Talk about whatever you like in the comments. And please support the Althouse blog by doing your Amazon shopping going in through the Althouse Amazon link.
June 26, 2025
Sunrise — 5:15.
Talk about whatever you like in the comments. And please support the Althouse blog by doing your Amazon shopping going in through the Althouse Amazon link.
Posts
74 comments:
From yesterday's sunrise thread...
Prof. M. Drout said...
In the '90s through 2012 or so I would never even think about using anything other than the subway in Manhattan because it was so much faster and easier than dealing with surface roads. Now I walk past a station entrance and think: "how much urine do I want to smell today, and how much crazy ranting and mumbling do I want to hear?" and often just blow the money on an Uber. In February the C train on a Saturday afternoon was as gross as the subways were back in the late '70s.
And now, the voters in NYC want to have the same people who run the subway running their grocery stores.
Kim Jung Un starts his own early music band.
government run grocery stores, um tell me whats wrong with that,
Wasn’t there a musical about NYC called Urine Town?
If the government is running the grocery stores, they might decide what you should and should not be eating. For your own good, of course.
I think that we need an adversarial press, whether there is a Republican or Democrat candidate/party in power. My default position is that all politicians and political parties are in it for power, fame, or money. They are all corrupt. None of them really want what is best for Americans like you and me. I know this is cynical, but I believe it is true, based on my old age of 72 and having spent 20 of those years as a paid Republican consultant. I always vote for the lesser of two evils, so I usually vote Republican. But I still don't believe anything I hear from Trump, Biden, or any other politician or political party. So get off my lawn!!
I try to pretend that didn't happen
also maryland man is going back san salvador way,
it is striking how the major cities seem to courting not merely urban decay and collapse but pandemics,
that pantomine expired six months ago,
how long before soylent green is the chief staple,
theres so much wrong with idi jr's chenga platform, one doesn't know where to start, his malice toward modi and netanyahu to start, his ignorance of nexus theory in corporate taxes et al
Drout and Mason, ref subways turning into hellholes:
I have brought my situation up once before on this blog, but got not one peep in response. I will try again.
Back in July 2024, I defended myself on the DC Metro against unlawful subway dancers. I was the only one prosecuted, and I face sentencing on July 21 of this year. There still is a chance that Judge Pirro, the new DC US Attorney, could move to dismiss the case, if I can just get her attention.
Here is an article about the incident - it is biased against me, but you all can use your Pravda-decoding skills to see what is going on:
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/754739/a-d-c-oig-investigator-assaulted-some-buskers-on-the-metro-now-hes-facing-criminal-charges/
Also here is a link to surveillance video of the incident - there is no sound, so you can't hear the gangster-rap soundtrack, and the lens introduces some distortion to the distances:
https://t.co/OhRKt3MKpa
Anything you all can do to publicize this situation would help. Even if you disagree with me, go ahead and criticize me on your networks. Or here.
Thanks for anything you all can do.
JSM
why can't people act in normal ways toward things, violent criminals need to stay in jail, children shouldnt be subject to hard drugs, perverts shouldn't be in public, we should prevent the recruiting funding and arming of terrorists,I know there are a few more details on the list,
I know those are arbitrary, but we used to abide by these rules for some time, of course perversity name your poison was reinterpreted as Freedom and stamped as kosher by the Courts, that drove the sacred out of the public square,
"My default position is that all politicians and political parties are in it for power, fame, or money."
Power? Trump is attempting to use his political power to remove the Democrat boot from American faces. I can live with that.
Fame? Who cares?
Money? Forbes estimated Donald Trump's net worth in 2015 to be $4.5 billion and in 2025, to be $5.1 billion. According to the BLS inflation calculator, $4.5 billion in 2015 has the same buying power as $6.2 billion today so he doesn't appear to be getting any richer.
Anybody want to check how the Obamas or Clintons have done wealthwise since getting involved in politics?
I'm very much enjoying the Based Camp podcast somebody here introduced - political changers, as neo puts it, constitute my favorite reading and listening material these days. I still think they look like brother and sister rather than husband and wife, though, and the dude looks stereotypically gay though apparently they have a burgeoning softball team's worth of children. (NTTAWWT. I think it's probably the norm that gay men had about as many children as straight men, just less fun making them.) I'm only two days into trying to figure them out, but am intrigued.
Looks like you assaulted the dude, John. Dancing isn't fighting words. You are lucky they didn't stand their ground. Discretion is the best part of valor.
lonejustice writes, "But I still don't believe anything I hear from Trump, Biden, or any other politician or political party."
It's the anything that makes us not believe you.
Italics off.
…another Ec10 lesson Democrats learned the hard way…
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration plans to pause some rental assistance to families receiving benefits through the HomeBase program after total caseloads increased by more than fivefold between 2023 and 2025, according to state officials and data released to the Herald.
The spike in demand for HomeBase — a program that provides eligible families in the state-run shelter system with $30,000 over two years…
…make something free more people will consume more of it…
having spent 20 of those years as a paid Republican consultant.
Uh-huh.
Did that also include polling for The Des Moines Register?
Donald Trump says US-China trade truce has been ‘signed’ ~ FT
"Purported pact follows negotiations in London and Geneva to de-escalate global trade war."
"The Administration and China agreed to an additional understanding for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement." ~ White House
A concept of a concept of a plan
Soon they will sign a letter of intent to create a memorandum of understanding on their way to the full and final tariff agreement. Wonder which happens first, passage of what's left of the OBBB or a valid and lasting trade agreement with China, or maybe world peace.
Alert! New scam!
I got a call this afternoon that said, "No Caller ID."
The caller represented that he was with the Douglas County Sheriff's office. He knew my address and phone number.
He told me that I didn't show up for *federal* jury duty. And that he had a signed receipt that I got the jury summons. I said, no way.
I asked him why the Douglas County Sheriff was calling when the federal courts are run by the US Marshall. No answer.
He then told me that there were two - not just one - state bench warrants out for my arrest. So, I looked at the Nebraska JUSTICE system and told him that there are ZERO warrants out for my arrest.
I asked him who the Chief Judge for the District of Nebraska is. No response. I then told this guy that I went to law school with Chief Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr.
Click.
I'm a big fan of the odd lots podcast. They rebroadcasted their interview with Mondani in May. Worth a listen!
https://pca.st/episode/1df42096-f934-46a9-923b-daff316e4a9d
"didn't show up for *federal* jury duty"
i got one of those this spring..
i TOO was confused/surprised that my county would be dealing with FEDERAL juries.
i told the caller, that i was entirely sure if he was REALLY from the sheriff's office, and then i told him:
"if this IS real, please tell Marty (our Sheriff) to send a car out to my place with the papers, and i'll GLADLY deal with it."
The caller said that didn't want to be bothering the Sheriff's office, etc..
and *i* said: "Sheriff Marty, HIMSELF came out to my house last winter to make sure i was all right since i hadn't left the house for 3 days, i'm sure he won't mind straightening THIS out too."
and surprise! the caller hung up.
i DID immediately the sheriff's office, and told them about the call; when i told them i'd told the caller to tell Marty to come out to my house, the dispatcher laughed and laughed :)
lonejustice said...I think that we need an adversarial press,
But above all, we need an honest press. Which we don’t have.
There's no such thing as an "honest" press, Tim. Honesty implies trust. I don't want a press that I have to trust. Or a government I have to trust.
Neither of them are worthy of it.
gilbar said...
i got one of those this spring..
Wish they'd call me. I've done Federal jury service once and may be on the hook again in August. I'd tell 'em a thing or two.
Senate Parliamentarian Isn’t Binding...
"As a staff official, neither [House’s or Senate’s] parliamentarian is empowered to make decisions that are binding on the House or Senate. The parliamentarians and their deputies/assistants only offer advice that the presiding Representative or Senator may accept or reject; individual Members may appeal rulings."
https://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2025/06/26/hey-gop-senate-parliamentarian-isnt-binding-n4941197
----------------------
The question is, do the Republicans have he guts to over rule her. I have my doubts.
I got a call this afternoon that said, "No Caller ID."
My God. Are people still answering their phone? And talking to whoever is on the other line ... like raw dogging it? Not knowing who they are?
Old people: STOP DOING THIS.
Nobody you don't know needs to talk to you. They are ALL trying to scam you.
If your phone rings, and you don't have that person already in your phone, then don't answer it. Don't be Pavlovian. We are not dogs.
Why does anyone pick up a call from an unknown number?
Are they lonely? Bored?
Interesting mood in today's picture. The calmness that sometimes comes just as the light has almost completely faded.
Makes you wonder if something is hiding in the still water between the rocks and the tree branch.
If you are in business, it is very often the case that people who do not know may call you. Sometimes it is in your interest to do so.
I answer every call I get. One of my friends might need bail.
Wisconsin is starting to give me some agita. I went biking in Door County this morning; it was cold-ish and windy so I cut the ride short. No big deal, Mrs. Hawkeye met me for coffee and we had a good morning. This afternoon I rode on the trail in Mt. Horeb and it was back to 90+ degrees and 110% humidity. Then it rained. So I went to a local eatery for dinner and it was back to 60 degrees again… inside the restaurant.
At least if I was back in Arizona I would know what I’m getting: too damn hot. Here I need to dress for 3 seasons in one day.
LA Times: "Bill Moyers, former White House aide and PBS journalist, dies at 91"
Trump has 'outsmarted all of us' admits backpedaling economist who bashed President's bold plan
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/article-14838665/tariff-warning-trump-outsmart-us.html
I just finished flossing and brushing my teeth, as I do every night. I was observed by a small kitten, which my daughter recently acquired. The kitten made no comment, but neither did it floss and brush its teeth. Which led me to wonder, why don't cats -- and dogs, for that matter -- have to floss and brush their teeth?
He is my daughter's kitten, but she goes somewhere to work, while I work from home. So, the kitten has developed the habit of lying in my lap, in a semi-comatose state that I don't think is really sleep. But he seems quite content -- like, flaccid. Sloppy. Floppy. He can be aroused, but he can also pass hours without arousal, if I don't bug him. For some reason, I experience his contentment as a personal affirmation. It is important to me that this cat is pleased with his environment, of which I am an important part. Demonstrating that I am insane.
Why just government brick & mortar stores? Lots of overhead and no flexibility regarding location and food choice. Why not food market trucks, food delivery via food trucks, etc.?? Some you show up for like farm markets, some can be delivery via phone or internet. This doesn’t have to be really hard, even in NYC.
I think I know why there’s no consideration of non-“grocery store” options.
What a week! Just sayin’…
Ben Wittes writes:
The public record is so full of ethical outrages by Emil Bove III in government over the past six months that one doesn’t need whistleblower Erez Reuveni’s shocking allegations to conclude that the man is simply unfit for the federal bench. In brief, Reuveni alleges that Bove ordered that the deportation flights to El Salvador, now the subject of contempt litigation, take off in all matters and that the government should be prepared to defy court orders to the contrary. He also allegedly misrepresented material facts to the court.
Let’s start with the Eric Adams case, where Bove promises he did not order the dismissal of that case based on a quid pro quo deal with the New York mayor. Even if he didn’t—and the court wrote that the whole matter drips with such a deal—there is no question that he argued that the government should get to drop the case even if there were. There is no question that he ordered the dismissal of a concededly merited case for purely political reasons over the objection of the prosecutors. There is no question that the prosecutors in question resigned over the matter because they considered Bove’s conduct unethical and said so in no uncertain terms.
Then there’s the firings of U.S. attorney's office prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6-related matters. Bove argued yesterday that these were simply dismissals of probationary employees out of concern that the prior administration had embedded political actors within the judiciary. This is not a defense. Firing career people because they are politically unreliable in the absence of a specific suggestion that they did something wrong defies the whole concept of a civil service.
And in any event, it doesn’t explain the retaliatory firing of the career officials—many of them long-serving and decidedly not probationary—who had the temerity to work under Special Counsel Jack Smith. These men and women were dismissed summarily in overt retaliation for their work on the Trump investigations and prosecutions.
Nor does it explain the ongoing purge at the FBI, which Bove yesterday denied supervising but which has involved his demands that Bureau leadership provide information about agents who have worked on Jan. 6 investigations.
In short, Bove’s fundamental problem as a nominee is that there is simply no reason to believe him ethically or morally capable of fulfilling the judicial oath Trump has nominated him to take. His career, particularly the last six months of it, has been marked by an unmistakable trail of allegations of conduct simply unacceptable in a federal judge.
One of the best features of my iPhone is the "Silence Unknown Callers" feature. Anyone who is not in my contacts goes straight to voicemail. The phone doesn't even ring. If they don't leave a message, screw 'em. Must not have been important, anyway.
Fun leftie quote of the morning: I think every time a customer has to ask the CVS clerk to unlock the shampoo, Democrats get less popular
Trump vs CASA…vs Roberts is an interesting dilemma for a political SCOTUS. Rule against Trump to get Trump and the Supremes make Hawaiian judges the highest court in the land, at least for the time between Hawaii time and appeal. Rule for Trump and Roberts doesn’t get Trump. What to do?
Gadfly: There's a difference between ethical and legal. Ultimately, SCOTUS will weigh in. Maybe they'll decide Civil Service is unconstitutional. I agree that it might be scary but concerning to see the boundaries of Executive power pushed up to 11. Remember, every single bit of power Trump Garner's for the Presidency, the Democrats will use it to turn hard left.
It appears that “Maryland Man” Kilmar Abrego-Garcia is getting his wish not to be deported to El Salvador. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that it is legal to deport non-citizen criminals to countries other than their native country, the word is he’s going to be sent to South Sudan.
I get calls from unknown senders on occasion. Instead saying hello, I greet them with: “911, what’s your emergency?”. Click. My wife gets upset with me.
FLC:
I answered that call because I had received a “No Caller ID” call recently related to my duties as Special Knox County Attorney. It was the Nebraska State Patrol.
hawkeyedjb said...
“Here [in Wisconsin] I need to dress for 3 seasons in one day.”
Cher nods in approval at all the costume changes.
rehajm said...
“Fun leftie quote of the morning: I think every time a customer has to ask the CVS clerk to unlock the shampoo, Democrats get less popular.”
I think people who are still voting Democrat at this point are incapable of connecting the dots.
Ever have somebody get off the perfect joke at the perfect time, and it sticks with you your whole life? We were in England, going to Nottingham for a client meeting, and there was some roadwork being done out in the countryside on our way into the town, and a workman steps into the road with a sign for us to stop. My friend says out of the blue, "This might be one of Robinhood's tricks!" Now I think that almost every time I get stopped at road construction, all of these years later.
Howard: "Looks like you assaulted the dude, John."
I disagree. I had several affirmative defenses. But assuming arguendo that you're right, there is the issue of selective prosecution. No one else was subjected to a high-tech manhunt and full prosecution for pushing a guy five feet.
This was another example of Dem and career-prosecutor two-tier justice.
JSM
For additional context, here is my open letter to the Metro board:
I am a US Army combat veteran; a DC homeowner, voter, and taxpayer; and a near-daily Metro rider. I am currently employed as an investigator with the D.C. Office of the Inspector General. Prior to that, I spent twenty-five years with the United States Secret Service.
I am writing because of an incident that occurred on a Green Line train on July 16, 2024. I was traveling home from work and had just boarded the train at Navy Yard. While I was standing by myself, minding my own business in my suit, holding a briefcase and reading a magazine, individuals aboard the train began to play extremely loud and obscene music while dancing and aggressively panhandling in the aisle—all in clear violation of WMATA regulations and D.C. law. Their actions deprived me and the other paying passengers of the peaceful enjoyment of this common conveyance, and restricted our movements, as the dancers' erratic motions effectively occupied the entire space. While these dance crews are a common occurrence on the New York City subway, they have only recently emerged on Metro, possibly because of the 'depolicing' that many DMV jurisdictions have been practicing.
It should be noted that subway dancing for money violates multiple DC criminal statutes, including 22-1321 (disorderly conduct), 22-2302 (a) and (b) (aggressive panhandling), 35-251 (unlawful conduct on public passenger vehicles), 22-2001 (false imprisonment), and 22-404 (assault).
Outraged by this behavior, I demanded that the dancers stop their criminal and dangerous activity. They ignored my objections and continued to dominate the space with their movements and violent music. When the train reached Waterfront, I attempted to push one of the individuals off the train, to stop the unlawful, harmful activity and because I was in apprehension of imminent offensive contact to me and the other passengers in the area. The other dancer grabbed me from behind and violently threw me toward the opposite door. When the door eventually opened, I succeeded in extricating myself from the car.
It should be noted that I never let go of my briefcase, because it contained my official OIG laptop. Therefore, everything I did that day, I did one-handed.
(continues...)
(continuing...)
After their violent acts against me, the dancers, as shown in WMATA surveillance video, continued to perform between Waterfront and L'Enfant Plaza, ceasing their performance just before arriving at the latter stop so they could walk the aisles and solicit funds from the passengers who had just watched them throw a grown man off the train.
According to an affidavit by an MTPD detective, these individuals who were engaged in obviously illegal activity then had the audacity to complain to WMATA Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD). Officers responded, interviewed at least one dancer and witness, and, even though the dancer admitted to violating the above criminal statutes while relating his version of events, MTPD did not arrest or even ticket the dancer. Rather, MTPD conducted a high-tech investigation, analyzing train-car and station video to determine my movements and pulling Metrocard records to identify me and place an alert in the turnstile system. In other words, they started a 21st-centruy manhunt for a man in a suit with a briefcase. For defending himself and others.
My next commute home from work, paying with my Metrocard again in spite of the packs of idlers who still jump even the new, higher turnstiles, I was met by three MTPD officers who had staked out the Navy Yard station based on my predictable pattern of life (most people with jobs and homes have a predictable pattern of life. This is why it is easier to investigate and prosecute law-abiding citizens than street criminals). They conducted a field interrogation of me, in front of the other commuters, and sent me on my way.
Several weeks later, I was arrested on a warrant for misdemeanor assault and spent a day in leg irons, a belly band, and handcuffs while waiting for my arraignment in Superior Court. For defending myself and others.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia is now prosecuting me for this misdemeanor criminal offense. Under DC law, because the maximum sentence is 180 days, I am not even entitled to a jury of my peers, but rather the sterile legal analysis of a judge. For defending myself and others.
It appears that, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, WMATA and MTPD are content to see "all the laws but one to go unexecuted." I am glad to see that MTPD seems to be getting away from the days of depolicing. However, selectively prosecuting a paying passenger for reacting to rampant, unsafe, unlawful conduct is the wrong way to start this process. It places your ridership on notice that our role is to pay our fares, sit down and shut up, while the few malefactors among us make the stations and cars a horror show of unlawful and hazardous conduct.
No wonder every lawyer I have spoken to in my Superior Court odyssey has admitted to never riding Metro.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that you will do something to improve matters.
Copies of this letter are being sent to media outlets, as well as to other DMV-area public officials.
JSM
July of 2024. What happened in the criminal case?
I bet the “dancers” were excellent. Right? Kind of like Mr. Bojangles?
And how about the music? Gershwin? Smokey? Armstrong?
Maybe “Billy the Kid” by Copeland?
Seems as if the authorities are playing this one ass backwards, JSM. I hope they regain their senses.
The truth will always come out!
Rachel Maddow - paid lying scum
Zohran Madmani (sic) is essentially AOC with a penis.
I no longer find the "best friend" credible.
A Trump supporter
--that kills a Democrat
---The sole Democrat to vote with Republicans to revoke healthcare for illegal aliens.
---A Trump supporter appointed by Tim Walz.
---Whose wife interned for Tim Walz in 2010.
---Who had pamphlets for “no kings” in his vehicle.
but the room mate says. The room mate where a man with a nice house and a family - lived part time. No questions from hack D media.
Why does anyone pick up a call from an unknown number?
I did just the other day (My phone id'ed it as potential spam, and it was right)
They wanted me to install solar on my roof. I asked why -- there's no more room for solar panels up there. I have solar already! And I got money from the Govt to do it (which I think is a transfer of money from the poor to the upper middle class, but I digress).
(click)
"Remember when it was a big story that a homicidal maniac connected to international orgs and appointed by two Dem governors to state boards k*lled two Minnesota lawmakers and wrote he believed Tim Walz wanted him to take out Amy Klobuchar?
Boy, that story vanished in a hurry."
Where's his wife and why hasn't she been arrested?
"Remember when it was a big story that a homicidal maniac connected to international orgs and appointed by two Dem governors to state boards k*lled two Minnesota lawmakers and wrote he believed Tim Walz wanted him to take out Amy Klobuchar?
Boy, that story vanished in a hurry."
Where's his wife and why hasn't she been arrested?
Begley: I was convicted in April after the mandatory bench trial. My sentencing is July 21. Under DC Code, I am technically not convicted until the sentencing, kind of like in NYS. So the prosecution could withdraw if they wanted, kind of like with Gen. Flynn.
The music was "One of Wun" by Gunna:
https://youtu.be/HqiZRQHhqQs?si=453bXxbIfm4jS2kK
I won't publish the lyrics here because Blogger and Ann would plotz. Suffice it to say it's violent, obscene and racist.
Watch the tape to see what sort of dancers they are.
My theory has always been that the subway dancing, in which military-age males put on an athletic display in front of a captive audience for "donations," is robbery/fear. It definitely is aggressive panhandling, which statute was created in order to avoid locking up too many MAM's for robbery/fear. Therefore, as a city LEO, I was conducting a Terry stop at minimum, if not intervening to stop a felony in progress. I was also using my citizen's arrest powers.
The judge disposed of these and my other affirmative defenses with one line: "you were angry."
As if you can't conduct an arrest or self-defense while angry. False dichotomy, which, if I have to, I think I can get DCCA to overrule.
But I would rather Judge Jeannine withdraw the whole thing now.
Thanks for whatever you can do - any Creighton Law alums in DC?
JSM
My RealID journey. It starts with our DMV here in JB Pritzger's Illinois. You make an appointment. You can either make a phone call at 6:30 AM or visit their web site. The voice on the phone will tell you there are no appointments available. I go to the web site, which is run by a third party. All DMVs in Northern Illinois have no appointments. There are some down south. Four hours away. So I play with this for a couple of hours and instead of hitting the "back" cursor I select "any other DMV". Why this is even an option I don't know because right there in front of me are all the locations that handle RealID. Lo and behold I'm on a page with another list of DMV locations and some of them close to me have appointments open. There's one in Elgin at 1:30. I get there at 20 minutes to and get in line. I'm only asked if I have an appointment and I'm next in line. The whole process took about an hour and they renewed my DL at the same time.
I have yet to run across a website run by the State of Illinois or one of its grifting affiliates that isn't tedious, slow and ponderous to use.
John. I wish you the best of luck, sincerely, but you did lay hands on the guy.
Rusty, thanks. I did lay hands on the guy, because that's my job. I'm a cop. I put hands on lawbreakers.
Not admitting to any mistakes, but if every mistake by a cop is a crime, who is going to want to be the cops?
I hope Judge Pirro is thinking about the incentive structure my case will create, at a time when the USAO is trying to de-de-police the District.
And I was selectively prosecuted because of my color. Period. No one else would have been subjected to the high-tech manhunt for pushing a guy five feet.
JSM
I missed commenting how beautiful i find this picture. Thanks.
I watched the 1 hour trump lie fest this morning and it was overwhelming with the lies from only country that offers birthright citizenship ,won 2020 election, made billions from tariffs, everyone gonna pay more in UK (RIGHT IN 10 YEARS FROM NOW) and on and on and no one in the pool calls out the blatant lies,Dont know who is worse trump uis trump but people that no better say nothng ,I choose $2. BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP
US Not the only country with birthright citizenship AS TRUMP SAID TO THE PEOPLE IN THE POOL(NO ONE COUNTERED BACK A LIE)
The United States is not the only country with birthright citizenship. Approximately 33 countries worldwide offer unrestricted birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli (right of the soil), meaning that any child born within their borders is automatically granted citizenship, regardless of their parents' immigration status3. This includes countries in the Americas, such as the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as others in Central and South America4. While the U.S. has a long-standing practice of birthright citizenship, many other nations have similar policies, particularly in the Western Hemisphere. I guess when you know there is no cure for the lies you just let it ride and you dont want to lose your seat to even liten to the lies...what a job...
Post a Comment
Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 2 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith.