Althouse: Sunrise — 7:29, 7:30.

October 24, 2025

Sunrise — 7:29, 7:30.

Talk about whatever you want in the comments.

77 comments:

MadTownGuy said...: Lula Casts Drug Dealers as Victims of Users, While Trump Expands Caribbean Strikes (The Rio Times)

"In Jakarta, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sparked outrage by claiming that drug users, not dealers, bear responsibility for the narcotics trade.

His remark — that “users are responsible for dealers, who are also victims of users” — drew criticism for shifting blame away from traffickers and oversimplifying a complex crisis.

He delivered that line while condemning stepped-up U.S. maritime operations against trafficking networks near Venezuela."; 10/24/25, 7:38 PM
FullMoon said...: Say, anybody here see that meme of Maddow crying?; 10/24/25, 7:39 PM
FullMoon said...: "In Jakarta, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sparked outrage by claiming that drug users, not dealers, bear responsibility for the narcotics trade."

Trump limiting availability while driving up costs. Just like Biden did with eggs.; 10/24/25, 7:43 PM
wildswan said...: So, Governor Evers has found the money to fund the Wisconsin food programs (WIC, Food Share) for November. Some of the people helping me recover from cancer and complications have little children in those programs. I was glad to hear I wouldn't have to see them and their children disregarded. Other states should follow Evers' example.; 10/24/25, 7:49 PM
Josephbleau said...: I think the democrats have a strong issue in the high inflation in fentanyl prices caused by the policy choices of the Trump administration.; 10/24/25, 7:50 PM
Inga said...: Hey, anybody remember the president of peace, Trump saying “No new wars”? And you people believed him, fools.

“Republicans Who Have Rarely Opposed Trump Raise Questions About His Drug War

The president said he wouldn’t seek congressional approval for his expanding military offensive against cartels, but some in his party believe Congress should weigh in.

Mr. Trump has made it clear that he plans to expand the military campaign to airstrikes on countries that harbor cartel operations, including Venezuela. And despite repeatedly calling the operation a war, he said he would not seek congressional approval.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” the president told reporters at the White House on Thursday. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We’re going to kill them, you know? They are going to be, like, dead.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/us/politics/republicans-trump-drug-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.v08.eUvV.n3mNyJ4lu6NI&smid=url-share; 10/24/25, 7:53 PM
Inga said...: “So, Governor Evers has found the money to fund the Wisconsin food programs (WIC, Food Share) for November. Some of the people helping me recover from cancer and complications have little children in those programs. I was glad to hear I wouldn't have to see them and their children disregarded. Other states should follow Evers' example.”

Indeed. We have a good Governor.; 10/24/25, 7:55 PM
Inga said...: Wildswan,
For many years I worked with nurses aides that had young children, used WIC and Food Share because their wages were so low.; 10/24/25, 7:58 PM
Josephbleau said...: Di Silva and Maduro, in the new COP30 climate talks, say that the issue with CO2 and global warming is not the fault of big oil companies, but is the fault of ordinary citizen oil users who want to stay warm.; 10/24/25, 8:01 PM
FullMoon said...: Sure dodged a bullet by defeating the thief:
"Trump admin accuses Hillary Clinton of stealing White House furniture as former first lady slams ballroom plan"

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-accuses-hillary-clinton-stealing-white-house-furniture-former-first-lady-slams-ballroom-plan; 10/24/25, 8:03 PM
FullMoon said...: "For many years I worked with nurses aides that had young children, used WIC and Food Share because their wages were so low."

Illegals.; 10/24/25, 8:05 PM
Josephbleau said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/24/25, 8:06 PM
traditionalguy said...: Fall fell in Madison.; 10/24/25, 8:06 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: If kamala harris wanted to invade Venezuela all the Leftists would be hoopin' and hollerin' for war. And calling anyone who disagreed a "traitor". Right now, the Left is against a war because....Trump is for it.

That's why its boring as fuck to even read their crap, let alone respond to it. They have no principles or beliefs except follow the party line.; 10/24/25, 8:07 PM
Inga said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/24/25, 8:10 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: BTW, just got through "Gravity's Rainbow". Very sophisticated. And what a slog. If you like good - if verbose -writing combined with endless digressions, no believable characters, and no real story spread over 700+ pages, this novels for you. I'm sure Finnegans Wake fans loved it.; 10/24/25, 8:12 PM
buwaya said...: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-state-oil-majors-suspend-russian-oil-buys-due-sanctions-sources-say-2025-10-23/

Significant
"SINGAPORE, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow's two biggest oil companies, multiple trade sources said on Thursday.
The move comes as refiners in India, the largest buyer of seaborne Russian oil, are set to sharply cut their crude imports from Moscow, to comply with the U.S. sanctions imposed over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine."; 10/24/25, 8:14 PM
Aggie said...: Geez the Food Stamp program is older than I thought.; 10/24/25, 8:15 PM
Inga said...: "For many years I worked with nurses aides that had young children, used WIC and Food Share because their wages were so low."

“Illegals.”

No. American citizens whose ancestors had been brought here as slaves as early as the 1600’s and poor white workers who were American citizens.; 10/24/25, 8:18 PM
Leland said...: Another 80/20 issue. Trump stopping illegal and deadly drugs entering our country. Far left nut jobs want to protect the drug smugglers. If it was gun running, the left would want to stop it. But since the method of killing Americans takes longer to occur, then they are happy to let it continue. Especially when the drugs come from their model Marxist country, Venezuela.; 10/24/25, 8:21 PM
FullMoon said...: Inga said...

"For many years I worked with nurses aides that had young children, used WIC and Food Share because their wages were so low."

“Illegals.”

"No. American citizens whose ancestors had been brought here as slaves as early as the 1600’s and poor white workers who were American citizens."

Sounds like a terrible place to work. Privately run assisted living ? But, the nurses made enough to own homes and support families and send kids to college, no doubt.; 10/24/25, 8:30 PM
n.n said...: democrats have a strong issue in the high inflation in fentanyl prices

Black Lives Matter Inc

Some, select black lives matter is a Pro-Choice religious meme.; 10/24/25, 8:32 PM
buwaya said...: Nurses (RN) in the US make an average USD 47.33/hour, or 98K a year. Varies widely by state. Thats @140% median personal income for full time US workers.; 10/24/25, 8:37 PM
West TX Intermediate Crude said...: If you enjoy watching Democratic election post-mortems that feature the lamentations of their women, this is the best I have seen.

It's done by a lively young Dem woman who pulls no punches in calling out the Blue party for its fecklessness and insanity. It's 37 minutes, but even a few minutes is worth it, and even better at 1.25 speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkUkEvf7Ma4&t=1046s; 10/24/25, 8:40 PM
peachy said...: Human trafficking, modern childe slave labor, and child sex trafficking - all protected by democratics.; 10/24/25, 8:46 PM
peachy said...: The dems are keeping the gov shut for 2 reasons
1) extend obamacare tax payer funded subsidies to Covid era higher earning recipients can keep using it - even tho O-care is unpopular overall.
2) Dems insist Tax payers fund free health care for illegals.

Meanwhile - Some benefactor gave an anonymous gift to pay our MILITARY! COOL.; 10/24/25, 8:52 PM
Original Mike said...: Democrats decry war on cancer.; 10/24/25, 8:52 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: Nurses (RN) in the US make

Nurses Aides are not RNs. They make much less.; 10/24/25, 8:56 PM
Josephbleau said...: “ Fall fell in Madison.”

Kamala, when the Walz fell!; 10/24/25, 8:57 PM
Josephbleau said...: aids make $40kpy.

Per grok:
• For a single person: $40,000 is 266% of the FPL ($40,000 ÷ $15,060), well above the poverty line.
• For a family of 4: $40,000 is 128% of the FPL ($40,000 ÷ $31,200), still above poverty but closer to “near-poverty” or low-income thresholds.; 10/24/25, 9:01 PM
Josephbleau said...: There is plenty of money to give out food stamps, but the dems keep voting on not giving it out to the poor.; 10/24/25, 9:07 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: YouTube: Cybernetics --or-- How everything works.

YouTube: "How the whole world we experience comes into being..."
"Depending on how you pay attention to something, you see something different there, and so the world that comes into being to meet your attention, is in part generated by the kind of attention that you're already paying, and if you've got these two very different kinds of attention you get two kinds of phenomenological worlds".
(left hemisphere, right hemisphere)

These two videos appear connected, in my mind, somehow.; 10/24/25, 9:07 PM
Josephbleau said...: If I was ceo of a company that was going bankrupt, I would fill my management team with people from Hamas leadership.; 10/24/25, 9:09 PM
Josephbleau said...: I need to go to Gaza and write a book, “How to succesd against impossible odds, Management by Hamas.”; 10/24/25, 9:12 PM
peachy said...: True: Oct in WI is lovely .

Tonight's comedy brought to us from James Woods; 10/24/25, 9:16 PM
Eva Marie said...: Thank you West TX Intermediate Crude (8:40 pm)
From the video:
“At this rate Democrats are going to be the party of the neocons but gay.”
This was her most interesting take - people keep talking about Jan6 as if an attack on the Capitol* was an attack on democracy. What they don’t realize is that people don’t have any respect for the Capitol or our representatives who meet there.
Really an excellent video as well as excellent comments.
(*I disagree that Jan6 was any kind of attack.); 10/24/25, 9:18 PM
Gospace said...: I'm sure everyone here has seen picture of the poor innocent fishermen's boats we've blown out of the water.

What I'd like to see is one of those stating they are fishing boats supply an economic analysis to show how that vessel could turn a profit from fishing. You know- how many fish could it carry? How many fish could that size crew catch? How much the fuel costs vs. how much the fish would sell for. And - how much the crew makes per trip. All the variables. And I'll bet it can't be done. And if it cannot make a profit fishing- is isn't a fishing vessel filled with poor innocent fishermen.; 10/24/25, 9:28 PM
Eva Marie said...: That video also mentioned that a lot of people voted for AOC and President Trump.; 10/24/25, 10:00 PM
Jupiter said...: And she'll have fun!, fun!, fun! 'til the feds take her playmate away!; 10/24/25, 10:11 PM
DINKY DAU 45 said...: I dont get it? I go through TV channels and stop on different ones and they are talking about poll numbers and this guy is down ,trumps poll numbers ar dropping with white men,Latins,etc. Does anyone think trump cares about poll numbers,He just dismissed them and has another direction,he fired Congress(very lame group) has hired the DOJ as his lawyers, is dealing with issues based on whether a TV add said something not good about him,is grifting 100000% selling out to cyrpto and Argentina, pumps up Edorgan, and the group of KIngs of other places so he dont give a flying frog about numbers,he is beyond that and th epundits should get over it also,No one cares what his numbers are he'll just lie about them and make some mundane statements ,talk about killing people till they are dead dead dead,great candidate for peace prize huh? He is obsessed with AI even though he has no clue about it except he can make good little films for the REDS who love it.Forget the numbers with the sychopants he has put in everywhere,they dont care about numbers.We'll soon be in a war and it wont be called a war,because he believes he can just do it. AND HE CAN so strap in find another hobby utside of politics and no THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT,,,and you are not invited to the ballroom.. move on..; 10/24/25, 10:19 PM
Jim at said...: I dont get it?

No shit.; 10/24/25, 10:31 PM
Dave Begley said...: Saw the new Frankenstein movie tonight. Two and one-half hours. Lots of CGI. Victor Frankenstein was played in a manic Gene Wilder way. But not funny.

My script for Frankenstein, Part II and Mike Kennedy’s book are much, much better. Not even close.

I’m wondering if this movie has killed any chance of me selling the script. I’m looking up David Mamet in early November in Santa Monica.; 10/24/25, 10:42 PM
Aggie said...: "...What I'd like to see is one of those stating they are fishing boats supply an economic analysis to show how that vessel could turn a profit from fishing. "

I used to run offshore operations in that area. The fishermen around those parts use boats they call 'Piroghes' (pee' - rogs), they're a high-prow, low freeboard fiberglass boat usually around 20-25 ft long, sometimes 30 ft. For the real fishermen (who are poor) usually it's a single small diesel-powered outboard, pull-start. 50-75 hp is common. They can't afford 2 motors, and diesel outboards are popular because they're very dependable. The piroghes have low freeboard from midships back to the stern to make it easy to haul nets in over the side.

The boats I've seen getting taken out on the DOW videos have 3 or 4 gasoline high horsepower motors. These got for over $20k apiece. The hulls are designed for open-ocean speed, over 30 ft long, so they can span the wave period at speed. There are no rod holders an no nets on board. They are drug runners. The appeals from the Colombian / Venezuelan politicians are in bad faith and insulting to basic intelligence, trying to pass them off as 'poor fishermen'.

I don't think people realize how much of this trafficking goes on. When I was working in the area these guys would have motor trouble sometimes and tie off to our platforms waiting for help. Of course the Coast Guard was pretty nonexistent in that region, so we'd have to tell them to get off our platforms ourselves. They usually did without too much trouble, once they got their problems fixed. We are used to active police forces on the water, and the Coast Guard being an active presence. In this region, there is nothing that is comparable, nothing really at all. In an emergency the government might be able to put up a chopper to respond, and may have a patrol boat 4-6 hours away. There are no active interdiction activities going on - at least not until the US showed up. And I'm not a fan of this activity at all, I think the administration should be telling us more about what is going on that supports them wanting to mobilize.; 10/24/25, 10:43 PM
Big Mike said...: Aggie speaks truth. Read and learn.

I’m 79 so can remember all the way back to when a President, with the full support of his vice president and somewhat at the behest of his Secretary of State went to war with a sovereign nation, totally ignoring every provision of the War Powers Act, much less consulting Congress or asking for a formal declaration of war. When pressed, his administration responded that it wasn’t warfare, merely “kinetic action.” Anybody besides me remember the name of that President of identify who was his Secretary of State?

The precedent is set, no sense asking Republican President for something you wouldn’t — or certainly didn’t — ask a Democrat President to do.; 10/24/25, 11:14 PM
gadfly said...: Josephbleau said...
If I was ceo of a company that was going bankrupt, I would fill my management team with people from Hamas leadership.

Don't tell us, tell Mike Lindell.; 10/25/25, 1:02 AM
Hassayamper said...: BTW, just got through "Gravity's Rainbow". Very sophisticated. And what a slog.

I didn't make it 100 pages into that book.

On the other hand I did manage to read all three volumes of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. Another complex slog of 2700 pages altogether, but a cracking good story.; 10/25/25, 1:54 AM
Eva Marie said...: This is what Grok said about the Baroque Cycle:
If you finish all 3,000 pages - congratulations—you’re in the 1%; 10/25/25, 2:47 AM
Marcus Bressler said...: Perhaps one should wait to have children until you are married (with a husband living in the same abode and he has a job),; 10/25/25, 2:52 AM
buwaya said...: I finished Stephensons Baroque cycle. I think I dumped "Gravitys Rainbow" well before 100 pages.; 10/25/25, 4:29 AM
Ann Althouse said...: There have been 5 declared wars in American history. What was the last one? Were you alive at the time? I wasn't. I'm 74.; 10/25/25, 5:03 AM
Michael McNeil said...: Self-proclaimed Constitutional law expert Joe Biden, then Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (and then still able to speak coherently), denied that. As Biden observed in the aftermath of a speech presented on October 22, 2001 [!], in response to a question from the floor: {quoting…}

Question: “Senator, thank you for this broad gauged approach to the problems we face. My question is this, do you foresee the need or the expectation of a Congressional declaration of war, which the Constitution calls for, and if so, against whom?” [Scattered Laughter]

Biden: “The answer is yes, and we did it. I happen to be a professor of Constitutional law. I'm the guy that drafted the Use of Force proposal that we passed. It was in conflict between the President and the House. I was the guy who finally drafted what we did pass. Under the Constitution, there is simply no distinction… Louis Fisher(?) and others can tell you, there is no distinction between a formal declaration of war, and an authorization of use of force. There is none for Constitutional purposes. None whatsoever. And we defined in that Use of Force Act that we passed, what… against whom we were moving, and what authority was granted to the President.”

{/unQuote}

(Ellipsis in the original. Quoted from Joe Biden's own [now defunct] senatorial website.)

Real Constitutional law expert, UCLA professor Eugene Volokh agrees with him, by the way.

But, of course, Biden as President made no attempt to obtain any Congressional approval (e.g., by at least seeking an authorization for the use of military force) of any his actions in the Middle East and elsewhere.; 10/25/25, 5:16 AM
Dave Begley said...: At the time the Constitution was adopted, war was understood to be declared against a nation-state. The only terrorist organization at the time was the Barbary pirates. Jefferson didn’t declare war against them. He just sent the Marines to the shores of Tripoli. Trump is following Jefferson. No need to declare war. And, BTW, the narco-terrorists are doing way more damage to America than the Barbary pirates.; 10/25/25, 5:19 AM
Dave Begley said...: My question is, why haven’t other Presidents blown up these drug running boats? Super effective.; 10/25/25, 5:22 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: She's just sayin...
https://100percentfedup.com/woman-explains-real-reason-behind-schumer-shutdown-finally/; 10/25/25, 5:55 AM
Michael McNeil said...: The Barbary Pirates (the states behind the pirates proper) were in essence nation-states, which the U.S. made war on and signed treaties with.; 10/25/25, 6:25 AM
Michael McNeil said...: As far as declaring war on the Barbary Pirate states is concerned, my guess is that the administration believed no war declaration was necessary—as war already existed due to the attacks by the pirates on American shipping. As Eugene Volokh has pointed out, no war declaration is required when war is already in progress due to attacks on America or its assets and shipping.; 10/25/25, 6:34 AM
Beasts of England said...: ’Say, anybody here see that meme of Maddow crying?’

Is she the sooper smart Rhodes Scholar?; 10/25/25, 7:13 AM
Jaq said...: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chinese-State-Refiners-Cut-Russian-Oil-Imports-Amid-Sanctions-Uncertainty.html

Note the date, "March 14" Let's wait and see if the price of gas rises, then we will know that a significant dent in Russian exports has been accomplished.; 10/25/25, 7:16 AM
Tina Trent said...: Wildswan: I hope your recovery goes well. But those "single" fathers of children on WIC could also feed their own children, instead of both the mom AND the dad making us pay for their own kids' food. I did service provision and charity work for decades for women and men who procreated on our dime and intentionally didn't get married even though the unemployed baby-daddy was inevitably living with one of his baby-mommies in taxpayer-funded housing, while we paid all of their living expenses, and they abused and neglected their kids.

Clinton and Gingrich had motivated the majority of single mothers off these programs decades ago with a very generous package of work training and requirements (all children must be over three and can be enrolled in subsidized daycare; all benefits in place until mom is on her feet and earning; job placement, continued education, second chances, and emergency allowances). What they failed to do was make the fathers do the same. The minority of mothers who would not cooperate are not the ones you are encountering, and if we held the fathers to the same standards, with the same job help, the ones you do meet wouldn't need assistance either.

We could better afford to help the actually needy and unfortunate if the majority of people on these programs, barring the sick, disabled, elderly, and ongoing, certifiably, permanently abandoned, if we rooted out the intentionally unemployed grifters and liars working the system. And closed our borders so our money helped our own in need.

Sincere good luck.; 10/25/25, 7:34 AM
Jaq said...: BTW, the same price signal, the price of gasoline in the US, would reflect any significant success in Ukraine's "kinetic sanctions."

One of the most depressing aspects of this war has been that it has shown that our media is no better than the Soviet and Eastern European media I used to laugh at in the 1970s when I would leaf through issues of "Soviet Life" at the university library. So you have to look for information that can't be faked, like the price of gas.; 10/25/25, 7:34 AM
Jaq said...: Imagine how much better funded these programs for young mothers would be if they weren't being used by Democrats to lure in millions of migrants from all over the world in order to bank their votes and avoid electoral accountability for failed policies which nonetheless make their wealthy donors even more wealthy.; 10/25/25, 7:37 AM
Tina Trent said...: Jaq, despite your possible political differences with their mission, if you are ever in DC, I recommend the library of the Institute of World Politics, which houses original copies of English-language and domestic Soviet newspapers and magazines. The building itself is worth a visit, if they allow it. Of course, these sources are available elsewhere. But it's very atmospheric to descend to the basement to see them this way.; 10/25/25, 8:39 AM
john mosby said...: Tina Trent: yes, the IWP is way cool. DIY ethos. Great old building. And the lectures are free. CC, JSM; 10/25/25, 8:45 AM
Narr said...: I've read both Gravity's Rainbow and the Stephenson opus. My memories of the first are as fresh or fresher than my memories of the latter, though I read Stephenson forty or more years later.; 10/25/25, 9:27 AM
Rusty said...: RCOCEAN II said...
"BTW, just got through "Gravity's Rainbow". Very sophisticated. And what a slog. If you like good - if verbose -writing combined with endless digressions, no believable characters, and no real story spread over 700+ pages, this novels for you. I'm sure Finnegans Wake fans loved it."

He took creative writing classes under Nabokov. It shows.; 10/25/25, 9:31 AM
Original Mike said...: I have Gravity's Rainbow on my bookshelf (it was a gift). Does that count?; 10/25/25, 9:38 AM
Rusty said...: Well. The Honda Element is going away. For a car I bought to teach my youngest to drive and her first college car it has lasted a surprisingly long time. 230 + thousand miles. Will I miss those joyful hours of wrenching? Not at all. (doing the timing chain in situ was enough) A new ride is coming.; 10/25/25, 9:43 AM
Jaq said...: All I am saying is that it is a bitter pill to see the English language media descend to the depths that the Soviets once plumbed. It's almost as if "journalistic integrity" has been redefined from fealty to the reader to fealty to state power. I guess it is inevitable, since the billionaire owners of the major media outlets can get a lot richer a lot quicker through influencing power than through providing news to the readers that might call their own motives into question.

There were maybe two peak times of human freedom in the West, when the ancient Greeks could still find fertile river valleys to live in that were not occupied, and therefore war over them was not required, and when, obstructed only by the minor impediment of the native population which was still in the Stone Age, North Americans had, in practical terms, endless expanses of unexploited land.

That's just my theory.; 10/25/25, 9:46 AM
Jaq said...: As a student who studied both physics, and literature, Gravity's Rainbow seemed a little "on the nose."; 10/25/25, 9:47 AM
Original Mike said...: Is there physics in Gravity's Rainbow? I might read it.; 10/25/25, 9:52 AM
Jupiter said...: "My question is, why haven’t other Presidents blown up these drug running boats? Super effective."
Well, if you mean that the boat gets good and destroyed, I agree. But I'm not sure there has been much affect on the price of fentanyl. Or cocaine. I would have thought that boats out of Venezuela would be carrying cocaine. If they just shot up the motors, they could find out what they were carrying.; 10/25/25, 10:04 AM
Narr said...: "Is there physics in Gravity's Rainbow"?

There's damn near everything in Gravity's Rainbow, but I don't recall any actual equations.; 10/25/25, 10:49 AM
Narr said...: Grrr. Youtube offers me facts about the nationality of Americans' ancestors, with a bar graph utilizing flags.

The numbers look OK but guess what flag is chosen to represent Germany.

Natuerlich.; 10/25/25, 10:58 AM
Rusty said...: "Is there physics in Gravity's Rainbow"?

You mean rocket physics? No. But if you read closely you will have noticed that a lot of the German characters names are parts of the A4.; 10/25/25, 2:16 PM
Rusty said...: Jaq.
Pynchon was an electrical engineer. Or studying to be one.; 10/25/25, 2:17 PM
Jaq said...: Didn't Sir Isaac Newton mathematically describe "gravity's rainbow"? Maybe I filled in the physics by reading into the title.; 10/25/25, 4:08 PM
Jaq said...: It was 65 years ago. Amazing how a novel sticks with you if you read it under the age of 25, or so.; 10/25/25, 4:09 PM