,000 people on U.S. soil.

But in its heyday, the IRA conducted bombings -- including in the very same city, Manchester -- that hurt many more people, with an even larger bomb, than last night's attack. And innumerable other terrorist attacks with a viciousness and cruelty that rivals the Islamists.

So no; I am not equating anything on the basis of present threats. I am just poking that sort of Trump supporter represented by Sean Hannity. Irish Catholic guys from the outer boroughs. Who would hate the historical equation between terrorist groups including the IRA.






Jon Ericson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jon Ericson said...

But I meant every word of what I said.

Jon Ericson said...

Oh Marion,
I Needs the ELVIS Breast and Butts Enlargement products.
CVS?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

buwaya said...
You really do want to keep them out.
Importing them in sufficient numbers to form a self-sustaining community within your borders is insane.


Let's say this analysis is correct. Isn't it equally insane to continually meddle in the affairs of countries in the Middle East? Isn't it insane to take sides in sectarian strife between Shia and Sunni as Trump is proposing?

Bin Laden attacked the US in large part because of the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia. To a patriot, any patriot, the presence of foreign troops in your country is like a red flag to a bull. Shouldn't we minimize this provocation?

The recent history of US interventions in the ME has been ridiculously counter-productive, a litany of failure, yet we keep getting drawn into the region. Trump promised 'America First' but has delivered the same failed policies as his predecessors. No sane analysis of the current misguided tour of the ME could conclude otherwise.

tim in vermont said...

"why isn't that still true re a tight job market putting pressure on wages" - Moron

Well for one thing, in a tight job market, there would still be jobs for low skilled people, robots or not. I really have a hard time believing you guys are that stupid, but it does explain a lot.

tim in vermont said...

The UK's problem is to do with massive immigration by people who hate them. Take a stroll through some suburbs of Birmingham some time.

tim in vermont said...

Assimilation? Not so much.

Curious George said...

It's a shame that the Notre Dame's 2017 Valedictorian wasn't at the concert.

Ann Althouse said...

Many of the commenters here show a bad trend in commenting. I wasn't awake and attempting to moderate, but I would like those who participated here to reflect on the dynamic among the commenters and let me know — you can add it here, I will read it — whether you see what I am talking about, whether you unwittingly contributed, whether you got off causing this to happen, or something in between.

I would like to see comments that address the substance of the post, and this idea of calling out each other by name and doggedly insisting on always taking another shot and naming somebody who also needs to get the last shot, drives up the quantity of comments but makes them unreadable to anybody who's not among the named.

If your name keeps coming up multiple times in comments threads, you are contributing to what I regard as a comments disease, and you need to help stop it or I will see you as doing it intentionally.

It's shameful that you let this happen in a post about children being murdered. I call an end to this now. You need to help me.

Ann Althouse said...

The instructions above the compose window say: "[T]ry to be responsive to the post, don't make personal attacks on other commenters, bring some substance or humor to the conversation..."

You need to try harder.

If you keep finding yourself in what I call "back and forth," you need a new approach to commenting. There are a few people who regularly end up getting named in long back and forth and it's incredibly boring to read. I don't want that here. If you're one of these commenters and you don't understand why this is happening to you, then my advice is to think: substance.

If you do understand, and you're doing it on purpose, you can expect deletions from me and when they come, you'd better understand why.

Make your points alongside other people's points. You can respond to what other people say, but respond to the substance. Don't make it personal.

Robert Cook said...

"Times change. There was a time when terrorist attacks in the US were usually the work of domestic Leftists...."

And rightists.

And of course the many decades of lynchings that occurred throughout the country.

Michael P said...

So, somebody tweeted "The last time I listened to Ariana Grande I almost died too."

Is the correct course of action here (a) to declare him a monster, (b) become a punchline by saying "that's not funny", or (c) laugh?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Michael P, the guy, David Leavitt, kept on with the jokes after the first one. Pretty tasteless.

And it's noteworthy that he certainly didn't find the attack on the mosque in Quebec to be a joking matter. At the time, he tweeted: "This tragic Quebec city shooting is a hate crime and terrorist attack on Muslims. Keep saying Trump's fearmongering has no effect."

So the Quebec shooting was tragic and somehow Trump's fault, but children getting nailbombed in Manchester afforded him the chance for some light humor. He's in Boston. Did he find the Marathon bombing to be entertaining as well?

Another contemptible leftist attention whore. And more confirmation of what a sewer Twitter is.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

"And of course the many decades of lynchings that occurred throughout the country."

Done by Southern Democrats. And northern ones too - there was a big anti-black race riot in Chicago in, I believe, 1919.

Almost 100 years ago. Of course, that all justifies Muslim terror now, I suppose. Because innocent black people were killed decades ago, we can't get on our high horse about innocent non-Muslims getting murdered today.

By Cook's logic, no Americans had any right to be indignant about Krystalnacht because during WWI German Americans were beat up and harassed.

tim in vermont said...

Noted and owned.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Ann Althouse said...
If you keep finding yourself in what I call "back and forth," you need a new approach to commenting.


The fundamental problem is that some people use this blog as a means to emotionally vent their hatred for some other group of citizens - "Another contemptible leftist attention whore" - rather than as a forum for discussion.

This mindset, that the opposition must be crushed rather than engaged, leads to many of the more futile discussions. Chuck, for example, is a doctrinaire Republican who, not without reason, finds Trump to be a less than adequate representative of his philosophy. Chuck's criticisms of Trump are, in general, principled and well thought out. On most policy issues he is actually in broad agreement with the majority here. Nonetheless, he is treated as an apostate who must be crushed rather than as a respected representative of a widely held viewpoint within the nation.

This intolerance of different viewpoints is the antithesis of what a discussion forum should be. That the emotional and ideological rigidity of some is then exploited by others for the purposes of entertainment is a rational response if other pathways towards a substantive discussion are blocked.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

So you think David Leavitt is not a contemptible leftist attention whore, ARM? Why should I be polite in describing the actions of a man who blamed Trump for Quebec - and the Quebec shooting was no laughing matter to him - but who made jokes about yesterday's slaughter?

The fact that he blamed Trump for "hatemongering" seems to indicate his political leanings. The fact that he doubled down on stupid and continued to make jokes seems to indicate he is indeed a contemptible attention whore.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Also, David Leavitt does not comment here as far as I know. So why take that comment personally?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

What about this act of violence, Robert?

(CNSNews.com) – Floyd Lee Corkins II, who pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to the Aug. 15 shooting at the Family Research Council (FRC), identified the FRC as a target by using the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which includes what it calls a “Hate Map” that features the FRC's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

As the court filing’s “Statement of Offense” for United States of America v. Floyd Lee Corkins II reads, “He was a political activist and considered the FRC a lobbying group. He committed the shooting for political reasons. He had identified the FRC as an anti-gay organization on the Southern Poverty Law Center Website.”

The FRC opposed gay marriage - so SPLC listed it as a "hate group" and that gave Corkins the justification to shoot people.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/

ARM wrote:

"This mindset, that the opposition must be crushed rather than engaged, leads to many of the more futile discussions."

This from a commenter who approves of violent mobs shutting down speech at universities.




chickelit said...

@Althouse: It's quite easy to see how these sorts of threads go sideways each and every time. Analyze this one, for example. Was the comment about the IRA balanced or was provocation. I'd say the latter given the sate of the IRA today. And the IRA comments plays right into the hands of people upset that the Brits fail to recognize real threats.

chickelit said...

@In your ardent desire to avoid your blog comments becoming an echo chamber, You've fostered a "cconflict echo chamber" wherein each and every conflict is played out by the same players.

chickelit said...

Other voices pretend to be voices of reason. But their words -- such as using this forum to shut down discussion of the Seth Rich murder -- indicate partisan intent.

Ann Althouse said...

@chicklet

I'm only talking about the way people who are here in the comments name each other and go back and forth in a personal way. Instead of disagreeing with the substance, they frame their comment in the "Jane, you ignorant slut" format. I'm not talking about naming and criticizing some public figure who isn't here being addressed and maybe feeling compelled to defend himself. I consider it substance. Some substantive comments are low quality, of course. I recommend high quality. But that's not the problem I'm trying to get under control.

Ann Althouse said...

(Sorry for what spell correct did to your name.)

Ann Althouse said...

And the comment about the IRA was perfectly fine. Not low quality at all, in my view. Too bad if you're one of the commenters who's pushing the idea that terrorists are Muslims.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"Bin Laden attacked the US in large part because of the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia. To a patriot, any patriot, the presence of foreign troops in your country is like a red flag to a bull. Shouldn't we minimize this provocation? "

Really? I saw a truck full of British soldiers on I-5 just south of Ft. Lewis the other day. So this is a justification for patriotic Americans to attack Britain and deliberately slaughter innocent people? You probably didn't think it through, ARF.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Leftists still hopping-mad about crusades and an abortion doc killer in the 1980's.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Unless you simply forgot the "if they're batshit barbarians" qualifier.

CStanley said...

At least the "Jane, you ignorant slut" skit was funny, and IIRC SNL had the sense to run it sparingly enough that it didn't get tiresome.

The back and forth that generally involves two particular commenters here, especially at nighttime, is just inane and boring. I'm sometimes tempted to say so, but assume it would be taken either as a scold or as support for those two commenters, which really isn't my intent. I just want the other commenters to stop being predictable and dull. On this particular thread it was also grating because of the subject matter.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Ann Althouse said...
And the comment about the IRA was perfectly fine. Not low quality at all, in my view. Too bad if you're one of the commenters who's pushing the idea that terrorists are Muslims."

However, Ann, the IRA is hardly a factor in 2017, is it? You can go back through history and find all sorts of ethnic groups who have committed terrorism. I don't think anybody is arguing that ONLY Muslims have been guilty of it in the past - or even in the present.

Only that for the past few decades those responsible for the overwhelming majority of terrorist attacks throughout the world have been Muslim. And we have no good method of separating the wheat from the chaff.

Pookie Number 2 said...

Too bad if you're one of the commenters who's pushing the idea that terrorists are Muslims.

Is it okay to observe that most current terrorists are Muslim? And that allowing in lots of innocent Muslim refugees also means more Manchesters and Fort Hoods and Orlandos and Bostons? Or do we need to ignore current actual threats so we can pretend that there isn't a problem in Islam?

Rick said...

Bin Laden attacked the US in large part because of the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia.

What nonsense. Bin Laden attacked us because his Medievalist mindset views Islamic triumphalism as the most laudatory accomplishment possible. His claims of specific offenses are meaningless jabber he offers because he knows many of his enemies will grasp any reason to blame America rather than engage reality.

Robert Cook said...

"'And of course the many decades of lynchings that occurred throughout the country.'

"Done by Southern Democrats. And northern ones too - there was a big anti-black race riot in Chicago in, I believe, 1919.

"Almost 100 years ago. Of course, that all justifies Muslim terror now, I suppose. Because innocent black people were killed decades ago, we can't get on our high horse about innocent non-Muslims getting murdered today.

"By Cook's logic, no Americans had any right to be indignant about Krystalnacht because during WWI German Americans were beat up and harassed."


You have either completely misunderstood my point or you are trolling.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

No, Robert, I don't believe I have. See my comment at 9:04 am.

trumpintroublenow said...

Not only is the back and forth incredibly boring it deters commenting by people who have a responsible on-topic point but don't enjoy being viciously insulted. What about a Craigslist approach?


"Craigslist relies on its community to flag and report ads that are offensive or violate the site's rules. If you want your post to remain on the site, always post your ad in the correct category and don't include content that has been forbidden. An ad is blocked from the site when enough users flag it or a staff member receives an email about abuse and manually deletes it."

I Callahan said...

You have either completely misunderstood my point or you are trolling.

I completely admit to misunderstanding the point. It is a common tactic of leftists (even the fair ones, like you), to bring up some subject in the past to compare to what's going on today. It's almost like a knee-jerk response, and I don't get it.

In my eyes, what the rightists did in the 1800's and early 1900's was bad, just as bad as what's happening today, but it still has absolutely no bearing on what's going on now in the world, and bringing it up makes no logical sense whatsoever.

Please enlighten me as to why I'm incorrect here.

Michael McNeil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael McNeil said...

Define carnage. Put some yellowcake or worse in a briefcase bomb. Define it again. Are you really trying to make the case of acceptable loses?

Bad example. “Yellowcake” is a slightly treated intermediate of natural uranium ore. Yet, uranium — “radioactive” but with a half-life of 4-1/2 BILLION years — is so little radioactive that earth still possesses HALF the natural (mostly U-238) uranium that it started out with 4.6 billion years ago. The upshot is that uranium — unless laboriously concentrated into fissionable U-235 isotope — is basically not dangerous — particularly via its radiation (as with most heavy elements there are issues with chemical toxicity).

Nor is uranium especially rare. Indeed, some 10 grams (1/3 ounce) on average out of every cubic meter (~yard) of ordinary dirt around the world is uranium.

In other words, a “suitcase bomb” or any other (conventional) bomb which was packed with “yellowcake” (or even pure, natural uranium) would be no more dangerous than the bomb alone — especially since, with yellowcake (or uranium), the bomb makers might fondly imagine that that would suffice — and neglect packing it with other, actually deadly, things like nails.

Even radium — a MILLION TIMES more radioactive than natural uranium — isn't radioactive enough (it turns out) to be toxic to Marie Curie, despite her working closely with the radioactive element for many years. (An exhumation of Curie's remains during the 90's found that her body had been exposed to only about 1/20th of what is medically considered to be [the beginnings of] a dangerous dosage.)

Bad Lieutenant said...

Pookie Number 2 said...
Too bad if you're one of the commenters who's pushing the idea that terrorists are Muslims.

Is it okay to observe that most current terrorists are Muslim? And that allowing in lots of innocent Muslim refugees also means more Manchesters and Fort Hoods and Orlandos and Bostons? Or do we need to ignore current actual threats so we can pretend that there isn't a problem in Islam?

5/23/17, 9:24 AM

It's also worth noting that England engaged the Irish problem directly and without (much) restraint. If Scotland Yard or the paras dragged in fellows like Blindy "WelfareHook" McBlindface and questioned them till they talked, instead of stuffing them up with free houses; if Rotherham doers had been getting swept off the streets and their mutilated corpses thrown out of vans in front of their hangouts; if Brits would just get over the idea that they're smart enough and wise enough to play pattycake with these people; and most of all if they did not despise their own and exalt the Other; then the problem would be at an entirely other level.

chickelit said...

Somebody wrote (In response to Althouse questioning my intelligence): So it okay to observe that most current terrorists are Muslim? And that allowing in lots of innocent Muslim refugees also means more Manchesters and Fort Hoods and Orlandos and Bostons? Or do we need to ignore current actual threats so we can pretend that there isn't a problem in Islam?"

I doubt whether Althouse has an answer to that, else she would have given them.

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