Althouse: At the Perfect Shade Café...

May 31, 2015

At the Perfect Shade Café...

... have a seat.

27 comments:

Mark O said...: It begins in a forest where the woodchucks woo, and the leaves wax green, and vines intertwine like lovers; try to see it. not with your eyes, for they are wise, but see it with your ears: the cool green breathing of the leaves. And hear it with the inside of your hand: the soundless sound of shadows flicking light.; 5/31/15, 1:02 PM
gadfly said...: Perfect shade reminds Mark O of Moonlight.; 5/31/15, 1:23 PM
Anonymous said...: Can we talk about your banned posters here and put the message out who they are and that they shouldn't be replied to?

For some reason, this one person I've noticed comes around every so often and you have to go back to controlling comments. And if people would just ignore her and not respond to her, it might help.

But I'm not sure people realize who she is or that she is banned from your site. And I see a lot of engagement with her and then all those messages go down the drain.; 5/31/15, 1:52 PM
Mark O said...: It is so, gadfly.; 5/31/15, 2:05 PM
Louis said...: I cannot talk about Hastert (my former Representative) because I am fuming with jealousy for his H.S. wrestler contact.; 5/31/15, 2:06 PM
Louis said...: Also, I do not understand him. Why does a man like that get into politics? Why??; 5/31/15, 2:08 PM
Louis said...: Did he want to be dragged out of the closet? Is that why he lied to federal investigators about what could have been a legal settlement?; 5/31/15, 2:10 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I thought I had a great tweet today but... Better luck next time.

@Lemang01: "Now that people know who Hastert is, shouldn't he throw his hat in the ring"; 5/31/15, 2:13 PM
Hagar said...: I am thinking that what the Republicans need to lead them is someone who can proclaim "that vision thing."
Could Condoleezza be that person?

And Carly Fiorina for some sort of Super Secretary of the Interior in charge of all these other departments that have cropped up and really need to be knocked back to subordinate agencies or offices.; 5/31/15, 2:16 PM
pm317 said...: Beautiful front yard!; 5/31/15, 2:26 PM
Moose said...: Driving around Chicago you'd see big signs put up by the bricklayers union (worked for them for a time) saying "Don't get stuck on Stucco!"...; 5/31/15, 2:42 PM
Louis said...: Hagar, I love Condi. So she is probably not straight enough for Iowa and South Carolina.; 5/31/15, 2:43 PM
Moose said...: Very pretty side yard, by the way...; 5/31/15, 2:47 PM
traditionalguy said...: Time to thank the. Professor again and her consort for another good year providing us a friendly Salon to visit moderated by the brilliant teacher of literature, law, religion, politics, art, etymology, Feminism, gay rights, music and and all things Wisconsin and Bob Dylan. She makes it seem so effortless. Gracias.; 5/31/15, 2:52 PM
chickelit said...: Louis said...

Did he want to be dragged out of the closet? Is that why he lied to federal investigators about what could have been a legal settlement?

Still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Doesn't everybody want to know who the blackmailer is? Is he the same guy who called into that show that Hastert was on?; 5/31/15, 2:54 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: That would break the extortionist privacy... No can do my friend.; 5/31/15, 3:18 PM
Louis said...: chickelit, it does not seem to me that Individual A is a blackmailer. He was once, some time ago, a child who got touched by an adult. Worse, the adult was a figure of authority. Worse, the authority figure placed himself in that position of temptation deliberately. The individual then watched that man become one of the most powerful people on Earth.

It seems like he approached Hastert later and time was past due for a meeting of facts and reality. Where I think Hastert went wrong (at this point; he of course he seems evil through and through from my perspective) was in not being integrated enough to formalize his compensation for his wrongs. He was probably in an especially tough spot because there is no way he only assaulted one kid. Wrestlers are too ... something for that.

People question this use of prosecutorial discretion but Aside from Hastert having helped write the law what he did was truly criminal in that it wronged society. What if the former Speaker was being extorted by terrorists? His pattern of behavior created a real concern that drew resources and he lied to the investigators. That is not okay.; 5/31/15, 3:36 PM
Phil 314 said...: Great location for a game of corn hole.; 5/31/15, 3:58 PM
chickelit said...: Louis asks: What if the former Speaker was being extorted by terrorists?

What if? Would you then root for the terrorists and excuse their crimes too like you do the blackmailer?

PS: Your vindictiveness is showing through and it's pretty ugly.

PPS: You seem familiar. I suspect we've met before with you wearing a different guise.; 5/31/15, 4:11 PM
Hagar said...: Give it a rest Louis.
For all we know so far, it might be the student who seduced Hastert. With a high school senior, that is possible.
And it is suspicious, I think, that all we have been given so far is innuendo and dark hints. They do know who, what, and how, and the damage is done, so there should not be any reason not to publicize it.; 5/31/15, 4:12 PM
Hagar said...: More than one person know what the story is, so sometime this week, or next at the most, it will be on the internet, if not in the MSM.
Let us just wait a little and see what develops.; 5/31/15, 4:24 PM
Michael K said...: "He was once, some time ago, a child who got touched by an adult."

A high school wrestler ? Come on.; 5/31/15, 4:39 PM
Louis said...: chickelit, Hagar, I am flattered to have been so notable. I am only myself, I proudly assure all.; 5/31/15, 4:48 PM
Louis said...: I hope the kid did seduce his coach. Good for him. And good for the coach if he is not attracted to high school wrestlers. But I fall back on a favorite tool: imagine this character in a novel. Choosing to make a locker room your place of work is a pretty indefensible choice. It is so tragically clichéd it is practically Original Sin.; 5/31/15, 4:58 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Beautiful front yard!"

"Very pretty side yard, by the way..."

Thanks. (And it's the front yard. There's almost no side yard to speak of around here.); 5/31/15, 5:08 PM
pm317 said...: Despite all the degrees I have collected in computer science, I hate gadgets. So I don't use my iphone to its fullest potential (I don't care).. but today I took this pic of a cat sitting in a shop window (how cool is that cat!) and then noticed there were extraneous things on the side that I didn't like and was thinking what a pain it is to photoshop.. then lo and behold I see a button at the bottom that said 'edit' and I click on it and see what appears to be a cropping tool among others and move my finger around using it and voila!; 5/31/15, 8:33 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Lou, what do you think you meant when you wrote that? Was a translation error to blame?; 6/2/15, 7:06 AM