Althouse: Sunrise

March 16, 2025

Sunrise — 7:11.

Talk about whatever you want in the comments. And support the Althouse blog by doing your Amazon shopping going in through the Althouse Amazon link.

53 comments:

MadisonMan said...: No more ice. Strong winds did that I suppose.; 3/16/25, 7:57 PM
Clyde said...: Feel-good story of the day: Gang members sent to El Salvador prison. Should have self-deported!

https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1901245427216978290; 3/16/25, 8:06 PM
Clyde said...: This one was good, too. Oopsie! Too late!

https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1901238762614517965; 3/16/25, 8:08 PM
Lawnerd said...: You are lucky. The lakes in the northern Wisconsin woods are still ice covered and will be that way for weeks.; 3/16/25, 8:09 PM
wildswan said...: I'm reading Lucan's Pharsalia and I thought it was a bit ovet the top till I read todays news and posts. We seem to be living in a sort of imperial Rome, the specific Emperor being Nero, only the Emperor is the people, specifically the people on the left. They are Nero. They think their singing is the greatest, their poetry is the best. They are in a way burning down the cities in order to be able to build better cities. They persecute Christians and all dissenters. Interviews are gladiatorial spectacles. Fiddling while Rome burns - returning ghastly criminals, illegally in the US to the US in the name of a law interpreted by lawyers who saw nothing wrong with flooding the country with said criminals and nothing wrong with persecuting a political candidate. Dante liked the Pharsalia. I've never known why but he lived in a republic with problems also. Maybe I'll know what the attraction was by the time I finish.; 3/16/25, 8:11 PM
Drago said...: Trump has the New Soviet Democraticals so discombobulated that they forgot they were supposed to pretend to be against murderous foreign narco-terrorists who entered our nation iillegally and committed heinous crimes against Americans; 3/16/25, 8:21 PM
Big Mike said...: Last week Mark Carney was sworn in as His Majesty’s 24th Prime Minister of Canada. Canada has a parliamentary system but Carney is not now, and has never been, a Member of Parliament. He has Canadian citizenship, but he also holds UK and Irish citizenship. He has no political experience, except that as a Central Banker he is probably used to pulling political strings. Still, it seems strange.

Yes, I get that Donald Trump’s only experience before being elected President was as a wealthy puller of strings. However our system of governance is very different from Canada’s and we’ve had governors and generals and even cabinet officers elected President in the past. Some of them quite successful (Jefferson, Clinton, Eisenhower, and note that Lincoln’s experience had been as a one term Congressman who was not re-elected).; 3/16/25, 8:22 PM
Lem Vibe Banditory said...: Headline: "Longtime Rep. Nita Lowey dead at 87"

She was longtime Rep because she had to step aside for Hillary Clinton, after Sen. Moynahan stepped down and retired.

It's part of the story, 'How Trump got to the White House' yet to be written.; 3/16/25, 8:32 PM
Lem Vibe Banditory said...: Amazon Delivery Viral Video: Amazon delivers water?

What y'all think about the lady's rant?

The heaviest stuff I've delivered is dog and cat food.; 3/16/25, 8:50 PM
Lem Vibe Banditory said...: Video: "Stranded astronauts thank President Trump and Elon"

If I was one of those two, I would've asked for an extended stay, until DOGE was over. #JustSaying.; 3/16/25, 9:01 PM
Jersey Fled said...: U.S. Agency for Global Media shut down for an annual savings of just under $1 billion.

A billion here, a billion there … after a while it starts to add up.; 3/16/25, 9:26 PM
Mason G said...: "What y'all think about the lady's rant?"

If you take a job as a delivery person and then complain about having to deliver stuff, you might be the stupidest person on the planet.; 3/16/25, 9:47 PM
Gospace said...: From an article in Real Clear Politics- seems the flight to El Salvador not turning around didn't violate the judge's order. Methinks the judge realized he was overreaching. Quotes from the article: Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order. And further down, to point out how evil Trump is: Steve Vladeck, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, said that Boasberg’s verbal directive to turn around the planes was not technically part of his final order but that the Trump administration clearly violated the “spirit” of it.

The spirit of it? Either it's in the order or it isn't. And it wasn't.

Now, I'm not an expert on these kinds of things, but I've read lately that these kinds of orders can only apply to people named in the case. The litigation that led to the hold on deportations was filed on behalf of five Venezuelans held in Texas who lawyers said were concerned they’d be falsely accused of being members of the gang. So those 5 weren't on any of the the planes, weren't being deported- for now, so my question for the legal eagles here- Where did the judge's jurisdiction over the flight come from? Was it penumbras and emanations? Or invisible ink between the lines?; 3/16/25, 9:50 PM
Yancey Ward said...: On the delivery woman:

Can you order cement via Amazon?; 3/16/25, 9:59 PM
Ampersand said...: We're getting to see what they mean by the rule of law.; 3/16/25, 10:09 PM
Mason G said...: Quikrete Fast Setting Concrete Mix Fast Setting Bag 50 Lbs.; 3/16/25, 10:12 PM
Drago said...: Amazing Mysteries: where did the Patriot Front dissappear to?....; 3/16/25, 10:48 PM
gadfly said...: The Tren de Aragua group sprang out of Venezuela in the 2010s and has been accused of setting up and running human trafficking and extortion rings in neighboring Colombia, Chile, and Peru.

Only seven members of the TdAs were identified in Aurora, CO according to the city's police chief, but Trump chased these gang members during his campaign. The footage of the armed men at the apartment building drew the attention at a Trump rally in Aurora in September, 2024 when his plan called “Operation Aurora” to target migrant gangs was announced.

Seven gang members are a long way from 238 immigrants sent to prison in El Salvador, and no one has offered any proof they were criminal or even Venezuelan. Why in God's green earth does a prison in Tecoluca come into play?; 3/17/25, 12:10 AM
Gospace said...: Let me answer it for you Gadfly. They weren't immigrants, people who enter the country lawfully. So on that they were all, each and every one, criminals. Most, if not all, were in custody for committing other crimes. Might or might not have been convicted yet. Most of us don't care- since they're invaders here unlawfully. They can be deported- and were. To El Salvador, a country that isn't fond of criminals. And is willing to provide them with suitable housing for criminals. And there are a number of foreign based criminal gangs operating here, not just Tren de Aragua. And most of their members proudly wear their gang tattoos, making it easy to identify them. The designation as terrorist applies, apparently, just to them. But that simply allows some rule bending when pursuing them.

Normal people aren't shedding tears over losing them, even though there may be an Einstein among them. I forget which Democrat said that.; 3/17/25, 12:26 AM
Meade said...: “Normal people aren't shedding tears over losing them, even though there may be an Einstein among them. I forget which Democrat said that.”https://x.com/nayibbukele/status/1901245427216978290?s=46&t=VX4S-gjuq5nKM-bW4zL54w; 3/17/25, 1:37 AM
Derve Swanson said...: Go to bed, old man.
You sleep to noon now that the lady is retired? lol; 3/17/25, 2:12 AM
Original Mike said...: I think it's safe to assume there were zero Einsteins among them.; 3/17/25, 2:26 AM
gadfly said...: The Swiss Social Democratic Party (SP) demands that Defense head Martin Pfister immediately halt F-35 procurement.

"Since Trump took office, Swiss arms procurements like the US F-35 jet have increasingly proven to be major mistakes. Trump could block the jets at any time and thus blackmail the affected countries into submitting to his foreign policy dictates," says SP Co-President Cédric Wermuth. "Moreover, the costs of the F-35 are rising to uncontrollable levels, while key questions about its operational capability and independence remain unanswered. Therefore, it is clear: Defense must finally act and stop the procurement of this dysfunctional project."

Switzerland ordered 36 F-35 for $6.25 billion with delivery dates in 2027 through 2030.

So the total F-35 orders cancelable by Canada, Portugal, and the neutral Swiss exceeds $30 billion.

Meanwhile, Turkey ordered 40 BAE Typhoons, and Taiwan is unhappy with Trump's kill switch on F-35 purchases.

UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar F-35 deals are not being fulfillled because of Israeli concerns.; 3/17/25, 3:44 AM
gadfly said...: Gospace: We already know that Trump is sending legal Green Card holders back, with no investigation or hearing. So how long would it take to determine the legal status of 238 immigrants who are being imprisoned without a trial in a foreign country that has nothing to do with the deportations?; 3/17/25, 3:53 AM
Big Mike said...: @gadfly, in any future combat engagement the lifespan of a combat aircraft that is not stealthy will be short but exciting. Ditto the lifespan of its pilot The countries you listed can buy F-35s or they can waste their money and their trained pilots.; 3/17/25, 4:08 AM
Original Mike said...: "We already know that Trump is sending legal Green Card holders back,"

You want to back that up, bunky? Are you talking about Khalil?; 3/17/25, 4:23 AM
Mark said...: "A kidney transplant specialist and professor at Brown University’s medical school has been deported from the United States, even though she had a valid visa and a court order temporarily blocking her expulsion, according to her lawyer and court papers."

Ignroing court orders because transplajt doctors are now the enemy.; 3/17/25, 5:10 AM
rehajm said...: Are we the only ones who find it absurd the administration needs to ask permission of lower courts in order to do its work?; 3/17/25, 5:20 AM
rehajm said...: Now I see there are green cards and legal green cards. Are those extra green?; 3/17/25, 5:21 AM
Christopher B said...: My wife had bottled water delivered because even though the brand is sold in the local Kroger the particular flavor she likes was never stocked. That might stop because it appears the company changed the flavor formula and she doesn't like the new one.; 3/17/25, 6:01 AM
Tina Trent said...: In my construction days, I knew at least two dozen Eastern Europeans (spoke English) with fake, thus stolen cards. God, they could not understand that Steve Martin skit about them dancing. They were humiliated, but then danced the same way. They were also trafficked workers, not paid, locked into houses at night with armed guards. I'm sure it happens everywhere, but I personally know it happens in North Carolina, Colorado, and Georgia.

The Mexicans had a good illegal thing going, with sex trafficking, drugs, and dead bodies in the desert for many years after Bush One opened the borders.. They didn't give a shit. Nor did many official refugee placement centers. Know what a hand looks and smells like when it's held down on a burning electric stove grill? It means shut up or lose your job.

We need to invade Mexico, not Greenland. Make thema submissive state lime Puerto Rico. It's morally superior to pay for a bunch of grandmas and college students to live without fear than to have that mess on our border.

Read history.; 3/17/25, 6:04 AM
Christopher B said...: Considering that a number of reports describe the situation around that doctor as being denied re-entry after returning from Lebanon and not "deported" in the usual sense, I'm not inclined to take their word that she has a valid H1B visa and is a 'kidney transplant specialist'. Other reports describe her as being a matching specialist, not a surgeon.; 3/17/25, 6:06 AM
James K said...: "Ignroing court orders because transplajt doctors are now the enemy."

You think doctors can't be terrorist collaborators? Three of the Israeli hostages rescued last June had been confined in the house of a doctor.
Prominent Gaza Doctor and Family Kept Three Israeli Hostages; 3/17/25, 6:14 AM
effinayright said...: "Ignroing court orders because transplajt doctors are now the enemy."
********

"Doctor Mengele, please pick up the white Courtesy Phone."; 3/17/25, 6:44 AM
Jaq said...: "Normal people aren't shedding tears over losing them, even though there may be an Einstein among them."

The best retort to that lost Enstein gambit by the Democrats was "now do abortion" but that's "whataboutism" and whataboutism is disrespectful of the Democrat's cultural authority.; 3/17/25, 7:00 AM
Rusty said...: I hate to break it to gadfy, but just because you have a green card doesn't mean you can break the law. A green card does not give you status as a citizen. As a green card holder you have our permission to live and work here as long as you obey the rules.; 3/17/25, 7:08 AM
Jersey Fled said...: John Cleese got this exactly right 30 years ago.
https://x.com/joeroganhq/status/1901358019096584484?s=61; 3/17/25, 7:17 AM
Big Mike said...: I'm not inclined to take their word that she has a valid H1B visa and is a 'kidney transplant specialist'.

@Christopher B, agreed. How many times can they lie to us before they understand that we do not believe them?; 3/17/25, 7:46 AM
Christopher B said...: Big Mike, that story has all the hallmarks of careful curation and wording to give a particular impression that may be contraindicated by other information. Of course the lefties here are going to eat it up.; 3/17/25, 8:17 AM
Ralph L said...: I certainly want the Canadians to have second rate fighter planes when we invade.; 3/17/25, 8:24 AM
Iman said...: “The Tren de Aragua group sprang out of Venezuela in the 2010s and has been accused of setting up and running human trafficking and extortion rings in neighboring Colombia, Chile, and Peru.”

It weren’t a “sprang”, the group was excreted out.; 3/17/25, 8:32 AM
Leland said...: Gadfly, I see your ignorance on the subject of Tren de Aragua. While maybe 7 were in Aurora, Colorado; 2 more killed 12 year old Jocelyn Nungaray after they raped her in Houston. They are a gang from Venezuela that expanded into the US. You note they expanded into Columbia, Chile, and Peru. Why then be surprised ICE found over 200 in the US?; 3/17/25, 8:47 AM
planetgeo said...: Speaking of Canada and their courageous decisions to not buy our F35s or eat our strawberries, haven't they managed to avoid the realities of self-defense and self-sufficiency all these years by pretty much being "America's remoras"? And now they're bitching that we're acting a little too shark-like for their refined tastes? Hey hosers, if you're going to finally get a spine why don't you start by telling that one province of yours that hell no you're not all going to be forced to double-speak French along with English just because that one bitchy province has a superiority complex and despises the rest of you.; 3/17/25, 8:51 AM
Luke Vost said...: Beautiful place! You are lucky! 😍😌; 3/17/25, 9:32 AM
Breezy said...: From the Guardian, 261 total, 23 MS-13, 238 TdA…

“El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, said 238 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and 23 members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 had arrived and were in custody as part of a deal under which the US will pay the Central American country to hold them in its 40,000-person capacity “terrorism confinement centre”.; 3/17/25, 9:49 AM
Breezy said...: Too bad judges these days have normalized letting bad and really bad guys free. There’s seemingly no care nor even peer pressure to protect citizens. There’s got to be a personal financial aspect to this somewhere.; 3/17/25, 9:56 AM
wendybar said...: Julie Kelly 🇺🇸
@julie_kelly2
James Boasberg, along with 16 DC judges, signed off on the unlawful use of 1512c2--the corporate fraud obstruction statute--against J6ers.

He presided over 70 J6 cases, both guilty pleas and conviction at trial. In nearly every instance, Boasberg imposed prison time even for the petty offense of "parading" in the Capitol.

He sent 60-year-old Sandra Weyer, a woman from Pennsylvania who committed no violence on Jan 6, to 14 months in federal prison on the unlawful 1512c2 count.

After denying several defense motions including change of venue, Boasberg convicted Cynthia Ballenger after a brief bench trial of the 4 common misdemeanors. He then sent her to federal prison for four months.

He sentenced former NYPD officer Sara Carpenter to 22 months in federal prison on the unlawful obstruction count, nonviolent civil disorder, and misdemeanors.

I could go on (and might later.)

Boasberg with gusto threw the book at Americans exercising their 1A rights on Jan 6 then denied J6ers other constitutional rights to ensure convictions and imprisonment.

But now he's going to bat for illegals suspected of ties to a dangerous foreign gang.

https://x.com/julie_kelly2/status/1901301015355281568; 3/17/25, 9:58 AM
tcrosse said...: Why would pardons signed by Biden himself be any more valid than those signed by machine? This assumes that the old boy would know what he was signing, a tall assumption indeed.; 3/17/25, 9:58 AM
Lazarus said...: Michael Ignatieff was the Liberal candidate in the Harper years. He was an academic who had lived in the US and Britain and only returned to Canada and became a member of Parliament the year before he became party leader. He was made party leader over other, more experienced politicians. He had excellent connections on his mother's side of the family and a team of politicians chose him to be the party's figurehead. He was crushed at the polls.

Pierre Trudeau, Justin's father, was a member of Parliament and the Cabinet when he became Liberal leader, but for a relatively short time. He was parachuted in because the party needed a French-Canadian leader. Canada's a business. The people in front of the curtain aren't running it, but just who is in charge is a mystery.

Officially, Carney isn't supposed to do anything significant until Parliament confirms him, but that tradition may not be honored now.; 3/17/25, 10:06 AM
Leland said...: I wonder if Trump’s push to nullify Biden’s pardon is to force discovery of who actually ran the auto pen. If it was Biden, then explain how come he couldn’t actually sign the document and show how the process worked with clear evidence to get Biden’s approval prior to signing. Otherwise, who used the auto pen on his behalf?; 3/17/25, 10:16 AM
Curious George said...: "Pierre Trudeau, Justin's father..."

You spelled Fidel Castro wrong.; 3/17/25, 10:24 AM
FullMoon said...: Coming attraction?Federal Judge Appoints Himself President; 3/17/25, 10:46 AM
Leland said...: I clicked over to Real Clear Politics and saw them promoting this Guardian headline “ Dems Train Fire on Musk as 'Unelected Billionaire' ”
I initially understood that headline along the lines of “Democrats dumpster fire caused by trying to frame Musk as ‘Unelected Billionaire’” considering polls showing it isn’t working as a strategy. Then I saw it was from the Guardian, and realized the metaphor was a firing squad and the Guardian meant the Democrats ammunition is calling Musk an ‘Unelected Billionaire’.

Personally, I like it better when Billionaires make their money outside of politics and elected office unlike the elected Democratic Billionaires.; 3/17/25, 10:48 AM