... rejoice in the return of the light.
This is the evening of the last day of the darkest monthlong stretch of the year. You might notice that night is falling more slowly. It's almost 5 here, and it's not fully dark yet.
Tomorrow is a day some of us call the anniversary of one of the worst days in American history and some of us — with a longer time frame — call Epiphany.
However you view the Eve of January 6th, you may take this post as a place to talk about whatever it is you're thinking about.
Posts
82 comments:
The Truth About Bob Dylan’s Fallout with Pete Seeger
I donned religimous costumery and was Balthazar (Frankincense) for the little kids in church this morning. But I went home by a different way, having been warned in a dream.
I have been trying to tie up some loose ends re the "hush money" case:
- What felonies did the grand jurors believe they were charging Trump with? The indictment doesn't say. Is there any way to find out? Did Bragg ever discuss §17-152 (the pretext for the felony charges) with the grand jury? (Public mention of §17-152 first occurred after the indictment; defense filed for a Bill of Particulars* which failed to clarify the felony charges.)
- There are at least two competing theories behind Cohen's payment agreement with then-CFO Allen Weisselberg: a) that they constituted a loan repayment schedule which was falsely recorded as a retainer fee, and b) that the NDA expenses represented a legitimate legal service that Weisselberg factored into Cohen's retainer fee. Are there any others?
- Prosecution claimed Cohen did less than 10 hours of legal work during the relevant time period. Is there evidence to the contrary?
- Does campaign finance law assume that to qualify as a campaign donation money must come into the hands of the actual campaign? Cohen didn't give to the campaign, he engaged in a private contract that has First Amendment protection. Trump's inevitable appeal must include this angle so SCOTUS can rule on private activity during elections that may influence elections. If the NDA is a campaign donation, then the FEC should sue MSNBC out of existence for its de facto electioneering.
Of course there are bigger issues, but I'm trying to address some of the less-discussed facets of the case.
* Bill of Particulars linked here.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24415801-hush-money-da-response-to-bill-of-particulars-request-20231003/?mode=document
Does Little Big Horn fall under “small rock the size of a large rock” epiphany?
As to the grand jury, I believe the charges were "insufficient mayo" and "too much mustard".
This was 1965 and Seeger was right about Viet Nam, and he was right to feel passionately about it. Of course he was disappointed with Dylan, who maybe used the peace movement to further his career; IDK. His first girlfriend in the movie was pretty connected in the folk scene through her father. Dylan could have done a couple of songs for the cause, which was noble, but he simply refused, for his own reasons. Seeger was already well known when he helped Dylan get his start.
I thought that the movie was very fair to Seeger, and very honest about Dylan, and portrayed the way that their relationship was so complicated.
Given that today is about a month after the earliest sunset, it seems to me that the 'darkmonth' -- if you base it on earliest sunset, should end 2 weeks earlier to include the dark period before that earliest sunset. My own opinion -- and I don't really have a blog -- is that the 8 weeks, a quadruple fortnight, from 17 Nov - 12 Jan are the Dark Times. It is noticeably brighter at night now though, about the time I leave work to walk home.
https://x.com/CarolineGlick/status/1875866884408758331
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HZmkv-5jnW0
Mrs. NorthOfTheOneOhOne is from Seeger's hometown of Beacon, NY. She has said that she will never forgive him for ruining NYC hot dogs when he cleaned up the Hudson River Estuary.
Ukraine President Zielinsky on Lex Fridman Podcast as he gravels for Western weapons while invlading peace loving Mother Russia. Is it live or Memorex, only his hair dresser knows for sure.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HZmkv-5jnW0
Apparently there was a day, before J6 Day of The Kings, when one of Santa’s helpers was allowed to punish kids who had been naughty 👿.
Today is the 12th day of Christmas. We all should take these 12 days off, but of course, since America is puritan/secular hell-hole, lots of us had to work.
Tonight I noticed for the first time that it is dark a little later. Fitting for the end of Darkmonth.
I'm in a rare fight on Twitter right now with this guy who is usually sensible (but not always) who is playing down the gang rape issue because it's being driven by conservatives (his big concern is Musk's motivations).
Some people are so gross.
👆🏽 LINK to source
https://x.com/JeremyTate41/status/1876033002352083412
Maybe focus on the spectacular conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter that our lord has created rather than flog a nag that expired four years ago. Why do you hate Jesus Christ our father who makes art in heaven?
Had their been anyone else concerned about rotherdam and rochdale certainly not the crown prosecutor who is now the prime minister
Tomorrow is a day some of us call the anniversary of one of the worst days in American history
That's actually offensive, in saying Althouse was further gone that any of us had imagined. In the sense of no hope of redemption.
An al queda terrorist killed three children and the british domestic security took paina to hode it
They were fully enthised on prosecuting thought crime though
SDA blog: Tomorrow Trudeau might resign
Tomorrow is Epiphany. Also the day to take down Christmas decorations - per Irish tradition.
Is 'invlading' the word for invading a country ruled by a Vlad, or is Howard just so drunk he's incoherent? (Not that it's really an 'invasion' when the country you're sending troops into is already occupying a much larger slice of your own country: a counterattack is a perfectly legitimate act in war.)
https://x.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1875968745921003810
https://www.fox8live.com/2025/01/05/bourbon-street-terrorist-acted-alone-apparently-planned-attack-months-advance-fbi-says/
Ask him if he thinks the little girls care about Musk's motivations.
"Graveling" is good too. Is that what you do to get more rocks?
Ugh, now everyone hating on Musk now for calling out the UK. British lefties acting like the grooming gangs never happened...the swine. Orwell called it didn't he. And about England, his England.
Narr:
More tiny rocks, maybe.
That reminds me of something only vaguely relevant, but worth mentioning. A few years ago a middle-aged woman in some American city sold rocks out of her front yard to some people who were rioting a block or two away. She charged $5 each for the larger rocks, $2 for the smaller ones. When she was sentenced to a year or two in jail, some wag said she was going to spend that time 'turning five-dollar rocks into two-dollar rocks'. I wish I'd thought of saying that!
I’m thinking the 49ers really suck. Damn it, I’ll come right out and say it.
I feel no remorse. It’s a terrible thing.
Nothin’ from nothin’, but standing at the site of the battle one July morning at the age of 12, with a gentle wind blowing the grass and not another soul other than my family present… it’s a memory that I hope stays with me.
See also, Bob Dylan, Anti-Commie
Jan 6th was worse that all the wars put together!
And now for something different though still Trumpcentric:
One of Trump’s best persuasion tools is Mar-a-Lago.
Trump is the only billionaire whose home is a resort. How much easier it is to receive guests at a resort than a home.
Trump asked fellow billionaire Mark Andreessen what he wanted to eat for dinner. MA’s reply: meat. So Trump ordered every meat on the menu. Very difficult to do in a private home no matter how large a staff. At a resort, pretty easy. And it impressed MA so much that he mentioned it later on. Quite an accomplishment to impress a billionaire.
When RFK came to meet with pharmaceutical execs at Mar-a-Lago, Trump felt the meeting needed a change of pace so he moved it outside - so much easier to do at a resort. Refreshments? Dietary restrictions? All easy to take care of at a resort.
Do we need a ballroom? A conference room? Another conference room? So much flexibility at a resort.
And think about visitors arriving. At a private home, no matter how lavish, it’s a pretty somber event. At a resort they’re surrounded by very happy people (they’re all at a resort - vacationing, golfing, dining)
Do your visitors need a break from whatever discussions are going on? No need to get into cars and travel to a golf course. The golf course is right here, staffed and waiting for you whenever you want.
Italian PM Georgia Meloni is visiting Trump. How much of her decision was based on visiting Trump and how much of it was based on visiting Trump at Mar-a-Lago?
Jan 6 was 911 9/11s
I'm hoping my Saint Barbara's wheat in its little pots makes it to the feast of the Purification, Candlemas, February 2, the liturgical conclusion to the Christmas season. Am not over-confident, however.
There is a Bighorn River in Montana.
Baby Castro is Out!
Is this just a perception of mine, or reality: has there been a influx of trolls who instead of being obnoxiously stupid are being stupidly obnoxious?
I assume that whatever payments were driving the usual suspects to obsessively comment on political issues has dried up since the election, since those trolls seem to have reduced their activities.
But without using names and giving them the attention they've apparently been desperate for since their mothers took away the breast, can anyone explain what the deal is with the new trolls who direct nasty--but obviously stupid and nearly always irrelevant to the post, so ineffective--personal attacks against Prof. Althouse? Are these just different aliases for trolls from the 2010s, or new mentally disturbed people?
I had forgotten this, because he's been really quiet about it in the 21st century
but Jimmy Carter was a pro-life president
The Last Pro-Life Democrat
It’s weird that I’m currently in the middle of a 2 week stay in Uganda, and when I get up and read the posts it’s likely everyone in America is got to bed.so farms only disappointment with Uganda is we are denied access to Facebook. Owing to of course politics. People still access it using VPN’s , but I haven’t the time to fuss with that . You may wish to stifle opinions different from your own , but May in fact damage your own just as much.
I think it’s odd that you imagined a single word of truth would exit Schumers mouth. In the bible I read that the devil is the father of lies, so judge for yourself.and yes, I know Trump lies.
Enjoy your blizzard, I’ll be enjoying a beautiful sunny day with a high of about 82 degrees. In Uganda it’s always summer, and never winter. (But they still have Christmas). As for darkmonth they’ve never heard of it. Due to Kampala’s location almost on the equator, the length of day and the arc of the sun is constant year round. Enjoy.
See also Jimmy Carter, Awkward Abortion Moderate
Just saw in the comments to the F-150 post that AA disapproves of the use of the REPLY feature in comments. Seems worth a full post. I had assumed when first saw this feature that it was approved. Maybe I missed one or more previous warnings, especially if in earlier comment(s).
Trump was unamimously found guilty of 34 criminal charges heard by a jury formed before the Supreme Court of New York, County of New York, Borough of Manhattan. Grand Juries do not rule on guilt or innocence. As for "bills of particular" we had to listen to Trump and his inept lawyers defending a case before the public instead of before the jury. No effort was made to prove Trump's innocence and he refused to answer questions at trial. Particulars include thousands upon thousands of documents presented by the prosecution - perhaps you could start there, Allan?
Althouse's trolls strike me as bipolars in a manic phase. I don't think they're overtly trying to be obnoxious; they're driven to talk and post. When they disappear, I figure they've either moved into the depressive phase, or they're back on their meds.
Well 21st century feminists don’t seem to care about the young female victims in Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford, Oxford, Bristol, and who knows how many other places in the UK. So considering the disinterest of their feminist partners, coupled with the obvious toxic masculinity that causes so many of us conservative men to believe that society should be all about protecting the weakest and most vulnerable among us, the position of the lefties is to care less about the young, raped, females and more about the feelings of their Pakistani rapists.
When she died in 1973, businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist Marjorie Merriweather Post bequeathed her mansion Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach to the U.S. government, to be used as a retreat for U.S. Presidents. Due to the expenses involved and the difficulty of securing the grounds, Congress returned it to her estate in 1980. In 1986, it was sold to Donald Trump, and when he became President in 2017, Mar-a-Lago actually fulfilled Ms. Post’s intentions. Today, Congress meets to count the electoral votes, and on January 20th, it will happen again.
I will post more on the debt of gratitude that we owe to Marjorie Merriweather Post in tonight’s café post.
Nancy Pelosi, yes, that Nancy Pelosi, thinks women are more ethical than men.
Only two more weeks till we get a Real American President to replace the Cheap Chinese Counterfeit.
Liz Cheney, Anna Wintour, and the other women that Joe Biden draped the Presidential Medal of Freedom around their necks, did he also sniff their hair?
Bonchie
@bonchieredstate
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This is Washington credentialism in a nutshell.
Politicians become "qualified" by simply existing. It doesn't matter that Biden is an abject failure and the worst foreign policy figure in American history.
You see, he knows a lot of people, and that's all that matters.
Lucas Tomlinson
@LucasFoxNews
Biden scolds reporters at the White House: "I might be the oldest president, but I know more world leaders than any one of you have ever met in your whole goddamn life!"
Scott Jennings
@ScottJenningsKY
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The most civil, decent, and devoutly Catholic president we’ve ever had. 🙄
I hope when it happens to somebody they love, they see how stupid they really are.
Mario Nawfal
@MarioNawfal
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🇺🇸THESE ARE THE 158 DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED AGAINST DEPORTING SEX OFFENDERS
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1875746145261195463
Good ol' Joe: a mean SOB all the way to the end.
I use the same name.
This shows a total lack of understanding of our judicial system: " No effort was made to prove Trump's innocence".
Gadfly, prove to us you don't have an undue attraction to minor children. Answer the question!
Yeah, right Gadfly-Trump is going to get on the stand in front of a biased jury and corrupt DA? What a stupid, idiotic thing to write. Glad you’re not his attorney.
Eva Marie and Clyde: Maybe at the end of this term, Trump could re-donate MAL to the G. Or if the legalities are better, take it from himself by eminent domain and compensate himself with $1.
Supremacy Clause would bat away all zoning nonsense, and the place could be a Presidential conference center. Or even the full-time White House if someone really gets serious about the distributed-capital concept.
JSM
Bye Dreamy McDreamboat
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canada-pm-trudeau-to-announce-resignation-as-early-as-monday-globe-and-mail-reports/ar-AA1x0GYb
Columbus OH TV on YouTube has a reporterette on the street showing that the storm left so much snow that it reaches the tops of her shoe. It's the hurricane reporter effect after failed hype.
An act of God?
https://x.com/atensnut/status/1875981639005949962?s=61
The intentional misspellings aren’t cute.
Giants would like a word.
Althouse also trolls.
Somebody's been into the bud.
I'm more excited about January 10th, but it will be just another day next year.
Stephanie Carter accepted the Medal of Freedom on behalf of her late husband, former Defense Secretary Ash Carter. Does anyone remember how Biden stood behind her sniffing her hair and rubbing her shoulders as her husband gave his speech when he was sworn in as SecDef back in 2015?
Cheney got the Presidental Citizens Medal.
She couldn't put DOCTOR Jill on a magazine cover.
An eggnog bender
https://www.mattgoodwin.org/p/the-elite-class-doesnt-care-about
Does earliest sunset depend on where you are in the time zone? Shouldn't darkest month be centered on the solstice?
The Little Bighorn is a tributary of the Bighorn.
I've read a lot about the Custer Fight, but haven't visited; maybe in the next few years.
"I might be the oldest president, but I know more world leaders than any one of you have ever met in your whole goddamn life!"
Yeah, Joe, you’ve met a lot of world leaders — and every one of them was laughing at you. Now get the Hell out of Trump’s way.
That woman who killed a mailman in New York because of restaurant rage?
Not a woman.
I would not sentence him to a woman's prison. No way.
As I recall, the Epiphany (visit of the Magi) also triggered the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod. So, another resonance with the modern day January 6 event.
I flew from Dulles (DC) to Honolulu yesterday, on a B767, first class. It was marvelous. Everyone should do this, at least once.
Off topic, but our Florida Boy Wonder Rattlesnake Whisperer is still in the ICU after 2 weeks.
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